I could have shouted from the rooftops with excitement when I received an advanced copy of ‘Only If You’re Lucky’ by Stacy Willingham. I am a huge fan of her previous two books and went into this one with sky-high expectations. I can confidently say I was not let down. I LOVED IT.

As Margot starts her freshman year of college it’s not at all what she anticipated. Margot was supposed to be on this adventure with her best friend, Eliza. Instead, she’s processing her tragic death. Margot spends most of her time alone in her room with a roommate she hadn’t planned on. That is until the school year ends, and the charismatic force of nature Lucy unexpectedly approaches Margot and asks her to be her roommate.

Tempted by the opportunity for a fresh start, Margot moves into a house owned by the fraternity who lives next door, along with Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole, and they become fast friends. Before they know it, the school year begins, leading to fraternity parties, intricate friendship dynamics, closely guarded secrets unraveling, and murder!

This book was different than Willingham’s previous two books in a distinctive way, and I’m here for it. Willingham delivers an excellent character study, diving into their individual complexities, good and evil, what motivates behavior, and the choices we make.

‘Only If You’re Lucky’ was a solid 4.5 star read. It kept me guessing till the very end. Stacy Willingham has mastered the art of the dark, twisty, thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and the author for this ARC. It was my pleasure to provide this honest review.

Thank you to the author and St Martin's press for this arc! I was immediately immersed into the story. From page 1, I couldn't put it down. While this book is thrilling and mysterious, it also highlights the complexity and toxicity of female relationships. I identified with the main character Margot especially. She just wants to fit in with the cool girls, while trying to shake off the devastation of losing her best friend. Trying to reinvent herself while her past is still in the back of her mind. All in all, I loved this book. I can't think of a single negative thing to say about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins press for the ARC

Easy 4/4.5 ⭐️ this book was soo good. I couldn’t put it down and loved all the twists and turns. This book has everything I look for in a thriller/mystery. Just like the author’s previous books, this one did not disappoint!

Stacy Willingham is quickly becoming the queen of thrillers. Suspenseful, heart pounding, jaw dropping stories are her specialty, and for good reason. The writing in Only If You're Lucky is full of the most incredible imagery, making it beyond easy to picture yourself there with the characters. As a long time thriller reader, I've gotten pretty adept at guessing twist endings... With this book, I was wrong at every single turn. From the first line, Willingham had you hooked with no intention or desire to let go. OIYL is a must read for any mystery, crime, or thriller lover.

Well, I was not expecting that ending! I thought I had a lot of it figured out. Nope! The story was really good, a little slow at times but that ending definitely rounded it all out.

This was a really fun, quick read! The setting is a small college in South Carolina. Margot, having recently lost her best friend tragically meets Lucy and her friends at the dorm and soon joins the trio as they move into a house next to a frat house. A boy from Margot's past joins the frat and we soon learn secrets are being kept by everyone. This was so well written and paced perfectly. I finished in just a few days. I couldn't wait to learn all those secrets and boy are they big ones! I highly recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers set in school settings, huge twists, and toxic friendship stories.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Stacy Willingham for the opportunity to review a digital ARC of this book. What a fun ride.

Margot is swimming in grief; her best friend died under mysterious circumstances 3 weeks after their high school graduation. She’s spent her entire first year of college merely surviving, looking at the fun from afar. Taking special interest in three girls on her hall: Nicole, Sloane, and the magnetic Lucy Sharpe.

So when, at the end of the school year, Lucy asks Margot to room with the three of them for the next school year, Margot jumps at the chance to start truly living again. What happens from there is a series of twists and turns that end up becoming fatal.

Overall, this was a really fun read. I’m personally drawn to stories about female friendship, especially when they turn sour, so this book was right up my alley. This is also my first Stacy Willingham book and it made me want to move her other titles up on my TBR shelf. There were multiple twists that I genuinely didn’t see coming. Some of which were brilliant additions and others seemed to have been thrown in order to wrap up the ending. With that being said, if you’re a thriller lover this book is not to be missed.

This is the perfect mix of dark academia, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Pretty Little Liars.

Stacy Willingham knocked it out of the park with this perfect mix of slow burn and page turner! Something in it keeps you guessing almost right up to the end, where you’re greeted with a more open ended finish, but I honestly didn’t mind that (I know others may dislike)

Only If You’re Lucky follows Margot as she enters her freshman year of college, mourning the death of her best friend Eliza. Her life is dull, she’s living a haze, always the background character - and then near the end of her freshman year, she meets full of life Lucy Sharpe, that oddly enough shares many characteristics of her best friend Eliza. Lucy invites Margot to live in an off campus house with two other girls, and everything is going great. Until one of the fraternity boys next door dies and Lucy goes missing…


There’s so much to unpack here, and the story just unravels flawlessly. Not a detail was missed, flipping back and forth from a before and after timeline with little Easter eggs sprinkled throughout was marvelous. This is a very interesting look at female friendships and the lengths we will go to protect secrets. Definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.4
While the conclusion is reasonably satisfying, I couldn't develop even a slight investment in the characters' overall well-being until easily 85% of the way through - which made reading this an incredible slog the vast majority of the time.

