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Japanese Gothic
2026
Lee can't remember exactly where he hid the body, but he can remember the blood. Hiding out at his father's centuries-old home in Japan, Lee knows something is wrong with him, and he knows it has something to do with his mother's disappearance almost a decade ago.
1877
A female samurai, Sen, stalks the borders of her home to protect her family from slaughter after the abolition of the samurai class. She's not sure how they'll ever survive, not without her father, who has returned from war with a different soul behind his eyes.
When Lee and Sen find one another through a door between their worlds, they're both looking for answers. But what they find in the creaking old house they share is beyond what either of them could imagine...
Lee can't remember exactly where he hid the body, but he can remember the blood. Hiding out at his father's centuries-old home in Japan, Lee knows something is wrong with him, and he knows it has something to do with his mother's disappearance almost a decade ago.
1877
A female samurai, Sen, stalks the borders of her home to protect her family from slaughter after the abolition of the samurai class. She's not sure how they'll ever survive, not without her father, who has returned from war with a different soul behind his eyes.
When Lee and Sen find one another through a door between their worlds, they're both looking for answers. But what they find in the creaking old house they share is beyond what either of them could imagine...
368 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2026
About the author
Kylie Lee Baker
16 books2,909 followersKylie Lee Baker grew up in Boston and has since lived in Atlanta, Salamanca, and Seoul. Her work is informed by her heritage (Japanese, Chinese, & Irish) as well as her experiences living abroad as both a student and teacher. She has a BA in creative writing and Spanish from Emory University and is pursuing a master of library and information science degree at Simmons University. In her free time, she plays the cello, watches horror movies, and bakes too many cookies. The Keeper of Night is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,882 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Nothing to see here, just a creaking old house behind the sword ferns with an unexplained creepy blood stain, what could possibly go wrong.
As I sit here in stunned silence, trying to pen a review for Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker, all that comes to mind is that this story is a mind fuck in all the ways. And I usually can chit chat about books to the death (pun unintended?). And yet. I’ve been rendered speechless upon finishing.
Anyway, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be rendered speechless for this, because I think it’s best to go into Japanese Gothic relatively blind. I mean it. Don’t even read the blurb if you want to maximise your reveal enjoyment.
Just for a little aesthetic scene-set-up, this book goes beyond gothic horror.
I'm no genre classification expert, but I perceived this as a big old mash up of horror, sci-fi, cosmic horror, folklore, historical fiction/horror, family drama, a little splash of splatterpunk and lit fic. Yes.
And the vibes are sword ferns, creepy forest, infinite ocean, unreliable narrator, katanas, blood and a tinge of claustrophobia.
No context spoiler-free alternative title names, just for shits and giggles:
1. “How to NOT parent 101, no matter what century you’re living in”.
2. "To trust or not to trust turtles? A guide to Japanese folklore.”
3. “10 reasons why the patriarchy is cooked in every culture and every timeline.”
4. “Your anti-anxiety drugs can’t save you now.”
5. "Why a small dead girl haunting you is the least of your problems."
In a nutshell, I found Japanese Gothic a little slower to start than I did Bat Eater (one of my favourite books of 2025) but not to worry. Once the plot gets going, oh it gets going. The slow-build dread crescendos. And while it has a different pace and tone to the initial head-smashed-by-a-locomotive-splatter of Bat Eater, I ended up appreciating it just as much. Daresay this will fall into my top 3 horror reads of 2026, let’s see!
Highly recommend!
Thanks so much to Hodder & Stoughton & Netgalley for the ARC!
As I sit here in stunned silence, trying to pen a review for Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker, all that comes to mind is that this story is a mind fuck in all the ways. And I usually can chit chat about books to the death (pun unintended?). And yet. I’ve been rendered speechless upon finishing.
Anyway, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be rendered speechless for this, because I think it’s best to go into Japanese Gothic relatively blind. I mean it. Don’t even read the blurb if you want to maximise your reveal enjoyment.
Just for a little aesthetic scene-set-up, this book goes beyond gothic horror.
I'm no genre classification expert, but I perceived this as a big old mash up of horror, sci-fi, cosmic horror, folklore, historical fiction/horror, family drama, a little splash of splatterpunk and lit fic. Yes.
And the vibes are sword ferns, creepy forest, infinite ocean, unreliable narrator, katanas, blood and a tinge of claustrophobia.
No context spoiler-free alternative title names, just for shits and giggles:
1. “How to NOT parent 101, no matter what century you’re living in”.
2. "To trust or not to trust turtles? A guide to Japanese folklore.”
3. “10 reasons why the patriarchy is cooked in every culture and every timeline.”
4. “Your anti-anxiety drugs can’t save you now.”
5. "Why a small dead girl haunting you is the least of your problems."
In a nutshell, I found Japanese Gothic a little slower to start than I did Bat Eater (one of my favourite books of 2025) but not to worry. Once the plot gets going, oh it gets going. The slow-build dread crescendos. And while it has a different pace and tone to the initial head-smashed-by-a-locomotive-splatter of Bat Eater, I ended up appreciating it just as much. Daresay this will fall into my top 3 horror reads of 2026, let’s see!
Highly recommend!
Thanks so much to Hodder & Stoughton & Netgalley for the ARC!
June 14, 2026
A mind-exploding, bone-shivering gothic nightmare wrapped in Japanese mythology, samurai legacy, and time-bending terror — this book is an exquisitely strange, intoxicating, and utterly original experience. It’s the kind of story that freezes your blood like black ice while melting your last remaining brain cells with its wild, labyrinthine twists. If you’re open to something daringly unique, unsettling, and beautifully crafted, this novel delivers a literary punch straight to the soul.
At its core, the story follows two young people separated by centuries yet bound by a single impossible door — a door that threads together their tragedies, their families, and their destinies. The same house. The same threshold. Two different eras.
The first timeline begins in October 2026. Lee Turner is spiraling after a horrifying blackout: he’s convinced he killed his college roommate James… yet he can’t remember how, why, or what he did with the body. With panic clawing at his throat and pills numbing his memories, Lee flees to Japan, where his father has just purchased an isolated house swallowed by sword ferns and wild ginger. All he can do is wait — wait for the police to call, wait for the body to surface, wait for the truth he fears will crush him.
But the house has other plans for him.
While Lee tries to navigate the suffocating tension with his father and his father’s unsettling girlfriend — who keeps whispering horrific folktales like they’re family heirlooms — something truly impossible happens. A window appears where no window has ever been. And behind it stands a young Japanese girl holding a sword, her expression sharp enough to slice through the barrier of time.
Her name is Sen.
Sen lives in 1877, in the same house, with her mother, her brother, and her samurai father — a man exiled after the fall of the samurai and hunted by imperial soldiers. Sen trains relentlessly under his harsh expectations. Honor is her currency. Obedience is survival. Earning her father’s approval means everything.
When she realizes she is a ghost from the past — and that her death is only days away — Sen accepts her fate with a warrior's discipline. But she seeks one final thing: an honorable end worthy of her father’s praise.
As their worlds collide through the doorway, Lee and Sen form a fragile, haunting connection. Lee wants her help to reach the spirit of his mother, who vanished in Cambodia and was presumed dead. If he can connect with Sen, perhaps he can connect with the one ghost who has haunted him since childhood.
But digging for truth — in any century — always comes with a price.
And sometimes the secrets waiting behind the veil are far more monstrous than the horrors already consuming their lives.
The real terror isn’t the ghosts. It’s the truth.
Overall, while a few twists are somewhat foreseeable, the atmosphere of walking through a fog-choked forest with no map is the book’s greatest strength. The slow burn works beautifully, and the integration of Japanese folklore — the legend of Urashima Tarō, the sorrowful tale of Otohime — adds a shimmering, haunting layer that binds everything together. The mythology doesn’t just enhance the story; it becomes its heartbeat.
I adored the chilling ambiance, the exploration of dysfunctional family dynamics, and the aching loneliness that drives these characters toward each other. There’s a raw fragility beneath the terror that makes this novel more than horror — it becomes a tragic meditation on identity, devotion, and the dangerous things we inherit.
It’s sensational, eerie, mind-bending, emotionally layered, and so beautifully written that you feel every whisper, every shadow, every blade. I wholeheartedly recommend it. I’m certain this will stand as one of the best fantasy horror releases of 2026.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing / Hanover Square Press for sharing this darkly enchanting gothic horror’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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At its core, the story follows two young people separated by centuries yet bound by a single impossible door — a door that threads together their tragedies, their families, and their destinies. The same house. The same threshold. Two different eras.
The first timeline begins in October 2026. Lee Turner is spiraling after a horrifying blackout: he’s convinced he killed his college roommate James… yet he can’t remember how, why, or what he did with the body. With panic clawing at his throat and pills numbing his memories, Lee flees to Japan, where his father has just purchased an isolated house swallowed by sword ferns and wild ginger. All he can do is wait — wait for the police to call, wait for the body to surface, wait for the truth he fears will crush him.
