Stacey Willingham is a bit of a hit or miss author for me. I didn’t like her first book, but really enjoyed her second. This one falls in the middle, I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. I do think this book is being mismarketed; Goodreads calls it a thriller, and it’s definitely not. I would categorize this as a domestic suspense or mystery rather than a thriller. This book is very slow burn; the first half of the book is character building, with us following our main character Margot as she builds her friendship with Lucy. The mystery aspect isn’t fully revealed until the second half of the book. Most of this books focus is on female friendships, and keeping secrets, so if you go in expecting a thriller full of twists and turns, you will be disappointed. I really enjoyed what this book had to say about toxic female friendships, and the twist did shock me. However, one of the plot points hinges on a trope that I find triggering, so it was hard for me to fully enjoy the book. I also found it to be a little bit too slow of a slow burn for me at times, and wanted things to speed up. I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t love it either. I did find it quite a bit different from Willingham’s other books, so if you haven’t liked her previous work, this may be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

✦Only if You’re Lucky by Stacey Willingham✦
★★★ 3/5 stars

“You’re only young once, & only if you’re lucky”

⟡ Synopsis
Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; & Nicole, the nice one. It's a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she's been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died 3 weeks after graduation. Margot & Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered..& Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.

⟡My Thoughts
I can definitely see how his slow burn mystery with unlikable characters, toxic friendships, & dark academia vibes could be exactly some people’s jam - but unfortunately it fell about middle of the road for me.

👍🏼 the good
-I really enjoyed the dual timeline of “before” & “after” & how the end ultimately came together. While the first half was quite repetitive, the last few chapters were full of twists that I didn't see coming.
-Narrator Karissa Vacker did a great job, I loved listening to her!
-I always love when the actual title of the book makes an appearance in the book.

👎🏼 the not so good
-It was a S L O W burn, so I had a really hard time staying engaged in the story, until about 80% of the way in. When it finally got to the twists - they were good, but I wished the action came sooner with less unnecessary buildup.
-The use of similes was exhausting - “arms hooked together like a chain-link fence” & “transforming in her hands like soft, wet clay” were so overused (like a broken record, you get the idea 🙈)
-It read a bit like YA, which isn’t my favorite but I think this was just due to the college setting.

⟡Read if you like:
- dark academia vibes
- South Carolina/Outer Banks setting
- Slow burn with lots of ending twists
- Single POV but dual timelines
- College frats + friendship drama
- In My Dreams I Hold a Knife

I consider myself very *lucky* to have been given the opportunity to both read & listen to this ARC, it publishes on 1/16!
Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books, St Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio ◡̈

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Only If You’re Lucky had a medium-fast pace.

POV: Only If You’re Lucky is told from Margot’s 1st person POV.

Trigger/Content Warning: Only If You’re Lucky has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Death
Grief
Murder
Toxic Friendship
Infidelity
Vomit
Alcohol
Drug Use
Stalking
Gaslighting
Animal Death
Domestic Abuse
Eating Disorder
Emotional Abuse
Misogyny
Rape
Toxic Relationship
Injury/Injury Detail
Mental Illness
Physical Abuse
Sexual Assault
Violence
Blood
Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in Only If You’re Lucky.

Language: here is moderate swearing in Only If You’re Lucky. There is also language used that might make some readers uncomfortable or offend them.

Setting: Only If You’re Lucky is set in and around the college town of Rutledge, South Carolina. There are also some scenes set in The Outer Banks.

Age Range: I recommend Only If You’re Lucky to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When her best friend, Eliza, dies three weeks after graduation, Margot can barely function. She spends her freshman year hiding in her dorm, studying and playing it safe. That is until Lucy Sharpe bursts into Margot’s life. Loud, brash, and magnetic, Lucy demands attention wherever she goes. And for some reason, Lucy has honed in on Margot as a friend. Before she knows it, Margot starts coming out of her shell. Soon, she is best friends with Lucy and moves into the house Lucy rented with two other girls. But, things start to unravel when a member of the fraternity (who owns the house and shares a backyard) is murdered at the end of a week of pledging. Soon after, Lucy goes missing. What does Margot know? Why was the frat boy killed? Why did Lucy go missing? And who was Lucy?

