thanks to netgalley for the arc!

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3.5/5
i was so close to dnf’ing this at 40% but i’m very glad i persevered.

shy girl was somewhat of a challenging read up until the 50% marker, the protagonist is not very likeable and the representation of OCD borders on offensive at points. the same phrases are overused (e.g ‘the room was silent other than…’, ‘this gives me control/rationalises etc’, ‘unreadable expression’), which got quite tiring and led to my almost not finishing.

BUUUUT- it gets pretty juicy halfway through when the big thing happens. the descent into pure horror, gore and viscera was a gripping, addictive read. the writing seemed to get better as the story progressed, particularly when it got gory or gross- i really enjoyed reading the latter half despite some of the issues i have with plot holes or unanswered questions.

some of it was unrealistic in my initial post-reading thoughts, maybe i’ll remember why later but right now i can’t remember haha.

overall, an enjoyable read if you can ignore problematic and juvenile understandings of OCD in the first 50%. stick around for the blood, guts and female rage :-)

Shy Girl by Mia Ballard absolutely consumed me. This dark, unsettling, and strangely emotional story follows Gia, a lonely and deeply anxious woman battling OCD, depression, and financial ruin. Desperate for a way out, she turns to a sugar dating site and meets Nathan — mysterious, wealthy, and offering a deal that seems too bizarre to be real. All Gia has to do is live as his devoted pet, and her debts will disappear. Sounds simple, right? Spoiler: it’s not.

What I loved most about this book was how Ballard made Gia’s downward spiral feel so believable. The way her mind shifts as she becomes more animalistic — losing pieces of herself — is written with such eerie detail. I felt her anxiety creeping off the page, and watching her grapple with her own identity was both heartbreaking and mesmerizing. Nathan is equally fascinating — manipulative and intense, yet somehow impossible to look away from. Their dynamic is dark and twisted in all the best ways.

Ballard’s writing is sharp and immersive, pulling me deeper into Gia’s world with every chapter. The tension never lets up, and by the time I reached the ending, I was sitting there just staring at the page, trying to process what I’d just read. It’s haunting, it’s gripping, and it’s a story that will stick with me for a long time. If you love dark, psychological reads with complex characters and an emotional gut punch, Shy Girl is an absolute must-read.

Do not be fooled by the pretty cover; this is a disturbing, violent, gore-filled feminine rage story about the sacrifices and transformation that women are forced to endure for their freedom.

I won’t say much here about the plot because this is a short book that is only really told through scenes that dramatically push the story forward. What I will say, is that this book does a great job at making the reader question reality vs symbolism. Gia’s animalistic transformation is heartbreaking and revolting, but, in a frightening way, it’s also empowering.

I loved every page of this book and I thought Ballard’s writing style was perfect for the type of material being presented. The imagery was perfection. I was on the edge of my seat at the end of every scene and I truly didn’t expect things to get so gruesome.

There were only two things that I struggled with a bit while reading this and I easily overcame both of them. I loved Gia, but I felt like we didn’t really get a good sense of her personality, desires, thinking process, etc. But I also don’t know if that was necessary. Looking back, having Gia seem a bit more detached made it much easier to put myself in her shoes. She is a representation of all women so it makes sense to leave her more of a blank canvas. The second thing, was a twist a different character at the end. I thought it was a bit cringy and didn’t make sense, but when I really stopped to think about it, it made perfect sense given the way abusers are so good at gaslighting.

Overall, I think this book was a great addition to women’s horror. I can’t wait to read Ballard’s other book and see what else she writes. Easy 5-star from me.

*Huge thanks to Mia Ballard, Galaxy Press, and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for honest review*

When Gia is down on her luck, desperate and jobless, she considers becoming a sugar baby. After meeting the first man that reaches out to her, she ends up agreeing to be his "pet." The agreement may be more than she bargained for as she becomes less Gia and more animal.

Shy Girl is profound and visceral, and not for the faint of heart. I found myself needing to take a break half way through and I think Ballard touches on so many raw aspects of what it means to be a woman. What it takes to survive and how women are often forced to appease and conform in dire situations. Gia's trauma is palpable throughout Shy Girl's pages and you'll be holding your breath to the very last page.

Absolutely disturbing.
Make sure to check trigger warnings, in fact, if you have anything you avoid, maybe skip this book.
I read it in a day.
Ten stars.

What a book to read on International Women’s Day lol.

Give me all the feminine rage, no matter the situation. This was my first introduction to Mia Ballard’s work and I was so pleasantly surprised with how captivated I was from the first page. The anxiety and general sense of unease was palpable through the pages, and you could feel the isolation and the desperate need for survival Gia was experiencing. I loved the twist at the end and did not see it coming. Big trigger warning for body horror, which I wasn’t expecting to take up that much space in the story. This book was an experience and I enjoyed it. I’ll definitely be thinking about it for a long time.

