Well - this will be a 3 star review but one of those 'still read this it was good 3 star reviews'. Hear me out though.. I think if I didn't have high expectations from this author because of her previous two books I would have liked it a whole lot more? This one felt quite juvenile, then it almost lost me, and the end left me mega confused. I really don't want to spoil anything with my review, so I won't explain why I was confused or what I didn't like all that much about it, but it didn't hold up to her previous two books.

Now, in saying that, it was still fairly good. It was super dark, super twisty, the writing was phenomenal and it was hard to figure out what characters to like or trust. It was a fairly slow burn, but it weaved the dark tale to set you up for the blow out ending.

I am in the minority on this one I think, but this book just did not wow me at all like Willingham's other books have. Even if you consider this a slow burn mystery, there is very little that happens for the majority of the book. Sometimes, slow burns have great character development, but the majority of the characters to me were two dimensional and didn't stand out from one another. I've read reviews of people talking about twists and turns throughout the book......that was not my experience. The action picks up a bit at the end, but really the resolution is unsatisfying and incomplete at that point. I will pick up the next by Willingham, but I will temper my expectations a bit more going in.

3/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Stacy Willingham is an incredible author and I love her books A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things! Only If You’re Lucky is my least favorite of her books so far and fell a bit short for me. It is a slow burn and I did not feel like it ramped up until the last 30%. This book is centered around college life, mind games and friendships you would kill for!

Margot and Eliza were inseparable best friends since they were young, until Levi Butler moves in next door and their dynamic begins to change. Eliza mysteriously dies and Margot decides to continue with her and Eliza’s original plan to attend Rutledge. She is immediately enamored with the elusive Lucy. Lucy has undeniable charisma and her presence draws you in. Lucy invites Margot to live with her and two other girls, Sloane and Nicole, in a house they rent from the fraternity house next door. One of the fraternity boys is brutally murdered at a party they are all at and then Lucy goes missing shortly after… Everyone is harboring secrets and new details come to light as police are investigating the murder and missing person.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books for the pleasure of reading this ARC of Only If You’re Lucky! Grab your copy when it comes out on January 16, 2024 🖤

This one was a 4.5 ⭐️ read for me, so I’m actually kinda surprised the overall rating isn’t higher.
I enjoyed the multiple timelines & how the story was formatted to keep you guessing, revealing a little in the present & then backtracking to reveal something in the past. By the end of it, when I thought I had it figured out, it surprised me again. With all the twists and reveals, it really hooked my attention and kept my interest through to the ending (which I also enjoyed).

Read if you enjoyed the show How to Get Away with Murder… but don’t expect it to be the same plot. I love books where everyone has secrets & often omits the truth and this book delivers on both accounts!

A big thank you to @minotaurbooks @macmillianaudio @netgalley & @stacywillingham for the EARC & ALC of this book! I really enjoyed (as usual) flipping between the ebook and the audiobook - especially since it was so well narrated by Karissa Vacker 🤯🙌🏼

My FIRST 5⭐️ of 2024 🎉🎉
I’ve been admiring her books after seeing them as BOTM picks & all over Bookstagram - but this is the first one I’ve actually READ (I promise I’m reading her backlist ASAP!) and I am so glad I did!

Only If You’re Lucky centers answers the question of “If you could get away with murder, would you do it?” - filled with themes of dark academia, greek life, friendship, death investigations & more. Flipping between past and present timelines in a very intentional & cliffhanger-esque way (yes I made up that phrase), I flew through the chapters hanging on to every word & trying to guess the way things were going to pan out - I was HOOKED!

I feel like I’ve read enough thrillers that it’s becoming easier for me to guess the ending, so when twists take me off guard I am THRILLED - which is what happened here! If you’re looking for a thriller that delves into the risks & rewards of friendship or one that makes you question if someone is who they say they are this book is for you!

**Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press-Minotaur, and Stacy Willingham for an ARC of this book!**

Have you ever seen the cult-classic film Clue?

(Yes, the film inspired by the board game, with the likes of Tim Curry, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, AND Madeline Kahn in it. If you haven't seen it...make it a weekend goal...you WON'T be sorry! But I digress)

The film actually has not one, not two, but THREE potential endings, wherein the mystery of whodunit is explained in detail by the butler, Wadsworth. He has figured out the murderer (or murderers!) in each scenario and tells the group in detail how, where, and when each murder was committed.

But one of the lines the group YELLS at the butler in each one of these endings UNFORTUNATELY popped into MY head when I was at about EIGHTY PERCENT of the way through this book...

