ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY by Stacy Willingham is coming soon! I’m sure many of you know this already but this is available Tuesday 1.16.24.

Margot has lost her best friend, Eliza, just before beginning the college life together. Eliza was always the one that shined, full of life, and the life of the party. Margot is careful and quiet. At the end of her freshman year at college, she meets Lucy who is so similar to Eliza that Margot longs to be part of her inner circle. Soon Margot finds herself living and partying with Lucy and her other roommates alongside fraternity boys. Margot is finally feeling like she has found her place when one of the frat boys is murdered and Lucy is gone without a trace.

I am a big Willingham fan for her fast pacing and nail-biting style. Only if You’re Lucky felt a little different to me as it was much slower paced than her previous books. There was a lot of inner monologue from Margot which could’ve been cut down in my opinion as some of it feels repetitive. But once I was 60-ish% in, I didn’t want to put it down. At that point, I was getting to the good twists and turns that left me staying up late. This novel has two timelines: the before and after of Lucy’s disappearance.

I loved peeling back the layers especially the last half of this book. I also loved the setting of a college frat house too (read the author’s note— the setting/house was based off of her college living quarters). Her writing is smooth as always, and I’ll keep looking forward to whatever she writes!
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thanks @minotaur_books for sharing this egalley with me through @netgalley!

Now, I can’t say I disliked this book but I also didn’t love it. It was okay. If you enjoy a slow burn mystery, not really a thriller, then pick this up. The last 15% is really when everything hit the fan, and as surprised as I was about everything that unfolded, I still wasn’t “omg” shocked.
Lucy is intense and you can tell she’s going to be bad news right away.

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

Posed on a drunken night in a bowling alley afterhours, a group of college kids play truth or dare. They have no idea of the different secrets they are all hiding.

"The only thing that makes bad things bad are the consequences"

This was a such a fun, dark read. The chapters are short and the plot is pushed tight - it keeps you flipping the pages and wondering at each turn, what new secret you will learn. The kids are light and loose, easy with their drink and parties. There's only one POV, Margot, but she opens the world to the boys' house next door (a frat house) and their little house of roommates. She also gives you her own story in flashbacks, told in varying chapters to let you know more about her. It's a perfect story to not really love any characters but to still love the story. The twists and turns were so good, the ending so fun to finally get to. I loved this one!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY review

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

🔥Can we take a second for this cover?! 👏 One of my favorite thriller covers in a while! ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY is the latest book by Stacy Willingham (same author as A FLICKER IN THE DARK) and was a quick, twisty read!

🔥Here’s a summary of the plot:👇
Margot is a shy, quiet college freshman. Lucy is one of the most popular girls on campus and seems to draw everyone into her orbit. Margot has always admired Lucy from afar, wondering what it would be like to be friends with someone like her. When Lucy approaches Margot out of the blue and asks if she’d like to live with her and acouple of other friends, Margot can’t believe her luck. Gone are the days of sitting at home alone wishing for friends and a social life. But things start feeling too good to be true and Margot wonders when it will start crashing down…

🔥This one had a slooooow start. At the beginning I kept waiting for the action/excitement to start. But once the book hit about 70% in it was a wiiiiild ride. The plot twist caught me completely off guard and I truly had no idea how this one would end. I like the college setting in books and this was no exception! The book felt a bit YA given the age/maturity of the characters but it was definitely an enjoyable read! I felt like the pacing was a bit off and wish that it hadn’t taken so long to get to the excitement. Overall I definitely liked this one and would recommend it if you want a quick, bingeable mystery/suspense. I will definitely read whatever this author releases next. 👏

🔥Thanks @minotaur_books, @stmartinspress, and @macmillan.audio for my advanced e-book and audiobook copies! ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY publishes Tuesday, January 16th!

Absolutely loved Stacey’s last two books, so when I received a NetGalley for this one, I was thrilled. Unfortunately there was nothing thrilling about it.. it was extremely boring, dragged out, and the ending felt rushed. The plot didn’t suck me in like I had hoped. What I did like was the back and forth between past and present.

I may not recommend this book, but I will forever recommend this authors last two books. And I will continue supporting Stacey Willingham- she’s incredibly talented. This one was just a miss.

Thank you NetGalley, Stacey Willingham, and Minotaur Books for an eARC of Only If You’re Lucky in exchange for my honest review!

3.5 stars

Only If You're Lucky is the third novel I've read by Stacy Willingham. Even though I have mixed feelings about the book as a whole, the ending is her strongest to date. If you can handle a slow burn mystery with a cast of unlikeable characters, you do get a decent payoff in the end.

Margot is one of those people who just blends into the background, never attracting much attention. Lucy is the opposite as her personality draws people in. Margot spent her freshmen year in college pretty much only studying and hanging out in her dorm room. When Lucy invites Margot to room with her and two other students in off campus housing, she accepts. It might give Margot the opportunity to step out of her shell. Will she come to regret this decision?

