5⭐️ for Japanese Gothic. This is one of those books that makes reading worth it. Beautiful setting: a house among the swordferns in Japan that slowly makes you lose your mind.

This is a story that makes you question the narrative, what is real and what is not, and unravels in the most haunting way.

Will for sure pick up other books by this author.

This was my first Kylie Lee Baker book, but I knew the author’s name and the praise she received for her previous novel Bat eater. This new book of hers was such a surprise to me. Honestly, I’ve never read anything like it. It was so strange and tragic, like a fever dream. It had an emotional impact on me during the whole reading process. It is about the tragic lives of two people, separated by hundreds of years, but finding each other in an ancient house behind the sword ferns in Japan. I find the magical elements so well executed, the writing is exquisite, the characters are so well done, layered and raw.
Right from the begging Lee is the unreliable narrator – “A man, a murderer, a stain”, but his story is very complex. His thoughts are compulsive and dark, and finding out the reason for it had the emotional damage I always appreciate when a book gives me that trauma.
Sen is the other main character; her whole reality is filled with violence and parental abuse, which is to prepare her to be the last samurai, despite her being a girl and the samurai being dismissed. “You are not a mind. You are a weapon. You have no soul, no heart, nothing to forfeit to death. You are already dead.”
But the writing, my lord - perfection and the story - perfection, and the relationship between Sen and Lee - perfection. This is not a romance, this is so much more. The last chapter gives you the payoff for all of the mystery throughout, for the reasoning, for the rules of the reality they share. I am floored by this author’s talent to write and create a story that I yearned for. I didn’t wish it to end, despite being hard to read in some parts about the abuse Sen was put through. I don’t want to say more, so not to spoil anything. I can’t wait for this to be published and for you all to rave about it. Japanese Gothic is simply a masterpiece that you should not miss to read when it comes out.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me with the ARC.

I don’t have many intelligent words to say beyond this was DEVASTATING and I loved every second of it.

Japanese Gothic follows Sen, a training samurai beneath her abusive father who’s recently returned from a rebellion one of its only survivors, and came home a changed man. Across from Sen is Lee who lost his mother mysteriously years ago, and now is haunted by the loss of his roommate a bit less mysteriously (absolutely didn’t flip a lid over room etiquette.) They discover they can traverse timelines and help each other take to pieces the future and past to solve each other’s mysteries.

At the core of it, JG is about the lengths humanity will go to when under abusive relationships and this was both extremely well done in my opinion and horrendously relatable. (I wasn’t taking tips… yet.)

With dual POV stories like this one I usually find myself drawn to one over the other, katana held to my throat (see what I did there?) I couldn’t tell you who I liked more. Sen and Lee are absolute standouts as main characters. And I would pay money to see the iciest of hearts still frozen after reading this whole story.

Sen is agonising to read, someone who only wants to do right by her family and please her father. You feel every character note, her grief, her fear, the little light moments where she should just get to be a kid stolen from her. They were addictive and heartbreaking all at the same time.

Lee was difficult to read in just the best way. He’s done these horrible things but as the story unfolds and you see him struggle with just every aspect of his life, you can’t help but relate to him.

The two father characters are examples of one of the most brilliant literary parallels I think I’ve ever read. Watching Baker warp Lee’s dad into something monstrous in Lee’s eye but till the very end you still think Jim wants the best until the reality gets picked to pieces. Then the arrogance and selfishness of Sen’s father.

I don’t have daddy issues and I’m glad cos this book might well have given me some by osmosis.

I loved the history aspects of this book, I don’t know tonnes about the time period but I felt fully immersed but it never felt exposition-y, Baker did a great job of organically getting the historical context across. The paranormal aspects to JG aren’t overly explained and I think that’s really to the book’s benefit.

Baker has a belief in her readers that I really struggle to find in the modern writer, so much is left up to interpretation and she works doubt into her writing so well. I found the same of Bateater (which happened to be the book to kick off my Horror spree this year) and in JG I found it only double delicious. Sen and Lee both were incredibly unreliable, and left me second guessing everything, which worked so unbelievably well for a murder-mystery like this.

The hallucinations and flashbacks weren’t just a gimmick but worked brilliantly into the plot. I loved the little side stories with the sailor and the turtle, they were lovely splashes of whimsy (well dark whimsy but you take what you can get) against a very dark foreground.

JG is definitely a book that demands and keeps your attention, and I found it quite easy to get lost but that’s more by design than by flaw. The confusion is a feature not a bug, and the beautiful writing (how Baker makes visceral so beautiful is terrifying too me) and incredible dual-timeline plots were more than enough to keep my invested. This will definitely be one I’ll read a few times and spot more things I missed the first round.

Hint if you decide, (as you well should) to read this- if it makes you feel like the world just fell out from under you - probably happening. If you feel like the book just slapped you across the face and called your mother a dirty name? Definitely happening.

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 will 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.

Beautitfully written and totally unsettling. I absolutely loved this!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an early reading copy.

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.

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'.

I really loved Bat Eater, it was one of my favourite horrors from this year, so I jumped on the chance for this ARC! And tbh, I don’t think I could possibly list all the things I loved about it, but I’ll try!!

Positives
- Kylie Lee Baker’s prose is so beautiful - I already thought so in Bat Eater but even since then, I can tell how much she’s improved
- The two intertwined stories were both so intriguing and the mystery of it all had me glued to the page - I literally stayed up until 2am to finish this bc I needed answers!!
- The horror is suitably horrifying - just the right side of gory and grotesque but not without reason or to be gratuitous, while also being creepy and unsettling
- I’m going to have nightmares about suitcases now

Negatives
- None!

Kylie Lee Baker is quickly becoming one of my favourite horror writers, I can’t wait to see what she does next

Honestly one of the more creative and unique books I can remember reading in recent years and solidifying Kylie Lee Baker's adult fiction as must-reads for me.

Japanese Gothic is a mixture of historical fiction and fantasy and ghost story and, yes, some horror, and even though the synopsis is entirely accurate, it somehow did not prepare me at all for what this book would be and the trauma and grief that would permeate the story. I will say that I thought there would be more horror - I felt that it leaned heavier into fantasy than horror for most of the book, though the author did not shy away from getting gory whenever an opportunity presented itself.

I'm not sure I really want to say much more as this is one that it's better to just go along for the ride with. Kylie Lee Baker knows how to hook a reader and not let up, throwing you through the gauntlet of emotions in this dreamscape (nightmare?) of a story.

Thank you to the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a gripping and mysterious read, with two intersecting time periods, modern Japan and 1800s Japan.
It is haunting and unique!

