2.5 ⭐️ I have to say I do enjoy a slow burn thriller but this was a bit too slow. It took until 70% for it to take off and even then it was still slow. I felt there were some major plot holes and a few things that didn’t make sense. I do enjoy Stacy Willingham so I will read more of her books but this one was just a miss for me.

My least favorite by Stacy Willingham.

It was entertaining enough, but there wasn’t the suspense or mystery I was hoping for.

And even when the ‘twist’ was revealed- I wasn’t surprised in any sense.

I’ll continue reading her books because I love her writing style- but this missed the mark for me.

Moody and evocative, this book is the very essence of a slow burn, best described, in the author’s own words, as a tantalizingly “slow simmer”, bubbling and congealing, before “morphing into a full-blown boil”.

Margot, our first person POV, is a strange and disturbingly-repressed narrator. Revealing little, and concealing much about what feels to the reader to be a harrowing and traumatic past, all we know is that very recently Margot’s best friend Eliza died, and Margot is now on her own at her South Carolinian college, seeking a newly-solitary social footing, grieving and shaky and uncertain as she faces her new surroundings on her own.

When Margot unexpectedly is approached by Lucy, and is introduced into her pals Nicole, and Sloane, (the threesome forming a close and undeniably cool clique, with icy-eyed Lucy their enigmatic leader), Margot can’t believe her luck when she is offered an opportunity to room off campus with them.

As the girls and their party-loving, alcohol-fueled world unfolds - centering on interactions with the testosterone-soaked frat boys who have unfettered access to the girls’ fraternity-owned (insanely creepy) rooming house - it’s pretty clear that everyone is hiding something, beginning with Lucy, and definitely including Margot, and her obsessive need to fit in.

As the tension mounts, it’s clear that the girls’ house, (and its carcass-filled hunting shed), may just be the most disquieting setting ever penned to page, particularly as host for the inevitable love, longing, power and lust, and all the trappings, that come with partying youth.

A terrific read, and a deeply unsettling one, with twists, turns, secrets and hidden vulnerabilities, guaranteed to keep a reader reading, right up to the doozy of an ending.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

I really enjoyed this story. I wasn’t sure where the story was going and while the large twist really surprised me, I started to guess how the ending would go. Overall though, it kept me guessing throughout most of the story.

I have been provided with a review copy of Only If You're Lucky from NetGalley for an impartial review. Awwww this was such a cute story. I was just captivated by everything that was taking place. It was just so easy to get into these characters lives and you just can't help but fall in love with them. I can't wait to see what's next from this author.

This is my 3rd Willingham book and while I was very intrigued by the premise, this was definitely a slower burn than her other 2. I loved the ending with the acknowledgements that inspired her from her own experience at her college house. Glad to hear it wasn't similar in any other way except the setting ;) I would say this book is my least favorite of the 3 but I still was compelled to know what happened. I ended up surprised but I wasn't as excited about the reveal as I was with the other two. Willingham is still an auto-read author for me, though I suspect not as many readers will favorite this book when the other two are so strong.

I liked the storyline and how it kept me guessing throughout the entire book. The character development was great and I felt like I knew the characters personally. I enjoyed constantly guessing how the story would end and being completely shocked by twists.

Only if you’re lucky kept me glued to the book from the very beginning till the end. There were twists and turns that I totally did not see coming!

Definitely recommend to all the mystery lovers out there

3.5 stars rounded up to a 4. I wanted to LOVE this book, because A Flicker in the Dark was my favorite thriller I read in 2023. However, this book gave me a more YA feel with the setting and characters. The plot was still really well written, and everything played out in such a wild way that kept you wanting to read more. Thank you NetGalley for this audiobook ARC!

I loved a Flicker in the Dark, and liked All the Dangerous Things. I was very excited for Willingham’s third release but this one is quite different from her first two. It felt almost like a YA book because of the college setting. It was more of a slow burn mystery than a fast paced thriller.

Of Stacy’s three books, this was not my favorite. The slow burn was too slow! I had to force myself to finish it

It absolutely kills me to say it, but this book was not a winner for me. Stacy Willingham is one of my favourite authors and I loved both of her previous books. But as the author mentions herself in the acknowledgements, this book is very different from her other ones.

There was a dark academia theme, and I’ve mentioned before that that can be very hit or miss for me. I enjoyed this one more than some others in the subgenre, but it was still a bit too much for me.

I don’t know how to describe the writing, but it was very…abstract, I guess? An ominous tone, which I like, but then I felt that it was a bit over the top. There were also so many moments where past sentences were repeated for emphasis, and it got tiring.

