"Only If You're Lucky" offered a decent thriller experience, keeping me engaged as a definite page-turner. While enjoyable, I couldn't help but compare it to the author's previous works, finding them more compelling. Nevertheless, the story was fun and managed to hold my interest, making it a worthwhile read with a solid 3-star rating.

Honestly, I DNF'd this book about halfway in. It was slow and I just didn't connect with the storyline.

Margot is obsessed with her best friend, Eliza, until Eliza dies in a mysterious accident. Trying to move on with her life, Margot goes to college and becomes obsessed with her new friend Lucy. It seems like she’s finally getting the lift she’s always wanted, until one of the boys in the fraternity next door (who also happens to be Eliza’s ex) is killed.

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump lately so I was looking forward to picking up this much anticipated thriller. Unfortunately this book was just so…. boring. The setting and atmosphere was really interesting and had so much potential. But the main character’s POV was so monotonous and bland. And the plot was practically nonexistent until the last 10% of the book. The story was also presented in two timelines, which I don’t really think added much to the story. I’m so disappointed because I loved Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things. Ugh ☹️ Skip this one but definitely check out her other two books if you haven’t already!!

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

A dark academia thriller set in college with alternating timelines that is steeped in secrets, betrayal and murder.

I love a good dark academia thriller and once again Stacy Willingham delivers with a twisty and suspenseful mystery about friendship, envy, secrets, loyalty and obsession. I loved All the Dangerous Things and A Flicker in the Dark and while this is a slower burn and focused on younger characters, I was absolutely engrossed and actively trying to figure out the twists.

Margot is adrift. Her best friend fell to her death just weeks after their graduation.
She spent the year shrouded in memories & adrift in depression. Until Lucy Sharpe comes into her life and convinces her to move into off-campus housing with her and her two friends. Lucy is everything Margot isn't and has a pull about her. Margot gets swept up in Lucy's life, finally enjoying her time in college until a boy from her past shows up. Soon, things take a darker turn and Margot isn't sure who she can trust.

Only If You're Lucky is filled with shady characters and young adults behaving badly. You definitely have to be willing to stretch your levels of believability but I had no problem doing that. I loved the alternating timelines and was kept on my toes - switching what i thought the twists were. I never guessed them all and a few things I never saw coming! If you enjoy character driven, slow burn thrillers based in academia you won't want to miss this one. (

3.5 stars!
The plot was a bit long as well as the story wasn't as captivating as Stacy's other books which I was sad about. The premise was excellent but I wasn't gravitated into the book as much as I would of have liked. There were times I had to take breaks to finish this book. :(

4 stars

You can read all of my reviews at Nerd Girl Loves Books.

This is an exciting psychological thriller set at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot's best friend Eliza died 3 weeks after graduation and Margo blames Eliza's boyfriend for her death. Margot goes into a deep funk, but ultimately decides to attend the college she and Eliza planned to attend together. Margo spends her freshman year cloistered with her plain jane roommate, never making other friends or participating in social events. The only thing she does notice is Lucy, who is bold and dangerous - and reminds her so much of Eliza.

At the end of freshman year, Lucy approaches Margot and invites her to move into an off-campus house with two other girls, Sloan and Nicole. The house is owned by the next-door fraternity and one of Margot's roommate is dating the fraternity president. Suddenly Margot is coming out of her shell, partying, and having fun. She and Lucy grow very close and by the end of summer are almost inseparable - until one of the fraternity boys from next door is found brutally murdered and Lucy goes missing without a trace. Suddenly Margot and her remaining two roommates are in the middle of a murder and missing person investigation, and cracks are forming.

Told in short chapters that alternate between the time just before and after Eliza's death before college, and the present timeline while Margot lives in the off-campus house, the book is an addictive read. I had a hard time putting it down and read it in a day and a half. The book is a great example of an unreliable narrator and kept me guessing as to what was going to happen next and what the truth really was. Pretty much everyone was despicable in one way or another, other than perhaps Nicole and Sloan. But even they had their moments. The middle was a bit slow, but it quickly picked up the last fourth of the book until the climatic ending. If you like psychological, suspenseful books with plenty of twists and turns, pick this book up now.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Minotaur Books. All opinions are my own.

If you like hunting game by Lucy Foely. Manipulation, Past mrets presents and twist that inicent people might npt be as incent.

Wow, this story drew me in from the beginning. Margot is closing out her freshman year at college, isolating herself and mourning the loss of her childhood best friend who died in a mysterious accident before school began. When she meets up with the mysterious Lucy who invites her to live with friends Sloane and Nicole in a house that's connected to and rented out to a fraternity. Enigmatic Lucy draws her into her world of college parties, friendships, and mysteries. She draws her friends into her like magnets. Midway through the year, one of the fraternity brothers next door is murdered and Lucy has gone missing.

