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.

You can always count on Stacy Willingham for an excellent thriller! Loved how this was set in a college setting and the main relationships in this book were friendships. We read a lot of domestic thrillers, but I LOVE a friendship thriller!

That being said, this book did not feel like Stacy Willingham to me! Something about it felt different from her typical style - it could have been another author! Ultimately, I like her first two books more (the bar is really high!!), but this was still a fantastic engaging read!

Well… it wasn’t great. I’m severely disappointed.

The prologue had such dramatic tension and ominous feelings, and then it all fizzled out from there. Nothing happens in the first eighty percent of this book. The vast majority of my reading experience was uninteresting and uneventful.

Margot is quite a dull character. We only get her perspective and it becomes so boringly monotonous that I don’t understand why this narrative choice was made. It really limited the story.

The plot is very stagnant. It could have been a more character-driven story except that I didn't really like any of the characters, including the protagonist. I wasn't at all compelled to care about what happened to any of them.

I didn't find the twits to be that exciting or believable. It's not very thrilling or suspenseful and there isn't really much of a mystery either.

There are some themes that could have been interesting, like girlhood, growing up, friendships, and college life. But they are counterbalanced by mundane events and tedious characters.

The writing style was sometimes trying to do too much, the metaphors get a bit distracting.

I finished this book five days ago, I’m coming back to write my review and, honestly, I’ve already forgotten everything about it. That’s just not a great look.

This was definitely a flop, considering that her previous two books were actually really good.

If you’re new to this author, I’d recommend starting with one of those instead because I’m convinced that this one is just a fluke.

If you are reading this and thinking about DNFing, don’t worry, you aren’t missing out on anything - it doesn’t get better. The ending isn’t at all satisfying. By the time we finally get to any reveals or twists, we were so bogged down and detached that we just didn’t care.

I still consider her one of my favorite thriller authors, and will continue to read her releases. Not sure what happened with this one but I’m really sad about it.

3.5 stars

I would like to thank Minotaur books, St. Martin's Press, Stacy Willingham and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Margot is a freshman at Rutledge College, trying to move on in her life after the mysterious loss of her best friend Eliza. At first, she is shy, quiet and reserved but, when fellow student and popular girl Lucy picks Margot to join her and her friends in a house sophomore year, her entire life is turned upside down. Margot moves into a house adjacent to Kappa Nu fraternity and is immediately thrown into a world of partying, fraternity boys, and new friendships filled with secrets. When Eliza's former fling, Levi, happens to join the Kappa Nu fraternity, Margot begins to tail spin because Levi was one of the last people to see Eliza before her death.

When Margot decides to confide in her new friends about the loss of Eliza, it forges a stronger bond among the four girls but, as Margot gets to know Lucy more, she realizes that Lucy isn't all that she seems. As she navigates her complicated relationships with both Lucy and Levi, it sets her on a trail to discovering why Lucy took such a sudden interest in her and forces her to question if she can trust any of the new people in her life.

I absolutely LOVED Stacy Willingham's previous book, All The Dangerous Things (I literally read it in 48 hours) so I was really excited to have a chance to read her next book early! Unfortunately, this didn't quite have the punch that her previous book did. The book started off as a slow burn and, while the payoff was satisfying, it felt a bit far fetched. It felt more like reading a YA/college age book rather than an adult thriller. Overall I liked it but didn't love it like her previous work.

Only If You're Lucky is a bit like driving up a mountainside, all twists and loopbacks until you crest the hill and think you know where you are... only to end up exactly where you started but now everything is twisted beyond recognition and you're gasping for breath as you try to catch your bearings.

Only if You’re Lucky follows Margot as she’s adopted into a friend group by the magnetic leader, Lucy. But all is not as it seems as Margot attempts to deal with the death of her best friend while ingratiating herself in this new friend group.

The reason I rated Only if You’re Lucky three stars is because of how slow the pace is for 75% of the novel. Readers are treated to Margot’s day-to-day life as she makes new friends and sees parallels to her deceased best friend. There were moments when it felt like Willingham got lost in the weeds as the plot made little to no progress.

Despite how much time readers spend with the characters, only Margot received any sort of meaningful development. Margot’s new friend group always felt like they were far removed from the story until they were required to advance the plot. Lucy stayed a mystery until the final few chapters, which was crucial to the plot and atmosphere however did the character a disservice.

Did I like the ending? A little. I enjoyed some aspects while disliking others. It also felt rushed with reveals that didn’t land as intended.

Overall, Only if You’re Lucky didn’t hook me like her debut novel, A Flicker in the Dark. Only if You’re Lucky focused heavily on the female friendships to the detriment of the mystery making the novel difficult to stay engaged with at times.

*** I received an arc via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the eGalley Book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is my third book by Stacy Willingham. My favorite Book of Whillingham's is A Flicker in the Dark. In Only If You're Lucky we meet a group of friends with the main female characters being Margot and Lucy. It is a college setting with alternating timelines of past and present but narrated from Margot's perspective.

While I had high hopes for this book, it unfortunately did not deliver. I had a hard time getting into the story and didn't find the characters likable. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and didn't understand their friendship. I love a good toxic friendship storyline, but their friendship dynamic wasn't developed enough in my opinion. I had a difficult time getting into the story and found it vague and confusing at times. At around the 70-75% mark it picked up and I was intrigued at where the story was headed. I enjoyed the last 25% of the story and there were some twists I didn't see coming. If you are a Willingham fan, I would say go ahead and read this book when it comes out on January 16, 2024.

If you have not read her books before, read this book if you enjoy:
* college setting
* unreliable female characters/friendships
* fraternities
* a slow burn mystery
* secrets

Overall I give it a 3.5.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced e-copy of this book. I voluntarily read it and gave an honest review.

Although a slow start and some parts which I found a bit repetitive, this was an interesting story . I did guess one or two of the main twists but the ending was definitely surprising for me ! ⁣
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𝗠𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫

I enjoyed this title! It was a bit different from what she normally writes but in a good way. The pacing was medium, and it came together a bit quicker than I would have liked compared to the pacing of the rest of the book. However I didn’t see any of the twists coming, and I was surprised at them all! Solid 4 stars.

Stacy Willingham is an auto read author for me so thank you Minotaur and Netgalley for the arc of ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY 🫶🏻

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
-slow burn
-dark academia
-twisted friendships
-lots of secrets

This was a veryyyy slow burn 🦥 that picked up towards the end, but was worth it. Willinghams writing is so captivating that even though not a lot happen for the first 80% I still found myself wanting to pick it up and read every free minute.

It's always a fun read when you put a bunch of girls together, have multiple timelines, a couple murders, and trouble deciphering who the real culprit is. I will agree with other reviews that this reads like a YA, but this brought back the nostalgia of those old Christopher Pike/Fear Street books for me, which I loved.

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham is a treat! Immediately sucked in I was unable to put this book down.

Following multiple timelines, Only If You’re Lucky is a story about friendship, love, envy, lies and the bonds that tie us together. This story is best going in blind. But if you enjoy dark academia, be sure to pick this up!

I’ve been a big fan of Stacy Willingham since her debut, picking up her books immediately. I think this is Stacy’s best book yet. There were so many twists and turns I just didn’t see coming. The small liberal arts campus of Rutledge was so vivid this book read as a movie playing in my mind!

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is the 3rd book I have read by this author, and probably my least favorite thus far. The first part of the book tries to establish a storyline, giving you a slow burn, that was a bit too slow for my liking.