This book won’t be for everyone, but I felt it was absolutely amazing. Brutally honest social commentary. Dehumanization running rampant. Heavy on the inner dialogue. Felt like a Covid fever dream, but all too real as to where our world is heading. What trauma and fear can drive a person to do.
The author’s descriptions of horror are strikingly honest and beautiful. This book solidified my heavy feelings of weltschmerz and misanthropy. It won’t be for everyone, but if you like The Grudge type horror with Jordan Peele social commentary, then I think you will enjoy this.
Don’t. Skip. The. Author’s. Note.

This was so scary!

I really enjoyed it. It’s a complex and multi-layered horror, with a few plotlines running through. You’ve got the main character and supporting cast, each with their own complicated relationships with their families and past difficulties. You’ve got the start of the COVID pandemic, with economic insecurity, job loss, and health anxiety. You’ve got Chinese folklore, centering around Ghost Month and the idea of hungry ghosts. You’ve got a series of murders of young chinese women, starting with the MC’s own sister in front of her. Finally, you have a pervasive and ever present thread of racism, with the anti-Asian sentiment that unfortunately was particularly out in the open during the context of the start of the pandemic. There are some times when this felt like a slow and eerie descent into madness, where I wondered about the reliability of the narrator, and other times when it felt like a thrill ride, with non-stop action.

A paranormal horror, mystery, social commentary all rolled into one, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng explores the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of an Asian-American woman with crippling OCD.

Cora Zeng has always followed her big sister Delilah, whatever she said was what they did. Same university, same major, same everything. Cora doesn't know who she is and in March 2020, she's even more blindsided by the unknown when the world suddenly stops spinning in light of the pandemic. To make matters worse, Delilah is killed and Cora no longer knows how to function.

To make ends meet, and put her OCD to good use, Cora becomes a crime-scene cleaner in Chinatown, doing the job no one wants to do after gruesome deaths. When the gates of hell open for Hungry Ghost Month, Cora drops the ball and finds herself with a hungry ghost friend that wants her help to find her killer.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng touches on the isolation of COVID, the outward racism of many toward Asian-Americans, and life after loss all with the fore plot of murder mystery.

While it won't be everyone's cup of tea, it was definitely a twisty ride with an interesting road and I look forward to more from Kylie Lee Baker.

Kylie Lee Baker’s Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is an intense, gut-punch of a read that I couldn’t stop thinking about long after finishing. The story pulls you in and sets the tone right from the start and it doesn’t let go. Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner in NYC's Chinatown, struggling with the brutal murder of her sister and the rise in Asian hate crimes - particularly the serial killer targeting Asian women. As an Asian woman myself, the story resonated with me on a personal level, making it impossible to put the book down.

I usually avoid pandemic-related books for my mental health, but I felt compelled to dive into this one—and I’m glad I did. It’s raw, relentless, and unapologetically real. Cora’s inability to acknowledge her grief, and her dependency on her late sister Delilah, made her journey all the more heartbreaking. Baker masterfully combines this emotional weight with terrifying elements of Asian horror folklore. Even though I typically steer clear of Asian horror because it unsettles me so much, I couldn’t stop reading—though I’ll admit, this one was hard to tackle at night!

The last few chapters really knocked me sideways. It wasn’t just the ending—it was the twists and gut-wrenching moments that made my heart ache and race at the same time. This book is wild in the best way, and the emotional punches just keep coming.

While I gave this book 4 stars instead of 5, it’s only because there were a few moments where the story felt a bit heavy-handed. However, that doesn’t take away from how much I connected with it. I’ll definitely be reading whatever Kylie Lee Baker writes next—her writing is that good.

If you’re into folklore, intense gore/horror, and deeply emotional storytelling, Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a must-read.Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin for the eARC. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng releases on April 29, 2025

When I tell you, I did not expect the poetic metaphorical prose that was this book alongside some of the most original and grotesque body gore I've ever experienced.

Disclaimer: I did receive this e-book as a advanced reader copy through NetGalley. Thank you to Harlequin books and NetGalley for the free copy. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I had heard things about this author, but had never read anything by them. When I saw this book come up as a NetGalley arc I decided to give it a try because it sounded like a very interesting horror based novel. I have never been so happy to have requested an arc on the fly in my life.

