Stacy Willingham is an author who immediately captured my attention two years ago with her debut novel A Flicker in the Dark. Her newest, Only If You’re Lucky, is my current favorite SW book. 💃🏼💃🏼I had such a good time reading this twisty thriller. I liked that it felt younger, almost new adult. Is it my new favorite thriller of all time? No. Is it incredibly unique? No. Did I love it and do I recommend it? Yes and YES!

WOW is exactly the word to some up this book upon finishing! This was an out of this world home run of a thriller! I’m so so impressed and absolutely taken back! I read All The Dangerous Things last year and loved it, so when I saw this one was coming out - I had to check it out! Thank you so much Netgalley & Minotaur Books for my ebook ARC! This one comes out January 16th, definitely a must add to your to be read pile!
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The characters, the setting, the short chapters, and the plot that kept me wanting more and more! This book had me thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading it. When I feel that way with a book, I know it’s very well done! Lucy Sharp reminded me of the girl everyone wanted to be friends with in college. The one who was cool, always had fun, and had all the friends. Margot our main character meets Lucy at the end of her freshmen year and she makes her feel like she’s the person she’s been looking to be friends with. Lucy asks Margot to move in an off campus house with her and two other girls starting in the summer. In hope to make friends and take the leap of faith with Lucy the girl who seems to be the college IT girl, she accepts and starts living with them all. As time unfolds, Margot becomes very close with Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole. The four are the best of friends, until Levi moves in next door. Levi is someone from Margot’s passed that brings to surface so many things to question. As the semester progresses, more and more comes to the surface with Lucy the girl everyone wants to be friends with, and the dark passed of what happened to Margot. Soon Lucy is missing without a trace ….
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This is a book you can’t sleep on! I highly recommend checking this one out if you love thrillers, dual timelines, strong character development, and lots of twists! A must read!!!

Margot envisioned rooming with her best friend Eliza in college, but when Eliza suddenly passes away Margot goes off to college alone. Living in an all-girl dorm on campus, Margot struggles to make friends outside her college assigned roommate. When she catches the attention of the mysterious Lucy Sharpe, and is then invited to live in a house with her and her friends, Margot jumps at the chance. The house is owned by the fraternity brothers next door and when a guy from the town Margot is trying to escape shows up as a pledge, everything goes awry.

This is my second book by Stacy Willingham and it definitely isn't what I was expected. You'll still find an unreliable narrator, twists and ah-ha moments but Only If You're Lucky felt young. If I could pull out the plot points and skip over the childish antics of college kids spinning knives, drinking until they black out, and playing truth or date; my rating would be different.

Unlike All The Dangerous Things, I found the ending of Only If You're Lucky to be a far bigger stretch from reality. I liked the premise of the book and I liked the main quote, "If You Could Get Away With Murder, Would You Do It?" but I struggled with the overall execution.

Thank you for the gifted ALC.

Some say that college is the time where you define yourself, take risks, and make life-long friends. Margot hopes this is all true as she heads to a small liberal arts college. She also hopes her past does not follow. Freshman year she falls into a calm routine which is a bit boring.......until she catches the eye of Lucy - an outgoing co-ed. Margot takes a risk and moves in with Lucy and her friends living next to a frat house. Lucy brings fun to all events, but no one really knows her. Then Margot's past arrives in the form of a frat pledge - a guy from her hometown. Can she keep her secrets? Then the unthinkable happens and Lucy disappears........................

This is the first book I have read by Stacy and finished. The first one I didn't finish. While I did enjoy this book I found Margot annoying. She is by far the most clingy obsessive person I’ve had in a book. In the beginning I kept trying to give her a pass and not call her obsessed with her friend but by the end of the book it’s clear she was obsessed. I did predict who was guilty of which crimes. The mind games in the book were good. I didn’t expect the ending. The ending is solid. I enjoyed reading this and appreciate being selected for this ARC.

Stacy Willingham returns following All the Dangerous Things and A Flicker In the Dark with her latest haunting thriller, ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY. A dark, twisty, and mind-bending tale exploring toxic female college friendships, expertly narrated by the fabulous Karissa Vacker!

When you‘re young, you can get away with anything . . .
ONLY IF YOU YOU‘RE LUCKY.

Margot meets Lucy Sharpe at the end of her freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Lucy is everything, from bold, beautiful, addictive, and dangerous.

Margot is shy, reserved, and plays it safe. Lucy is her opposite. When she asks her to room together, Margot is over the moon excited.

Soon, Margot lives off-campus with three other girls: Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole. They rent the fraternity house from the boys next door, courtesy of Nicole's connection with Trevor, a leader of the fraternity club.

Margot's BFF, Eliza, died three weeks after graduation, and now Margot and Lucy have become best friends. Margot had planned to attend the same liberal arts college in South Carolina as Eliza had intended vs. what her parents had planned for her.

Then, in the middle of the sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door was brutally murdered, and now Lucy is missing.

