I have mixed feelings about this one...

This book is about following the lives of college girls desperate to belong and wants to fit in... they will do stupid shit, even murder... filled with unlike characters, jealousy, envy, and revenge... who play games like "spin the bottle" and drink excessively until they black out. While I don't want to be insulting by saying this book was intended for a younger audience, the truth is that I found it lacking in substance. The story was mostly about trivial things, with only about 5% of it being truly engaging. Therefore, I would recommend skipping this book altogether.

I appreciate the references to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that are relevant to their respective characters...but I found the story neither unique, entertaining, nor engaging...will I read another Stacy Willingham book?.. definitely.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the eARC

While short chapters and rapid jumps between timelines isn't always my favorite format to read, Stacy Willingham knows how to make it work.

Three roommates find themselves in a police interview room after their roommate has gone missing. She's been implicated in the death of another college student, and from the start we can tell that these girls all have something to hide.

A compelling rollercoaster, mostly through the depth of the characters. Especially Lucy, the mystery around her and how she effects Margot. How she drew Margot into her new life, embedded her in the house and the lives of her roommates.

Margot came to college not over the death of her best friend, Eliza. They were supposed to be at school together, and for freshman year Margot grieved, sitting safely inside her dorm room. She avoided going home as much as she could, and when Lucy Sharpe approaches her last minute with an offer for off campus housing - and a reason to avoid going home for the summer - Margot is quick to snap it up.

The college setting, and especially the fraternity house next door, play a role, but aren't really focused on. The pace of the book isn't bogged down with classes, since the meat of the story takes place elsewhere. In the past that shaped Margot, the relationships and the events that led up to the death of a student. And the disappearance of Lucy.

A great thriller, compelling with good twists and characters almost frightening in their magnetism.

The book alternates between “Before” and “After” one of the characters is murdered and another goes missing. The first two thirds of the book was a bit slow for me as the characters were developed and the events leading up to the murder/disappearance unfolded. However, the last third of the book sucked me in and I flew through it. I didn’t see the twists coming, and I loved the short chapters and the college setting! Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the ARC in consideration for my honest review!

3.5 rounded up.
Lucy Sharpe is a just one of those girls that an air of mystique and a hint of danger who, when she’s friends with you, makes you feel important. This quality makes her impossible to resist when she draws Margot, a reserved college freshman, into her orbit. Margot, usually in the background, is intrigued when Lucy invites her to move into an off-campus house with Lucy and two other girls.
Margot uses this as an opportunity to try to break out of her shell following the death of her best friend, Eliza. However, the growing bond between Margot and Lucy takes a dark turn when a neighboring fraternity member is murdered, and Lucy disappears, leaving Margot in the midst of a situation she couldn’t have prepared for.

What happens when you try to reinvent yourself in college and your new friend group is a little more than you bargained for? If you enjoy suspenseful books about friendship that borderlines on obsessive and the consequences that may come with it, this is a book for you. This dual timeline book is a doozy. It had me guessing the whole way through and aspects of the ending still managed to surprise me.

Thanks to Stacy Willingham, NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this ARC.

Good characters and story. Good pacing. Throughout. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Stacy Willingham's Only If You're Lucky unfolds a chilling exploration of friendship, envy, and betrayal within the confines of a South Carolina liberal arts college. Margot, grappling with the recent loss of her best friend Eliza, is drawn into the magnetic orbit of Lucy Sharpe, leading to the formation of an off-campus household with two other girls. As the narrative navigates the complexities of their relationships, a brutal murder and Lucy's mysterious disappearance add a sinister layer to the story. Willingham's deliberate pacing, while differing from her previous works, masterfully crafts a psychological thriller that balances character depth with unexpected twists. The novel, rich in thematic elements of revenge and jealousy, challenges assumptions and keeps readers engaged, solidifying Willingham's reputation as a storyteller adept at weaving intricate details into a captivating narrative.

Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me but if you love college setting mysteries this story is for you! The betrayal had me gasping in a surprise I did not see coming. Thank you NetGalley for sending me an eARC for my honest review.

Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can't say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

Only If You're Lucky is a little different than Willingham's previous books which I loved. This was a bit of a slow burn and seemed to be geared more towards college aged readers BUT the ending is *chef's kiss* amazing! I really enjoy stories with unlikeable characters and this book has it. I did go into this with pretty high expectations as her other books were so good and was let down a bit. I would give this a solid 3 stars.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St, Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and the author for an ARC of this book which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own. Publication date: January 16, 2024.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham.

Margot is a shy, Plain Jane girl who is attending college in South Carolina. The story begins with Margot staying with friends (Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole) in a house that is owned and connected to a frat house. One of the boys, Levi, was murdered and Lucy is missing. The story flips back and forth between Before and After. Margot struggles with friendships and coming out of her shell. She has lost her best friend, Eliza, before going to college. What happened to Levi, Lucy, and Eliza?

This was a slow-burn psychological thriller/mystery. It is about friendships, influences, and being two-faced. There are references to Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde that portray the characteristics of these teenagers and their friendships with one another. You get the POV of Margot throughout the whole story. Because this was about teenagers, it felt very YA to me. There is a lot of Truth or Dare, drinking, gossiping, etc. happening throughout. I don't think that made the story bad, but I wasn't expecting YA. The way the story was told reminded me of something from Rachel Hawkins like Reckless Girls. While it was a good story, I expected something different from Stacy Willingham. It felt different from her last two books. However, this author is very good at descriptive writing which I really appreciate and enjoy.

The characters were fleshed out well. It was hard to tell the real side of each character, which added to the theme of the story and is true to life. Stacy Willingham has an author's note at the end discussing the inspiration from her own experiences in college. She also has some references to the Beatles which I liked.

I will warn there are talks of sexual assault, if that is a trigger please skip this one.

Overall I give this story 3.5 stars; rounding up to 4 for Goodreads. If you like the show Cruel Summer, this is for you!

I find that I enjoy thrillers more when I have absolutely no idea what I'm getting into. Therefore, I won't provide a summary of this one, except to say that it's a college setting and revolves around close female relationships.

I really enjoy Stacy Willingham's writing style and her pacing/cadence, though I recognize that not everyone does. My favorite of her books so far is [book:All the Dangerous Things|60784636], but I liked this as well. Though I found Margot to be an unlikeable MC, I don't think it detracted from the story or the twists. Just be forewarned that if you require connection with your thriller characters, you may not enjoy this book as much as I did.

I also found it suuuper fun to discover that major pieces of this story are based on the author's actual college experiences!

Thank you to Stacy Willingham, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy.

I was extremely excited to receive this ARC as I think Stacy’s other 2 books are 5 star reads. This was such a let down. I felt like the entire time I was waiting for it to get good and it just never did. I was honestly very bored. I love stacy and look forward to reading more books by her but this one fell short for me

3.5 stars

Stacy Willingham is one of my favorite newly discovered authors that I've read in 2023. Her first two books thrilled me and surprised me along the way, so I went into Only If You're Lucky with pretty high expectations. I left still entertained, but slightly disappointed- I believe this will be her most divisive book to date in terms of reader response.

This is a completely different book from A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things. For starters, the book is set in college, with age-appropriate characters, activities, thoughts/feelings, etc., which is a departure from her older narrators. It's focused a lot on the complicated dynamics of female friendships, social acceptance, and jealousy. None of these are negative- they are just a shift from the focus of her other two books, which focus on women in their careers, engaged/divorced, having children.

The book still contains Willingham's distinct writing style and voice, which I have loved ever since I read A Flicker in the Dark; I could recognize her writing just by style alone. It's a compelling, but slower, story, with not a ton happening all the time except learning the relationships amongst the girls. It still features a past storyline set in high school, which I felt wasn't as interesting as the past storylines in the first two books.

I think the book falters with its giant twist, but if you aren't as concerned with the realism of a twist, I think you should be fine. It's an interesting wrinkle, but I don't know if it holds up to scrutiny in a way where I could suspend disbelief. It didn't ring true for my own college experience and those of my friends, which felt essential to being able to accept the twist on face value.

I think a lot of people will enjoy Only If You're Lucky if you're a fan of Willingham's first two novels, which I wholeheartedly recommend still, but I think this one is a step down from All The Dangerous Things. I am still looking forward to whatever her next novel will be, because if nothing else, Willingham knows how to write a compelling story.

I was really excited and appreciative to receive Only If You're Lucky as an ARC! I read both of Stacy Willingham's previous novels and absolutely loved them! This novel is a solid 4 stars for me. It is a little different from her previous works - it has more of a slow-burn start. However, the twist at the end caught me by surprise and I couldn't put it down at the 70% mark. I really enjoyed the setting and how it was inspired by Stacy's college experience.

Thank you NetGalley, Stacy Willingham, and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have read all of Stacy Willingham’s thrillers so I was excited to dive into Only If You’re Lucky. It was a bit too slow paced for me. The plot didn’t have a lot going on for me to truly feel engaged in it. I liked how it all came together in the end, lots of secrets revealed. It was a good thriller, but not great.

Right off the bat, this story felt really familiar like something I had read before. The thing I could most closely relate it to was Pretty Little Liars. I think the ending was good, I didn't really see it coming but the beginning just felt like I was rereading the typical lonely girl gets involved with the popular crowd and it all goes south story. The timelines are a bit confusing since it flips between multiple timeframes but the chapters don't necessarily make it clear where you are.

Only if You're Lucky follows Margot who is starting college alone in a new town. Her best friend just died and she is mourning her loss but also looking for a fresh start. She finds herself gravitating towards Lucy and her group of friends. While they party it up, Margot starts noticing odd behaviors in Lucy and finds herself reliving her past when Levi, the guy who last saw her best friend alive, shows up as her new neighbor. The timeline flips between Margot and the group of friends

This is a great mystery/thriller that had me hooked from the start. I enjoyed the character connection, and family drama. Lots of twists and turns, many I did not see coming. I you enjoy female friendships, a small town vibes thriller, be sure to pick this up. Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy of this e-arc. 4.5 stars

what happens when you put the shy one, the sarcastic one, the nice one, and the larger-than-life one in a college house together?

the answer?

people go missing. people turn up dead. secrets come out. secrets stay buried.
•

margot was suoposed to be starting at Rutledge College with her best friend by her side. but eliza isn’t here. she’s dead. and who is at Rutledge? her murderer.

will margot be able to keep running from the past? will she be able to reinvent herself the way she hopes becoming friends with lucy will allow her to? or will she be forced to face the truth? can people change or are they who they are, no matter what?
•

stacy willingham is always an immediate five star read for me. only if you’re lucky is different than her previous books—more of a slow-burn suspense than thriller. but she doesn’t miss. i was hooked from the beginning and found myself saying “what the f*ck” aloud at every twist. i highly recommend this one (and both of her others!)
•

thank you @minotaur_books for gifting me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review and opinion. thank you @stacywillingham for writing books good enough to make it to my top 10 reads for 2022 and 2023.

Stacy Willingham, you have yet to let me down 👏🏼
Book 3/3 that lands at 5 stars on my scale.

Margot moves to college while mourning the death of her best friend, who was supposed to be moving there with her. She’s quiet & shy, but ends up befriending and moving in with 3 of the more popular girls on campus. As she gets sucked into this new world and her social circle grows, she realizes how many secrets and lies she’s surrounded by, and how little she really knows about some of her best friends, both old and new.

I actually almost didn’t pick this one up just yet, because I wasn’t sure that I was quite in the mood for a thriller… but as usual, I was immediately hooked. The twists and turns- I thought, for certain at one point, that I had it all figured out, but at the very end, my jaw was left hanging.

Stacy has become an auto-buy-author for me, that I recommend to everyone when looking for a good thriller, and this book just solidified her even more as one of my favorites. This was one of my most anticipated upcoming reads, so I literally screamed when I was approved for an ARC. THANK YOU NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press! 📚

3.5 stars ⭐️

It was a slower start for me. It didn’t pick up until around 200 pages. It switched from present to senior year of high school to college years frequently. Sometimes to the point of which I lost track.

But, the twists I never saw coming!

Thank you for Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC.

What would you do for your true friends? This story might surprise you with what that might be. This is another amazing story by Stacy Willingham! I loved everything about the say she weaved the story together, slowly revealing everything. Even reading this story about college kids as a middle aged woman, I was thoroughly engrossed in this tale! Stacy Willingham continues to be a must read or me! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for allowing me to read this story!