This novel centers around Cora, an Asian woman who has been experiencing some massive discrimination and prejudice at the height of the Covid pandemic in New York City. Due to some off page incidences Cora has massive PTSD and a germaphobe problem. Which is only even more heightened due to the strict protocols surrounding Covid. We get so much Chinese mythology and a lot of the implications and traditions surrounding death of Asian people within this novel. It kept it very realistic and relatable and interesting. I was not expecting the lyrical prose that this would accompany with the very interesting and unique level of body gore that was found in the this novel. They were times during this novel where I was not 100% sure if the narrator was reliable or not or maybe possibly just hallucinating these things really happening to her? I found myself asking that question numerous times throughout this novel. The way I gasp screamed and spoke to this novel out loud as I was reading.

Needless to say, I absolutely finish this novel and downloaded more of this authors work. I cannot wait to dive back into this author's brain as it is a very unique and compelling experience.

Creepy! Can anything go right for Cora? This book touches on grief, the supernatural, gore, and the hardships of trying to navigate life through a pandemic.

Unlike other dark horror books I’ve read, “Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng” had an even more profoundly chilling component. Its almost finite list of nonfiction elements, many of which are still relatively fresh in my mind, made this story quite the conversation piece. Author Kylie Lee Baker creates a story that pulls the pandemic of 2020 as COVID spread quickly, the impacts it made culturally on the Chinese community, and makes it even more horrific as the main character attempts to find who unalived her sister. The story is quite detailed in many scenes, as some readers may be sensitive to that, as well as topics of race and the pandemic. Overall, I felt the author told a creative and thought-provoking story.

“The dead do not forget.”



WHAT AN ABSOLTELY BRILLIANT BOOK!!! I was hooked from the beginning and never wanted to put it down. Looking forward to more from Kylie Lee Baker!

Say hello to one of the best books I read this year! Words can’t fully capture just how much I loved this damn book and I’m pretty depressed it’s over. I went into Bat Eater knowing nothing because I decided I will blindly trust KLB after The Scarlet Alchemist. And in my favorite genre to boot? If you enjoy socially relevant and/or paranormal horror, add this to your TBR. Such a smart, bleak, important read. And these characters?! I was so invested. I will definitely revisit this via audio at some point.

I’d say if you liked any of the following, you would likely enjoy this: American Rapture by CJ Leede (found family, pandemic, religious themes), The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim (AAPI rep, serial killer), and Diavola by Jennifer Thorne (ghosts, difficult family relationships). This might make it seem like Bat Eater is doing too much but I swear it is doing JUST enough.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I typically avoid any type of media that has a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic. This time I’m glad I made an exception to the rule. This book tells a story bathed in grief not only for loved ones, but for all of those who have unfairly had their life taken away.

Our main character Cora is a bit mentally unbalanced. She’s obsessive about germs to the point of nearly being unable to leave her apartment. However, her job on a crime scene cleanup crew is perfect for her because she LOVES to clean.

This book has ghosts, suspense, lots of gore, and an overarching theme of how to rediscover yourself after the loss of someone close to you. At right around 300 pages it’s a fast paced read that you can get through pretty quickly. I will definitely be looking for other stories by this author!

#netgalley #readmorebooks #arcreview #arcreviewer #kylieleebakerbooks

This was SO GOOD. I have loved watching Baker grow as a writer from debut (which, I’ll be honest, I didn’t love) to now. The gore was fantastic and spaced apart enough or shown in stark pieces so that it never felt like it was only for shock value or that it overwrote the rest of the story. And the first death - I knew immediately that I was going to devour this book.

I will say that things slowed down quite a bit between the first death and when the plot really kicked up, and I think thats where we lost a star in the end. But Harvey and Yifei’s dynamic with Cora was fantastic.

And have I mentioned the gore? The gore was fantastic.

I also very much appreciate the unique perspective of the early days of the COVID pandemic - specifically through the lens of anti-Asian (and specifically anti-Chinese) hate. But also adding the particularly spooky Chinese ghost mythology, which was awesome.

Dnf 63%

This isn't a dnf because it was bad.
I just had to stop for my own mental health.

This book made me feel claustrophobic and trapped.
It talked about the themes of racism and hatred that Asian people faced during Covid shutdowns really well.

At first I wasn't sure this was going to be for me; BAT EATER starts out with the author just really in her feelings about the racism towards Asians during early stages Covid, and Cora is a very anxious, awkward individual who is often so paralyzed by her anxiety that it can be frustrating for the reader. But after ~35/40%, the plot picks up as Cora and her weird friends focus more on ghost hunting and murder solving. I love the creepy ghosts in this, and how the author brings in a lot of the Chinese culture around hungry ghosts. Yifei is a great supporting character, and even Cora manages to grow a bit.

