I was excited to read this book after reading A Flicker In The Dark and loving it!

I loved the college campus setting. The house parties reminded me of my college days! This book kinda gave me RL Stine Fear Street vibes. There is a pretty popular girl and a plain jane girl who longs to be like the popular girl. They improbably become friends and there is a mysterious death. I’m really dumbing down the plot line but those are the similarities.

I liked this book but I felt like some parts were slow. I did not predict the twist at the end and it felt fresh, not like something I’ve read before.

Thank you Minotaur books for this ARC!

I loved this one. Excellent audio and Stacy Willingham is definitely on my auto-buy author list! Thank you for my copy.

This book was just okay for me. I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it. Only If You’re Lucky is a thriller but for me it felt like slow burn suspense. The book is about a group of college students doing college things and that gave it more of a YA vibe in my opinion. Things didn’t amp up until somewhere around the last 25% of the story. I’ve read that this book is a departure from her first two so I’m looking forward to reading her others (of course I have them on my shelf 🤣) and I would definitely try something of hers again in the future even though this one didn’t wow me. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this eARC

“Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can’t say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It’s a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she’s been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered… and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.“


This book is about loyalty and jealousy. It’s a slow burn but it reels you in.

I was really disappointed by this one. Normally, I've devoured Stacy Willingham's past novels, but this one fell completely flat for me. The protagonist, Margot, felt so flat to me. The plot didn't move forward well and we spent too much time in Margot's head. I DNF halfway through. Hoping her next one is better.

I want to preface this by saying that I am a Stacy Willingham fan. I devoured A Flicker in the Dark and enjoyed All the Dangerous Things. I was so excited to get the opportunity to read this book. Unfortunately, this one just fell flat for me. I felt that it was really dragged out. The book was much longer than it needed to be, and I found that the little bit of pick-up that it had, took about 70% of the book to get there. I found that the characters were not very likeable or relatable. The writing itself was fine, and perhaps I just went in with such high expectations because her other books are 5 star reads for me.

ARC Review

Thank you @netgalley and @minotaurbooks for sending me this advanced electronic copy of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham. I requested this book because I read All the Dangerous Things by this author in 2023, and I really enjoyed Stacy's writing style.

Only If You're Lucky is a slow-burn, academic thriller. The book draws you in with its plot and the mystery surrounding each character. It drops hints as you read, but you don't really find out much until the last 20%. I definitely was guessing the whole time.

I am rating this a 3.5 because when the twists finally came, I didn't quite get the "shock" value that I wanted to feel after everything it took to get there. In addition, I felt like we needed to dive a little deeper into the character's relationships. All in all, I still enjoyed reading this book though, and I would recommend.

Only If You’re Lucky is narrated by Karissa Vacker, one of my favorites, so I must recommend the audiobook as the way to read this one for sure. This was a twisty read, set at fictional Rutledge College, with Margot living with Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole, grateful she has found her friend group, the group she’s always wanted. And then. Lucy goes missing, Margot’s past can’t quite escape her, and we are left wondering what in the world is going on while she tries to figure out the same thing. One thing is for sure, this friend group sticks together no matter what.

I am a huge fan of Stacy Willingham and really enjoyed this one. I liked the twists in here, enjoyed the college setting, and how it all wrapped up. I was hooked into this story from the beginning and this held my attention until the end.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the copies to review.

The story takes place in university and we follow students. As well as the present primary timeline we move between past and future to tell the story. Our main character lost her best friend and is trying to deal with her grief and somehow move on. She makes some new friend and things evolve from there. I often think with mystery and thrillers its best to go in blind. So I’ll leave it at that.

Right of the bat i didn’t like or connect to our characters and we have a few. The way the story is structured wasn’t working for me either and there was nothing that really interested me or kept me hooked.

The revelations were not that great and the ending was not for me.

I know that books that explore toxic friendships, are well loved. In my opinion it just wasn’t done well here. No idea what was so fascinating about Lucy.

My first book from this author was All the dangerous things wich i loved. Eager to read more from her i picked up A flicker in the dark, this got 2 stars but mainly because the tropes used were ones i disliked. So my hopes were still pretty high. Sadly this didn’t work for me.

Thank you to netGally and the Publisher for the e- Arc in exchange for an honest opinion.

Willingham's third novel is a slow burn thriller, with a relentless pace towards the finish. I was lulled by the first half of the book and then anxiously turning pages as fast as I could to find out the twists that Willingham writes so well.

A great read that's going to be a hit.

✨Arc • Review✨

Only If You’re Lucky

By: Stacy Willingham

4⭐️


This was definitely a SLOW BURN book. It wasn’t like any of her other books she wrote. It took a really long time for me to get into this book about % in, until things picked up. The twists at the end of this book! I would have never guessed some of them. Stacy Willingham always has a way of ending a book perfectly! This is why she will always be an auto buy author for me.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc of Only If You’re Lucky, for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley & publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.
Maggot's best friend died at the start of the summer. She didn't get to go to college with her best friend but the guy she blames for the death is there until he too turns up dead.
Margot is broken without her. Until Lucy. Margot has to wander why she was chosen. & if Lucy is capable of murder.
There was quite a bit of repetition & the execution of the story was a bit slow. The last few chapters (last 25%) were faster and more gripping. There were definitely things I didn't see coming. I didn't quite trust any character though they were all interesting. I felt like everyone was hiding something. & really they mostly were.
A nice break from reality.

