Amazing! Another banger of a story from Stacy. She’s definitely one of my favorite writers. Her detailed, entrancing story telling is unmatched and so appreciated when you read lots of thrillers as I do. Sometimes they all start to sound the same, but not Stacy’s. The story was fun, twisty and while I did guess one twist, the ending held a few surprises!

Thank you to St. Martins Press, NetGalley and the author for the advanced reader copy!

“Friends for life is a myth, a fable. A feel-good fairy tale we tell ourselves to avoid having to think too hard about facing the world alone.”

Margot was facing the world alone during her first year of college, just after tragically losing her BFF in their affluent Outer Banks town in North Carolina. No one was charged with her murder, it was deemed and accident, but it haunted Margot’s every waking moment. A few months prior to Eliza’s mysterious death, Margot’s life had been picture perfect. The girls were inseparable, planning their upcoming lives at Rutledge College together. They were the best of friends, knew each others secrets, and spent all their time together until Levi Butler moved next door. Eliza became smitten with him, and there was a cosmic shift in Eliza’s attention to Margot. Margot began to feel alone and cast aside, she was not happy.

Resentment and anger between the young friends reached an apex just weeks before Eliza’s untimely death. In Margot’s eyes, Levi Butler was the singular cause for their rift, and she completely blamed him for the state of their relationship. Margot and Eliza had a huge fight and were still not communicating when Eliza fell to her death unexpectedly. Of course Levi was with Eliza that fateful night, fanning the feelings of hatred Margot harbored. Deemed an accidental fall there were no arrests made in the death of her beloved friend. Margot knew who she blamed, and his name was Levi.

During Margot’s first year of college at Rutledge, she was still grappling with tremendous loss of Eliza. Lucy, an enchanting coed befriends Margot and Margot is completely and utterly smitten with her. She craves what she had with Eliza and is hoping to recreate that with Lucy. Like Eliza was, Lucy is always the center of attention. People are drawn to her, they follow her lead and do what she says. Margot is no different. She follows Lucy’s lead wholeheartedly, desperate to have that closeness back in her life. She feels lucky to experience it again. Sadly, people aren’t always what they seem, and Margot will learn this lesson the hard way.

As Margot enters her second year of college, her life becomes uncharacteristically turbulent. She throws caution to the wind, resolute in becoming a different kind of person. She has moved in with the captivating Lucy, the timid Nicole and straightforward Sloane and believes her life is just about perfect. Soon after, Levi Buttler, a new incoming freshman at Rutledge, threatens to ruin her happiness by being a fixture in her daily life. Levi is now a part of her social circle, and causes her to relive all kinds of suppressed emotions.

Not long after Levi comes to college, he is suspiciously murdered and Margot is consumed with suspicion about her own past, her good friend Lucy, her other friends and some of the choices she’s made in her young life. As the police focus on Lucy, Margot, and the roommates for answers to Levi’s death the story starts to unravel revealing the truth about both deaths and the sinister details.

Just when the reader thinks (s)he’s figured out the plot another speck of the truth is revealed and is led to a completely different conclusion. This was an excellent book with so many unpredictable secrets.

Thank you Net Galley, Minotaur Books and Stacy Wellingham for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ve read all three of Stacy’s books and I cannot wait to read her fourth. Do yourself a favor and pick this book up on release day 1/16/24 or preorder, you won’t be sorry!

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Hands down, this is Stacy Willingham’s best book yet. I’ve been following her work for the last several years, ever since I received an ARC of her first book, A Flicker In the Dark, and absolutely loved it. It’s truly been such a treat to watch her writing develop over her last two books, and the fruits of her labour really get to shine through with this piece.

Fundamentally, this is a story about the intense friendships—and secrets—that develop between young women during their college years: the first time that we’re “on our own,” but also for so many of us these years are still a period of truly learning who we actually are, and who we may become. While (ideally!) the murder(s) within the book will not be directly relatable for most, I do believe that many other aspects will ring true for many people.

The final series of twists is rolled out in exquisite fashion, and if you’re a fan of the multi-layered slow burn thriller this book is absolutely for you.