"JUST GET ON WITH IT!"

Margot has that same buzz of excitement that every young adult has when entering college...and she's equally relieved to leave her high school life behind. Her closest friend Eliza died tragically a short time after graduation and Margot hasn't even begun to chip away at the complex trauma brought on by the event and everything that came before it...including Eliza's entanglement with some less-than-savory characters. But in an attempt to move on, Margot approaches college with fresh hope and settles into her first year at school with a nice albeit boring roommate.

That's all well and good -- until one day, she's approached by the enigmatic and intoxicating Lucy, a beautiful student who is the center of every crowd, with a reputation for danger. Lucy makes Margot an offer she can't refuse: she can come live with Lucy in an off-campus house with two other girls, the sassy Sloane and doormat Nicole, and have easy access to the exciting life she could only have imagined before. Eager to break out of her shell, Margot accepts the invitation and gets swept into a life of late nights, partying, drugs, and dangerous games of Spin the Bottle...not to mention entanglements with the Frat Boys Next Door.

But when a familiar face from her past reemerges, Margot realizes that the man she holds responsible for Eliza's death is within reach...and this might be her only chance to make things right. And when Lucy asks the group one night during one of her trademark games, "If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?"....is her question simply rhetorical? Or does Lucy's dark streak extend farther than her trio of soul sisters knows? And when she says she would do anything for her friends...does she truly MEAN...anything?

If there's one thing I NEVER expected from Stacy Willingham after being BLOWN AWAY by her first two books and the creativity, the artful prose, and the veritable HURRICANE of twists and turns in her plots...it was THIS kind of run-of-the-mill book. This one falls neatly into a category that has over-saturated the thriller space lately: the Terrible Teen and her Trio of Friends Trope. Granted, these characters are in their early twenties...but sad to say, this book reads ENTIRELY like YA. In some respects, this may have been hard to avoid, given the location and subject matter...but although I hate to say it, these are Willingham's least compelling characters to date. Although magnetic Lucy was intriguing at the start, by about 25% in, her character became as one-dimensional as the rest of them, and I became less and less interested in her backstory as the novel wore on.

And speaking of backstory...while Willingham normally balances two timelines with efficiency as well as intrigue...I found myself not really caring AT ALL what happened to Eliza in the past, despite the mysterious circumstances of her death. Each journey into the past felt like a snooze, and hardly more interesting than what was going on at the college...and trust me, after a few recounting of drug and vomit filled evenings, THAT picture was plenty clear too. I've just read too many books that are like this, and frankly, it's not the kind of experience I need recounted. The good characters were painted as overly good, the bad as overly bad, and when even the 'good' characters aren't particularly likable? You're in a for a LONG ride.

Speaking of long rides, though I somehow finished this book in 3 days, I think was due to sheer force of will and a desire to get THROUGH it rather than the experience I had with her previous books, where I couldn't flip the pages fast enough. The biggest reason for this struggle? Pacing. When I said earlier that at EIGHTY PERCENT I was STILL waiting for the majority of the big reveal...this is no exaggeration. Slow burns are often problematic for me in and of themselves because I tend to be a fan of breakneck twists and turns, quick chapters, and mile-a-minute twists rather than the alternative...and coming from Stacy, who KNOWS how to write a sharp and speedy book...this felt especially tortured. The amount of times I rolled my eyes in this book just out of sheer impatience made me want to throw in the towel more than once...but I was ACHING for the compelling ending I hoped would come once all was revealed. And the final twists ARE decent, and brought my rating up slightly...but in all honesty, as much as it pains me to say this...it felt like too little, too late.

There are so few voices in the genre who have emerged in the last few years with a voice that feels unique, fresh, and new with the writing chops to back it up, and I still consider Stacy Willingham to be one of these talents. In her author's note, Stacy reveals that she drew a LOT of inspiration for writing this book (aside from the murders, thankfully) from her time at the University of Georgia and some of the associated places there. It often seems like when an author writes a book inspired by life or something they felt they needed to say, it can go one of two ways: the work can stand out as one of their best and most authentic...or the departure from their 'usual' work can seem like a spur of the moment trip from the airport where you picked a destination at random...and rather than ending up in Vegas, you ended up in Boise.

But when it came to this particular gamble, however, I think Willingham would have been better not leaving ANYTHING to chance.

3.5 stars

It pains me to say this, but this was a flop for me. It was extremely boring, and it definitely lacked the "thrill" aspect I was expecting from this book and author. It's completely different from her first two, which I enjoyed and would recommend reading! But this one. Ehhh. Not so much. I commend the author for being so versatile and I will still read her next work. I just hope the next one grips me more than this one.

