This was ok. So far I have yet to be completely blown away by Stacy Willingham's books even tho I have sought them out because the blurbs piqued my interest. They always seem like they're going to be delightfully juicy stories but then they veer off into predictable and nothing special.

I think this is probably my least favorite of the 3 books of hers I have now read, in this case it was just you r run of the mill thriller with typical characters and typical storylines. I barely even remember what went on, but they share similarities with so many other thrillers that it becomes impossible to keep them from all running together.

None of the characters were likable, they were all self centered and impulsive, they are impossible to empathize with or understand, everyone makes ridiculous and nonsensical choices.

It's your run of the mill young people thriller, girl gets murdered, secrets, no answers, nobody is talking, friends move on but don't, eventually they have all moved on with their lives and then of course, old secrets unearthed. Old mysteries become mysterious again & the ending reaches it's predictable conclusion,

This wasn't the worst book I ever read by any means, it was entertaining enough to keep me reading, but it wasn't"t anything special either. a solid 2.75, this is definitely my least favorite of the 3 that I've read.

3.5? 3.75? ⭐️

This was a highly anticipated book for me since I liked A FLICKER IN THE DARK and loved ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS, both by Willingham.

ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY worked for me with the setting and the vibes. These two played on each other really well and there was an unsettling feeling throughout the book. There were some great twists toward the end too that had me at the edge of my seat. I think Willingham did a great job with the power of influence and imbalance within friendships. There’s some really interesting parts/characters that are great discussion points!

What took away from OIYL for me was the repetition of dialogue and scenes. The ending just got a little too busy for me as well. I also feel super conflicted on the characters and am unsure if that is the point?

I do think this is worth a read! I absolutely felt the thrill and addiction of the story but it is not a new favorite of hers for me.

⚠️ TW apply.

Thank you Minotaur for the early copies!

ALRIGHT BESTIES. So you’ve already seen my author ranking so you know this one ranks between Flicker and All These Dangerous Things for me!! But it was very close with Flicker just SO different!

Think In My Dreams I Hold A Knife, very different from her past work! This one had a lot to unpack, it was more of an along for the ride thriller that def had some twists and turns but wasn’t a whodunnit format by any means. I personally LOVED how much went on and how elaborate the plot was, I would very much enjoy seeing how Stacy’s mind worked in developing the plot. Plus we love a campus thriller 🎓📚

I wasn’t sure how my cards were going to fall about halfway through but I HAD to know what happened next at all times which I definitely don’t always feel. Also I love that the frat house being a landlord was based on a real story, I feel like the best books have something cemented in reality 🌍

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

This is a devious story full of jealousy, female friendships, dark academia, and how we don’t always know those closest to us as well as we think we do.

I have three copies of this book. A physical copy, an eARC, and the audiobook. And as soon as I saw that @karissavacker narrated this I kindly put all but the audiobook to the side because #duh. It’s #karissavacker, audiobook narrator extraordinaire. And as anticipated, she used her talent for voices and emotion to bring this story to life!

Only If You’re Lucky unwraps like a present. It’s a tad slower paced, delving as much into the relationships between these women as the mystery aspect of the story. But the twists kept twisting and I throughly enjoyed it.

Notable quote: “I used to get so lost in these imaginary worlds, slipping into another skin every time I parted their covers. The musty scent of the pages curling beneath my nostrils like an elixir that ripped me from one reality and implanted me into the next. That’s the beauty of fiction, of words: when your life becomes too boring, too bland, too hard or depressing or chaotic or calm, they allow you to simply float away and inhabit another, try it on for size.” 😌🥰

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan Audio, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham.

When the beautiful, mysterious, and enigmatic Lucy inexplicably befriends Margot during her freshman year of college, Margot is struck. Finally she belongs a crowd, and a sought after popular crowd at that. But then Levi enters the scene, a boy who Margot is convinced has something to do with the death of her best HS friend, and suddenly not all is as rosy in this intoxicating co-ed crowd, especially when Lucy goes missing.

