I love Willingham’s style of writing and Only If You’re Lucky did not disappoint.

A coming of age story of friendship, lies, secrets, and the experiences along the way that teach us about ourselves and help to shape us as we grow.

The beginning grabbed me right away, and although there were a few slow bits in the middle, that last 25% of the book was the best - and most unexpected.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC in return for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub date: 16 Jan 2024

2⭐️

😕 well this was unfortunate and unexpected. I absolutely loved the last two books by this author. I was so excited to get approved for this one. Sadly it was a bit of a flop for me.

In a thriller book I don't typically mind if I dislike all the characters, however I need the plot to suck me in. This one I hated the characters but also I was incredibly bored. It just was so much of a slow burn story that when we finally got to the reveals in the last quarter of the book I just kind of wanted it be over and wasn't invested anymore.

I'm not even really sure how to explain what this one is really about. There wasn't much that happened but we are following college age characters in this story with multiple time lines. There is a lot of mean girl drama. I did really enjoy the back and forth between the past and present day though.

Although I don't recommend this book. I highly recommend checking out the other two books from this author as I will continue to read anything Willingham creates. I think she's incredibly talented and the last book All the Dangerous Things I still think about and I loved it so much. It's still on of the best authors note at the end I have read, as I enticed me to learn more.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St Martins Press, and Minotaur books for this advanced reader copy. My review is voluntarily my own.

This is my second Stacy Willingham book, and although I did enjoy the overall story, it was just too slow paced for me. I struggled to latch on. The events and twists were all very predictable, which made the desire to continue a little difficult.

I do love the unique way the author tells a story, and I really enjoyed the time hops.

Lucy is the girl everyone wants to be, or at least be around. Margot is immediately drawn to her, so when Lucy gives her the time of day and invites her to live with them, Margot jumps at the chance. Now she is living off campus, next to the boys frat, with three girls, Lucy, plus Sloane and Nicole. Lucy loves to know everyones secrets, but rarely reveals her own. After the death of one of the frat boys, Lucy disappears. Now the three friends are left to deal with the cops and pick up the pieces of their friends lies.

Whew, I happened to read two books about toxic friendships in a row, and both did such a wonderful job of depicting how terrible female friendships can be. Margot was so introverted and Lucy swooped right on in to take advantage of her. That plus some of the fraternity hazing was insane to read. I have to say I did see some of the twists coming, but it didn’t stop me from enjoying every second this book.

It honestly pains me to write this review because I have loved Stacy’s first two thrillers— both so fast paced and binge worthy— but this one is soooo opposite of the first two. This was extremely slow paced, dark academia and quite boring. The whole thing kinda felt underwhelming & honestly if it wasn’t for me having the audiobook format to pair with the ebook, there’s no way I would’ve finished it. 😭

I’m between giving this a 2.5⭐️ and 3⭐️ because it was fine, nothing groundbreaking and also not one I can recommend that people must read. 🥺

Thank you to the publisher for the chance to be an early reader.

My first book by Stacy Willingham, and definitely not my last. Thrillers can be hit and miss for me. But, this one really drew me in.

Margot has always been shy and quiet, which continued after her closest friend passed away suddenly after graduation. When she moves in with Lucy and two other girls the summer before her sophomore year of college, she gets pushed out of her comfort zone. When a frat boy next door is killed, and Lucy goes missing, Margot starts to figure out that things may not be as they seem.

My summary can’t really do justice to the overall plot. The story really just kept me intrigued, and I read it in less than a day. The twists - I 100% wouldn’t have guessed. For my first book from her, it was good!

This book may seem more YA, based on the setting (college) and games played. However, based on some of the events, I wouldn’t necessarily consider it YA. Regardless, it was a quick read for me.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, received from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Stacy Willingham through NetGalley. However, all thoughts and views reflected are strictly my own opinions.

🤯🤯🤯🤯 my mind is blown by this book!! “only if you’re lucky” is a dark, twisted, unsettling tale of female friendships, deception, lies and morality.

The stage is set by 3 college girls being interviewed about their missing room mate, Lucy. We don’t get much information other than Lucy is a complex character (to say the least).

Then we travel back in time to before the interview is taking place. It is the end of the first year of school, and our MC Margot is getting ready to reinvent herself after grieving the loss of her best friend the past year.

As luck would have it, Lucy (the ringleader of a trio) invites her into the fold and so begins our decent into chaos and madness.

This book warps your mind and makes you feel like you’ve been playing mind games for hours on end. I can’t wrap my head around all the twists and turns, shocking revelations and cunning.

It was everything and more.. I will think about this book for a long time. The ending was a lot to process. On one hand I felt protective of the characters but on the other hand I felt saddened and regretful about events that transpired. The question is was everybody deserving of their fates? Did they bring it upon themselves or should they have been dealt a fairer hand.

