3.5 stars

What to expect in this book:

-Dark academia
-Alternating timelines
-Pretty Little Liars vibes
-College campus setting

Thoughts 💭

This is my third of Stacy Willingham’s books and her upcoming release (publishes January 2024) and follows the story of Margot, a college student. Margot comes to Rutledge, a liberal arts college in the south, to escape the pain and heartbreak of losing her best friend, Eliza. When Margot is singled out by the alluring and popular Lucy Sharpe, she quickly can’t say no to befriending and living with her. Lucy and Margot move into a house owned by an on-campus fraternity with two other girls, Sloane and Nicole. When one of the fraternity boys is murdered and Lucy mysterious vanishes, Margot questions everything she knows about herself, Eliza, and Lucy. Can she trust the girl that she befriended? And can she trust the evil within herself?

In so many ways, this is a story of the battle of good and evil within all of us, the power of complexity that lies within us morally and ethically as people and especially in friendship. While there were many parts of this story that I enjoyed, I was ultimately let down. This book was less compulsive and enthralling than her previous two (A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things). I did not find the twists to be as unpredictable or shocking and felt like this was much more of a mystery than a thriller overall.

While this isn’t the most memorable of her books, I did enjoy reading it and am honored to receive an advanced reader’s copy thanks to #Netgalley and #stmartinspress. If you are a lover of mysteries and dark academia, be sure to look out for this one in January.

I love Stacy Willingham and was super excited to receive an ARC of this book! I ended up giving it 4 stars. The story was good and the twist at the end wasn't something I guessed, but I found myself skimming through pages just trying to get back to the plot. Overall good and I would recommend!

3.5 stars rounded up
This story to me was a YA coming of age about Margot who has a twisted relationship with her friends in the midst of a murder at her college. This books pacing was slower compared to the authors first 2 novels but it still had twists and turns that kept me guessing. Once I hit the 60% mark of the book I couldn’t stop reading because I finally was getting the pacing and the answers I needed.

Stacy Willingham’s first 2 novels were both 5 stars and I loved them so much that I just wasn’t expecting the turn into a YA story about college parties.

Things I enjoyed, the in depth look at friendships that grow and change through tragedy and trauma bonding. The lessons that Margot learned in the end that even your best of friends have secrets that they cant share. The character of Lucy she was the most intriguing because she was the most mysterious.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

5/5 stars! I love academia thrillers and this one didn’t disappoint. Especially love the multiple surprises at the ending.

Would be a perfect sept or Jan read to get into a new semester vibe.

This kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through! I highly recommend this to any thriller book clubs out there! Stacy Willingham does it again!

Jekyll and Hyde, good and evil, dark and light, love and violence. These words aptly describe the characters in this dark thriller. Quiet and shy Margot and bold and outgoing Eliza had been best friends since childhood with dreams of going to college together. But fate stepped in and Margot found herself going off to school alone. When she finds herself befriended by a trio of girls led by mysterious and fearless Lucy Sharpe, sinister events begin to unfold and just when you think you have it figured out, guess again.

As a big fan of Stacy Willingham, I was so excited to learn that she was releasing a third psychological thriller. My reaction to this one was very different as I found myself a little disturbed by the dark and chilling characters and the depth of the emotional mind games and toxicity in the friendships. But wow! Ms. Willingham did give a very powerful twist to wrap this one up!

Thank you NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Stacy Willingham for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

There is lovely flowing prose about friendship, trust, coming of age and spreading your wings. There are lessons about who we place our beliefs in and reliance on. While the plot is creative and inventive, this story didn’t draw me in on any level. I really enjoyed a previous book by this author, but couldn’t wait to finish this one for all the wrong reasons.
I never lived in a dorm or had roommates while in college. I expected to relish learning about the students and their experiences from that perspective. I wasn’t able to establish any attachment or even curiosity towards any of the characters. The events alternating between before and after just frustrated me. I did not guess the outcome, but I was mostly just trying to finish and move on to something else as quickly as possible. The last 25% was everything I had wished for in the first 75%. I always feel badly writing a negative review knowing the author worked tirelessly creating the novel. I feel certain that others will find it interesting. I will still consider reading future books written by Ms. Willingham.
An advance reader copy of “Only If You’re Lucky” by Stacy Willingham, St. Martin’s Publishing, Minotaur Books was provided by NetGalley. Publication is expected Jan. 16, 2024. These are all my own honest personal thoughts and opinions given voluntarily without compensation.