But the house has other plans for him.
While Lee tries to navigate the suffocating tension with his father and his father’s unsettling girlfriend — who keeps whispering horrific folktales like they’re family heirlooms — something truly impossible happens. A window appears where no window has ever been. And behind it stands a young Japanese girl holding a sword, her expression sharp enough to slice through the barrier of time.
Her name is Sen.
Sen lives in 1877, in the same house, with her mother, her brother, and her samurai father — a man exiled after the fall of the samurai and hunted by imperial soldiers. Sen trains relentlessly under his harsh expectations. Honor is her currency. Obedience is survival. Earning her father’s approval means everything.
When she realizes she is a ghost from the past — and that her death is only days away — Sen accepts her fate with a warrior's discipline. But she seeks one final thing: an honorable end worthy of her father’s praise.
As their worlds collide through the doorway, Lee and Sen form a fragile, haunting connection. Lee wants her help to reach the spirit of his mother, who vanished in Cambodia and was presumed dead. If he can connect with Sen, perhaps he can connect with the one ghost who has haunted him since childhood.
But digging for truth — in any century — always comes with a price.
And sometimes the secrets waiting behind the veil are far more monstrous than the horrors already consuming their lives.
The real terror isn’t the ghosts. It’s the truth.
Overall, while a few twists are somewhat foreseeable, the atmosphere of walking through a fog-choked forest with no map is the book’s greatest strength. The slow burn works beautifully, and the integration of Japanese folklore — the legend of Urashima Tarō, the sorrowful tale of Otohime — adds a shimmering, haunting layer that binds everything together. The mythology doesn’t just enhance the story; it becomes its heartbeat.
I adored the chilling ambiance, the exploration of dysfunctional family dynamics, and the aching loneliness that drives these characters toward each other. There’s a raw fragility beneath the terror that makes this novel more than horror — it becomes a tragic meditation on identity, devotion, and the dangerous things we inherit.
It’s sensational, eerie, mind-bending, emotionally layered, and so beautifully written that you feel every whisper, every shadow, every blade. I wholeheartedly recommend it. I’m certain this will stand as one of the best fantasy horror releases of 2026.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing / Hanover Square Press for sharing this darkly enchanting gothic horror’s digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
Follow me on medium.com to read my articles about books, movies, streaming series, astrology:
medium blog
May 9, 2026
Phenomenal!!! If you’re looking for a book that fills you with a sense of impending doom where you constantly feel like something terrible is going to happen, look no further!!
Japanese Gothic follows two timelines- one in present day following Lee, a college student that murdered his roommate as he flees to stay with his father in a secluded home in Japan, and as he’s haunted by the unexplained disappearance of his mother, who was just legally declared dead.
The other takes place in 1877 and follows Sen, who’s been training to be a samurai since she was young as she deals with the aftermath of the samurai rebellion where all samurai’s have been killed, all except Sen’s father, who came back a changed man.
Both timelines take place in the same home, and it’s all about how their stories intertwine. There’s plenty of creepy supernatural/haunting elements as both the past and present meld together, a lot of bloody + violent imagery, its steeped in Japanese mythology, and features one of the most unique atmospheres I’ve ever read in a horror book.
Between this and Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, Kylie Lee Baker is writing some of the best horror today.
Definitely a new fav of the year!!
Japanese Gothic follows two timelines- one in present day following Lee, a college student that murdered his roommate as he flees to stay with his father in a secluded home in Japan, and as he’s haunted by the unexplained disappearance of his mother, who was just legally declared dead.
The other takes place in 1877 and follows Sen, who’s been training to be a samurai since she was young as she deals with the aftermath of the samurai rebellion where all samurai’s have been killed, all except Sen’s father, who came back a changed man.
Both timelines take place in the same home, and it’s all about how their stories intertwine. There’s plenty of creepy supernatural/haunting elements as both the past and present meld together, a lot of bloody + violent imagery, its steeped in Japanese mythology, and features one of the most unique atmospheres I’ve ever read in a horror book.
Between this and Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, Kylie Lee Baker is writing some of the best horror today.
Definitely a new fav of the year!!
May 5, 2026
Fantastically written and oozing with atmosphere! Truly unlike anything I’ve read recently.
May 14, 2026
Wow. What a beautifully crafted book. The ending completely transformed my experience, saving the story in such a profound way. Until that moment, I was filled with frustration and annoyance, but that conclusion left me in a state of emotional upheaval. Tears kept flowing as I finished, and I truly believe this author has a remarkable talent for delivering powerful endings to complex stories.
The atmosphere of the book, with its gradual buildup of tension and anxiety, was incredibly effective. The detailed descriptions of the house and setting contributed profoundly to this feeling, immersing me in a world where every element made me feel increasingly trapped and uneasy.
This story revolves around two incredibly lonely souls who discover in each other a kindred spirit. They don't face issues in the typical sense, rather, they deal with similar struggles, and watching their bond develop was truly touching. For me, that bond felt like genuine friendship, a sense of family. Although others might interpret their relationship as romantic, I perceived it as something more profound.
Lee was my favorite protagonist among the two in the story. The narrative is presented in a dual point of view and timeline, and his chapters captivated me the most. He was an overwhelmingly sad and lonely boy hiding a horrifying secret, one so disturbing that he had to destroy himself to believe his own lies. His character deeply resonated with me, tugging at my heartstrings in a way few characters have.
Sen was a much more complicated character for me to connect with. Despite sharing similarities with Lee, I struggled to relate to her. From the very beginning, she struck me as unlikable. Her lines often came across as cringeworthy, making her hard to take seriously. She appeared to embody the classic cold, lost girl archetype, a protagonist shaped by her daddy issues, which drove me to near madness with frustration. However, by the end of the story, I found myself somewhat sympathizing with her. I started to see past her walls and realize she was stronger than she believed, loving her toxic family in a way I may never fully understand. And you know what? That’s okay because, for her, that love was enough.
What more can I say? Honestly, I was inclined to give this story just one star until I reached the third part of the book. That was when everything clicked for me, and I started to see the story from a new perspective, with renewed feelings.
In conclusion, I know I will have a hard time healing after that ending, as it left my emotions raw and deeply affected.
The atmosphere of the book, with its gradual buildup of tension and anxiety, was incredibly effective. The detailed descriptions of the house and setting contributed profoundly to this feeling, immersing me in a world where every element made me feel increasingly trapped and uneasy.
This story revolves around two incredibly lonely souls who discover in each other a kindred spirit. They don't face issues in the typical sense, rather, they deal with similar struggles, and watching their bond develop was truly touching. For me, that bond felt like genuine friendship, a sense of family. Although others might interpret their relationship as romantic, I perceived it as something more profound.
Lee was my favorite protagonist among the two in the story. The narrative is presented in a dual point of view and timeline, and his chapters captivated me the most. He was an overwhelmingly sad and lonely boy hiding a horrifying secret, one so disturbing that he had to destroy himself to believe his own lies. His character deeply resonated with me, tugging at my heartstrings in a way few characters have.
Sen was a much more complicated character for me to connect with. Despite sharing similarities with Lee, I struggled to relate to her. From the very beginning, she struck me as unlikable. Her lines often came across as cringeworthy, making her hard to take seriously. She appeared to embody the classic cold, lost girl archetype, a protagonist shaped by her daddy issues, which drove me to near madness with frustration. However, by the end of the story, I found myself somewhat sympathizing with her. I started to see past her walls and realize she was stronger than she believed, loving her toxic family in a way I may never fully understand. And you know what? That’s okay because, for her, that love was enough.
What more can I say? Honestly, I was inclined to give this story just one star until I reached the third part of the book. That was when everything clicked for me, and I started to see the story from a new perspective, with renewed feelings.
In conclusion, I know I will have a hard time healing after that ending, as it left my emotions raw and deeply affected.
December 6, 2025
I love an author with a range. But it is also kind of incomprehensible to me how Kylie Lee Baker writes stories suitable for younger readers and then the most horrific and tense horror novels ever. And when I say 'horrific', I mean it. Almost every chapter had the main characters doing terrible things or thinking the darkest thoughts possible, or it was just straight-up bloodshed and gore. There were many scenes that made me sick to my stomach, but I also didn't know if I wanted to gag or to cry. What I did know was that I needed to keep reading. It was an experience.
