Shy and cautious Margot arrives to college after a tragic summer, hoping to find a new life after the death of her best friend. After a year of staying holed up in her room, Margot catches the eye of the most intriguing, charismatic girl on campus, Lucy. Lucy takes Margot under her wing, asking Margot to move in with her and two other girls (smart Sloane and nice Nicole) in an off campus house. Margot finally begins to come out of her shell and finds new friendship and belonging with Lucy and her other roommates.

But when one of the frat boys next door turns up murdered and Lucy disappears without a trace, Margot, Sloane and Nicole begin to reflect on who Lucy is, their friendship with her, and what she might have been up to.

This was a slow-burn… until it wasn’t. The story was told in dual timelines with a palpable tension build up and a bit of the dark academia (which felt pretty reminiscent of some college houses I have been in!) that’s been so popular lately, all of which created an atmosphere where I couldn’t put the book down! It’s very twisty (and twisted!), and while I thought I had figured out what happened about half way through, I really had no idea the depths and spirals it would and could go!

Thank you to @minotaur_books and @stacyvwillingham for my advanced copy! #OnlyIfYoureLucky comes out 1/16/24.

Dark, eerie and haunting

I LOVE a book that keeps me guessing and, boyyyyyy, did this keep me guessing.

I’ve already seen some mixed reviews on this one, things saying it’s a slow burn and the ending doesn’t tie everything into a neat bow. Yes, I could see how this could be slower in the beginning but it was NEVER dull. I was SO invested in what was happening with Margot, Lucy, Sloane and Nicole.

Lucy’s character is an enigma that unwraps all the way to the end of the book, the whole time you’ll wonder ‘where is this going’ ‘what is her deal’ leaving you shocked at the end when you see how Margot, Sloane and Nicole are all intertwined.

The only thing that tripped me up from time to time were the timelines. There are three, all from Margot’s POV. One being current when Margot, Sloane and Nicole are being questioned about Lucy’s disappearance. Another being Margot’s past before college and the death of her childhood best friend, Eliza. The last being the time in between, when Margot, Lucy, Sloane and Nicole are all roommates. At times, they would throw me off for a second.

As for the ending, no, it doesn’t end perfect where all the loose ends have been tied. But I liked that and I think that’s what the author was going for. The whole story has been such a mystery, we have the answers for everything big, that’s why I actually love the ending, it still leaves something to be wondered.

Ok, well that’s enough.
Long story, short. READ THE BOOK!

"One day we were strangers and the next we were friends." - Stacy Willingham

Having read Willingham prior to Only If You're Lucky, I knew she would take me on a wild ride, hence my eagerness to pick up and read her latest book.

Synopsis: Margot’s best friend, Eliza, dies suddenly and unexpectedly after high school graduation. Eliza was full of life and helped the shy and quiet Margot feel alive. Margot loved Eliza and her family, wishing she was part of that family instead of her own. So after she loses Eliza, she feels lost and hides in her dorm room freshman year not drawing too much attention to herself. Suddenly, along comes the charismatic Lucy asking her to become the 4th roommate off campus for sophomore year. They spend a fun summer together. Everything seems bright and new until someone winds up murdered at the fraternity next door.

The mystery of Only If You're Lucky leaves you guessing right up until the last few chapters. It's riveting and I could not, did not want to put it down until the last word was read. Everyone is hiding secrets, some not revealed until the very end.

Reader beware: this is not a heart-lifting book of survival, more a spine-chilling book of survival. It's a must read for anyone who enjoys mystery, suspense, or psychology.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this tale of friendship, belonging, jealousy, and obsession.

Another solid thriller to kick off 2024! The mystery was a little drawn out but still kept me interested. I thought I had it figured out, but I was wrong!

I'm always quick to pick up Willingham because she is a consistently good writer and her novels are always very different from each other. In true fashion, Only If You're Lucky is very well written and totally different from All the Dangerous Things (loved!) and A Flicker in the Dark (meh). While reading Only If You're Lucky, I kept seeing it play out as a Netflix limited series. I think it's written perfectly for the screen and may actually translate better that way for me.

