You’ve Been Accepted
Thank you, Minotaur Books, for the gifted copy of Only if You’re Lucky {partner}

Genre: Mystery
Format: 📖
Pub Date: 1.16.2024
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆

“There is no right or wrong, noble or evil, but simply the existence of people who dabble in their own combination of each.”

I’ve never been drawn to books that center around toxic female friendships because the story ultimately takes on a YA element. While I got some YA element vibes from Only if You’re Lucky, it wasn’t overwhelming.

The author, Stacy Willingham, created the perfect setting in this book as it took me right back to my college days and had me thinking about all of the decisions I made (some reckless) and how I had no idea what I was doing. So, while the story was part of a mystery, it was also an exciting look at complex friendships at such a young and impressionable age.

I enjoyed reading along, trying to figure out what happened to Levi and Lucy because I felt the obvious answer was right beneath my nose. The ending and how everything played out felt unbelievable, leaving me disappointed.

😒 Unlikable characters
☢️ Toxic friendships
👩🏽‍🏫 College setting
✌🏼 Dual timeline
📖 Slow burn

🛑 alcohol abuse, drug abuse, sexual assault, hazingå

I recommend reading Only if You’re Lucky if you would enjoy watching Pretty Little Liars: The College Years.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC. I couldn't put it down. It's a slow burn until the last half but the anticipation builds and builds as you try to unravel the mystery surrounding this group of friends. Highly recommend to thriller lovers!

“If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?” Lucy Sharpe

Wow. This was a really great book, took a little bit of time to get into but once I got into it I didn’t want to put it down. The twist and turns were so crazy. I have really enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s books so far.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for an e-ARC of Only If You’re Lucky in exchange for an honest review.

Margot’s best friend, Eliza, died unexpectedly the summer before they were supposed to start college together. Margot decides to go anyway, where she meets a new best friend, Lucy, who reminds her of Eliza. Margot is soon swept up in the drama and excitement that follows Lucy around until someone is murdered and Lucy disappears. Maybe Margot has taken on more than she was prepared for.

This fun thriller would be a great summertime read on the beach. There is college drama, romance, mystery and intrigue. The pace moves quickly but especially picked up for me about 70% of the way through the book. I think I read the remainder of the book in one sitting after that. There were lots of great twists and a fun ending, which I didn’t expect at all!

For me, most of the characters were very unlikeable, which I think was the point. But it made me have a hard time connecting with the book at times. Sloane and Nicole mostly made up for it, as I liked the sarcastic Sloane and the sweet Nicole. But the rest of the characters could be irritating. Using these frustrating characters helped elicit emotion toward what would or wouldn’t happen to them.

Overall, this book made me want to check out other books by the author, and it’s worth checking out at your local library!

I really enjoyed this college thriller. I loved the drama and suspense of the storyline. I am a big fan of Stacy’s work. It was different than her other books but still on the edge of your seat! 4 stars for me.

Margot is the quite wallflower, picked out of obscurity into the enigmatic Lucy Sharpe's eclectic friendship bouquet. Things are looking up for Margo as she ends up living with Lucy. But her entire world is rocked by a brutal murder and Lucy's disappearance. Willingham is truly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the world of psychological thrillers. She weaves webs so intricate, you can't possible untangle every secret her characters are hiding. But at the same time, each reveal slots into place so masterfully you wonder how you missed it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily and all views expressed are my own!

I was very eager to finally read this book. I had read two previous works by the same author and really enjoyed them. I was hoping for the same magic with this one but it fell a little flat for me. I think the setting contributed to that. I don’t normally gravitate towards books that take place in college/fraternity houses. I never had a “standard” college experience so I find it hard to relate to all of the partying and craziness that seems to go on in fictionalized stories.

I wasn’t immediately grabbed by this book like I was in the two previous ones. I needed time to finally sink into the story. I will say the mystery at least intrigued me enough to propel me to the finish line. I thought some of the twists were clever and others I saw from a mile away.

What did work for me was the writing itself. I found many quotable lines. I know that I appreciated Willingham’s writing in her other novels as well. SO while this book may not have been a hit for me, I’m still anticipating her next book. I think this read was an anomaly and I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for us.

The first half of this book was painfully slow. I was anxious to learn what happened to Eliza, and each breadcrumb was revealed at a snail's pace. Also, the young women in the book were all a little strange and fairly unlikable. The twists were definitely surprising, and I felt a little more invested by the end of the book. However, I was mostly racing to finish so I could learn who killed Eliza and another character, and where the heck Lucy went.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the eARC of this one! I’ve loved everything I’ve read by @stacyvwillingham and this was no exception. Only If You’re Lucky has been all over bookstagram, so I won’t recount the synopsis, but if you’re looking for a twisty, dark, college student thriller…look no further!

I do think that this book would rank number three for me out of all three of her books. But, all of them have been solid 4 stars with the other two ranking a smidge higher in my mind (4.25 or 4.5). If you haven’t read a Stacy Willingham, what are you waiting for?? I will continue to read everything she writes! 🙌

Overall, I'd give Only If You're Lucky 3.5 but I'm rounding up here. I was a little disappointed but only because my expectations for there were so high. There were some twists I didn't see coming but a few I did. I wasn't picking up the same atmospheric, Southern Gothic vibes I loved about Willingham's first two books, and I think that's why it fell a bit flat for me.

