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Hell to Pay
Not yet published
Expected 30 Mar 27The riveting, darkly humorous, and deeply strange story of three roommates whose everyday struggle to survive in New York is complicated by the intestine-eating demon who haunts their apartment.
Leni was kidnapped and almost sacrificed to the devil as a child, but now she’s perfectly fine. Aside from the fact that she has four reflections in the mirror…and one of them wants her to poison people.
Emerson was a leading heart surgeon until The Incident that left his patient dead. Now he’s too sick to work, keeps finding severed fingers in his water bottles, and is followed around by a faceless Girl Scout with a creaky red wagon.
Jasper is a line cook with a criminal record, just trying to keep his chosen family together. Sure, he sees a man in the shadows who likes the taste of blood, but he’s very good at ignoring that. He would do anything for Leni and Emerson. Anything.
They’re fine. They’re normal. They’re roommates making it work in New York City.
That is, until a demon leaves his sigil on their wall.
Now, they have seven days to bring Sychar a sacrifice, or he’ll tear off their skin. Who knew demon-slaying wasn’t a valid excuse to miss work? Why are murder supplies so expensive? Just how is a low-income household supposed to afford a human sacrifice?
As their personal ghosts grow louder and Sychar’s deadline draws nearer, Leni, Emerson, and Jasper discover just how far they’ll go to protect each other.
Leni was kidnapped and almost sacrificed to the devil as a child, but now she’s perfectly fine. Aside from the fact that she has four reflections in the mirror…and one of them wants her to poison people.
Emerson was a leading heart surgeon until The Incident that left his patient dead. Now he’s too sick to work, keeps finding severed fingers in his water bottles, and is followed around by a faceless Girl Scout with a creaky red wagon.
Jasper is a line cook with a criminal record, just trying to keep his chosen family together. Sure, he sees a man in the shadows who likes the taste of blood, but he’s very good at ignoring that. He would do anything for Leni and Emerson. Anything.
They’re fine. They’re normal. They’re roommates making it work in New York City.
That is, until a demon leaves his sigil on their wall.
Now, they have seven days to bring Sychar a sacrifice, or he’ll tear off their skin. Who knew demon-slaying wasn’t a valid excuse to miss work? Why are murder supplies so expensive? Just how is a low-income household supposed to afford a human sacrifice?
As their personal ghosts grow louder and Sychar’s deadline draws nearer, Leni, Emerson, and Jasper discover just how far they’ll go to protect each other.
Hardcover
Expected publication March 30, 2027
About the author
Kylie Lee Baker
16 books3,172 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 - 20 of 20 reviews
Want to Read
July 17, 2026Pre-release: Finding out about this book few days after having finished Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng and I'm sat 🙂↕️💚
Want to Read
July 30, 2026thank you to the publisher for an arc! i can't wait to dive in, as i have absolutely loved all of kylie lee baker's books, but especially her horror novels: she definitely has found her genre in horror, and it was so exciting to have heard about this next novel at the release party of japanese gothic 🤍
Want to Read
March 1, 2026New KLB novel about an intestine eating demon?! I'M IN, 2027 can't come soon enough!
![Profile Image for Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?].](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/users/1746468325i/66224803._UX200_CR0,0,200,200_.jpg)
arc
July 27, 2026I feel so honored and absolutely excited to have an arc for this ✨🥹🥰
Can’t wait to read it! (Literally, I’m gonna start right now)
Thank you edelweiss and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this masterpiece 🙏🏻
Can’t wait to read it! (Literally, I’m gonna start right now)
Thank you edelweiss and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this masterpiece 🙏🏻
Want to Read
April 15, 2026an intestine eating demon haunting a nyc apartment
!! Take my money Kylie
!! Take my money Kylie
Want to Read
March 6, 2026i don't care what it's about...just take my money!
Want to Read
July 30, 2026ARC received! Thank you, Hanover Square Press!!
Want to Read
June 12, 2026Brat green for the cover... wig
they-told-me-to-read-it
July 26, 2026
Want to Read
March 1, 2026KLB can write about the horrors of waking up to find your phone didn't charge through the night and I'd be seated
not-released-yet-tbr
June 15, 202615/6/26: this sounds so interesting!! can't wait 👀
Want to Read
June 10, 2026I cannot WAIT to read this!! I can honestly say Bat Eater and Japanese Gothic are two of my favorite books I've ever read!
July 30, 2026
Thank to the publisher (netgalley and edelweiss) for an early review copy. I was (kind of?) on board until the last scene.
They have an orgy over a man’s dead body. I think I’m good on reading anything else by this author. Full review to come closer to pub date.
How do we get from Japanese gothic (a near perfect book) to this mess?
They have an orgy over a man’s dead body. I think I’m good on reading anything else by this author. Full review to come closer to pub date.
How do we get from Japanese gothic (a near perfect book) to this mess?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A demon’s desire to fill your brain with obsessive thoughts that coerce you to present as the worst image of yourself. But what is a demon anyway? Maybe it is presence, an evil entity, or the evils that guide the social constructs of society. Another beautiful prose written by Baker that dances with demons with a splash of dark comedy. Baker’s register stays consistent creating Asian American literature that deconstructs what it means to be multi-racial and to belong or not feel like you belong amongst two societies. Ultimately, the demons that infiltrate your mind after engaging with social constructs, racism, and stereotypes all day.
The protagonist is morally grey who may have choices that need to be made in the wake of being in the presence of a demon. A series of unravelling choices and possible unfortunate events? A musing of what it means to tackle the darkness within and around. The characters come alive through descriptive dialogue and how they interact with others as the story unravels. What do all these character’s connections mean? Everything makes sense in the end and the end is what won the story for me. As it became faster paced I felt more invested in reading the fate of the plot.
The bit of the narrative that fell flat for me is how the beginning is terribly slow paced. I would have loved to see the setting come alive here to help build that creepy ambience. Sometimes a slow burn feels too slow for me, but I am glad I continued to read this one because I was not disappointed. I was left to think about what it means to come across demons at an inconvenient time. Well, I guess there would never been a convenient moment to meet a demon. Thank you Kylie Lee Baker, Hanover, and Netgalley for this advanced digital copy. All opinions are my own.
For more reviews, tarot readings, and recommendations, visit my blog, https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com/
The protagonist is morally grey who may have choices that need to be made in the wake of being in the presence of a demon. A series of unravelling choices and possible unfortunate events? A musing of what it means to tackle the darkness within and around. The characters come alive through descriptive dialogue and how they interact with others as the story unravels. What do all these character’s connections mean? Everything makes sense in the end and the end is what won the story for me. As it became faster paced I felt more invested in reading the fate of the plot.
The bit of the narrative that fell flat for me is how the beginning is terribly slow paced. I would have loved to see the setting come alive here to help build that creepy ambience. Sometimes a slow burn feels too slow for me, but I am glad I continued to read this one because I was not disappointed. I was left to think about what it means to come across demons at an inconvenient time. Well, I guess there would never been a convenient moment to meet a demon. Thank you Kylie Lee Baker, Hanover, and Netgalley for this advanced digital copy. All opinions are my own.
For more reviews, tarot readings, and recommendations, visit my blog, https://brujerialibrary.wordpress.com/
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
One thing that Hell to Pay has in common with Japanese Gothic in particular is the slow and creeping horror. Kylie Lee Baker is fantastic at including these small incidents that are so uncanny and unsettling, yet on their own they could also be nothing. Altogether, they create a shadow that is slowly falling over the story, pulling you in deeper and darker.
I appreciated that each character had their own complicated background and traumas, which in the end really made the story and what was happening to them come together. They were all haunted by their own demons, and in the end that allowed them to believe in these separate experiences they were having.
I unfortunately did end up being disappointed in the ending. Not the threesome; they were obsessed with each other and I loved it, so honestly that needed to happen. But everything else about it fell a little flat.
I liked more than I disliked about the story, would definitely recommend, and I could even see myself doing a reread to see what I could catch the second time around. I just wish the end had packed more of a punch.
The landlord though? I’m glad it was him, he deserved to get eaten.
I appreciated that each character had their own complicated background and traumas, which in the end really made the story and what was happening to them come together. They were all haunted by their own demons, and in the end that allowed them to believe in these separate experiences they were having.
I unfortunately did end up being disappointed in the ending. Not the threesome; they were obsessed with each other and I loved it, so honestly that needed to happen. But everything else about it fell a little flat.
I liked more than I disliked about the story, would definitely recommend, and I could even see myself doing a reread to see what I could catch the second time around. I just wish the end had packed more of a punch.