I will be shook for a long time.. and I genuinely can’t wait to see what Stacy Willingham comes out with next. Also shout out to the cover illustration it is absolutely stunning.

Thank you to NetGalley and st Martin’s press for a copy of this book.

This book started strong and had me hooked but it felt like nothing much happened the entire time. The ending was decent but nothing spectacular either..

Huge thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press & MacMillan Audio for advance copies in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely love this author, she can do no wrong, definitely an auto but author for me. I love the dual time line in the story. I enjoyed the mystery of the story

I enjoyed this suspense! I loved the slow reveals of crucial details and the two timelines. It was well written and very engaging! I would recommend it to my friends and audience!

College freshman Margot goes to college still grieving over the tragic death of her best friend. Unable to shake the grieving good girl she has become, Margot wants a change. So when Lucy, the magnetic leader of thre "it" girls makes Margot an offer to move in to a house owned by a frat with her and the other girls Margot jumps at the chance. Soon Margot's grief seems less as she becomes a part of the elusive group, doing things that the old Margot would not do. When the boy that Margot is sure killed her best friend shows up at the frat house Margot is spun again into the anger and spiral of grief. As she shares her past with Lucy, will Lucy help Margot with her grief, or is there more to Lucy's interest in Margot? I'm not going to lie, reading the crash course of Margot's life was difficult. This young woman struggling to deal with complicated grief, looking for relief in the wrong places. I honestly almost DNFed the book it was so painful to read. I kept with it and the twist was exactly what I needed to keep me hooked. This book was dark but for those who love twisty psychological thrillers than this one is for you. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.

I was a huge fan of "A Flicker in the Dark" with its sinister twists and turns, so I was excited to get ahold of "Only If You're Lucky." While it was still a read that kept me on my toes, I feel like there could have been so much more to it than what it ended up being.

Margot and Lucy become close friends in college, but when Lucy disappears one night, Margot becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. While this sounded promising from the outset, the plot quickly revealed itself to be more of a YA mystery than a dark and twisty thriller.

I can appreciate that Stacy Willingham has a gift with her craft, but I expected more from this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Margot goes off to college for a new start, after losing her best friend Eliza in a tragic accident. The last person Margot expects to see at Rutledge is Eliza's suspicious ex, Levi.. & even MORE shocking, Levi begins to get oddly close to Margot's NEW best friend, Lucy (who is eerily similar to Eliza).

I enjoyed the concept of this one- love a good CAMPUS-SETTING & dual timeline ("before" & "after") that both have intrigue. The main characters living together in an old frat house was *interesting* to me (can't you just picture it?! No thank you). 🤣

I REALLY enjoyed & highly recommend both of Stacy's previous thrillers (both 4.5 star); however (here comes honesty hour), this one unfortunately wasn't my favorite. It is MUCH different from her last books (kudos for trying something different, though!!)- I wish I had gone in knowing that! This is way more of a SLOW-BURN mystery, with a lot of build-up & less thrill. The pacing was a bit off; the first 75% or so was quite repetitive, & the action really didn't start happening until the end. A lot of the plot felt more YA to me- spin the bottle/truth or dare, college parties, etc- over & over again. Our MC, Margot, was very strangely obsessive with her girl friends, & she also often seemed to get lost in the mix (to the point where I forgot her name multiple times...). I don't anticipate feeling "connected" to characters while reading this genre, but I found all of the characters rather unlikeable; especially Lucy- gave me the heebie-jeebies from the get-go. When the twists started unravelling, there was only one that *sort-of* shocked me. I was hoping for more of that satisfying, WTF thriller feeling. Some of the motive(s), IMO, were pretty unlikely/unbelievable, or didn't make a lot of sense.

NEVERTHELESS, I still love Stacy, & will always read anything she writes. I am not at all trying to deter you from reading this one; if you like YA mysteries, you may love it! 😊

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Publishing, and Stacy Willingham for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

“We held fast, doe-eyed and innocent, and it was easy, really, because all we are to him: underestimated always. Just children, just girls.”

Only If You’re Lucky is an alluring slow-burn thriller centered on female identity, friendships, and secrets. The story follows four college roommates who are renting a creepy and atmospheric off-campus house that is attached to a male fraternity. While I do not typically read YA or college-aged thrillers, Willingham did a phenomenal job in capturing how tumultuous and fragile these years are for women; the secrets, insecurities, lust, jealousy, and bonds forged during these years. How far are these young women willing to go to test moral boundaries in the sake of fitting in or protecting their friends?