The author carefully unravels the relationship between Margot and her former friend, Eliza. Margot becomes fearful when Levi (Eliza's boyfriend) moves in. He was the last to see her alive. What happened to Eliza?

From good vs. evil, inner demons, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY is psychologically rich, atmospheric with plenty of twists, envy, secrets, betrayal, loyalty, and obsession crossing into dark academia.

Alternating between past and present, the captivating mystery unravels. ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY is a little different than the author's previous two books, whereas this one is geared more toward YA and in the tune of Megan Miranda, Kate Alice Marshall, and Jessica Knoll.

A favorite author, you are always in good hands with Stacy Willingham, and each of her books is unique and a pro at tackling any topic.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for generously providing a digital and a listening copy of this standout book and audio for my honest opinion.

I highly recommend the audiobook, and Karissa Vacker brought the voices alive with her stellar performance. #SMPInfluencers

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JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 16, 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars
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{ Entangled. Maudlin. Covetous. }

I enjoyed both of Stacy Willingham's previous thrillers, and I liked this one, too. 

Only If You're Lucky is an academic thriller that alternates between two timelines, both told from the perspective of Margot, the main character: one takes place before the disappearance of her friend, Lucy, and the other takes place after. 

I stayed up and finished this book in one night. I knew all of the female characters were connected somehow, but I couldn't figure out the specifics until the very end. I loved the way everything fit together.

This is a great pick of you're looking for a quick thriller this winter!

Only if You're Lucky follows Margot as she is finishing up her first year of college. She was supposed to be attending college with her best friend Eliza, the girl that was bold always took the lead in contrast to Margot's quiet and careful nature, but Eliza died in a tragic accident the summer before they were set to start their freshman year. Enter Lucy, someone that shares very similar traits to Eliza, coming to Margot with an offer to share an apartment with her and two of her friends for the following school year. Margot now has friends and attends parties; it's what she always hoped college would be. Halfway through the school year one of the frat boys next-door is brutally murdered and Lucy is no where to be found. This starts the twists and turns that bring you to the end of the story as we try and figure out who killed Levi and where Lucy is.

Told in dual-timelines from Margot's POV, Only if You're Lucky is a bit of a slow burn. The story picks up at the end and the end is definitely worth the ride, but the first two thirds of the book drag at some points. Not much happens to drive the plot until Levi is killed so it's a bit more atmospheric and character driven in the beginning. While this isn't my favorite by Willingham I would still recommend it overall!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced e-copy of this book.

I have been such a fan of Stacy Willingham's work, and every time there's an opportunity to apply for an arc of their new books, I do it and I'm not disappointed. I rarely read thrillers/mystery anymore, but this one kept me interested and I managed to finish it relatively quickly. Only If You're Lucky does lean more mystery than thriller, but I found myself intrigued by the story and wanting to put all the pieces together to discover what was actually happening.

Only If You're Lucky features Margot, our FMC is a college student who is obsessed with her former best friend Eliza who died tragically before they were supposed to head off to college together. While in attendance at college, Margot is reclusive and finds herself becoming obsessed with a girl named Lucy who reminds her of Eliza in every way. Suddenly Lucy disappears and Margot's obsession grows exponentially.

This story is messy, and full of secrets. I put together where the plot was going early on. There are quite a few twists that aren't necessarily *shocking* but I still found myself surprised. I truthfully didn't care for Margot, she was boring and her reasonings for being obsessed were a little weird. There are a lot of plot twists towards the end, some believable but some were stretching a bit. I think this was a great mystery all in all, definitely kept my attention and is riddled with unlikeable characters who are absolutely terrible to each other. This was a solid thriller, not my favorite of Willingham's, but I still liked it nonetheless!

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Stacy Willingham for the early eARC in exchange for an honest review. Available January 16th!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book. I was super excited to get my hands on this since I have absolutely LOVED Stacy Willingham's previous novels.

After some thought, I have decided to rate this a 3.75 stars. As with Willingham's previous books, I loved the writing style. I felt like I was fully immersed in the atmosphere and I was hanging on every chapter near the end.
The beginning of the book was a bit slow, but I personally don't mind a slow burn. We were able to get into the mind of the MC which I think was important. It would have been awesome if we got some other peoples POV's as well though. The ending of this book was the best part though. There were twists upon twists which is what I look for in the thriller genre.

"Only if You're Lucky" by Stacy Willingham presents a sharp and evocative exploration of female friendship, loyalty, and betrayal. The novel delves into the fascinating and intertwined lives of Lucy Sharpe and Margot, two contrasting personalities who become entangled in a web of secrets and deception.

Willingham skillfully paints a vivid portrait of their friendship, deftly capturing the complexities and dynamics that define their relationship. As the narrative unfolds, the author weaves a tantalizing thriller that takes readers on a journey of introspection and suspense, inviting them to contemplate the nature of belonging, trust, and envy.

