Another winner from Stacy Willingham. If you’re looking to get your 2024 Reading Challenge off to a strong start, you’ll want to pick this up when it comes out Jan 16.

I went back and looked at my review of A Flicker in the Dark, and it says, “A good twisty thriller that will make you suspicious of every character.” The same review I think applies here - although this is more of a psychological suspense versus a thriller. Lucy is alluring and manipulative, and Margot is malleable as she grieves the loss of her best friend (who should have been her freshman year roommate). When Lucy, Margot, Sloane and Nicole unite to room together in a worn down house owned by the neighboring fraternity (complete with a secret passage between the frat and the girls’ house), you know nothing great can come of it. Candidly, I wasn’t sure until the final pages if Willingham was going to be able to satisfactorily tie up all the loose ends for me, but she pulls it off!

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

4.5 Stars

This is by far one of the best Stacy Willingham books. I don't think anything will ever take top place from All The Dangerous Things, but this book is definitely in second place for me.

I loved that it was set on a college campus and that all of the things impacting Margot came together in the end, wrapped up with a beautiful bow as a gift for the reader. '

Needless to say, I loved it. Please read it. It's so good!

Margot is a freshman in college and doesn’t really do much. Her only friend Eliza had tragically passed away in the summer and Margot is still struggling trying to fit in and make friends. She washes Lucy around the dorm and just wants to be apart of her friend group. At the end of the semester Lucy invites her to be their 4th roommate and Margot instantly accepts. Margot becomes obsessed with Lucy as she did Eliza. Things start to get weird a boy ends up dead and someone else ends up missing.
The book is going from before and after of Margot’s point of view and everything starts to add up at the end. I was very glad to receive an advanced copy of this book because I loved Stacey’s previous books but this one took some time for me to get through in the middle. I had set it down and read a different book before picking it up again. The end had some twists that I wasn’t expecting and I definitely thought I knew what was going on but was wrong in the end.

Beyond Boring

Margot, a college student, was obsessed with her former best friend, Eliza, who died tragically and is now obsessed with her current BFF, Lucy. When Lucy disappears, Margot’s obsession grows to the point of danger.

Margot is boring, her voice is boring, and her obsession is boring. The side characters seem interesting, but since only Margot's POV is shared, they get lost in Margot's monotonous narrative.

The narrative follows a before/after structure--neither timeline is compelling.

The plot: Nothing really happens until the ending, which had a bit of unexpected drama, and the atmosphere was a huge plus--both upped my rating.

I was so excited to read this--I loved Willingham’s other books, but sadly this one was a letdown. It reminds me of a Megan Miranda novel--the setting, the group of college students, the atmosphere, and the monotonous tone, but it lacks tension and suspense.

It pains me to write this review. I wish I could recommend this book, but I just can't. I can recommend Willingham's others: A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review

A tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

Only If You're Lucky is a major slow burn - I liked the timeline shifts and the way we had flashbacks from Margot, but so much of the set up felt repetitive and long-winded. And Margot, I wouldn't call our narrator unreliable necessarily, but obsessive and unlikable definitely. We didn't get to know the other characters very well, not even THE Lucy Sharpe, which made it harder to connect with the story.
What did I connect with? The setting! Willingham's writing is so descriptive and sets the mood - we got a lot of creepy shed and cave development....

Overall I liked the story, but at points it was too slow for me but then resolved too quickly... I'd still recommend if you've liked her other books and are wanting a dark academia vibe with interesting female friendships

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

I have loved previous books by Stacy Willingham and was excited to receive this book for early review! I feel like you would love this book if you loved The It Girl by Ruth Ware. Obviously, the story is different, but it has the same reckless, dangerous college girl vibes. Would you murder someone if you knew you could get away with it? I mean, I would hope that the answer to that question would be a resounding no from most reasonable people. The characters in this book, however, think differently. By the end, I felt like there wasn't a likable character left. For me, this was a yuck-feeling book and even though it was hard to put down, I was glad to be done with it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of Only If You’re Lucky. Stacy Willingham has crafted a story that takes the reader on quite a journey. Eliza and Margot have been best of friends since the age of 7 and, just as they are about to go off to college together to start their next phase, Eliza dies under unclear circumstances. Their dynamic had changed when new neighbor, Levi, moved in. Margot is devastated at the loss and “feels Eliza’s absence—a painful reminder of everything that could have been.”. Eliza and her family were everything to her. Eliza was adventurous, daring, and a little dangerous, all the things Margot was not. Margot was the one who was always there for her keeping her safe, until she wasn’t. .

Margot goes off to Rutledge College There she rooms in the dorm with Maggie, a nice girl but totally different from Eliza. Then she encounters Lucy. Lucy invites Margot to join her, Sloane, and Nicole in their house that belongs to Kappa Nu fraternity. Lucy, it turns out, is every bit as adventurous, daring, and dangerous as Eliza, maybe more-so. Who is she, really? Part coming-of-age, murder mystery, this keeps you guessing until the ultimate payoff.

