You've heard of hot girl summer but have you heard of hot sad girl reads? As seen on BookTok, these stories romanticize 'suffering'; the characters are self-absorbed, sabotaging their lives from the inside out. They're privileged in some way and wallowing in the mundanity of simply existing, and have maybe gone through some emotional trauma. They're cool, aloof and unapproachable. Read these if you want to indulge and delight in bleak, dark, humorous stories.
A smart, menacing tale of a young female serial deceiver revels itself as a cutting and uncomfortable delve into sex and alienation. Alex, a 22 year old escort, has a history of unhinged toxic behaviours and relationships,is in a…
Mourning a death and a gutwrenching breakup this story deals with self-acceptance, shame, and love. Flitting between dark and literary and light and funny Bergstorm creates a tangled narrative chopping between different viewpoints painting…
A story about the journey of discovering who you really are and realizing that the journey will never be over. A classic meet-cute, artist girl meets an older boy in a lift escaping a party, they fall in love, they live fast and…
A fresh take on the vampire character, a woman who yearns for the taste of real food, existing within loneliness and self-loathing. Kohda has curated a unique character-driven story brimming with dark academia atmosphere and spiraling…
'A Novel Obsession' is like a suspenseful, slow-motion train wreck that you just can't look away from. Twenty-four year old Naomi is desperate to write a novel but lacking inspiration—until she learns of her boyfriend's ex, Rosemary. As…
If you enjoyed the movie The Devil Wears Prada you'll delight in this female empowerment story. Careering focuses on two women and their toxic relationship with work, touching on burnout culture, all the things women give up to have…
Not for the squeamish! This is a gripping read about pleasure so delicious and dark it's a little illegal. A story about a twisted food critic with a taste for great food and good men. Summers has created a fast-paced naughty read touching…
A wild and bizarre take on modern motherhood, this gets pretty grotesque, so be warned. Our unnamed narrator spends her days alone at home caring for her 2-year-old while her husband travels for work, and inexplicably finds herself…
The essence of female rage drenches this emotive read. Animal is about a woman moving through revenge, rage, hostile relationships, and power in the wake of witnessing a horrific act of violence. The writing is clever and absorbing,…
A combination of social satire and psychedelic horror, 'A Touch of Jen' is one hell of a rollercoaster ride. Remy and Alicia should probably just break up, but they're bound together by their mutual obsession with Jen, a social media…
A strange, naughty read about a Jewish woman with disordered eating habits, who decides to detox from her overbearing mother and attempt to recover from calorie counting. Broder is endlessly clever, and her writing is poetic, witty, and…
Perhaps the most self-aware sad girl book, one for the girls who know that they're miserable—and couldn't care less. Janet works at a dog shelter in the middle of the woods, needs to dump her boyfriend, and has a brain riddled with…
A love story between the living and the dead. After a woman notices a very attractive man sitting at her Brooklyn bus stop for weeks, she plucks up the courage to speak to him and he breaks a very important rule. A quick, introspective,…
If you like sad reads about female Korean beauty standards and expectations give this book a go. The characters are interesting and the dynamics between them are the true star of the show. Incredibly thoughtful writing this contemporary…
A dark comedy exploring sexuality, identity and the female gaze. Clark has crafted a truly vile, narcissistic main character who takes explicit sexual photos of men, manipulating situations to her advantage. If you liked 'American Psycho'…
"Weird" doesn't even begin to describe Mona Awad's 'Bunny,' incorporating elements of fantasy and horror to create a tale of 'The Craft' meets 'Frankenstein', but in a wholly original way. When Samantha, a scholarship student in an MFA…
Savagely comic! This tale of a jaded upper-class New York society girl who decides to slip out of life and hide in a drug-induced sleep for a year is a biting satire for the social media generation. If you like depraved, demented and…