What a weird, dreamlike, dark and bloodsoaked book, I loved it!
Japanese Gothic is the story of Lee and Sen, two people split by time. Lee is an American teen living in 2026, finding sanctuary in his father's house in Japan after a traumatic event. He's convinced he murdered his college roommate, but can't remember why or where he hid the body. Sen is a Samurai in exile, hiding from imperial soldiers in the same house with her harsh father who she's desperate to please. But they're not isolated and, as their worlds collide, they have their own reckonings. Lee with the past and Sen with the future.

The writing in this book was absolutely perfect. It was gorgeous without being overly fluffy or ostentatious and taking me out of the story. It just drew me in and wouldn't let go. The writing made the horror elements and gore so impactful (do not read this book while you're eating) and it was just so good to read. The protagonists, Lee and Sen, where the foundations and heart of the book and I also really liked how they were written. They weren't good people and the book made that very clear, yet I couldn't help but root for them and their relationship across time. They both were so tragically and realistically human in their flaws which was really impactful to read.

The book was really murky in places and hard to parse, which I think won't work for everyone but I enjoyed it. The ending felt quite abrupt and unsatisfying even, with many questions left unanswered but it left me with a lot to reflect on and think about which made it worth it in my opinion. It was brilliantly twisty and, though I guessed some, some twists I didn't see coming at all and I loved the 'OH' moment were everything is suddenly snapped into context and focus. It's also incredibly and unrelentingly dark and the themes of mental illness and domestic violence as well as the real horror of the events in 1800s Japan were very heavy and much more impactful than the supernatural elements, though those were well woven in.

I think my one nitpick is that Sen's dialogue and relationship with Lee felt just a bit too modern for the time period, but that is really a nitpick and the story was so impactful and brilliant that it really didn't matter.

I don't actually have a huge amount to say about this one other than it was excellent and I loved it. It was strange, unconventional, dark, tragic and so well crafted. I'll definitely have to check out more of Kylie Lee Baker's books in the future because this one was such a good read.

A lyrically inventive horror novel interwoven with mythology where two people living centuries apart discover a door between their worlds. An eerie, unrelenting tale that exposes the true horrors of this world.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐫 & 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫

I was riveted by this the whole way through, the pacing of it was excellent and the story being told was so interesting. I can tell it's one of those books where if you read it a second time you would see so many little hidden things you didn't notice before.

What an absolutely amazing start to my reading year!

This was such a fantastic read and I could not put it down. The writing is fantastic and the way the narrative all weaves together is perfect. I love that we have an unreliable narrator that makes you question everything.

Just an amazing read that I will think about for a long time to come!

Another fantastic book from Kylie Lee Baker. Just like Bat Eater, I couldn’t put it down. Both Lee and Sen’s stories were totally engrossing, and I genuinely had no idea where the story was heading. The ending was perfect. I love how Baker writes her characters — they feel so tragically real. This is a beautiful and unique take on a haunted-house story, exploring the ghosts of our past, present, and future, and the lasting impact of trauma and grief, reminding us just how fragile we all are.
I loved this book.

Kylie Lee Baker is absolutely amazing, I didnt think they could top Bat Eater but Japanese Gothic is absolutely an amazing novel, it was creepy, it had its humour, it had its tension and I really loved reading this book i cant wait to see what she writes next !!!

Japanese Gothic is a stunning, immersive novel that blends historical fantasy and gothic horror with razor-sharp emotional depth. Kylie Lee Baker crafts a haunting atmosphere from the very first page, and it only grows richer and more unsettling as the story unfolds.

The setting is exquisitely rendered, steeped in dread, beauty, and tradition, and the gothic elements feel both classic and refreshingly distinct. Every detail—from the rituals to the quiet horrors lurking beneath the surface—adds to the oppressive, mesmerizing mood. The story excels at balancing psychological tension with moments of genuine terror.

What truly elevates this book is its protagonist and emotional core. The exploration of grief, duty, identity, and survival is handled with nuance and care, making the horror hit harder because it’s so deeply personal. The pacing is tight, the stakes are high, and the payoff is immensely satisfying.

Japanese Gothic is atmospheric, unsettling, and unforgettable—a must-read for fans of gothic horror, historical fantasy, and dark, character-driven stories. This is a standout novel that lingers long after the final page.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Japanese Gothic is a haunting, beautifully unsettling read that has stayed with me long after finishing. The dual timelines weave together through an unreliable narrator, creating a mystery that is eerie, gripping, and deeply atmospheric.

At times the story is deliberately disorienting, blurring the line between reality and illusion in a way that perfectly mirrors the characters’ unraveling. The writing is grotesque yet poetic, and the creeping horror lingered in my mind—I couldn’t stop thinking about it afterward. I also loved the underlying commentary on samurai desperately trying to cling to a fading way of life, which adds a poignant historical depth to the story.

Creepy, beautiful, and hypnotic. Having loved Bat Eater as well, Kylie Lee Baker has firmly cemented her as an auto buy author for me.

I seldom read something that was this brilliant.
We have two protagonists who are haunted by their life and decisions. They discover, that they can help each other through timelines and thus we have a devastatingly good novel on our hand. I nearly read it in one go, because I always wanted to know what happens next. This is my first read from the author, but surely not my last.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for granting me an ARC of this book by one of my favorite authors. After Kylie Lee Baker's debut horror novel "Bat Eater", I was very excited to dive into another story from her in the horror genre.
"Japanese Gothic" was one of my most anticipated releases of 2026, and it was worth every hour of reading!

We follow Lee and Sen, two characters in diffent time periods, linked by the same house in Japan.
In 2026, Lee Turner flees New York after killing his roommate, though he can’t remember how or why. He hides out in his father’s remote house, where strange things start happening, animals avoid it, the windows change, and a woman with a sword appears at night.
In 1877, Sen, a young samurai in exile, is hiding in that same house while imperial soldiers hunt her family. Her father returns from war acting like a monster, and Sen will do anything to please him. When a foreign man appears outside her window, she knows something terrible is coming.

"Japanese Gothic" is one of those books you want to talk about in depth, but also can’t, because you don’t want to spoil all the thrills and surprises for others.
The writing is, as always, fantastic: both beautiful and twisted. The descriptions are vivid, graphic, and richly detailed. The novel leaves you uneasy, with shivers running down your spine—but in a beautiful way, because being able to convey this kind of emotion through words is truly impressive.

As someone who loves and has studied Japanese language and culture, I will never stop recommending Kylie Lee Baker's books. She knows how to write about Japan in a way that both teaches you and transports you through history. She does it once again here: her depiction of the Meiji era was one of my favorite aspects of the novel, and most of the time, while reading Sen’s point of view, I felt like I was watching a samurai movie.