The story follows two main characters in different timelines that are impossibly intertwined. In present day there is Lee Turner. His father just moved to a remote house in Japan, his mother is missing, presumed dead and Lee himself just killed his roommate without really knowing why he did it or where he put the dead body. He is more or less constantly sedated and has a twisted perception of reality, but he is sure that his father's new house is strangely otherworldly. In 1877, Sen, the daughter of a samurai, lives in the very same house, and while she tries her best to become the soulless warrior that her father trains her to be, she's often struggling with his way of life. The beginning of the book really was a lot, but I was intrigued by literally everything that was mentioned. Kylie Lee Baker somehow does more character work for Lee and Sen in their respective first chapters than other authors manage in an entire book. It's definitely a character-focused story and both characters live in a horrible reality. Lee is clearly struggling with his mental health and a broken family that no one even tries to repair. And Sen is learning an honorable but bloody craft in a time where the samurai are already annihilated and the desperately needed validation of her father might as well be unreachable.
It's a time-bending ghost story, both modern and historical, and it's full of supernatural and real-life horrors. It was difficult to predict how everything would connect, because the book offers a whole variety of themes and plot elements. From lost parents and dead roommates to existential fear to an impossible doorway through time to the meaning of the ocean and turtles. There was a Japanese tale imbedded into the story and I was sure that it would play a big role in the reveals, but I ultimately didn't love the way how it was connected to Lee and Sen. The last 20% were pretty confusing to me, because characters were dying but not really and then for real, and while some things were definitely unexpected, it just wasn't super satisfying to me. This issue might be resolved upon re-read when I can look for the right hints from the start. I still only remove half a star from my rating, because the other 80% of the book were so very powerful, yet tragic in every way. Japanese Gothic kinda felt like the sad (bawling-my-eyes-out) parts in a Makoto Shinkai movie, but if it were really twisted, bloody and covered in gore. I say that because there is also an undeniable romantic quality to this book. As I said, it is an experience.
I now greedily await more horror books by Kylie Lee Baker, because both Bat Eater and Japanese Gothic were outstanding highlights that left a lasting impression on me. In the meantime I'm definitely gonna tackle her YA backlist and I know that she won't disappoint me there either.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows two main characters in different timelines that are impossibly intertwined. In present day there is Lee Turner. His father just moved to a remote house in Japan, his mother is missing, presumed dead and Lee himself just killed his roommate without really knowing why he did it or where he put the dead body. He is more or less constantly sedated and has a twisted perception of reality, but he is sure that his father's new house is strangely otherworldly. In 1877, Sen, the daughter of a samurai, lives in the very same house, and while she tries her best to become the soulless warrior that her father trains her to be, she's often struggling with his way of life. The beginning of the book really was a lot, but I was intrigued by literally everything that was mentioned. Kylie Lee Baker somehow does more character work for Lee and Sen in their respective first chapters than other authors manage in an entire book. It's definitely a character-focused story and both characters live in a horrible reality. Lee is clearly struggling with his mental health and a broken family that no one even tries to repair. And Sen is learning an honorable but bloody craft in a time where the samurai are already annihilated and the desperately needed validation of her father might as well be unreachable.
It's a time-bending ghost story, both modern and historical, and it's full of supernatural and real-life horrors. It was difficult to predict how everything would connect, because the book offers a whole variety of themes and plot elements. From lost parents and dead roommates to existential fear to an impossible doorway through time to the meaning of the ocean and turtles. There was a Japanese tale imbedded into the story and I was sure that it would play a big role in the reveals, but I ultimately didn't love the way how it was connected to Lee and Sen. The last 20% were pretty confusing to me, because characters were dying but not really and then for real, and while some things were definitely unexpected, it just wasn't super satisfying to me. This issue might be resolved upon re-read when I can look for the right hints from the start. I still only remove half a star from my rating, because the other 80% of the book were so very powerful, yet tragic in every way. Japanese Gothic kinda felt like the sad (bawling-my-eyes-out) parts in a Makoto Shinkai movie, but if it were really twisted, bloody and covered in gore. I say that because there is also an undeniable romantic quality to this book. As I said, it is an experience.
I now greedily await more horror books by Kylie Lee Baker, because both Bat Eater and Japanese Gothic were outstanding highlights that left a lasting impression on me. In the meantime I'm definitely gonna tackle her YA backlist and I know that she won't disappoint me there either.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
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May 9, 2026Gothic, atmospheric, and beautifully written
Japanese Gothic completely was a great immersive read. The writing is fantastic, and the story pulled me in with its gothic atmosphere, dual timelines, and time-slip elements. I’m a sucker for time travel plotlines anyway, but this one used that connection in a way that made the story feel even more haunting and immersive.
The two timelines kept me invested, and once I settled into the characters and how everything connected, I was fully in. The story has that eerie, psychological, morally unsettling feel that makes gothic fiction work so well.
Natalie Naudus’s narration fit this story so beautifully. Even with single narration, the performance felt smooth, atmospheric, and completely in line with the gothic tone. I never felt pulled out of the story.
Overall, I really loved this. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy gothic horror, dual timelines, time-slip stories, strong atmosphere, and writing that makes the unease slowly crawl under your skin.
Japanese Gothic completely was a great immersive read. The writing is fantastic, and the story pulled me in with its gothic atmosphere, dual timelines, and time-slip elements. I’m a sucker for time travel plotlines anyway, but this one used that connection in a way that made the story feel even more haunting and immersive.
The two timelines kept me invested, and once I settled into the characters and how everything connected, I was fully in. The story has that eerie, psychological, morally unsettling feel that makes gothic fiction work so well.
Natalie Naudus’s narration fit this story so beautifully. Even with single narration, the performance felt smooth, atmospheric, and completely in line with the gothic tone. I never felt pulled out of the story.
Overall, I really loved this. I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy gothic horror, dual timelines, time-slip stories, strong atmosphere, and writing that makes the unease slowly crawl under your skin.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!
tw: domestic violence
whewwww, i am completely blown away by japanese gothic, and honestly, i can’t say much in my review without spoiling the book because it took me up until the very end to fully understand the plot baker crafted. like, i thought i was actually going crazy omg!
as for the audio, the narrator is natalie naudus, and while i do think she’s a great narrator, i feel that she can be so monotonous at times.
i’m very excited to attend one of kylie lee baker’s events in a couple of weeks, and hear her thoughts on the writing process for japanese gothic!
——
very excited to dive into this read as i've recently become a big fan of baker!
also very excited to attend one of her events next month!!
tw: domestic violence
whewwww, i am completely blown away by japanese gothic, and honestly, i can’t say much in my review without spoiling the book because it took me up until the very end to fully understand the plot baker crafted. like, i thought i was actually going crazy omg!
as for the audio, the narrator is natalie naudus, and while i do think she’s a great narrator, i feel that she can be so monotonous at times.
i’m very excited to attend one of kylie lee baker’s events in a couple of weeks, and hear her thoughts on the writing process for japanese gothic!
——
very excited to dive into this read as i've recently become a big fan of baker!
also very excited to attend one of her events next month!!
May 12, 2026
4! That ENDING! Mind bending! I was trying to solve this like a puzzle. This was DARK. A buried truth that connects the fates!
2026 and 1877--a supernatural door that connects worlds in a Japanese house, uncovering dark secrets and ancient horrors beneath the sword ferns. It's a historical fiction with blend of Japanese mythology and gothic fiction.
Will the story blur lines between reality and delusion?
FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW!
2026 and 1877--a supernatural door that connects worlds in a Japanese house, uncovering dark secrets and ancient horrors beneath the sword ferns. It's a historical fiction with blend of Japanese mythology and gothic fiction.
Will the story blur lines between reality and delusion?
FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
East Asian horror > East Asian fantasy 🕷️🔪⛓️🖤🥀🩸
BAT EATER was one of my fav ARCs of all time.
This is a story told in four parts: 1) The Door, 2) The Sword, 3) The Turtle, and 4) The Beginning.
I was a tad bit worried when we started off with white boy Lee having green eyes, but it all went uphill from there. In the present, Lee is a little lost. He keeps himself drugged to function. His white father only dates Japanese women. But don't worry, these women aren't for marrying. /s
Ativan is mentioned a lot, but the generic name for this is lorazepam. [insert WHITE LOTUS meme]
Lee flees New York after thinking he murders his roommate. He doesn't remember how. He only remembers seeing a lot of blood.
In the past, Sen is the only remaining daughter in a samurai family. It's heartbreaking when you find out why. The time of the samurai is over. Her father is aimless, having no drive. Her brothers are incredibly useless and don't know how to wield swords.
Lee and Sen meet. How, you may ask? I say don’t ask questions.
Is Lee’s mom dead? Did he kill her? Did his dad kill her? Did she just run away? What happened to Lee’s roommate? What is going on in his head? What is going on irl?
What happened to Hina? And her storyline? And why she was acting so shady? Would love to see this explored in the final version.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press
BAT EATER was one of my fav ARCs of all time.
This is a story told in four parts: 1) The Door, 2) The Sword, 3) The Turtle, and 4) The Beginning.
