So, I wasn't entire sure how I felt about reading a book that centered around covid. Did I really want that reminder of how awful those months were? Well as it turns out, yes! I sure did.

This book is incredible. It did take me a while to really get immersed into it, but once I did I couldn't put it down.

I don't want to go into too much detail and spoil anything, because I absolutely think it's worth going into this one blind. But I will say that this didn't go where I thought it would at all - it's heartbreaking, gory at times, eerie as hell, and it really shines a light on some important real life issues that happened, and continue to happen.

Just go read it.

I didn't realize this was a book about COVID. I just saw Kylie Lee Baker and knew I wanted to read it. It's definitely one of the darkest stories I've read to date, not just because of the gore and violence, but because I know that while this is fiction, the story didn't sprout out of thin air. Violence against Asian women did increase during the height of COVID and KLB is not afraid to make us feel uncomfortable. I also think we need more books like this.

WOW. Just… wow. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a brutal blend of horror, social commentary, and pandemic-era grief. It kicks off in early pandemic NYC when Cora’s sister is shoved in front of a train, and from there it just does not let up.

As Cora works as a crime scene cleaner, she uncovers a disturbing pattern of murdered Asian American women, ghostly hauntings, and a serial killer lurking in the shadows. It's heavy, it’s wild, it’s weird, and it TOTALLY worked for me. This one is not for the faint of heart, but if you can stomach it, give this one a go! (but maybe not before bed).

Kylie writes amazing YA and adult books! This one felt unrestrained and I can’t wait to see more from her!

This thought-provoking and emotional story offers a poignant glimpse into the treatment of individuals during the early days of the pandemic. It’s an intense narrative that challenges readers to reflect on the human experience in times of crisis.

I should mention that this book surprised me; I initially approached it with the expectation of a horror novel, but it turned out to be something entirely different.

Visceral and powerful - Cora Zeng is a book to be reckoned with, and I'm not sure everyone is ready for it. Set during COVID-19, 2020 New York, some readers might find the setting and situations triggering.

Baker writes a story, THE story, that so many of us think of, but don't have the capacity and bandwidth to write, and infuses it with horror stories of hungry ghosts and monsters.

I don't know how to describe this book other than it will stay with me and haunt me for a long time to come.

I went into this book pretty blind and I LOVED it. I know a lot of people might avoid pandemic themed books but it honestly worked so well with the story for this one. I loved the MC, and actually all of the characters. Kylie did such an exceptional job with her characters and scene/world building in this piece. If you like gory or horror, this one needs to be on your list.

Bat Eater and Other Names is strange in the best way. It’s a collection of short stories, all dark, haunting, and kind of beautiful. Some are about family, others about identity or grief, but they all feel a little off in a way that keeps you reading.

The writing is really poetic but not too hard to follow. I liked that each story felt different but still connected through mood. It’s not a light read, but it’s the kind of book that sticks with you after. If you like stories that are weird, emotional, and a little eerie, this one’s worth picking up.

First of all, I’m so obsessed with this first version of the cover for the book! Second of all, I think horror is an excellent genre choice to deal with some complex social issues! Injustice makes my blood boil and combine that with racism and this story had me reeling.

Cora and Delilah are two sisters with a complicated relationship, living in NYC as the pandemic hits. Cora feels conflicted in her grief and tries to occupy herself with her work as a crime scene cleaner. Then bats start appearing at some of the crime scenes. And it’s a month of “hungry ghosts”! What could possibly go wrong?!

This book had me thinking and feeling, as well as lost in some dark imagery of ghosts! Author talks about our tendency to “scapegoat entire nations” and it hurts my heart and soul that that’s something that continues to take place over and over again. COVID was difficult for everyone but imagine facing hate and violence and blame simply because of the way you look! Cora’s helplessness and fear of germs AND of people were beautifully portrayed. If you love horror that reads like literary fiction, you’ll want to check out this one!

A huge thank you to @HTP @MIRA for my ARC in exchange for an honest review!

“We can’t just look for white men. You should have looked harder, they said. But white men are going after Asian girls, and that’s all they have to go on, us being Asian. No one wants to look harder at us. To imagine that we’re real people. Every day I clean up their brains and blood and I know that a white man coming for me isn’t an if, it’s a when. And the worst part is I know no one will find out who did it, no one will write about it in the newspapers, because who cares if another Chinese girl is dead—they’ll hear me screaming and just put in their headphones and keep walking. Even now, you want to walk away from us because it’s gross, because blood and guts make you uncomfortable. But it doesn’t matter if we’re uncomfortable—we don’t get to look away. We’re dying and no one can hear us.”

this is one of the most smartly written horror novels I’ve ever read. I remember the harsh xenophobic rhetoric that was all over US media in 2020 and it was abhorrent. And it doesn’t stop at just Covid-19. The authors note Kylie Lee Baker wrote at the end of this really stuck with me but especially her last sentence:

“do not let your empathy stop at the borders of your own community”

this is such an important statement. liberation has to be for everyone or else it is liberation for none. empathy I feel has become such a transactional thing now that we need books like this to express systematic racism and the horrors within that in our society in Western culture.