Any thriller set around a college campus is an automatic read for me! Just something about this trope is always a hit for me!

Margot escapes to college after a tragic event occurs to try and get a fresh start, only her past starts to collide with her fresh start.

Margot meets Lucy, who brings her into this whole new world of college life. She has two other roommates, Nicole and Sloane, and they immediately all hit it off.

The story flashes back and forth between the present when they are trying to figure out what happened to Lucy and Levi, and the past that explains the story and lead up to that point.

Overall, I really enjoyed this one and how the story unfolded! If you also like thrillers set on college campus’ then this one is for you!

2.5 Stars

I feel like such a negative Nancy over my last few books, each one striking my pet peeve nerves.

This story is told in before and after an event and the author loved nothing more than dangling something at the end of the chapter and then not going back for a while. Once or twice is fine and can be effective, but multiple times just gets annoying.

It’s also extremely repetitive. There is so much rehashing of the same thought or incident, 50% could have been cut from the book and nothing would have changed.

The sad thing is, the story itself is good. The suspense and mystery part actually had me interested and glued to finding out the truths, but the two issue above made it difficult to stay focused as I skimmed a lot in order to get back to the meat of the story.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up

“If You Knew You Could Get Away with Murder, Would You do it?”
Synopsis:
-Margot goes to the college she was meant to attend with her best friend, Eliza, before her death. After her freshman year, Margot meets new friends, Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole. Lucy Sharpe is larger than life, and people seem to love and cling to her. Lucy is the leader of this group, and these girls would do anything for each other. She moves into a house with him owned by a frat house where someone from Margot's past shows up. They all have secrets, and they are all liars.

I was getting major mean-girl vibes, lol. Margot is Cady Heron. Lucy is Regina George. Sloane and Nicole are Karen and Gretchen, lol

What I liked:
-A plot twist that I did not see coming
-I had questions throughout that kept me hooked.

What I didn't like:
-I felt like the 50% dragged on
-The ending left some questions unanswered and is slightly far-fetched.

Overall:
I enjoyed this novel, and I like Stacy Willingham. Her novel "A Flicker in the Dark" is my favorite. If some stuff from the beginning were cut or moved a little bit faster, this would probably be an easy 4 or 5 ⭐️ read. This was simply not my favorite, but I am so glad I had the chance to read it.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Decently paced with enough twists and turns. The ending had no loose ends and I truly didn’t see it coming! Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

*Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the arc copy in exchange for an honest review.*

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up.

This book followed Margot before and after an incident. We see how Margot is struggling after the loss of her best friend. Toward the end of her freshman year in college, she is approached by Lucy Sharpe. Margot has been intrigued by Lucy since day one and accepted her offer to live together with her friends. However, the trouble that seems to follow Lucy may be more than anyone can handle.

This book was entertaining enough. I did get bored at times and skim a bit because it felt like there was a lot of unnecessary info. I knew I wanted to see how the story played out, but it was predictable. There are a few things that happen that you can guess pretty easily.

The characters in this book were okay. I didn’t feel a huge attachment to any of them. Obviously, I liked the main girls (aside from Lucy), but I didn’t necessarily form a bond with them. Whatever happened, happened.

I think this could have been at least 50 pages shorter. I didn’t have a bad time reading it, but when I’m reading a thriller, I just want the thrill I don’t need every piece of info.

This was definitely a uniquely set up thriller. And a few aspects of it were actually really creepy. And come to find out the setting of most of the book is based on a real place from the author’s college days makes it even creepier.

I’ve got the authors other books on my TBR and I can’t wait to see what other stories she came up with.

Thank you #NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the e-ARC. I feel very bad for being harsh like this, but this book really didn't work for me. It felt underdeveloped, juvenile, and had me thinking I was reading a YA novel (maybe I was?). Margot as the main character lacks clarity and the twists were befuddled. Willingham claims in her author's note that she lived in a place similar to the setting of the novel but that part was not the most unbelievable part and didn't need justifying. This book is rampant with clichés and some very cheesy one-liners. I really loved Flicker in the Dark and I think this is a classic case of a buzzy author on the hamster wheel of publishing, forced to push out novels before they are ready.

2.5 rounded up. I really loved Stacy Willingham’s other two books so I had high hopes for this, but it just didn’t work for me.

My primary issue was the incredibly slow pacing. The first 65% or so dragged and not much happens. We get a lot of inner monologue time with the MC, Margot, but she just rehashes the same points over again (mostly about Eliza - I had to laugh when towards the end she claims that Lucy made her completely forget Eliza existed - girl, what?! You’ve literally never stopped thinking/talking about her).

I also found the book lacking description. I thought it interesting that in the acknowledgments the author talks about wanting to “memorialize it” (the house, which is real) - beyond the basement and shed *existing*, I honestly can’t picture a thing about it.

