First read of the year and I loved it! The college vibe was creepy and the setting was amazing and well done - be sure to read the author's note. This one surprised me with the twists and I never saw things coming. The chapters were set between before and after and it worked well by providing the background and eventually merging. The characters were also varied and interesting. The ending worked for me. Excellent read!!!

A slow-burn narrative, delving into the intricacies of the darker side of friendship. Willingham explores the boundaries that get pushed to keep secrets with relatable characters and an engaging plot filled with unexpected twists.

ARC provided in exchange for honest review of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham. #NetGalley

I absolutely loved this new thriller from Stacy Willingham. Margot’s life is turned upside down when her best friend dies in a tragic accident and she goes to the college they had planned to attend together feeling hopeless with no friends. She meets Lucy, who reignites her need for friendship and seems to be full of mystery. But both of their histories aren’t what they appear to be. Couldn’t put this one down. Lovers of her other novels will be hooked.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for this advanced copy! You can pick up Only If You're Lucky on January 16, 2024.

I think this book solidified that I'm not as much of a contemporary fiction or thriller girlie as I thought. I picked this up, read the first few chapters, and knew the tone and plot weren't for me. I didn't feel motivated to continue reading, none of the characters felt compelling, and I forgot about this book almost as soon as I put it down.

That doesn't mean other readers won't love it, especially if you are a thriller or suspense fan. I can see how the plot and storyline can ensnare some readers, but it wasn't for me personally.

It took a while to get the story going.  Around the third of the book is when it finally gets interesting and you find out how the characters are intertwined. I enjoyed the dual timelines and the author did a fantastic job displaying how far we'll go in the name of friendship.

Stacy Willingham’s work has been a mixed bag for me. I didn’t love A FLICKER IN THE DARK but I enjoyed ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS. Happy to report that ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY was also a win for me. it was definitely more of a slow burn than her previous work, but i still enjoyed the plot of this one and the twists are great! definitely would recommend to any thriller lover.

I am big fan of Stacy Willingham’s first two books so was elated to receive an ARC of her newest book ((Pub date: 1/16/24). I chose to listen to the audiobook which had great narration!

“You’re only young once, and only if you’re lucky.”

Eliza and Margot were best friends. The kind of friends that make life long plans. Then, Levi moves into their orbit and three becomes a crowd. Levi and Eliza have no room for Margot, but Margot is not willing to give up. As fate would have it, Eliza dies unexpectedly leaving Margot broken and alone and ready to start college. Margot is shy and broken and easily led. Once on campus she sees a young woman in Her dorm named Lucy who is flanked by two girls, Sloane and Nicole. According to Margot, those three have everything she has ever wanted. As the spring semester ends, Lucy approaches Margot with an opportunity to live with them and Margot accepts. This story of friendship, betrayal and belonging is painted to close to real life it is easy to under why this novel grabs you and holds you close. Bound by blood and lies ‘if one goes down,’ they all go down.

As a HUGE fan of Willingham's previous novels, I was THRILLED to receive early access to her latest, Only If You're Lucky. This ended up being a quick read (with lots of twists around the 75% mark), however, I'm realizing that the "college campus thriller" trope isn't my favorite. If you're a thriller lover, you'll probably like this one. It won't be the most memorable book for me, but I'll keep picking up this author's books to see what she does next. I did find the Author's Note to be really interesting!

Thank you to netgalley and publisher for a free copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

This wasn’t my favorite from this author but it was good. We are going to be reading this book in March for my book club. I will reread when it gets closer.

Lucy is outgoing and people love to be around her. Margot is the opposite. She goes with the flow and she blends in with others.

When someone gets murdered, the cops have to go through the whole sorority hoises to try to find out who was involved.

The ending of this book was worth reading this book but I wanted more. I found this book to be more of a young adult thriller book and not what I was expecting it to be.

3.5 stars but will read anything Stacy Willingham writes.