Stacy Willingham has quickly become one of my “must-read” authors. Her characters are multi-faceted and relatable. It was twisty how everything came together. Really enjoyable.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

First, I want to say, this should be rated YA. It has a very YA feel and is s college based novel.

Overall, this was a good thriller that kept me intrigued the whole way through.
It was well written and I did not see the ending going the way it did.

However, I didn't really like the story at all. I was disappointed in the way it ended up going.

Lucy is bold and dangerous and shines very brightly. Margot is the exact opposite but is drawn to Lucy at the end of their freshman year. They end up sharing a house together off campus with two other girls. Margot is finally starting to feel like the fog is lifting after her best friend Eliza died her senior year of high school.

Things are going well, and Margot feels like Lucy is her best friend. Until one of the boys from the fraternity next door unexpectedly dies and Lucy is missing.

I have enjoyed all of Stacy Willingham’s previous books and I was very excited to get this one. This one was a little different than her previous two books in that this one is not a police procedural, rather a thriller set around some college girls. I enjoyed getting to know Margot throughout the book. The writing is done exceptionally well, and on par with what I expected from this author. There was so much drama in this book that it sucked me in and captivated me from the start. Even though this one is a slow burn, it held my interest, and I couldn’t put it down. I liked the twists and didn’t see them coming, they were well done, and I’m still shocked. I think that this one is a good exploration of college aged and teenaged friendship. It was a little hard keeping track of all the characters, but once I had it down things were great.

Overall, this is a solid mystery / thriller and I recommend it to those looking for a book where nothing is as it seems.

Thank you to St Martins Press, Minotaur Books, @minotaur_books and Netgalley @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was highly anticipated by many, including me. However, I feel let down and misled, as I expected an adult psychological thriller. This read like a YA suspense novel. The characters of Eliza and Lucy were cardboard alpha females and I found it hard to bring myself to care. The main character was pathetic and kept making bad decisions. The wiring was engaging, which kept me reading, but the plot and characters were subpar. I love this author, but am disappointed in this, her third novel. Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my gifted digital advance reader copy!

Quiet and reserved freshman Margot is used to blending into the background. She's often overshadowed by her friends and forgotten by strangers. Lucy is Margot's polar opposite- she's magnetic, beautiful, and bold. She doesn't hesitate to say what she thinks and never hides how she feels. Seemingly out of the blue, Lucy invites Margot to live off-campus with her and two other girls in Margot's year. Somehow the girls draw Margot out of her shell, and she starts to come into her own, forming a particularly close bond with Lucy. By the middle of sophomore year, however, one of their neighbors was found murdered and Lucy is missing.

I was so excited to receive this book in advance, as Willingham's first two novels are among my favorite releases of the past two years. Here, she departs from her previous style of novel (police procedural, mystery) and dives headfirst into the dramatic world of the teenage girl and dark academia. If you've been following my reviews for a while, you may know that I am a sucker for a good boarding school/college murder mystery, and this one is no exception. I read this book in a single sitting while on a plane and was so spellbound that I barely slept.

While Willingham does traverse familiar ground, she does it exceptionally well. Between the drama among the girls, wanting to learn more about Lucy and Margot's respective pasts, and the murder investigation, this one had just enough of everything going on without being too overwhelming or over the top. I did predict a few of the twists early on, but found this to be an enjoyable and entertaining read nonetheless.

Fans of The Last Time I Lied (Riley Sager), The Divines (Ellie Eaton), The Lying Game (Ruth Ware), and The Maidens (Alex Michaelides) will probably lap this one up.

The third book by ms Willingham, and definitely won't be my last if she continues to bring out this solid, amazing books. This book had me sucked in from the very first chapter. And the writing, just absolutely beautiful! I hated, loved, and felt all the feelings each character had and was going through. What a solid solid 5 stars! I will definitely be recommending to my patrons!

