I have been a fan of Stacy Willingham since I first read her debut novel A Flicker in the Dark and her subsequent release All the Dangerous Things.

If you've read her previous two books Only If You're Lucky will be a bit of a surprise as Willingham changes directions. For one, Only If You're Lucky takes place primarily in a college setting as we follow our main character Margot during her freshman and sophomore years in college. Margot is in a state grief after her best friend tragically dies at the end of her senior year in high school. In an attempt to get outside of her comfort zone for once, she decides to room with three strangers for her college sophomore year. Things go sideways when a fraternity boy living next door is murdered and one of her roommates is missing.

I will admit this is not my favorite book by Willingham; however, it was still an engaging read. It is a slow burn mystery filled with morally gray, borderline unlikeable characters. You will find short chapters that alternate from past to present as we learn about the death of Margot's best friend and about the current investigations. Similar to her previous works, you can expect Willingham to sprinkle in social commentary about the themes in the book. In this particular case there are conversations about human nature and the duality of good vs evil and how those manifest in a person. There is an exploration of friendships, especially those that feel all-consuming, and those that inspire jealousy, possession and perhaps even murder.

Willingham does an incredible job laying down the foundation of the mystery. It's one of those books where details matter as she begins to unravel all of the clues she's laid out for you.

I'd recommend this to people who don't mind slower-paced reads filled with descriptive writing and unlikeable younger characters.

Thank you to Netgalley , St Martin's Press and Minotaur books for an electronic advanced reader copy of this book.

A slow burn mystery thriller, depicted in past and present timelines. This thriller is set within the college era, unraveling the intricacies of female friendships and discussing the abuse of fraternity hazing. Characters full of secrets, accusations, lies, truth or dare games, manipulation, and character ploys, this novel provokes the idea of what’s right and wrong, and what choices you’d make, if you knew there were no consequences. Full of characters that are not particularly likeable, this storyline kept pace with intriguing twists and enigma.

This novel is very different from Willingham’s previous works, but I enjoyed this one. It was quick to read, with short chapters, and I found myself invested in each character’s perception of the truth.

Thank you to NetGalley , St. Martins Press , and Minotaur Books for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another FANTASTIC novel by Stacy Willingham. An engaging story filled with twists, and turns, questionable whodunnit scenarios, and a jaw-dropping finale.
Stacy Willingham never ceases to amaze me with her ability to narrate a story so well, to have me guess maybe somewhat right, but wrong at the same time. The story itself draws in and grasps hold of the reader from the very beginning.
The story follows a young college-bound woman who had to face some dramatic, life-altering situations prior to attending. Once at college, her life turns upside down and an alternate reality occurs, for the better. Or so it seems.....
Many shady, questionable situations arise within the story, incriminating characters of awful things. It's all fun and games until someone winds up dead.
I highly recommend reading this novel upon release. If you are a fan of either of Stacy Willingham's other novels "A Flicker in the Dark" or "All The Dangerous Things," this new novel will not disappoint.

This book was so much fun! There were a lot of twists and turns and it really kept me on my toes. It also brought me right back to my college days. What a wild ride!

Only If You Are Lucky is my new favorite book by Stacy Willingham.
Margot has had a hard 2 years. She lost her best friend and cut herself off from everyone her freshman year of college. But now Margot is ready for a change. When Lucy asks Margot to be her 3rd roommate, Margot jumps at the chance. Everyone wants to be noticed by Lucy, and becoming part of her clique might be the change Margot needs.
But then halfway through sophomore year, one of the boy’s next door is murdered and Lucy goes missing. What secrets are hiding at this college campus?
I really liked this book about a popular girl and her group of friends in college. Everyone in the clique was very different, and they all had secrets they were hiding. I especially thought Lucy was interesting, mysterious and kind of creepy; she was just as addicting as she was to the characters in the book.
I did find some parts of the book unrealistic, particularly the end. Some events just don't statistically happen that often.
The book was told in two timelines from Margot’s point of view - before and after someone dies. I thought this made the book refreshing and more intriguing.
The book was just so thrilling. The twists were not overkill, and it just fell into place perfectly in the end. I could not put the book down and I would definitely recommend this book to others.

