2.5

I can't quite bump this to a three star because a three for me means I liked it but had issues with it. This one, I did not like.

Let me start by saying that this was one of my most anticipated reads of this year. I've read from Baker before and enjoyed her style quite a bit. However, while the writing was good, this book had so many pacing issues that it was not a "fun" experience for me. The beginning was explosive and gripping. As it continued, I found myself quite bored in places. Around the 50% mark is where the book lost me entirely and I continued just to finish the book. (Readathon).

As for the MC, I did not like being in her head. Everything was on a loop. She never really grew or changed her mindset, for good or ill. It started to grate on my nerves. I found the other characters in the story more interesting than her.

As for the horror, this book is gory for the sake of gore. Our MCs job requires it. She's a crime scene clean up person. It never had much of an impact for me because it was the MCs job. She didn't seem to mind doing the job, until she was scared of being targeted. It also lent to a lot of telling and never showing.

By the time we got to the "interesting" parts of the book, I was already checked out.

While this book does tackle some interesting elements, I just couldn't get invested. There was horror to be found, as well as some intriguing cultural elements but they weren't explored in a way that kept my attention.

Again, I was very excited for this book. I was also excited that this book would be tackling a recent horror for all of us. It just didn't have the punch I was looking for.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen and Review!

The protagonist was dealing with a lot - a pandemic, mental health, grief, differing expectations from both sides of her family, racism, hungry ghosts and a serial killer -- and I liked how all of the pieces came together. While reading, I felt like the end of the story (when those pieces came together) was stronger than the beginning (when they were presented), but thinking back after the fact, I'm feeling more generous about the beginning. There was a good balance between real life horrors and the creepy paranormal elements. And I'm looking forward to seeing what this author does in the future.

This was a super interesting listen! I was absolutely enthralled from start to finish! I got so lost in the story that I completely forgot I was working on a spreadsheet at work! You will fall quickly into this story and not realize how immersed you are until someone is trying to grab your attention!

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the advance listener copy! Loved this book and the narrator! Horror is not my usual genre but this book was so well written and moving. At turns I felt frustrated by Cora, sorrow and pity for her family life and, finally, enraged on her behalf. I loved her work friends and hated her maternal aunt. The book was a slow build to the horror but very worth it. Reading about the Co-Vid 19 era and the anti Asian sentiments that sprouted from that time was emotional for me. I also enjoyed the elements of Chinese folklore. Highly recommend!

Just wow. It’s weird to think of the aftermath of Covid since it feels like it just happened but Bat Eater dives into how it truly was for everyone. Including the ignorant comments towards Chinese people during that time. Cora and her sister are introduced during the height of COVID. Then you find out Cora is a crime scene cleaner. There’s a bit of supernatural element to this as well. You follow as Cora navigates her reality and it also has a hint of a murder mystery feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the copy of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker in exchange for an honest review!

I was absolutely enthralled the entire time I listened to this book. In the beginning, I was immediately immersed into Natalie Naudus‘ narration and also the story. Cora and her sister, Delilah were so intricate from their first interaction.

When tragedy, a hate crime driven by racism, struck, Cora is left without her sister, and without answers.

Throughout this poignant novel, we see the true depth of the worst of humanity that increased when COVID-19 came. The overwhelming uptick of crime against Asian people and communities was on full display, though the media (both in the story and real life) never covered it.

We follow Cora Zeng in her search for answers, with ghosts and killers surrounding her.

Kylie Lee Baker did a phenomenal job with this, and I think that even if this isn’t your normal genre, like me, it is such a great and important read.

4.5 stars rounded up

This was a horror in a multitude of ways, from the gore to human nature. Set in COVID-19. Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner dealing with obsessions, grief, and complexed family dynamics. The beginning was a bit slow but the narrative is compelling enough where it did not impact the experience. This is a violent, dark story with a strong social commentary about the pandemic, racism and xenophobia that can spark discussions and is worth the read. The narrator was compelling as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

Thank you for the ARC! This was my first ever audiobook, and it definitely won't be my last.

To begin, I think the narrator did a decent job. Her voice was expressive and it fit the characters well. When it was stressful, happy, or discontent, she was able to vocalize that very well.

As for the story itself, it was a fascinating, yet interesting listen (read?). I would vote it a 4.5, but for scoring purposes, it has been rounded up to a 5. I hadn't expected the book to contain supernatural elements, so it was very surprising. However, it does work well with the story so it didn't feel misplaced. The story explored the facets of the Asian experience in the United States, during COVID, very well; in doing so, it was a bit of a hard read. The book showcased the xenophobia that occurred and how it failed to discriminate the Asian population regardless of the variety of ethnicities. However, besides this hard topic, the book contains supernatural elements which creates a creepy aspect, making it very enjoyable. The book thoroughly examines Chinese culture, traditions, and beliefs; as an outsider of Chinese culture, it was very interesting to see the similarities to my own. I also appreciated the criticism of Asians themselves with the internalized racism that had developed post-COVID.

The writing was easy to follow along, was entertaining, and contained the right amount of details. It didn't feel boring and ended in a satisfying way. Similarly, the narrator did a fantastic job; she was well enunciated and spoke slowly, allowing for an easy grasp of every detail.

This book is so dark and tackles so many hard topics. Cora watches her sister being murdered at the beginning, and people are spewing racial hatred at her and her family on the regular. The person murdering Cora's sister called her "bat eater."
Set during the pandemic, fear was obviously at least part of the motivation, but there is a pattern of these crimes and Cora is trying to navigate life while working as a crime scene cleaner.
I liked her friends and family and the way they talked, but overall this was so harsh and realistic (I guess except for possibly the ghosts). My feelings felt bruised at the end, but not in a bad way, this is a very good book, and the audio is very well done.

Bat Eater is a supernatural horror that will grab you from the beginning.

Cora Zeng is born biracial with a white mother and Chinese father who both abandoned her to be raised by family, sometimes aunts or her older sister who she worshipped. When her sister is murdered in a hate crime by being pushed in front of a train it changes Cora’s life.

Becoming a crime scene cleaner brings haunting memories.

I would give this book 4 stars. Publishing date 4/29/2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for this audio ARC copy for an honest review.

Characters: 4⭐️
Setting: 3⭐️
Plot: 3.5⭐️
Themes: 4⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 3⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3⭐️
Overall rating: 3.5/5⭐️

This book tackles themes of grief, racial trauma and indifference, Chinese folklore and mythology, and body horror.

This horror thriller combines real-world trauma centered around the COVID pandemic in New York. Following, 24 year old Cora Zeng a Chinese-American who works as a crime scene cleaner. After the traumatic death of her sister, as her world begins to unravel.

I enjoyed the Chinese folklore of the Hungry Ghost Festival. I like when a book can teach me something new. This book tackles a lot of really harsh and disturbing truths behind the pandemic. I also enjoyed that there is moments of humor speckled throughout, to lighten the dark subject matter.

I’m not sure I have ever listened to a book by this narrator before but I absolutely will again!
Bakers book hooked me from the very start. And she expertly weaves a story of racism and mystery steeped in mystical horror and folklore.
baker writes about grief and loneliness and the rise in anti Asian sentiment during Covid in a clear and honest, real way.
This book has the weirdest dark humor that i immediately fell in love with. There were descriptions in this book that made me cringe with Cora in the way she experiences and analyzes things. I absolutely adorded this and would highly recommend it to anyone.

4.5 stars!

This is one of those books that I saw before the buzz started and I knew it was going to be something for me. The name doesn't mean a lot at first glance, but after reading this, I get it, and I realize that it was my privilege that kept me from understanding.
We follow Cora during early COVID in New York as she does her job as a crime scene cleaner. Cora has a lot of hang-ups, and one of them is cleanliness. Really, she has a lot of anxieties and has since she was a child. She just lost her sister and now has hungry ghosts following her.
She has some great friends to help her, but these hungry ghosts are not messing around.

The political commentary here is subtle but powerful. It opened my eyes to the really horrible things that happened to a whole race of people during COVID and beyond. I love when I can read horror with a message, and this book lived up to that. Thank you to Harlequin Audio for the advanced listener copy. The narration by Natalie Naudus was excellent!

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is an excellent addition to the horror genre with a surprising amount of depth. I’m the rare person who actually gravitates towards, rather than away from, Covid-era stories, as I tend to find them cathartic in some way. Bat Eater provides a fresh take (and if, unlike me, you don’t tend to enjoy pandemic era tales, rest assured that it’s not an overbearing element of the story), focusing on the wave of prejudice and aggression visited upon Asian Americans in this era.
Thoughtful, action packed, disturbing, and haunting, I highly recommend this story.

Natalie Naudus did an excellent job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Kylie Lee Baker, Harlequin Trade Publishing, MIRA, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is the kind of horror novel that stays with you—scratching at the back of your mind long after you’ve turned the last page. Cora, a crime scene cleaner navigating both external violence and internal grief, is one of the most original and layered protagonists I’ve read in ages. Her obsessive fears, vivid hallucinations, and cultural disconnection are explored with such eerie precision, it’s impossible not to feel like you’re unraveling right alongside her.

