This was a great thriller! I loved previous books of Stacys and this was on par with them.

I think for me i would categorize this as more of a suspense and mystery than thriller.

Margo embarks on the chapter of her life as a freshman at college. She feels out of place and lost at first because shes having to do this alone, instead of with her best friend Eliza who tragically passed away not too long ago. Margo quickly becomes friends with the “it trio of girls” and is invited to live with them off campus. She doesnt know much about them or their “head queen bee Lucy” but she is drawn to them, especially Lucy like her friend Eliza. Margo finds herself confronted by her past when Elizas boyfriend whom was the last to see her alive shows up at the frat next door. There’s secrets everyone is keeping but nobody knows how deadly those secrets are and what are people willing to do to keep those secrets?

This is seriously such mystery. I had no idea where this was all headed. I could tell maybe one part once its revealed that it made a lot of sense but the ending was such a truth bomb of twists that i was left floored! I loved the college life setting and how unreliable all the characters seemed to be. It left you questioning everyone and everything.

A question from the book that was talked about a lot and left in mind while writing this review and thinking of the story was: If you could get away with murder would you do it?

3.5 Stars
“If You Knew You Could Get Away with Murder, Would You do it?”

This book was disappointment for me! A bit of a slow burn, and not very fast-paced. I guess I went in with some serious expectations because the author's previous two books delivered such a gut punch of emotions with heart pounding moments that kept you turning page after page.

BUT, most of this book reads like YA in a college setting.
There’s lots of games, truth telling, and accusations throughout this story. There’s also lots of references to Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, which makes sense because in reality we have a bunch of harmless, naïve girls who are capable of both good and evil. While there is a mystery component, it lacked a sophisticated intrigue.

Margot is a college student, who is grieving the death of her best friend that died shortly after their high school graduation. After spending her freshman year staying mostly to herself, she is befriended by the charismatic, Lucy Sharpe. Lucy draws Margot into her more daring and adventurous life. Margot soon finds that there is more to Lucy than meets the eye. One of their fraternity neighbors is murdered and Lucy goes missing.

There were some interesting twists and turns and a good ending but it was a long road to get there.
I found this to be more a character study/look at female friendships than a thriller until near the end.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St, Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and the author for an ARC of this book which I had the pleasure of reading. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for sharing this book with me early to read and review. This book wasn’t my favorite but I do love bits of it and know others will too!

Thank you for the arc copy.

Overall this book was okay. It was a little choppy at times but did keep my interest. I did not like the characters as much in this book as this authors other stories. Good tension over all.

"If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?”

Here I am with my first 5 star read of 2024!!! I have LOVED reading Stacy Willingham’s books, I can understand why this one had so many mixed reviews. For starers, it’s a slow-burn, college campus thriller which in my opinion is very different from her last two novels. Lucky for me, I love college campus thrillers, especially those that show the darker side of friendships, obsessions, secrets, murder & a twist I did not see coming.

Margot is entering her freshman year of college in a grief sicken daze. Her best friend, Eliza, died just three weeks after their high school graduation and has been unable to move on from everything that led up to Eliza’s death. Margot is shy and finds herself playing it safe her freshman year, that is until Lucy Sharpe, who is larger than life asks her to room together the following year. Margot ends up staying that summer with her new roommates and begins to come out of her shell, that is until the school year begins and someone from her past shows up and all those old feelings coming rushing back. As the semester goes on, Margot starts to uncover even crazier things realizing that her past and her present are much more intertwined that she ever thought.

Whenever I picked this one up, I found myself completely immersed in the story and each twist that came up perfectly falling into place.

what a frickin, wild ride! while the characters had no personalities and margot was the epitome of boring, the story kept moving along with twists every few chapters. i'm glad that this was not a total disappointment.

This author's books need to be on every single bookworm's shelf! I love everything she writes and boy can she tell a story! I loved the layers of secrets that were revealed as the story progressed. She has a way of building suspense and keeping the reader glued.

I really enjoyed the author's previous two books but this one fell a little flat for me. It dragged quite a lot in the beginning. The last 20% or so was interesting but it took way too long to get there.

I loved this thriller! A great story about toxic female friendship! The story revolves around Margot who is starting college alone after the recent death of her best friend. As Margot immerses herself in new friendships and college life the story gets more twisty with more questions than answers. This book is fast paced and I couldn’t wait for all the loose ends to fall into place. There were a lot of layers in this well developed plot and I was definitely engaged in it from the first page to the last. If you are looking for a book full of suspense give this one a try!

Loved this book and it was really enjoyable. I'm so glad that I got the chance to read it early and will definitely be recommending it to multiple people who enjoy these types of novels. I enjoyed the characters and especially enjoyed the writing by this author. I'm excited to see what the author comes out with next as I'll definitely be reading it! Thank you to the publisher for my early copy of this book!