The novel's tantalizing exploration of the characters' intertwined lives and the mysterious disappearance of Lucy Sharpe creates a compelling and immersive reading experience. Willingham expertly delves into the emotional and psychological undercurrents that define the characters, breathing life into their experiences and inner turmoil.

"Only if You're Lucky" promises an enthralling and thought-provoking exploration of loyalty and friendship, firmly establishing the novel as a gripping addition to the psychological suspense genre. With its skillful storytelling and captivating portrayal of the characters' unfolding fates, Stacy Willingham solidifies her place as an author who sets the gold standard in crafting engaging and resonant psychological thrillers.

I really enjoyed this author’s previous two books, so I was excited to read this one. It was a decent read, but I can’t help but compare it to her other novels. It was much slower paced and lacked the suspense I was expecting. The mystery itself was good, very twisty and unpredictable, and the writing itself was great. I just didn’t like it as much as I was expecting. If you haven’t read her previous books, you might like this one better than I did. Just be prepared for a very slow burn.

3.5/5

Margot and Eliza are the best of friends, growing up together and headed to college in the fall, when Levi moves in over the summer. Soon enough, Eliza is dead and Margot is headed to college alone. Spending a full year mourning, she meets Lucy, who is just as wild and magnetic as Eliza was, and the two form a friendship with Sloane and Nicole. They move into a house off campus with the fraternity next door their landlords. When Levi shows up as a pledge, everything starts to change.
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💭Thoughts💭
I definitely felt the first quarter of the book was super slow and dragging, but it quickly picked up and caught my attention. Margot was a very weak character so it was hard to feel bad for her but I think that may have been the point? The twists were so good and I truly did not see some of them coming.
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⌛️Favorite Moment⌛️
The overall vibe of the book completely captured the lost feeling Margot had and how in over your head you can get when you try to be someone you’re not. The anxious feeling I had when reading about their interactions with the fraternity was so real feeling.
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🎉 Theme Ideas 🎉
Go bowling! Penny Lanes was a huge part of the book and a cool scene to imagine them partying on the bowling lanes after hours!

Margot is living in her freshman dorm, the room she was supposed to share with her long time best friend, Eliza, but instead she came to campus alone. She is the shell of the person she once was, until Lucy invites her to room with her and her two friends at an off campus house. Margot is longing to belong and eagerly joins the three girls in their house adjacent to a fraternity house. But by their second semester together, the carefree summer college living that they enjoyed has turned very dark and twisted.
This story slowly builds as it delves deeply into the unreliable character narrative. Dual timelines set the stage as Margot and Eliza’s friendship parallels with Margot and the girls. And then suddenly, towards the end of the book the pace ramps up as one twist after another evolves. The characters that you thought you knew, but never trusted, come to light. One event leads to another. Part psychological thriller, part coming of age Only If You’re Lucky explores Margot’s need to be accepted, her grief and her expectations of friendship. Usually if I don’t like any of the characters that affects my liking of a book. But this is one of those, where the characters are all flawed enough to the point of being unlikeable (except for Nicole) but that only adds to the unsettling tone of the book even after it ends!
Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur for my gifted arc for review.

This book gave me an uneasy feeling from the start. A sense of doom that builds and grows as the book goes on. Secret after secret is unraveled until you realize how all the little clues come together. It was a little slow early on, but probably necessary to set the foundation. Great, twisty read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced release copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love how this story was just as dark and twisty as we’ve come to expect from Willingham, while also having such a different story and set of characters. The dual timeline keeps things interesting during the story’s slow burn of a build up to a very jam packed ending. Once I hit about 60% I just could not put it down until I finished. The story is reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars, or maybe more like The Sex Lives of College Girls intertwined with tragedy and mystery. Readers of Megan Miranda are going to especially enjoy this offering.

Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A bit of a slog. Margot felt like a boring person that I was not interested in getting to know. Her obsession with Lucy felt a bit…. pathetic? This book felt terribly long with little payoff until the end. I really loved Stacy Willingham’s ‘A Flicker in the Dark,’ but this one was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for this ARC!

I enjoyed the newest read from Stacy Willingham!

The characters, plot, and twists I didn’t see coming are all things I loved!

I didn’t feel like this one was as thrilling as her past two, though which is why I gave 4 stars instead of 5.

Oh boy. I need a minute to sit with this one.
The twists and turns… and the unpredictable ending… still not sure how I feel about it. But overall - couldn’t put it down (except for stupid stuff like work and feeding kids).
I’ll come back and update.

Anything Stacy Willingham writes, I’m reading. This was definitely a slow burn but she did an amazing job building the story and character backgrounds. Told in before and after timeline, it was clear from the start that all the characters had hidden secrets which I was invested in uncovering throughout the book. I loved the college setting and the added chaos of the girls living next door to a frat house.
About 75% in, the story really picks up and the pieces of the puzzle begin falling into place. As always, Willingham is the queen of twists and turns. I was surprised by the ending and left really thinking about morality and the turn this story took.