I loved the dual POV. Whether you are following Lee’s or Sen’s timeline, you are constantly left with questions and uncertainty until the very end. Both characters, especially Lee without going into spoilers, are lost and confused by everything happening around them, and since we follow their thoughts so closely, we feel just as disoriented. Pieces of answers are revealed little by little, but just when you think the fog has finally lifted, even more mysteries emerge.
The ending was incredibly surprising, and I loved it!! I never expected this, even though all the hints were right there in front of my eyes…

The horror in "Japanese Gothic" isn’t portrayed in the same way it often is in the U.S. or Europe. Depending on where you come from, the core codes of the genre can be very different, and Japanese horror is especially distinctive.
Reading "Japanese Gothic" feels like reading an old Japanese horror tale. There are no gory scenes or jump scares, but rather a heavy, mysterious atmosphere, the slow invasion of everyday life by the supernatural, and a deep psychological dimension.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is so so weird but in a good way. The weirder it gets the better. This has to be one of the books that left me WTF multiple times and I loved every single one.

Lee was one of the strangest characters I’ve read, but I loved him. His struggles with mental health and loneliness were so well written and portrayed.

The same goes for Sen. She was raised to be a weapon and she was so dependent on her father’s approval and opinion. She was a great character, I really liked her.

I was confused most of the time but that just made me more interested in the story and how everything would develop.

A few plot lines were a bit predictable but still great and the ending was incredibly satisfying.

Kylie Lee Baker is definitely an amazing author and I can’t wait to read Bat Eater. I was curious before and now I’m even more.

Kylie Lee Baker’s range is absolutely bonkers. On the one hand, she can write some incredible YA books, whether it be a fantasy duology or a contemporary romance. On the other hand, she writes some of the most brutal and terrifying horror fiction I’ve read. Japanese Gothic was no different. I am honestly glad that I didn’t read it at night because it would have given me nightmares.

This book turned out to be a lot darker than I expected. It didn’t shy away from being descriptive in its depiction of blood, gore and terribly violent scenes. I honestly felt my stomach twist itself into knots, but at the same time I simply could not look away. There was something about the writing and the story that kept me engrossed from the beginning, right till I got to the final page.

This is very much a character driven story, and both Lee and Sen take centre stage. These two are incredibly complex characters, both living in broken families and existing in a way where their life hangs by a thread. Lee is an unreliable narrator done right. He is confused and other medication as he deals with the mysterious happenings of his father’s new home in Japan. His mother is missing, and Lee may have killed his roommate without knowing why. Almost two centuries prior, Sen is the daughter of a samurai, being trained by her father to become a warrior and carry on his legacy. But things are not right there either, not since her father returned from a rebellion, completely different.

When it comes to the narrative, I think this is such a uniquely crafted story. Timelines combine and merge, and there’s a strange sense of the supernatural interwoven through the story. I could never figure out where the story would go, and that really enhanced the reading experience for me. The story keeps on your toes from the get-go and never really stops. You may be left confused and creeped, but you’ll end up loving this.

Both Lee and Sen’s stories are full of grief, and maybe even despair. But there’s also a thread of hope that is woven throughout the book. And the climax as well as the ending answered some of the most important questions I had and solved some crucial mysteries, while also leaving you with a taste of “uhh…okay, that happened.”

Japanese Gothic is another gorgeously crafted horror masterpiece from the mind of Kylie Lee Baker. I love all of her writing, but her horror fiction, especially this one, might just take the top spot.

Following two time lines, 140 years apart and two entirely different family situations. I must admit that for a lot of this book I had no idea what was going on, in the best way. I couldn’t figure out how it would end and why things were happening the way they were and I could never have guessed the ending. I laughed, I (almost) cried and I had an amazing time reading this book.

Kylie Lee Baker has just become an auto buy author for me as Bat Eater was one of my favourite books from last year and this one definitely did not disappoint.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for the e-ARC.

I previously read Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker, which was a 2025 Kindig Gem for me, so I was very excited to read her latest novel – Japanese Gothic.

It’s 2025 and Lee Turner has killed his roommate and fled to his father’s house in rural Japan. His room in the house surrounded by sword ferns contains a window which sometimes disappears and a closet that leads to a concrete wall.
It’s 1877 and Sen is the daughter of one of the last remaining Samurais. Her family are hiding in rural Japan, in a house surrounded by sword ferns, and her closet leads to a concrete wall. But one night there is light coming from the closet and Sen and Lee’s worlds start to blend together…

Japanese Gothic really solidified Kylie Lee Baker as a must-read author for me. Just like Bat Eater, it blends Japanese culture and folklore with thriller and horror genres, to create something which is unique and difficult to put down. Although I don’t know much about the culture of the Samurai, I feel like I came away with an appreciation and increased knowledge about the subject. Sen is such a layered and interesting character – a woman trying to be the best warrior she can for her Samurai father who does not appreciate her and a mother who is afraid of her. The idea that her family are the last of the Samurais, at a cost of her father returning home from battle instead of dying honourably was interesting.

Lee’s timeline is also gripping and intriguing which meant I didn’t feel like I was racing through one point of view to get to the other one. He has a history of substance abuse and is addicted to sedatives which makes his thought processes muddy, and he becomes an unreliable narrator, being unsure if what is happening is real or not. He thinks he has killed his roommate but can’t remember how or where he hid the body. He also wants to find out what happened to his mother who disappeared when he was young which adds a sense of urgency and motivation to his conversations with Sen as he works out how he can see her and whether he can commune with the dead.

The story had me hooked completely and the pace is fast and doesn’t let up at any moment. There is a real sense of unease running throughout and unanswered questions which kept me up at night, frantically reading to find out what was happening. The conclusion was an interesting twist which I did not see coming and perhaps does throw out a few more questions regarding the characters established backstories and reveals, but I didn’t mind in the payoff of a great story.

Overall, Kylie Lee Baker has done it again with a twisty gothic thriller steeped in Japanese folklore – a 2026 Kindig Gem! Thank you to NetGalley & Hodder and Stoughton for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Bat Eater; it was one of my favourite books last year. Then I read The Scarlet Alchemised, which I liked, but not as Bat Eater. So I was intrigued by Japanese Gothic, and I LOVED IT.

Kyle's writing grabs and drowns you with a beautiful violence.  I was hooked since chapter 1. Lee's story is heartbreaking, and it's perfectly balanced and complemented by Sen's. The violence they endure and the loneliness of those two are written beautifully, and their relationship is one of the most beautiful things I have read in a long time. The final is sad, but it's the perfect ending for this story and made me stare at the wall for a long time after I read it. 