There's a lot going on in this story and I chose to be vague on purpose when describing the premise. Feel free to check out the publisher synopsis as it provides way more details but personally I think it's better to just dive right in without too much info ahead of time. The story bounces around from the present day in which someone has gone missing, and the past which shows everything leading up to the disappearance as well as Margot's life before college. As the reader you are looking for answers to several mysteries.

I hate saying this but it was a bit of a slog to get thru this book because the characters just aren't people you want to hang out with if that makes sense. I can handle unlikeable characters if I feel some sort of investment but I didn't care what happened to any of them. I was only interested in seeing what the author came up with because I have a good track record with her books. It's a decent book with an above average ending but it wasn't a fun popcorn thriller read for me.

If you have never read a Stacy Willingham book, I'd start with A Flicker in the Dark.

Unfortunately, this story really dragged for me with nothing happening until the end, and even then, it was underwhelming. I loved Stacy Willingham’s last two books so I was sad that this one fell flat for me.

I love Stacy Willingham so much and her third book did not disappoint. Set in college, it had a bit of a younger feel than the others, but it was just as fascinating and intriguing, a study in human behavior. Tightly-plotted and surprising.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this novel which has a pub date of January 16, 2024.

This book was a bit of a slow burn for me that got more exciting in the last 25 percent. The characters were all unlikable in my opinion. I have really enjoyed Stacy Willingham's book in the past and this one was definitely my least favorite. I look forward to what she comes out with next.

Stacy Willingham’s brain is dark and twisty, and I love getting to read the stories she writes.

I enjoyed this book immensely, and there was so much that I didn’t see coming. It was thrilling from start to finish, but I can’t say much more without giving parts away.

It’s worth going into this book not knowing much about it. That made me enjoy it so much more.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Stacy Willingham did not disappoint with this newest read. Only If You're Lucky had many twists and turns that left me curious how I missed them as I the end unfolded. Thriller without the gore or unreliable narrator. Just pure unspoken details that gave way for a twist ending. Bravo!

Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I made it to the 30 percent mark, then I decided not to finish it. The characters weren't very likeable, and it had a distinctly "YA" feel.

This is my first Stacy Willingham book. Shocking, I know, considering how many thrillers I read and review. This is the first title of hers I’ve been approved for, though, and I really enjoyed this book, even if it was somewhat predictable and the ground is pretty well-trodden.

I empathize greatly with our protagonist, Margot. I never felt like my best friend was as good of a friend to me as I was to her (that’s a long story) or did as much for me as I did for her. It felt like a very unbalanced friendship. All of my friendships felt like that. That’s eventually why I stopped allowing people to get close to me. I was tired of being hurt. Back when I was in my late teens and early twenties, though? I didn’t know any better. Just like Margot. I just wanted to belong. I just wanted to find my people. I wanted love, safety, and acceptance. Just like Margot, I found that at that age, most people don’t know what they’re doing or who they really are yet. They make a lot of mistakes. A lot of accidents happen. They do a lot of things they can’t take back.

The well-trodden ground of fraternity culture gone wrong in thrillers has been done better in recent years (see Lauren Nossett’s The Resemblance). Willingham does put a nice spin on it with the fraternity having a questionable power exchange dynamic over the girls and their housing situation next door, but it feels rather dated for 2024. I don’t question the hazing culture because I have no doubt hazing still happens in the smaller private universities, no matter what the public may think. I certainly don’t question the other, more insidious aspects of Greek culture that permeate this book either, because those for sure exist, no matter the university.

The plot itself is complicated and twisted, but well-plotted and well-paced. It winds in and out of time throughout the book but never slackens in pace or suspense. Willingham did an excellent job at giving the reader just enough of the past, present, and future in juggling intervals to slake a thirst for knowledge before switching to a different timeline, leaving us eager to know more with every switch. The turns may not be shocking, but when they get there it’s so well-spun you don’t mind you figured it out.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: Crime Thriller/Murder Thriller/Psychological Thriller/Suspense Thriller

How vulnerable are you willing to get with your friends? And how well do you actually know them in return?

These are just some of the questions that this book kept bringing up in my mind. This is quite the tale of friendship and how far people will go for acceptance.

This started slowly and really descriptive to build out this super realistic world. It was so easy to picture everything and everyone so clearly in my mind. Once I got a little past halfway, I really seemed to speed up my reading because I needed to know what really happened.

I thought it was clever being a non-linear timeline to feed you little bits at a time and make you come to sometimes your own conclusions before the ending fully had a light on it for the reader to see/have that ah-ha moment.

Thank you so much to the author, Stacy Willingham, her publisher and NetGalley for the eARC of Only If You’re Lucky!

I’ve been really excited to read this book since I loved Stacy Willingham’s other two novels and it didn’t disappoint.

The entire book is told from the perspective of the main character, Margot, who is struggling with the sudden death of her best friend right after high school graduation. Now a sophomore in college, she is living with three other girls next door to a frat house. One of the frat boys is murdered and Margot’s roommate is suddenly missing. It is told in dual timelines- before and after her roommate’s disappearance.