I really tried to dive into this book, it has a strong start and a lot of elements that make a good psychological thriller. And there was a lot to enjoy, but it was still a bit too drawn out and muddled. Maybe had I read it, instead of listening to it, i would have had a different experience, but I could never quite fully sink my teeth into this story.

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham is a captivating and intricately woven tale that delves into the complexities of female friendship. This twist-filled mystery unravels with precision in every chapter, ensnaring readers and refusing to release its grip. Prepare to be immersed in a dark, intense, and utterly addictive narrative.

In Only If You’re Lucky, author Stacy Willingham weaves a compelling narrative that explores the complex dynamics of friendship, identity, and the consequences of unraveling secrets. The protagonist, Margot, evolves from a shy and cautious character to someone entangled in a web of danger and mystery. The author masterfully captures the essence of each character, creating a group of individuals who are both distinct and deeply interconnected. As the plot unfolds with the murder mystery and Lucy's disappearance, the novel grips readers with its suspenseful twists and turns. The exploration of loyalty, envy, and betrayal adds layers to the story, making it a tantalizing thriller. Stacy Willingham continues to demonstrate prowess in the realm of psychological suspense, solidifying their position as a gold standard in the genre.
Only If You're Lucky is a must-read!

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

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

Margot's best friend Eliza has died, and Margo decides to go the liberal arts college Eliza was planning to go to, wanting to fulfill Eliza's dreams. Margot quickly meets the eccentric and loud Lucy, and they quickly become close, and decide to become roommates along with Lucy's friends. But then Eliza's former boyfriend Levi shows up, the only other person there who knew Eliza.

We learn from a split timeline that Levi is dead, presumably murdered. And it's through flashbacks to "before" that we learn what really happened between Margo and her friends.

Thank you netgalley and St. Martin's press for giving me an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Summary: Only If You're Lucky is about four girls who live together near Rutledge College in South Carolina. Lucy is the ringleader of the group, Sloane is sarcastic, Nicole is nice and Margot is an introvert who was recently invited into the group by Lucy. Margot is trying to find her identity after losing her best friend, Elyza, three months after graduation. Margot had always imagined going to college with Elyza so she's thankful, and maybe even a little obsessed, with her new group of friends. The girls live next door to a group of fraternity boys and they have a lot of fun partying together until the middle of their sophomore year, when one of the boys is murdered and Lucy is nowhere to be found.

Stacy Willingham does it again! She's a must-read author for me and I've loved every single one of her books. Only If You're Lucky had me hooked from the very beginning and it was fun to reminisce my college years as I read this book, although I'm glad my college years were MUCH less eventful! I couldn't put this down and found it easy to read and listen to. My only complaint was that some of the ending felt a little far-fetched. Maybe I'm naive, but I couldn't believe that some of the things the girls did would actually happen in real life! Even though it felt a little bit dramatic, I was still gripped by this book from start to finish and will definitely continue to root for Stacy Willingham and all of her future books!

I enjoyed this thriller. Set in college, there is such a naïveté about the characters. Several twists and turns! And I love the setting of the house.

I absolutely love Stacy Willingham and I was beyond thrilled to be approved to read this one!

I have to say though that I didn't love love this one. It fell a bit flat for me. I didn't like any of the characters, especially the main character. I figured out what she had done early on but Willingham is an expert at creating suspense and making you wonder whodunnit so it kept me reading.

Still read this one if you are a Willingham fan and if you haven't read any of hers, read this one first and then read her others because they are beyond fantastic!

Campus thriller? Sign me up! Willingham has yet to disappointment me. I've loved all her thrillers and Only If You're Lucky is no exception. I was immediately drawn into the story and struggled to put the book down. I loved how dark this one is and how it focuses on toxic college friendships.