Margot and Eliza were best friends since kindergarten. After high school they had plans to attend college together until Eliza dies in a tragic accident. Afterward Margot doesn’t know how to go on without Eliza. She starts college but just gets by. At the end of her freshman year, Margot meets Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole. Lucy is very similar to Eliza with her outgoing personality and draws Margot in to her world. But soon a classmate is dead and Lucy is missing.

This story really looks at female friendships, jealousy, and the desire to belong. It was a slow burn. There was an alternating timeline of before and after but it just took a really long time to get anywhere. I thought it was a little twisty but truthfully nothing too exciting. And the ending felt too rushed for me. I felt almost exactly the same way with Jar of Hearts. Good book, but not anything I felt overly excited about.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and St Martins Press for the advance reader copy. Publication date January 16, 2024.

Margot is the introvert always flying by the coat tails of her best friend Eliza. When Eliza dies suddenly the summer between high school and college, Margot is left reeling with what comes next. Enter Lucy, a shining star that stands out in a crowd and draws the attention. Lucy pulls Margot into her inner circle along with Sloane and Nicole. The girls are all vastly different, but somehow seem to coexist around Lucy.

Over the course of a year, the girls bond deeply and cling to each other like buoys. When a pledge from the next door fraternity winds up dead, questions arise. Who is Lucy? Could she have ties the girls didn't know about? More importantly, where did Lucy go?

Go for a ride with this book about dramatic friendships seized by tragedy. A slow burn that has you connecting the dots through the eyes of Margot.

Stacy Willingham really switched it up with this one. I typically see her books flipping between the past (younger self) and more of a current main character. This book centered around college age girls throughout the story. Still very much a before and after, but not quite the same. I would venture to say that this had less thriller vibes than her others. It's driven by friendship and protecting those you care about.

Thank you to Netgalley, Minotaur, and St. Martin Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

Although predictable, an interesting dark academia mystery reminiscent of works like In My Dreams I Hold A Knife.

While I enjoyed the characters and the back and forth between timelines, I found this one to be a true, frustratingly so, slow burn. It truly doesn't pick up until the 70% mark and by then, the revelations feel obvious and underwhelming.

Overall, a quick read with a solid ending despite a slow execution.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. If you are in your early 20s or just want to reminisce your college days this book may be for you. Unfortunately this book was not for me. The book is focused on 4 friends that move into a creepy house next to a frat house. The book is mainly about these college kids partying. I couldn’t relate because I’m 37 and my partying years are long gone. There is a lot of peer pressure to take white pills at the main character does it without even asking what she is taking. (Gasp) The book moves very slow. If you are looking to relive your party days then this might be for you.

I enjoyed this compelling dark academia novel that delves into the intricate lives of college students, entwined with murder, mysteries, and dark secrets. If you enjoy dark sorority/fraternity dramatic reads, add this to your TBR! It’s told in multiple timelines, which I enjoyed especially because it never got confusing like this approach sometimes can. I do wish a bit more time had been spent in the “now” timeline. I was definitely constantly trying to guess when a twist would happen and what it would be. While I enjoyed the book, in comparison to Willingham's previous works, I found myself more captivated by her earlier novels. Nonetheless, this is a solid addition to her repertoire, offering a suspenseful journey into the lives of college students.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

Only If You're Lucky follows a mysterious group of friends who have a lot of secrets, some more than others ...a theme that instantly reminded of Pretty Little Liars. Throughout the book, it proved difficult to trust anything any of the characters said. I knew something was amiss, but I couldn't figure out exactly what I was trying to uncover. This book is full of mystery and suspense, however, it is definitely a slow build and I found myself getting a little impatient for some answers.
Thank you so much NetGalley, St.Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and Stacy Willingham for giving me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

I read this author’s second book, All the Dangerous Things, earlier this year and really enjoyed it, so I was excited to pick up her third book. Unfortunately, I was let down by it.

First off, the pacing was incredibly slow. Most of the book seemed to be the girls getting drunk or stoned at college parties. The twists and turns didn’t come into the story until the last third of the book. Literally two thirds of the book was about drinking and partying, and a very toxic friendship.