This is a slow-burn story that draws you in and that has many twists and turns that I didn't see coming.

Thanks to St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, Netgalley, and the author for the ARC

I loved it!
Super slow burn, but it fits perfectly.
We get a lot of morally gray characters and so many twists I didn't see coming!!

Thank you for the ARC Copy of Only if You're Lucky, This was a pretty good thriller. It had its ups and downs. It definitely was a slow burn and felt more of a Young Adult reader type thriller than an adult one but I still enjoyed the story especially seeing it all over social media. Overall I think if you prefer more of a YA book this one would be a good route to go.

Stacy Willingham is a #mustread #autobuyauthor at this point for me, and while this one I would still say is worth a shot for all Stacy fans (I did overall enjoy it), this is probably my least favorite so far of hers. That being said (a) it’s a high bar to meet and (2) the biggest struggle I had with this one was that it takes place (with the exception of some past high school memories) entirely from the viewpoint of college students - while it has not been thatttt long since I’ve been in college and I am a sucker for some college plots (looking at you The Secret History 🙏) this one was a little one dimensional. It also took a while for the pace to pick up.

•

Margot has been deemed “malleable” - the kind of girl that can be molded easily. Still fresh off of mourning her high school bestfriend - the kind of girl who was hypnotic, mesmerizing, unforgettable - whose tragic death still haunts her, Margot finds herself once against enthralled by another bold, alpha-leader, magnetic peer: the iconic and mysterious Lucy Sharpe, an enigma at their small liberal arts college.

•

As Margot becomes more and more entwined with Lucy and her two other sidekicks (for lack of a better term), Sloane and Nicole, and indulges deeper and deeper in alcohol, games, secrets, and lies, the past and present begin to merge as she realizes that she knows very little about the girls she has essentially become glued at the hip to, given herself to entirely.

•

Combine the disappearance of one of the four girls, a few dead bodies gone before their time, and mistakes that will haunt them all forever, and you’ve got a solid collegiate #suspensethriller with several plot twists to boot.

I liked this one! The college setting was great, and I liked the alternating timelines. I had a feeling how it was all connected together, but there was a huge surprise. I love when a book surprises me. Can’t wait to read this author’s next one!

In this latest book by Stacy Willingham, she showcases her ability to create characters that are complex, multilayered and who may not always be what they seem. This is a character driven story of friendship, belonging, manipulation, lies, secrets, loyalty, envy and questioning how far a person would go to right a perceived wrong or for self preservation. None of the characters are very likable and I found this book to be kind of slow to get to where it was going. It wasn’t my favorite Stacy Willingham book but it is well written and ultimately does tell an interesting story.

Immediately taken in by a #
psychological thriller I’ve been excited to read, Stacy Willingham did. Not. Hold. Back.
Characters are developed so intricately with multiple layers pulled apart as the story takes twists and turns like no other. A favorite #thriller and so fast-paced, it kept me gripped until the end!

Thank you, Stacy Willingham, St Martins Press, Minotaur Books & @
netgalley for my copy! All opinions are my own.

This was entertaining but I found myself disliking all the characters which made it hard for me to feel invested in where the story was going.

Only If You're Lucky, by Stacy Willingham, is a thriller that deceives you at the start and then twists and turns so rapidly you might forgo a good night's sleep to discover who did what to whom! The story is notable for incorporating challenging themes such as depression, bullying, young adult hierarchy, morality on many levels, and family dynamics. Willingham never preaches, and most of the heavier themes stood out only as I reflected on the book after I had read the last page. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minatour Books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

Only if You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham is a slow burn character driven book about four college girls who find themselves wrapped up in the murder of a fraternity brother.

One of my favorite things is a past/present timeline and this one did not disappoint. I really enjoyed learning more about main character, Margot’s past and her life as a college sophomore, and her enigmatic roommate, Lucy, who goes missing. And I always love when the past reaches the beginning of the present because then the characters’ actions make more sense.

There were quite a few twists in this one that I did not expect or would have even guessed, which is the sign of a good book to me. One of the reveals seemed obvious, the kind where you kinda have a feeling, but it doesn’t bother you because you’re just going with the flow of the story. Overall, this was another solid book by Willingham and I’m looking forward to her next one.

Wow, that was a wild ride! I didn't see that last twist coming at the end! And man was Lucy totally fucked up and creepy!!! This is my 2nd Stacy Willingham book and I am now adding all of her backlog of books to my TBR! I can't wait to see what she puts out next!

Absolutely loved this one. A group of college friends are involved in a spooky series of murders. Stacy Willingham is quickly becoming one of my must-read authors so was thrilled to get this advanced copy!

This story was a pretty slow burn but I love it and the ending was great! Fantastic read. All of Stacy’s books are great and this is no different.