The book opens with a murder and a missing person, but the first 60% of the book is dedicated to slow-burn character development and flashbacks to the summer before college year to set the stage for the climatic murder in the middle of the school year. The last 40% was fast-paced twists, turns, and reveals that I could not set aside. This book has magnetic and flawed characters, angst and suspense, an unreliable narrator, and great theming and plot twists. While it didn’t reach my adoration for Willingham’s first two releases, I think it was simply due to character age/setting/pacing than writing style. Willingham remains an auto-buy/read author for me and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

Social media post/review coming closer to release date!

2.5/5 stars.

Margot is an introverted, shy and careful person; often the sidekick to the more extroverted friends she makes. Lucy is bold, dangerous, and loves being the center of attention. When Lucy singles Margot out at the end of her freshman year and asks her to room together, Margot finds that she cannot say no. This is how Margot finds herself rooming with three girls she barely knows: Lucy (the ringleader), Sloane (the sarcastic one), and Nicole (the nice one). Margot's finally coming out of her shell over the course of her sophomore year, becoming close friends with Lucy. Things seem to be going well for Margot, until one of the fraternity boys who lives next door is found brutally murdered and Lucy is missing without a trace.

ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY has a very interesting premise but I found the delivery to be lacking. Instead of reading like a suspense novel, it feels more like a character study, investigating the secrets we keep and what we will do to keep them secret. I liked the navigation of the concepts of friendship, the feeling of belonging, the power of loyalty, envy, and jealousy - making for an interesting discussion and read. Given that's not really what I was expecting coming into this novel, I was underwhelmed.

The pacing was really slow as the author navigates through the dynamic Margot shares with several of the characters, her past, and her current existence. There was a lot of build up in suspense that crescendoed into nothing truly surprising or inspiring occurring. A twist near the end of the book took me by surprise and while it fit into the narrative that had been building, I still wasn't moved enough to appreciate it. The last handful of chapters is where the entirety of the story takes place in terms of big reveals, but it was too little too late for me.

<i>I would like to thank Netgalley, and the publisher, Minotaur Books, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions shared are my own.</i>

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this Advanced Readers Copy of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham!

ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY was an alluring story. Friendships are put to the test and you never know what to believe or who to trust. I liked the alternating timelines and getting a deeper insight into Margo and Eliza's friendship. By the end, I was shocked by the discoveries. I like a book that keeps me guessing and this one made me think. I felt the story read more like a YA thriller and I enjoyed it until the very last page. Stacy Willingham is clearly a gifted writer and this was very different from her last two books.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for my gifted copy.

This review will be shared to my Instagram (@coffee.break.book.book.reviews) in the near future.

Super thankful for NetGalley for receiving an ARC copy of this book. I was a huge fan of other books by this author so seeing her name made me instantly interested in receiving a copy to read early.

I’m normally not a huge fan of college based books, but I thought I would give this a try due to loving her writing style in the past.

This book is a slow burn if I ever read one. It has duel timeline that follows four friends through a year of college. Well technically two years of college.

I felt like the story didn’t really pick up for me until about 60% through. At that point I was so invested in what the heck was going on that I couldn’t put it down. You kept questioning what happened and who did it. I had fun with coming up with my own thoughts, but those twists towards the end caught me off guard.

Although I’m rating this book 3 stars, I still really enjoyed it. I’m just not a huge fan of slow burns for thrillers and I’m not a huge fan of a college plot. I wish the storyline had been fast paced, I had so much potential to being a great thriller!

A new release thriller from Stacy Willingham, the author of “A Flicker in the Dark” and “All the Dangerous Things”. I was very excited to read this ARC and it did not disappoint!

This book follows a group of college girls that move in together into the off-campus house as they navigate the intricacies of their sophomore year in college. It is full of dark secrets, intense female friendships, envy, lust and many more things that move us at this fragile age.

From beginning until about 75% into this book it read like a 3-star because of slow pacing that was borderline annoying at times. The remaining 25% felt like a 10-star. Author masterfully tied all minor details and scenes throughout the book into the well-crafted plot twist at the end. I did not see the story ending the way it did, but wow was I blown away!

If you don’t mind the slower pacing of the story and love a good psychological thriller, I highly suggest you add this to your TBR in 2024. I will definitely be making my way through Stacy Willingham’s backlist!

𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘊𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.

I am sorry to say that this book was a DNF for me at 44%. Stacy Willingham has blown me away with her last two books, but this one was so slow and scattered. I kept trying to give it time to fall into a rhythm, but it felt like a chore every time I went to pick it back up. College kids getting into trouble and making bad decisions should be a lot more enthralling/entertaining than this book was.

I will not review this on my page because I really do love Willingham’s other books and I don’t want to taint other readers opinions of her! Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me.