This story is centered around college students so it is dark academia, which has not always been my favorite theme when it comes to thrillers, but since this author's first two books were enjoyable I was hopeful I'd enjoy this one as well. I think the main issue I had was it felt like nothing was happening throughout the story to the lead up to the big reveal. Like we get it Lucy and Eliza are so much alike and so very charming and you, Margot, are a wallflower. Can we move on to the good stuff? 😅

It lacked the "thrill" aspect I look for in thrillers and was more drama and mystery centered. Sure, you are wondering what is going on and how the mystery part is going to play out. We get the past and present with the little bread crumps try to lead us along the way, but for me they weren't big enough to make me want to fly through the pages. When we finally get to the major twists at the end, they felt so farfetched to me it made the time invested to get to that point even more disappointing. I typically prefer the "edge of your seat", heart-pounding thrillers over drama/mystery reads anyway. However, if done right I enjoy them as well and in my opinion, this one wasn't. Like I said, read her first two books. I don't think you'll be disappointed with them! But I can't readily recommend this one, unfortunately.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

The twists!! Didn’t see a lot of them coming! I picked up a couple, but whoa! This is a great psychological thriller mixed with mystery and drama. Liked the unreliable narrator. The pacing was slow and wasn’t sure exactly where this all was going, but once things started to unravel, I couldn’t put the book down.

I liked the dark academia trope as this follows young college kids, heavy on female friendships. There was a lot of character building so that is where most of the suspense stems from than actual action.

I would def recommend this book!

Thank you Netgalley, Minotaur Books, and author Stacey Willingham for this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

Wow, this is DEFINITELY a slow burn novel! I was already losing heart to continue on because nothing was happening until the last 25% then expedited the entire twist on the final 10% of the book. The premise was interesting, it gave me a bit of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife vibes due to the college setting, and mostly this book felt like a domestic drama somehow, which kept me going to see how it all concluded. The changing timeline was a bit confusing to me even though it indicated if it was "before" or "after," since there was a part of the story that covered a distant past. Overall, I still liked it, I recommend this to anyone who don't mind an extremely slow burn type of story. This book is out on Jan 16th!

Margot our main character loses her best friend in a freak accident. She had a pack they were to go to college together. Unfortunately Eliza didn’t make it there.

Margot meets Lucy, and moved into the Kappa house with other girls. Lucy is wild and opposite of Margot, makes her feel alive; live dangerously.

Until one day Lucy also goes missing..:

This book unfortunately was very slow until I was at 80%. I found myself skimming and reading more of the dialogue. It was just a lot of unnecessary background. I would’ve rated this book lower had the ending not surprised me as much as it did.
I was shocked, and didn’t see any of that coming. At all. Very fitting and ended the story well. I wish there would have been a few more twists during the rest of the book instead of last 10-15%

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advanced in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm definitely a fan of Stacy Willingham and her cadre of unreliable narrators. Her previous works had MCs who were more mature and relatable as a reader in her 40s. Only If You're Lucky comes off more as a YA or New Adult thriller with characters who lacked emotional maturity and who made poor choices (admittedly myself as well back in those days). Having read the afterward though, I do believe this book begged to be written. A house with history and baggage is definitely one of my favorite characters!

Freshman year at college is full of excitement and anxiety. So many new things to experience on your own outside of your parents' rule but also so many unknowns and new friendships to forge. Imagine planning to do that with your BFF, but than your BBFF dies in a tragic accident... or so they say. How much of your new life is one you sculpted, one you fell into, and one that was manipulated for you? Only if you're lucky will you make it through.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Isn't the saying that opposites attract? Or is that just pure science? Either way, Margot and Lucy are opposites. Something draws them together, an attraction they can't avoid. No, it's not romantic, they are just best of friends. They end up moving in together off-campus, there's boys that live next door - you know the story, right?

Nope. This isn't a romance - no one falls in love and has a happy ending here! Instead, Lucy is missing and one of the boys is dead. Where did she go? That's what I stayed up to find out. I couldn't help it! The book was fast paced and I enjoyed the twists. I didn't mean to stay up so late (more than 1 night in a row), but now I know the answer and I can't wait to read another book by Stacy Willingham!

3 stars for this ill-paced read. The story itself is fine, but my goodness it took way too long to make its point. The main character, Margot, is dull. The amount of alcohol consumption in this book is staggering. I am giving it 3 stars because I did actually get interested in the second half to see how it would resolve. But overall it was just OK.