Main Characters:

The main characters in Only If You’re Lucky are Margot and Lucy. I will offer advice about Margot (since the book is told from her POV): She is a very unreliable narrator. I couldn’t tell, throughout the book, if she was holding back the truth on certain things or just lying. Her grief (and guilt) over Eliza’s death colored her view of certain events and people.

Lucy, on the other hand, was an enigma. She was a whirlwind of activity and seemed to have her hand in everything. I was surprised by her background when it was revealed. But, in a way, it did make sense.

My review:

Only If You’re Lucky is the second book I have read by Stacy Willingham, and it has cemented her as a favorite for me in this genre. I enjoyed reading this book and was utterly surprised at the twists (and yes, there are several) that the author reveals at the end of the book.

The main storyline centers around Margot, her grief over Eliza’s death, her flashbacks to the events leading up to Eliza’s death, Lucy, and the events leading up to and past Lucy’s disappearance. The storyline was well-written and did keep me on my feet. The layers that it had was excellent. Once I peeled back one layer, the author revealed another.

The thriller/suspense angle of Only If You’re Lucky was terrific. The author didn’t hesitate to throw Margot into the thick of things when she started living with Lucy. There was a point where I did think that maybe she was a little crazy (because of her intense dislike of Levi). Let’s remember the twists. Those twists made the book. I figured out one, but the others took me completely by surprise. Like, my mouth dropped, and me saying, “No freaking way,” surprised.

The author switches back and forth between the present day (during the police investigation into Lucy’s disappearance) and the events leading up to everything. I found it a whirlwind, but it worked. The author kept those two storylines apart until the end, when she merged them. And the way she combined them was pretty crafty.

The end of Only If You’re Lucky was terrific. I was surprised by the things that were revealed about Lucy and Margot. Things I didn’t even see coming and that I, like Margot, thought Levi did. I was also surprised at the very end events of the book, where the author explained Lucy’s disappearance. And that was the biggest surprise of them all.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Stacy Willingham for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Only If You’re Lucky. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

This is my third read by Stacy Willingham, and by the end of it, I was surprised Willingham wrote it.

While the premise intrigued me, and I was excited to dive back into Willingham's words, it read more like a young adult novel. Yes, the characters are in college, but considering that one of the main characters is majoring in English and frequently mentions that she reads classical works versus smut, I expected more wit, suspense, and mystery.

85% of the book revolves around the internal dialogue of Margot (which honestly is excessive, and maybe that's the point?), the interactions between the four roommates, and a flashback here or there of the main character, Margot, with her former best friend, Eliza. The last 15% is where it gets interesting, but because it is so rushed, it's disappointing. There's potential in this story, but it needs more work. I'm surprised Willingham's editors didn't recognize that.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't recommend this book, but I would recommend Willingham's others: A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things.

"Only If You're Lucky" marks my third venture into Stacy Willingham's novels, and while this wasn't my favorite, it's undeniably the one that impressed me most. This is a slow-burn mystery set on a college campus, populated by a cast of less-than-likable characters, but the ending of the book does deliver a satisfying resolution full of twists..

The narrative follows two timelines, alternating between the present day, marked by a mysterious disappearance, and the past, which meticulously unravels the events leading up to the disappearance. The book also delves into Margot's pre-college life, and this often reads as a YA novel.

At times, the story felt really slow, feeling somewhat laborious, primarily because the characters failed to elicit any real redeeming qualities that would warrant a connection to the reader. My motivation rested solely on discovering what inventive twists the author had concocted, given my positive experience with her previous works. While I found the writing spectacular, it lacked the immersive, thrill-inducing quality I anticipated.