This was an enjoyable read but felt familiar and a little drawn out for much of it. There were definitely twists toward the later third that I didn't see coming, but I was a little too checked out at that point for them to pack the punch I had needed earlier on. I didn't connect with the characters and didn't feel like Lucy's appeal was conveyed all that well so I had a hard time feeling any emotion.

I listened to this novel on audio which was great. The narrator - Karissa Vacker - was fantastic and added a really great element to the telling of the story. She did a great job with the pacing (which I often found slow, but the audio helped) and kept it just theatrical enough.

Overall, this was a decent read and if you've loved Willingham's prior novels, it's worth reading. I enjoyed it, but it probably won't stick with me.

Thank you to MacMillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the copy.

Margot is finishing her first year of college when she meets Lucy, a charismatic student who reminds her of her best friend Eliza who died the year before. Margot moves in with Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole - into a house that adjoins a fraternity house. Margot is shocked when Levi, Eliza's former boyfriend, shows up at the house and she learns that he's a legacy pledge. Things beginto unwravel from there, and Margo is left wondering who to trust.

I found this book to be more of a toxic friendship coming-of-age than a true thriller. There was some mystery surrounding Lucy and the deaths. Not my favorite book bt Stacy Willingham, but worth it if you like dark academia.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for the ARC in exahange for an honest review.

Thank you to Minotaur books and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book. I thought this book reminded me of a Young adult book. This book has more than 60 chapters which was good since they were short chapters.
The main character best friend died after high school graduation. She then enters college and that is why I think it is considered a young adult book. I was looking forward to reading this book since I was familiar with the author but this was not her best but still considered a good book.

I absolutely loved this new book from Stacy Willingham. I was sucked in from the beginning and found myself thinking about returning to it when I wasn't reading, which is the mark for a great book for me. This would be perfect to read in the fall with a little chill in the air. A twisty campus novel that fully immerses you in the feeling of a small college town and the relationships that exist there. I love the way Willingham constantly keeps me guessing up until the last page. A definite read for thriller fans!

Stacy Willingham is back with a new twisty thriller!

Ever since her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, I have loved Willingham's writing style and storylines. Her thrillers are trademark twisty with fun plots along the way. This one felt a bit more personal than her last works which she does express in her author's note about using her own experiences in college to depict the fraternity house and neighboring house that is the setting for most of this book. Only If You're Lucky feels like a book within a book as you develop a sense of the past and present with a set of friends who are seniors in college. The narration made me feel uneasy as if something were about to erupt at any point. The standout in this novel was the toxicity of the friend group we follow throughout. It was unbearable at times because the tricks and trades of these girls is all too real, unfortunately. While the big reveal wasn't shocking or brand-new, I enjoyed reading this new adult take on an academic thriller.

This novel is for the fans of dark academia, but need it to be a bit on the less sinister side and more on the Pretty Little Liars side.

Thank you Minotaur Books for my gifted copy.

Only If You're Lucky is available on January 16!

If you devoured A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things like I did you’ll absolutely love Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham!
My girl has done it again! Creating another engrossing, suspenseful, twisted, and unpredictable psychological thriller that was such an irresistible, fun and thrilling book to read. I was immediately sucked in and devoured every single page of this wickedly entertaining book. It was absolutely impossible to put down. Once I started reading this book I was hooked and so absorbed in this storyline that it wasn’t an easy task to pull me away.
The atmosphere is built so well and the story is told incredibly, I didn’t want to put it down nor for it to end. Stacy Willingham is such a talented writer. And I’ll read anything she writes!
Only bad thing I have to say is I wished it didn’t end!

Thank You NetGalley and Minotaur Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

4.5⭐️

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

Stacy Willingham is an auto-buy author for me, so when I became aware of this book hitting shelves in 2024, I knew I had to read it ASAP! As expected, Willingham did not disappoint with her exceptional character development, story/suspense building and unique setting/backdrop. Note that this story takes place on a college campus, which is one of my favorite thriller settings so that was an added bonus for me 😍
While this was a slow burn, the hidden secrets and lies that the characters held had me invested from the start and questioning everyone, rapidly turning pages to uncover everything. The main twists at the end were very well done and the story as a whole was wrapped up perfectly!