Baker is a crafty writer; her horror scenes always chill me out, not just for their rawness, but also because she knows when and how to put them. Her books are like a perfect harmony of all those different parts, and believe me, Baker blends a lot of different things in her books, and I don't know how she manages to do that and make it work, which always amazes me.

I can't recommend this book enough! If you enjoy creepy houses, a Your Name kind of situationship, a good mystery ( or more than one), a little bit of a fairy tale or a story about how we endure the violence that engulfes us, you will fall in love with Japanese Gothic.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review the ARC. I love it so much, I can't wait to buy a copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This is a dual timeline set horror novel. It’s all centred around a house, and how it exists in modern day, and at the time of the end of the Samurai. I really liked the sense of liminality the book created. Both in terms of setting and place, but also in the psyche of the characters.

I loved the author’s previous novel, so I had high hopes for this one. I was not disappointed. There was such a pervasive sense of unease throughout the whole book. The modern main character is a highly unreliable narrator. His memory is patchy, and he’s trying to piece together a horrible event that has happened. It’s quite harrowing. There’s a constant sense of foreboding about what he had done and if he would get caught.

This is a really clever book, how it manages to keep the reader constantly unbalanced while still maintaining a clear and followable narrative. The book is brutal at times. There were some really disturbing scenes of violence. So do check trigger warnings. It’s not gratuitous and it is relevant to the narrative, but still deeply unnerving.

A fantastic read.

★★★★★

[book:Japanese Gothic|233333688] [author:Kylie Lee Baker|20095503]

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.

Japanese Gothic is, quite simply, a masterpiece of modern horror. Kylie Lee Baker has taken everything that makes gothic fiction so enduring—atmosphere, obsession, decay, generational trauma—and fused it seamlessly with Japanese mythology, samurai history, and a time-bending narrative that left me completely breathless. I loved this book from the first page to the last, and by the end I was genuinely in awe of what Baker accomplished.

At the heart of the story are two characters separated by centuries yet bound by the same house—and the same impossible doorway. In 2026, Lee Turner arrives in Japan reeling from a blackout he’s convinced ended in murder. His mother is missing, presumed dead. His father has purchased a remote, fern-choked house that feels wrong in ways Lee can’t articulate. He’s medicated, unreliable, and deeply fractured—but utterly compelling.

In 1877, Sen lives in that same house as the daughter of a disgraced samurai, training relentlessly under a father who values honor above humanity. The fall of the samurai looms large over her world, and her desperation for approval is as sharp as the blade she carries.

The time-jumping structure is nothing short of brilliant. I adored the way the narrative moved between Lee and Sen, gradually tightening the threads that bind them together. Their connection feels mysterious at first—eerie, fragile, almost impossible—and watching that mystery unfold was one of the most satisfying reading experiences I’ve had in a long time. Baker trusts her readers. She layers clues, symbolism, and mythology carefully, allowing the full picture to emerge with devastating clarity. And when the reveal comes? It lands. Completely.

The setting is extraordinary. The isolated house behind sword ferns and wild ginger feels suspended in time, claustrophobic and alive. Baker’s prose is cinematic without being overwrought; every sliding door, every shift of light across the floorboards, every whisper of wind feels intentional. The atmosphere is thick, immersive, and at times genuinely suffocating—in the best possible way. I could see it, hear it, feel it.

What elevates Japanese Gothic even further is its integration of Japanese folklore and samurai mythology. The historical backdrop of the Meiji era and the dissolution of the samurai class gives Sen’s storyline emotional and thematic weight. The embedded legend woven into the narrative isn’t decorative—it’s structural. It becomes the spine of the story, deepening the themes of inheritance, sacrifice, identity, and the dangerous things we carry across generations. The mythology doesn’t just enhance the horror; it defines it.

This is a violent book at times. It is unflinching, bloody, and psychologically intense. But none of it feels gratuitous. The horror—both supernatural and painfully human—serves the emotional core of the story. Lee and Sen are broken in different ways, shaped by expectation, grief, and isolation, and their intertwined journeys are as tragic as they are terrifying. Beneath the gore and the ghosts is something profoundly tender.

The pacing is masterful, the structure ambitious, and the emotional payoff devastating. I finished this wanting to immediately reread it to trace all the clues I know I missed. There’s a particular moment of realization that genuinely made me stop reading and just sit there, staring into space, trying to process what I had uncovered alongside the characters.

Kylie Lee Baker has raised the bar for gothic horror. Japanese Gothic is unsettling, intelligent, emotionally layered, and exquisitely crafted. It is one of the most immersive and satisfying horror novels I’ve read in years.

An easy, unquestionable five stars.

Wow, just wow. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of Japanese Gothic, and having loved and raved about Bat Eater in 2025, I couldn’t wait to pick this book up.

Reading a second book by an author I already have such a high opinion of can be a bit daunting but Kylie Lee Baker absolutely hit it out of the park with this incredible novel. Japanese Gothic is a clever, mind bending and eerie tale that I just couldn’t put down. I’d recommend people go into this blind, the way I did, because reading through this book felt like the most satisfying puzzle and left me absolutely awestruck.

Thank you to Hodder Books for the advanced copy.

This was incredible, and an early frontrunner for my favourite book of 2026!
The story was a unique blend of dual protagonists separated by time with elements of Japanese folklore, the plot was gripping and keeps you guessing throughout as things gradually take shape and link together in a satisfying way.
Characters were memorable and realistic, multifaceted and messy, making them easy to relate to or empathise with.
The writing style was easy to follow and addictive, the book was hard to put down as I wondered how things would resolve. Pacing was excellent, giving the plot room to breathe as characters were fleshed out, then ramping up for action and suspense, ending in an extremely satisfying way.
I highly recommend this book, and eager to check out the author's previous work.

Unsettling visceral horror, a puzzle box mystery, and more raccoons than expected.

I intentionally spaced out reading this more than I usually would with books, because it's such a heavy story of complex families and child abuse, where the potential of a body stuffed into a suitcase isn't even the worst part you'll read.

To fully understand the novel, you need to read the acknowledgements. It's so important, and adds a whole layer of the author's culture and family history to the story, making this already 5 star read one of my favourite books of the year.

Bat Eater was one of my favourite books of 2025 so when I had the opportunity to get early access to Japanese Gothic I basically cried.

Kylie Lee Baker once again explores so many modern day issues through a historical lens that has me curling in a ball from how hard they hit. Lee’s POV is one of confusion and mystery whilst Sen’s POV is one of the most agonising stories I have ever read and they are balanced perfectly.