I thoroughly enjoyed this slow burn thriller from Stacy Willingham! I loved the college campus setting and hated all the characters, which was a great combo for me and made the story interesting! I liked that the timeline worked through a before and after, which was an exciting lead up to the reveal of what happened. I thought both the before and after chapters were well done and kept me wanting to learn more! My one small issue with the book is that I didn’t understand the severity behind Margot’s hatred of one of the other characters - it just didn’t quite make sense to me and could have used added reasoning.

Overall, this book was pretty good. The plot was good and the twists were strong. But dang, did it take me forever to get into. The writing is sooo slow. It’s too reflective. I could skip entire pages of internal thoughts that didn’t alter the story. It was so boring until the final 100 pages. The pacing was so off. I listened to the author’s other books as audiobooks so I’m not sure if this is her typical writing style, or if it just didn’t translate as well as a physical book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

I liked this book, but unfortunately, I thought was a little weak at times. It didn't hold my attention as much as I hoped it would. I felt that the book was a little long. With that being said, I do enjoy Stacy Willingham's books, but ultimately, I felt that this story wasn't as strong as her previous ones. With that being said, I would still read another book by her as overall her stories are entertaining. I will probably also pick this book up again and give it a second chance at a later date.

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"...When so many lives become so intricately entwined, one snag, one single loose thread, and it all threatens to become undone."

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham has all the makings of a twisty, turny thriller with female friendships at its center, but it can't help but get bogged down by awkward dialogue, and far-fetched behavior from its characters.

Margot is preparing for her sophomore year in college, trying to move forward from the tragic death of her best friend the summer before her freshman year. When she becomes obsessed with Lucy, who reminds her of her best friend, she starts to feel a huge shift in her life…but is it for better or for worse? When someone from their circle turns up dead, Margot and we as readers learn the grass might not always be greener on the other side. 

I really loved A Flicker in the Dark by this author but I have to be honest and say this one was a struggle for me. I realize that there is always a bit of a suspension of disbelief with thrillers but what really took me out of connecting with this one was the characters and their behavior. Yes, I realize they're college students but maybe I'm out of touch. 🤷🏻‍♂️ I thought to myself multiple times, who says or acts like this?? Margot in particular was kind of unbearable from a narrator's standpoint, and since we depend on her to tell the whole story, it was tough to root for her. We can tell from the beginning that there's more to the story than she's telling…another unreliable narrator.

I did appreciate the dual timelines and how everything was pieced together but for me, it couldn't overcome the struggles I listed above. 

Have you read this one? What did you think? Am I missing something?

Thank you to St. Martins press for sending me a copy of ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY. This one is out now.

This one was just okay. It left me disappointed after reading Stacy Willingham's previous books. It was mostly boring up until the ending which I had mostly figured out. I can't recommend this book but I highly recommend Willingham's two previous books.

“If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?”

I want to thank NetGalley, and Minoatur for the advanced reader copy of Only If You’re Lucky.

The novel is set in a college backdrop and told in present, past and after timelines. A lot is going on for a book. I would recommend this if you’re looking for a slower-paced mystery.

I will say I’ve read Stacey’s other two books; A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things (These were four and five-star reads) and I enjoyed them, but I wasn’t a fan of this one. I’m thinking because it’s the college setting and felt more like a YA book.

That being said, I’m excited for future works, as Stacey is an auto-buy author for me!

I saw a lot of mixed reviews for this book, and I think because of that, I was hesitant to read it, but I was pleasantly surprised. The main character took me back to my college days when I felt young and naive. You want to fit in and find the right group and you aren’t sure what choices to make. I am glad I went with my choice and not the ones the character does in this book. But it sure made for a good and suspenseful read. There were a lot of complexities and background that definitely added to the questions and the doubt.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Minotaur for a gifted ecopy of the book. I highly recommend the audiobook version!

BOOK REVIEW

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

"If you knew you could get away for murder, would you do it?"

Margot was obsessed with her best friend Eliza, who tragically died after their high school graduation. While away for college, Margot meets Lucy, who was a larger than life kinda of girl. Lucy was very much alike, Eliza. They both loved being the center of attention, being the life of the party, and always choosing 'dare' over 'truth'. When Lucy asked Margot to move in with her friends off campus, it was an easy yes for her. She found herself belonging to a group again and finding out what college life was all about. Fraternity boys, parties, late nights, and little studying. Mid semester, one of the fraternity boys next door was murdered and Lucy had disappeared without a trace. Margot and the other roommates are questioning by detectives, and Margot will learn that Lucy knew her longer than she realized.

The book was a little bit of a slow burn for me, but the ending did have some twist I didn't see coming. It took me back to my younger years, so that was a fun little flashback. While I enjoyed the book, it won't go as a favorite thriller of mine.