Pandemic novels still feel too soon, even though it's already been 5 years. The Asian hate of course feels authentic. This is much gorer than I anticipated. The hungry ghost mystery was a lot of fun and Cora's character development was well earned at the end.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a disturbing, paranormal novel during COVID-19 with heavy themes, including racism and xenophobia.

It's the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York City. Cora Zeng witnesses her sister's horrific death. Delilah was called a 'bat eater' and pushed in front of a train. A couple of months later, Cora is cleaning crime scenes in Chinatown from suicides and murders. She is haunted by her sister, Delilah, and the words 'bat eater' when she realizes that her recent crime scenes have something in common, bat carcasses and Asian women.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I was immersed in Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng from the first chapter when Delilah was pushed in front of the train. I flinched, not only from her being pushed but the words. This was purely a hate crime and it was devastating. Along with the train scene, there were a few scenes involving a ghost that were disturbing. I was expecting a bit more horror and gore but received more thriller and a lot of mystery.

After the first chapter, the beginning dragged on during certain moments. I don't understand the significance of the church scenes and feel like it was placed the lengthen the novel.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I thought it was a great introduction to Chinese folklore and am very interested to read more stories like this one.

bipoc • chinese folklore • crime • ghosts • horror thriller • mystery thriller • paranormal • poc

well shit.

i had no idea where this book was going and i really enjoyed it. what a unique concept and so cool to see chinese folklore & beliefs woven in with a horror story that involved serial killers, secret society of fucked up men (always), and a crazy surprising ending.

i would highly recommend this one as it's such a wild ride. at no point could i guess the ending and i loved that it kept me on my toes. it's gnarly, graphic, and a really fun listen. the narrator did a great job with all the characters.

This book was incredibly visceral and horrifying. Set in NYC during the beginning of the Covid pandemic, Baker blends the reality of that time including the horrific heightening of racism with cultural lore and the paranormal. The story packed several punches and went places I could never have expected and I was eager to pick the book up every time I had to put it down. I finished this book almost three weeks ago, and I have thought about it at least once a day everyday since. While definitely not for the faint at heart, this book is important social horror and I loved every heart breaking bit of it. The beautiful cover echoes the beauty of the story within.

This book was terrifying and profound. It put a spotlight on a true life horror. The writing is beautiful. This audiobook was very well done.

This one took me awhile to get through, but overall I thought it was great. I loved the social commentary on COVID and how Asian people were treated mixed with the very creepy paranormal elements of this story. I truly felt like I was transported back to 2020 and even though that sounds awful, reading this with the knowledge I have now was even more impactful. This is a ghost story that really tackles systemic racism in a fresh and thought provoking way. I thought this was going to be a straight forward story about a woman’s sister who was murdered and that there would ultimately be a reveal as to who the murderer was, but this is far more than that!

I really grew to love the main character Cora and the side characters in this book. I was entertained, I was spooked, and I laughed quite a few times. The writing was fantastic and the story truly kept me wanting more and totally unsure of where it would go next. I thought the ending was a little bit unsatisfying and I would have liked a little more, it felt a little abrupt. Aside from that I thought this was great and such a haunting story. I also thought this was even better on audio. Thank you Harlequin audio - Natalie Naudus did a fantastic job! The pacing, the voices she used for each separate character, and way she conveyed Cora’s emotions were all so well done. I definitely recommend audio for this one!

Went into this one totally blind and ended up really liking it! Bat Eater is such a wild mix of ghosts, serial killers, creepy vibes, and deeper topics like race and COVID. It’s super unique and way more emotional than I expected.

Not gonna lie, it took me a little bit to get into it, but once I did, I was hooked. The audiobook (narrated by Natalie Naudus) is SO good and would definitely recommend listening that way.

Heads up though, this book is dark. Like really dark. Lots of heavy topics like racism, hate speech, death, graphic violence, even animal cruelty. So definitely check the trigger warnings.

Also… that cover?! Absolutely gorgeous. Horror + pretty art is a yes for me!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

🦇"When you're drowning and someone grabs your hand, you don't ask them where they're taking you."🦇

🥀It's fricken bats in here!

📓Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng
👩🏻@kylieleebaker
🗣@htpbooks @harperaudio
📅April 29th, 2025

🧠My Thoughts🧠
I honestly thought I would have more to say about this when I finished it. I enjoyed it so much, and I wrote down so many good quotes, but as I sit down to write this review, I have no idea what to say. Although this is fictional, it felt so real because I honestly wouldn't put it past nasty ass white men to do the shit that was done in this book.

It's not often that a book leaves me speechless, but this book... this god damn book... did it. Read this. It's beautiful and scary and fucked up. Oh so very fucked up.

