Thank you to NetGalley & Minotaur Books for the eARC.

3.5/5 ⭐️(rounded up to 4)

Stacy Willingham’s thriller ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS was one of my favorites from last year so I was extremely excited & honored to receive an early copy of her newest book! While I did enjoy the book, it didn’t quite meet my expectations. It’s very different from her previous 2 books which were true thrillers. Her newest book reads as more of a character driven suspense/drama with a dark academia setting & I’m learning that both of those things aren’t really my favorite😬. The pacing was a little slow up until the halfway point & then things finally picked up & grabbed my attention. Once the twists started coming I was truly shocked but the build up to get there took way too long for me. However, the last few chapters were so gripping that I felt like it was a reward for pushing through the first part of the book & I thought the ending was wrapped up really nicely. Overall, it was an enjoyable read but not my fave from her. I’m continually impressed by Willingham’s ability to write books that are totally different from each other & she will definitely still be an auto buy author for me!

This ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Friendships, secrets, trust, murder and mystery. It's all here in Only If You're Lucky. We're in college with Margot, a freshman living in the all-girl dorm. She's very sheltered, practically invisible, and suitably in a tizzy when Lucy (Miss Popular) draws her into her orbit and invites her to live off-campus for the summer in a house with the cool kids. 

Something's happened in the present day, and we go back into the past to see how the girls arrive there. This book is slow - there's action but a lot of it is taking place in Margot's head, which is full of rambling musings and memories. 

There's a mystery from the past too, Willingham dropping breadcrumbs along the way. Adding to the atmosphere is a creepy house. A genuinely creepy house, with secret nooks and a weird, damp and smelly shed in between the girls' house and the frat next door. The house itself feels like a character and lends the book a gothic flavor. 

With deliciously short chapters that will keep you turning the pages late into the night, the suspense builds to a satisfying knotty conclusion. 

My thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the ARC.

Margot is a freshman and she is heading to school without her best friend, Eliza. Eliza was mysteriously killed 3 weeks before they were supposed to head to college. Her life is pretty boring until she meets Lucy, a mysterious girl with a magnetic and powerful personality. Not much is known about Lucy which makes her more appealing to others. While they are living together, a murder happens. Who did it? This reminded me so much of Pretty Little Liars.

Only If You’re Lucky was a gripping story of Margot away at college after the loss of her best friend and moving in with the captivating and mysterious girls Lucy, Sloane and Nicole. I was hooked as I tried to piece all the pieces of the mystery puzzle together to find out what happened to Lucy, who has gone missing. I liked the setting of the book taking place at college, where the girls under the roof of a fraternity owned house off campus. I lived in a sorority house in college and we had to rent half the house to a fraternity my junior year. So living underneath a fraternity during pledging was interesting to say the least so I thought this was an interesting aspect of the story. All in all I liked the book a lot and thought it was a quick exciting read with twists and Stacy Willingham is definitely an auto read author for me now.

Stacy Willingham is a fantastic writer, with a near-perfect ability to conjure up vivid and dynamic scenes and characters. I enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark, and truly adored All the Dangerous Things. Her latest, Only If You're Lucky, is a compelling character study of Margot, who is recovering from the death of her best friend when she joins a sorority. My main qualm with the mystery is that it doles out information at a very languid pace; and near the end, it falls into a trap where we're not provided insight by our first-person narrator about things she logically should be considering throughout the book. But overall, it's engaging, well-written, dynamic from beginning to end.

Only If You’re Lucky
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Author: Stacy Willingham

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: 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.

My Thoughts: This was a gripping, captivating, creepy psychological thriller that kept me wanting more, even at the determinant of my own sleep. I have been a fan of Willingham with Flicker in the Dark and have been reading every book she publishes every year. This story follows a group of girls as they navigate college life, or so it seems. Margot meets Lucy at the end of her freshman college year and is attracted to Lucy, as she reminds her of her best friend from home. When Lucy invites Margot to live with her and two other girls, Margot cannot say no. They life off-campus next to a fraternity of boys. Margot is finally coming out of her shell after losing her best friend the year after high school graduation, and just as she does, a boy next door is murdered and Lucy is missing. What could have gone wrong? This follows a slow burn, classic whodunit mystery that is full of twists and turns, with more than enough suspects.

