[RECOMMENDATION] For fans of stories with "it" girls, with a darker twist - Pretty Little Liars comes to mind.

[SYNOPSIS] Lucy is THAT girl. She's magnetic, everyone wants to be around her. Margot... not so much. Margot is very much the best friend of the main character. However, Lucy notices her and brings her into her inner circle of close friends. So now Margot is living off-campus wit her, and two more other *chosen* girls, all orbiting Lucy's star energy.

Margot is dealing with some past trauma, as her bestie in high school died not too long after they graduated. And in current times, a frat boy from next door has been brutally murdered and now Lucy is missing.

[REVIEW] I thoroughly enjoyed how this was an interesting thriller, but with an interwoven story of friendship and the dark sides of what you'd do to feel like you belong. It kept me guessing, and intrigued, throughout. It was a bit slow paced for me in the beginning, but picked up in pace as I read.

[This book was gifted from Netgalley & Minotaur Books, thank you! All opinions are my own.]

SYNOPSIS: Margot is unassuming, NOT the center of attention, reeling from a trauma she endured right before college... but is asked by Lucy Sharpe, the bold, dangerous "it girl" to room together for their next year of college. Margot agrees. Margot and Lucy become great friends, and the four girls rooming in the off-campus house grow closer and closer. Then, one of the boys in the fraternity next door is murdered, and Lucy ends up missing.

REVIEW: Thank you to SMP as always for the opportunity to read and review these books! This was definitely a unique thriller, told in multiple timelines, and the twists are revealed slowly, bit by tantalizing bit. The characters aren't "likeable" per se, but you LIKE to not like them. They're real and dimensional and they illicit reactions out of you. This was not my favorite one of Stacy Willingham's, but she sets an incredibly high bar for herself with her current body of work. This one is perfect for fans of twisty thrillers, dark academia, "who is she, REALLY?" vibes, and good ol fashioned murder.

An engaging read that I thoroughly enjoyed! Creeped me out in the best ways. Highly recommend and will purchase several physical and digital copies for library collections. Thank you!!

Stacy Willingham is a must-read author for me, having been an enormous fan of her first two novels. I thoroughly enjoyed Only If You're Lucky, too. The dark academia, college vibe was creepy and fun. I loved all the twists and (mostly) didn't see them coming. I will be reading whatever Willingham writes next. Thank you to St Martins Press/Minotaur and NetGalley for my copy!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Stacy Willingham’s “Only If You’re Lucky” is a psychological thriller that delves deep into the complexities of friendship, loyalty, and the shadows that past traumas cast on our present lives. The novel follows Margot, a college student whose life intertwines with the enigmatic and charismatic Lucy Sharpe. As the narrative unfolds, Margot is drawn into a web of intrigue that challenges her perceptions of truth and tests the bonds of friendship.

Willingham crafts a world that is both familiar and unsettling, capturing the essence of college life with its vibrant social dynamics and the undercurrents of something darker lurking just beneath the surface. The characters are richly developed, with Margot’s introspective journey juxtaposed against Lucy’s magnetic allure. The supporting cast, including Sloane and Nicole, add depth to the narrative, each bringing their own secrets and motivations to the story.

The pacing of the novel is deliberate, with Willingham taking her time to build the suspense, layer by layer. The prose is evocative, often painting vivid scenes that linger in the reader’s mind. While some may find the buildup slow, the payoff is worth the wait, culminating in a finale that is both unexpected and thought-provoking.

“Only If You’re Lucky” is a testament to Willingham’s ability to weave a tale that is as much about the human psyche as it is about the mystery at its core. It’s a novel that invites readers to question how well they truly know those around them and at what point loyalty becomes a prison of its own making.

“Only If You’re Lucky” is a gripping addition to the thriller genre, offering a fresh take on the complexities of human relationships. With its blend of suspense, emotional depth, and a twist that will leave readers reeling, it’s a novel that is sure to resonate long after the final page is turned. Willingham has once again proven her skill in crafting a story that is both entertaining and insightful, solidifying her place as a notable voice in contemporary fiction.

Meh. I liked it but it wasn’t a favorite. It felt some parts kept re-iterating the same thing. I did like that even though it was college, the characters felt relatable.

I wanted to love this one but just took too long to get going for me, just too slow building up. The ending pulled it around for me with a good twist.

I have enjoyed all 3 books by Stacy. She writes suspense in small towns with mystery wrapped in it. The thing about Willinghams stories is that they could all be true. Only if you're lucky is no different. Margot as the narrator is interesting. A wallflower desperate for love. In the midst of grief. Sometimes a dual point of view. We watch her friendship with Lucy unfold as we also see what's happening after Lucy goes missing. By the end I was hating all the dead people. Which is wild to me. I was ready to riot for some side character. And honestly made me so glad I wasn't in college anymore. Her main characters are young here. And that's hard. I'd be interested to have read this story from Eliza's dad's point of view.

4 stars. I am excited to buy this.

Margot recently lost her best friend and now she’s going to the college they were supposed to go to together. She spends most of her first year coped up in her room instead of partying or doing any of the typical college things.

At the end of the year, ‘it’ girl Lucy invites Margot to move in with her and two others into an off campus apartment owned by the fraternity next door. Not wanting to go home for the summer, Margot accepts and moves in with them. She soon finds out that someone from her past is joining the fraternity and she is not happy.