Only If You’re Lucky ~ Stacy Willingham

A friendship develops in an off campus house between two opposites, Margot and Lucy. But when Lucy ends up missing after the murder of a frat boy neighbor, Margot is pulled into a web of lies and betrayal she never saw coming.

Willingham is a must-read for me so this was a no-brainer book to get me back in the swing. Perfect for those who can appreciate a slow-burn build to some unexpected twists. Willingham writes relatable suspense - I was immediately swept into college life all over again filled with frat boys, late nights, and forever friends. With a surprise ending, this is surely one to add to your list - a BOTM January pick that hits the shelves January 16th.

I have become a fan of this author's books however this one fell short of the others. It came across to me as almost young adult but it was also so drawn out and a bit boring as well as unbelievable. I said "Oh, Come On!" a number of times out loud. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Only if You're Lucky will be available on 1/16/24.

📚: Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham
⭐️: 4/5

An academic setting, toxic friendships, secrets, and lies. Oh, so so many lies.

Margot is what one would call “vanilla.” She melds her personality to her friends - which for her life had been her best friend, Eliza. Eliza dies only weeks after high school graduation, leaving Margot to navigate her grief - and college - alone.

Enter: Lucy Sharpe. The girl everyone wants to be (or loves to hate). She attracts attention just by existing on campus - and seemingly out of nowhere, chooses Margot to join her clique. But why?

Minus one star for pacing issues in the first half, but when it picks up and the truth starts to unravel, this read becomes unputdownable.

Big thanks to @stmartinspress via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Be sure to grab this read on 1/16!

Only If You're Lucky follows Margot, a college sophomore, who is still mourning the lost of her childhood best friend, Eliza, and looking for a fresh start after a lonely first year at school. After meeting Lucy, an enigmatic and captivating fellow student with many similarities to Eliza, Margot jumps at her invitation to move into an off-campus house with Lucy and her two best friends, Sloan and Nicole. The house is owned by the fraternity next door, and soon enough, Margot has started to form tight bonds with her new roommates and opened the door to an entirely new social life including an old and unwelcome face from her past. The novel bounces back and forth between both the present, where Lucy has gone missing and a student has been killed, and the events in Margot's life during both her high school and college years that led up to this moment.

I have loved Stacy Willingham's first two novels and recommended them over and over to fellow readers, so I was beyond excited to get early access to her newest book, but unfortunately, Only If You're Lucky wasn't a 5 star read for me like her prior novels have been. Although the characters in this novel were much younger than those in previous books and younger than me as well, I had no problem connecting with them and following a story set in a college setting as some other reviewers have mentioned. However, I felt like the pacing of the novel was too slow burn, and there was not enough plot during the majority of the story to keep me wholly interested. I did enjoy the ending and Stacy Willingham is still the queen of a great twist, but I didn't feel like it made up for the other 3/4 of the book. I don't think this is a bad book by any means, and I will still read anything Stacy publishes. If anything, she has just set the bar very high with her first two novels.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC.

thank you to Minotaur & Netgalley for the e-arc! I’ve been a huge fan of Stacy’s past releases, but this one missed the mark for me unfortunately.

I found it to be incredibly slow to start, but I did really enjoy the ending! I felt this one was a little more predictable than her previous releases as well.

I enjoyed the last 20% more, but the predictably and the characters being a little two dimensional made this a 3 star read for me.

Personally, this just wasn’t for me but I will definitely be reading her future releases!

Thank you netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I was super excited to read another book by this author after loving another book by her. Unfortunately this one I didn't find quite as good as A Flicker in the Dark. I just couldn't get into the story about a mysterious roommate and the college setting. It all unfolds in the last 3 chapters but it's not all that surprising.

When cool-girl Lucy invites Margot to move into a house off-campus with her two friends, Margot can't believe her luck. Her freshman year at college had be ho-hum, especially after losing her best friend the summer before in an unimaginable tragedy— a friend who had made her life brighter who was supposed to be her roommate in college.

