Shy Girl by Mia Ballard | A Feminist Horror Audiobook Review

I wonder if they can see it, too. The thing I’ve become. I wonder if they’re waiting for the moment there is nothing human left at all. – Shy Girl

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Shy Girl by Mia Ballard immediately caught my eye with its deceptively sweet cover– a cute dog with a pretty pink bow. Was I excited to get the audiobook? Yes. Did I read the synopsis? Absolutely not. I saw the dog and said, may I please have this?

The audiobook opens with: “warning: despite its deceptively cute cover, this audiobook is not a light hearted romp. This is a story with quite disturbing content.”

I beg your pardon???

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What Shy Girl by Mia Ballard is All About

Gia, our FMC in Shy Girl, is desperate for money. With no job and an eviction notice from her landlord, she decides to go looking on a sugar daddy website for help.

Enter “sugar daddy” Nathan. He seems nice at first and then drops something like “Oh, by the way, I’d love for you to pretend to be my dog for eight hours a day.”

(“WTF” became a reoccurring phrase for me)

Gia reluctantly agrees. She is, after all, desperate.

After her first eight hour shift as Nathan’s “dog” he basically says to her, just kidding you’re my dog forever.

Ok, so that is where the deceptively cute dog cover comes in. I always love going into books blind, but this… this was something else. An absolute horror rollercoaster.

This book is disturbing, relentless, and absolutely earns its content warning.

Captivity, identity erasure, bodily horror, psychological horror — this book truly has it all to leave you gasping and texting play by plays to your bestie so you don’t have to endure this ride alone.

Shy Girl Audiobook Review

With topics and conversations this heavy and uncomfortable, the narrator did a great job of making Gia’s emotions come alive. She fully captured Gia’s emotional unraveling and kept you locked in even when you’re so deeply uncomfortable.

And you will be uncomfortable.

Shy Girl Final Thoughts

There is a scene involving a rat and Gia where Nathan asks “what the hell is wrong with you?” Like he didn’t just physically and physiologically abuse her into becoming this feral shell of herself.

Anyways, what happens to Nathan after that is well understood. Applauded. My favorite moment.

⭐⭐⭐ Did I expect any of this when I requested a book because of a cute dog on the cover? No.

Will I ever look at cute animal covers the same way again? Also no.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!