When I saw that Stacy Willingham was releasing another book, I immediately knew I wanted to read it! I LOVED All the Dangerous Things.

I'd say it didn't live up to ATDT, but I did really enjoy this book!

Margot is a freshman in college. Her best friend died the summer before college started and they were supposed to attend the same school together. She's having a hard time and doesn't go out and do much. Here comes Lucy, the girl who has it all, but never goes to classes. Lucy spots Margot at the end of freshman year and asks her to move in with her and her two roommates to a house off campus. This is Margot's chance to have a life, so she obviously said yes. But... Lucy disappears and a fraternity boy is killed.. what happened?

Told in a non-linear timeline (my FAVE!!) and the past and the present, you slowly gain more details of what happened to the boy, and how Lucy may have been in on it.

Willingham gives many twists and turns, though some are predictable, others were surprising and made the story interesting. I can't wait to read more from her in the future!

TW: rape, sexual assalt, stalking

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review! Thanks to Libro.fm for the ALC!

Only If You're Lucky is a dark psychological thriller with characters that are all hiding something and are not what they appear to be.

All of them have secrets that as secrets tend to be are explosive.

Margot restless after the unexplained accidental death of her best friend finds herself at college that she should have attended with her best friend.

Margot at the end of the first year is offered by another student Lucy to come and room with her and two other girls off campus.

The house (which is a character unto itself ) is next door and owned and occupied by a group of boys from a popular fraternity.

Then one of them is murdered.
One is missing.

Many suspects with twists and turns and red herrings that keep midnight oil burning.

Stacy Willingham always writes a thriller that keeps you guessing and Only If You're Lucky is no exception.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur for compelling read.

Jeez Louise, Only If You’re Lucky was one phenomenal book. An alluring tale of deep friendship, startling secrets, and uncomfortable motives, I was drawn in from the very first page. Throughout the long, slow burn of ever escalating suspense and foreboding, I felt tied to the characters and the very real setting. So real, in fact, that it was as if it was just one more persona that came alive on the page.

Like I said, the plot was anything but fast-paced. At the same time, however, its steady unwinding felt purposeful and deliberate in all of its character-driven glory. Along with the thinly veiled doubts that were hinted at here and there, small clues were scattered about that had me questioning each individual and their part in the story. Add in the climax that took me completely by surprise, and my respect for Ms. Willingham’s talent was a foregone conclusion.

As I said, the characters were where this book utterly shined, however. Thorough and believable but also requiring just a touch of suspension of disbelief, I connected with them right off the bat. Unsurprisingly, I was rooting for our narrator, Margot, most of all. Fully fleshed out and complete with awe-inspiring character development, her story was utterly spellbinding. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Lucy nearly as much. Much like an enigma, she was deliciously hard to pin down.

The one piece that rankled just a bit was the very end of the book. Somewhat rushed, in my opinion, it could have been explored a bit more, which would’ve provided a more wrapped up feel to the finale. Given everything that had happened, after all, there were still plenty of potential disasters left to the imagination. But then, I’m also the kind of reader who loves neat, tiny, little bows for a conclusion, so take my thoughts with a rather large grain of salt.

All in all, the first book that I’ve read by Willingham, I’m now determined to move her backlist to the top of my TBR. Dark and chilling but also filled with lessons about how little we may know those around us, this intricate storyline had me in knots. After all, it was a masterpiece to be sure, with perfectly timed clues that lead to one lightbulb moment after another. Plus, who can say no to tale of dark academia. Not I, that’s for sure. So despite the rather mixed reviews, I was won over hook, line, and sinker. Now the only question that remains is which Willingham novel I should try next… Any suggestions? Rating of 5 stars.

Read if you like:
🏫 College Settings
⏳ Past and Present Timelines
👯‍♀️ Stories about Friendship
🤐 Lies and Secrets
🤩 Enigmatic Characters
🔍 Investigations into Deaths

This book follows Margot in the past and present when her best friend Eliza died before they were set to go off to college and then meeting the enigma that is Lucy and becoming apart of her friend group at the end of her freshman year, to then the present of Lucy missing, and a boy from a frat at the college dead.

Margot is the overlooked girl that has clung to friends that had that thing about them so as she jumps from her close friendship with Eliza to then becoming completely enraptured with Lucy, you see the ways she clings to her friends and makes being with friends her entire personality as things start to spiral more for Margot as gets more embedded in her friendship with Lucy and we start to see the layers unfold that everything isn’t as it appeared.

