Willingham has yet to write a book that I don’t enjoy. This one is no different. I will say that I found the beginning a bit slow and wasn’t sure where the story was going. However, the pace definitely picks up once pieces of the puzzle start to come together.

Most of the book is set on a college campus, and some of the major problems that occur there are included… domestic abuse, sexual violence, hazing. Please check the trigger warnings before reading!

Lucy is a such a manipulative character: she’s a facade and complete chameleon. At times while reading, I was reminded a bit of 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘁 𝗚𝗶𝗿𝗹 by Ruth Ware, one of my favourite dark academia thrillers.

The major reveal near the end completely shocked me! Did not see it coming at all, and that’s what makes it SO great!

What is it that they say about secrets? They always find the light of day!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Stacy Willingham does it again! Insta-buy author for me. The way she weaves these stories is so good and hard to figure out on your own but its done well! This is my third book by Stacy, and I haven’t been disappointed yet.
Margot is a quiet and cautious person, but when she meets Lucy at the end of her first year of college, she decides to throw caution to the wind. They become roommates off campus in a house owned by one of the fraternities. Margot spends the summer getting closer to Lucy and the two other roommates, Sloane and Nicole. Things start to get tense when someone from Margot’s past shows up and by winter, ends up dead while Lucy has gone missing.
Wow this was such an intense ride. I was having a hard time tracking what was going on. At first, it seems like Margot is just an insecure girl whose only friend died right after high school and is clinging to any friendship she could possibly find. The more you get to know the characters the more theories you have. The twists and turns and betrayals that happen will keep you on the edge of your seat and questioning everything. Such a great psychological thriller set on a college campus.

"Only If You're Lucky" is a gripping psychological thriller that delves into the complexities of friendship, loyalty, and betrayal. The story follows Margot, a shy and cautious college student, who is drawn into the charismatic and enigmatic world of Lucy Sharpe. As Margot is pulled out of her comfort zone and into the off-campus house shared with Lucy and two other girls, the dynamics between the housemates unravel in unexpected ways.

Stacy Willingham skillfully weaves a narrative of suspense and intrigue, keeping readers on the edge of their seats as secrets are revealed and tensions rise. The disappearance of Lucy Sharpe and the murder of a fraternity boy add layers of mystery, blurring the lines between truth and deception.

Stacy Willingham's new book was on my list of must-read thrillers this year. Flicker In The Dark was a 4 srar for me, but All The Dangerous Things was a solid 5. In the latest book, Margot, a college student befriends a group of girls who become her roommates and suddenly finds herself in the middle investigation of another student's murder.

For a psychological thriller, this book was going in a great direction. I was really enjoying Margot trying to navigate her college friendships and alliances and was very much intrigued by the mysterious death of Margot's high school friend. By becoming close friends with dark and mysterious Lucy in college, the MC was trying to fill the void of losing her best friend. Maybe I was expecting more of a thriller in this than just a story of a good girl waiting to be changed. But when the mystery began to unravel at the end, it sadly felt like it fizzled out.

I am so bummed... I really wanted to love this book, but I guess it just wasn't for me. It started slow and I've been hoping it would pick up, but then it went in all kind of directions, and went off the rails for me. Give it a shot though, this slowburn may just work for you.

I was so intrigued by this, how Margot was obsessed with her former best friend whose deceased and now obsessed with her new best friend Lucy. I enjoyed this so much and felt like this was a fresh take on obsession

2 stars

I think I kind of set myself up for failure with this one probably because of how much I liked her first two books. I felt like this one was a little too slow for me, add to that it felt really young more like a YA novel. It really didn't feel like much happened until the end of the book. The reveals didn't really do much and kind of removed a lot of the suspension of disbelief that one should have when reading a thriller.

I will read her next book because really enjoy her writing.

Thank you Minotaur and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this completely blind and I highly recommend doing that! At first I had zero idea where the story was headed but the character development kept me really interested and then when everything started to unfold I could not put this down! This book not only delivered on being a great thriller but also had a truly amazing story that I felt so engaged in! I love a thriller that makes you feel and this was that!

I think I've been reading too many thrillers because it takes a lot now to impress me. There were pieces of this story that I liked: the college setting, toxic female friendships, and backstories that come into play. But overall, I felt like it was okay-nothing that blew me away.

When Margot's best friend died, a hole was left in her life.
Enter Lucy Sharp, a beautiful, magnetic, mysterious, larger than life presence who chose Margot.
Chose her to be the final piece in her perfect circle of friends.
But soon Lucy disappears leaving a dead frat boy and a lot of questions.

This book had me, I was drawn in immediately, I loved Lucy's character and had so many questions I could not wait to get answers to.
This book was mainly wrote in flashback with short chapters in the present day.
As the book neared the end I was pretty surprised by some of the developments, but I don't know if it was the actual twist or the delivery, but it fell a little flat ... and then the big reveal. *womp womp*
Nope !

This book had me and then immediately lost me.
I absolutely hated the ending. I'm not sure how anyone could be happy with this ending. For a book I initially enjoyed, it was a big let down.
This had the makings of a four star book, but the ending just blew me away in the worst way possible.

