I love this author but this book was so slow. It was so slow that I didn't care about anything. I wasn't intrigued, I didn't care what happened or the why.

I was bored for the most part and it was super underwhelming. I'm probably in the minority and thats ok but this book, just was not for me. 2,5 stars

rounded to 3

When Margot begins her freshman year of college she is still mourning the death of her best friend but when outgoing and popular Lucy Sharpe invites her to join her off campus house the following year, Margot jumps on the opportunity. Everything seems to be going great for Lucy and her new crew of friends until a frat boy next door is found dead and Lucy suddenly disappears.

I love an academia set thriller and this slow burn was so well written. I loved how there was dual timelines that connected Margot’s past to the current investigation. The themes of female friendship and lies and secrets we keep from those closest to us were also deeply explored and relatable to anyone who went through the college experience.

Read if you like:
-Dark academia
-Slow burns
-Murder mysteries

This was such a snoozefest for me 😕. I was SO bored. I kept losing interest. Took me FOREVER to finish it. And that’s a first for Stacys’ books.

The timeframes were hard to keep track of. All of the chapters should have been labelled. This book did not need to be as long as it was.

If this wasn’t an ARC, I would have abandoned it long ago.


Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for a DRC. Only If You’re Lucky is available now.

ONLY IF YOUR LUCKY is a very well-written, dark academia, slow-burn thriller. For me, the slow burn paid off. It’s more drama/mystery than the prior two books by this author. I like the dual timeline to see how the MC present was connected to her past. While it takes a little while for this one to pick up, it still had me invested from the start. The writing pulls you in and makes you want more. I enjoyed the twists and definitely recommend picking this up.
Stacy Willingham’s books have been a hit for me since her debut and I can’t wait for more!

“𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐮𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨 𝐢𝐭?”
 
I’m always up for a dark academia themed book, and Stacy Willingham’s latest delivers a dark slow burn tale.
 
Willingham changes things up, focusing this time on a group of young college-aged females who live together in off-campus housing. Margot, the narrator, is both buried under her grief of the death of her best friend, Eliza, and wanting desperately to be molded by those around her to help her move forward. Willingham creates a super strong opening that then flashes back, reminding me so much of the narrative structure of the tv show How To Get Away With Murder. You get just enough peeks at the present that you wonder how the characters got there, keeping you hooked. It is easy to see why Margot is pulled in by Lucy (especially as Lucy radiates the sense of belonging Margot longs for), and gets bound together with Sloane and Nicole. I do wish we got more of Sloane and Nicole; they both were really interesting characters and it would’ve helped me feel more for them. All the characters are young, which lends to a bit of an immature selfish lean, so in turn they aren’t always likeable. The feeling of tension and uneasiness is present, alongside the perfect capture of the quick close friendships you develop in college. The last bit of the novel had some really good twists that I definitely didn’t see coming, which kept me turning the pages (the short chapters also helped!), although this is definitely more of a character-driven drama with suspense versus a full-out thriller.
 
Only If You’re Lucky is a story of a desperation to belong, friendship, misdirection, desire, head games and morality. I really enjoyed this college-set character-driven tale of deceit. Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a bit disappointing bc I’ve really enjoyed her other 2 books. Idk what it is about dark academia but every book I read I just don’t love. I found this to be a little slow, drawn out, boring at times. The storyline overall was actually interesting and the twists at the end were good but toooooooo slow.

If you are a fan of Stacy Willingham's previous novels, you will like Only If You're Lucky and so you can stop here and just go read it.

Only if You're Lucky is a standalone mystery thriller novel with college sophomore Margot as our protagonist and (mostly) reliable narrator. This book is a testament to Willingham's growth as an author with her most complex story to date and, in my opinion, her most fully-realized protagonist. Margot is dealing with trauma in some pretty unhealthy ways throughout but it does still feel like she's making an earnest effort on getting past it and it's not just there to add drama to the story or provide some useless red herring. She wants to change who she is and how she moves through the world but finds herself falling back into her old role as the sidekick when Lucy approaches her out of the blue and asks her to be her roommate. The mysteries of the book are well hidden and yet cleverly unveiled with enough hints and deliberate word choice sprinkled throughout to make it seem fair when you do finally see the pieces falling into place. This one is well worth your time and energy to read and I look forward to reading whatever the author puts out next!

