No, it’s just a slightly fictionalized version of the life of Marie Antoinette, leading to the French revolution.
I am already drowning in books right now. It’s not a problem usually, but there’s a bunch of book clubs I want to join too 
So I’m not sure when I’ll be able to check it but it sounds like the kind of things I am looking for.
I don’t know his work, so I may be completely off, but 寄生獣 1 | L26 is horror but mostly creepy (as far as I am concerned).
unfortunately, I’ve already read it 
Ive been thinking about reading こころ but i feel like novels can get quite boring.
The third part was long and boring as far as I am concerned, but the rest was nice.
Ah. I’ll try to remember something else later.
If you don’t mind heavy use of dialacts, maybe 予言の島 | L37
ドールハウスの人々 | L33 is kinda trash(y), but it’s definitely horror with some creepy scenes.
仮面病棟 | L34 is a good suspense, not sure if it qualifies as creepy, though.
ウツボラ 1 | L33 (manga) has some creepy vibes, but I wouldn’t call it horror
スマホを落としただけなのに | L29 is trashy but I enjoyed it. Suspense, mildly creepy I suppose? But it will go off into tangents about how different tech works which was a bit annoying.
If something else than manga is fine, then (sorry, I should probably check what you have read already, but I’m on my phone which makes it hard 
)
light novel: 裏世界ピクニック 1 ふたりの怪異探検ファイル | L33 That series focuses on urban legends, which are usually creepy.
Novels:
記憶屋 | L29 also something based on urban legends. It felt pretty creepy to me.
パノラマ島綺譚 | L40 One guy takes the place of his look alike who was rich and use his fortune to build the weirdest island you can imagine. I’m not making a good job of explaining why but that story felt really creepy to me.
I think i realized I just liked 人間失格 because its more about phycological things rather than creepy. But I like to read manga more because its less boring and more to the point. But I have trouble finding manga that’s more like seinen manga. Outside of Japanese I don’t read much so i am actually not sure what genres i like.
In that case:
https://learnnatively.com/book/39de0a8b67/ (twisted psychological story from multiple points of view)
半落ち | L39 (another multi narrator story, heavy with interpersonal conflict and people struggling to do what is ‘right’)
永遠の0 | L36 (war stories recounted by multiple narrators)
Might also be worth poking through some short stories to see what genres appeal to you in Japanese
Haven’t read Utena but I watched the anime/movies and that’s one strange story. 
I haven’t read 人間失格, so I have no idea what it’s about but if you prefer
you could check out https://learnnatively.com/book/5e10f5a2d8/ or https://learnnatively.com/book/13f4cb524e/ or コーヒーが冷めないうちに (series) | L28
which are all about the characters and their inner demons/struggles and how they deal with the world. There is not really much action or a ton of plot, but they are quick reads.
I found another one. I started reading レゾンデートル | L30?? and the doctor described in this part of the summary, 「末期癌を宣告された医師・岬雄貴は、酒浸りの日々を送っていた。ある日、不良から暴行を受けた岬は、復讐を果たすが、現場には一枚のトランプが――。そのカードは、連続殺人鬼「切り裂きジャック」のものと同じだった。その後、ジャックと岬の奇妙な関係が始まり……。」has his cancer diagnosis described in pretty heavy medical detail. As he works in medicine himself (and knowing this author, who often writes books with medical themes) it likely won’t be the last time. No idea how much focus it gets in the book though, only ~5% in right now.
So far as I can tell there won’t be romance in here, although there is definitely murder and some ‘grimy underbelly of Tokyo’ stuff going on.
Thank you!!! Looks awesome 
Wondering if anyone has any suggestions for something to read that might help me get my motivation back. Looking for something up to Lv 18 though I might push it at Lv 20. Simple language would be good, easy grammar if possible but something with a story to it?
Doesn’t have to be a certain genre though using everyday language might be best. Would prefer a novel/ light novel/ short story if possible since I’m not really up for manga atm.
I know people suggest Yotsuba but I’ve tried it and it’s just not for me.
Bonus points if it’s got cats or dragons in it. Ideally I’d prefer to stay away from anything spicy/ containing fan service but I’m not adverse to it, just prefer to read without that if possible.
You could give マジックツリーハウス (series) | L19 a try. It’s not for me, but tastes differ. It has dinosaurs…
泣きたい夜の甘味処 | L17 It’s manga, but not your typical manga and I really enjoyed it. Every story is a few pages long and it’s always about a person with troubles, finding a small cafe where they get some baked good, you learn what is going on and when they leave, they feel better. It’s quite expensive, though.
and last but not least: こぐまのクーク (series) | L18 the series is very much for children, but it’s cute and it’s slice of life so full of normal language.
Getting good non-manga stuff at that range is hard - my non-manga books that I actually liked start at L22. If I had to choose with your constraints, I’d probably pick one of those two:
(And if cats counter your current dislike for manga, there’s also チーズスイートホーム 1 | L14 and おじさまと猫 1 | L18.)
Is this a different series to
https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/dp/B074C2B6GT
? 
Thanks, the magic treehouse ones I’ve looked at before but struggled to find any I could get in the UK (reminds me a little of the magic Faraway tree by Enid Blyton).
The others look good too, Uk amazon doesn’t seem to have them so I might need to try somewhere else. Added them to my list though incase I can pick them up 
Technically not. According to the amazon blurb, it’s a re-edition (focusing on making it easier to read) of a short story from the main series. You can still read it in one of the short story collections that are in the main series.
I guess it’s the same thing as having a junior edition. I assume that the language differently is different enough to justify to have it separately on Nationality. (By the way, it is recorded as a single book, but
there are more in that edition on amazon…)
Edit: ah but then @Legato could just read the main edition.
I’ve read this before and it was easy enough for me to read, is the one you’ve read by the same author of a much higher level?
Both of those are on my list but I can’t seem to get them in the UK at this time, they do look good though and what I’m looking for.
Chi’s sweet home is available so might try that out if I can get it. Thank you