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Slow burns

Ugh. I wish I liked this, but I did not. It was very slow and boring. I finished it because I had to know the ending. I didn't even like the end.

This book was a bit slower than Willingham’s previous book. It was a bit different reading from the perspectives of young college girls instead of women in their 30’s. I would have like a little bit more urgency in the story than what was given. It really picked up in the last few chapters, whereas I would have liked to have a bit more stuff happening throughout the book other than typical college happenings.

I enjoyed the author's previous works and this one was no different. Set in college rather than the "real world," Willingham has a slow burn of a mystery that demonstrates their skill and finesse. Some parts were a bit too predictable, but overall an entertaining mystery.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Absolute no for me, initially piqued my interest however it went no where. Took forever (like 3/4 of the book) to get to any action by which point I lost all of that interest. The twists and turns that we’re promised couldn’t make up for the whole book being so boring, unfortunately.

This title by Willingham was certainly a more “slow-burn” compared to A Flicker in the Dark but it did come through with the big reveal towards the end. I would recommend this more towards the younger readers who like young adult mysteries and are transitioning to adult mysteries since it contains aspects from both groups. Some instances were entirely too predictable and felt like a cliche college experience you’d watch from an indie horror film but the writing was still engaging and left you wanting to get to the reveal.

This book keeps you guessing until the last few chapters. I just couldn't figure it out! It was a fun read of friendship (the good and bad sides), adolescence, finding how to be your own person and mostly "what the in the world happened and who did it?!". If you love books that grip you from the start and keep you guessing until the end pick this one up!

First time reading anything by this author and I was not disappointed. Can’t wait to check out more of her work cause this book did it for me. It was a gripping, twisted, whodunnit tale with so many twists and turns you won’t see coming. I love how the book begins with us being placed right in the center of what’s already happened allowing the author to take us back through what lead up to everything.

While reading this I kept thinking of the movie The Craft because Margot and Lucy gave me vibes of Nancy and Sarah minus the witchcraft. Lucy was giving weird ass vibes the entire time like she always had something up her sleeve and it wasn’t good. Margot came off like this innocent gullible character but please don’t be fooled.

The way the author played the characters against each other was golden. The deeper you get into the novel the more twisted things become. You might think you know who’s behind what but trust when I say you’re wrong. When the truth gets exposed I was left in awe because you wouldn’t have seen that coming. My only downside was the reasoning behind most of the madness I won’t spoil it but definitely was expecting something a little more dramatic.

Overall, loved the book it was definitely my kind of thriller‼️ If you like movies like The Craft or The Roommate then you’ll vibe with this book. The character development was excellent, the writing was vivid and descriptive, and of course the premise was well executed not to mention the fast pacing. I finished reading this book within a day or so that’s how good it was to me. Special thanks to the author & @minotaur_books for my gifted copy‼️

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham is a book that once you pick it up, you won't want to put down. Just like with her previous books, Stacy Willingham has a way of creating characters that you want to continue reading about from start to finish. Stacy Willigham is becoming a staple for a thriller readers.

Margot is a shy girl who has just finished her freshmen year at college. When she befriends outgoing Lucy and moves in with her and two others, Sloane and Nicole, she finds herself part of a group she hadn't realized she needed. As the summer passes, things start taking a turn, leacing Margot questioning if Lucy may know more than she's letting on, with a fraternity boy having just been brutally murdered and Lucy now missing, Magot has to come to terms with what might or might not have happened.

Thank you to NetGally and the publisher for the free copy of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham in exchange for my honest and free review.

I loved Stacey Willingham’s first two books so I was very excited to read this one. I usually like a college setting, but this one had way too much young adult drama for me. If you like YA thrillers, you may enjoy this more.

Book Summary:

We've all met somebody who felt larger than life. Who seemed to draw everyone in, no matter where they were. For Margot, that someone is Lucy Sharpe. For Margot, Lucy is the light she desperately needs in her life.

Naturally, Margot jumped at the chance to live with Lucy. Even if taking that chance meant walking away from an otherwise comfortable dorm situation. Yet the longer this new group lives together, the clearer it becomes that something is very wrong.

My Review:

If you're looking for a twisty thriller, Only If You're Lucky is the book for you. Seriously, there were so many turns that I nearly got lost a time or two. Nearly. Stacy Willingham did a brilliant job of making the readers expect one thing, only to flip it upside down.

I love how Only If You're Lucky played with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde elements. It is subtle but so much fun. It added a layer or two to the story, turning it into something more complex and interesting.

My biggest regret about Only If You're Lucky is that there's only one POV. This book felt like it should have had two – Margot's and Lucy's. Yes, that probably would have reduced some of the tension and buildup (since we would have had more chance to know what Lucy was up to), but I'm certain Willingham could have balanced it out.

Highlights:
Thriller/Suspense
Multiple Timelines
Secrets Galore

I really hate to leave nasty reviews on books but this one was pretty awful if I’m honest. I had really high hopes because I loved the other two books by Stacy Willingham. However I feel like this books DRUG on and on before finally getting to the good parts (at about 60% in). Truthfully I had to fight hard not to DNF. The only thing that saved it for me was the ending. I didn’t see the twists coming at all.

I am very thankful to have received this ARC via NetGalley!