I did for some reason think this was a women's wrongs story, but it's not really. Highly recommend looking up trigger warnings, as there is a lot of described (but not live) violence against Asian women, who are murdered in very gory ways. There are also a lot of bats maimed or killed.

I’m a little disappointed in this one not gonna lie. I think that’s more of a me problem though than a problem with the story.

The story in this book is fine, but not really one I could get invested in. I’m not usually a horror reader, I usually read fantasy, but I wanted to give this one a shot since I love Kylie Lee Baker’s writing so much. I did really enjoy some of the gory bits in this book, especially when they came out of nowhere, but I wasn’t really a fan of the pandemic setting.

I do still really love Kylie Lee Baker’s writing in this, and if you enjoy horror books, and don’t mind the book taking place during Covid times, then I definitely recommend! This one’s just not for me.

This was incredible, super spooky, infuriating, and holding a lot of emotion.

The writing was incredibly evocative, right from the first page. I cannot remember the last time I read a book with such a thick atmosphere, and felt so lonely, so alone, so suffocating with its atmosphere. And yet it was never too stifling. I really adored it, it really sucked me into the book, engaged me with the story, and connected me to the main character, Cora.

The plot, too, throws you in right away, establishing the complex and difficult relationship between Cora and her sister, Delilah, just to immediately throw you for a loop in the first chapter. Despite knowing this was going to happen based on the book's whole premise, it was still a shock, not to mention the graphic nature and unapologetically gorey description of it.

Equally gorey where the crime scenes, though I found the descriptions of Cora struggling with her germophobia (not entirely sure if that's the right term?) almost more disturbing it how visceral and encompassing it is.

The book taking place during the COVID-pandemic is central to it's focus on anti-Asian hate crimes. It's horrific, and it's unfair. There is a great author's note at the end of the book.
While some may say that chosing for the book to be specifically playing during the COVID-pandemic dates the book, but for me that made it feel even more real.

Overall, this was a stunning horror read that pulled me in from the first page, and did not let me go until I finished. I loved the writing, and story was gripping, and even days after finishing it it's still on my mind.

"Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng" by Kylie Lee Baker is a crossover of fantasy with discovering yourself.

Sometimes, the pacing slows down in places; some characters should be more profound for their stories to be impactful. At the same time, Cora's tale of her relationship and the odd little secrets of her past can sometimes be a touch redundant.

The writing is colorful and colorfully vivid. It puts pictures in your mind and pictures of how things are. But the dialogue could be a lot better (at times), as could some of the twists and turns, which didn't come as much of a shock to anyone who's read many books in this genre.

Last is Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, an admirable effort with charmingly creative moments. Overall, it is a good read, though a bit overbearing with the market and sometimes with the fantasy genre.

Thank you to HTP (Harlequin Trade Publishing) and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Love love love!
What a heart wrenching experience that makes the reader understand reality before them. The intrusive thoughts that run through Cora’s mind are spot on. As with Yellowface — this a must read!

Brutal, haunting, and full of rage. This book left me aching. It’s hard to say much else about it without giving anything away, so I’ll just say this: Read it.

This book is big in exposing a really big problem in America. A problem that got louder when the covid pandemic first started. And this book does not shy away from it.

The concept is really good. The main character was interesting to follow. The cast was also great and nuanced, and you couldn't help but love them all the same.

The beginning was a little hard to follow, however. The exposition droned on for quite some time, and I wondered when things would pick up. But the story got progressively better as the plot moved forward. The ending fell a tiny bit flat for me because I wish the resolution had been given more space to breathe. But that last scene when Cora outstretched her hand to the darkness was incredible. 10/10 no notes.

At the end of it, I think this is a good book and it's worth a read for sure

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown....so says the summary. This book grabbed me from the first pages, with it's writing and character exploration and depth. To see something, like COVID, from a different perspective than my white mid-western Republican experience, was refreshing. The representation of other cultures, by writers from that culture, is a need in the horror genre and in literature in general right now.

The characters were developed in a way, that sometimes they annoyed you like an older sibling, but you have felt similar feelings to them before and could relate. Which made the ending that much more heartbreaking and I had a book hangover for quite a few days afterwards.

Definitely would recommend!