As the summer goes on and the new semester starts things begin to change for Margot. She starts coming out of her shell more and gets really close with the girls, especially Lucy. Weird stuff starts happening and Margot starts questioning everything.

This book threw me to say the least. There were multiple times where I thought I knew what was going on but then BAM plot twist. This story was so well written. The characters were amazing - each playing the part needed to in order to make you think you knew the answers when you really had no idea until the very end. I could not put this book down. The story is written in a before and after format which I tend to enjoy because I’m always trying to figure out when the timelines will meet and if I have all the information yet.

This book is definitely worth the read if you’re into who-done-it, unpredictable plot, dual timeline type stories. I read another book by this author last year and really enjoyed it so I had high hopes for this one and was not disappointed.

Thank you, NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this arc in return for an honest review.

This book was a wonderfully twisty thriller. To keep me guessing until the very end is a tough feat but the author did it!

3 stars. This was a slow but that kept me entertained and wondering who was the killer and where did Lucy go. Compared to her other previous books, this one was ok. I think it was difficult to make a connection with some of the characters as we are told a story in a way that seems like we are in the middle of the "fog". I didn't like some of the characters, specially Lucy. There was something about her since the beginning that made me super uncomfortable. Also, they talk about how the guys "used them" but besides Nicole and her boyfriend I didn't see any other altercation. What rescues this book to be a lower rating is the plot twist at the end. I wasn't really expecting that!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC of Only if You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham.

Only my 2nd book that I’ve picked up by Stacy Willingham, but both times I’ve greatly enjoyed them. In this one, you learn about Margot and her best friend from high school. Introduce the boy, Levi, who comes between them. Then Margot goes off to college and you meet her new friends, and here comes Levi again. What is thread that times them together. How are all these players connected? The twist at the end is one I did not see coming. I had thought I knew how it was going to end, but was I wrong!!

Easiest five stars I've given to a book this year! Did I expect anything less than perfection? No. Not coming from Stacy Willingham. This author DELIVERS twisted thrillers that will have you gasping from page one until the end!

How far would you go to protect your friends? Only if You're Lucky is a dark and twisted tale of friendship.

I'm a sucker for college thrillers and from the very first couple of pages I knew this one was going to be *chefs kiss*.

Only if You're Lucky is a slow burn, and I'm not always the biggest fan of slow burn thrillers because sometimes I lose interest. Not with this one though! It was a slow burn that I could not get enough of. I read this entire book in one sitting, I forgot about my own life for a few hours because this book had me in a chokehold.

The two major twists had me actually gasp. I had to stop reading just to comprehend what in the heck I had just read. I LOVED it though!

Margot is shy and always careful when she meets Lucy at the end of her freshman year. Lucy invites Margot to move in with her and her roommates Sloane and Nicole. Margot has past trauma after the accidental death of her best friend the summer after graduation. She has been trying to navigate college without her and Lucy changes everything for her. She becomes part of a close circle of friends and starts having fun again. But one weekend, everything changes when one of the neighbor fraternity boys is found dead and Lucy goes missing.

This is a story of complex relationships, secrets, trauma bonding, loyalty and betrayal. Full of twists until the very end.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Stacy Willingham for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this eArc of Only If You’re Lucky. Stacy Willingham has quickly become one of my favorite authors. This book was a bit different than her previous two books, but I still really enjoyed it. I loved that I was trying to figure out the story the whole time and she always writes interesting characters.

What I enjoyed:
•dark academia
•dual timeline
•psychological
•twists
•atmospheric

I do highly recommend this on audiobook. This had a bit of a slower pace, but the narrator did a great job and I never really lost interest. Pick this one up and head to the pool or the beach!

Margot is a timid young woman starting college when she is swept into the orbit of Lucy, who seems a suitable replacement for Margot's deceased friend Eliza. The school year unfolds in parties, drinking, drugs, and wild times at Lucy's insistence, but Margot is wary of the frat house next door and a boy who could undo her current life. But Lucy is more connected to Margot than she's admitting and Margot and the other housemates need to decide the best way to solve their problems with Lucy.

Stacy Willingham can seriously write a thriller.

No recap or summary because I personally prefer to go into thrillers blind.

Only if You're Lucky is the second book I've read by this author and she knocked it out of the park. This story had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next. I was not expecting the majority of what happened in the storyline, but I guessed bits of the ending.

I would highly recommend this title if you enjoy this genre. Thank you to Stacy Willingham, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

After reading a few books from this author, I am finding them to be ok thrillers. I enjoy the book enough to finish, but not sure I would consider any of them a new favorite. If you enjoy thrillers I recommend picking up this author.

Only if You're Lucky is another twisty novel by Stacy Willingham, following a group of girls at college. The main character is Margot, who is lost at college after the death of her best friend, when she meets enchanting Lucy. While the book was interesting and had lots of twists and drama, none of the characters were particularly likable so it was hard to care about the outcome.

I enjoyed the story and the whole obsessive roommate aspect. The college setting is fun as it brings in a different sense of 'danger' as there is so much that goes on at a college and there's lots of opportunity for risk, changes, and unknowns.