I was very excited to start this book as I LOVED the authors first two books. This one read more of a YA book and dragged a little. The ending was somewhat of a surprise but could have been a little more based on the buildup. However, I will be an avid reader of this author still

Starting my year with the latest STACY WILLINGHAM book is becoming tradition & I loved every page ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY.

I’m forever drawn to stories that explore the complicated + dark dynamic of female friendships. There’s such relatability to the instant bond that forms, particularly in college when you seem to go from strangers to inseparable in a snap. Whether it’s the desire to belong, to fit in or to find your people. A chance to reinvent yourself, to push beyond the person you’ve been, to leave the past behind and allow yourself to get swept up in the idea - in the promise - of something new.

Margot spent her freshman year holed up in her room, her head down and her walls up, grieving the death of her best friend the summer before. But then Lucy Sharpe walks into her room and everything changes.

Lucy is the ultimate *that girl* — oozing confidence and beauty, a larger than life personality and a seemingly effortless air about her. Everyone is drawn to Lucy. And Margot’s been mesmerized by her all year.

When Lucy invites Margot to be the fourth in an off-campus house, she’s intrigued. So what if she doesn’t know Nicole and Sloane? If the house is on the very rundown side? And if their neighbors & landlords are the Brothers of Kappa Nu? It’s Margot’s chance to live a new life and she grabs it, becoming fast friends with her roommates & settling into a party and play routine at Kappa Nu.

But when the book opens, in the middle of their sophomore year, a fraternity brother is dead, Lucy is missing and a Detective is looking for answers.

With dual timelines and great twists I was hooked from the start. There’s such an ease to STACY WILLINGHAM’s writing & to the flow of the story, but she stops me in my tracks with a line or phrase that will cut deep or evoke a memory or leave me slightly speechless. Yes, I’m obsessed.

And be sure to read the acknowledgements for the inspo for the book and for Lucy. Love the behind-the-writing-curtain bits!

Huge thanks to to @stmartinspress & @minotaur_books for granting my ARC wish.

Take a trip back to college days, but buckle up. It’s a dark and scary ride. In Only if You’re Lucky, newbie-on-campus Margot is swept into a group of friends led by Lucy. We all know a Lucy, the one who captures the attention of everyone in the room, the one who calls all the shots, the one who is never told no. So on a small college campus, the most popular girl befriends a shy and innocent but vulnerable girl, Margot. What does Lucy see in Margot? What does she want from Margot? Their apartment is now complete with Margot, leader Lucy, Sloane, the sassy one, and Nicole, the nice one.

Stacy Willingham is the wizard of the psychological thriller and a master at drawing her readers into a story. This is a story within a story, one of female relationships and a darker tale of murder. The action begins with the death of one of the fraternity boys next door, and then Lucy goes missing.

The writing is fast-paced and descriptive, bringing back vivid memories of long-ago college days. There’s plenty of parties and booze, but don’t get lulled into a stupor. The twists keep coming, and they wind even tighter toward the end of the story. The author does an amazing job of keeping the suspense on edge throughout the narrative.

I was interested to read that the author set this story in a locale similar to her housing at the University of Georgia. Although inspired by a real place, the characters are entirely fictional. Don’t miss this 5-star nail-biter.

Only If You’re Lucky follows a girl Margot who is just trying to fit in a world where it’s not very easy to. Always being not so spontaneous she spontaneously rooms with three other girls and we are in for a ride. Page turning thriller that kept me entertained. The ending was nothing that I expected and again was shocked by the end results, like all of Wellington’s books. I would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of the latest by Stacy Willingham!

I was so excited for this book as A Flicker In The Dark and All The Dangerous Things were both 4⭐ reads from me, but sweet mother of all that is holy this book was not for me. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO slow. I'm not big into slow burn books, but this moved at a snails pace, with nothing happening until the 70% mark.

There were some unpredictable twists, but several plot elements were completely unrealistic and ridiculous. It's a solid no from me.

This is a slow burn mystery/thriller. The main characters are freshmen and sophomores in college and it brought back so many feels. College was great but I never need to go back 😂 The story is told hopping back and forth between before and after a death and someone going missing and you slowly figure out everyone's secrets.

I have to say that I wasn't blown away. It was a pretty typical thriller and the burn was a bit too slow for me. I think multiple POVs would have been more imteresting!

This was just okay for me, but would still recommend it to someone who enjoys slower moving plots!

I felt that our MC’s POV was a bit monotonous and I didn’t love her character.