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham

This book started out so strong! The setting of this book brings us right back to undergrad: full of awkwardness, new friendships, parties, and discovery. Willingham’s descriptions of college life were so perfect I was smiling as I read them, remembering my own friendships and mishaps!
Probably the first 40% of the novel was fast-paced and we were given enough to be wanting more. Then we got a little deeper into the story and it got a little repetitive and sloggy (is that a word? Idk I made it up maybe). The mystery and the pacing went off the rails a little bit- but I think this is just her style. I know a lot of people love her books, so if that’s you I’m sure you’ll enjoy this! Very twisty, hard to put down at the end! Dark academia vibes for sure though- so if that’s book catnip for you, snap this one up!

Ooooh, this was a good one! I loves me a good girl mystery, and this one did NOT disappoint. The characters were awesome, the storyline was great and the writing fast-paced. I'll definitely be looking for more from this author.

First off, I absolutely loved both of her previous novels and raved about them on my page. She is a fantastic writer. However, with that said, this book is very different. The main character Margot proves uninteresting with her monotonous voice and a tedious obsession, overshadowing potentially intriguing side characters whose appeal is lost in her lackluster narrative. The story adopts a before/after structure that fails to captivate in either timeline.
The plot unfolds slowly, lacking significant events until the unexpected drama at the conclusion. Despite the engaging atmosphere, particularly in the ending, my overall rating is 3 stars. Although eager to delve into this new one by Willingham, a favorite author, I found it disappointingly reminiscent of other cookie cutter female friendship books—replete with a college setting, a group of students, atmospheric elements, and a monotonous tone, but lacking the requisite tension and suspense.

Def a fan of this author! This was a solid slow burn mystery. Probably 60-75% through I thought I had parts figured out, but I was still surprised by this book. Entertaining throughout. Recommend to mystery fans.

I finished most of this book in one sitting because the big reveal happens a little past the halfway point, and then the wheels just come off! It's one thing after another of big reveals, hidden secrets coming to the surface, and jaw dropping moments.

I don't think I've ever met anyone like Lucy Sharpe; she's very reminiscent of other antagonists from other books, most notably from Ruth Ware's The It Girl. She's carefree, whimsical, a free spirit, who just attracts wounded dogs. I can't decide if I like these types of characters or if they annoy me...either way, they make for a great plot point.

The book toggles between the past and present - before and after Lucy goes missing. We do also get some insight into the past when Margot tells us the story about Eliza, which is all very eye opening and you could see why Margot was attracted to the type of person Lucy is.

Throughout the story, we get a clearer picture of life for Margot both before, after and during Lucy's disappearance. Things are not as they seem, people are not as they seem, and even Margot herself becomes unreliable at times. It's all a little confusing (in a positive way) because everything feels familiar and it's like things are repeating...but then once the curtain is pulled back and you see the characters for who they really are, things click into place.

There were multiple times throughout this book where I screeched and had my jaw drop. When you think everything has been revealed, you find out it's not.

Only If You're Lucky was not scary but it did creep me out at points so I couldn't really read at night. To me, Willingham's writing has an eerier undertone to it where it can send a chill up your spine. It's no different from other thriller plots but something about the way she puts the words together makes me uneasy.

This is definitely one of the best thrillers I've ever read, and I felt a little sad when it was over because it was gripping, suspenseful and so surprising. If you're a thriller nerd like me, you will adore Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham!

Stacy Willingham is a gem at suspense.

Margot befriends the elusive Lucy Sharpe in college after a tragic accident took her best friend in high school. Along with Nicole and Sloane they embark on a friendship that will take you thru twists and turns you never saw coming. Who is Lucy really? She's the life of the party and the one everyone wants to be friends with. But no one really knows anything about her. As Margot unravels the clues the shock will keep those pages turning. The ending you won't see coming.

Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur books for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Only if You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham
Thriller
Pub Date: January 16, 2024 TODAY!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Stacy is hands down one of my favorite thriller authors! I am never able to guess her twists and her writing is great! I highly recommend any of her books if you’re looking for a good thriller.

This story falls under dark academia genre, which I’ve never read before. Margot is in her freshman year of college. Margot is your typical shy college student, what most people don’t know is she lost her best friend weeks after graduation. Eliza her best friend was the outgoing one, the yin to her yang. So when Margot meets Lucy at the end of freshman year, she finds her new Eliza. Lucy is outgoing, crazy and always down to do anything.
Now Lucy is missing, and all these crazy connections start coming up. Why does it seem like Margot is always a part of these missing friends.