If I could give it more than 5 stars I would. Bat Eater completely surpassed every expectation I had. I didn’t even know what I was expecting going in, but this book absolutely delivered. It’s the kind of story that crawls into your bones and settles there. Every scene felt purposeful, every twist hit just right, and by the end I was emotionally exhausted (in the best way).

This book made me feel everything. I laughed, I raged, I cringed, I mourned. It carried a huge emotional weight that I don't usually expect when picking up a horror book. The paranormal and horror elements were perfection and genuinely unsettling in places. Think The Grudge X 100. The tension and suspense was cut with moments of sharp humor that was completely unexpected for me. And underneath it all, though, was a deeply resonant and extremely devastating commentary on racism and xenophobia in the US. The real horror here wasn't just supernatural, it was the very real experiences of East Asian immigrants in the US, especially during/since peak COVID.

I loved Cora. She broke my heart, and I was desperate to be able to talk to her and offer her my friendship and validation. Her fear and anxiety during the early months of the pandemic felt so familiar, it transported me back to early 2020. That sense of dread and the unknown, and her internal struggle against her own mind is one I am intimately familiar with.

The ghosts in this story were unsettling and super creepy, but more than anything, they're tragic. When the full truth behind them was finally revealed, it hit me like a punch in the gut. I can't say too much without spoilers, but it made me feel such rage but also helplessness, mostly because of how realistic and plausible everything was (minus the ghosts...maybe).

I’ll definitely be rereading this one in the near future. It’s been easily one of my favorites so far from 2025, and I can’t recommend it enough to readers who love their horror and paranormal with a side of emotional damage.

A huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an electronic copy of this book. All opinions stated are my own.

Cora Zeng witnessed the horrible murder of her sister Delilah at the height of the COVID pandemic in New York. The murderer's parting words were simply "bat eater." Months later, Cora is now a crime scene clean up tech, cleaning up the remains of those who die messy in Chinatown.  At multiple crime scenes, Cora and her colleagues find the bodies of bats, along with the corpses of Asian women.  A possible serial killer isn't the only issue. Cora has spent most of her life ignoring her Chinese heritage, but that becomes impossible when she is suddenly stalked by a hungry ghost during the Hungry Ghost Festival. The ghost seems focused on bringing Cora Zeng to either her death or a stunning revelation on the nature of the murders she is tasked with cleaning up.  

Author Kylie Lee Baker takes readers through a story that is so engaging, it becomes difficult not to simply sink into this book until you've finished the very last page.  As a rule, I tend to avoid books and shows about the pandemic. Having lived through it, I'm not a big fan of most media that talks about it for my sanity's sake. However, I broke that rule to read Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng and I'm thrilled I did. Baker doesn't shy away from writing a character that is not automatically loveable. Cora is believable. She's struggling through grief, loss of connection to her culture and limited family, and having to force herself into situations that are so deeply uncomfortable for her that it adds a whole new level of horror. 

For long term horror fans, the book will be easily digestible in the more graphic sequences. For those readers just starting to dip their toes into the water of horror, please be advised that Delilah's death is absolutely traumatic.  I absolutely loved Baker's use of the Hungry Ghosts Festival as a backdrop, as well as showing how cultures morph and change in a setting like the United States. 




Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is now available from Harlequin Publishing.

I was enraptured from the very first chapter and didn’t put this book down until I reached the final page. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a ghost story, yes, but it’s so much more. Set against a panic-stricken, eerily familiar New York City during the height of the pandemic, the novel pulses with dread that blurs the line between supernatural horror and the all-too-real terror of being part of a marginalized community in America.

Cora’s story is tangled in grief, fear, and resilience, shaped by a complicated family dynamic that is as haunting as the ghosts she encounters. What makes this book so frightening isn't just the spectral presences, but the raw, unflinching depiction of anti-Asian hatred and the isolation faced by immigrant communities in times of crisis.

This story doesn't shy away from the ugly truths of pandemic-era racism, and that’s exactly what gives its horror weight. It’s chilling, intimate, and incredibly relevant.

✨Highly, highly recommend. This one will stay with me.

Idk if I liked this or if I should just because of the topics it focuses on. It’s an interesting story nonetheless. Not a fave in the horror/mystery genre for me though. Some of the descriptions were so much more gory than I imagined they’d be. I was not prepared.