4.75 ⭐️ rounded up to 5.

This book stands out from Stacy’s others! I received an advanced copy, so I’m not sure if it’ll be considered a YA thriller or not.. the characters are young adults, but it definitely doesn’t read like a YA. It’s VERY good.

I sent a private message to the author, and here’s part of it, for review purposes:
“I just finished your book and wow wow wow! It’s so stinkin good. I kept thinking the whole time.. this book stands out from your others. (Both 5 stars) but this one is different. More poetic. And then I read the authors note and it all made sense! I LOVED reading the note and tying it into the book.
I can’t wait for its release date, definitely buying the physical copy!”

She does write differently in this book. I used the word “poetic”. Everything is so descriptive and beautifully worded. Like you can feel it yourself when she’s describing something. Super impressive.
I literally only deducted 1/4 of a star because some moments didn’t need to drawn out by the descriptions and words, it needed to be giddy up and go because it could be more thrilling, if so.
Overall, a great book, and I’m honored and grateful to receive an advanced copy! Thank you, NetGalley!

Expertly interweaving 3 times lines together, Willingham delivers another great suspense novel. Usually with so many different story lines, I tend to rush through the flashbacks to get to the present storyline, but in this instance all of the storylines held my attention equally. The ending was a bit dramatic, but overall this was super fun and addictive read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. After Willingham's hit last year, I could not wait to read this one. However, it was just reminded me of a college "Pretty Little Liars". I generally do not enjoy these kind of books anymore and there wasn't enough suspense for me to keep wanting to know what happened next.

I really did not know what to expect when I first started this book, but WOW I was not disappointed. I really think this one will be super popular at my library and I cannot wait to see patrons checking it out. I will definitely make sure my library has a copy of it when it is published.

Margot’s best friend died tragically at the end of their Senior year of high school making for a difficult transition to a college Freshman, but she’s poised to settle in for her Sophomore year. I thoroughly enjoyed this slow-paced psychological mystery-thriller primarily because of the setting and atmosphere not to mention a satisfying ending.

Netgalley and the publisher provided this book for review consideration, but all opinions are my own.

6/10 - I realized while reading this that I don’t necessarily enjoy books where the main character is younger than me. This particular book takes place on a college campus, with the main character being a college student. It follows around a group of 4 girls, detailing the drama and trauma that surrounds them. As someone who has been out of college for over 5 years now, it is hard to relate to this book.

In the end, there were some plot twists that I did not see coming. Others came to light pretty quickly once the author gave a few clues. Overall, I didn’t love it, but I also didn’t hate it. I would definitely recommend this book for a younger/college student audience once it comes out in Jan of next year.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur Books and Stacy Willingham for sharing this digital copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.25 stars
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Grief, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape
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For as long as everyone remembers, Margot and Eliza have been the closest of friends. That is until Eliza tragically passes away three weeks after graduation. Having planned their entire lives together, Margot finds herself alone at Rutledge College. Although Margot vows to herself to live the life Eliza deserves she can't help but isolate herself during her first semester. That is...until she meets Lucy Sharpe. The two of them are polar opposites, Lucy stands out in a crowd and draws people in.

When Lucy offers Margot a room in her off-campus house, she can't seem to figure out why. Suddenly Margot is pulled into a lifestyle that isn't hers, it's the life that Eliza would have wanted. It doesn't take long before Margot's past starts catching up to her and forces her to come to terms with reality. This one was such a slow burn to me, but I think it's what the plot needed. I loved trying to piece everything together and figure out what was going on.

The book flashes between the past and the present, and we find out that a college frat boy next door has turned up dead, and Lucy is missing. Immediately we start to wonder how the two are connected, I would say that this book really starts to pick up at the 75% mark and becomes really thrilling, it seems that the end is filled with twists and turns that you don't see coming! From the start, we know that Lucy isn't what she seems and Margot has been told multiple times to not trust her (coming from Lucy's friends) but uncovering the truth was truly shocking.
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I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Publication Date: January 16th, 2024

Margot is a quiet girl, never one to rock the boat, who finds herself living in an off-campus house with Lucy, a brash girl with a big attitude and big plans, and two of Lucy's friends. When one of the boys next door is found dead and Lucy goes missing, Margot knows she's in over her head.

I wanted to like this one so badly. I absolutely love this author. Her first two books were five stars for me. This one just didn't do it for me. It was a super slow burn and the characters are pretty much your basic teenage stereotypes. Possibly as a thirty-seven year old person I"m just not the audience for this one, maybe a younger crowd closer to college graduates would relate better and eat it up, but I really struggled.

I would still read anything this author puts out, I would just love to see an older cast of characters like the other books had.

Have you ever questioned your own ability to do something evil? Wonder why good people may do something bad? Then this book is for you!
I have read Stacy Willingham’s previous books and I will say If You’re Lucky is her best yet. This slow burn of a thriller will keep you guessing what will happen next.

Margot is trying to learn to live again after the loss of her childhood best friend, Lucy is the mystery girl that everyone wants to be. Sloane and Nicole are along for the ride. Four young women, all with secrets of their own and a friendships that will be tested in ways they never could have known.

The bonds of friendship took me back to my own college days and made me think about what I would do to protect those I care about. Are we all capable of being Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? What will triumph? Good or evil?

Thank you NetGalley, Stacy Willingham, and Minotaur books for allowing me to receive and arc of this book.

Stacy Willingham's "Only if You're Lucky," an advanced reader copy graciously provided by NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, takes readers on a journey to a college campus, skillfully crafting a backdrop that juxtaposes the serene beauty of the outer banks with the decaying charm of the house behind Kappa Nu. Set to release on January 16, 2024, this novel offers a tantalizing blend of atmospheric storytelling and intriguing characters.

One of the highlights of the book is undoubtedly its setting. Willingham masterfully paints the picture of the house on campus, making it a character in its own right. The contrast between the idyllic outer banks and the dilapidated house adds depth to the narrative. The attention to detail, particularly in describing the azaleas, not only creates a vivid mental image but also cleverly weaves them into the story's fabric, giving them a symbolic significance that resonates throughout the book.

What sets "Only if You're Lucky" apart is the authenticity of its characters. Lucy and Margot are crafted with a depth that makes them feel like genuine individuals. Their actions and dialogues make sense in the context of their personalities, drawing readers deeper into their world. This authenticity is further emphasized by the acknowledgment that the house and fraternity in the story were inspired by real places. This real-world connection adds an extra layer of believability to the narrative, making it more immersive.

However, the book is not without its shortcomings. Mr. Jefferson's character raises some discomforting questions. While Margot may attempt to portray him as a good guy, his use of endearments like "honey" and solitary coffee meetings may come across as unsettling. It would have been beneficial for the author to explore alternative ways of depicting his character.

Another issue lies in the pacing of the narrative. The excessive use of wordy metaphors and analogies occasionally disrupts the flow of the story. These passages, while beautifully written, often feel like they distract rather than enhance the plot. They could benefit from a more judicious use that serves to foreshadow or build suspense effectively.

Margot's avoidance of her parents in favor of the Jeffersons is a plot point that requires further exploration. While it might have been intended to portray the Jeffersons as the perfect family, the reasons for Margot's actions are not sufficiently fleshed out. More insight into her relationship with her parents would have clarified why they seemingly accept her absence for extended periods, which, for most college students, would be unusual.

One of the book's major shortcomings lies in its ending. While it's acceptable that main characters have dark secrets, the revelation of these secrets in the final chapters feels rushed and inadequately explained. The use of italicized references to past dialogue to clarify the ending could have been executed more seamlessly. Key plot points should have been integrated more organically throughout the narrative to avoid the feeling of information overload at the end.

The intermittent use of "before," "after," and "now" in some chapters, while related to Lucy's disappearance, can be distracting when inconsistently applied. A more consistent approach would have improved the overall reading experience.

Chapter 66 emerges as a pivotal and engaging point in the story, but it leaves readers with unanswered questions. The audacious actions of the characters beg for further exploration, as it's challenging to believe that they could execute such a complex plan without any leaks. A deeper dive into the intricacies of their scheme would have added depth to the narrative.

In conclusion, "Only if You're Lucky" by Stacy Willingham showcases several strengths, such as its evocative setting and authentic characters. However, it does suffer from pacing issues, underdeveloped character dynamics, and an ending that demands more clarity and depth. The potential for a more profound exploration of the plot's complexities exists, and with some adjustments, this novel could reach even greater heights. Despite its flaws, it offers a unique reading experience that lingers in the mind, prompting contemplation long after the final page is turned.

Listen, there has to be a pretty apparent sense of where a story is going and why I should care in a contemporary thriller. It’s just not a good look to have a book be all description with little to no plot/character development… unfortunately, that’s what happened here. Lots of filler, weird and unlikeable characters, vague sentences… lots of telling and no showing. It’s a pass for me.