I just finished reading "If Only She Knew" by Eva Mackenzie, and let me tell you, it's a rollercoaster of a psychological thriller! The story follows Eden Wyatt, a woman committed to a mental hospital after murdering her husband. As she tries to prove she's no longer a danger, we're taken on a wild ride through her past and present.

The beginning of the book sets the tone perfectly with its creepy, claustrophobic feel as Eden navigates life in the mental ward. You really get a sense of the eerie atmosphere, almost like you're right there with her.

The characters are all so unlikeable, yet somehow you find yourself rooting for them. Eden especially—she's a complex character, and you can't help but feel for her, even when she's being manipulative. Her story is told alongside her best friend Layla's, and the two narratives weave together seamlessly.

The plot is full of twists and turns. There's so much going on—Eden's legal troubles, her struggles to keep her son away from her manipulative sister-in-law, and someone trying to sabotage her chances of getting released. It's a real page-turner, with bombshells dropping left and right.

Overall, "If Only She Knew" is a gripping, addictive thriller that kept me hooked from start to finish. If you're into psychological thrillers, this one's a must-read!

Thank you kindly to NetGalley and Craven Ink Press for the eARC (although, I admit it: I’m quite late to the party here!🥴)

𝑰𝒇 𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝑲𝒏𝒆𝒘 is captivating, addicting, and creepy! I was hooked from the first page and enjoyed this twisty psychological thriller from Ms. Mackenzie.

Read if you like:

-Dual timelines
-Multiple POVs
-Psych ward reads

𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗬 𝗤𝗨𝗢𝗧𝗘𝗦:

“I am a mother. I am a survivor. I am a killer.”

If you want Mystery, fast-paced, shocking revelations and awesome character development, this book is for you. A cocktail of greatness.

Cheers to Netgalley for the copy!

She's got a killer secret...
Eden Wyatt knows three things to be true:
She's a mother.
She's a survivor.
She's a killer.
After murdering her husband, she's committed to a hospital for the criminally insane. She has forty-five days to convince them she's no longer a danger to others.
But soon, evidence begins to surface suggesting Eden is spiraling out of control again. Only this time, her rage has a new target.
Can she accept what she's done when she uncovers the truth built on lies? Or will the facts finally push her over the edge?

What a read this was!
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own honest voluntary review.

#netgalley #ifsheonlyknew I was totally engrossed in this book which main setting is a psychiatric hospital. It is a page turning physcological thriller with a fantastic twist. It is super creepy and I loved the writing style. I will definitely be on the lookout for more to read by this author. Thank you netgalley and craven ink press for this ARC. This is my honest review 5/5 stars

This book was a wild ride!! It totally had me creeped out! We have eden who murder her husband after the birth of her baby, she has suffered a manic bi polar attack and got not guilty by Insanity and now is in a hospital type building where she is getting treated before her hearing. Her baby Finn has been left with best friend Layla who she meet at a support group for women who can’t have children. And eden thinks that Finn is best left with Layla till she gets out, or so she thinks. Than we get Layla POV that’s before the incident and is Layla a really good friend to Eden? Is Layla a good person at all? These are all questions I asked my self why reading this. The author did a great job of keeping you guessing who was the villain of this story. The reason it loses a star is because the ending! I would of wanted more of that story line in the book, Instead of the relationship we get of eden and the people she meets in the hospital. I just felt like it would of been better to learn that, but this thriller wasn’t definitely fast paced and kept you guessing the whole time and the ending left me with a 😲😲 face! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book for review!

This book starts off with a bang. Eden Wyatt is wondering around a grocery store after she apparently murdered her husband. That had me hooked. The book then follows her stint in a hospital for the criminally insane while she tries to put the pieces together about what actually happened that night.

Chapters alternate between Eden and fellow patient Layla. As secrets are revealed Eden must decide if she can accept what she’s done or will it be the straw that broke the camels back?

I enjoyed this read. It was easy to read and easy to lose track of time as you get wrapped up in the mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

Before reading this book, I saw a review that said this could be a lifetime movie. I totally agree! It was a decent storyline but it would totally make a perfect movie for lifetime!

Is She Only Knew is set in a psychiatric hospital. The story begins with blood on Eden Wyatt’s hands and legs. Later she is convicted of murder, yet she has no recollection of murdering her husband. She was sentenced to a psychiatric hospital for the criminally insane. For the next forty-five days Eden focuses on getting better so she can return home to baby Finn.

The story is told from Layla and Eden’s points of view. Layla is a friend she met in group therapy. The story goes into a countdown for Eden’s review date.

If She Only Knew is a story about the friendship between Layla and Eden. The primary focus is about Eden working to get better so she can get back to her son Finn.

There were some really great scenes and some okay scenes. The story consumed me during those great scenes. Although, they were few and far between.
Instead of a love triangle the reader gets a manipulation triangle between three women. One more evil than the other.
I didn’t love this story nor hate it. I appreciated its unique and original content. However, the delivery of this story wasn’t very entertaining. I found the inner workings inside the hospital to be very tedious and boring. I’m sure these scenes were meant for entertainment purposes. I found I would rather read scenes about Layla’s character, they were more forthcoming.
The trope for this story was trying to prove that Eden was unstable. Eden already has a history with instability, but after giving birth to Finn she’s found unfit. The tactic Eva MacKenzie used in If She Only Knew was creative, yet still predictable.
Unfortunately, the ending leaves readers unsettled and unsatisfied. No closure given with that ending which leads me to believe a second story is in the making.

"I am a mother. I am a survivor. I am a killer."