Thank you NetGalley, Minotaur Books, and Stacy Willingham for a #gifted ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Only If You’re Lucky is another outstanding mystery by Stacy Willingham! She certainly knows how to keep me guessing.

I always love any kind of school setting, and it was an interesting choice for this one to take place in a frat house the girls were renting out. I felt like it added a bit of extra mystery to the story, more people to suspect!

I did guess something about Margot, but the rest of the story came as a shock to me. Lots of good twists.

I really liked this book! I enjoyed the author's previous book, A Flicker in the Dark, but I liked this one even more. The premise doesn't sound that unusual for a thriller - a quiet young woman named Margot is trying to find her way at university and is thrilled when the beautiful, charismatic Lucy Sharpe invites her to share a house with her and her two best friends. However, the characters make this book come alive and the plot twists help make it something special.

Lucy helps Margot to start having fun, putting the tragedy of her childhood best friend's recent death behind her. However, when a fraternity member from the house next store to where Margot and her three friends are living, many secrets start coming out that will change lives forever. I enjoyed getting to know Margot and Lucy and the two other housemates Nicole and Sloane. Clues are given that not all is as it appears, but I couldn't begin to guess everything that is eventually revealed. I also appreciated the references and parallels to the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. This is a fast-paced, engaging read that I would rate 4.5 stars.

I received an advance copy of this ebook at no cost from NetGalley and Minotaur Books, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

Stacy Willingham has done it again! She has kept me on the edge of my seat and turning pages rapidly. Margot went to school to escape the loss of her best friend, but somehow she could never get away. I could feel the raw emotion, the loss and the fear in everything that Margot did. Characters jumped off the pages and begged me to listen to them. 🧚 Throughout the story I think I questioned every single character at one point. A few escaped my notice, but Willingham would not leave me even those few. I questioned, I doubted and I forgave in very short order and multiple times. What a twisted trail! 💫 I truly wanted to know what happened with Trevor. I feel like there is much more to him. Perhaps he deserved a much closer look as well.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Stacy Willingham is killing it lately - quite literally! Only if You're Lucky had me swiping on my kindle just as fast as it would go. This story is chilling and twisty and all of the things that make a thriller un-put-down-able. Loved it!

What a ride this book was! Love her thrillers and cannot wait for the next one! I loved the twist of this one! Was giving pretty little liars vibes! I was obsessed the entire time . The beginning was a bit slow at times that’s why I’m ducking one star!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press, and Stacy Willingham for an advance copy of Only If You’re Lucky in exchange for an honest review. This story was another excellent suspense novel by the author. It focused on the power that female friendships can have in our lives. If you’re looking for secrets, lies, and dual timelines- look no further. I found myself rooting for Margot as she fell under Lucy’s spell. The ending was definitely not what I expected and I was very satisfied with it! I can’t wait to see what this author does next. You can pick this one up on January 16th!

DNF. Too slow of a beginning. Not hooked. To commit to an almost 400 page thriller about college girls, I need to be hooked in to the drama sooner. The main character seems lame and not her own person.

Wow wow! Stacy Willingham just gets better and better with every book. From the get-go, I loved this college setting and the Greek life aspect. I liked the flashbacks, but this was really like three timelines and I got a little confused here and there. I went between audio and physical and I think it would be Less confusing solely being physically read.
At its core, this is a story about friendship, found family, and coming-of-age during that last year of high school and first years of college. It’s not necessarily thrilling, but there’s certainly a mystery that I was very invested in. I could totally feel that college campus atmosphere and picture these devoting friendships between the girls.
I’d recommend for fraternity/sorority peeps, anyone who loves a campus setting, and a coming-of-age with some dark, twisty depth.

If you love a slow burn book, this one if for you. I loved Stacy’s other two thriller novels, but this one just didn’t quite live up to those and somewhat missed the mark for me. It was quite the build-up and slow burn and fizzled out. I have mixed feeling about the ending. Only If You’re Lucky is a bit different from Willingham’s two prior novels. Yes, it's a thriller, but it's more of a slower paced character driven novel than a faster paced plot centered read like her other books.

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham will be available on January 16, 2024. A massive thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy!