Kylie Lee BakerFantasy · Young Adult
Japanese Gothic
Synopsis
In 2026, Lee Turner flees to his father’s secluded Japanese estate after a violent incident he can barely remember. Centuries earlier, a young samurai named Sen protects her family from a monstrous presence while catching glimpses of a strange man from the future. As their timelines collide, both must face the dark mythology buried beneath the house before their secrets destroy them.
How it reads
- Writing5.0
- Impact4.0
- Characters5.0
- Plot4.0
- Atmosphere4.0
Prose complexity 7/10
Content warnings (5)
ViolenceGraphic ViolenceGoreTraumaAbuse
- 4.5 rounded up to 5! I honestly loved this more than I expected. The blend of horror and historical fiction felt really natural, and I’m always a sucker for that kind of genre-bending. The characters were probably my favorite part. Lee and Sen felt so real to me, even with everything strange and supernatural going on around them. Their emotions, especially the guilt, fear, and identity crisis hit really hard. The atmosphere was also so good. It’s not nonstop jump scares or anything like that, but more this quiet, unsettling feeling that builds over time. It felt like something was always slightly off, and I loved that. The mythology elements were so cool too. The only reason I’m not giving it a full five stars is because it got a little confusing toward the end. The timelines and reality start to blur, and I had to reread a couple parts to fully get what was happening. But at the same time, it kind of fits the story, so it didn’t ruin my experience.
- Following how much I loved Bat-Eater, I was so SO eager to read Kylie Lee Baker's next book. This reads completely different from Bat-Eater and truly shows Baker's versatility as an author. Lee, a college student in 2026, flees to his father's home in Japan after murdering his roommate. Sen, the daughter of the last samurai in 1877, is desperately searching for her father's approval as society is changing in Japan. The two are linked together by strange door in their shared bedroom wall. Baker does such a stunning job with the horror in this book. There's no obvious jump scares, but the tone and the setting feels claustrophobic and eerie in a way that it seeps into your skin. Neither narrators are reliable and toes the line of reality and paranormal in such an interesting way. Thank you Netgalley and HTP for an eARC. All thoughts are honest and my own.
- My first thought upon finishing this book was WTF, in the best way possible. My second thought was Holy F-ck, and I was rendered speechless. It's been a couple of days and I still don't know what exactly to say. Reading this novel was like trying to solve a puzzle. I loved trying to figure out the mysteries, the little secrets the two characters kept from each other. I also loved the folklore/mythical aspect of the story. But then the ending... it was like getting stabbed. It broke me. It also made me think back to all the tiny details of various scenes, even the words used to describe them and going holyyy f-ck all over again and again... This is basically what I've been doing for the last two days. This is probably one of my favorite novels I've ever read.