I really enjoyed this one! I had no idea the different twist and turns this one ended up having. Sometimes College books seem a bit too YA for me, but this one didn’t bother me at all. I highly recommend this one if you like psychological thrillers!

DNF @ almost 50%.....

This was sooo slow - also very young adult - not what I was expecting. I loved the author's last two books, and with a beautiful cover like this, I couldn't wait to dive in.

Unfortunately, I just kept finding myself uninterested and after everyone I spoke to who read it said they were disappointed, I decided it wasn't worth finishing.

This book was disappointing. I’m not a huge fan of YA novels and this thoroughly read as YA fiction. It’s the story of Margot- a college freshman who tragically lost her best friend Eliza the summer before college. She was creepily obsessed with Eliza- to the point of stealing little mementos from her bedroom. In college she meets Lucy and becomes obsessed with her as well. In the midst of this, there is some murder and assault but it’s all very slow moving and boring.

After reading the synopsis for this I was hoping for more of a dark academia vibe (e.g. 𝙄𝙣 𝙈𝙮 𝘿𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢𝙨 𝙄 𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙖 𝙆𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙚) but it felt more like Mean Girls with boring characters + a murder/missing person case. The characters are college age but live off-campus next to a frat house so the setting didn't really add much to the story for me. I did like the twisty ending but getting there was too slow of a burn and I was no longer very interested.

I will add that A LOT of people love the other two books by this author and those were just likes for me. So definitely still give this one a shot, especially if you loved those.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Due to tragically losing her best friend the summer before her freshman year of college, Margot spends her first year at university feeling numb and keeping to herself. That is, until she meets the enigmatic Lucy. Completely captivated by Lucy’s charm, Margot finds herself unexpectedly accepting the invitation to live with Lucy and her two best friends in a house off-campus. After settling in and growing closer to the girls, Margot is slowly able to come out of her shell. Then tragedy strikes again and Lucy is nowhere to be found…

“Only If You’re Lucky” ended up being another run-of-the-mill thriller and included characters that were not very compelling. I felt no emotional connection to the four main girls as they were bland and not as fleshed out as I would have liked. I also didn’t love that nothing really significant happened until the 70% mark. It would have helped the momentum of the story had we been given a twist of some kind in the second quarter. I had previously read Stacy Willingham’s debut and I do enjoy her writing style, but this one fell just a little flat.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced copy!

I absolutely loved this author's previous books so when "Only If You're Lucky" hit NetGalley I couldn't request a copy fast enough. And while this wasn't a total win for me, I ended up enjoying it more than I anticipated.

Willingham's newest book focuses on the complexities of morality and the blurred lines between good and evil. When college student Lucy goes missing, her roommates and neighboring friends are put to the test on what they are willing to protect. It’s soon clear everyone has a reason to want their own protection.

The alternating timelines made the book hard to put down as I found myself engrossed in the dark academia storyline. While none of the characters in this book are all that loveable, you can't help but want them to win in the end -- "if you can't beat them, join them", ya know?

My only hiccup was the less than stellar police work. I can't say too much without spoiling the story, but as a crime junkie, I found their lack of investigation a bit bothersome.

"Only If You're Lucky" is a good fit for readers seeking an exploration of female friendship, loyalty, and the darker side of human nature.

I really enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s first two novels so I was excited to read her third, Only If You’re Lucky. I have to say, it did not disappoint! Toxic female friendships full of secrets and lies in a college setting— yes, please! This slow burn suspense novel sprinkled just enough goodies in each chapter to keep me engaged throughout. I’m a big fan of short chapters because it’s so easy to convince yourself to read “just one more” over and over again, which is what I found myself saying each night I read in bed. I loved the back and forth timelines, cleverly labeled “Before” and “After” (since this is a spoiler-free review I’ll leave out the details on the event that separates the two).
I really enjoyed the last quarter of the book when the puzzle pieces started coming together.
Be sure to read the acknowledgements at the end because Willingham discusses how aspects of her own collegiate experience shaped the setting for Only If You’re Lucky and I found that to be extremely fascinating.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝:
* In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashley Winstead
* What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
* The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
* A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
* Stacy Willingham’s first two novels

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.