This book started off really strong! I loved the short chapters and the sense of mystery. I didn't love the ending. I hate when the main character is morally gray and unlikable. I also became less attached to the story as it continued, and found myself wishing for it to end. Overall, I thought it was worth the read due to the captivating storyline in the beginning and how quickly I flew through the first half of the book.

4.5 rounded up!

I only knocked off the .5 for the slightly slow build up to the core of the suspense part of this whip smart story. Willingham truly seems to get better and better with every novel!

I found this to be even more truly a novel about the complexities and nuances of female friendship, as well as an exploration of morality and its shades of grey. I found the symbolism evoked by the mentioning of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to be a spot on reference for multiple characters, not just the ones that most readily come to mind at first.

Some fabulous twists, an unpredictable plot, and phenomenal character development. A great thriller to end the year on!

Stacy Willingham is one of my newer favorite psychological thriller writers. She tends to pull me in slowly, but then keeps me there with tiny morsels being dropped along the way.

With Only If You're Lucky we are dropped into a college story about a group of women that seem highly unlikely to be friends. They are all so different, but one common thread is Lucy. Someone that shines brighter than others and always seems to be the life of the party. But this isn't Lucy's story. It's Margot's. And she is someone that tends to stay in the background. Someone that is the voice of reason.

Margot had a lackluster first year at college. She was supposed to attend with her BFF Eliza, but when she tragically passes away, Margot thinks she still needs to get out of her hometown and do what she planned on doing. Her first year is spent hiding in her all girls dorm until the enigmatic Lucy notices her and she is asked to be roommates at an offsite home with 2 other girls. Lucy reminds Margot so much of her friend that she can't so no.

Margot tells her POV of this whole story of good and evil. Of past and present. Of living the college life and partying and noticing changes in the people around you. Of being all caught up in Lucy and how much she brings to other people's lives. But there is so much to each girl's story and we are only getting the surface until things unfold and we better understand the question of "If you could get away with murder, would you do it?".

While I have really loved Willingham's previous two books, this one didn't hit the same. Perhaps because I didn't listen to the audiobook (which the previous ones were performed flawlessly). But I liked the way this was centered around a group of women and them coming to terms with friendship and what you would do when put in certain situations. I also liked the way the author brought in Margot's past and pieced everything together oh so slowly. By giving us an unreliable narrator and by setting up connections with each and every character, this book came together really well.

Overall, a good thriller that gives you the Jekyll and Hyde feels, but did not go overboard. It almost reminded me a little bit of How To Get Away With Murder with the group of "friends/roommates" and trying to connect all the pieces by taking us back from the present and showing us a past that connected all the characters and their actions. If you liked that show, I can see you enjoying this story. College, partying, friendships, murder, accidents, good vs evil, scheming,.....you get it all in this next thriller from Stacy Willingham.

We meet Margot as she is ending her freshman year at Rutledge College, a liberal arts school in South Carolina. She and her longtime best friend Eliza had planned to attend together but soon after they graduated from high school, Eliza died in a mysterious accident. Margot spent the year in deep grief. As everyone was planning their housing for the next year, Margot is surprised when she is approached by popular Lucy Sharpe to join her and two other friends Sloane and Nicole in their off-campus house starting in the summer. The house is next to a popular fraternity and Margot may have the chance she's always wanted to break out of her shell. Eliza was the outgoing and adventurous one in their relationship and Lucy becomes somewhat of a substitute for her departed friend. But Lucy may not be all that she seems. What is clear to all is that she is manipulative and has a dark side. But Margot is happy to have her as a friend. When Levi Butler shows up at the frat next door as a pledge, Margot is shocked. Levi had been dating Eliza and was the last one to see her alive. Margot tells her friends that she holds Levi responsible for Eliza's death. Early on in this mystery thriller, the story shifts to the present as Margot, Sloane and Nicole are being questioned by the police about the murder of Levi and the disappearance of Lucy, who only a few months before had asked her friends in a game of Truth or Dare, “If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?”

Stacy Willingham has delivered three provocative thrillers in a row, all releasing in January. In Only If You're Lucky, the author has entered the genre of dark academia and has done a good job with the setting. Both the off-campus house of the four friends and the fraternity next door set the perfect stage for this story of friendship, jealousy and the lengths people go to fit in. Since I enjoyed Willingham's first two books, I was happy to read her latest. This one is more of a slow burn than the others, but it was twisty and suspenseful enough to hold my interest. It's a satisfying read worth checking out to start the new year, especially if you are drawn to chilling, college settings.

When Margot moved away for college, she hoped to find friendship and a new path forward. Struggling to overcome the death of her best friend, Margot finds herself befriended by Lucy an in an off campus apartment. As Margot finally starts to come out of her shell, she is surrounded by reminders of her best friend. By the middle of the year, everything starts to full apart with one person dead and one person missing,
Good read. I couldn’t put it down! Highly recommended.

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books in exchange for my honest review

Wow! This was so different than her previous books and I loved it! A dark academia story with a wonderful twist. Margot was a perfect and unreliable narrator, her story was so compelling and I couldn’t put it down. Sloane and Nicole were equally compelling and I almost wish we had more of their own backstories. Lucy was fascinating and it was interesting to explore her psyche as we learned more and more about her. All rolled into one made this so good. It definitely explored the world of female friendships and where we can be lead astray.

I enjoyed this book much more than I was anticipating. I try to not let opinions of previous books by an author taint my reading experience but considering I was not a big fan of her two previous book my hopes were conservative. However, I was quickly drawn into this slow burn psychological thriller about female friendship and obsession. Taking place on a small college campus in South Carolina, the setting of this story feels like just as much of a character as any of the people. Willingham’s use of descriptive language painted such a vivid picture in my mind, which is quite a feat as my imagination is greatly lacking.

This story is not very plot heavy. In fact, very actually little happens for how much time passes but with the deep dive into the characters and a handful of juicy moments it was a compelling read that kept me on my toes up until the very end. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters. Margot had very little personality outside of her friendships with Eliza and Lucy, but that is absolutely on purpose and not a flaw in character development. Lucy was a wily one and I could never quite figure out what was going on with her but it was a fun mystery working through her motives and figuring out what her end game was.

I definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a moody and broody thriller with a killer atmosphere and group of friends holding onto more secrets than you can count.

Thanks so much Netgalley and Minotaur for the opportunity to read this one early!

This book was just ok. It sort of read like a ya read bc of the college theme & all of the drinking involved. All of the characters weren’t particularly likable, ESPECIALLY Margot. She drove me absolutely nuts & could’ve used a helluva a lot of therapy to solve her strange, obsessive attachment issues. The plot also seemed really far fetched & it felt like there was no real character or story development. Overall, it’s a very different vibe from Willingham’s other reads but if you like slow burns, add this to your list.

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.