ARC 📖 Review: Shy Girl by Mia Ballard
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (more if I could lol)

OMG, I am speechless after finishing this one! Such a wild story about control and the lengths people will go for money… absolutely insane. Go read this book as soon as it publishes on March 1st! Buddy reading with my girl @spookylucyreads is always a blast!

Thank you, @NetGalley, for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

🐩🐀🪱

Lonely, broke and depressed with a serious case of OCD, Gia finds herself at a crossroads when financial troubles lead her to Nathan, a mysterious and affluent man she encounters on a sugar dating website. Desperate for a solution, Gia is intrigued by Nathan’s unconventional offer: in exchange for living as his devoted pet, all of her debts will be erased. But the longer Gia is in captivity, the more animalistic she becomes.

#horrorreader #bookworm #booklover #books #booknerd #bookaholic #booksbooksbooks #bookish #bookstagrammer #booksta #shygirl #miaballard

Thank you to Mia Ballard and Galaxy Press for this gifted ARC.

Good. For. Her. Good for her.

Shy Girl is easily the most horrifying book I’ve ever read. And one of the best written horror novels on top of that. It was poignant and disturbing. I found myself frequently recoiling and clenching my teeth.

That said, I do caution you to take this book in stride, but I recommend it especially after the author’s note. Horror always has a depth I appreciate, and Shy Girl is the perfect example. It’s never just face value, but a lesson in humanity and the depths we willingly descend to commit horror and atrocities against our fellow humans.

I finished the last 20% of this book with my face hidden beneath the collar of my sweatshirt. But then I found myself wanting to cheer and clap. Because good. For. Her. 👏

So say Good Girl meets Nightbitch…that’s Shy Girl, but it’s also so much more. While Shy Girl has some blood and gore you might think of when extreme comes to mind, it’s so much more than that. At its core, this book is about women. The struggles we face, whether it’s the fight for our own autonomy, or simply being in a world that wouldn’t exist without us yet we’re constantly being put down by men who think they’re more important, are at the heart of this heartbreaking story. It’s psychologically disturbing. It’s mind blowing that Ballard can cover some vile topics while creating haunting and breathtaking prose. I did not read the synopsis, or I certainly didn’t retain it if I did. I 100% judged the cover and knew it would be a banger simply because @galaxy wrote it. I could see the direction the book was going yet I was shocked all the same. There are a few scenes that stick out to me, particularly involving ***** and ********, but I do not want to give away those moments. I’ll leave them for you to discover. There are some moments that I was gritting through, some that made me queasy, some that I just couldn’t wait to get through, some that made me beyond uncomfortable. That’s the power of a gifted author. Ballard is most definitely an auto-buy author now.

We NEED books like this now more than ever. And please for the love of whatever deity or entity you believe in, read the author’s note!

What a wild ride! A women in financial trouble agrees to become a man's pet. But ofcourse its not as simple as that..I decided to not read too much about the book before going in to it. I loved the cover and i was promised horror and a 30 year old woman main character with OCD.
First half was a bit slow, I was waiting for the horror to kick in but i still really enjoyed it. I liked the writing style and being introduced to the main character and her worldview. It was all necessary to fully understand and make sense of her desperation to agree to such a weird "job".
I loved how weird it all got in a way taking a bit of a fantasy turn.
I really liked the ending even if it did feel a tiny bit rushed.
The authors note helped me understand the deeper meaning that i personally wasnt looking for throughout the book but really helped give the book alot more meaning.

THIS is how you write feminine rage in horror!!
I absolutely devoured this book. This was my first book from Mia Ballard and I can safely say I will be reading everything she releases!!
This book touches on a range of topics including living with depression, OCD and financial struggles alongside exploring the societal views on women and the lengths women feel they have to go to in order to survive.
If you’re looking for a truly disturbing but beautifully written book filled with body horror, gore and animalistic female rage then I would definitely recommend picking this up (but please do check trigger warnings first!!)