If you like a lot of enigmatic characters, twists and turns, messy friendships, unreliable information steering you away from the truth, and plenty of twists and turns, I highly recommend reading Stacy’s newest release!

Thanks so much to Minotaur Books for my ARC of this one in exchange for my review!

This book was probably the SLOWEST of slowburns I've ever read. I nearly put it down 3 times as a DNF, 20%, 35%, and again at 60%. However, I enjoyed this author's other works so I decided to push through. I hit 80% and the rest of the book flew by. Am I glad I pushed through? Yes. Do I hate that I had to push through? Even more so. At the end of the day, it was well written and I liked the ending, but...I dunno that I recommend it.

Wow! This book's twists were truly surprising! I loved the pacing of this book and I think the author did a great job portraying what it is like to get swept up into a charismatic person's orbit. I was busy making theories all the while, but I was very surprised at the end. This is one of the best thrillers I have read in a while!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this copy to review.

3.5 stars

Everyone seems to be hiding something in this dark academia-style thriller. I am a big fan of thrillers that take place in college settings and this one didn't disappoint. It's a little slow-paced but we get more insights into the characters that the story is evolved around.

I enjoyed how we jump back and forth in time with this one, seeing what led the girls to the situation they are in now. Several secrets and twists are revealed along the way, some of which I didn't guess, some of which I did. But I really enjoyed Lucy's character and the way she was so calculating. I wouldn't necessarily call this one a thriller since it is so slow paced - more of a suspenseful drama.

The main twist was a bit far-fetched for me but I really enjoyed how everything was wrapped up with no plot holes. We are left with things to think about and I didn't see the main plot twist coming. If you are a fan of Willingham's other two books (which I recommend you read) then definitely give this one a read! This one was 3.5 stars for me, it was okay but I wasn't 100% invested in the plot.

Big thanks to St. Martin's Press, Stacy Willingham and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!

This book definitely has twists and turns, maybe some predictable, but enough plot twists to keep you reading! I would put this book in the “quick and easy read – keeps you turning the pages”, so if you are fan of those types of books – this one is for you! The story is about several different young women just getting started in their college years with secrets to unravel and murders surrounding the main character. It’s a classic who-dun-it!

The pros and cons for the book are actually the same for me ironically! Because this book takes place in a college town, the main characters are all roommates in an off-campus house owned by a next-door fraternity with an access point to each fenced back yard via an old shed (allowing a cut through). If you read the acknowledgements at the end of the book, you’ll find the author chose this setting because she lived in a very similar house in her own college years – shed and all! The house also has a creepy crawl space underneath that was also a call out in the book.

Now you might ask – how is that a con in a mystery book? Well, the house itself isn’t, but because we have young women and young men in a fraternity living next door, it’s a party house 24/7. Lots of drinking, some drugs, parties, and general college life. Me being in my 40s and having also attended IU in Bloomington, I know how those parties go! But my current day old self doesn’t really want to read about it lol. This book would be probably best enjoyed by someone either in college or maybe late 20s with this lifestyle fresh on their mind.

Because of the side-partying and general wild lifestyle of the narrator and her friends is the reason I gave the book 3.75 stars. Surprisingly, there is very little reference to sex other than the couple of times it’s mentioned as part of a past memory or story by one of the women. So if you loved that crazy college lifestyle and also love a good mystery that’s a quick and easy read – this book is for you!

I was so excited to read this--I loved Willingham’s other books, but sadly this one was a letdown. It pains me to write this review. I wish I could recommend this book, but I just can't. Willingham's first 2 were some of my absolute favorites, but not this one. I found both storylines to be boring. The ending was exciting, but overall, this one was disappointing.

Stacy Willingham is a relatively new author in the psychological thriller genre. I read and enjoyed her first two books this year and was fortunate to receive a digital ARC of her upcoming book, Only If You’re Lucky.

I love thrillers with an academic setting. I think it’s because they often remind me of my college campus: small, intimate, and cozy, albeit without the missing people and specter of murder.

When Margot arrives at Rutledge, she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Her best friend and future college roommate died under mysterious circumstances three weeks after their high school graduation. Instead of enjoying the freedom and new experiences college brings, Margot spends her first year hiding out in her dorm room, avoiding the other girls on her hall. When one of the “it” girls invites her to live off campus sophomore year, Margot casts off the heaviness and reinvents herself as someone who takes risks and embraces adventure. All that glitters is not gold, however, and Margot becomes entangled in a web of suspicion and lies that undermines her past and threatens her future.