I was a tad bit worried when we started off with white boy Lee having green eyes, but it all went uphill from there. In the present, Lee is a little lost. He keeps himself drugged to function. His white father only dates Japanese women. But don't worry, these women aren't for marrying. /s
Ativan is mentioned a lot, but the generic name for this is lorazepam. [insert WHITE LOTUS meme]
Lee flees New York after thinking he murders his roommate. He doesn't remember how. He only remembers seeing a lot of blood.
In the past, Sen is the only remaining daughter in a samurai family. It's heartbreaking when you find out why. The time of the samurai is over. Her father is aimless, having no drive. Her brothers are incredibly useless and don't know how to wield swords.
Lee and Sen meet. How, you may ask? I say don’t ask questions.
Is Lee’s mom dead? Did he kill her? Did his dad kill her? Did she just run away? What happened to Lee’s roommate? What is going on in his head? What is going on irl?
What happened to Hina? And her storyline? And why she was acting so shady? Would love to see this explored in the final version.
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press
March 26, 2026
Wow! This gothic horror novel was haunting, mysterious and filled with twists! This book also has historical fiction, a dual timeline and Japanese mythology in it. It is unsettling, eerie, dark, emotional, tense and sad. I will admit that I did cry while reading this book. It is an emotionally heavy read. One of the timelines is in the year of 1877, while the other one is set in October of 2026. While I was reading it, the book felt very dreamlike. It was more like a fever dream, with everything that happens.
The world building and atmosphere were top notch in this book. The setting fit the story, felt realistic and has a lyrical atmosphere. The writing was clear and the flaws of the characters were the main focus. The plot was suspenseful, action packed, twisty and gripping! It comes with a satisfying conclusion and a deep meaning. This book does have some heavy trigger warnings, be sure to keep that in mind. There is no doubt that this book will be a big hit for horror lovers, when it gets released! Overall, I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars rating!
Thank you to NetGalley, author Kylie Lee Baker, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Hanover Square Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to be released on April 14, 2026!
The world building and atmosphere were top notch in this book. The setting fit the story, felt realistic and has a lyrical atmosphere. The writing was clear and the flaws of the characters were the main focus. The plot was suspenseful, action packed, twisty and gripping! It comes with a satisfying conclusion and a deep meaning. This book does have some heavy trigger warnings, be sure to keep that in mind. There is no doubt that this book will be a big hit for horror lovers, when it gets released! Overall, I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars rating!
Thank you to NetGalley, author Kylie Lee Baker, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Hanover Square Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
This book is set to be released on April 14, 2026!
April 14, 2026
Happy release day to this masterpiece!!!🎉🎉
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
One thing you must know about me is that 'Japanese' and 'Gothic' are two of my favourite words ever. That, and the fact that Kylie Lee Baker's adult debut 'Bat Eater' is one of my favourite horror novels ever meant that my expectations could not have been higher. 'Japanese Gothic' surpassed my expectations in every way and I have to say that for me, KLB has singlehandedly raised the bar for what horror should be.
As befits any good gothic novel, the atmosphere here was exquisitely crafted. The house behind the sword ferns, a place that seemed almost suspended in time, had the perfect claustrophobic feel and eeriness that just so blurred the line between what was real and what wasn't. What really stood out to me was Baker's ability to bring even the tiniest motion to life- every swish of the sword ferns, every sunray that struck the floorboards, every whisper of the wind gliding through the house when its sliding doors were left open. I've become very nitpicky when it comes to atmosphere and aesthetics in books (having read so many good ones before), but 'Japanese Gothic' succeeded in every way. The prose was mesmerizing and hypnotic. The tension in the narrative was palpable and it had an almost...breathless quality to it. I'm sure this will appeal to many fans of the horror genre. I don't exaggerate when I say that this is the most cinematic reading experience I've ever had. This book literally read like a film unfolding in front of my eyes; it was that immersive.
Both Lee and Sen were memorable characters in their own right. Lee's mental health struggles, isolation and almost-invisibility were well-written. Sen, on the other hand, was honed to become a human weapon, unfeeling and without a soul. Both found the one person who truly saw them in a different timeline. It's easy to butcher stories involving time travel or timelines colliding, in my opinion, but KLB pulled it off brilliantly. I also learned about a period of Japanese history that I knew absolutely nothing about, and I appreciate KLB for tackling some important themes in her book. Please don't overlook the author's note, it's definitely worth reading.
What I loved the most about both of KLB's horror novels is that they don't just offer thrills and scares, they have an emotional depth to them. I felt connected to the protagonists and my heart broke for them over and over again. Like 'Bat Eater', 'Japanese Gothic' features gore and scenes that may not be suitable for the squeamish. I wouldn't say it's gratuitous, though. As for the readers curious about how Japanese mythology comes into play in all of this, I'd recommend that they go in blind. That will make the plot twist hit harder. I will say that the way Baker incorporated a pretty famous Japanese legend into a horror novel was nothing short of genius.
You know a book is good when you feel like rereading it right after turning the last page. I think I may have missed certain clues leading to the ending that I may discover only after a reread. There's one plot point where once I realized what was happening, I actually gasped and proceeded to stare at a wall for the longest time. If you're reading this and you've finished the book, feel free to DM me; I'd love to discuss!!
Right from the first page to the last, 'Japanese Gothic' maintained a perfect pacing, was well-written and deeply atmospheric, and had a haunting ending that'll stay with me for a long time. I cannot give this anything less than a solid 5. I'd highly recommend this to fans of Japanese history and mythology, gothic horror, and Marcus Kliewer's 'We Used to Live Here'.
Pre-read:
THE Kylie Lee Baker writing a Japanese mythology inspired horror??!! 2026 just got a whole lot better.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC!
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟/5
One thing you must know about me is that 'Japanese' and 'Gothic' are two of my favourite words ever. That, and the fact that Kylie Lee Baker's adult debut 'Bat Eater' is one of my favourite horror novels ever meant that my expectations could not have been higher. 'Japanese Gothic' surpassed my expectations in every way and I have to say that for me, KLB has singlehandedly raised the bar for what horror should be.
As befits any good gothic novel, the atmosphere here was exquisitely crafted. The house behind the sword ferns, a place that seemed almost suspended in time, had the perfect claustrophobic feel and eeriness that just so blurred the line between what was real and what wasn't. What really stood out to me was Baker's ability to bring even the tiniest motion to life- every swish of the sword ferns, every sunray that struck the floorboards, every whisper of the wind gliding through the house when its sliding doors were left open. I've become very nitpicky when it comes to atmosphere and aesthetics in books (having read so many good ones before), but 'Japanese Gothic' succeeded in every way. The prose was mesmerizing and hypnotic. The tension in the narrative was palpable and it had an almost...breathless quality to it. I'm sure this will appeal to many fans of the horror genre. I don't exaggerate when I say that this is the most cinematic reading experience I've ever had. This book literally read like a film unfolding in front of my eyes; it was that immersive.
Both Lee and Sen were memorable characters in their own right. Lee's mental health struggles, isolation and almost-invisibility were well-written. Sen, on the other hand, was honed to become a human weapon, unfeeling and without a soul. Both found the one person who truly saw them in a different timeline. It's easy to butcher stories involving time travel or timelines colliding, in my opinion, but KLB pulled it off brilliantly. I also learned about a period of Japanese history that I knew absolutely nothing about, and I appreciate KLB for tackling some important themes in her book. Please don't overlook the author's note, it's definitely worth reading.
What I loved the most about both of KLB's horror novels is that they don't just offer thrills and scares, they have an emotional depth to them. I felt connected to the protagonists and my heart broke for them over and over again. Like 'Bat Eater', 'Japanese Gothic' features gore and scenes that may not be suitable for the squeamish. I wouldn't say it's gratuitous, though. As for the readers curious about how Japanese mythology comes into play in all of this, I'd recommend that they go in blind. That will make the plot twist hit harder. I will say that the way Baker incorporated a pretty famous Japanese legend into a horror novel was nothing short of genius.
You know a book is good when you feel like rereading it right after turning the last page. I think I may have missed certain clues leading to the ending that I may discover only after a reread. There's one plot point where once I realized what was happening, I actually gasped and proceeded to stare at a wall for the longest time. If you're reading this and you've finished the book, feel free to DM me; I'd love to discuss!!
Right from the first page to the last, 'Japanese Gothic' maintained a perfect pacing, was well-written and deeply atmospheric, and had a haunting ending that'll stay with me for a long time. I cannot give this anything less than a solid 5. I'd highly recommend this to fans of Japanese history and mythology, gothic horror, and Marcus Kliewer's 'We Used to Live Here'.
Pre-read:
THE Kylie Lee Baker writing a Japanese mythology inspired horror??!! 2026 just got a whole lot better.