This book combines so many different versions of horror that it’s hard to pinpoint which part is the most horrific. From a father’s ‘love’ to blood and gore, everything combines to unload a truly heartbreaking exploration of similar souls in different timelines.

Kylie Lee Baker has created a story with perfect pacing, amazingly detailed characters and has established that she really is that author. I will be buying every release she has in the future because I have never had an author make me feel this way not just once but twice.

Truly, it’s only February but Japanese Gothic might already be my book of the year because it’s going to be my go-to recommendation

I knew this book was going to be five starts from the first chapter. As a dark, tragic combination of two timelines you need to buckle in and let this story take you wherever the hell it wants to take you.

I am so very grateful to Kylie Lee Baker and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

This book absolutely blew my mind. There are so many layers to it that I found myself constantly trying to piece things together. I definitely need to read more psychological horror. This one was amazing.

The story unfolds across two timelines. In the present day, we follow a young man who returns to Japan to his father’s new home after college. He may or may not have murdered his college roommate, but his memories are fragmented and unreliable, leaving both him and us uncertain about what really happened.

In the past timeline, we meet a female samurai living in the very same house. Her family is hiding from Western forces who are hunting down samurai unwilling to submit to their rule.

As the story progresses, the threads between these two timelines begin to intertwine. I don’t want to say much more about the plot, you should find more while reading the book. The book constantly throws new revelations at you.

It’s dark, gruesome in places, and deeply psychological. Being inside the protagonist’s mind felt unsettling at times, I found myself spiraling along with his thoughts and doubts. The tension and unpredictability kept me completely hooked.

This was a brilliant, unsettling read that I highly recommend picking up when it releases.

Thank you @netgalley and @hodderbooks for the eARC.

4.5 stars rounded up.

I was drawn in by the cover and stayed for the beautiful writing. It was so well written that I flew through it.

Of the two timelines, I preferred Lee’s. I was immediately invested in his character, whereas with Sen I grew to like her more gradually as the story unfolded.

At times the story felt a little muddy, and I’m not sure I fully understood everything that happened. That doesn’t particularly bother me though, as I enjoyed the ride, especially the inclusion of Japanese folklore, which was fascinating.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Japanese Gothic follows the stories of Sen, a young samurai in 1877 and Lee, a troubled teen in 2026 who, by chance, happen to have their lives entangled within in each others due to a shared closet that allows the pair to cross over into each others present.

For Sen her life is full of danger, the young girl of the last surviving samurai. She would do anything to protect her family. For Lee he feels as if something isn’t quite right with himself. He’s drawn to death and so he’s drawn to Sen who, by all accounts, is a ghost in his eyes. He also has unanswered questions circling his mother’s disappearance. He needs to find out what happened to her and he believes Sen is the key to finding out what that was.

I loved the plot twist at the end, it really turned everything I’d read upside down.

A Dark Convergence of Violence, Trauma, and Myth.

The world of the samurai has always fascinated me for the way it balances beauty with brutality. In Japanese Gothic, Kylie Lee Baker explores that tension with precision, weaving a story that moves seamlessly between our modern world and the dying days of the samurai. The novel follows Lee, a contemporary university student, and Sen, a young woman in the late nineteenth century being trained to become the last female samurai. Both are shaped by the strict codes of their worlds, haunted by family, and drawn into violence and obsession that tests the limits of honour, loyalty, and survival.

Baker immediately immerses us readers in a sense of unease: “In the house behind the sword ferns, there was a man, and a murderer, and a stain.” Even the smallest detail, a bloodstain on varnished wood, carries history and foreboding, hinting at the dark currents that run through both past and present.

Lee Turner’s life is defined by absence and trauma. After his mother disappeared when he was twelve, he has been haunted by dreams of her being folded into a suitcase, unsure what is real and what lurks in his subconscious. College life in the United States becomes unbearable, and Lee flees to Japan, seeking refuge with his father and his father’s new girlfriend. The journey is not only physical but a plunge into the tangled web of memory, grief, and the subtle, controlling power his father wields over him.

In the contemporary narrative, Lee is consumed by obsession and anxiety, hyper-aware of his father’s moods and physical frailties. His father, calm and measured on the surface, exhibits subtle control and elements of racial fetishisation, interpreting Lee’s connection to Sen superficially as attraction rather than recognizing her complexity. Lee feels “trapped inside the cage of his bones with his heartbeat thundering inside him,” this is a mind on the edge, sensitive to both his own obsessions and the hidden stresses in his father’s life.

Sen’s story, by contrast, is stripped to survival and duty. Her childhood becomes a testing ground for strength, and family is as dangerous as any enemy. In a society where women cannot be samurai, Sen bears the weight of a brutal tradition, destined to be the last of her kind. Every decision carries consequences, every failure measured in blood and honour, leaving no room for reflection or indulgence in pain.

Through these parallel narratives, Baker crafts a brutal meditation on patriarchy across centuries. Sen’s father embodies the uncompromising codes of the samurai, while Lee’s father wields a quieter, subtler form of influence. Both shape their children’s lives profoundly, highlighting how power, expectation, and family violence leave enduring marks.

The novel is further enriched by Japanese folklore, particularly the legend of Urashima Tarō, which threads through the narrative like a haunting echo. Myth and reality intertwine, emphasising memory, consequence, and the inescapable weight of history.

What struck me most is how Lee and Sen’s stories converge. Their mirrored struggles build tension until the threads collide. The ending is both shocking and inevitable, a revelation that resonates with the themes of honour, loss, and the scars of the past.

Like Baker’s previous novel Bat Eater, Japanese Gothic blends cultural history, folklore, and psychological horror with remarkable confidence. It is dark, atmospheric, and intelligent, exploring shame, trauma, fatherhood, and the long shadow cast by patriarchal power.

Japanese Gothic is more than a murder mystery or supernatural thriller. It is a haunting meditation on grief, family, and the ways past violence shapes the present.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the arc

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC
A nineteenth century woman samurai trying to keep a brutal father happy while hiding from the government who want to ban all their kind meets a twenty-first century man who’s convinced he just murdered his roommate but can’t remember where he put the body in a house in the countryside of Japan where the walls between the worlds are paper-thin.

This book is expansive and ambitious, both characters in both timelines have so much going on, and there are frequent flashbacks which build up the bigger (if not always reliabl) picture. Sen was the more likeable protagonist, but Lee was probably more fascinating, especially in terms of how unreliable his narration is.