For those unacquainted with Stacy Willingham's work, I would recommend starting with "A Flicker in the Dark".

Title: Only if You’re Lucky
Author: Stacy Willingham
Pub Date: January 16, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley, as Stacy Willingham has become one of my go-to authors! This story centers around Margot, who goes off to college after suffering the tragic loss of her best friend, Eliza. Margot, who has always faded into the background, decides that she is going to make a change in college and wants to become more outgoing and take chances like Eliza did. So when she meets the mysterious Lucy Sharpe, who invites her to live in a house behind a fraternity house with her and her two friends, Margot jumps at the chance and sees this as the perfect opportunity to come out of her shell. Lucy seems friendly but there is also something different about her. She has the ability to make others want to follow her lead and do things that they normally wouldn’t do. Margot realizes that she is drawn to Lucy and wants to be more like her. However, everything changes when one of the fraternity brothers is found dead and Lucy goes missing.

This story has some dark themes and takes place in a college setting, alternating between the past and present. Overall, I enjoyed this book. It started out strong and like others have said, the middle was kind of a slow burn. There were times that I thought that it just needed to move along, but then it picked up again and I was definitely surprised by the clever and twisty ending!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this advanced reader copy!

Only if You're Lucky has a compelling story line. The dynamic between Lucy and Margot offers contrasting personalities with lots of twists and turns. Their close friendship along with the other girls attending the small college in South Carolina provides the perfect backdrop for a murder investigation when Lucy disappears and the next door fraternity boy turns up murdered.

A slow burn thriller with layers of loyalty, envy, and betrayal provide complexity of emotions. The ending will leave your head spinning! Not the typical thriller from Willingham. More of a college fraternity feel but definitely a good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for a copy of this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I was thrilled to receive an early copy of Stacy Willingham's third novel. I previously read and loved her other two. I can confidently say this is my least favorite of the three, however, it was still enjoyable to read.

The book follows Margot, who recently has become friends and roommates with Lucy Sharpe. Lucy is adventurous and bold which is what pulls Margot in. When they become roommates, two other girls move into a fraternity-owned house with them. Sophmore year is going by wonderfully until Lucy Sharpe goes missing and a fraternity boy next door is found murdered. What comes of secrets and lies?

This felt much slower-paced than Willingham's other books. There weren't as many twists and turns that left me feeling like I couldn't put the book down. I also did not love any of the characters. They lacked depth and felt more young adult-ish to me. Overall, not my favorite book, but am always looking forward to future releases as both of her other books were 4/5 stars.

Only if You're Lucky written by Stacy Willingham tells the story of a group of college kids who excessively party, talk about the desire to murder someone, and deal with real-life traumas. Then someone is murdered, as well as a second person. But how does it all connect to Margot's best friend who died the year earlier, possibly due to something nefarious (never proven). I enjoyed the overall story but I did cast it too stereotypical when it came to depicting fraternity parties, plus the ending came from pretty much from nowhere, so I felt a bit cheated. Written well. Strong characters. Just a very common story where someone is pretending to be someone else, a popular girl befriends a lonely girl, the middle friends warn her, but each of the harbors secrets. When it all explodes, it explodes but in a slightly confusing way as to who really killed whom. Worth reading if you like the author's work, but if you haven't read her yet, don't start with this one. Will definitely read her next release tho!

This atmospheric mystery set on a college campus finds one student dead and another one missing. This story is told in two timelines – the past leading up to the events of that fateful night, and the present-day police investigation.

After finishing this book, I’m both confused and satisfied at the same time. Throughout the novel, I couldn’t put it down and simply had to know what happened next. However, the story also seemed a little repetitive, slow paced, and juvenile at times. I’m not sure what exactly kept me so enthralled, because it felt like nothing much was happening, but I also couldn’t put it down.

If you enjoy books with several twists, then this is the book for you. One of the major twists I was able to predict early in the novel, but that still left about three other shocking twists that I didn’t see coming. I found myself going back to reread a page or a paragraph because I was caught off guard with what happened.