I absolutely loved this book.
I went in blind seeing it was from the author of the scarlet alchemist and I’m so glad. This was her debut horror and I cannot say enough about how well written it is. The imagery definitely isn’t for the faint of heart. The racial commentary is perfect. It doesn’t beat you over the head. You understand exactly what is being said without feeling talked down to. (At least I hope this is how it lands for the people who need to hear it most). At the same time it adds to the story, not detracts.
I will definitely read anything else that Kylie Lee Baker puts out.

Very few people do body horror the way Kylie Lee Baker does. It's so seamless and beautifully written in the most gory way. Her character development is unmatched as well. Right from the first chapter, you feel so much for these characters, and you're immediately hooked. I'm typically not a fan of pandemic books, but I understand that this had to be set in 2020 in order to fully be immersed in the state of the world at the time while feeling the impact of the blatant racism that occurred towards Asian people. I didn't expect this to go where it went, but I'm glad it did, and the ending wrapped everything up really well.

This book has me feeling all kinds of feelings. I wouldn't say that it would be my favorite thing because some of the pacing was very slow. I also found it hard to follow Cora because her anxiety was so extreme and as a person that struggles with severe anxiety too it was tough to read. There were things that I could understand with the pandemic but I am still confused on how people think that it was the Asian community are the cause of the illness. However seeing it from someone else's POV was interesting as well as saddening because they were treated so poorly. I am still kind lost on the ghosts parts. Was it the cultures belief and how they saw the afterlife or is it some type of lore? It has definitely intrigued me to where I am going to have to do some research on some things. The book definitely gets crazier and crazier as it goes on but its the ending that really has me conflicted. After everything she went through why the heck would she do what she just did and who is it suppose to be? There are definitely things that feel like they need to be answered.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is one of the scariest books I have read in recent memory. Set in NYC during peak Covid, the setting itself contributes to the eerie vibe of the book. Cora is a deeply flawed, but empathetic, character who goes through some truly terrifying stuff.

oh my I loved this so much! quite a bit of time has passed between me finishing this book and writing this review but make no mistake that is of no fault of the book and only due to me being in the middle of moving. in the meantime I have been recommending this to everyone I talk to!

such a perfect blend of supernatural horror, murder mystery, folklore, and character study; the writing style also really worked for me! I had so much fun reading this but it was also genuinely disturbing at times- I normally avoid stories set during the pandemic, but this one being told through an asian american lens made me want to pick it up. in this case, I think being barely removed from this point in time made the horror more effective, where I would normally cringe. I think this perspective is so important, and I'd be very open to reading more of it in other genres.

a little bit of suspension of disbelief might be necessary at times, but to me that was part of the fun- overall this is a new favorite!

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc :)

Thank you, NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, for this advanced reading copy. My introduction to Kylie Lee Baker was through her “The Scarlet Alchemist” duology, and I have been hooked ever since! I know there are a couple of things Kylie excels at, but she’s particularly skilled at writing about death and horror.

The book’s setting takes place in New York at the height of the pandemic, and the reader gains insight into the world of Cora Zeng, a mixed Asian-American female during that frightful time. The book opens with Delilah’s death in the subway. They are waiting for the subway after searching for toilet paper in the rain. The scene follows Delilah’s discussion of her plans to travel to China to live with her father and pursue a career in modeling. All of a sudden, the reader can envision the sight of the white person’s hands making contact with Cora’s sister and pushing her in front of the subway as it arrives on the track. From that scene, Cora’s life spirals! Some time has passed, and the reader is introduced to Cora as a crime scene cleaner. While working, Cora and her coworkers begin noticing the uptick in deaths of Chinese/Asian minority descent. The scary part is not even the deaths or the clean-up, but the horror when Cora encounters her first hunger ghost.

The author covered a lot of ground in this book. From the main female character’s point of view, the reader gets a glimpse into the racism that Chinese and Asian Americans experienced pre-COVID, from the name-calling and the disgusting treatment towards this community of individuals to the police incompetence/lack of effort regarding a serial killer targeting this social group. Cora also suffers from loss and grief, and it didn’t start with her sister’s death in the subway. From birth, Cora has not had a parent to rely on. Throughout her life, Cora has dealt with abandonment from both her parents. Her father moved back to China after two failed attempts to start a family in the United States. His only support consists of sending monthly allowances through his sister to help Cora survive. And the only reason he has kept track is because his sister reminds him of his duty. Her mother joined a cult and left her overtly religious sister to care for Cora because parenting Cora was too hard. Not to mention that her mom is white, and her aunt has not ever made Cora feel like family. There is also a longing to belong. Cora has lived in the shadow of her sister and has never felt like she belonged. No one has ever wanted her around, not even her sister, whom she cared so much about.

I enjoyed this book! I enjoyed the perspective it gave me into another minority’s experience during the pandemic. I also enjoyed the humor and the main female character’s journey to finding herself because it was not easy. If you are looking for a gory horror filled with trauma, death, and life experiences set during the pandemic, then I would recommend this book to you.