I didn't love this one quite as much as her other books (which got 5 stars from me, so a high bar to meet!) but I still really enjoyed this dark academia suspense. It's definitely a slow burn, so if you go in expecting a high-pace thriller, you will be disappointed, but it's still filled with fun twists.
*
Synopsis: Quiet, malleable Margot is struggling through her freshman year at college and gets invited to join a group house with three other girls she doesn't really know. Lucy, the ringleader, is the kind of person everyone loves and loves to be around, and Margot is thrilled for the attention. But all the girls have secrets, and all the girls are willing to go to extremes to protect them.
*
I think what I liked best about this was the character development. She does such a great job of slowly bringing out different aspects of Margot's personality, I feel like by the end of the book I had a completely different understanding of her. It also has a fabulously tense atmosphere. Like, you know this is clearly a bad idea for Margot to move into a house with strangers, but you can't put your finger on the issue exactly, and it's just like watching an accident waiting to happen.
*
One twist surprised me, and while the rest were easy to see coming, it was still fun to see how they unfolded.
*
Overall a solid thriller/suspense! Definitely recommend!

I was lucky enough to be chosen to receive an advance copy of Only if you’re lucky. Willingham’s previous two novels were both a five star read for me so I was ecstatic to read this one. This book took me by surprise, I didn’t expect it have a slow pacing. I don’t think I would classify this book as a thriller, more so a mystery. I enjoyed the flashbacks throughout the book to better understand Margot. I do think some parts were a bit repetitive in terms of Margot’s obsession with Eliza and then again with Lucy. I love that Willingham tackles the topic of toxic female friendships. Overall I did enjoy the ending and all the twists along the way. All the loose ends were tied up in the end.

If you’re looking to pick this up I would advise looking up the trigger warnings.

Thank to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great book about complicated, co- dependent, toxic, destructive female friendships.

This is a perfectly good story until you get just over halfway through. Then... it's fabulous! You know how sometimes, the ending ruins a book? Well, I LOVED this wrap up!

Margot is a college student that has been through a lot. Her best friend dies, she struggles to relate to her parents... it's tough. Enter Lucy. Lucy makes everyone feel special. She somehow really gets Margot. Margot finds herself being accepted by new friends and is feeling good. But... is it really good? Something seems off.

I hope you like this book as much as I did. 4.5 stars!

I have really enjoyed both of Stacy Willingham’s previous two books, so when I received a copy of her upcoming story, I was pretty stoked! Plus this one has some campus thriller vibes which is a sub genre I have always enjoyed!

The story primarily follows Margot during her first couple years of college. She’s still grieving after the death of her best friend the summer after graduation and her first year is pretty uneventful and she mainly flies under the radar. But that changes once she’s pulled into the inner circle of the enigmatic Lucy. Soon enough, Margot, Lucy, and their two other friends/ roommates all become the best of friends and it coincides with the murder of one of the frat boys next door. What follows is the unraveling of secrets, lies, and friendship. And one of the big questions from this book is, if you could get away with murder, would you do it?

This was a super quick read with short chapters that will make it easy to fly through, even if the pace is a bit on the slower side than this author’s previous work. I will say that none of the characters are very likable so at times it did hinder how much I was enjoying it because they were just do frustrating. However, I do understand that was probably the point of the whole thing because this book brings up topics like complicated, toxic, and obsessive female friendships. In addition, there is even a small side with darker theme when it comes to frat culture and privilege.

There were also two POVs, once from the present day and what Margot was up to with Lucy and Co. and then also from the past in the months leading up to the death of Margot’s best friend. It becomes apparent there’s some sort of underlying connection between the two and as the story progresses. While I did find a bit of a predictable, it still kept my interest as I wanted to really grasp everything that happened and the reasons behind it.

While this was admittedly not my favorite from the author, I can still see plenty of people enjoying the atmosphere and vibes of this one!

I liked the mystery and thriller vibe of this book, as well as it taking place on a campus with a questionable friendship. It kept me engaged that's for sure!

Absolutely amazing. I'm a sucker for some messy, toxic, female friendships and this DELIVERED. Stacy Willingham does it again, my friends.

This book was okay, I just had trouble getting into it. The ending was pretty good though. I just didn’t really care for the main character and I struggled to stay engaged for most of the book.