This book is bloody, yes—but also deeply emotional and sharply political. It doesn’t flinch when confronting the real-life hate and horror East Asians endured during the pandemic, blending supernatural elements with social commentary in a way that feels both cathartic and terrifying. It’s equal parts ghost story, psychological descent, and murder mystery, laced with biting dark humor and a creeping sense of dread.

It’s messy. It’s bold. It’s uncomfortably relevant. And it’s brilliant.

The audio production was top-notch. Highly recommend for anyone looking to step into a new genre.

This book was so good! It made me think and it made me squirm. I have dnf’d some previous “pandemic” books but this one was different. It has an important message it is just covered in blood at times.

Cora Zeng is a quiet young adult living in New York. She spends her time with her remaining relatives and her coworkers as they clean up crime scenes. They’re a misfit group, but work well together, and the gory mess doesn’t bother them. That is until Cora uncovers a dead bat at one of the scenes. As more bats keep showing up it’s clear they’re cleaning up after a serial killer. Not only that, it’s Ghost Month and they’re out and very hungry. Cora never believed in that part of her culture, but she can’t ignore the teeth marks in her coffee table and now…she can see them. Can Cora figure out who is killing these Asian women? And can she keep these ghosts at bay?

All jokes aside, this book was so surprising.

I went in to it thinking it would be a typical horror/thriller novel. It would be quick, maybe have a few surprises, and a few spooky parts. Not much to be examined or held on to, but I was wrong. This book was so unexpected in the best way.
I did not expect to laugh, cry, feel heartbroken, and ashamed for what I know is not unusual racist behavior in America. I didn’t expect this book to hook me from the start and leave me crying at the end. I didn’t expect it to have so much heart.
It’s a horror novel that reads like a contemporary fiction novel and I LOVED that.
The narration for the audio is incredible. @natalienaudus does such an amazing job at capturing the ranges of emotion that come with paranoia and fear of the uncontrollable, she brings levity, she adds enough spook factor that I got goosebumps more than once (!), she conveys the nuances of grief, heartbreak, and desperation so well that you can’t help but feel them too.
Read this book, or listen to it (highly recommended), and then continue into the authors note. Listening to Kylie Lee Baker talk about life post covid and how we grieve what we lost but celebrate the little joys is just 😭😭. I cannot recommend this book enough. If you can handle some gore, death, scary/spooky scenes, then you NEED to add this book to your list. It’s only May but this is my favorite book of 2025. The bar has been set high and I will be surprised if anyone passes it.
Thank you Harlequin audio and NetGalley for the audiobook. It was incredible!

Wow. If chapter one doesn't reel you in, nothing will. This book offers something for everyone. Like horror? You'll love all the ghosts, creepy vibes, blood, and guts. Like mysteries? Someone is killing Asians in 2020 New York and leaving bats at the scene like a calling card. Like diverse characters? The characters are well fleshed out, endearing, and even the hungry ghost grew on me by the end.

If you enjoy social realism with dark humor, ghosts, and a serial killer murder mystery, you will love Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng.

Natalie Naudus is excellent and I enjoyed her phrasing, inflections, and choices for character voices so much I've replaced my internal narrator voice with her voice!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the digital audiobook in return for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ARC of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng.

Cora lives in the shadow of her sister, Delilah, until her sister is killed in front of her in an extremely violent, gruesome way. Now she is trying to find herself during the COVID-19 pandemic in NYC, in a time when anti-Asian hate crime is at an all time high, and isolation means survival. Working as a crime scene cleaner, Cora and her coworkers notice increasing numbers of violent crimes against East-Asian women. When law enforcement and the media neglect to help, Cora and her friends lean into their culture in search of justice for the murder victims.
This story is steeped in Chinese spiritual world concepts, grief, anger, and fear. It is viscerally lyrical. Disgusting and cringeworthy at times. Other themes explored are family, tradition, obsessive cleanliness, self-loathing, sibling rivalry, identity, purpose, racism, cultural practices, religion, gore, and human fragility.
As someone who reads a decent amount of horror, this book was almost too gory for me at times! I still enjoyed it, even thought the setting is not something that I (or anyone else that made it out of 2020 alive) want to relive anytime soon.
Authors note: "Do not let your empathy stop at the borders of your own community."

Unfortunately this book was not for me. I thought the narrator was great but I just didn't click with the story. Nothing against the author, I'm sure others will love this book.

Thanks for the chance to review.