The recurring motifs—sea turtles, suitcases, doors, stains—make the book feel cohesive. The horror is subtle and creeping, and comes from within characters just as often as it comes from without—particularly the pervasive horror of violence against Japanese women across the centuries. The story is freaky and mind-bending and strangely beautiful as it unfolds, even through all the bloodstains

In 2025, Lee has fled to his father's new house in Japan after killing his college roommate. With gaps in his memory, and haunted by his mother’s unexplained disappearance when he was a child, Lee starts to unravel.
In 1877, Sen is being trained by her samurai father. Eager to prove herself as a female samurai, and earn her father's approval, she trains relentlessly.
Despite being almost 150 years apart, Lee and Sen's worlds suddenly collide. Lee wants answers on his mother's disappearance, and Sen will do anything to protect her family from imperial soldiers, but as the two try to help each other, they uncover secrets beyond what either of them could imagine...

"In the house behind the sword ferns, tiny hairline cracks began to crawl across the surface of Lee's world."

Japanese Gothic is a visceral tale of legacy, tradition and dysfunctional family dynamics. Kylie Lee Baker creates a beautifully horrific atmosphere across both timelines, and at the centre is the house Lee and Sen share. It feels like its own character—suffocating, haunting—yet it was so distinct depending on whether we were in Lee or Sen's timeline.

"He sensed, even then, that the house had been built at the edge of a cliff overlooking an abyss of darkness, that it teetered somewhere between a beautiful lie and raw truth.
And Lee wanted to fall all the way down."

Lee and Sen share so many similarities, but they are their own distinct people. I enjoyed both of their POVs so much—Lee’s tenuous grasp on reality made me feel like I was losing my own mind, and Sen's need to survive despite her hardships was extremely moving at times. Kylie Lee Baker does a fantastic job of bringing emotion into the horror so easily, showcasing the complexities of humanity.

"You told me that in your world, you have no power at all. You might think it's different for me, since I'm a warrior, but it isn't. I'm only the arrow that lodges in a tree, not the archer who aims it."

Japanese Gothic is a gripping tale from start to finish, perfect for those that love stories with a mix of supernatural and real-life horror.

I think Baker has the potential to be a horror icon for decades to come. This completely blew me away. Psychological and occasionally disgusting, so experimental in a way that should have been off putting but somehow?? Wasn’t?? I read this in one feverish sitting. More immediately. Go buy this book and buy one for all your friends.

When I’m writing this, I finished this book only a few hours ago, and I feel like staring at my ceiling for a few more. I’ll say this, Kylie Lee Baker sure knows how to write horror that take roots from the complexity of human beings—both beautifully and brilliantly. I was very surprised by the tone and direction of this book. It’s so gripping from start to finish. You never truly know what’s going to happen and of course, you can draw some conclusions the deeper it goes but don’t get your hopes up, they’ll get crushed little by little.

This was heartbreaking in so many ways. I felt for Sen, especially with her need to prove herself to her terrible father. She’s loyal to her disservice. I also felt for Lee and his way of coping with grief. The metaphors, the twists and turns. I was obsessed. Now I don’t want to say too much because this is a free spoilers review but; this book will gradually bury you in the ground of an old samurai house in Chiran, in the prefecture of Kagoshima, where your soul will rest in-between the trials and errors of the past and present.

Content Warnings: Parental abuse (emotional and physical), child abuse / harsh upbringing, family trauma and estrangement, disappearance of a parent, grief and loss, violence and horror elements, psychological distress / unsettling themes, death.

Kylie Lee Baker has officially solidified herself as one of my auto-read authors. Once again, she’s left me finishing a book with tears streaming down my face, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. With this and my beloved Bat Eater, I truly think she has found her perfect niche. Her blend of horror with Japanese mythology and lore is nothing short of masterful.

Japanese Gothic is haunting, atmospheric, and deeply emotional. It follows Lee (2026) and Sen (1877), two characters separated by time, yet inexplicably connected. From the very beginning, there’s this lingering sense that something is wrong, but you can’t quite place what it is. That unease builds so beautifully throughout the story, and when everything finally comes together in those final chapters, it’s staggering. The clues were always there, you just don’t realise how perfectly they fit until it’s too late.

Both Lee and Sen have incredibly complex and painful family dynamics, and this is where the story hit me the hardest. Lee feels like a ghost in his own life, haunted by the disappearance of his mother and the fractured relationship with his father that followed. Sen’s story is equally heartbreaking, raised by a samurai father who trains her harshly to carry on his legacy, even at the cost of her own identity and her relationships with her mother and brothers. These relationships are written with such rawness and care that you can’t help but ache for both of them. Because of this, their connection to one another feels so profound. In each other, they find a sense of peace and understanding that they’ve never experienced before, as if they are finally seen. Two souls, separated by centuries, yet deeply familiar. It’s beautiful and tragic all at once.

Kylie’s prose is everything I’ve come to love - gothic, dark, and genuinely unsettling, yet layered with so much emotion. It pairs perfectly with the fast-paced nature of the plot as we unravel the mystery of how these two characters are connected. I also loved how the story is interwoven with myths and folklore, each one carrying deeper meaning and quietly hinting at the truth beneath the surface.

This book is haunting, intelligent, and emotionally devastating in the best way. Kylie Lee Baker has once again proven that she is a force within the horror genre, and I will read absolutely anything she writes next.

This book had me feeling quite literally all the emotions and I'm obsessed with it.

Japanese Gothic follows Lee and Sen who exist in different time lines that are hundreds of years apart, their worlds connected by a single door in an ancient samurai house. It's unsettling, it's haunting, and it's a book that truly makes you question and doubt everything the characters do and say. I'm usually someone that struggles with keeping up with multiple time lines, but I really enjoyed it in Japanese Gothic and I loved watching the story unfold from both characters perspectives.

Lee is living in the current day and has escaped to his father's home in Japan, fleeing after the murder of his roommate. He's haunted by memories of all the blood, but what he can't remember is why he did it and where he hid the body. He constantly relives the murder trying to figure out how it all went down. Lee is such a strange character and he's one that genuinely made me feel so unsettled being inside his head. He's always been a bit of an outcast and he's used to getting strange looks from those around him, so when he meets Sen he's mesmerised by her, as she's one of the few people that isn't immediately scared of him.

Sen is a young woman living in 1877, who has been trained by her father to be a samurai after a failed rebellion. It's all she knows and all she wants is to win her father's approval - no matter how impossible it may be. As part of her training her father has instilled it in her that to be a true samurai she cannot fear death. After meeting Lee, however, she starts to question her own existence and it flips her perspective on the world she lives in upside down.

One of my favourite things was the incorporation of the tale of Urashima Tarō. I've heard a couple of different versions of this story before and really enjoyed how it played into Japanese Gothic, I think it was really beautifully done!

I'm definitely going to be doing a second read through, and I highly recommend this if you're in the mood for something wonderfully uncomfortable and weird!

Thank you so much for the ARC!

This book had me pulling faces of disgust at some points and gasping at others. The story was deep, magical, disgusting, insightful and lyrical all at once. Japanese Gothic firmly cemented Kylie Lee Baker as an auto read author for me.

4.5⭐️ rounded up!

What a deliciously creepy, gory, beautiful novel this was! The non linear sequences, unravelling of Lee’s mind, and the surreal quality of the writing all lent themselves so well to the mystery and building unease. I loved it and I think Kylie Lee Baker is a genius.

The only reason it’s not 5 stars is that I wish the “reveal” had been weaved into the story rather than explained in a closing chapter. I’d rather a story be open ended or left for the reader to try to understand from clues than to be fed an explanation like that. I still loved it regardless!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for the ARC!

Japanese Gothic is a brilliantly original concept with a lot of moving pieces but Baker keeps them all spinning with an elegance that seems almost effortless. The way Japanese mythology and folklore was woven into the narrative in subtle but distinctive ways was right up my alley and the slowly building dread and horror was perfectly done. This was so different to Bat Eater and yet filled with the same intelligent, literary horror - I can’t wait to see what Baker does next.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton & Kylie Lee Baker for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5 stars.
Genre(s): horror, historical fiction, paranormal.
Date read: 18/02/2026-21/02/2026 (5 days).

Overall impression: Kylie absolutely ATE with Japanese Gothic. Her writing quality improved so much since Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng and I enjoyed all of the layers of complexity and mystery. I was glued to the page from the start, having no clue what direction the plot was going to take. The characters were morally grey and gritty, and I really enjoyed seeing them transform as we learned more about their past. The ending was bittersweet but fit the story perfectly. Kylie is officially one of my auto-buy authors.

Tropes:
➵ Anti-heroes
➵ Murderer with amnesia
➵ Female samurai in training
➵ Missing person
➵ Time travel
➵ Ghosts, spirits & gods
➵ Tense family dynamics
➵ Mystery & plot twists
➵ Not everything is as it seems
➵ Mental illness rep

⤷ Plot
It took me a second to realise we were going to be reading two stories in parallel, that would eventually link through paranormal/supernatural events. Both stories were equally as engaging and I liked how contrasting they were. I wasn't sure what sort of ending we were going to have, given one of the stories was from the villain's POV. It ended up fitting the book really well and although it wasn't overly happy, it was satisfying.

⤷ Characters:
Lee and Sen are our two main characters in Japanese Gothic and you're not really supposed to like either of them. Lee is a murderer that can't remember why he committed the act. Sen is a samurai in training with a tragic family situation who refuses to have an identity outside of her fighting ability - even when the rest of the world is moving on and it puts her family at risk. I felt more sorry for Sen (and the women in her family) after we learned about the trauma she went through.

I loved how complex and complementary these two characters were. We slowly got to peel away at their layers and learn what made them the way they were. They went through some development towards the end of the book, which is always nice to see. I wanted them to have a HEA so badly, even though they were heavily flawed.

⤷ World-building:
I really liked that the lore wasn't explained straight away and the characters had to work out the mechanisms of time travel themselves. It added a mystery element that was really engaging. The two different time periods were depicted perfectly and it was easy to see the contrast between them - whether that be daily life, the culture and clothes/food.

⤷ Writing:
I liked Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie and didn't have any major issues with the writing style. But Japanese Gothic was on a whole other level of genius. It had a complex timeline that flowed seamlessly, combining scenes with characters from historical and modern day Japan. A few scenes were repeated from the start and end of the book which had a powerful impact and was a stylistic choice I haven't seen done much. The pace was spot on. I am SO excited to see what other brilliant work Kylie writes! She is now an auto-buy author for me.

I would definitely be checking behind my closet after this one! 🫡 (iykyk)

I genuinely wish I was able to break the scale for this one, because this book deserves six stars and then some. This was one of those rare reads that completely pulled me under its spell from the very first page and refused to let go.

The atmosphere is thick and haunting, the kind that lingers long after you close the book, and I found myself thinking about it at the most random moments during the day and waiting to get back to it. What a beautiful piece of literature. It made me feel things which I didn't know was possible to feel. I could cry and cry I did 🤌🏽🥺

At its core, the story follows Lee, who travels to Japan and becomes entangled in something far darker and more ancient than he ever expected. What begins as a personal journey slowly unravels into a chilling descent into folklore, grief, and the unsettling weight of the past. As Lee navigates unfamiliar spaces and shifting realities, he crosses paths with Sen, whose presence adds another layer of mystery and emotional depth to the story. Together, their paths feel both fated and fragile, like something that could shatter at any moment.

I won't give too much away so it doesn't spoil you because this book is a journey and everyone should experience it with their own thoughts and feelings. But trust me, you'd want to walk that path and get to the end.

What truly made this book stand out for me was how beautifully it balanced horror with emotion. It is not just about fear, it is about longing, memory, and the quiet ache of things left unsaid. The writing feels almost hypnotic, soft in some moments and then suddenly sharp enough to leave a mark. There is a sense of unease that builds slowly but never loses its grip, and when it hits, it hits hard.

The gothic elements woven into a Japanese backdrop felt fresh and immersive. It was eerie in a way that felt deeply rooted in culture and history, not just surface level horror. Every scene felt intentional, every detail placed with care, and it created this suffocating yet beautiful atmosphere that I could not get enough of.

The ending was perfect. It gave me that exact feeling of placing the final piece of Puzzle and being able to see the whole picture come together.

Tropes:

• Gothic horror
• Slow burn dread
• Folklore and myth woven into reality
• Unreliable sense of reality
• Emotionally driven horror
• Mysterious companion
• Descent into the unknown
• Haunting pasts

This is the kind of book that reminds me why I love reading in the first place. It is immersive, unsettling, and deeply emotional all at once. I did not just read this story, I experienced it. If I could rate it six stars, I absolutely would.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC*

5 ⭐️
Thank you Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for the e-arc of this book!

I feel like this book came to me right when I needed it. After two months of reading slump, I’m slowly getting back and getting this in my mail helped so much.

Honestly, I’m speechless. This book, this story… It was everything I wanted and more. (And the ending? Speechless.)

At first I was kinda worried cuz I really wanted to love it, and the begging was a bit slow. But then, starting from like 20ish % I could not put this down. I’m actually surprised how much I loved this.

The writing was incredible. I loved this author’s last book, in fact it was one of my favorites last year, so I knew I’d enjoy the writing. But somehow this was even better.