Overall, this book is perfect for anyone who enjoys a slow burn mystery, or an ending jam-packed with shocking twists. I would also recommend this to anyone currently in college (or recently graduated), especially someone who participated in Greek life while in college. If you enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s other two novels, then you will certainly enjoy this one as well.

Good twists but it took so long (and so many boring chapters) to get to the meat of the story. The first dud from this author.

That ending! Mind blown. It felt a tad slow at the beginning but by the time the unraveling took place the book shot into complete action. Great ending that I never saw coming! And the twists kept coming!

📖Only If You’re Lucky📖

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Author: Stacy Willingham
Genre: Thriller
Dual Timeline
Release Date: January 16th, 2024

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

Synopsis:
Margot has just finished her freshmen year at college when Lucy Sharpe, the it girl, approaches her about living with her and her two tag along friends Sloane and Nicole in a house for the summer and their sophomore years. Margot jumps at the opportunity after being a in rut following her best friend since kindergarten, Eliza, tragically dying during their senior year of high school. Margot is used to being the sidekick, so being picked by Lucy felt so lucky. Finally breaking out of her shell, Margot and Lucy build a really close relationship. That is until a fraternity boy from the house next door dies, and Lucy goes missing. The kicker is, the boy who died next door, Levi, was Eliza’s boyfriend from her hometown and was also last one to see Eliza alive. Now two people from Margot’s hometown are dead, and her newest friend is missing. Do you believe in coincidences?

I have read both of this authors previous books, and I think this one is my favorite. I was so invested in this college age thriller. I didn’t predict any of the twists! This was so hypnotic and haunting to read. The jumps from before to after Levi’s death was perfectly executed. I never got bored in a timeline, and the wow moments were equally given in each timeline. This book is definitely different than the authors previous two books in the sense that It is slower paced character driven instead of her usual style of fast paced plot driven. One aspect I really liked that she included, was all the references to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The symbolism that everyone can simultaneously be good and bad was very prevalent in this novel. I really recommend this book if you are a fan of the author, or are just looking for a new thriller to start out 2024!

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Minotaur books for the early copy!

Stacy Willingham does it again! I was thoroughly enthralled with Only if You're Lucky! I never wanted to put it down and when I did, I was itching to get back to it. Thrillers rarely surprise me but I could never fully figure out what was truly going on. She wraps it all up spectacularly. The main character, Margot, was written so well. I'm still sitting here a little dumbfounded at how good it was. The characters, the plot, the setting, the atmosphere; all of it was just perfection. Finding Willingham is a Georgia Bulldog is just icing on the cake! She will be an auto buy author for me from now on. What a great way to start my 2024 reading journey!

I loved this book! It was such a well written, slow burn, academic thriller.

The writing was so well done that I found myself highlighting tons of sentences. Powerful concepts such as female friendship, identity, and growing up were written about in such a poignant and impactful way. I enjoyed the split timelines which made the story feel interconnected and complex. Even though this is a slow burn, there are lots of clues and twists that had me guessing up until the very end.

I also really liked the portrayal of the main characters. On the surface, she was a typical college girl but the inner monologue created complexity. Therefore, even though on the surface she may have seemed unlikable, the depth of her thinking was relatable. Overall, this book had not only a great plot but also complex writing and character development that took it to the next level.

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

Do any of you remember the movie Thirteen and how absolutely magnetic and enticing Nikki Reed’s character was, and how meek and malleable Evan Rachel Wood’s character was? If so, you’re in for a treat because they were all I could see when reading this book. Margot was Evan Rachel Wood, and Lucy was Nikki Reed!

This is a female friendship centric story that focuses on themes of jealousy, loyalty, identity, and self-preservation. We have Margot (the main character & sole POV) recanting her past events of when her best friend Eliza died. Then, we have the present day chapters slowly unraveling the mysterious death of her best friend’s boyfriend, and the disappearance of her new best friend, Lucy.