The story was narrated by Margot, in her POV, in a before and after narrative. Margot is shy, reserved, and always plays it safe, she sometimes care too much. Lucy is bold, dangerous, eccentric, and is a natural born leader. Lucy’s famous question, “If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?” rings loud throughout the novel. Then there is Sloane, who is always sarcastic and the glue that holds the group together. Lastly, we have Nicole, the nice, shy girl who is dating one of the fraternity boys, which allows them to have this rental off campus. The storyline embeds a true Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a true struggle between good and evil. Does a person do evil to promote the good? Or are inherently evil people always evil? The characters were developed well, with our female characters being unreliable, dark, mysterious, and intriguing. The supporting characters that also starred alongside our female friend group brings the story to another level. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, had expert timing of revelations, with a cyclone plot, with a structure of the story was brilliant. The plot twists were well created with secrets, lies, and accusations, with an ending that was jaw dropping and maybe a bit stretched, however, still was entertaining.

I had the pleasure of having the digital and audio ARCs. I mostly listened to the story. Willingham is a master storyteller that can deliver twists embedded in twists and has a knack for keeping the reader invested from cover to cover. This book was different from Willingham’s first two books and fell a little short of the high bar she set, but I would still highly recommend this story.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an advanced e-copy of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham.

What it’s about:
Margot and Eliza have been inseparable since Kindergarten. They have shared all of their secrets, both good and bad for 18 years and are about to embark upon a new adventure together - college. But when a terrible accident happens, Margot finds herself having to figure out what this next season of life will look like on her own. Desperate to forget and find something (or someone) to replace the hole left in her life by Eliza's absence, Margot moves in to her dorm at Rutledge, the college the two girls had planned to attend together. However, learning to live without Eliza's confidence and bright light is tough for shy and inhibited Margot, so she spends most of her time in her room with her equally shy roommate Maggie, who does her best to encourage her when the memories become too much. At the end of freshman year, Margot is dreading going home for the summer, so when an opportunity presents itself for her to move in with three of the most popular girls at school, she decides to take it. Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole are joined at the hip, and Margot can't believe her good "luck" when the most magnetic of the trio, Lucy, asks her to become their fourth roommate. Lucy reminds Margot so much of Eliza - she is vibrant and vivacious and so sure of herself. The new roommates become closer through living together that summer and sharing the experience of living next door to the boys of Kappa Nu. But as the summer turns to Fall, and the new pledges begin to arrive, Margot and Lucy are faced with ghosts from their pasts, and Margot begins to wonder if her luck is about to run out.

What I loved:
THIS BOOK! Stacy Willingham has written a page-turner that kept me guessing up until the very end. This story has an "I Know What You Did Last Summer" vibe because of the characters' youth, and it takes place centered around a high school and college environment. Willingham has written story lines that are masterfully entangled, and she has painted such a dark and accurate picture of how female friendships can affect your decisions throughout your life. I really could feel how torn the characters were about their decisions and how desperation can cause people to do things that might never normally do. This is a must-read if you love books that will keep you reading long into the night to find out what happens!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

In Only If You’re Lucky, we follow Margot in two time lines - “before” and “after.” “Before” follows Margot and her childhood best friend in high school, who we learn early on died before going to college, but we don’t know how or the details surrounding her death. In “After,” we follow Margot and two of her college roommates who are being questioned about their fourth roommate who’s gone missing and the death of a friend.

I felt like I guessed one part of the ending, but I didn’t see the other plot twists. That’s always my goal in mystery thrillers, to guess what happened. However, it took so long for any action or excitement to happen that I didn’t enjoy this book like I’ve enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s previous novels. I cared little about the characters, and just wanted something to happen much sooner to get me hooked. This is 2.5 stars rounded up for me.

Only If You’re Lucky focuses on the lives of a group of college-age girls, whose ties of friendship and loyalty are forged and tested, as they decide how much of themselves to reveal and how far they will go to protect each other, especially when some secrets from their pasts are uncovered.

This is definitely a slow burn suspense/thriller. Willingham’s writing style has always been one of my favorites. Her descriptions of college life, from the eccentricities of the off-campus house where the girls reside, to the drunken chaos of frat parties, make the reader feel as if they were transported right onto the college scene. Much of the book is focused on the dynamics between the girls, and how their friendships form through late night whispers and secrets shared, and how those same friendships are tested through truths and vulnerabilities that are revealed as the story unfolds.

