For me this book was a solid three stars right up to the last 50-100 pages, when the pace picked up and some unexpected twistiness happened. I would recommend it to others with the warning that it starts relatively slowly. For me, the payoff was worth it.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a digital copy in advance of publication.

This was dark and twisty. I was torn between taking breaks from it and wanting to know what happened next. Not my favorite of the authors but worth a read.

A story about college friendship, lies, hidden pasts, and murder.

After the loss of her high school best friend, Margo tries to move on and find her place in a new college friend group centered around outgoing party girl, Lucy. Lucy is Margo’s polar opposite, just like the best friend she lost. Along the way toxic relationships are formed, old acquaintances reappear in Margo’s life, lies are told, and more lives are stolen.

Only If You’re Lucky was a little slow moving for my liking. There was a strong plot with a few good twists and turns but it took a long time to get there. Most of the action was packed in the last 1/3 of the book. Once I hit that point I couldn’t put it down! A solid 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eGalley of Stacy Willingham's Only If You're Lucky!

Stacy Willingham is an auto read for me and this is yet another 4-star review of her latest book. The setting, characters, plot were all phenomenal and kept me up late finishing it!

The mystery in the book was so refreshing and well thought out that I had no clue at the outcomes of the many different twists and turns.

Make sure to pick this one up. It deserves ALL the stars!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2024, perhaps the high amount of excitement put my exceptions too high. It was so different from her first two and felt very YA/new adult. It was on the slower side but overall, I was interested to find how it ended. If you are a fan of In my Dreams I Hold a Knife you will enjoy this one.

***** Many thanks to St Martins Press, NetGalley, and Stacy Willingham for the #gifted copy as it was provided to me in turn for my honest opinion.

I was really looking forward to Stacy Willinghams latest novel but after starting it, I realize I am not the right audience for this book. It was so SLOW and I was skimming pages from the very beginning. To me, this is is a YA book which I am not a fan of. Looking forward to her next great book since I have loved her last 3 books!

Margot is off to college after a difficult summer. Her best friend, Eliza died a few weeks after graduation. In college she meets Lucy one day and is invited to be a fourth roommate. Margot, Lucy, Nicole, and Sloane live in a house owned by the neighboring fraternity. Parties obviously take place with the girls and frat boys. Levi, a familiar face, shows up to join the frat, but what will Margot think? He was the last one to see Eliza before she died.

Honestly this was super slow. I loved Stacy’s previous books but this one missed for me. Felt like I was back in a sorority with the silly drama. More of a YA vs thriller.

Thanks to Stacy Willingham, Minotaur Books, and Net Galley for the ARC! Pub date 1/16/24

Too many characters with confusing timelines, like the southern gothic feel. 3.5 stars. Too many unreliable narrators, but maybe would recommend

First off thanks to netgalley for providing me an ARC!

The setting is Rutledge university where a boy is dead after a fraternity party and a local woman is missing..

Our protagonist, Margot, was suppose to be attending university with her best friend Eliza. However, Eliza died the summer before and now she's alone. Lucy is the campus "IT" girl and reminds Margot of Eliza.
Lucy randomly invites Margot to live with her and a couple other girls in offcampus housing and Margot couldn't say no. It's a bit interesting of a house because it has a shed that leads to a fraternity house and technically the boys own their house too.
The girls become quickly close and Margot confides in them about what happens with Eliza.
Margot then starts getting a bit paranoid with Lucy...she's not exactly who she claims to be.
Holy smokes, this book was good. It definitely kept me on my toes. It switches timelines which helps the book go fast. It does have an unreliable narrator, which I'm typically not a big fan of but this didn't impact the bigger twist.

Stacy has done it again! I've loved all 3 books I've read by her so far. She develops characters well and has twists you won't see coming! If you're looking for a fast paced thriller, this is the one!

This novel is so addictive and engrossing, that I read it in one sitting. A departure for the author, it tells the story of Margot, a shy young woman only starting college. She meets Lucy, who attracts her into a different life. Margot feels like she’d do anything for her, probably because she reminds her of her best friend Eliza, recently dead. When everything starts finally working out for Margot, Eliza’s boyfriend moves in next door. Margot always suspected that he had something to do with her death so things start to spiral. I have to say, I did not see the final reveals coming. All the clues were there, but they are so well disguised that I, for one, was blindsided. I was invested in the characters, not only Margot, but the other two girls drawn in by Lucy. There are so many twists, that I couldn’t put the book down. I loved the house where they live, which in the afterword the author confesses is based on her own college experiences. Really good.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, #NetGalley/#St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books.

DNF’d after reading the prologue and first page of chapter one. I don’t usually rate or review books I DNF, but this one is the exception. There are 10 “like” similes just in the prologue alone (15 if you include page 1 of chapter 1). I first noticed this in her prior novel, and gave this one a try hoping it’d be better. There’s even a “flicking” and after the regurgitation of every possible variation of the word “flicker” in her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, I don’t ever want to see that word again.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for the eARC, but unfortunately I won’t be reading this author anymore.