This was a super dark and twisty campus thriller novel. The story circles around Margot, a shy, reserved girl going away to college and hoping to escape her old life. At the end of her first year she meets Lucy, who is charismatic , magnetic and dangerous. She quickly get enmeshed with Lucy and two other girls, who all become roommates. Slowly things start to unravel from here, and things are clearly not always what they seem. I loved the twists and turns in this one and it kept me on the edge of my seat and flipping pages. I thought it was a perfectly paced thriller and I loved it! Stacy Willingham is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine and I will read anything she writes!

Thank you to @netgalley, @stmartinspress and @stacywillingham for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review. Go get your preorders in for this one, out Jan 16, 2024.

ARC review! I loved the exploration of female friendship and all of the factors that contribute to relationship dynamics, especially during the college years. Intrigue was VERY high; I wanted to know how everything connected which kept me picking the book back up.

The time jumps got confusing. I would have appreciated reading the plot sequentially to fully immerse myself in the story. Some plot twists were expected.

If you are a fan of the horror/crime movie The Roommate from 2011, I would highly recommend this read! Overall I had a good time.

🌟🔥 5 STAR BOOK REVIEW 🔥🌟 featuring “Only If You’re Lucky” by Stacy Willingham!

Margot’s first year at college is nothing like the one she pictured with her bestfriend Eliza. She ends up going alone and spends the year studying and keeping to herself. Eliza was the outgoing one who always pushed Margot out of her comfort zone. Without her, Margot feels lost, alone and uncertain. That is UNTIL she meets Lucy at the end of the year. And then EVERYTHING changes.

Margot agrees to move into a house with three girls who are complete strangers. Lucy is the popular “it” girl and Margot cannot understand why she was chosen as the lucky one to move into a house with them. Soon she gets introduced to the REAL college life: late nights, fraternity parties, drinking, drugs and being totally rebellious. Margot starts to feel like she belongs to something since Eliza … until a boy in the frat house next door ends up murdered and Lucy goes mysteriously missing without a trace 🤫

BRAVO to Stacy Willingham on yet another outstanding thriller! The dark academia vibes, the dangerous side of female friendships and the sinister effects of jealousy all come together perfectly 🫶🏻

Thank you kindly to @stacyvwillingham @minotaur_books @stmartinspress @netgalley for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This stunner releases on January 16th, 2024! If you loved “In My Dreams I Hold a Knife” or “The It Girl”, then you need this one on your TBR!!

“What we did together is tattooed across all of us now, a permanent mark like a friendship bracelet tied right around our wrists. Like a broken heart drawn in sunscreen, only while when we stick together. In time, it may fade but it’ll never truly be gone - because if one goes down, we all go down, which might be the most steadfast act of friendship I’ve ever even known”. - Only If You’re Lucky

This was a little bit of a disappointment for me because I really enjoyed this author's other two books and this one felt very different. This was a slow moving story which on one hand I can understand because this author really wanted us to get invested in the characters but I think it took to long for us to get to the root of this mystery. This was told in a before/after timeline which I really don't think was necessary because the after timeline chapters were extremely short and most of the time didn't really provide anything important or interesting. The big thing with this book were the characters and unfortunately they just weren't that interesting to me. There was nothing that really drew me into them like I wanted. I did think some of the reveals were interesting but still nothing that ultimately blew me away. This one didn't work for me like I was hoping but I will still continue to pick up more from this author.

I loved Stacy Willingham’s last two novels. Only if You’re Lucky is the story of Margot who recently lost her best friend and spent the last yeah basically hiding as she started college. When the popular girl who seems larger than life asks her to be the 4th roommate in a house off campus she sees it as an opportunity to start living again. Told and two timelines we see her moving into this house and becoming friends with Lucy and Lucy missing and her and the roommates being questioned about where she can be. The premise is interesting and drew me in but the passing was slow at points and left me not wanting to read it as fast as Stacy’s last books. The connections and what you learn throughout was a good twist I just wished it was executed a little better. I did like the Jekyll and Hyde mentions throughout the book that makes you wonder about good and evil and who that might really apply to. I did not like Eliza’s story or really understand her motivations. Might have rated higher if her parts were different.

What a twisted tale! Some many tangles in this one!

Admittedly, it was a slow start. I really struggled in the beginning. It was very descriptive & took a bit for me to be fully invested. A bit repetitive.

But then at like 70%, it ramped all the way up and i flew through it. The twists and turns and the revelations had me flipping them pages so fast!

I was shocked by the end. The web of lies was spun so tight!!! Sooo good! There’s one thing i had guessed but the many others, i was surprised by!

Stacy Willingham is still an autobuy author for me!

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: January 16, 2024
Stacy Willingham, author of “A Flicker in the Dark”, brings mystery, intrigue and the complex naiveté of blooming female friendships, and the desire to belong with her new novel, “Only If You’re Lucky”.
Margot is hoping her first year of college will broaden her horizons- and allow her to start over after losing her best friend, Eliza, in a terrible accident a few months before. When she meets Lucy Sharpe, gregarious, beautiful and captivating, Margot is quickly taken under her spell. Soon Lucy and Margot are sharing an off-campus house with two of Lucy’s friends, Nicole and Sloane, and the four develop a close bond almost immediately. But through all the parties, the studying and the late-night hangouts, Margot begins to notice that something is off about Lucy, and she’s seeing connections to Eliza that she can’t explain. Is Margot willing to risk her newfound sense of belonging in order to uncover the truth of who Lucy really is?
“Lucky” is both gripping and entertaining, not only thick with the theme of grief and loss, but also the fragility of newfound relationships and the desperation to belong and become something better. The story is told completely by Margot, in the time before an incident, and the time after, although most of the story takes place within the same year time frame. Slowly, Margot reveals the secrets of her past, as she tries to keep her new relationship with Lucy afloat.
Margot is easy to relate to, albeit a little naïve and self-conscious (although who isn’t at that age?). As the reader finds out more and more about who she is, a quick alliance is formed. There is sympathy for Margot as well, as she tries to recover from the trauma of losing her closest friend. Throughout the novel there is a subtle mystique about Lucy, and when the truth was revealed, it was both shocking and unexpected. I loved the twists and turns that Willingham delivered!
“Only If You’re Lucky” pulled me in from the start, and I struggled to put it down! I was immediately invested in the outcome, and was desperate to know the truth about Lucy (and Levi, too, for that matter). I loved how Willingham tied the ending together so nicely, while still managing to add an entertaining twist!

Thank you @minotaur_books for the #gifted copy of this book!

This is my third book by Stacy and once again she delivers! Out of the 3 I’ve read this one is not my most favorite but still very entertaining and enjoyable!

It’s been a while since I’ve read dark academia which is actually one of my favorite things to read about. In this book, we meet Margot who is a young woman trying to escape her hometown and all of the sadness that comes with losing her best friend Eliza back home. She attends college out of state and ends up meeting a group of girls, Nicole, Sloane, and Lucy. These group of girls help her come out of her shell and really come into her own personality, especially Lucy. I don’t want to give too much away here but Levi, a boy from Margot’s hometown turns up at college and stirs up feelings from Margot’s past. Soon one of the fraternity boys ends up dead and Lucy disappears. The police and college students try to uncover what happened and secrets, lies, envy and deceit unravels friendships and loyalties.

I liked the alternating timelines where we gained insight into the younger Eliza and Margot. I once again fall for everything the author throws at me so I was 100% shocked at the ending. Just call me Gullible McGee over here. 🤣 The ending was pretty intense and although not completely believable i still loved how it unfolded. I also really loved to hear about the author basing this idea on her real life college home. 💕 I’ve got one of those houses from my college career which completely took on a life of its own thanks for a slumlord so I understand why her house stuck out to her! It made me love the book even more. 😍 If you’re looking for a dark academia book with shocking twists grab yourself a copy. It will be published soon!

I had high expectations for this as I loved her book A Flicker in the Dark, but I overall just found this book okay. It never really hooked me and the the main character Margo annoyed me some of the times. It didnt pack the punch I felt her prior two books did.

I first want to start by saying I absolutely loved “Flicker in the Dark” I couldn’t put it down as soon as I cracked the spine. This was definitely not quite the same. The story was a much slower paced story telling.

I will say that in this book and unusual thing happened. I didn’t tie parts of this story together until it was unfolding. I can usually do it easy with suspense/thriller reads. Not this time! The twists and turns of the main characters had my saying “what” out loud several times. So while a slow burn there were definitely big positives of the story overall.

In regards to the overall book: The characters are well developed, the plot line precise while detailed & well rounded. There aren’t gaps or portions that leave holes or questions left hanging. I really enjoyed the before/after perspectives of the story.

A synopsis of the book is that Margot a naive high schooler is mourning the death of her best friend as she heads off to her 1st year in college. While there she realizes how much the loss of her energetic & outgoing friend has impacted her life, of which she begins to be drawn to a similar girl (Lucy) at school. They become roommates year two. And the true story of her friends death begins to unravel that involves her new roommate, her dead best friend/her family and her dead best friends boyfriend. Along with a fraternity house rental, true to life college experiences like out of hand frat parties & two roommates who she will carry a forever bond with in life. You will likely find yourself working through the slow burn of the story to find out what the real tea is tying everyone together.

Huge thank you to Minotaur Books, St. Martins Press & NetGalley for this early reader copy in return for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collin’s for this ARC! This was a great read with one of my favorite settings, a college/fraternity. There was great character dynamic and a solid twist right at the end. The timeline jumps were a little confusing at times as to where we were time wise but overall enjoyable and twisty read!

"Only If You're Lucky" was another unputdownable Thriller from Stacy Willingham.

I really enjoyed how this story was told in a dual timeline, the small glimpses of the past helped me understand the present predicament that the main characters found themselves in. As always the author threw in some well-placed twists and turns that made this a thrilling read.

I will absolutely be recommending this book often, this author puts out very solid Thrillers and her books are becoming auto-buys for me!

Thank you Stacy Willingham, Net Galley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Oooh this was good! Neither of her subsequent books has matched Flicker in the Dark for me, but Willingham remains a dependable choice for solid psychological/crime thrillers.

As a main character, I did not find Margot very compelling. However, I kind of think that was on purpose? She was meant to be a blank slate, that’s how she was written; I just prefer a main character I can really root for. That being said, the plot was strong enough to carry this novel despite its lack of a character I truly cared for.

The twists were twisty as ever - Willingham does not disappoint when it comes to twists in her novels! I predicated a couple of them, but failed to put all the pieces together and was satisfied with how the author tied it all together.

Overall, this was a really solid read. I enjoyed it, I didn’t want to put it down, I mulled over the possible answers to the countless questions as the book went on, but ultimately this didn’t hit 5 star status for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

4/5

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC. I wanted to love this one so much because I liked both of Stacy Willingham’s books. I was excited to see that I was approved for this one but this one not for me. The book was detailed but not interesting to me which I feel it was due to the age of the characters. I am not quite sure as I have children the age of characters in the novel but I just found this book ..strange...😞. I want to be approved again for one of her books and I know this has to be just a one off.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advance copy. I absolutely loved this author’s debut novel - A Flicker in the Dark, and also enjoyed All the Dangerous Things. This newest fell a little flat for me. I loved the slow burn suspense and the writing style. I just couldn’t get invested in the story and the characters seemed one dimensional and dull. It came across as leaning towards YA, which isn’t a genre I usually enjoy. I’ve seen many other early reviewers loving this book, so I have no doubt it will find many happy readers.