I could not put this book down. I totally gobbled it up and it was delicious from start to explosive finish. The riveting story is told in two perspectives: Eden's and Layla's. Eden's story begins in the present. She's been locked up a psych hospital for the murder of her husband. Layla's tale starts in the past, from the time they met in group therapy, all the way through as the murder unfolds, to the present. There were so many bombshells along the way.

This story is so suspenseful. I was absolutely dying to find out every truth, every intention. I was stunned by it all. An excellent, gripping, and addicting thriller.

Though this was a somewhat predictable plot, I enjoyed it nonetheless. It was actually my first book by Eva McKenzie. I love reading about crazy people and the setting, the way it was written, made me feel very creepy and eerie. My only complaint is that it was just too predictable. So much like other thrillers I have read in the past. It will not stop me from reading more by this author, I just can't give it anything above 3 stars.

If she only Knew by Eva Mackenzie is a triller that has lifetime movie written all over it. Eden Wyatt has dark secrets that she has to uncover to why she would kill her husband and not remember why? It is one for the books. If you are looking for a good read and suspense you would like this one. The storyline can be a little predictable at times but all in all worth the read.

4 stars
I agree with a previous reviewer that this is a perfect books for fans of Alex Michaelides.
I really enjoy the short chapters, multi pov and multi timelines. This kept me reading well in to the night. Great psychological thriller!

This is a great book for fans of Alex Michaelides!

Eden Wyatt only knows 3 things to be true:
• she’s a mother
• she’s a survivor
• she’s a killer

After having a psychotic break and murdering her husband, Eden is battling with her demons and trying to decipher fiction from truth.

This book took awhile to get into and the ending was predictable, although we are left on a cliffhanger presumably awaiting a sequel… I would think.

The characters are well written and had me battling whether I would side with Eden or Layla. It is told through both POV so you can gather a great sense of their frame of mind and inner workings.

I did however find the last few pages of the book did rush through everything.

Overall it was a good read.

If She Only Knew
by Eva Mackenzie

Thanks so much to @netgalley and @evamackenzie_reads for the advanced E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The writing style was multiple POVs, The book was not bad, I did read and enjoyed it. It starts slow, but then it starts to make some sense. It will keep you guessing and like a car wreck, you just cannot look away,

✨Book review✨
If She Only Knew
By Eva MacKenzie

WHAT.A. RIDE!

This book started off a little slow for me, but then it was all thrilling twists and turns until the very last page.

Eva MacKenzie has a fantastic writing style. Her character’s in this story are so unapologetically flawed, and disturbed,that you just can’t stop reading.

The chapters were nice and short, and the storyline, even though it was told through two characters and during different timelines in certain chapters, flowed nicely.

I’m all for this book, and thought it was a well done Psychological thriller, with some edgy twists.
MacKenzie makes my list of Author’s I want to read more of!

Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

This book has a Pub date of June 23rd, be sure to check it out!

Thanks so much to @netgalley and @evamackenzie_reads for the advanced E-ARC in exchange for an honest review

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I wanted to love this book. I loved the writing so much. Honestly for me it just had so much potential but it just ended up really bad.

I’m usually not one that likes books about mental institutions but this one kept my interest.
There were a few little twists that kept things rolling. I feel the last two chapters were a bit rushed but in the end I still gave it 4 stars.

What if you woke up in a psychiatric ward and didn’t remember how you got there or what you did??? This book is largely a mystery with an unreliable narrator that will absolutely absorb you from the beginning. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened!

3.5 stars rounded up.

This is a suspense thriller written by Eva Mackenzie. This one begins with Eden Wyatt who is roaming around in a grocery store in a daze covered in blood. It turns out she had just murdered her husband and is soon locked up but then found not guilty by reason of insanity. She then finds her way into a mental ward preparing for her hearing in about 40 days where she will try and convince them to find her fit to be released so she can go back to her son who is staying with her friend Layla who currently has custody of her child.

On paper this book looks to be awesome. We have a batshit crazy woman locked in a mental ward trying to convince her doctors she is sane enough to go back into the ward while at the same time try and get her son and out of the hands of her sister in law who is trying to gain custody for money reasons. Who doesn't like watching a crazy train wreck?

This book is very good and also very bad.....

Let's look at the good stuff: It's well written and the beginning of the book really has a creepy, claustrophobic feel as Eden navigates life in a mental ward. Complete with white walls and creepy wards. In my mind life in a mental ward is interesting enough and Mackenzie does a good job with life amongst some super crazy people. There are parts that are chilling and suspenseful. It's written in two POVs: Eden's POV in the present time moving forward to her hearing and her best friend's Layla's POV in the past moving forward. The two plotlines are handled very well as they meet together. There are actually a ton of things going on in regards to Eden's life in the ward, her legal troubles trying to keep her son away from her crazy sister in law. Plus someone either on the inside or outside is trying to damage her character so she doesn't get released.

The bad: I love thrillers but I'm not a fan of predictable ones. This one was very predictable in a paint by numbers way. It basically follows a plotline followed by hundreds of writers in the past and basically goes through all the motions towards the ending. I knew exactly how this book was going to end..... I just needed to know how she was going to do it. You will guess the twist early on and just read until you figured out why and how. It made later stages of the book somewhat boring as you navigate towards the ending.

At the end of the day the book is good enough to read as I did read the whole book. While very predictable it was still well written and suspenseful enough to read through. I would definitely read another book from this author. If you have the time on your TBR list go for it..... If not consider passing on this one.

Book given free for a honest review.