I very much enjoyed following both timelines and loved both of the characters. They’re very unique and very well written, that you can tell you’re following two different people.

I can’t say anything about the plot, I would hate to spoil this for anyone, but it was a wild ride. The whole story was mind bending and emotional. For a moment I didn’t even know how it would end with so few pages left, but the ending was satisfying - heartbreaking but satisfying.

I’d definitely recommend this book.

I loved Bat Eater and couldn't wait to get my hands on Japanese Gothic.

The story is a blend of historical fiction , slow burn horror and Japanese myth and legend. We follow Lee in 2026 and Sen in 1877 but our third character that binds them together is the house, hidden behind sword ferns it becomes almost as alive as the people that live there.

Bakers writing is stunning and she has very quickly become an auto buy author for me .

Thankyou to Netgalley and the Publisher for the advanced copy

Bat Eater was not just my favourite book of 2025 but one of my favourite horror books ever. The bar was high, and Japanese Gothic reached it!! This was very different from Bat Eater but had the same sort of all consuming, atmospheric writing that I adored so much. Because this is a haunted house novel, there is an extra layer of feeling trapped and suffocated. Not to be a cliche, but it really was haunting. Especially with how slow burn it felt, it helped build up the tension, terror and dread. There are themes of abuse, generational trauma and colonisation (so please check the trigger warnings, they’ve been approved by the author on Storygraph so they’re nice and specific, love her for that, what an angel).

I don’t think I want to say too much because I think it might spoil the book for some people but I *really* want to talk about it because wow, it was so good. It might have put me in a reading slump because picking other books up is hard, I immediately wanted to reread it the second I was done with it. I give five stars out so rarely but to give them to the same author twice in a row?! Kylie Lee Baker is clearly the horror author for me 🫶🏻

So excited that she has another horror book coming out next year (?) and this isn’t the end of her horror journey!!

I went into this book with high expectations after bat eater and this did not disappoint!

This is everything I love about horror, which Kylie Lee Baker does so well, horror from the everyday. You don't need outrageous supernatural gore for the sake of it when you can write so vividly as Kylie Lee Baker, her descriptions of grief, sarvation, desperation and sadness are horrifically moving and believable. You see and feel every moment in this book.

I really came to love the character Sen, she was such a skilled warrior with a very level head but her desperation for her father's approval bled through every page and it broke my heart.

Lee was a bit more of an enigma to understand but he definitely had redeeming qualities. He was also seeking his father's approval in a way but I felt he knew it was a lost cause.

I loved the horror stories within the book and the folklaw it followed. I had heard the story of the ghost of Okikus before this book and it was a nice suprise to read about it again.

I know the ending won't be for everyone but I really enjoyed seeing how these two world joined together and felt the ending was just what it needed to be. The stories flowed and married so well.

Can't fault it and just so grateful I got to read it early. I will be buying it for my shelf!

Thank you to both Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker.

Bat Eater, Kylie Lee Baker's debut horror novel, was my first and top read of 2025 so it's safe to say my expectations for Japanese Gothic were high.
It's safe to say that after reading and reflecting on the book that my expectations for Japanese Gothic were definitely met.

One house hidden away from the world, two stories and people brought together across time.

In 2026 Lee knows he has killed somebody but the missing detail of where he hid the body is like a stain he can't get out – impossible to ignore. In a state of calculated panic, Lee flees to Japan to hide out in his father's centuries old home, haunted by the disappearance of his mother a decade ago, the knowledge that something is wrong with him and a female samurai and her blade.

In 1877 the age of samurai is long over and Sen spends her days patrolling her home. Watching, waiting for the day the imperial army will come to slaughter her family as they cling to their past. Her father returned from their final stand a changed man, and now it falls on Sen to protect her family..... Despite the apparition of a foreigner she sees in her window that is surely an omen of the darkness to come.

Japanese Gothic truly throws you in the deep end from the beginning in the best way possible. I was hooked from the start and absolutely loved watching both the story, and our two main characters unravel in the hideout hidden by the ferns. One of the things I absolutely loved about Bat Eater was Kylie Lee Baker's ability to masterfully create such stomach turning gory imagery and Japanese Gothic was no different.
Additionally, reading the authors note and learning about Kylie Lee Baker's Ainu ancestry and that historical connection between her family history and Sen's own was something that added an extra layer of storytelling to the book that elevated it for me.

Japanese Gothic is one I highly recommend if you want a heart wrenching story wrapped in mystery, murder, and more than meets the eye.

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...

This book was excellent, in its own genre! I had loved Kylie Lee Baker's Bat Eater, I thought that was an excellent horror novel, and she has done it again.

This time we follow Lee Turner, who has just fled the US to stay at his father's house in Japan (his father is white, but is a professor in Eastern Asian Studies) after murdering his flatmate. His mother disappeared many years ago while on a family holiday in Cambodia and Lee has never adjusted to her loss. We also follow Sen, a young girl being trained as a samurai by her abusive and obsessive father some 250 years before Lee's timeline - strangely, and because they live in the same house, they find that a cupboard in their bedroom allows them to meet and to communicate.
It's a really tricky book to summarise beyond this, and I'll admit the end felt fairly confusing, but the puzzle pieces slowly come together. There is some gore, but more than that, there was unspeakable cruelty - Sen's father suffers from what we would nowadays see as PTSD, after coming back from a battle against the imperial army. There's hardship, famine, children suffering... It was really hard to read at times.

The last part of the book was a bit hard to follow at times (I think I understand what happened?), but it was really gripping and I loved the suspense. The characters felt like they had enough depth and I enjoyed following each one - sometimes, when you have several timelines, one ends up being more interesting than the other but they were both great.

It's a weird novel, but again... I loved it and I look forward to seeing what Kylie Lee Baker does next. The afterword at the end where she explains some of the context - both historical and personal - was also well done.

Definitely recommend.

Japanese Gothic is a surreal haunted house horror. I could not put this down. I went in completely blind and I’m sure if this made the whole experience even better. I didn’t even know that a female samurai was a main character, but wow did she jump off the page. The way the story interweaves is amazing. I had chills, it’s eerie and the impending doom is throughout with myths hanging in the background. The violence is unflinching and speckled throughout. This is more than a supernatural thriller with some blood, the book explores grief, violence, social systems and bends the mind. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-copy. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Japanese Gothic is a chilling and atmospheric haunted house horror that’ll keep you on edge. The eerie vibe is perfectly crafted, drawing you into a tense, unsettling world. The writing is rich and immersive, making it easy to get lost in the dark, twisted story.