5 WOOFS!
Visceral, brutal, and bonkers.

Shy Girl! Holy shit. This book is a wild ride of disgusting, disturbing, and rage-filled catharsis. Ballard nails the terrifying reality of her narrative. Nathan is all the things I hate about men.

If you loved Nightbitch, you need this in your life. A brilliant, brutal addition to the weird horror genre.

Thank you NetGalley, Mia Ballard and Galaxy Press for this ARC.

A little too overwritten for me, but that comes down to personal taste as others may find the writing beautiful.
The escalation of something initially mundane reminds me of LaRocca's work. The story presents a well deserved and prepared finale, though the OCD rep gets left behind.

Shy Girl is a feminine rage horror for folks who enjoyed Nightbitch.

I love the, “You’re crazy, but I’m crazier,” element of this book. This book gets 5 stars for shock value.

That said, this might not be my favorite horror genre. I genuinely believe that’s just a personal preference, though. This book is so well-written, explicit, and unsettling. It’s just not for me.

I’d still recommend this book to my fellow horror enjoyers. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

ok weird girls, gather 'round! Reminded me strongly of Nightbitch, and was a freaky little book I very much enjoyed. A solid addition to the weridfic genre, so if you like books that fall in that category, pick this one up!

This was one of the most messed up things I have ever read. Spectacular give me 14 of them right now.

One of the most disturbing books I've read in a while, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Mia does such an amazing job representing the dehumanization of women in this book. As Gia descended into a rage throughout the book, you could feel the energy radiating off the page. It was so empowering yet so disturbing, and I was grappling with whether or not to cheer or throw my kindle against a wall. I sincerely cannot wait to explore more of Mia's writing. Definitely had to go touch grass after this read.

Shy Girl was, let's just say—if Mia writes it, I’m reading it. I wasn’t worried that Shy Girl would fall flat in the wake of Sugar, but damn, she did that thing.

This book is a uniquely unsettling take on the horrifying realities of women losing agency over their own lives and bodies; the story is made even more chilling by the political climate we’re living in here in the U.S. It’s not just horror for horror’s sake; it’s a brutal, visceral reflection of real fears, wrapped in Ballard’s signature style. And let’s talk about the gore—because she delivered. The gruesome, unflinching horror I expected from her was there in full force, though I honestly wouldn’t have minded even more.

Thank you to Mia Ballard, Galaxy Press and Netgalley for this e-ARC!!

Pre-warning that this is a longer review so the TLDR is: check your triggers, don't go into this expecting a cutesy girlypop sugar daddy book, go and read it and be blown away. 5 stars no notes Mia Ballard you are an artiste

Gia is at rock bottom- she's depressed, behind on rent, struggling with OCD, and thirty years littered with abandonment have left her with a pretty pessimistic view on relationships. In her desperation, she signs up for a sugar dating website where she meets Nathan, a kind older man with the ability to fix her financial issues in exchange for genuine companionship- in the form of a devoted pet. Shy Girl is a fast, gut-wrenchingly horrific look at autonomy, survival and revenge as a means of achieving those things.

Holy. F*ck. First off, gorgeous, stunning cover- deceiving but also incredibly fitting for this book. Secondly, to anyone thinking this will scratch the Nightbitch itch, it won't- it'll take the scab clean off and leave you feeling empty and angry and sated and raw (in all the best ways, obviously).

We spend the first half of this book getting to know Gia, who is sometimes so relatable in her otherness and sadness that it was like looking in a mirror. This first bit reads in a very litfic way, it seems like we're going to get a fun and weird romp about sugar dating and then right at the halfway mark your feet are cut from under you and everything hits the fan. There was maybe a chapter or two where I felt really confused by Gia and her response to her situation, kinda thought she was tooooo casual about things but then of course that was intentional and planned and actually executed perfectly so no notes there.
The second half of this book is some of the most visceral, primal, cutting writing I've ever read- the body horror, the dread, the hopelessness in rooting for Gia. I saw another review say that the ending was a bit too much show-don't-tell but I disagree- the show was what made this ending stand out to me, there was no fade to black, no cliché reasonings for things, no overdone moments (trying SO hard not to spoil here sorry x). Definitely had some of the more wtf scenes I've ever read and I'm so excited to read more of Mia Ballard's work, I can definitely see her becoming a very popular name in both wider horror and our fav niche, girlypop horror<3

This is definitely a 5 star read and I'll be keeping my eyes peeled in my locals for a physical copy to annotate and talk about until I become annoying

I gave this a good…15% before I DNF’d…it wasn’t for me.
I couldn’t get past the prologue honestly…I was super uncomfy. I hope others enjoy it though.

Mia Ballard’s Shy Girl is an unrelenting, visceral descent into psychological horror that grips you from the first page and refuses to let go. It's also one of the only horror books I've ever read that has genuinely horrified me, and I loved every second of this visceral, ruthless, disturbing story of Gia's quest for freedom.

The novel’s claustrophobic tension is masterfully executed, plunging readers into the fractured mind of Gia as she grapples with her own gaslit reality. Ballard’s prose is both hauntingly poetic and ruthlessly precise, capturing Gia’s obsessive compulsions with raw, unflinching honesty and respect. I don't want to spoil too much, but Nathan’s presence is suffocating, and his character is honestly terrifying to read about. He is an unpredictable predator whose control over Gia is as much psychological as it is physical. What makes him truly terrifying isn’t just his actions, but the way Gia rationalizes them, twisting her own perceptions to survive. Ballard doesn’t just depict fear; she dissects it, makes us visualize it - feel it. And it makes for a genuinely uncomfortable reading experience.

I've admired Ballard's work since reading her debut, Sugar in 2024, and I've got to say - I'm a die-hard fan after reading Shy Girl. This is a novel that I won't be forgetting for a long, long time. I still shudder thinking of particular scenes from the last quarter of the novel.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of Shy Girl by Mia Ballard in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own and are not influenced by any third parties.

Gia is unable to get a new job and has now fallen behind on rent. To fix her problem, she signs up for a sugar dating website. She has always had a bit of an obsessive relationship with the men around her, so when the man she has been writing on the sugar dating platform offers to pay her rent and help her pay off her debt if she becomes his dog for 8 hours a day… well, it doesn’t sound that bad at first. Soon Gia finds herself stuck in captivity, punished for failing to conform to the “new life” as a dog her keeper wants from her. She feels unable to fight back, afraid of the punishment she receives anytime she talks, gets up or tries to run away. This novel leads us down a harrowing trip into her psyche as she spirals deeper and struggles with the feeling that her isolation in life has lead her right to this. Nathan also manipulates her further into believing that this is something she deserves, something she somehow agreed to.
The story is dark and I liked getting to know Gia. The first third of the book examines her time before she becomes Shy Girl and her desperation and loneliness was beautifully illustrated. The next two third of the book examine how she changes, falls deep into fawning mode to ensure her survival and tries her very best to be a good dog. It also deals with her failing health, her slipping sense of herself as a person and how she has become changed through her complete dependency. Sometimes I wish it had examined the reasons for why Gia doesn’t even fantasize about harming her captor in order to get away (in the beginning). It could be that she’s too afraid of what happens if she fails or that her not fighting back allows her the feeling of being human in these much too inhuman circumstances she has been forced into or the knowledge that she will have to take a life because just hurting him a bit will not be enough or something else, but I wish it had been portrayed in more detail, as I think it would have let me understand Gia and her reactions a bit better. I did enjoy the examinations of self-destruction in here tough.
The end was delicious, gorey and fun and gross and horrible and perfect for this story. If it had come with a bit more build up, I would have still liked it a bit more, but even without that I really enjoyed it! The writing is visceral, really digging into how Gia feels during any of the various horrible things she experiences and I really enjoyed that.
All in all, an impactful story and a great addition to female rage & revenge horror.

TW: abuse (physical, psychological, sexual), abduction, cannibalism, dehumanization, eye trauma, miscarriage, parasite infection, sexual abuse, unsafe eating (dogfood, uncooked meat & glass)

Shy Girl
Mia Ballard

This novel explores it's themes in a wonderfully ... unconventional way.
Very disturbing read that kept me engaged the whole time.

4.25 / 5

Mia Ballard is quickly becoming an auto-read author for me as I just love how she writes about female rage and her book covers are so pretty! Do not be fooled by the cover of Shy Girl though - while it looks sad yet somewhat calming, the contents of it are disturbing and filled with gore.

Gia, a girl struggling with finances, meets up with Nathan from a sugar daddy website. He seems normal at first but things take a dark turn when he traps her and keeps her as his pet dog. Note that this is not a smut book, but a horror. The last chapters actually made me feel nauseous and it was not a great idea to be eating whilst reading 😭

There was a bit of repetition and I’m not sure if this was intentional as it could be attributed to the fact that Gia is trapped in a room for years and the author could be representing how her life is just a repetitive cycle at that point.

Thank you to netgalley and Galaxy Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Well what can I say.
This was intense and horrifying in the (I can’t say best?) but definitely in some kind of a way.
Would definitely recommend reading TW’s before delving in.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher
4/5 ⭐️