There is a lot going on with this book and most of the slow burn twists are revealed in the last third of the novel. While I enjoyed the writing style and I’m typically engaged with slow burn thrillers, the pacing felt like it did drag a bit. By the time the twists were revealed, I did not feel as invested as I have with Willingham’s previous novels. There were a lot of elements brought into the story and while the resolution made sense, it felt like there were several side plots and situations going on.

While this one is not my favorite, Stacy Willingham will continue to be a must-read author for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for this advanced copy, in exchange for my honest review.

First, I love books about young adult characters, specifically female friendships – this one reminded me a bit of Ruth Ware’s The Lying Game, and maybe a little of Pretty Little Liars.
I was intrigued from the start and it was hard to put the book down, even though it was a slow burn. The story gave bits and pieces, clues here and there, but I was sucked in by the female friendships and mystery – and when the twists did start happening, they were good!

My opinions of characters changed so many times, and I kept thinking I knew the story and then I would be wrong about parts. There were a few things I did figure out. It was interesting to feel attached to characters and then start to change your mind about them. With so many characters, I would have liked to hear from more POVs, but I think I understand why she didn’t do that. The ending was wrapped in a little bow, which I like, but I still have some questions and wish we would have been given a bit more, maybe an epilogue of years later

Enjoyed all 3 of Stacy’s books so far and will keep picking them up!

Thank you Netgalley, Stacy, & Minotaur St. Martins Press for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity it read the ARC (Advance reader Copy) of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham. This book was ok but really not for me. It reminded me a lot of a book I read many years ago and I was not a fan then either. It was not an exciting book with twists and turns. Actually quite monotonous. The reason for such a high rating (3 stars) is due to the ending. There was some unexpected drama towards the end (the last 20%). I sis not feel engaged with this novel. Sorry to say, but I would not recommend this book to others. Sorry.

As if I didn’t already love Stacy Willingham enough, she’s back again with another thriller I could not put down!

From the very start of Only If You’re Lucky I was drawn into Margot’s world. Obsessed with both her past and the glimpses of the present timeline. Those little snippets of “after” made me put on my detective hat and try to guess what would happen along the way. Some of my suspicions turned out to be right, but it took me a while to really get to those conclusions. And don’t worry, Willingham still came through with quite a few surprises!

Fans of dark academia type thrillers will eat this one up. The off-campus housing situation that Margot has is a fascinating and very realistic setting (make sure to check the author’s note for inspiration on this!). It truly lends itself to helping build up the tension between Margot, her roommates, and the neighboring fraternity brothers.

This is one of those books that I’m going to be recommending to everyone, so do yourself a favor and get your pre-order in for this ASAP!

A huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my gifted copy!

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my eARC. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This was my first Willingham book and I really enjoyed it. There were so many twists and turns in this and it kept me guessing throughout.

This is marketed about exploring friendship and belonging but I think it could also be about family and jealousy.

The dual timeline really worked to explain the story and drive the plot along, and I love the dynamics between the characters. Some of the actions of the characters felt a bit too naïve and felt like it was too convenient, like it was just to drive the plot forward.

Overall, I highly recommend this one and will be going and reading Willingham's other books.

I really enjoyed this author’s other two books, so I was excited to receive an early copy of her new one. With that said, this one was a bit different from her other books. I expected a thriller (similar to her other books) but was met with more of a mystery drama. The pacing was really slow in the beginning, but the chapters were short, which kept me intrigued. Things didn’t really pick up until the last 30% of the story. I did enjoy the various plot twists, although some of them were predictable. The storyline gave off mean girls vibes mixed with some dark academia. Worth reading if you’re a fan of this author’s books!

ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴏʀʏ: After losing her lifelong best friend, Margot starts college depressed and alone. When she finds herself taken in by an enigmatic personality and 3 new best friends, her life changes, but her past threatens to upend her new life.

ᴍʏ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴄᴇɴᴛs: Okay, unpopular opinion - I was so disappointed by this book. I’ve been seeing some rave reviews by booksta friends that made me really excited to start this one, but it just was not for me.

The actual backstory/thriller part was good, and I really enjoyed the twists thrown at us, but for me, I think the problem was the setting. I could not get into all of these moronic kids partying through college. Don’t get me wrong, I never said no to a party in college either, but for some reason they just had me rolling my eyes at their idiocy the entire time.

ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴛʜɪs ɪғ ʏᴏᴜ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏ:
👯‍♀️ unhealthy friendships
👯‍♀️ living in a frat house
👯‍♀️ unrealistic college experiences

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars !

'Only If You're Lucky' toooootally gave me Pretty Little Liar vibes. Although it was a little on the slower end and the characters gave me some immaturity characteristics, it was still pretty enjoyable. I'm glad I took the advice to listen to the audiobook for this one rather than reading it cause the narrator - Karissa Vacker - really added that extra factor of making the story engaging and entertaining.

I'm kicking myself in the butt as I am realizing I still need to read Willingham's 'Flicker in The Dark', maybe I'll try that one on audio too at some point!

Her third thriller is out TODAY! (1/16/23)…and it doesn’t disappoint

This mysterious & twisty story follows the friendship of four college girls- all with very different lives- and their jealous, manipulative, secretive and wild ways.

The dynamics between the girls (especially Margot and Lucy) were entertaining to read about because they were so so different.
It was very well written and the descriptions and character development were great- which I knew we’d get based off Willingham’s previous books.

I always enjoy when a book flips between the past and present and we get a really good sense of who Margot (MC) is and tons of backstory on her.

Some parts felt like they moved a little slower than others, but the reveals along the way made up for that and I didn’t feel like things dragged. So a bit of a slow burn, but I got to a point in the book where things started moving at lightning speed.

I found it super easy to follow and fun to connect all the dots as more things were revealed.
Overall I enjoyed how unpredictable parts of the plot were, and the big twists were awesome!

If you love dark academia as much as I do, you’ll want to pick this one up and dive in!

Stacy Wilingham has written another tense twisty thriller that I hated to put down..A book of female friendships with characters that come alive.and keep you on the edge of your seat.#netgalley #st.martins

Rating - 3.5 stars rounded down.

Saves the best for the last!

Thanks NetGalley, St Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the ALC in exchange on an honest review.

Synopsis –

Margot, the shy and cautious girl, is always behind the scenes. As she becomes a close friend to the “It girl” Lucy Sharpe, she can’t help feeling singled out, even while living with two other girls. Still reeling from the loss of her best friend Eliza, Margot’s new found stability is under threat when one of the boys in the neighbourhood fraternity is found dead and Lucy is missing.

Review –

Karissa Vacker does a brilliant job with Margot’s narrative, as she voices her deepest thoughts, secrets and vulnerabilities.

The plot is juicy and salacious, brimming with all the things that makes college life colourful, scandalous and deeply experiential. We have a bunch of girls who couldn’t be more different from one another hanging out with a group of marauding boys - parties, bonfires, truth or dare games and of course hook ups.

The author does a great job in exploring these dynamics, as she brings out the nuances, highlights and pit falls with female friendships. Drawing parallels between the effervescent Lucy and the vivacious Eliza, we get an in-depth understanding of how these two girls affected Margot, altering her mindsets, behaviour & timid persona.

Soon after Lucy goes missing, although it was evident that these girls were harbouring secrets, Margot’s narrative however, dragged out the tension and suspense. Her monologue felt tedious, repetitive & at one point, her obsession with Lucy and Eliza felt overdone and unrealistic.

I do love a great slow burn thriller that packs a punch all the way at the end, but sadly here, it went a little too far, rendering the single POV of Margot boring and monotonous. I think multi POVs would have done wonders in this.

Finally when the twists arrive, they were indeed unexpected and shocking, but it rather felt anti-climactic, as if they were done in desperation, just for the sake of it.

Overall, I did mostly enjoy this one and thought it had great potential, but not my favourite by the author. I absolutely loved her previous works and look forward to her next.

Only If You're Lucky took me by surprise! I love thrillers and mysteries of any kind. Last year I struggled finding ones that either I liked, or actually gave me a mystery I couldn't see coming!
The writing was visceral! I felt so absorbed in the setting it was easy to get lost in this page turner of a mystery. I read this in almost one sitting. I was hooked!
What I love about this thriller is that it has the perfect amount of details to really capture your imagination but not too heavy of details that it takes you out of the story.
I don't like to give a lot of details about the actual story because with a thriller you need to be experience it for yourself with no spoilers!
I highly recommend this thriller 5 stars!