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 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.

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.