Shy Girl

By: Mia Ballard

Narrated by: Ebony Jonelle

"Brutal, uncomfortable, and visceral." —Brandon Baker, author of Whatever Remains of Us In the End

"Deeply unsettling. The perfect book for horror readers." —Sadie Hartmann, author and co-owner of Night Worms

"Feral, disgusting, and absolutely unhinged. I couldn't look away." —Ally Wilkes, author of Where the Dead Wait

SIT. SPEAK. STAY.

Lonely, broke, and depressed, Gia is desperate for a lifeline. When Nathan, a wealthy stranger on a sugar dating site approaches her with a very specific offer, she can’t refuse.

The instructions are simple, he says. For eight hours a day, she must wear the collar. Drink from the bowl. Sleep in the cage. Be a dog.

Be his dog.

Then, she can go home and be Gia again, and if she ever feels uncomfortable or unsafe, she can always leave.

Those were the terms of the agreement. But Gia soon finds out Nathan isn’t a man who keeps his promises.

In this harrowing tale of survival and revenge, Mia Ballard crafts a visceral, unflinching descent into the dark heart of lost autonomy and the feral rage it awakens. Shy Girl is a scream against the cage of expectation, where justice isn’t quiet—it’s bloody and unapologetic.

Critic reviews

"This book put me THROUGH IT. Shy Girl is a gut punch of a story, as much about violation and horror as it is about agency and revenge. Mia Ballard is a f*cking powerhouse."—Olivie Blake, New York Times bestselling author of Girl Dinner

"An absolutely addicting read. Wrought with emotional iron and disarming from the start, Shy Girl is utterly heartbreaking, not all at once but chipping it into tiny shards. A perfect nightmare of a book."—Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Game in Yellow

"Completely unique and utterly bonkers. Shy Girl is the most disturbing book I’ve read in years—and I mean that as high praise." —Hannah Whitten, New York Times bestselling author of The Foxglove King

"Mia Ballard has crafted a deeply unsettling book. This is the perfect book for horror readers looking for feminist stories willing to push the boundaries and disrupt the status quo." —Sadie Hartmann, author and co-owner of Night Worms

"Shy Girl is a brutal, uncomfortable, and visceral story of a woman forced to endure an unimaginable experience, and the transformation she undergoes as a result of such intense trauma. Perfect for fans of feminine rage and unhinged stories, this was absolutely insane!" —Brandon Baker, author of Whatever Remains of Us In the End

"Mia Ballard has crafted a chilling, terrifying tale of romance gone awry, luring you in with head pats and skritchies and then fucking disembowels you. Hard to read, impossible to put down! I loved it! You will never look at puppy play the same way again!"—Bitter Karella, author of Moonflow

"Lyrical prose gives way to a visceral nightmare in this gripping downward spiral of a novel. Both horrifying and gruesomely cathartic, Shy Girl is a study of female agency and bodily autonomy that is relentless and sickening in its violence, yet deeply satisfying. Not for the faint of heart, Shy Girl is a must read for all the weird girls out there."—Meg Smitherman, author of Thrum and Entity

"A dark tale told with visceral clarity, Shy Girl is feral, disgusting, and absolutely unhinged. I loved it, couldn't look away!" —Ally Wilkes, author of Where the Dead Wait

"A viscous unraveling of autonomy that teaches Gia - and the reader - about the long-game of revenge. Shy Girl demonstrates the resilience of women, a lesson on the pleasure of going feral. A gore-filled ode to feminist rage that I will never, ever forget. Warning: this book may just make a girl go feral."

—Rachel Eve Moulton, author of Tantrum