This is the perfect example of how characters don’t need to be likable to be compelling. This was a twisty, fast-paced, page-turner that I stayed up way too late to finish. The writing is razor-sharp and definitely solidifies Stacy Willingham as an author I’ll keep reading. The characters were messy and multi-dimensional and while I didn’t have to agree with their decisions or moral compass, they were certainly engaging. I’m usually pretty good at spotting twists and do say this one kept me guessing.

This did feel much more YA than her other books and definitely feels like it could fit into that genre, especially with the college age group and the overall immaturity of the characters.

This is a total page-turner with lots of red herrings and twists. The college frat atmosphere is captured well and each chapter is intense. Highly recommended for fans of B .A. Paris and Megan Miranda.

Only If You’re Lucky follows a college student who comes from money. Her best friend died in high school and she carries the ghost with her even now, subconsciously trying to fill the gap left in her heart. When she finds a new group of friends, Lucy in particular, she can’t help but to notice the similarities…eerily.

I really enjoyed this book. I was well written and stumped me in regard to the plot twist! I didn’t feel any emotional attachment to it though, which kept it as 4 stars overall for me. I would recommend it to anyone who likes mystery and suspense.

Keeping this review short and sweet as I don’t want to give anything away.

If you are a fan of slow burn thrillers, this is a book for you. Told in dual timelines, this book had me curious from the very start. With lots of small twists that leave you with more questions than answers, I was kept intrigued throughout the story. At times I did feel the pacing could have been a little faster, but it didn’t stop me from thoroughly enjoying this book.

I loved the additional layers of the need to belong, exploring the complexities of female friendships, and that we may not always know our closest friends as well as we thought. Be sure to add this to your winter TBR!

Thank you to netgalley, Stacy Willingham, and Minotaur Books for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

// 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖 //

Rating: ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Genre: Thriller - Academia

𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰𝒇 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆:
⏪ Flashback Chapters
🎓 Academic Settings
🤬 Unlikable Characters
👯‍♀️ Friendships

𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔
This is a slower burn than her other novels. The last 20% is where most of the action was. Most of the characters were unlikeable. They weren’t girls I could see myself being friends with or even wanting to be friends with, and I really don’t understand Margot’s attraction to them. That being said, I think what WAS relatable was this sense of going to college with an opportunity to redefine yourself. You get to decide who you want to be without your past being a defining factor that holds you back. We see this in both our main protagonist as well as in Lucy. But what happens if our last suddenly comes crashing back? Can we truly escape it and does our past define part of who we are? The author also creatively intertwined the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to reinforce this concept of exploring other sides of ourselves as well as the human struggle of balancing the good vs evil inside of us.

I absolutely loved the eerie atmosphere of the house in this one. It felt like such a tangible place. It took me back to the dingy college apartment I lived in and all the strange happenings there. The creepy terrible smelling shed between the properties just added an extra creep factor to the whole thing!

I appreciate the opportunity from @stacyvwillingham and @netgalley for an advance review copy. I absolutely cannot wait to meet Stacy again @parnassusbooks books early next year to hear more about her inspiration for this novel.

I recommend you pick this one up in 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚 when it releases! It’s different from her previous books but has the same suspense and character building as the others I also previously loved!

#onlyifyourelucky #thrillerbooks #academia #darkacademia #thrillerbooks #thrillerbooksaddict #upcomingreleases #tbr #bookreview #bookrecommendations #readerforlife #readergram #kindlereads #favoriteauthor #bookstagram #bookworm #netgalley #stacywillingham #readersofinstagram #readersgonnaread

The characters in this book are all multifaceted but I found them unlikable and predictable. I found the plot overall very compelling and twisty in the best of ways. For me, this rates 4 stars and I would recommend it to anyone who loves dark academia or psychological thrillers. Only if You’re Lucky is a dark thriller about the complexities of friendship and belonging. It is written in dual timelines that take place before and after a crime

In "Only if You're Lucky," Willingham follows Lucy Sharpe, a je ne sais quoi kind of girl. She's confident, elusive, and addicting. People can't help but gravitate towards her. Margot is one of those people. When Lucy asks Margot to live with her their sophomore year, Margot jumps at the opportunity.

With Lucy as the ringleader, Margot finds herself welcomed into a new friend group. Lucy and Margot become quick inseparable friends. But, Margot's story takes a turn when one of the fraternity boys living next door is brutally murdered, and Lucy vanishes without a trace.

I was so excited to read this book. Willingham's "A Flicker in the Dark" was one of my favorite psychological thrillers, and "Only if You're Lucky" lived up to my high expectations; it was a captivating read that I would happily recommend.

Willingham uses incredible detail to paint the entire atmosphere; reading her books feels as if you're a fly on the wall watching the scene unfold before you. She expertly unfolds the story using a past and present timeline, while building up to the moment it all connects.

Willingham is an amazing story teller, and I look forward to reading her future books.

I think this has been my favorite by Stacy Willingham so far. There were a lot of twists in this one and some I for sure did not see coming. I liked there a sort of dual timeline with a before and after but it wasn't to far removed from the event. While the main character was not always likeable I was compelled by here and wanted to see where her story was going. I don't want to give too much away and I went into not really knowing what to expect and I think that was the way to go. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.