This was a slow burn but satisfying story with rather unlikable characters that will keep you guessing. It poses the question of how far one would go for friends and also is about jealousy, wanting and trying to fit in, and making moral choices.

this book honestly kept me on my toes the entire time.


margot is nearing the end of her freshman year of college, she’s spent it kept to herself moving through the motions grieving the death of her best friend and supposed roommate eliza, who passed away 3 weeks after their hs graduation in an accident. but now a new girl has piqued margot’s interest.

her name is lucy. lucy is the type of girl who you know absolutely nothing about but want to know everything about. she brings in attention but also danger. when lucy singles out margot and asks her to move in with her and two other girls who live in margot’s hall, sloane & nicole, she’s reluctant at first thinking “why me?” but ultimately agrees.

but what happens when she starts realizing the same thing that pulled her towards lucy was the same pull with eliza? and what happens when someone connected to eliza comes back into margot’s life?

when i say i saw a few things coming but ultimately was left shocked. it has been DAYS since ive finished this and im still kinda shocked that i didn’t see it coming much. i think the twists were so well written, to the point where you see it coming but there’s a twist you may or may not have missed.

i think it does such a deep dive into friendships amongst adolescent girls, especially in college, that weird imbalance in the friend group where one is the “leader” and everyone goes along with it.

i enjoyed this book a lot, i binged the last 50% in a day and i couldn’t stop thinking about it every time i had to put it down. i will admit the inner monologue was quite repetitive at some points but otherwise, it kept me so intrigued.


it did remind me of the first season of pll, in how they always described allison as the girl who brought on danger and thrived in it bc it gave her attention.


overall, this was such a good thriller/mystery and i would love to read more stacy willingham

Thank you to Stacy Willingham, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGally for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Margot loses her best friend Eliza just before she heads off to college in South Carolina. Reeling from the loss, Margot does not do much during her freshman year besides go to class.

Margot finds her self enthralled with a girl on her hall, Lucy, and soon after meeting her, Margot decides to live with her sophomore year.

Sophomore year, Margot and Lucy, along with Sloane and Nicole, live in a house adjacent to a fraternity house.

The girls spend much of their time partying with the boys of Kappa Nu and visiting Lucy’s workplace after hours. And, there is a lot of drinking and poor decision making.

Someone from the past reappears, Margot is caught of guard, something seems off with Lucy, and Nicole is struggling.

And, let me tell you, that was a WILD ride!! So much to digest. What an adventure it was to read Only If You’re Lucky.

I’m pretty sure I’ll purchase the audio version when it comes out. And, may read it again, too, as I’m sure there are clues sprinkled throughout the book.

I think this is the first book I’ve read by Stacy Willingham, and I will definitely check out her other books.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press from the advanced readers copy of Only If You’re Lucky in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my owner.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3/4 stars

I really loved Willingham’s precious books and was SO excited to head this one ahead of its release. Unfortunately, I was let down with this one.

The storyline started off VERY slow in my opinion and I kept getting the people mixed up as I didn’t really care about any of them or their stories. The novel did pick up about 80% into the book and I did enjoy the last 20% a decent amount. It wasn’t a bad book, just didn’t hit like Willingham’s other books did in my opinion.

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Thank you NetGalley & St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this ARC! I absolutely love Stacy Willingham’s books so I was so excited to be given the opportunity!
Only If You’re Lucky follows the story of Margot, a young girl starting college without her best friend due to a tragic accident. Along the way she meets Lucy, the outgoing girl from her freshman dorm that reminds her so much of her childhood bestie. Margot & Lucy (along with Lucy’s two friends from Hines Hall Sloane & Nicole) all move in together soon after finishing their freshman year right next door to the boys of Kappa Nu. But nothing is as it seems. The twists & turns this triller takes along the way just kept me flipping page after page! You wont be able to put it down!

With multiple twists in her newest novel, Stacy Willingham crafts a suspenseful novel about a group of 4 friends and the murders that have happened around them. I do think some of the twists were predictable early in the story but there were enough to keep me interested. Overall a fun mystery/thriller!

I think this is a DNF. Might finish if it comes out on audio but it’s the most ridiculous plot and I hate all these stupid silly girls