A Happy Wife is a gripping psychological thriller that seemingly heads towards the sci-fi genre and keeps you immersed the entire story.


The story follows Ivy Knight, a woman who was microchipped and programmed along with her husband, Ivan, to love each other forever, but she begins to have doubts after discovering something that had been hidden. Along the way she discovers the people around her are not what they seem and her home and "happy" life begin to crumble as all the lies become unraveled.

This novel is great for fans of Frieda McFadden's The Housemaid as the writing is sharp and the story is expertly woven with many twists that you don't see at first. There's also the underlying question of how far should we go with science, technology, and health to achieve perfection and happiness.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel as I was needing a break from the romantasy that I had been consuming so this was the perfect "palate cleanser". I think Nara's writing is brilliant from what I've seen in this book and can't wait to read other works by her.

Oh my gosh! This has got to be one of THE twistiest books I have ever read! It was so gripping that I seriously could not put it down and go to bed until I finished it all! This book really got into my head. The way I gasped and had to pick my jaw up off the floor at the end — Five stars for sure!

I've previously read Ina Nara's work, and this one continues in the same vein - a psychological thriller with a sci-fi esq undertone, that focusses on the dark side of relationships and emotions - I truly enjoyed it!

'A happy wife' features Ivy, who has a complicated backstory, and ends up married to a man where they are both neural chipped to ensure that they stay in love. This brings up all kind of complications when Ivy starts to have doubts/mistrust him, but the chip promotes emotions of love completely confusing the matter! Following Ivy's thought patterns alongside the gas-lighting, and her confusion was a whirlwind of a ride, and even though as a character, I didn't emotionally connect with her, I was absolutely fascinated to see what would happen next!

The chapters were super short, kind of similiar to Freida McFadden's style of writing, and made for a great book to dip and dive out of in the evenings, although I often found that I kept reading because I was curious to see where it was going. The twists at the end didn't disappoint, and overall I really enjoyed the read.

I'm so grateful that I got to read this early as an arc copy, and would recommend it to psychological thriller fans, especially if you like complicated characters, and something a bit extra - the neural chip idea made it so unique!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5 stars)

I flew through A Happy Wife in one sitting, completely gripped from start to finish. The whole time I was reading, I felt like I was inside a super intricate and increasingly layered episode of Black Mirror.

The concept is so unsettling — a neural implant designed to “lock in” love forever — and Ina L. Nara takes it further and further, building tension with each chapter. What begins as a marriage that seems perfect on the surface unravels into a claustrophobic and chilling exploration of control, identity, and survival.

This was a very interesting read, cleverly blending psychological thriller with speculative elements. The tension never let up, and I couldn’t look away until I reached the final page.

Huge thanks to Ina L. Nara, Flaming Hearts Press, and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.