The landlord though? I’m glad it was him, he deserved to get eaten.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Quite possibly my new favorite Kylie Lee Baker book! It's hard to say because it's been quite awhile since I read Bat Eater, but what I do know for a fact is that this was a much more enjoyable book to read. It was also incredibly romantic, which I hadn't expected at all, but absolutely loved. Leni and Jasper and Emerson are just really great, and I was rooting for them the entire time.
All that gushing said, I do have to mention that I felt like there were a few inconsistencies that I'm not sure were intentional, and while they didn't really bring my enjoyment of the book down, they did stop and give me pause, mainly when it came to the precautions Jasper and Leni were said to be taking re: COVID and to help keep Emerson safe. This was an ARC though, so things might change ahead of the finished edition.
All in all, highly recommend this! I love what Kylie Lee Baker is doing in horror, and I can't wait to read what she writes next.
All that gushing said, I do have to mention that I felt like there were a few inconsistencies that I'm not sure were intentional, and while they didn't really bring my enjoyment of the book down, they did stop and give me pause, mainly when it came to the precautions Jasper and Leni were said to be taking re: COVID and to help keep Emerson safe. This was an ARC though, so things might change ahead of the finished edition.
All in all, highly recommend this! I love what Kylie Lee Baker is doing in horror, and I can't wait to read what she writes next.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Hell to Pay by Kyle Lee Baker pairs well with chili infused intestines.
The story is told from the POV’s of struggling roommates Leni, Emerson, and Jasper. Leni was almost sacrificed to a demon as a child, Jasper is a line-cook with a felony record, and Emerson was a top heart surgeon until he killed his young patient on the operating table.
The trio’s landlord is a real ass hat, and to make matters worse, a demon leaves his sigil on their apartment wall, leaving the roommates seven days to produce a sacrifice or he will tear off their skin.
The book ends in what I can only describe as a cannibals’ wet dream.
I would recommend this book to fans of demons, shitty people getting their intestines handed to them, MMF action, dark humor, and cannibalism.
Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for an ARC of Hell to Pay.
The story is told from the POV’s of struggling roommates Leni, Emerson, and Jasper. Leni was almost sacrificed to a demon as a child, Jasper is a line-cook with a felony record, and Emerson was a top heart surgeon until he killed his young patient on the operating table.
The trio’s landlord is a real ass hat, and to make matters worse, a demon leaves his sigil on their apartment wall, leaving the roommates seven days to produce a sacrifice or he will tear off their skin.
The book ends in what I can only describe as a cannibals’ wet dream.
I would recommend this book to fans of demons, shitty people getting their intestines handed to them, MMF action, dark humor, and cannibalism.
Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for an ARC of Hell to Pay.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Closer to Bat Eater than Japanese Gothic, Hell to Pay returns to KLB's origins of exploring anti-Asian racism through horror. Some musings:
-This book is graphic, like, Innamorata levels of graphic. You have been warned. Do not read if squeamish.
-The demented polycule of roommates has a charm and romance to it I wasn't expecting.
-WHEW BOY that is a sharp RF Kuang parody there - extremely on the nose (if not intentional - it sure seems like it).
- I love a demon and sacrifice although the ending didn't quite wrap up the loose ends. There was one reveal that moved on a bit too quickly for me.
-I love KLB's twisted sense of what is scary - she does a great job of reminding you that humans are scarier than any supernatural beings.
I'd give it 3 stars overall - less tightly plotted than Bat Eater and Japanese Gothic, but still a delicious (lol) time.
-This book is graphic, like, Innamorata levels of graphic. You have been warned. Do not read if squeamish.
-The demented polycule of roommates has a charm and romance to it I wasn't expecting.
-WHEW BOY that is a sharp RF Kuang parody there - extremely on the nose (if not intentional - it sure seems like it).
- I love a demon and sacrifice although the ending didn't quite wrap up the loose ends. There was one reveal that moved on a bit too quickly for me.
-I love KLB's twisted sense of what is scary - she does a great job of reminding you that humans are scarier than any supernatural beings.
I'd give it 3 stars overall - less tightly plotted than Bat Eater and Japanese Gothic, but still a delicious (lol) time.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
I loved Japanese Gothic, but this was not it. The characters are so downtrodden and hopeless, everything just sucks so much all the time, and there were all these cool horror elements woven through that kept me engaged and it amounted to zilch in the end.
Want to Read
June 25, 2026I WANT THIS SO BAD OMG
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews