This has been advertised as a book about college students, friendship, loyalty, envy and belonging. And it definitely features every single one of those topics. The book follows Margot through her sophomore year at Rutledge College, the girls she lives with, and the frat house next door. In her acknowledgements, Willingham mentions that the house itself is based on her own living situation in college. And I think that is exactly what made this book so special. Her depiction of college life, of the shyness and earnestness, the trust and betrayals, all felt true, but the environment everything happened in is what made it completely realistic.
The thriller component of this story unfolds through two timelines, the summer and current timeline in the fall. The main distinction between the two is the insertion of a detective, who is looking for their missing roommate. The back and forth between the timelines wasn’t confusing, but the amounts of information given started to get annoying. It felt like each “Before” chapter was an information dump while each “After” chapter had nothing new to offer. Despite that, I really enjoyed the storyline, and thought the twists were handled expertly. Each reveal had been slowly teased through multiple chapters, and getting to the answers felt almost doubly rewarding.
I really enjoyed this book, and think it hits all the standard thriller criteria. It was exciting, twisty, and had exceptionally well-written teenage characters. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an academic thriller that doesn’t feel stuffy or pretentious!
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy!

It pains me to write this review - I struggled so badly with this book. It took me months to get through. I was so displeased because typically this author is a favorite of mine.

Margot, goes to college, after suffering a pretty heavy traumatic experience. She meets a few new friends and things aren’t what they seem, yadda yadda yadda.

The end was unexpected and I so wish the first 80% of the book reflected the same type of movement within the story. I could not wrap my head around these girls and their apathetic nature, resulting in my own apathy towards them.

The cover of the book is great, the writing is great, the ending was great. The rest of the book needed something else - different character names (Levi, Lucy, Lucas, Eliza - so many L’s!), more favorable protagonists, more excitement overall…just something other than this.

I received an ARC copy of this from Netgalley.
This is a story about female friendships and the extreme lengths some would go to to protect the ones they love, and themselves.
In this story we follow Margot a college freshman, living in the dorms away from
her hometown for the first time after the sudden death of her childhood best friend.
This story had great character development, but was also fast paced. I really enjoyed it.
4.5 ⭐️

Stacy Willingham’s mysteries always keep you on the edge of your seat and her newest title, Only if You’re Lucky, is no exception.

Margot tries to move on after losing her best friend Senior year in high schoo and starts college at a small liberal arts school in South Carolinal. After spending Freshman year mourning the loss and hiding in her all girls dorm with her new roommate, shy, cautious Margot is ready for a change. When magnetic, bold Lucy asks her to be the fourth in an off-campus house Sophomore year, Margot excitedly decides to take a chance and agrees. Together with Sloane and Nicole, the four girls have very different personalities yet become very close friends.
This psychological thriller builds when a student is murdered and another goes missing. It seems that everyone has a secret.

The character’s unique personalities are so richly detailed that the reader feels each awkward interaction, the painful ramifications of peer pressure and the betrayal of trusted friends. Readers will love the fast pace of Only if You’re Lucky and just wait for the unexpected surprise at the end!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy in return for my honest review.

When Margot is chosen by Lucy Sharpe to be the 4th roommate at their fraternity-owned rental, Margot is thrust into a different world of parties, drugs, and belonging. But when a member of the frat is found dead and Lucy goes missing, secrets from Margot's past are brought up and may be the key to discovering what happened to them.

I admit this read started off a bit slow and had a hard time holding my interest. But once it picked up, it was like Bam Bam Bam! One twist after another, each better than the last, and it made every slow moment worth it. The characters were all shady and I didn't know who to trust. I love the dark academia setting and the different timelines. I've read all of this author's books and will look forward to the next one!

Margot just barely survived her freshman year at her South Carolina college. Majoring in English and missing her childhood best friend she lives in an all female dorm with 24 other girls on her floor. Shy, never a leader, and never the center of attention she is a careful one.

Lucy is enigmatic and bold; the quintisential "cool" girl with an air of mystery. Usually flanked by her sidekicks Sloane and Nicole and rarely seen in any of her classes.

Lucy is very much like Margot's childhood best friend Eliza. When Lucy approaches Margot to move into an off campus house, with a bunch of frat bros as landlords, Margot decides to finally take a risk. She comes out of her shell, makes new friends, and runs into old aquintances.


Personally I did not have a live at college experience- but if i did I would have expected it to begin like Margot's A house on my own with friends, parties next door, and friendsgiving. What I wouldn't have expected was the death of a neighborhood frat bro and a missing person's case to content with.

The dual time-line of the story examines friendship, belonging, and daily college life both before and after Margot finds the body of her neighbor frat bro after a night of drinking and debuachery on a local island. The book toes the line between YA and NA with the final twist being slightly unbelievable, however I really enjoyed it. I generally like when characters on the cusp of adulthood are faced with both age appropriate & inappropriate situations and struggle to find solutions to either without the guidance of established authority. This one was a definite slow burn with lots of different threads of mystery coming together in the final reveal.

Fans of Pretty Little Liars, Mean Girls, and How to Get Away with Murder would more than likely enjoy this one!

Lucy Sharpe is the”it” girl on the college campus. Margot is rather shy. Never the center of attention, Margot is completely drawn in by Lucy’s energy. The two girls meet at the end of Freshman year and become fast friends. Moving into off campus housing they become inseparable. Margot is completely infatuated with Lucy and the two other girls she lives with. But, when Lucy suddenly disappears, it starts to feel like nothing is as it may seem.
•
Sadly this one was a miss for me. Having read both Willingham’s previous books, I had high hopes for this one. To me, this story felt a bit slow for me. I wasn’t very connected to the characters or the storyline. Many times I felt myself thinking the story was over written. Too many few descriptions to get across a simple point. I absolutely LOVED All the Dangerous Things, but unfortunately this one is falling into the same category as A Flicker in the Dark. I have to say this one is a no from me.
•
I can see the appeal though, and believe there is an audience for this one. I wouldn’t let my opinion turn you away.

3.75. I absolutely love this author's previous books and was so excited when I rec'd an ARC to read her latest. Her books are always a one or two day read because I cannot put them down. This was no different - it involves a girl and her best friend who are supposed to go to college together in the fall. Then one friend dies and the story follows the one who goes on to college. She is quite lonely the first year but then she is befriended by a girl on her dorm floor at the end of her first year and they move in together with two others into a house next door to a fraternity. This friend is very illusive and puzzling and I had a lot of fun trying to figure out who, what and why in this book. If you like mean girls/college girls/drama/toxic relationships then you'll love this book.

Thank you so much to Stacy Willingham and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book before it publishes in January.

“You’re only young once, and only if you’re lucky."

‘Changing it up’ is risky. For some authors, it doesn’t work. For Stacy Willingham, dipping her toes into a subgenre - it definitely worked. I loved this book.

I shouldn’t have enjoyed it. I don’t care for younger characters, I never joined a fraternity, I never lived in a frat house. I never did drugs or got ‘wasted.’

BUT…as a university student..

I did know what it was like to be “vanilla, malleable. A blank slate.”
I did know what it was like to want to belong.
I did know what it was like to want to change who I am.
I did know what it was like to be a chameleon and blend in with my surroundings.

PLUS…

Willingham’s writing style is superb! I love her ability to drop a clue at just the right time. So many times I stopped reading because I had a lightbulb moment … knowing that the clue was there, I’d read it before but had missed its significance. The author’s journalism studies definitely added to her ability to tell a great story; she writes a taut plot and surprises readers with the different angles she takes and the way she can get to the meat of the story.

Piggybacking the above thought about hidden clues, I absolutely loved looking for the Easter eggs Willingham placed in this one. I was aware of the inspiration behind this novel and loved seeing clues show up in the story. I found 6 and no, I won't give them away. Being an active reader really increases my enjoyment.

Yes, this one is different from her previous two thrillers. I’ve only read All The Dangerous Things (5-star read) and can tell you that this one is also a thriller, it also has a house as a main character, it has the same wonderfully descriptive writing style and vivid setting, there are still multiple twists and it still messes with your head. What is different is the types and ages of characters and the dark academia storyline. With college-aged characters, there’s a lot of ‘college life’ packed into the story. It enhances the storyline.

You’ll read about
✔️Rejection
✔️acceptance/belonging
✔️Being a part of something bigger than oneself


Two things:

😁 I don’t think I’ll ever look at my couch cushions the same way ever again…will they cough?

😁 I won’t forget the Lord of the Flies vibes I got when I read “I suddenly remember the way the shed smelled the very first time I stepped inside; that metallic tang, like something decayed, that has since become as commonplace as the vanilla perfume…I barely notice it anymore, the smell of death.”

“It feels good, doesn’t it? To finally get what you want.”

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

This managed to take my breath away. I loved every second and when I finished my jaw dropped. I can’t wait to read more by this author. She’s good. Real real good.

I'm a fan of Stacy Willingham. She's great with character development, enticing story lines and enough suspense to keep you glued to the pages. Only if You're Lucky does not disappoint. Margot is a shy college freshman who is taken in by Lucy, the popular exciting "it" girl on campus. Life is exciting and fun with the new friends but soon things take a turn for the worse. This was a definite page turner, with twisty turns and an ending you won't see coming!

This is the first book I have read by Stacy Willingham and it will not be the last!

Margot has been through something tragic and needs to move on with her life. When she goes to college she is a mousy girl living with the loss of her best friend. She meets Lucy who takes her under her wing, thinking she found her new BBF she slowly starts to learn that things are not always as they seem and not everyone is who they appear to be.

I received this as an ARC download on netgalley and started it as a new "treadmill book" which turned into a all the time book because I had to know what was going to happen!

I loved the suspense, it had me wanting more throughout the entire book
I loved how unpredictable it was! I did not see the twist coming and that hasn't happened in a long time!!
The lies and truths were shocking
It touched on a couple of sensitive subjects - relationship sexual assault being one of them
And I can not leave out the age old question.... If you could get away with it, would you kill someone?

I very much enjoyed this simmering slow burning look at toxic female friendships. I thought it was really well done and the mystery was one that slowly fell into place, but still caught me off guard. Margot was a really complex character. She starts off a little bland and numb (and I think that’s on purpose), but once we really get to know her, she has a really intriguing POV. I also liked the look at fraternity culture and how dangerous it can be. It is very much a character driven novel rather than plot, which I know is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it certainly is for me. I could feel the tension and the eerie vibe that bad things were going to happen and it kept me absolutely engaged in the story. I did think it maybe needed one more POV, just for some variety and complexity, but I still enjoyed just reading from Margot’s. If you’re into character driven books with dysfunctional female friendships and a college setting, give this one a try!
TW: death, excessive drinking, drug use, sexual assault

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes it works for thriller writers to infuse tension and suspense into relatively mundane situations. For approximately 300 pages, this is what Willingham attempted to do in her latest book. Unfortunately it was just too slow and uneventful to make that work. I have read her other two books, and I loved them, so this was a huge disappointment. I expected a sharp and interesting thriller that kept me guessing but this just had me wishing for it to end. The main character, was, frankly, awful, and since we only get her pov, we are left to wonder about the motivations of all the other characters. Margot’s bff from high school dies before she starts college. Margot made us all think Levi the new neighbor who Eliza was dating did it, because she a jealous psychopath. Margot still goes to the school Eliza picked because she had to refuse to follow her mother’s plan even though she only picked it for Eliza. She then becomes obsessed with Lucy.

We get to know almost nothing about Lucy or Eliza except that Margot is a drop of a person who is obsessed and clingy with whoever happens to give her attention, so long as she deems them “cool enough.” her freshman roommate Maggie was the only decent person in her life and she threw her away like garbage as soon as she could.

50% of the book is Margot’s introspection when was quite dull. 25% of the book was college kids getting drunk and the author making frat parties seem a lot more sinister than any I ever experienced. Around 25% (yes I can math) is the actual plot of the book. It unravels really fast towards the end, and I predicted only one of the 3 big twists, but it wasn’t worth the slog to get to the “big reveal”.

The writing was nice, but just so excessive for the plot. Nothing irritates me more than full pages of thought in between short sentences of dialogue, and literal pages that accomplish nothing. I was thrilled to get this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, and I really hope the next book by Willingham is more in line with All the Dangerous Things.

Only If You're Lucky has a dual timeline, set in a college house with 19 yr olds and some good pacing and twists. I feel that it should be marketed towards older YA, do they call that New Adult now? If I was solely reading this from that perspective, I would like it way more. I think that is where it's audience is. It is similar to The It Girl by Ruth Ware, if you liked that book you may like this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

3.5 rounded up!! I didn't love it as much as her other thrillers , and I felt like it was overly contrived for a lot of it, but by 66% I was hooked and had to know everything. Good twists I didn't see coming!!

I so enjoyed this book! I admit that I have a strange affinity for creepy stories starring college aged people making (generally) poor decisions, but this one was so well written that it was just a pleasure to read and not a guilty pleasure. I dare you to guess the end before you get there; it's pretty tricky and moves slow enough that there aren't too many fakeouts before you reach the real climax.

Overall, this book was dark and eerie, and showed that sometimes the real horrors are the most innocent looking ones.

Four teenage girls experience betrayals, secrets, and lies and I have to say that the twist at the end was one I wasn’t expecting! Although this wasn’t my favorite Stacy Willingham book, I did still enjoy it a lot. I felt that it was full of a lot of unexpectedness, and I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen next. I give this book 3/5 stars, and I’m excited that I got to read this in advance. Thank you NetGalley!

I loved this story because it felt so real. The trials of friendships among women as they grow up and how men come between them. Also the secrets that teenagers harbour from eachother even when you claim to be best friends. I loved the complexity to this mystery!

Lucy is the girl everyone hates to love but why? Margot heads to college after the death of her best friend Eliza completely rocks her world. I did not see the ending coming with this one on several fronts but I have never been disappointed with a Stacy Willingham book yet! Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!