Bat Eater by Kylie Lee Baker

Format: 336 pages, Paperback

Published: January 8, 2026 by Hachette

Horror /borrowed

Sometimes my brain is not working at its fullest. I started reading this one, but did not get far. Anyway 3 h later it hit me why it was called bat eater! I thought it was like cos it was horror. Not because the book would deal with racism.

Srsly, why were people like that? I did not fear anyone more than anyone else while Covid was at its worst. If anything people should have feared me most! I worked through it all, SO worked through it all, my kid was at daycare through it all. Honestly the only thing I noticed about Covid was those stupid masks that I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaated. Other than that business as usual.

Covid hit NY. Cora found herself without a job. Her sister was pushed infront of a train. Now she works as a crime scene cleaner.

And someone seems to be killing Asian women....

Oh and there are ghosts. This is the ghost month when ghosts come back and they are hungry so there are rules you must follow, but Cora did not so now they are huuuungry.

This book dealt with covid, racism, and ghosts. Quite the mix. I am glad I do not have to deal with hungry ghosts, they sound scary.

It started off a bit slow, but it got interesting. I waited for the horror aspect. But then it all was horror because people will always be scarier than ghosts

Cora Zeng is a crime scene cleaner, washing away the remains of brutal murders and suicides in Chinatown. The bloody messes don't bother her, not when she's already witnessed the most horrific thing possible: her sister being pushed in front of a train.

Before fleeing the scene, the murderer whispered two words: bat eater.

Months pass, the killer is never caught, and Cora can barely keep herself together. She pushes away all feelings, disregards the bite marks that appear on her coffee table, and won't take her aunt's advice to prepare for the Hungry Ghost Festival, when the gates of hell open.

Cora tries to ignore the rising dread in her stomach, even when she and her weird co-workers begin finding bat carcasses at their crime scene clean-ups. But Cora can't ignore the fact that all their recent clean-ups have been the bodies of East Asian women.

Soon Cora will learn: you can't just ignore hungry ghosts.

Audio: The Butcher´s Masquerade

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 5

Narrated by: Jeff Hays

Length: 23 hrs and 33 mins

Release date: 05-26-22

Publisher: Audible Studios

Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Oh another crazy book. You really have to read them to get it.

A new floor, new dangers as there are hunters hunting the crawlers on this floor. There are also dinosaurs, and poor Carl will obviously never get pants.

I do not have a lot to say. It is a crazy ride. Dangers, explosions, quests, space gonorrhea, a convention. I mean honestly you just have to be there for it.

I better take a little break again, I only have 3 more to listen to! And then a long wait for the next one. And they are now entering the 8th floor, eeek!

Amazing narration, just amazing.

A lush jungle teeming with danger. Savage dinosaurs seeking blood. A fallen princess intent on vengeance. A mysterious, end-of-floor celebration for the top crawlers, dubbed “The Butcher’s Masquerade.”

The sixth floor. The Hunting Grounds.

As the remaining crawlers battle for their lives, a new, terrible threat looms. Outside tourists are finally allowed to enter the game, and they are here and ready to hunt. Among them is Vrah, a famed and veteran hunter, intent on collecting the biggest trophy of her career.

But their prey is far from harmless, and this season they are fighting back.

Yesteryear by Claire Caro Burke

Format: 400 pages, Paperback

Published: April 7, 2026 by Fourth Estate

Fiction/library

 I kept seeing reviews how I would hate Natalie, and sure I did not like her. She was horrible. But at the end I just felt sorry for her.

She was clearly depressed already in College, after the first kid even more. She should have gotten help then. Instead she seems to turn more manic, people throw money at her. And she has enablers. No one ever seems to point the finger at the ever more rightwing conspiracy freak of a husband. I just cant hate someone who seems really mentally unstable, and I do not think she ever got help. She is just evil, nah, the woman needs some psychiatric help.

I feel like I read another book then everyone else. Why did no one ever help her?! I get it is hard to help someone who does not know they need help but come on.

Natalie marries young, moves to a farm, starts to film her life. Think Ballerina farm. Smile and pretend everyone is happy, even though everyone is miserable. She only cares about likes. She is focused and driven and pretends to be the best Trad Wife there is.

And then she is transported to the 1800s. And being a real trad wife sucks....

I liked it, it was good. I enjoyed the twists, but, srsly, why did no one ever help her?

Natalie lives a traditional lifestyle – and has the social media accounts to prove it. Her charming farmhouse on her working ranch is artfully cluttered, her husband is a handsome cowboy, her homemade sourdough boules are each more beautiful than the last. So what if there are nannies and producers and industrial-grade ovens behind the scenes? What Natalie’s followers don’t know won’t hurt them.

Then, one morning, Natalie wakes up in a strange, horrible version of reality. Her home, her husband, her children―they’re all familiar, but something’s off. Is this a hoax? A reality show? A test from God? Natalie knows just two things for sure: this isn't her perfect life, and she must escape, by any means possible.

Carole´s Monday: Duke of depravity

Author: Scarlett Scott

Narrator: Kate Handford

Title: Duke of Depravity

Series: Sins and Scoundrels #1

Genre: Historical Romance

Format: Audiobook 

Published: November 23, 2018

Where I Got It: Audible

Summary: 

Crispin Ashforth returns from battle the newly inherited Duke of Whitley with two sisters under his charge. Publicly lauded as a hero, he is haunted by the bitter mission that nearly saw him killed and cost the life of his best friend. He’s desperate to drown out the demons tormenting him by any means, regardless of how depraved.

All he needs to do is find a proper governess for his hellion sisters so he can drink and wench himself into oblivion. Enter Miss Jacinda Turnbow, who is as lovely as she is prickly. It doesn’t take Crispin long to realize he’s found precisely the sort of distraction he needs in the prim governess.

But Jacinda has secrets of her own, and she’s no ordinary governess. To save herself and her father from ruin, she has agreed to infiltrate the duke’s home and search for evidence that he’s a traitor.

Resisting his advances grows more difficult by the day, however, as she discovers there’s more to Crispin than the careless life of sin he’s cultivated. And the greatest danger she faces is losing her heart to the man she has no choice but to betray.

Review:

Picked this up randomly when I saw the title! It fits a reading challenge, and plus it has been ages since I read a Historical Romance. 

Here we follow Jacinda and Crispin. He is the new Duke and has to take care of his sisters, but his mind is still haunted by the war's events, so he's been drinking and man-whoring around town. However, he needs a new governess since his prankster sisters made the last one quite rather quickly. Enter Jacinda. She is undercover to search for evidence against Crispin. There are rumors that he is a traitor. As time goes on, she starts doubting his guilt, but is she biased because she is falling for the man, or is he truly innocent?

This one was alright. It had it's shiny and fun moments, but I didn't buy the love story between these two. Lust? Heck yeah, but there was little love there from what I could see. They rarely spoke, and then Jacinda wasn't who she said she was. There was little time at the end for them to talk it through and really get to know each other.

Love a good lust, and the chemistry was lovely, but I didn't buy their love. Not even in the epilogue. 

Other than that, I still had a lot of fun with this story and seeing them fumble about. 

The narrator did a good job. His voices fit. 

Overall, this was just alright for me because I never felt the love. The lust and etc...that was great! The narrator was good. I just needed more talking. 3 stars. 

Reading Challenges

- Audiobook #27

- Reading Romance Challenge #16 (Duke in Title)