November 27, 2025
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Japanese Gothic is gorgeously odd, a peculiar story told with eccentric artistry. Baker weaves a fine line between dreamscapes and material fright. She writes with a deft hand, making words dance off the page with symphonic joy.
This is otherworldly in all the right ways. From time travel to fever dream delusions to explorations of loss and love, this book has it all. The setting feels magical, allowing me to envision every color-drenched scene with vividness.
I appreciate being able to read this early, and I hope I can be part of getting this out into the public oeuvre…
Japanese Gothic is gorgeously odd, a peculiar story told with eccentric artistry. Baker weaves a fine line between dreamscapes and material fright. She writes with a deft hand, making words dance off the page with symphonic joy.
This is otherworldly in all the right ways. From time travel to fever dream delusions to explorations of loss and love, this book has it all. The setting feels magical, allowing me to envision every color-drenched scene with vividness.
I appreciate being able to read this early, and I hope I can be part of getting this out into the public oeuvre…
May 6, 2026
This book gave me a headache but I kinda liked it 🌚
_____________________________________________________
pre-read:
Going in with very high expectations 👀
_____________________________________________________
pre-read:
Going in with very high expectations 👀
April 26, 2026
2.5 Stars
Outlier alert! I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a good fit.
Lee is on hiatus from school and decides to travel with his dad to Japan. The house has some interesting history and was once the home of a Samurai hundreds of years ago. Told between two different timelines, one in the present with Lee and the other timeline from Sen’s perspective in the late 1800s as the daughter of a Samurai. How these two intersect is quite interesting and at times rather confusing and disjointed.
I had thought about putting this down and not finishing it during part one. The history of Samurai and warrior fighting kind of makes me glaze over. Historical fiction in general is iffy with me. I was just having a hard time immersing myself in either timeline. Then there was a tad bit of mythology thrown in just to confuse me even further. Part two sucked me in a little bit, and while I felt it read a little bit more YA, at least I was somewhat intrigued. Part three at the beginning still had my attention. I’m trying to figure out how it all is going together, and then I just got super confused. I understand what happened, but I can’t say I feel super satisfied with it. The mythology unfortunately went over my head.
From a character development standpoint, Sen was my favorite. There was just so much sadness in how her father treated her and the rest of her family.
This is obviously a me thing because there are so many glowing reviews for this book. I probably should have read the blurb before pre-ordering it. I really enjoyed this author’s previous novel and will certainly be interested in any future books for sure.
Outlier alert! I really wanted to like this, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a good fit.
Lee is on hiatus from school and decides to travel with his dad to Japan. The house has some interesting history and was once the home of a Samurai hundreds of years ago. Told between two different timelines, one in the present with Lee and the other timeline from Sen’s perspective in the late 1800s as the daughter of a Samurai. How these two intersect is quite interesting and at times rather confusing and disjointed.
I had thought about putting this down and not finishing it during part one. The history of Samurai and warrior fighting kind of makes me glaze over. Historical fiction in general is iffy with me. I was just having a hard time immersing myself in either timeline. Then there was a tad bit of mythology thrown in just to confuse me even further. Part two sucked me in a little bit, and while I felt it read a little bit more YA, at least I was somewhat intrigued. Part three at the beginning still had my attention. I’m trying to figure out how it all is going together, and then I just got super confused. I understand what happened, but I can’t say I feel super satisfied with it. The mythology unfortunately went over my head.
From a character development standpoint, Sen was my favorite. There was just so much sadness in how her father treated her and the rest of her family.
This is obviously a me thing because there are so many glowing reviews for this book. I probably should have read the blurb before pre-ordering it. I really enjoyed this author’s previous novel and will certainly be interested in any future books for sure.
June 19, 2026
JAPANESE GOTHIC was not at all what I was expecting, which is why I think it's so important to try to approach every book like a clean slate, if possible. I was expecting something like Silvia Moreno-Garcia's MEXICAN GOTHIC or Asa Nonami's NOW YOU'RE ONE OF US. Instead, I got a complex work of metaphysical and psychological trippiness that reminded me a lot of Alicia Elliot's AND THEN SHE FELL.
Sen is a female samurai living with an abusive father, a shut-down mother, and her young siblings in a small house between the woods and the sea, waiting in wait for their inevitable downfall at the hands of a changing world. Lee is a young man living with his father and his new wife in Japan in a small house between the woods and the sea, after running away from a murder he committed in the States but cannot fully remember. A doorway separates their worlds but one day, they both step over the threshold, and the boundaries of time and existence fall away revealing one hideous but inescapable truth: one of them is a ghost.
The pacing and build-up for this book is laboriously slow as Baker sets the stage for her characters. It plays out very differently from her other book, BAT EATER, so don't go into JAPANESE GOTHIC expecting a reprise. The more I read, the more I appreciated the details she sank in-- not just to the characters and their trauma-filled backstories, but also the small clues she carefully placed to hint at their disintegrating perception of reality, making both characters unreliable narrators in a rapidly warping setting that may or may not be a product of a dissociative fugue.
As with AND THEN SHE FELL, a lot of questions in this non-linear mode of story-telling are never fully answered, leaving the reader with a bunch of blanks that they're meant to fill in themselves. I waited a while to mull this book over before writing down my thoughts because the experience of reading it actually reminded me a lot of my first time watching The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki. At first, I wasn't sure I liked it because it was so different from his other movies, but then I watched it again knowing the ending, and really appreciated Miyazaki's take on nonlinear realities and dimensional doors (same as this book, actually), as well as how much existence of reality is shaped by our current state of being.
JAPANESE GOTHIC feels like a book that would not just hold up to future rereads but also potentially shift reader perspective as they approach the story again with new information that neither of the characters has. I admire the skill it takes to craft a storyline like that and really can't wait to see what this author writes next, as so far, all of her books have been so different and emotionally provocative.
3.5 stars
Sen is a female samurai living with an abusive father, a shut-down mother, and her young siblings in a small house between the woods and the sea, waiting in wait for their inevitable downfall at the hands of a changing world. Lee is a young man living with his father and his new wife in Japan in a small house between the woods and the sea, after running away from a murder he committed in the States but cannot fully remember. A doorway separates their worlds but one day, they both step over the threshold, and the boundaries of time and existence fall away revealing one hideous but inescapable truth: one of them is a ghost.
The pacing and build-up for this book is laboriously slow as Baker sets the stage for her characters. It plays out very differently from her other book, BAT EATER, so don't go into JAPANESE GOTHIC expecting a reprise. The more I read, the more I appreciated the details she sank in-- not just to the characters and their trauma-filled backstories, but also the small clues she carefully placed to hint at their disintegrating perception of reality, making both characters unreliable narrators in a rapidly warping setting that may or may not be a product of a dissociative fugue.
As with AND THEN SHE FELL, a lot of questions in this non-linear mode of story-telling are never fully answered, leaving the reader with a bunch of blanks that they're meant to fill in themselves. I waited a while to mull this book over before writing down my thoughts because the experience of reading it actually reminded me a lot of my first time watching The Boy and the Heron by Hayao Miyazaki. At first, I wasn't sure I liked it because it was so different from his other movies, but then I watched it again knowing the ending, and really appreciated Miyazaki's take on nonlinear realities and dimensional doors (same as this book, actually), as well as how much existence of reality is shaped by our current state of being.
JAPANESE GOTHIC feels like a book that would not just hold up to future rereads but also potentially shift reader perspective as they approach the story again with new information that neither of the characters has. I admire the skill it takes to craft a storyline like that and really can't wait to see what this author writes next, as so far, all of her books have been so different and emotionally provocative.
3.5 stars
April 14, 2026
Kylie Lee Bake never misses and her adult horror books feel like the books she was meant to write!
What the f—k. That what this book feels like.
It twists and turns and loops back around.
It lies. It hides. And it tells truths you don’t want to hear.
and when its all done, you’ll reach for the play button to start it again.
The title of this book is a perfect fit. This is a gothic novel is all the typical ways. A haunted house, an unreliable narrator, a slow-building sense of dread, ghosts, and an ending with plenty left to the unknown.
I’ll read anything Kylie Lee Baker writes at this point. She’s great at cozy fantasy adventures, genre-bending ya fantasy, and she’s a damn QUEEN at horror.
Do yourself a favor and read this book and the rest of Kylie Lee Baker’s backlist while you’re at it.
Audiobook: 5/5
Narrator: Natalie Naudus | Style: Single narrator | Length: 10 hours 19 mins
Absolute perfection. Natalie Naudus is such an immensely talented narrator. I’ll listen to anything she narrates. Pacing, pausing, inflection, and voice variation are perfect per usual with her! Highly recommend this via audio!
5⭐️| IG | TikTok |
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
What the f—k. That what this book feels like.
It twists and turns and loops back around.
It lies. It hides. And it tells truths you don’t want to hear.
and when its all done, you’ll reach for the play button to start it again.
The title of this book is a perfect fit. This is a gothic novel is all the typical ways. A haunted house, an unreliable narrator, a slow-building sense of dread, ghosts, and an ending with plenty left to the unknown.
I’ll read anything Kylie Lee Baker writes at this point. She’s great at cozy fantasy adventures, genre-bending ya fantasy, and she’s a damn QUEEN at horror.
Do yourself a favor and read this book and the rest of Kylie Lee Baker’s backlist while you’re at it.
Audiobook: 5/5
Narrator: Natalie Naudus | Style: Single narrator | Length: 10 hours 19 mins
Absolute perfection. Natalie Naudus is such an immensely talented narrator. I’ll listen to anything she narrates. Pacing, pausing, inflection, and voice variation are perfect per usual with her! Highly recommend this via audio!
5⭐️| IG | TikTok |
Thank you to the publisher for the gifted book. All opinions are my own.
Read
January 7, 2026
Book Riot’s Most Anticipated Books of 2026:
It's 2026, and Lee Turner doesn't know why he killed his college roommate. What he does know is that he needs to get out of New York, and that his father's new house in Japan might make the perfect hideout. But there's something wrong with the place— the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a sword-wielding woman appears at night. Then there's Sen, who, in 1877, is also in exile. She hides from the imperial soldiers in her family's house, and, on top of everything else, there's now a young foreign man who appears outside her window.
And the gag is? "One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie." —Erica Ezeifedi
It's 2026, and Lee Turner doesn't know why he killed his college roommate. What he does know is that he needs to get out of New York, and that his father's new house in Japan might make the perfect hideout. But there's something wrong with the place— the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a sword-wielding woman appears at night. Then there's Sen, who, in 1877, is also in exile. She hides from the imperial soldiers in her family's house, and, on top of everything else, there's now a young foreign man who appears outside her window.
And the gag is? "One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie." —Erica Ezeifedi
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Okay so… this just wasn’t what I thought it was going to be.
I went in expecting creepy gothic horror vibes and instead got a kind of jumbled paranormal fever dream where things happen but I never really felt scared or even unsettled. It leaned more into mind bendy moments than actual horror, which is fine in theory, but the execution didn’t fully land.
The concept and idea seemed awesome, super unique and definitely doing its own thing. However the plot felt scattered at times and I was never fully locked in. I kept waiting for the story to click into place emotionally and it just didn’t.
My biggest issue was the characters. They felt pretty paper thin, and that made it hard to care when strange or intense things were happening. If you’re going to give me chaos and paranormal weirdness, I need either
terrifying horror or characters i’m emotionally attached to.
I didn’t really get either. I can totally see this working for the right reader, it’s original, it’s strange, and it definitely marches to the beat of its own haunted little drum. I just needed more horror or stronger character work for it to truly work for me.
I went in expecting creepy gothic horror vibes and instead got a kind of jumbled paranormal fever dream where things happen but I never really felt scared or even unsettled. It leaned more into mind bendy moments than actual horror, which is fine in theory, but the execution didn’t fully land.
The concept and idea seemed awesome, super unique and definitely doing its own thing. However the plot felt scattered at times and I was never fully locked in. I kept waiting for the story to click into place emotionally and it just didn’t.
My biggest issue was the characters. They felt pretty paper thin, and that made it hard to care when strange or intense things were happening. If you’re going to give me chaos and paranormal weirdness, I need either
terrifying horror or characters i’m emotionally attached to.
I didn’t really get either. I can totally see this working for the right reader, it’s original, it’s strange, and it definitely marches to the beat of its own haunted little drum. I just needed more horror or stronger character work for it to truly work for me.
Did Not Finish
April 29, 2026Unpopular opinion incoming!
It truly and honestly hurt to call it quits half of the way through Japanese Gothic. A genre-bending mashup of gothic horror and historical fiction, while there were some definite pluses, the negatives quite simply overrode them for this new-ish fan of horror. However, let me first start with what I loved. A eerie, chilling read of dark secrets, dysfunctional families, and mysterious pasts, the dream-like feel to this one was exceptionally well done. The sinister setting, however, was the best part of all. Claustrophobic and almost otherworldly, the evocative prose was an absolute hole in one. After all, the house itself almost felt like yet another character as the story dug itself into the building’s walls.
So what exactly didn’t I love about it, then? Well, first off, this is one heck of a slow burn. Shifting back and forth between 1877 and the present, while the haunting atmosphere absolutely oozed from the pages, the action never really began. That, sadly, leads me to my second problem. Focusing heavily on samurai history and Japanese mythology, my lack of knowledge in both really hampered my love for the storyline. That being said, I have a feeling this is going to be a big, giant hit for most readers out there. Touching on identity, legacy, and family, it was lyrical, imaginative, and fresh. Just be sure to check out the trigger warning first. After all, it was also oh so very gruesome. Rating: DNF.
SYNOPSIS:
October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.
October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window.
One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.
Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it.
Thank you Kylie Lee Baker and Hanover Square Press for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: April 14, 2026
Content warning (incomplete): murder, missing person, drug use, addiction, mental illness, gore, mention of: human trafficking, bullying
It truly and honestly hurt to call it quits half of the way through Japanese Gothic. A genre-bending mashup of gothic horror and historical fiction, while there were some definite pluses, the negatives quite simply overrode them for this new-ish fan of horror. However, let me first start with what I loved. A eerie, chilling read of dark secrets, dysfunctional families, and mysterious pasts, the dream-like feel to this one was exceptionally well done. The sinister setting, however, was the best part of all. Claustrophobic and almost otherworldly, the evocative prose was an absolute hole in one. After all, the house itself almost felt like yet another character as the story dug itself into the building’s walls.
So what exactly didn’t I love about it, then? Well, first off, this is one heck of a slow burn. Shifting back and forth between 1877 and the present, while the haunting atmosphere absolutely oozed from the pages, the action never really began. That, sadly, leads me to my second problem. Focusing heavily on samurai history and Japanese mythology, my lack of knowledge in both really hampered my love for the storyline. That being said, I have a feeling this is going to be a big, giant hit for most readers out there. Touching on identity, legacy, and family, it was lyrical, imaginative, and fresh. Just be sure to check out the trigger warning first. After all, it was also oh so very gruesome. Rating: DNF.
SYNOPSIS:
October, 2026: Lee Turner doesn’t remember how or why he killed his college roommate. The details are blurred and bloody. All he knows is he has to flee New York and go to the one place that might offer refuge—his father’s new home in Japan, a house hidden by sword ferns and wild ginger. But something is terribly wrong with the house: no animals will come near it, the bedroom window isn't always a window, and a woman with a sword appears in the yard when night falls.
October, 1877: Sen is a young samurai in exile, hiding from the imperial soldiers in a house behind the sword ferns. A monster came home from war wearing her father’s face, but Sen would do anything to please him, even turn her sword on her own mother. She knows the soldiers will soon slaughter her whole family when she sees a terrible omen: a young foreign man who appears outside her window.
One of these people is a ghost, and one of these stories is a lie.
Something is hiding beneath the house of sword ferns, and Lee and Sen will soon wish they never unburied it.
Thank you Kylie Lee Baker and Hanover Square Press for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
PUB DATE: April 14, 2026
Content warning (incomplete): murder, missing person, drug use, addiction, mental illness, gore, mention of: human trafficking, bullying
May 16, 2026
My god. I can’t believe it took me SO LONG to write this DNF review.
Oh, wait, yes I can. I was in the hospital with sepsis 🙃 but I am back to complain about this book!
DNF @ 75%
This must be my fourth highly anticipated new release this year that totally missed the mark. I think I am cursed at this point. The crazy thing is I didn’t even clock that I was hating it until I was just avoiding reading it at all costs. When it’s taking ME two weeks to read a single book then something’s gotta give.
I’ll give the credit where it’s due: the book excels at the creepy imagery and nightmare fuel. In fact when I had a fever I kept recalling scenes from the book (yikes!). But the imagery and the gore and hell-logic are about as substantial as air. The plot just doesn’t MOVE. I kept waiting for the point to emerge and it just refused. Individual scenes would be interesting but add up to nothing. Yes, your father made you sleep with a dead fox for a week to become accustomed to death and unafraid. Very metal. But who cares???
I will admit I’m invested enough in the conclusion that I’m going to ask my reading bestie, Rachel, to spoil it for me. But I have no interest whatsoever in finishing it myself
Oh, wait, yes I can. I was in the hospital with sepsis 🙃 but I am back to complain about this book!
DNF @ 75%
This must be my fourth highly anticipated new release this year that totally missed the mark. I think I am cursed at this point. The crazy thing is I didn’t even clock that I was hating it until I was just avoiding reading it at all costs. When it’s taking ME two weeks to read a single book then something’s gotta give.
I’ll give the credit where it’s due: the book excels at the creepy imagery and nightmare fuel. In fact when I had a fever I kept recalling scenes from the book (yikes!). But the imagery and the gore and hell-logic are about as substantial as air. The plot just doesn’t MOVE. I kept waiting for the point to emerge and it just refused. Individual scenes would be interesting but add up to nothing. Yes, your father made you sleep with a dead fox for a week to become accustomed to death and unafraid. Very metal. But who cares???
I will admit I’m invested enough in the conclusion that I’m going to ask my reading bestie, Rachel, to spoil it for me. But I have no interest whatsoever in finishing it myself
December 16, 2025
From the author of the dark and impressive “Bat Eater and Other Names For Cora Zeng” comes another novel that’s very different but even more of a banger. This book is such a creative and impactful accomplishment. It completely blew my mind apart.
You are given two storylines. One in the past, involving the daughter of a Samurai who is being trained to follow in her father’s footsteps through cold and bloody instruction. The other is in present day and concerns a college student who is convinced he’s a psychopath and a killer himself, but can’t remember why. There’s a LOT going on in each thread, and the way that Baker gradually weaves them together is masterful. The little twists are so satisfying, the details of the prose rich and vivid. There are creative parallels between the timelines that connect the two main characters and make their storylines similar.
This book is really disturbing and violent, considerably more so than “Bat Eater,” with some pages practically dripping blood. The story isn’t simply horror though, and almost has a fantastical element to it as well, going to places I was not expecting. (Without spoiling anything, do not go into this asking for your feet to remain grounded in reality.) A lot of it felt like I was heading towards an inevitable conclusion that was just going to break my heart. I cared about the two main characters, even the one who may or may not be a straight-up murderer. I could not stop reading, even with this foreboding feeling.
I could easily see this being very triggering for some people, due to its detailed exploration of psychopathy and mental illness and the violence that results (for this particular character.) There is also some pretty horrific domestic abuse. Please be aware.
This is one of the best early review books I’ve read in a while. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, given the gory violence and overall troubling subject matter, but I’m so impressed with the storytelling and the character work. It’s one that I’ll be thinking about for a while and it’s a favorite read of the year for sure! I will revisit it at some point as I believe there will be more to discover on a second read.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Biggest TW: Substance abuse, Animal harm/death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism/Fetishism, Harm to children, Gore, Suicidal ideation
You are given two storylines. One in the past, involving the daughter of a Samurai who is being trained to follow in her father’s footsteps through cold and bloody instruction. The other is in present day and concerns a college student who is convinced he’s a psychopath and a killer himself, but can’t remember why. There’s a LOT going on in each thread, and the way that Baker gradually weaves them together is masterful. The little twists are so satisfying, the details of the prose rich and vivid. There are creative parallels between the timelines that connect the two main characters and make their storylines similar.
This book is really disturbing and violent, considerably more so than “Bat Eater,” with some pages practically dripping blood. The story isn’t simply horror though, and almost has a fantastical element to it as well, going to places I was not expecting. (Without spoiling anything, do not go into this asking for your feet to remain grounded in reality.) A lot of it felt like I was heading towards an inevitable conclusion that was just going to break my heart. I cared about the two main characters, even the one who may or may not be a straight-up murderer. I could not stop reading, even with this foreboding feeling.
I could easily see this being very triggering for some people, due to its detailed exploration of psychopathy and mental illness and the violence that results (for this particular character.) There is also some pretty horrific domestic abuse. Please be aware.
This is one of the best early review books I’ve read in a while. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart, given the gory violence and overall troubling subject matter, but I’m so impressed with the storytelling and the character work. It’s one that I’ll be thinking about for a while and it’s a favorite read of the year for sure! I will revisit it at some point as I believe there will be more to discover on a second read.
Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
Biggest TW: Substance abuse, Animal harm/death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism/Fetishism, Harm to children, Gore, Suicidal ideation
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Happy release day! 💕💕
Even though his father was handsome, and kind, and wellspoken, everything Lee was not, inside they were exactly the same: They wanted the truth, no matter how ugly. They craved it the way wolves craved wet flesh and hot blood and pain. They needed it, even when they knew it would hurt.
I am going to say right out the gate that Baker is a very gifted writer and I found that this was such an easy and engaging reading experience. The vibes of this book were so effortlessly cool and there was moments while reading this where I was having flashbacks to how moody, eerie and utterly terrifying the Japanese horror movies of my youth were.
As is always the case with horrors, I don’t want to go too into the details of the plot, because half the joy in these sorts of books is seeing it all unfold. I thought that the way that the story intertwined the dual timelines was very clever though. Lee in 2026 with his missing murdered roommate and the trauma from the loss of his mother, and Sen in 1877, one of the last samurai, in hiding with her family while dealing with the weight of her fathers expectations.
I will put a bit of a caveat on my thoughts about this one because I potentially might have set myself up a little bit here. I had a fantastic run of thriller and horror books recently and whilst they have all be slightly different niche genres, this was the third one I had picked up in a row and I was perhaps more ready for a change of pace than I realised and was a little less ‘glued to my kindle’ than I might have been otherwise.
The ending didn’t completely land for me; some elements were a bit predictable and it got a little too fever dreamy for my preference. However, given that this was my first foray into Bakers work I am incredibly excited to see what future ideas she releases and to pick up Bat Eater which has been in my TBR for a while now.
The vibes of ‘Japanese Gothic’ were haunting, gory and very eerie, with solid writing and engaging story telling. This will easily be one of the strongest horror releases for the year and it is a title well earned.
As always, I had a blast tackling this one with Teru; one of the people I can trust to almost always be on the same page when it comes to reading weird shit 😂😂❤️.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.
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Even though his father was handsome, and kind, and wellspoken, everything Lee was not, inside they were exactly the same: They wanted the truth, no matter how ugly. They craved it the way wolves craved wet flesh and hot blood and pain. They needed it, even when they knew it would hurt.
I am going to say right out the gate that Baker is a very gifted writer and I found that this was such an easy and engaging reading experience. The vibes of this book were so effortlessly cool and there was moments while reading this where I was having flashbacks to how moody, eerie and utterly terrifying the Japanese horror movies of my youth were.
As is always the case with horrors, I don’t want to go too into the details of the plot, because half the joy in these sorts of books is seeing it all unfold. I thought that the way that the story intertwined the dual timelines was very clever though. Lee in 2026 with his missing murdered roommate and the trauma from the loss of his mother, and Sen in 1877, one of the last samurai, in hiding with her family while dealing with the weight of her fathers expectations.
I will put a bit of a caveat on my thoughts about this one because I potentially might have set myself up a little bit here. I had a fantastic run of thriller and horror books recently and whilst they have all be slightly different niche genres, this was the third one I had picked up in a row and I was perhaps more ready for a change of pace than I realised and was a little less ‘glued to my kindle’ than I might have been otherwise.
The ending didn’t completely land for me; some elements were a bit predictable and it got a little too fever dreamy for my preference. However, given that this was my first foray into Bakers work I am incredibly excited to see what future ideas she releases and to pick up Bat Eater which has been in my TBR for a while now.
The vibes of ‘Japanese Gothic’ were haunting, gory and very eerie, with solid writing and engaging story telling. This will easily be one of the strongest horror releases for the year and it is a title well earned.
As always, I had a blast tackling this one with Teru; one of the people I can trust to almost always be on the same page when it comes to reading weird shit 😂😂❤️.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this eARC.
Consider following my instagram
May 30, 2026
I am confusion. This book was beautifully written but maybe a little too high concept for me to listen to on audio while I clean. I think I may need to physically read this one to fully process it.
June 13, 2026
A brooding, claustrophobic page-turner that straddles the line between gothic horror and portal fantasy. Kylie Lee Baker’s novel plays out over two timelines: shifting between present-day Japan and Japan in 1877, connected by an isolated house designed for samurai. Sen Iwasaki and Lee Baker are separated by over a hundred years but loss and death somehow unites them. Sen’s the daughter of the last samurai. Her father survived the vicious Satsuma Rebellion that effectively ended the samurai way of life but he’s living on borrowed time. Now American student Lee is staying in Sen’s former home. In her time, Sen is facing a growing awareness of her family’s likely devastating fate; in his time, Lee’s still reeling from the aftermath of his mother’s disappearance when he was still a child. A chance discovery brings Sen and Lee together. A door that allows them to move between Lee’s time and Sen’s. Together they strive to make sense of their fractured lives, both caught up in the machinations of their overbearing, self-deluding fathers.
An inventive variation on conventional, haunted-house narratives, it’s a gorily visceral, atmospheric piece. Lee’s plotline has an hallucinatory feel balanced out by Sen’s more grounded one. Her character arc shored up by Baker’s careful research into samurai history and culture. One of the reasons I much preferred Sen’s episodes. Both their storylines are punctuated by ongoing references to Japanese legend introducing a mythic, fantastical element in keeping with Baker’s elliptical ending – although the twist involving Lee wasn’t especially difficult to predict. But Baker’s an accomplished storyteller, enough that I was gripped from beginning to end.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC
Rating: 3.5 rounded up
An inventive variation on conventional, haunted-house narratives, it’s a gorily visceral, atmospheric piece. Lee’s plotline has an hallucinatory feel balanced out by Sen’s more grounded one. Her character arc shored up by Baker’s careful research into samurai history and culture. One of the reasons I much preferred Sen’s episodes. Both their storylines are punctuated by ongoing references to Japanese legend introducing a mythic, fantastical element in keeping with Baker’s elliptical ending – although the twist involving Lee wasn’t especially difficult to predict. But Baker’s an accomplished storyteller, enough that I was gripped from beginning to end.
Thanks to Netgalley and publisher Hodder & Stoughton for an ARC
Rating: 3.5 rounded up
May 30, 2026
Ви б знали, як же сильно я хотіла полюбити цю історію! На жаль, звʼязку між нами не сталося 😢 слухала її в аудіо, одна з найкращих начиток, які мені траплялися за останній час і це була повна насолода для вух, але але 🤷♀️
Спочатку я думала, що проблема в мені і той факт, що я не дуже люблю азійську історію/естетику/культури (точніше, я просто байдуже ставлюся до вищезгаданих елементів) заважає мені насолодитися цим горрором, але ні. Тут мені було нудно, ніщо не могло привернути мою увагу і не відпускати. Але хочу звернути вашу увагу на те, що більшість читачів оцінило книжку дуже високо.
Eng: You have no idea how badly I wanted to love this story! Sadly, we just didn’t click. 😢 At first, I thought maybe the problem was me. I’m not usually drawn to Asian history, aesthetics, or cultures, so I thought maybe that was stopping me from enjoying this horror story. But no. I was just bored and nothing really grabbed my attention.
That said, I absolutely loved the author’s note at the end. It honestly moved me much more than the actual story did. The history of the samurai, and the connection between the samurai heroine and the present-day storyline with our main character… to be completely honest, I’m not sure I fully understood it. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention while listening, but something about it just didn’t work for me.
Спочатку я думала, що проблема в мені і той факт, що я не дуже люблю азійську історію/естетику/культури (точніше, я просто байдуже ставлюся до вищезгаданих елементів) заважає мені насолодитися цим горрором, але ні. Тут мені було нудно, ніщо не могло привернути мою увагу і не відпускати. Але хочу звернути вашу увагу на те, що більшість читачів оцінило книжку дуже високо.
Eng: You have no idea how badly I wanted to love this story! Sadly, we just didn’t click. 😢 At first, I thought maybe the problem was me. I’m not usually drawn to Asian history, aesthetics, or cultures, so I thought maybe that was stopping me from enjoying this horror story. But no. I was just bored and nothing really grabbed my attention.
That said, I absolutely loved the author’s note at the end. It honestly moved me much more than the actual story did. The history of the samurai, and the connection between the samurai heroine and the present-day storyline with our main character… to be completely honest, I’m not sure I fully understood it. Maybe I wasn’t paying enough attention while listening, but something about it just didn’t work for me.
Want to Read
August 15, 2025currently hyperventilating over everything about this
♡ Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng ★★★★★
♡ Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng ★★★★★
June 16, 2026
Japanese Gothic is a tale of two people, Lee and Sen, who occupy the same house centuries apart. Lee has fled to his childhood home after a violent incident at NYU that left another boy dead. His memories of what happened are fractured, and he is equally haunted by the disappearance of his mother years earlier. Meanwhile, Sen lives in the same house during the Meiji era. Trained in the ways of the samurai long after their relevance has faded, she struggles beneath the weight of her father’s failures and the abuse he inflicts on the family.
This novel succeeds at bringing the fears, guilt, and delusions of its characters to life through vivid, unsettling imagery. Is the house haunted, or are the people haunted by the things they have done?
What makes the story especially compelling is that the supernatural element is not a traditional ghost story. Through a mysterious connection in the house, Lee and Sen are able to see and communicate with one another across time through a shared wall. As their relationship deepens, their lives begin to intertwine in unexpected ways. They become mirrors of one another—two wounded people shaped by family trauma, grief, and feelings of inadequacy.
Neither protagonist is entirely sympathetic, and that is part of what makes them fascinating. Both are consumed by emotions they do not fully understand, drifting between anger, apathy, and desperation. They are the most frightening kind of people: those capable of causing harm while convincing themselves they are powerless.
At its heart, Japanese Gothic is a story about generational trauma, mental illness, and the ways love and pain can echo across centuries. Tragedy existed hundreds of years ago, and it exists today, lingering like a stain on humanity. Kylie Lee Baker blends historical fiction, horror, and gothic atmosphere into a haunting meditation on how the past refuses to stay buried.
This novel succeeds at bringing the fears, guilt, and delusions of its characters to life through vivid, unsettling imagery. Is the house haunted, or are the people haunted by the things they have done?
What makes the story especially compelling is that the supernatural element is not a traditional ghost story. Through a mysterious connection in the house, Lee and Sen are able to see and communicate with one another across time through a shared wall. As their relationship deepens, their lives begin to intertwine in unexpected ways. They become mirrors of one another—two wounded people shaped by family trauma, grief, and feelings of inadequacy.
Neither protagonist is entirely sympathetic, and that is part of what makes them fascinating. Both are consumed by emotions they do not fully understand, drifting between anger, apathy, and desperation. They are the most frightening kind of people: those capable of causing harm while convincing themselves they are powerless.
At its heart, Japanese Gothic is a story about generational trauma, mental illness, and the ways love and pain can echo across centuries. Tragedy existed hundreds of years ago, and it exists today, lingering like a stain on humanity. Kylie Lee Baker blends historical fiction, horror, and gothic atmosphere into a haunting meditation on how the past refuses to stay buried.
April 28, 2026
I always find it difficult to review books that I strictly listened to on audio, particularly books like this which have elements of surrealism in which the dream/fantasy world merges with reality. There's also a lot going on here, much of it illusory, despite the relatively slow pace.
I found the opening of Japanese Gothic, when we are just in Lee's timeline, a little spooky and even uncanny at times. Throughout the book, Lee's chapters were the more interesting to me, even though he was the less sympathetic protagonist. The constant rinse, wash, repeat of the relationship between Sen and her father got tiresome and frustrating.
There was a trope introduced fairly early on that I don't particularly like, and that ruined some of the effectiveness of the story. However, I think Kylie Lee Baker really flexed her literary muscles and produced some beautiful writing in Japanese Gothic, and the way the element of Japanese folklore tied the threads loosely together at the end, without spelling everything out (which is my personal preference), gave me a greater appreciation for the book overall. I will certainly look forward to her next book.
I found the opening of Japanese Gothic, when we are just in Lee's timeline, a little spooky and even uncanny at times. Throughout the book, Lee's chapters were the more interesting to me, even though he was the less sympathetic protagonist. The constant rinse, wash, repeat of the relationship between Sen and her father got tiresome and frustrating.
There was a trope introduced fairly early on that I don't particularly like, and that ruined some of the effectiveness of the story. However, I think Kylie Lee Baker really flexed her literary muscles and produced some beautiful writing in Japanese Gothic, and the way the element of Japanese folklore tied the threads loosely together at the end, without spelling everything out (which is my personal preference), gave me a greater appreciation for the book overall. I will certainly look forward to her next book.
Did Not Finish
April 1, 2026✨🗡️ Japanese Gothic 🗡️✨
This was painfully slow for me. I wanted to love this so much going in, but I really struggled to stay engaged. I never connected to the characters or the story, which made it hard to stay invested.
The pacing just didn’t work for me, and I found myself losing interest pretty early on.
The narration also didn’t help. It felt just as slow as the story, which made it even harder to push through.
🖤 What to Expect
• Dual timeline horror
• Haunted house
• Japanese mythology
• Samurai era
• Ghosts and possession
• Family secrets
• Psychological horror
_ _ _
📅 Pub Date: April 14, 2026
📝 Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.
This was painfully slow for me. I wanted to love this so much going in, but I really struggled to stay engaged. I never connected to the characters or the story, which made it hard to stay invested.
The pacing just didn’t work for me, and I found myself losing interest pretty early on.
The narration also didn’t help. It felt just as slow as the story, which made it even harder to push through.
🖤 What to Expect
• Dual timeline horror
• Haunted house
• Japanese mythology
• Samurai era
• Ghosts and possession
• Family secrets
• Psychological horror
_ _ _
📅 Pub Date: April 14, 2026
📝 Thank you to Harlequin Audio and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy. All thoughts are my own.
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