There are three interwoven mysteries in this book, and they get twister and twister as each secret is revealed. The story spins off in unexpected directions, and when the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place, I thought I knew what the final picture would look like. I was wrong!

I read this book in three days over Christmas, snatching every moment to read that I could. Only If You’re Lucky publishes on January 16. Until then, I suggest picking up one of Stacy Willingham’s other books, A Flicker in the Dark or All the Dangerous Things.

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the digital ARC!

Thanks to Minotaur Books for an advanced copy of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham.

I loved her first two books so was eagerly anticipating this one, especially on audio but unfortunately Only If You're Lucky was more underwhelming for me. It is kinda boring for the first half of the book and then the last quarter makes up for it and just pushes this over to a 4, but a majority of the book is barely a 3 star.

I don't want to give too much away but it feels like a generic thriller and not the magic that Stacy Willingham wrote with her first two books!

There is something about Lucy Sharpe that snags everyone’s attention, and Margot can’t help but feel drawn to her. After a freshman year centered around studying and staying in her dorm room, Margot is surprised when Lucy offers her a room in an off-campus house starting that summer, but she quickly agrees to join Lucy and Lucy's two closest friends, Nicole and Sloane.

In many ways Lucy reminds Margot of her longtime best friend, Eliza, who passed away shortly after high school graduation. With Lucy by her side, Margot starts to experience more—more laughs, more parties, more friendships.

But things aren’t picture perfect. Partway through Margot’s sophomore year, one of the frat boys next door is found dead, and Lucy is nowhere to be seen.

I loved this one. Told primarily in sections labeled before or after, with a bit of now, Only If You’re Lucky weaves together the details that led to the boy’s death and Lucy’s disappearance, dropping nuggets and clues along the way. It’s a dark, and at times intense, psychological thriller filled with a “murky combination of right and wrong”. I especially enjoyed the literary references peppered throughout the novel.

I received an advance copy of the ebook from Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley. All review opinions are my own.

I requested this book because I was such a fan of the author’s first two novels. But this one fell short, not at all at the fault of the the author. I’m not a fan of most YA and this thriller was just too much college girl drama for my liking. I can see how this would be a major hit for a younger audience- just not for me.

Stacy Willingham is an author who immediately captured my attention two years ago with her debut novel A Flicker in the Dark. Her newest, Only If You’re Lucky, is my current favorite SW book. 💃🏼💃🏼I had such a good time reading this twisty thriller. I liked that it felt younger, almost new adult. Is it my new favorite thriller of all time? No. Is it incredibly unique? No. Did I love it and do I recommend it? Yes and YES!

WOW is exactly the word to some up this book upon finishing! This was an out of this world home run of a thriller! I’m so so impressed and absolutely taken back! I read All The Dangerous Things last year and loved it, so when I saw this one was coming out - I had to check it out! Thank you so much Netgalley & Minotaur Books for my ebook ARC! This one comes out January 16th, definitely a must add to your to be read pile!
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The characters, the setting, the short chapters, and the plot that kept me wanting more and more! This book had me thinking about it even when I wasn’t reading it. When I feel that way with a book, I know it’s very well done! Lucy Sharp reminded me of the girl everyone wanted to be friends with in college. The one who was cool, always had fun, and had all the friends. Margot our main character meets Lucy at the end of her freshmen year and she makes her feel like she’s the person she’s been looking to be friends with. Lucy asks Margot to move in an off campus house with her and two other girls starting in the summer. In hope to make friends and take the leap of faith with Lucy the girl who seems to be the college IT girl, she accepts and starts living with them all. As time unfolds, Margot becomes very close with Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole. The four are the best of friends, until Levi moves in next door. Levi is someone from Margot’s passed that brings to surface so many things to question. As the semester progresses, more and more comes to the surface with Lucy the girl everyone wants to be friends with, and the dark passed of what happened to Margot. Soon Lucy is missing without a trace ….
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This is a book you can’t sleep on! I highly recommend checking this one out if you love thrillers, dual timelines, strong character development, and lots of twists! A must read!!!

Margot envisioned rooming with her best friend Eliza in college, but when Eliza suddenly passes away Margot goes off to college alone. Living in an all-girl dorm on campus, Margot struggles to make friends outside her college assigned roommate. When she catches the attention of the mysterious Lucy Sharpe, and is then invited to live in a house with her and her friends, Margot jumps at the chance. The house is owned by the fraternity brothers next door and when a guy from the town Margot is trying to escape shows up as a pledge, everything goes awry.

This is my second book by Stacy Willingham and it definitely isn't what I was expected. You'll still find an unreliable narrator, twists and ah-ha moments but Only If You're Lucky felt young. If I could pull out the plot points and skip over the childish antics of college kids spinning knives, drinking until they black out, and playing truth or date; my rating would be different.

Unlike All The Dangerous Things, I found the ending of Only If You're Lucky to be a far bigger stretch from reality. I liked the premise of the book and I liked the main quote, "If You Could Get Away With Murder, Would You Do It?" but I struggled with the overall execution.

Thank you for the gifted ALC.

Some say that college is the time where you define yourself, take risks, and make life-long friends. Margot hopes this is all true as she heads to a small liberal arts college. She also hopes her past does not follow. Freshman year she falls into a calm routine which is a bit boring.......until she catches the eye of Lucy - an outgoing co-ed. Margot takes a risk and moves in with Lucy and her friends living next to a frat house. Lucy brings fun to all events, but no one really knows her. Then Margot's past arrives in the form of a frat pledge - a guy from her hometown. Can she keep her secrets? Then the unthinkable happens and Lucy disappears........................

This is the first book I have read by Stacy and finished. The first one I didn't finish. While I did enjoy this book I found Margot annoying. She is by far the most clingy obsessive person I’ve had in a book. In the beginning I kept trying to give her a pass and not call her obsessed with her friend but by the end of the book it’s clear she was obsessed. I did predict who was guilty of which crimes. The mind games in the book were good. I didn’t expect the ending. The ending is solid. I enjoyed reading this and appreciate being selected for this ARC.

Stacy Willingham returns following All the Dangerous Things and A Flicker In the Dark with her latest haunting thriller, ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY. A dark, twisty, and mind-bending tale exploring toxic female college friendships, expertly narrated by the fabulous Karissa Vacker!

When you‘re young, you can get away with anything . . .
ONLY IF YOU YOU‘RE LUCKY.

Margot meets Lucy Sharpe at the end of her freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Lucy is everything, from bold, beautiful, addictive, and dangerous.

Margot is shy, reserved, and plays it safe. Lucy is her opposite. When she asks her to room together, Margot is over the moon excited.

Soon, Margot lives off-campus with three other girls: Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole. They rent the fraternity house from the boys next door, courtesy of Nicole's connection with Trevor, a leader of the fraternity club.

Margot's BFF, Eliza, died three weeks after graduation, and now Margot and Lucy have become best friends. Margot had planned to attend the same liberal arts college in South Carolina as Eliza had intended vs. what her parents had planned for her.

Then, in the middle of the sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door was brutally murdered, and now Lucy is missing.

The author carefully unravels the relationship between Margot and her former friend, Eliza. Margot becomes fearful when Levi (Eliza's boyfriend) moves in. He was the last to see her alive. What happened to Eliza?

From good vs. evil, inner demons, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY is psychologically rich, atmospheric with plenty of twists, envy, secrets, betrayal, loyalty, and obsession crossing into dark academia.

Alternating between past and present, the captivating mystery unravels. ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY is a little different than the author's previous two books, whereas this one is geared more toward YA and in the tune of Megan Miranda, Kate Alice Marshall, and Jessica Knoll.

A favorite author, you are always in good hands with Stacy Willingham, and each of her books is unique and a pro at tackling any topic.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for generously providing a digital and a listening copy of this standout book and audio for my honest opinion.

I highly recommend the audiobook, and Karissa Vacker brought the voices alive with her stellar performance. #SMPInfluencers

Blog review posted @
JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Jan 16, 2024
My Rating: 4 Stars
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{ Entangled. Maudlin. Covetous. }

I enjoyed both of Stacy Willingham's previous thrillers, and I liked this one, too. 

Only If You're Lucky is an academic thriller that alternates between two timelines, both told from the perspective of Margot, the main character: one takes place before the disappearance of her friend, Lucy, and the other takes place after. 

I stayed up and finished this book in one night. I knew all of the female characters were connected somehow, but I couldn't figure out the specifics until the very end. I loved the way everything fit together.

This is a great pick of you're looking for a quick thriller this winter!