One of the many aspects of reading that I love is that while I may not have thoroughly enjoyed a book
many others have and will. I share that tidbit as Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham was a disappointing read for me. Margot's dearest friend, Eliza Jefferson, died the summer after graduation. Their friendship had fractured shortly before graduation as a result of Eliza's budding relationship with a boy, Levi Butler. who had recently moved next door. Margot was devastated by Eliza's tragic death, and there were some unanswered questions after the investigation, yet decided to move forward and attend the small liberal arts college she and Elza had planned. Her freshman year was miserable and lonely even though her very nice roommate tried to help. Right before classes end for the summer, she meets Lucy Sharpe, and she is ecstatic when Lucy invites her to live with her and two other girls for the summer and the academic year. Lucy is everything that Margot isn't: fierce, funny and fearless. All is going well until Levi Buler arrives on campus. I'll be honest I found Margot to be a tedious character, constantly bemoaning her many "perceived" flaws. The book seemed to just go on and on, although I'm glad I stayed with it as the ending was definitely a surprise worth waiting for.
Thank you to NetGalley and Montour Books for the opportunity to read an ARC of Only If You're Lucky in exchange for my candid review.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
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I have to say that the more books that Stacy Willingham puts out, the better she gets! This one is probably my favorite out of her books and I loved that she incorporated the dark academia into this novel. Willingham constructs a rich a complex dynamic among the roommates in this book and her writing captures a compelling exploration of friendships, secrets, and a haunting mystery. My only c complaint is that this is definitely much more of a slow burn mystery instead of a thriller like it is being targeted as, so this is just something to be aware of going into the book! But overall, definitely one that if you are looking for a quick read, this is a good one!

I love Stacy Willingham. This book started a little slow, following Margot's POV. Margo is a college student whose BFF recently passed away before starting school. Margot accused a boy of murdering her BFF. Margot and her late BFF discussed attending college together but it was all cut short. However, in college, a popular girl, Lucy, befriended Margot and invited her to live with them. Margot wondered why Lucy and her friends chose to befriend Margot. The four girls partied and did normal college stuff. But one day, the boy Margot accused of killing her BFF showed up at her college and was living next door to her. It doesn't end there because he was found dead and Lucy was missing. Margot's perfect year at college is now invaded by police.

Stacy Willingham is a phenomenon. I love her books. this is no exception.

Thank you, Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Welcome to Rutledge College!! Happy Pub Day to Only If You’re Lucky by @stacyvwillingham!! I loved this book. It simmers with tension and intrigue. The dual timelines perfectly highlight each of the character’s actions and their motivations. The friendship and dark academia tropes are some of my favorite and Willingham has created the perfect mix of it. I can’t wait to read her next book.

This is another of my recent thriller marathon reads. Stacy Willingham’s All the Dangerous Things was one of my favorite suspense novels of last year, so I was really excited to dive into her newest book. I combined the ebook with the audio book and I’m really glad I did. The well done audio is what got me through this one.

This book is a slow burn and one that never quite ignited for me. It felt a little on the YA scale to me, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but was not what I was expecting. I found the twists to be somewhat predictable and I never had that moment of shock and surprise that I long for in a thriller and that disappointed me. I appreciated the examination of the sometimes obsessive nature of young female friendships, but I’ve seen it done before and executed more effectively. Not a bad book but compared to the high bar Willingham has set, it was kind of a miss for me. Still, I look forward to whatever she does next. Thank you to @netgalley @minotaur_books @macmillan.audio for arcs of this book.

Thank you to Minotaur publishing for my gifted audiobook. I really enjoyed the narration. I couldn’t stop listening. I enjoyed the storyline and the plot. I love when you read a mystery or a psych thriller and can’t figure out who did it or how they did it until the very end. I had a feeling but didn’t know the “how”. I just love this authors writing so so much.

I really wanted to love this book! It’s a DNF for me, unfortunately. I found the MC to be super irritating and unlikeable in a way I just couldn’t get past. The pretty little liars/mean girls esque girls clique could’ve been so good but was just a miss. Waayyy too slow of a slow burn.

Margot is hoping college can give her a fresh start. After losing her best friend since childhood that was supposed to accompany her to college, Margot knows she has to find her own way. But she has never done that without her best friend by her side. When Lucy, beautiful Lucy, asks her to move into a house with her and some friends Margot is shocked and pleased. She is hoping she will finally find her people. She ends up finding a lot more than she bargained for with her new found friendships.

I loved Willingham’s other books. They were hard to put down…this one just didn’t do that for me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and I saw the big twist that was coming for the most part. It was okay, but not my favorite of her books.

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

Margot is mourning the loss her best friend, Eliza, who died 3 weeks after high school graduation. She continues on to Rutledge College in South Carolina without her friend and muddles through her first year. Then she is drawn to Lucy Sharpe who is charismatic, outgoing and mysterious. Lucy invites her to live with her and her friends in an off campus house connected to the fraternity Kappa Nu. Things are great until a fraternity brother is murdered and Lucy is missing without a trace.

This was a slower paced psychological thriller that was a fun read with several twists. It read like a YA thriller but I liked the dark academia vibes and the twisty female friendships. I didn’t figure out all twists and this one was full of them in the end. It did bring back some college memories:)

Stacy Willingham has not written a disappointing book yet. This story was engaging from the first page and slowly builds to the point where you don’t know who to trust, who is telling the truth, or what is happening.

It was a fast & fun read.