⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
✨ dual timelines
✨ campus thrillers
✨ groups of friends who-dun-it
✨ twisty ending you don’t see coming

Margot is finishing up her freshman year at college without her best friend Eliza, because Eliza’s boyfriend killed her and was never held responsible… but Margot IS going to make sure that he pays for what he’s done. She soon befriends and moves in with a group of girls… but shortly the boyfriend is dead and Lucy IS MISSING!! What is going on here?? Margot is going to get to the bottom of it.

I have loved every single Stacy Willingham book that has been released so far, and to no surprise this one was no different.
I absolutely cannot stand when a dual timeline book doesn’t make it clear which timeline you are in, and I spend more time confused and trying to figure out where I even am than enjoying the story. This one was very clearly labelled and marked and I did not get confused at all; I really appreciate that!
I love a dual timeline book because we get little pieces of the story revealed slowly and then I get to piece together the story and *hopefully* solve it before the narrator does.
There was action right from the beginning which I very much appreciate; slow builds are great and all but a lot of times I find myself bored and waiting for the excitement to start. This one was exciting and entertaining right from the beginning and it made it impossible for me to put down!
There were a couple of action/adventure sections in the book and it really kept my interest.
I did not see the end coming!! That is the one absolute thing I expect from in a thriller and I am so happy with this ending. It was just crazy enough that it wasn’t absurd and I didn’t feel like I wasted my time by guessing the ending right in the beginning.
Another hit from Stacy Willingham!! Also this book took place around Halloween which I didn’t know beforehand, and it made it perfect for my spooky season reads! I can’t wait to read more by this author in the future!!

Stacy Willingham does it again! She’s quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I never could have seen the twists and turns coming in this book and I was pleasantly surprised! I took off one star because the pacing in the beginning is slow and the ending feels rushed, which is a common trap for these kinds of books. I still thoroughly enjoyed it and will be recommending it to my friends and family!

Enjoyed this read. The beginning felt like a slow burn and at some points I was wondering when something was going to happen. But there was a need to have a lot of details to help with the ending.

Margot is a college freshman who just lost her childhood best friend in an accident. She ends up finding a new group of friends, living a wild summer next to a fraternity home. Together, everything seems to be going just fine until one of them goes missing and a fraternity brother dies. What happens to them and what is really going on in this friendship?

I thought the book was good, especially if you like Willingham’s other books. It is pretty different from the others- in a good way. I thought it was a slow burn but the ending was jam packed.

Thank you to Netgalley and Stacy Willingham for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Only If You’re Lucky will be published on January 16, 2024.

A solid, kinda creepy thriller!

Let me say that I'm a sucker for books set in college. I love an academic setting, and I think it's such an interesting age for the characters to be.

What I really liked about this book (other than the college element), was how twisty it was. There were a few things I saw coming, but also some good reveals in there, too. And, I really didn't expect what happened to Lucy!! The ending was an A+ for me.

It wasn't the most compelling, can't-put-it-down type of read, but I did really really enjoy it.

I was so excited to be able to read this before its release! I absolutely loved A Flicker In The Dark so i couldn’t wait to read this one. I usually have an easy time figuring out the plot twists in thrillers, but this one I did not see coming. The way it flipped between the time lines worked to draw out the suspense. 4/5 stars. I recommend any thriller fan to give this one a shot!

I loved Stacy Willingham’s first two books, so I was crossing my fingers, hoping to get my hands on an early copy of “Only If You’re Lucky.”

And while it felt different from her first two books, it didn’t disappoint!

This read was a slow burn with a solid, twisty storyline. It was dark and messy in the best way possible, drawing from humanity’s Jekyll and Hyde element.

Reading the Author’s Note at the end of the book added a unique inside look at the setting, making the book’s overall vibe feel much more eerie.

4.5 stars rounded up.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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.