There are tons of twists and turns in this book- none of which I really saw coming. It also took place at a coastal college in SC, so this brought back tons of memories of going to college in SC and living in Charleston myself.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. So many suspense novels are predictable, but this one wasn’t. It was a little juvenile with the characters being so young, binge drinking, etc, but that didn’t take away from my overall feelings of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for giving me the chance to read this one early- it comes out this week so give it a try!

{3.5 stars}

Margot is a young girl without her own charisma. She is the type who tags herself onto a much more vibrant… and risky personality to help her get exposure to the world. She sees herself as the safe, unassuming type. However, people around her keep dying or going missing.

This is a solid thriller. But nothing that wow-ed me like previous Willingham books. It has the usual girl drama, but there is a little meat behind this. Everything lines up the way it should, but I just wasn’t satisfied by the ending. Still a solid pool/beach read.

Thanks to Minotaur books for gifted access via Netgalley. All opinions above are my own.

I enjoyed this psychological thriller with dark academia vibes.

Our FMC Margot is portrayed as a shy and reserved gal, but you question who she is as the story continues. I enjoyed the slow burn, even though it sometimes dragged a bit too long. I found it necessary to understand our characters and their dynamics, and as a reader, you start to question everyone.

Read if you enjoy:
-dark academia
-Slow-burn thrillers
-eerie settings
-unreliable narrator
-whodunit murder
-twisty ending

This was a 3.5, maybe 4-star read for me! I will be posting my full review on pub day!

Thank you, Netgalley and Minotaur, for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 9/10
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

It’s official, Stacy Willingham is in my top 5 authors of all time and is definitely my favorite thriller writer. I truly could not put this book down!

Thoughts:
-I’m not typically a big fan of thrillers that take place in schools (high school or college) because they always tend to feel a bit Pretty Little Liars to me, but not this one. Willingham crafted such a world and story that pulled me in instantly and kept me hooked
-Regardless of how toxic the friend group was, they were written in a way where I can almost understand how they got to the point of no return without even realizing it. Their intimate and fun college kid moments were such a perfect juxtaposition to the darker things looming under the surface
-The then-and-now timeline kept me on my toes because I just kept waiting for the other shoe to drop
-Margot was my least favorite. I understood the need for her personality, but her unwavering obsession with not one, but two of her friends was so incredibly unsettling
-As someone who’s usually great at guessing endings, I only predicted one small part. Every twist and turn had me more shocked than the one before
-Willingham has a knack for writing unreliable characters and my favorite thing about this book was how I didn’t feel like I could trust one character

For me, this book was a home run. Stacy Willingham is an incredible author and I highly recommend this book as well as her other two!

Thank you Stacy Willingham, Netgalley, and Minotaur Books for gifting me the first book I’ve binged in a long time in exchange for an honest review!

This author wrote All The Dangerous Things and A Flicker in the Dark. Both excellent books. I could not pick between the two which was my favorite. This one is not quite as good. Sadly to me it left me asking a few questions.

While this book could have you holding your breath at times it also had me scratching my head. I still wonder about a couple of things that I can't name without giving something away. It's about college students and the things that a particular group get into. Namely murder. There are several deaths/murders in this story. Also sex abuse and rape though not explicit. Some indiscretions between a married couple.(where my main question comes in) And a lot of possible back stabbing. No pun intended here.

Told in a before and after voice from the main character Margot. Margot starts living in an off campus house with three other girls. The main one being Lucy. Lucy it seems is liked by quite a few of the students so Margot feels it's ok to stab her current roommate in the back and start living in another place without her. That was her mistake.

Lucy has some pretty deep secrets. Ones that made me feel sorry for her. Like who was her father. What was it she truly wanted from the roommates. From Margot. Maybe it was just acceptance. Maybe she wasn't really as strong as they all thought she was. That is my opinion anyway. I liked Lucy for the most part. Yes she knew how to get what she wanted in many ways. But in the biggest way she was let down. She was hurt deeply. So yes, I felt sorry for her.

The problem I had with this book was that it was very predictable. At least to me it was. I figured out way early how Lucy and Margot would be connected. Not exactly what, but I knew it involved Margot's deceased best friend. No doubt. And I was right. I also figured out a couple of other things though none of it really hurt the book.

This book was good. Just not excellent like the previous two. I do still look forward to this author's next book.

Thank you #NetGalley, #StacyWillingham, #StMartinsPress for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

3.5/5 stars. It just feel a bit short for me. I do advise you read it and judge for yourself. We all like different things and see things different. Enjoy!

Stacy does it again! She has continued to prove why she quickly grew to be one of my favorites. Only If You’re Lucky was sharp, twisty, and a deep exploration of friendship, secrets, and death. One of my favorite things about all of her books is that she ties up every tiny little detail, even ones you don’t realize you needed tied up until she does it! This one was no exception, and I loved seeing all of the details and twists come together, like following breadcrumbs to a destination. I alternated between physically reading and listening to the audio, and both were exceptional.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my ARC and Macmillan Audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!