I also had a hard time connecting with the characters overall. Not sure if that was a lack-of-description issue (I don’t feel like I knew them that well, especially Sloane and Nicole) or the fact what we do know makes them deeply unlikeable lol, but either way, I had a hard time caring what happened to any of them.

I really do love her writing style and I will absolutely pick up her next book! This one just didn’t work for me. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for the advance copy!

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

Margot, shy and careful, meets the bold and magnetic Lucy Sharp their sophomore year of college at a small liberal arts school in South Carolina. Immediately, Lucy begins to remind Margot a lot of her close childhood best friend who tragically died at a party three weeks after graduation after becoming dangerously enthralled with the next door neighbor boy Margot warned her about.

During their sophomore year, Lucy pulls Margot into her orbit, which includes Sloan and Nicole, Lucy’s other best friends, and an entire fraternity house next door. Margot finally believes she is where she belongs with their group of four, but then a fraternity boy from next door turns up dead, Lucy is missing, and the truth about Eliza’s death begins to surface.

MY REVIEW

I enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things a little more (both 5 ⭐️ reads for me), but this was still a solid 4 ⭐️ read with plenty of secrets, suspense, and unguessable plot twists. It just wasn’t that book that I could not put down, though, and that’s its only real “flaw.” I put it down multiple times over the course of a few weeks and took a while to finish. But overall, I enjoyed it enough and would recommend to murder thriller and psych suspense lovers.

I’ve been with Stacy, a fellow Georgia bulldawg (Go Dawgs!) since the very beginning and will continue to read and support anything she writes in the future. She’s certainly an auto-buy author for me that I look forward to reading every January (or earlier if I’m lucky 😉) 🔪💕

Thank you to Stacy, SMP/Minotaur, Goodreads, and NetGalley for my physical and digital galleys!

First book by this author and I enjoyed it! 3.5 stars, it kept me entertained and I didn’t see the big twist coming at all. There was a smaller one I noticed pretty quickly though.

I really enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s first two books. I absolutely loved this third one! I don’t know if it was the exploration of female friendships, the nostalgia for my college days, the dark academia, or the dual time line that led to lots of twists and turns by the end, but I found myself not being able to put this book down. It was such a great, slow burn thriller.

Yes there were a few things that bothered me (ie., Margot’s seemingly obsession with Eliza then Lucy), but as someone who suffers from booknesia (where i almost immediately forget what I’ve just read once i start the next book), a book is a 5 star read for me if it sticks with me for days, if not weeks, after I’ve finished reading it. This one checks that box several times over for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Stacy Willingham’s latest was a liiiittle bit of a mixed bag for me, but I have no doubt thriller fans will enjoy themselves!

I liked the creepy vibes, especially the kind of eerie quality in a lot of the friendships involved — and I enjoyed the fact that rather than there being one “big twist” or “grand reveal,” there was more so a bunch of smaller turns that kept the story moving in different directions!

I will say though — it felt like it took a looooong while to move from the initial setup to any kind of action or discovery. From about 15 or 20% through until honestly probably 60 or 65%, it dragged for me. I read most of this one on a plane, so had uninterrupted reading time, but I think in any other circumstance I would’ve found myself walking away from it after short stints 😬

Overall, again, a little hit or miss for me — but ultimately once I got through a bit of a slower center, I enjoyed the big picture!

Thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for my advance copy. Hits shelves Jan. 16!

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

After Margot's best friend dies in a tragic accident, she tries to move on. She goes to college and forms new friendships with the three girls she rooms with. One of them is the magnetic Lucy Sharpe. She's as interesting as she is toxic. Things take a turn when one of the frat boys next door is murdered and Lucy goes missing.

This flips back and forth between when Eliza is alive and friends with Margot to after Eliza's dies and Lucy is in the picture. It can be a little chaotic and hard to follow at times because of this, but I think that's intentional. This was really well written and drew me in. I loved the quotes and thought-provoking questions.

The mean girl dynamic was interesting. I didn't particularly like any of the characters, but that didn't stop me from being invested in what happens to them. Lucy was queen bee material. It's always interesting to try and figure out why someone is like that. Lucy was complex, magnetic, and toxic, which is a tantalizing combination. I was drawn in just like Margot was. Margot was also interesting. She seemed to only want to be friends with that type of character. Eliza apparently also had a strong personality. Margot seemed to think she was unworthy of a good friendship and didn't think much of herself. We learn more bits and pieces as the book continues, which includes an active missing person investigation for Lucy.

This book was pretty entertaining and had an interesting dynamic between the characters. Most of the shocking things I saw coming, but there was one surprise I didn't figure out until right before it was revealed. If you're into mean girl stories with secrets and murder (think pretty little liars), then this is for you.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Stacy Willingham has a talent for twisty, slow burn psychological thrillers with flawed characters. In Only If You’re Lucky, the story follows a group of college friends and weaves in past and present timelines to unravel the mystery. It’s a story of friendships, obsession, the angst of young adulthood and jealousy.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.