3 stars. I was really looking forward to reading another book from this author, as I flew through her other books. The book started out very slow, and was very wordy and descriptive, I think a lot of the book could have been edited out. The last 20% of the book was amazing and I didn’t see the twists coming. I just feel it was a very slow book to get into.

My favorite novel from Stacy Willingham to date! This one’s a slow-burn, but chilling and suspenseful at the same time.

The setting was so relatable - it brought back memories of my own sorority days and the camaraderie we shared as sisters and with other fraternities. Those care-free summer days enjoying one another’s company in an all-but-abandoned college town. The simple days before the responsibilities of adulthood came knocking.

Despite the slow pace, I was hooked throughout the entire novel. Every twist a surprise, leaving me eager to know more. Highly recommend!

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

Stacey Willingham’s latest is excellent as has become the standard for her works! Only if You’re Lucky is very well written and atmospheric with a lyrical quality. I enjoyed reading about the dynamics of female friendships and the challenge of figuring out who you are once you’re uprooted to attend university, I believe this book is best entered into knowing little about it.

Thanks to St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I will read EVERYTHING Stacy writes. This book was amazing, I am so excited for it to be released to the world! So twisty, so gripping. Ugh just loved it and can’t wait for her next!

I'm not sure what it says about me that a novel about multiple murders, some casual stalking, and very messed up relationships made me feel nostalgically warm and fuzzy inside, but hey. It's Stacy Willingham's (genius) world, and I'm just living in it. There are so many thrillers out there, and so many authors who have perfected the art of the twist. Willingham has perfected her characters - in this novel, a group of college-aged young woman who are so real they jump off the page. She writes female friendship so beautifully that there were moments I forgot I wasn't reading a feel-good novel...which means the twist at the end caught me even more off guard. If you're going to read one thriller in the next few months, make it this one.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

★ ★ ★ ★ //5
Only If You’re Lucky
by Stacy Willingham

THOUGHTS:

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Ooweeee folks! This book was a dark and chilling wild ride. Sit down and be prepared for whiplash from the twists and turns. My heart was pumping fast from start to finish. Pay attention all the way to the end. I never expected the end and I’m loving how this one ended and I am sure you won’t either.

Do you love a book that has :
-Dual Timelines
-Multiple POV
-Slow Burn
-Murder & Mystery
-Twists & Turns

This book is most definitely for YOU!

Being a huge fan of Stacy Willingham’s previous two novels I was beyond excited to get an ARC from Netgalley to read her newest book. While different than her previous two books it was just as engaging and wonderfully written.

The book goes between “before” and “after” with focus on Margot who at the start of the book is finishing her first year of college and dealjng with the loss of her best friend, Eliza. When Lucy invites Margot to live with her and her two best friends off campus Margot sees it as a way to reinvent herself. As the book continues I saw really quickly that no one could be trusted.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for letting me read this wonderful book.

This is the third Stacy Willingham book I've read and it is by far my favorite one. It is a story about friendship, secrets, lies, and loyalties . It is about four college roommates living off-campus next door to a group of fraternity boys. Margot is trying to escape the sadness of her best friends death. It is filled with mystery and betrayals.
Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press and the author for the advanced copy of this book. Publication date is January 16, 2024. Don't miss out on this one!

On,y If You’re Lucky
Stacy Willingham
Jan. 16, 2024
Minotaur
Thriller - my favorite genre
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion,
I have rated Willingham’s previous novels 5 stars, but this one was a bit different from the other two- a slow burn and not at all fast paced, I would recommend this to a younger reader- its a good character study on wanting to fit in and belonging.
4 stars

Not one of my favorites. This book just was way too slow paced for me especially as a thriller. I found myself very bored and my mind wondered while reading. Some of the time could have been better spent on tying together the ending.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

‘Only If You’re Lucky’ centers around Margot’s experiences during her freshman and sophomore years at Rutledge, a small-town Southern college. Still reeling from the sudden death of her best friend, Eliza, weeks after graduation, she spends most of her first year at college in a stupor. Margot sees the opportunity for change when she’s approached by Lucy Sharpe to live in a house together with two other friends for the next year. Margot, who has always been the sidekick, is drawn to the mysterious and vivacious Lucy like a moth to a flame.

But Margot can’t escape from her memories of the past when Eliza’s old boyfriend, Levi, who was the last person to see her alive, moves in to the frat house next door. Events slowly start to spiral out of control as Levi is murdered and Lucy disappears. This slow-burn thriller explores how the secrets we go to great lengths to hide will never stay buried, and that everyone has the capacity to be both a Dr. Jekyll and a Mr. Hyde in the right circumstances.

As a fan of the author’s previous works, I was very excited to dig into this novel and I was not disappointed. Stacy Willingham is able to evoke the longing to fit in that is so common for college students. This was slower-paced than her other books, but she sets the scene so well with her descriptions of Margot’s college life and the friendships that develop between her and her housemates that I didn’t find the story to drag. You quickly realize that many things aren’t as they first seem, and the time jumps between the “before” and “after” of Lucy’s disappearance build tension beautifully. I didn’t see the ending coming the way it did but felt that it fit together well and was believable with how the story had been set up. Overall, another impressive suspense novel from an author that’s quickly becoming a favorite.

4.5 ⭐️ out of 5
Release Date: January 16, 2024

College is a time to reinvent yourself and Margot has more than one reason to be the new and improved version of herself especially after an uneventful freshman year. Then the cool girls bring her into their fold and she thinks this is her chance to be bold and different. But her friends are also trying to change and everyone has a past them and nothing is ever as it appears.

Best yet from this author! This instantly brought me back to my summers in a college town, where your friends create insular and sometimes claustrophobic worlds. Where it becomes difficult to seeing anything beyond your rundown rental apartment and those that share your space. The twists and turns kept me guessing—I stayed up all night to finish! Can’t wait to recommend to my book club.

Lucy has all the compelling charisma of a cult leader: you can’t help but watch her, & you have an illogical urge to do whatever she says - but then she goes missing right after her neighbor’s murder…

Margot spent her freshman year of college in South Carolina playing it safe & trying to process the recent death of her best friend. When Lucy, the “it” girl on campus, invites Margot to be her roommate along with two other girls, Margot decides she’s ready for a change & accepts. The summer between freshman & sophomore year cements the friendship between the four girls as it passes in a drunken haze at the beach & partying in the fraternity house next door (the chapter owns the house the girls live in so they essentially have frat boys for landlords). Sophomore year begins & the summer spell is broken, but Lucy’s mystique lingers, & in light of her eventual disappearance the haunting question remains: do you ever really know someone?

I had high hopes for this after loving Willingham’s A Flicker in the Dark & it did not disappoint! This story keeps you on your toes with the Before and the After timelines feeding you bits of information, & the author’s writing style is vividly descriptive. The ride-or-die friendship dynamic between the four girls is masterfully portrayed & I loved the recurring theme of the Jekyll & Hyde paradox.

Thank you to NetGalley & Minotaur for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

hank you Netgalley for the early copy of this amazing book! The characters draw you in from the first page and I love the setting of a college campus. The scenes were easy to imagine and very descriptive. I did not see the twist coming at all but was so pleased with it. Definitely recommend this book when it releases, it's another must read by Stacy Willingham!

A dark thriller centering on Margot, a college freshman grappling with the recent loss of her best friend, Eliza, who was supposed to start college with her. After spending most of her freshman year battling depression and coping with the loss of Eliza, Margot moves in with Lucy (who is eerily similar to Eliza), Sloan, and Nicole in a house owned and adjacent to a frat house. Margot is determined to start living her life again and live out Eliza’s dream, and she quickly becomes best friends with her roommates. When Levi, Eliza’s ex-boyfriend and the last person to have seen her alive, shows up at Kappa Nu (the fraternity), things get complicated…

The story alternates between past and present. Willingham navigated these timelines very well. The story did start out rather slow for me, but it was well worth the investment. The twists were so clever-I did not see them coming whatsoever but looking back they made perfect sense. Such a well written story that is well worth reading!

I didn't care for this slow-burn novel by Willingham. It felt very YA with unlikable characters. I found myself skimming through much of it.

Stacy Willingham is quickly becoming one of my favorite thriller authors. With Only if You’re Lucky, Willingham brings the reader a collegiate tale, one that weaves the devastating past of Margot, who is grieving the death of her best friend, and Lucy, a mysterious new friend of Margot’s with a puzzling past.

Margot and Lucy, along with two other friends, move into a house owned by the fraternity next door during sophomore year. Margot finds herself drawn to Lucy, who reminds her so much of her deceased friend, Eliza. When Levi, Eliza’s former boyfriend who was with her the night she died, shows up at the frat house as a new pledge, Margot is rattled. Past and present collide, and Margot starts to wonder if it’s not as random as she initially thought.

This book kept me guessing and I enjoyed the way Willingham kept upping the stakes. She plants seeds along the way that may be overlooked by the reader, but when everything comes together at the end, it’s so satisfying.

My only extremely minor complaint is that I don’t love the title. It doesn’t seem to fit the story. Such a minor thing though - I still highly recommend the read!

Thank you to @netgalley , @stacyvwillingham , and @minotaur_books for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

This one is going to be a bit of a different read for fans of the author, but it's not a bad thing. Just go into it knowing it's not her previous novels. Give it the chance it deserves.

This one takes us in a before and after timeline with Margot, our MC. The beginning jumped around a little where I thought there were some errors in the timeline but I quickly realized it was my error. I really wanted more of the death of Eliza and not the little snippets we kept getting, but being patient paid off by the end.

Margot's grief over the loss of her best friend is so real. It seeps through every page. And sets her on the course of the book. I feel like Stacy Willingham really gets into the characters heads and writes what they go through so well. It's relatable and real. Even if you could never be in the situations she writes, you feel for the character. You relate. And I love losing myself in books like this. I feel she's masterful at her story telling and will forever remain an auto read/buy author.

I got 1/4 into it and I’m moving on, unfortunately. In just this first part, the story has flipped back and forth between three different timelines. It’s not only confusing, but it makes it really hard to connect with any of the characters- even the main character. I loved the first book by this author, liked the second enough to read to the end, but this one is not for me. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.