Huge thank you to Netgalley and Galaxy Press for an early e-arc for review. I was really excited when I read the description for this book and thought the premise was unique. Unfortunately, I only made it 30% through before I decided this wasn’t the book for me. I felt like the main character, Gia, did not feel real to me, but I think it mostly in the dialogue and inner monologues than the character’s actions. We understand that the Gia suffers from OCD and It was interesting to get to see how that affects her life and how she acts when she begins the process of looking for financial aid by searching for a sugar daddy. But when it came to conversations between characters, it sort of felt flat. I also felt there was a repetitiveness, whether intentional by author is hard to say, that made it feel like I was rereading the same prose over again. The first chapter really caught my attention and the rawness was what got me really excited to continue reading. However, it sort of teetered and I lost interest in the story. Again, this is probably just one that wasn’t for me but can be another’s 2025 favorite.

Gia is turning 30 and the world around her seems to be moving forwards while she remains still. As well as struggling with her OCD, Gia is unemployed and broke so she decides to try a sugar-daddy app as a way to bring in some money. When she meets Nathan, a middle-aged man who promises money, she feels like things could get better. That is, until she finds out that Nathan wants her to be his pet dog, 8 hours a day.

This was a wild ride and I loved every moment of it. I haven’t read any of Mia Ballard’s work before (Sugar has been on my TBR for the longest time) but I will definitely be reading more of her work. Her writing was breathtaking and the style worked well with the story. I highlighted so many passages because I just adored the writing. Extreme horror written by women is my new favourite thing and I need to read more of it. The fact that the cover is pastel and cutesy doesn't make the reader feel like they are about to read the most guttural and disturbing story…which I think is genius. There was such a strong feeling of unease and dread throughout, it kept me hanging on and wanting to read more to find out the fate of the main character. The line between human and animal blurred as the story developed. Gia was held captive and could only live as a dog or there would be harsh punishments. Over time, this resulted in her becoming an animal. Seeing Gia slowly stripped of her own humanity and being treated so inhumanly makes the reader want her to do whatever she can to escape. My jaw was on the floor for the last quarter of the book. The ending felt right for the story and I was happy with the message that it conveyed.

As a horror fan, the mix of body horror and female rage was a combination I didn't know I needed until I read this book. Mixed with Mia Ballards captivating writing, Shy Girl is definitely one for the literary fiction and horror fans. Even after finishing it, it is still on my mind.

My only criticism is that the pacing of the story felt quite slow in the beginning but this was to build up that feeling of Gia’s desperation and hopelessness. While I understand why the build up was slow, it felt like it took a while for the horror to start.

Definitely check the trigger warnings before going into this. I did appreciate the author's note at the beginning of the book, warning the reader about the content.

Thank you to NetGalley and Galaxy Press for this advanced copy of Shy Girl by Mia Ballard in exchange for an honest review.

Gia, thirty years old, cash strapped, and spiraling, enters a peculiar relationship with a middle-aged man promising significant compensation in exchange for an unnerving request—he wants her to become his pet.

I tore through this over the course of two days. What a wild, visceral ride. The author’s note at the top of the book is right—the cover is adorable, but the contents are *not*

There are many moments of intense psychological discomfort, which persist throughout the text. The book resolves with a sense of agency through extreme transformation and physical rage—it’s stirring and satisfying and disgusting. Definitely another read where you must be prepared to face the gore and stomach-twisting descriptions of captivity and abuse.

There is something I find super, super enthralling about books that involve subversive and oftentimes disorienting ideas. This read is certainly one of them. Not for the faint of heart!

just because this is a cutesie wootsie book cover does NOT mean it's cute!! There is physical abuse, body horror, extreme horror, cannibalism, wanting to throw up because this book was so graphic horror. Thinking that I deserve to win a free tshirt for reading this book horror. Let me just tell u- this is not for the faint of heart.

I have never read Mia's books before and now I absolutely have to. Her writing is brilliant, hypnotic, ethereal, even with the extreme horror. She reels you in and doesn't get rid of you until the book is over. Why do I say this? Because once you start reading this book, you won't want to sleep, or go to work. You just want to know.

Quote- "I use to think about killing myself like it was something I might get around to eventually, like folding laundry or cleaning out the fridge. Not in a big, dramatic way- not the kind that you dangle in front of a therapist to see if they'll flinch. It was quieter than that, more practical. A passing thought, casual and constant, like a low hum in the background, like a draft slipping under a door."

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me a free eread in exchange for an honest review

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gia is depressed and lonely. After finding herself in a deep financial struggle, she turns to a sugaring website for help. There she meets Nathan, a man who offers to cover her debts. The condition being, however, that she must live as his pet. As time goes on the lines between human and animal slowly begin to blur.

Do not let the cute and sweet cover fool you, this is a deeply unsettling and disturbing book. Which upon finishing I wouldn’t be able to imagine a book like this with any other cover.

While I could have easily devoured this book in one sitting, I made a point to take my time. This book showcases some of the darkest sides of humanity than can exist within anyone you could come across and how often women are the forced to be stripped of their own humanity and endure these darkest sides. We see Gia over time become stripped of what makes her human as she goes through countless forms of abuse from a man who she thought would help her.

Feminine rage combined with Mia Ballard’s masterful writing that is truly perfect for the horror genre will keep this book at the forefront of my mind for years.

Please check trigger warnings before reading as there is material in this that could be sensitive for some readers.

"I exist in grayscale. I am thirty, alone, and unraveling quietly enough that no one's noticed."

Thank you to NetGalley and Galaxy Press for the ARC. Once I read the description of this and saw the stunning cover - my curiosity was peaked.

I feel like my rating is closer to a 3.5 but I rounded up to a 4 simply because of how quickly I read it, and how I couldn't put it down in the last 50 pages or so. It's like fountain of misery you can't look away from.

Literary fiction and horror are my favorite genres and it's so difficult to balance the two. I see what overlaying message was being presented in this story, but I felt like that message gets lost in the (literal) blood and guts. The writing is also *extremely* heavy on metaphors. I believe this was to paint a better picture of the character's struggle with OCD, but it kind of clashes with the literary fiction mood for me. I prefer to come to some of these conclusions about a character on my own instead of having them spelled out for me, but that's more of a personal preference than a "flaw" with the writing.

Nothing in this book needs to be over-explained because the concept is SO interesting on its own. The ending had my jaw through the floor and maybe to the Earth's core. There were also some absolutely fantastic lines of dialogue, and a true feeling of dread and desperation throughout the novel. The length of this is pretty perfect on its own. I'm so interested to see where this author goes from here - and to see what others will have to say about it upon its release!

You want it darker? Shy Girl accomplishes that.

This page-turning story raises questions about bodily autonomy, sex work, and our animalistic tendencies. It's almost painful to watch Gia succumb to the fascination of Nathan and his offer over the typist job. You feel like a viewer of a horror movie where the character is unaware of the creature lurking, and then you feel like a jerk for thinking of Gia in such a damsel in distress or as naive for following through. The ending was expected, but satisfying, and I appreciated the warning of body horror at the beginning of the book as it does get pretty descriptive. For lovers of Nightbitch and Bunny.

Thank you to Galaxy Press and Net Galley for supplying this girl with an early copy of Shy Girl. I saw some other bookstagrammers posting it with high reviews. Shy Girl was bumped to the top of my TBR. I devoured it. I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into.
We follow Gia, who is down on her luck and broke. So she seeks out to find a sugar daddy and meets Nathan. He has a very particular and peculiar request- he wants Gia to be his dog for 8 hours a day in exchange for generous payment. During these 8 hours, Gia has to stay in her crate/cage, eat dog food, she cannot stand or walk or do anything humanlike.
The story spirals into craziness not long after and I was tapping the heck out of my kindle to get to the next page. It was that good. Shy Girl has some heavy notes of female rage, but it is so beautifully written, Mia Ballard is insanely talented. The cover is also gorgeous! Loved it!

SHY GIRL BY MIA BALLARD.
Release date set for the 1st of March 2025.
WAIT I NEED A MINUTE.
This book surprised me big time.
Do not let this cover deceive you.
It may look like a cute girly cover but let me tell you this book is the definition of "Don't judge a book by its cover".
It's a very wild ride and a very very quick read.
HOLY CRAP this book is something else.
Extreme horror.
Check your triggers.
One word to round this book up would be WOOF. (if you know you know).

Thanks to NetGalley, Galaxy Press, and Mia Ballard for the ARC.

The absolutely righteous all-consuming feminine rage!!

So good, so clean, SO many instances of my jaw hitting the floor.

I love how this was written, and I think it was the perfect length. So fast, because, there, time didn't exist.

This feels like it should be longer, but I fully believe you should go in as blind as possible.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Galaxy Press for access to this book.

The cover is so beautiful and that intrigued me initially and so did the description. This book unraveled me in the best and worst way. This is a story of overcoming and living with the new reality you've been tossed by a system that turns you into something otherworldly. The beauty of challenging that and holding a mirror to it. Never felt so seen despite the horror of the situations in this book. Those horrors are very real and they should be written about. Thank you Mia Ballard for such a gruesome yet beautiful tale. Shy Girl isn't for the queasy. I suggest looking up triggers before approaching this work but please don't let those keep you away from this work. It's worth the adventure.

UMMMMMMMM
“wtf was that?”- me every other page

This was crazy and not my usual type of book but tbh I saw the cover and died cause it was so cute but thank god it had a warning right up and center saying that the cover may be cutie but the content is NOT

This was wild and I’m not gonna kinkshame but I’m gonna kinkwonderwhy lmaooo

I don’t want to say much and give anything away but I actually really liked how the author portrayed Gia’s side of the dynamic making sure the reader knew horrible things happened to her without going in to gross detail (I could tell this was written but a women thank youuuu). Essentially I’m saying that the author didn’t go into horrible detail for anything sexual even though there were sexual themes here. But she DID go into detail on other gross things so still ew lol

Anyways there’s def a specific target audience for this one and it’s not one I’d widely recommend but if you like horror and women’s lit/fiction then you’d like this one. It read super fast as well and kept me glued to my kindle

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

At 30 Gia has found herself in a dire financial situation and unemployed. With options running low and time ticking on bills and rent she decides to try something completely out of her comfort zone, joining a sugar dating website. Her first match Nathan works in finance and seems to be unassumingly average, kind, and just overall a safe match. His request tho extremely unorthodox comes with good pay that Gia can’t seem to say no to. Putting her in more danger than she could ever imagine.

Shy Girl is my third work of Mia Ballard’s and as I’ve come to find with her writing she has a way of weaving horror filled moments and unhinged tales into stories that have lasting profound effects on the readers. The unsettling dread seeped into my veins deeper and deeper the further I got in the book, leaving me utterly speechless as I turned page after page. I finished this book easily in 4 hours as I simply could not look away. I was gripped by Gia’s story and what would be the final outcome. I will say this book is not for the faint of heart. If you think that picking this up you will find a cutesy story due to this amazing cover (which does relate very well to the overall story just not in cutesy way) you will be sorely mistaken as this book takes body horror, gore, and captivity to the absolute extremes. The terrifying horror, the bubbling rage, and the disturbing nature of many of the events that transpire in this book undoubtedly made me feel this would be a great book to have adapted into film. Especially by the A24 film studio, as the vibes so vividly made me feel the same sinking dread I have had many times while watching some of their works. The authors notes at the end were incredibly impactful and thoughtful and added to the overall feelings that this book leaves you with long after finishing it. I know with absolute certainty this book will undoubtedly go down as one I will never forget.

Shy Girl comes out March 1st 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Galaxy Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Feminine rage and women eating never fail to disappoint.

Shy Girl shows the grit and determination of women through the worst for the reclamation of body autonomy. Ballard states it plainly in her author's note: “Women deserve to own their stories, their bodies, their futures - on their own terms”. As this becomes more topical in today’s society, stories like Shy Girl become more important; stories where women overcome all obstacles.

For me, I feel like the hyper-graphic nature of the body horror and descriptions of abuse in the second half of the novel overshadowed its main message. Personally, during the read, I got lost in the descriptions of Mia’s abuse, transformation, and reclamation - unable in the moment to see the bigger picture being painted. However, after finishing and reflecting, this story does an exceptional job of portraying the effects of abuse and how it changes individuals.

This was an incredibly fast and engaging read, but left me wondering if I actually enjoyed the experience (having not read a book nearly this graphic before). If graphic body horror isn’t a deterrent, I think Shy Girl is well worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Galaxy press for an advanced copy of this novel in exchanged for an honest review! This review will be posted to Goodreads and will be available on the site indefinitely from its posting.

I DEVOURED this book in a day! I have never read a story like this in my life and it had me hooked! The writing was haunting and I honestly could not stop reading. This story had me feeling all emotions from sadness to fear to rage! I really felt for the main character Gia (I adore the name Gia too) and needed to know what would happen to her. I don’t want to say too much as you have to just experience this book first hand. The cover is also stunning but don’t be fooled it is a dark story with body horror so read the content warnings! There is lots of layers to this book and I will definitely be thinking about the themes of this book for the rest of the week! I jowly
I read more by this author!