💬ⓆⓄⓉⒹ: Has a book ever left you speechless?

#bateaterandothernamesforcorazeng #bateater #kylieleebaker #mira #harperaudio #htpbooks #alc #audiobook #bookreview #audiobookreview #netgalley #covid #covidhorror #haunting

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a devastating story of grief and the importance of remembering the dead. It also highlights the brutality and violence Asian Americans live with on a daily basis. Going into this I was only somewhat familiar with the concept of the hungry ghost but Kylie Lee Baker does a great job familiarizing readers with the traditions through Cora's own uncertainty of Chinese traditions, having been raised by a single, white mother. Her sister Delilah, who is fully Chinese and was raised in Chinese customs, and her Auntie Zeng are her tether and when her sister is murdered, she's left with a tenuous connection. It was heartbreaking to see Cora struggle and speak about herself negatively for something she has no control over. In a pivotal moment of understanding she even says "She'd always been ashamed of being illiterate in Chinese, but had never thought it was dangerous".

Cora's emotions felt genuine and familiar to me. Her inability to fit in anywhere is upsetting and her lack of belief in herself as a human is hard to experience. Even her resistance to making friends or thinking of them as such until close to the end breaks my heart. Although reluctantly, she really comes into her own throughout this book and by the end I had a lot of hope that she would find her place in the world.

This was pretty creepy overall, and I was impressed by the different avenues the author went down for the scares. On one hand there is the fairly straightforward haunting, which is ratcheted up a notch by the personal connection Cora shares with the ghost. The idea that death can not only take someone you love from you but that they can come back different to haunt you. The scene in which Cora is walking home by herself and hears the voice behind her that tells her not to turn around gave me the chills and had me checking behind my back. I also enjoyed the reveal towards the end, during which Auntie Zeng's only advice is to run. There's also the added layer of violence due to racism. It's so disheartening when Cora is reading the chat messages and musing on how they're less frightening then the images of bodies because she's heard them many times before. Imagining the horror of being assaulted, verbally or physically, while others watch and do nothing is so unsettling.

This book is definitely one of my top 5’s for 2025 and I’ll be watching Kylie Lee Baker to see what she does next.

Thank you for Harlequin Books for a free advanced reader and listener copy of this book. Thank you as well for sending me a gifted print copy as well.

JAW. ON. THE. FLOOR.

This book was a masterclass in horror and suspense, while also touching on race relations and the rise of Asian American hate crimes caused by the rhetoric surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Just the right amount of gore, Kylie Lee Baker left me with chills running down my back.

Right at the beginning of the pandemic in NYC, Cora is with her sister in the subway when an extremist pushes her sister in front of a train, calling her a Bat Eater. Soon after, Cora becomes a crime scene cleaner, because after all, she’s already seen the worst thing possible.

Cora ends up liking being a cleaner. Being stuck in a Tyvec suit all day unable to talk to her coworkers is perfect. However, the crimes are revolving around East Asian women, and bats are being found at each of the scenes.

Meanwhile, Cora’s aunt tries to get her to believe in and participate in the rituals needed to keep her out of danger from hungry ghosts.

The author broaches topics of loss of a loved one, grief, child abandonment, being biracial in the US, the tug and pull of families that mean well, and the horrific treatment of East Asians in the US, particularly during the pandemic.

Wow! This book really shines. So incredibly good and extremely well-written. Despite addressing multiple heavy topics, Bat Eater manages to not get weighed down by any of that. This is a standout debut from this author and J ! A huge thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this ALC.

– I must admit I don’t read a lot of horror, but when my book buddy tells me to read a book it gets done. He rarely misses on suggesting a book I will like.

Bat Eater is a HARD book. If you don’t feel uncomfortable reading this book, I think you missed the real point. Whether we had negative thoughts about Asian Americans, refused to wear masks correctly, laughed at the pandemic in general, or made fun of those seriously scared by what might happen to them, I think COVID was a time each and every person could have done better. This book at its core shed a light on this and the racism that was real in America during this time, and that, by itself, is haunting.

But, looking at just the plot, this book is FREAKY! It is gory and scary between the terrorizing ghosts, horrific people, and gruesome crime scenes, but also has just the right amount of humor! I know that is hard to believe for a horror, but it does. Yifei was my favorite character. Seriously, I loved her and how she grounded Cora. Her dialog was written perfectly – so was the delivery. Natalie Naudus is an exceptional narrator not only adding life to Yifiei but also capturing Cora’s fear and anxiety.

Overall, this was a great horror story with a unique perspective on the pandemic. I think everyone should read this book!

Thank you @netgalley, @htpbooks, and @htpbooks_audio for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now!