The characters were the WORST. I literally hated every single one of them, especially the main character Margot who was a horrible friend and a horrible person all around. The only character I thought was okay was maggie, and she was barely in the story.

I did not like this book. It was way too dark and depressing and I hate the whole trope of mean college girls. The whole time I was reading, I kept thinking, “I’m so glad my college experience was literally NOTHING like this!”

1.5 stars

So, I've read both of author Stacy Willingham's previous books, and they were just okay, and I skimmed a lot of her second just to get through it. But the description of her latest, "Only if You're Lucky" really appealed to me & I decided to give her one more try. I'm so very glad that I did as I really, really enjoyed this one! It's quite different than her others & for me that was a plus - I liked the "Dark Academia" trope meets "Mean Girls" vibe. Often felt surprised with the story here & that's also good! Found MC Margot, her new college & friends and her old & dead BFF to be both a slow-burner and yet well-written. Liked the Jeykll & Hyde fore-shadowing too! My sincere thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the complimentary DRC, my pleasure to review & happy I tried this author again!

5 enthusiastic starts for this one. The characters are so well developed they feel like people you really know.
The setting was amazing and I love that the author used her life to create this setting.
It oozed suspense and fear. Absolutely spine chilling moments and so many plot twists and turns it kept me guessing until the very last page. Breakneck speed and edge of your seat moments without compromising the character development or genuine feelings this invokes. This was a fantastic read and I was sad when I read the last page because it was over.
One of those rare books you can fully immerse yourself in!

Still mourning the loss of her best friend, Margot is off to freshmen year of college. This was not the plan. Margot floats thru her first year in a haze. Margot is invited to live with a trio of girls, including Lucy, in a house that is owned by the fraternity. Yard attached! What occurs next starts an interesting story that takes some very twisty turns! Hold on to your hat. The ending did shock me.
This book kept me turning the pages and I just want to read it again to look for any clues I missed! Oh so good!!!
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This story fully captures all the feelings of being young - feeling invincible, some self-absorbed and some so insecure they have a hard time functioning. Typical college life here - but with a twist! Do you trust those you live with? Are some secrets to big to keep?

It took me a chapter or two to really get into it but once I did, I was hooked. I really liked this slow paced thriller. There were so many twists and turns that I never saw coming.
I love books that alternate between timelines such as before and after throughout the story. I also really enjoyed the friendships in the book.
If you enjoy secrets, lies, and huge twists- I highly recommend this book.

Stacy Willingham captured my heart and intrigue in her first debut novel, and her second story didn’t let me down!

I like books that give you the ending (1 character is dead and another one missing) and then work backward, slowly unraveling the mystery of what happened. This creates a slower paced mystery but still a satisfying one as everything comes together in the end. The ending wasn't exactly tied up with a neat little bow but I enjoyed that as well--sometimes that's how life goes.

3.5🌟 I was excited to read Stacy Willingham’s newest novel “Only If You’re Lucky”. I really enjoy her writing. I was all in one this one for the first 50 pages the set up was great. I love a good university thriller. Then add BFFs who live in a creepy house, fraternity house next door, and the new shy girl who has a dead bestie. Then it kind of dragged in the middle for me and got a little repetitive. The time frame of this story is present day but it felt like the late 80s-early 90s to me. Which I think I would have actually preferred that. The characters are unlikeable and a little predictable. However, the last 100 pages sucked me back in and even though I had figured some of the main twist out, there were one or two I did not. All in all I would recommend if you want a fast university thriller with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde vibes, Agatha Christie twist, and a coming of age feel.


Thank you so much for the gifted copy from NetGalley, St.Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and Stacy Willingham. It was an honor to read this book. “Only if You’re Lucky” will be published January 16,2024.

I love everything Stacy Willingham writes. She has a way of really setting up her stories with enough information, but also plenty of misdirection. She really took her time painting a picture in this book. And when it all came together, the reveals were brilliant.

It did however, take awhile for it to come together, and I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it at first. The college setting and the fact that all of the characters were college aged, didn’t appeal to me as much. But the last quarter of this book truly redeemed any doubts that I had.

So while the journey to get there was long and full of questions, I ultimately did love it once we found out the answers. And her acknowledgment section was really great!

4.5 stars