Living with Lucy, Nicole and Sloane changes everything. Suddenly she has a life and friends to party with. She has the girls and a whole fraternity of boys who live next door and own their house. Everything is going incredibly well, until someone from Margots past shows up. And then someone is murdered. And it appears that everything isn't quite as amazing as she first thought.

Stacy Willingham is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors and I'm excited every time I see a new book out from her. Only if You're Lucky is a MUST READ for 2024. There's so much suspense, and mystery and the pace of the book is spot on.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out now.

"If you could commit a crime and get away with it, would you?" That's the question at the heart of "Only If You're Lucky."

Meet Margot, a shy freshman at Rutledge in South Carolina. Before Lucy Sharpe entered her life, Margot was content staying in the shadows, always protecting her friend Eliza until Eliza's unexpected passing. Lucy's unexpected offer to be roommates in an off-campus house seems like a chance for Margot to break out of her shell and make friends, so she accepts, even though she's never socialized with Lucy or the other roommates before.

Sophomore year takes a dark turn when one of the fraternity brothers living next door is murdered, and Lucy goes missing. This suspenseful tale by Stacy Willingham explores Margot's journey from reserved to entangled in a sinister mystery.

Having enjoyed Willingham's previous novels, I was thrilled when my ARC request was approved. 'Only If You're Lucky' stood out for its focus on college students, a departure from the author's usual suspenseful settings. The characters' age added depth to the storyline, delving into the complexities of early adult female friendships.

Not your typical fast-paced thriller, 'Only If You're Lucky' has a purposeful plot, a perfect setting, and well-developed characters. Willingham cleverly sprinkles clues throughout, keeping readers guessing until the shocking climax. Margot's role as an unreliable narrator adds an extra layer of intrigue, compelling me to keep turning the pages.

I highly recommend adding 'Only If You're Lucky' to your 2024 TBR. Stacy Willingham, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley provided me with a complimentary copy; all opinions are my own. Happy reading!

I enjoyed this book! I liked the college setting and the friendship drama. It was a slow burn, but I didn’t mind that as I didn’t see the ending coming. I do find this author’s writing a little overly descriptive and repetitive. Overall, I enjoyed this while reading it but I wasn’t blown away. It isn’t a book that will stick with me. 3.5 stars

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham is a highly recommended novel of psychological suspense.

Margot has always been the quiet one and has spent her first year at Rutledge College in South Carolina grieving the loss of her best friend, Eliza. She is surprised when out-going Lucy Sharpe invites her to join her and two friends renting a house-off campus. Margot surprises herself by saying yes and joins Lucy, the dynamic ringleader, Sloane, the sarcastic smart one, and Nicole, the nice one. The house is owned by the Kappa Nu fraternity, and in fact there is easy access to the frat through a backyard shed. The arrangement seems to be going well, but by the middle of their sophomore year one of the frat boys is dead and Lucy is missing.

The writing is very good in this well-paced campus thriller. Suspense builds gradually as the narrative alternates between two timelines, before the murder and the investigation afterwards. It is also clear that more is going on than meets the eye and part of the intrigue and tension is finding out exactly what secrets are being kept. It is definitely a college setting with lots of drinking, partying, and an often present truth or dare game (which I was skeptical that college students would actually play).

Details about Eliza and Margot's past are slowly revealed as the present day intrigue ramps up. A darker side to Lucy's character also emerges. It becomes more difficult to know who to trust as more information is revealed. Certainly the perplexing nature of angsty female friendships and the search for belonging in college is explored. You need to suspend some disbelief at the ending, but the drama leading up to it is entertaining.
Disclosure: My complimentary review copy was courtesy of Minotaur Books via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Edelweiss, X, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.

Whoa. I've only read A Flicker in the Dark and I didn't really like it but this was so much better! Someone is dead. Someone is missing. Are they linked? There are so many questions throughout this book and by the end my jaw was on the floor. So many bombs were dropped and links were linked. The chapters go back and forth from Before to After until they merge and things start falling into place. I enjoyed the creepiness of what was real (!!!) in the Author's Note.