This takes place at a college so there are many parts that involve college antics. Spin the bottle, truth or dare, drugs, parties, etc… I really enjoy Stacy’s prose and even though these are tired themes, she definitely made this story intriguing & feel fresh.

The eventual reveals were largely predictable for someone who reads many books like these, but some twists still took me by surprise & I found the ending to be unique and satisfying! Much of what is revealed seems improbable and is a stretch for plausibility, but I still enjoyed it overall.

If you’re looking for a fast paced story with likeable characters this isn’t it, but if you enjoy suspenseful + character driven psychological suspense books, this may be a winner for you.

✨ Read this if you enjoy books like Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins or One Of The Girls by Lucy Clarke & if you loved movies like Thirteen & others with similar themes of adolescence, rebellion, + coming-of-age experiences.✨

🎧 I also recommend this on audio! Karissa Vacker is the narrator and she always does an incredible job. My only issue is that there are many characters so it can be hard to get into at the beginning, I suggest pairing the audio with the text 🫶🏻

Thank you St. Martins Press & NetGalley for the ARC & MacMillan audio for the ALC. This publishes on 1/16/24!

This third book from Stacy Willingham was a BANGER! This was totally different than her previous books... this one being a campus thriller set in past and present point of views, with MULTIPLE suspects!! Relationships, lies, gossip, trying to fit in. This one was definitely also a slower burn in comparison to her other books, and also unfortunately my least favourite. I still definitely recommend and REALLY love Stacy's writing style!

Margot gave up her parents’ dream of sending her to Duke in order to follow her bestie Eliza to the smaller and less prestigious Rutledge College. Shortly after their high school graduation, Eliza dies tragically, leaving Margot to take on Rutledge on her own. Margot quietly makes her way through her freshman year, until she’s noticed by “it girl” Lucy Sharpe, who invites Margot to move in with her and her roommates Nicole and Sloane for sophomore year. Lucy is magnetic, exciting, and maybe a little dangerous, and Margot is thrilled just to be in Lucy’s orbit. But by the second semester, things have started to spiral out of control and taken a very dark turn.

I loved both of Stacy Willingham’s previous books (A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things), so I didn’t even bother reading the blurb before eagerly adding this one to my TBR. All of the things that made her an instant favorite of mine are expertly used in Only if You’re Lucky – dual timeline, a potentially unreliable narrator (which I love!), and an immersive, slow burn, twisty plot – but in a completely fresh way compared to her first two books. This time, the author takes us deep into the heart of dark academia and the sinister side of Greek life and toxic female friendships. Willingham is a queen of misdirection, so even when I thought I had something figured out, I was constantly second guessing myself because the twists and turns are so deep and multi-layered. Suffice it to say I enjoyed the heck out of this bingeable thriller!

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

Thank you to @netgalley and @Stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to @macmillian.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

Another solid thriller by @stacyvwillingham . Nervous vibes is how I would describe the feelings I had from reading Only If You’re Lucky. Something bad is going to happen and my attention was hooked. This book has many layers of mystery that are revealed in good fashion.

I think I was let down a bit by the lack of character development outside of Margot, the main character. I wanted to know more about how the other three females got to be so close. I feel it would have made Margots character a little crazier, which I also think I was missing.

Overall, I would still recommend reading…I couldn’t put it down!

4 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #macmillianaudio #ltbreaderteam #onlyifyourelucky #stacywillingham #smpinfluencers

Stacy’s writing has a way of captivating you. Every single one of her books I’m convinced would make for an excellent movie and this one is no exception. I think my favorite part of “Only If You’re Lucky” was the setting. It takes you back to college and that environment as if no time has passed at all.

I personally wasn’t a huge fan of the characters in this one, so it was hard for me to get as into it as I wish I was. I’d give this one 3.5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley for an arc copy to read through! It’s always appreciated ♥️