The first 75% of this was extremely slow. The ending was exciting and fast-paced but I also didn't really like the ending and felt it was rushed and didn't make a ton of sense. This was just ok as a thriller but nothing groundbreaking or all that entertaining. I really enjoyed this author's previous two books and will look forward to their next.

Margot lost her best friend Eliza due to an accident three weeks after graduating high school. Their plan had been to go together to college in South Carolina. Margo decides to do just that but her first year doesn't bring her any happiness, she is barely living. Then, Lucy Sharpe appears out of nowhere and offers Margot to move in with her and her two besties, Sloane and Nicole to an off-campus house and she doesn't hesitate to accept the offer.

Lucy is magnetic. Everyone is interested in her and what she has to say. People gravitate towards her just like they did with Eliza. Margo is no exception. Like moths to light, Margo will follow Lucy's lead into everything but will this include murder? By the middle of sophomore year, a freshman fraternity boy has been brutally murdered and Lucy has gone missing....

The novel is narrated in past and present chapters.

I loved A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things but Only If You're Lucky felt short for this reader. I don't know if it was the unbelievable conclusion or me guessing the conclusion very early on. I was disappointed, to say the least. I wish this wasn't the case.

Will I read Stacy Willingham's next novel? You better believe it!

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Minotaur Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy of the ebook.

I have read other books by Stacy Willingham and enjoyed it, although not loving it. I found this book to be less thrilling than her previous ones. I don't think this author would be an automatic read for me here on.

My college days were some of the best years of my life, and sometimes I love to read books that remind me of those times. You have the friendships, the partying, the studying, and just trying to figure out how to be an adult, especially when you move out of the dorms.

Only If You're Lucky takes place during Margot's second year of college. She moves in with three other women and lives next door to a fraternity house. One of the new pledges is from Margot's past, and she believes that he is the one the killed her best friend in high school. That's not a spoiler alert. You learn that in the beginning of the book. :).

There were a few different twists as you try to figure out what happened on the night that Margot's best friend died.

The first half of the book was a little slow for me, and I felt the author repeated the story a little too much. However, I really enjoyed the second half of the book as everything comes to light.

Stacy Willingham, the author, also wrote A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things. She definitely knows how to write thrillers.

Thank you to Minotaur Books for sharing this book with me. I would give this book 4 stars. I was given this book for my honest review.

This is my third book by Stacy Willingham, and i think this was my least favorite. I absolutely LOVED Flicker in the Dark, and i think i've been waiting for one to grip me from the start the way her first did.
I had a hard time getting through it because i never really attached to any of the characters. I'd pick it up and put it down after a few pages, so it ended up taking over a month to finish.

While I didn't love this book, i can't deny that it took me for a wild ride. There were a few twists for the end that i didn't see coming! Every single character is pretty terrible, but that's definitely not a bad thing. I appreciated the small college vibe, though the characters were incredibly immature, so it made the book read very YA.

I'd recommend this to someone who is a bit younger--probably college age. Where i thought the characters were annoying, they might find them relatable...bc weren't we all pretty annoying in college? ;)

My in person book club read this in February and it made for such an interesting discussion! Some of us loved reliving our college years... some, not so much. haha!

I've read all of Stacy Willingham's book and this one was my favorite! Intrigue, mystery, best friends, college parties, a rambling old frat house... I absolutely ate this up and loved every moment!

initial thoughts: it pains me to say I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things (if you haven’t read those — go!)

this book was a bit boring, honestly, the house was the most interesting character for stretches at a time. the pacing was off, the first 75% of the book nothing but college shenanigans happened, and by the time the twists/reveals came around they seemed a bit too unbelievable.

will definitely pick up whatever this author puts out next though.

I've been enjoying all of the dark college-focused thrillers that have been published over the last few years. It's fun to read, but it does make me think back and wonder how many times I personally may have been in mortal danger while drinking alcohol of questionable origin. Ideally, though, I would like to see one of these books written where no one gets sexually assaulted--not denying that it happens (often), but every single thriller I have read that takes place on a college campus has SA as central to the plot, to the point where it is becoming almost a trope of the genre. And from a selfish standpoint, I just prefer to read books without it.

But I did like this book--there were several twists that I did not see coming, and it was overall an entertaining read.

Stacy Willingham's latest thriller, "Only If You're Lucky" tells the tale of college besties getting tangled up in something they shouldn't. The twist was twisty and the author spends plenty of time building out the characters, the campus, and the clues. As a huge fan of Willingham's "A Flicker in the Dark" and "All the Dangerous Things," I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Margot drifted through her freshman year of college. She didn’t make any real connections, so when a girl from her dorm floor singles her out to join an off-campus house as a fourth roommate, she jumps at the chance. After Eliza, the best friend she was supposed to attend the small school with tragically died the summer before, she’s hopeful she can find new friendships with Lucy, Nicole and Sloane - her roommates in the creepy old house - and their fraternity brother landlords. But after just one semester, one of the frat boys is dead and Lucy is missing. The police want answers and think the remaining girls must know where Lucy is - but best friends don’t betray each other’s trust, right?

I’ve seen some mixed reviews about this book, but I think it’s another solid story from this author. It’s told from the point of view of Margot, and the timelines go back and forth between before Eliza’s death, her time at the house, and present-day with the detectives looking for Lucy. It’s definitely a slow burn but it fully kept my interest throughout. There were a few twists and while I did have an inkling about one, I didn’t guess the others. If you’re a fan of this author’s other books, I think you’ll like this one too. Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.