I will say that there were multiple twists at the end and I didn’t see any of them coming, so that was very cool. But I think I was just so detached from the story at that point that I didn’t care the same. I also felt that the story dragged and could have been shorter.

I would still recommend you try this one out if you’re curious! It just didn’t vibe so well with me.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for my gifted copy!

There is something I love so much about a novel set on a collage campus. I thought this was very well done! I think it says something if you can do a slow burn, that makes someone not want to stop flipping pages! ALSO didn’t see the twists coming. so that was fun!

Only If You're Lucky was a psychological thriller that brought you through the journey of Margot realizing that friendship isn't always what it seems. This book started out extremely slow and had lots of character and plot building; I don't believe that anything really happened until about the 50% mark that made me gasp or get anxious about what was going to happen next. The setting of the college town and college house was so vivid in my mind, I feel like I can still picture their walk from the yard into the connecting shed... I also really liked the use of the hidden crawlspace, however this did leave some gaps in my mind when it came to the story. I don't believe that this story would be believable in real life (a murder happening with the body still in the same house). The things that took place in this book were wild, but very hard for me to grasp. When it comes to thrillers, I like them to be believable. I definitely enjoyed her other book better, A Flicker in the Dark and I look forward to reading her other books in the future. Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the opportunity to read & review this book!

Stacy Willingham's 2023 book All the Dangerous Things was on a lot of 2023 Top Ten lists and I didn't like it so I was hesitant to read another of her books, but I'm glad I gave this author another chance because this twisty thriller about friendship, and college friendships at that, was a slow burn thriller in the best way.

While this wasn’t my favorite of Willingham’s works, it was still decent! I think that the first 75% or so could have been pared down, as a lot of the details seemed repetitive, but the last quarter was unputdownable! The twists paid off (and got me) but I think it almost took too long to get there. Overall would still recommend and will continue to read her novels!

Omg?? I enjoyed this book soo much! A Flicker In The Dark is one of my favourite thrillers so I went into this one with high hopes & it did not disappoint. The beginning is slower as we get to know the friendship dynamic between the characters. It also goes between two timelines so we get to know the main character’s background which can sometimes be less interesting in books but not in this one. I really enjoyed reading about both time lines before we got into all the drama. I didn't like Lucy or Levi throughout the whole book. With the other girls I thought their friendship was very nice & close. ( was a lot closer than I thought lol) Some of the twists that happened were kind of predictable but others completely shocked me. So much drama happened at the end & I loved it, I really enjoyed the ending too. Would highly recommend this book. Thank you to Netgalley & Minotaur books for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

This was a fantastic thriller. I liked the plot and the characters were a lot of fun. Very much recommend this book.

This was a slow burn thriller filled with toxic female friendships set at college.

I’m a sucker for dark academia books, but this one was just ok. I felt like nothing was really happening. It’s a character driven thriller, and I typically like my thrillers plot driven. There were some twists but the suspense was lacking and the ending was unsatisfying.

I did enjoy the unreliable narrator, the college setting and the flashbacks from the past.

I would still recommend this book because I’ve seen a lot of reviews raving about it. I feel like my opinions are in the minority.

2.5⭐️

Margot and her best friend Eliza had big plans to embark on their college experience together, but Eliza’s tragic death after her high school graduation changed everything for Margot. After spending the first year of college in her shell, Margot meets the charismatic Lucy who convinces her to become her housemate with two other girls. The house was being rented out by one of the college fraternities and Margot is excited to be part of a more active social scene. But when a new student who has ties to Margot’s hometown and to Eliza enters the scene , Margot’s past trauma resurfaces, and she shares her story with Lucy and her housemates. Lucy expresses her concern for Margot and her intense interest in the events from Margot’s past. Lucy claims she wants to help her friend, but her weird mind games and somewhat obsessive behavior gradually reveal her dark streak which makes Margot more than a tad uncomfortable. As the narrative continues Margot, Lucy and their friends find themselves entangled in a web of lies, deception, secrets, and murder and not all of them will make it out alive.

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham revolves around an interesting premise and features an interesting cast of characters which is the only strength of this novel. Firstly, this novel should have been more concise. The author seamlessly weaves past and present timelines into a coherent narrative, but the pacing is inconsistent (and excruciatingly slow , in parts) and I struggled to stay engaged. The story takes a long time to take off ( even after the 50% mark I was wondering where we were going) and had the novel not been so unnecessarily lengthy, I might have appreciated the final 25% more. The premise definitely had potential but failed to deliver. I could go on and on about how this novel didn’t work for me, but I’ll keep it short: I was bored!
Overall, I can’t really say that this was a satisfying experience. Many readers have enjoyed this book more and I ‘d request you to read their reviews before you decide on picking this one up.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.