Cora Zeng watched her sister die. She was pushed in front of a train, and it's haunted her ever since. She's been spending her time cleaning crime scenes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Lately though, all of their recent jobs have been the bodies of Asian women. What's worse Hungry Ghosts have started following her, and they will do anything to be fed.

So Kylie Lee Baker is an auto-buy for me, but this book is easily my favorite. Cora is such a well-crafted and sympathetic character. On this journey with her, I was on the edge of my seat and rooting for her the whole time. In fact, I was so captivated by this book, I couldn't put it down. I honestly have nothing bad to say about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. As always, Natalie Naudus was a great narrator. I can't recommend this book enough.

Wow! This book was one of the best horror books that I read this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen and review this book.

I don't typically enjoy pandemic fiction for a number of reasons I can't really put my finger on. This book was an exception. Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a whirlwind of a book. I was completely sucked in from the start of the book to the end. There were twists I didn't see coming, emotions I couldn't stop feeling, and so much more.

Cora is such an incredibly relatable character. As someone who has OCD and anxiety, her spiraling felt extremely familiar. However, Kylie Lee Baker does a masterful job of portraying Cora's inner turmoil without sucking the reader into the spiral It kept me on edge, but didn't send me over the edge. I also often see twists coming, but this book kept me guessing until the very end. I'm excited to see what this author does next. This was a powerhouse debut.

What was I thinking?? Picking up a horror thriller book? Knowing full well it’s not something I normally would read? Oh God. It was very gory and unsettling, felt like a nightmare. But not gonna lie I was enthralled.

Set during the early months of Covid-19, the story follows Cora Zeng, a 24 y.o. Chinese woman who just lost her half-sister Delilah in the hand of a masked white man. But Delilah isn’t the only victim. Working as a crime-scene cleaner, she’s dealing with human entrails which mostly were Asian girls or women. And there’s always bats in the scene, like it’s the serial killer’s signature.

Serial killer on the loose while the police only brushed off the cases, hungry ghost looming around because it’s the Ghost Month, resurgence of Sinophobia, on top of already having mysophobia, Cora’s life was constantly on edge. And I felt like I was going insane alongside her.

I had to pause my reading several times because I couldn’t bear it, but I couldn’t just stop and drop the book. I had to know how everything unfolded. And it didn’t disappoint! It was a wild silent ride that constantly made me question which one is real and which one is a sliver of Cora’s thoughts. There’s some things that left unclear until the end but I’ll let them slide I guess. Also Yifei is my fav character and I wished her story could be more explored. Poor girl:(

Natalie Naudus was amazing in narrating this book! I enjoyed her performance so much, no notes.

This book got so far under my skin that I finished it, then immediately made a vaccine appointment!

This is a young adult horror novel set during the COVID-19 lockdown. It follows Cora, a young Chinese American girl with a phobia of germs, who is also dealing with a recent and shocking trauma.

The themes of fear, hate, disease, isolation, family obligation and grief wind their way through the whole book. There were moments where I felt claustrophobic as I was drawn into Cora's life. I was rooting for her as she navigated her job, trouble with her aunt, lockdown, NYC and making new friends.

A slow creeping horror that mixes moments of levity and found family with existential dread.

Truly speechless about this book. It's one of the scariest books I've ever had the pleasure of reading, and in so many different ways. I love horror, especially horror that has something to say, and boy was this one impactful.

This book was INTENSE! Set during the pandemic, this anti Asian hate novel was horrifying and gory and something that really helped me understand that terrible time a little more. Like have we ever considered how much worse it may have been for others during the pandemic?

In this book, Asian women were being hunted. They weren’t being seen as human, and Cora, crime scene cleaner, was tired of literally scrubbing them off the walls. If you are a horror fan, I highly recommend this one! And I also recommend reading the author’s note!

Thank you so much Harlequin Audio for this ALC 🫶🏼

Thank you Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for granting my wish for this audiobook ALC!

This book sank its fangs into me. While set in a mist 2020 Covid-19 pandemic desolation, Kylie Lee Baker delivers a visceral, gory yet fiery novel of about murder-scene cleaner Cora Zeng. Cora has a hard time opening up to people especially after losing her guiding light of a sister, Delilah, during a rise in Chinese hate crimes. Baker does a phenomenal job crafting Cora with her sharp writing paired with Natalie Naudus’s mature narration. I became to like Cora’s coworker’s Yifei and Harvey along side Cora. This genre blending horror hit the spot appealing my love of mystery and horror with paranormal.

(LemonyReads System)
Characters/Depth/Growth - 9
Atmosphere - 10
World Building/Historical Accuracy - 9
Writing Style - 9
Pacing - 10
Plot / Conflict - 9
Dialogue - 8
Intrigue / Creativity - 8
Romance/Relationships - 8
Enjoyment - 10