Unfortunately this book wasn’t for me but if you love college setting mysteries this story is for you! The betrayal had me gasping in a surprise I did not see coming. Thank you NetGalley for sending me an eARC for my honest review.

Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can't say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

Only If You're Lucky is a little different than Willingham's previous books which I loved. This was a bit of a slow burn and seemed to be geared more towards college aged readers BUT the ending is *chef's kiss* amazing! I really enjoy stories with unlikeable characters and this book has it. I did go into this with pretty high expectations as her other books were so good and was let down a bit. I would give this a solid 3 stars.

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. Publication date: January 16, 2024.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for allowing me to read an advanced copy of Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham.

Margot is a shy, Plain Jane girl who is attending college in South Carolina. The story begins with Margot staying with friends (Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole) in a house that is owned and connected to a frat house. One of the boys, Levi, was murdered and Lucy is missing. The story flips back and forth between Before and After. Margot struggles with friendships and coming out of her shell. She has lost her best friend, Eliza, before going to college. What happened to Levi, Lucy, and Eliza?

This was a slow-burn psychological thriller/mystery. It is about friendships, influences, and being two-faced. There are references to Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde that portray the characteristics of these teenagers and their friendships with one another. You get the POV of Margot throughout the whole story. Because this was about teenagers, it felt very YA to me. There is a lot of Truth or Dare, drinking, gossiping, etc. happening throughout. I don't think that made the story bad, but I wasn't expecting YA. The way the story was told reminded me of something from Rachel Hawkins like Reckless Girls. While it was a good story, I expected something different from Stacy Willingham. It felt different from her last two books. However, this author is very good at descriptive writing which I really appreciate and enjoy.

The characters were fleshed out well. It was hard to tell the real side of each character, which added to the theme of the story and is true to life. Stacy Willingham has an author's note at the end discussing the inspiration from her own experiences in college. She also has some references to the Beatles which I liked.

I will warn there are talks of sexual assault, if that is a trigger please skip this one.

Overall I give this story 3.5 stars; rounding up to 4 for Goodreads. If you like the show Cruel Summer, this is for you!

I find that I enjoy thrillers more when I have absolutely no idea what I'm getting into. Therefore, I won't provide a summary of this one, except to say that it's a college setting and revolves around close female relationships.

I really enjoy Stacy Willingham's writing style and her pacing/cadence, though I recognize that not everyone does. My favorite of her books so far is [book:All the Dangerous Things|60784636], but I liked this as well. Though I found Margot to be an unlikeable MC, I don't think it detracted from the story or the twists. Just be forewarned that if you require connection with your thriller characters, you may not enjoy this book as much as I did.

I also found it suuuper fun to discover that major pieces of this story are based on the author's actual college experiences!

Thank you to Stacy Willingham, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy.

I was extremely excited to receive this ARC as I think Stacy’s other 2 books are 5 star reads. This was such a let down. I felt like the entire time I was waiting for it to get good and it just never did. I was honestly very bored. I love stacy and look forward to reading more books by her but this one fell short for me

3.5 stars

Stacy Willingham is one of my favorite newly discovered authors that I've read in 2023. Her first two books thrilled me and surprised me along the way, so I went into Only If You're Lucky with pretty high expectations. I left still entertained, but slightly disappointed- I believe this will be her most divisive book to date in terms of reader response.

This is a completely different book from A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things. For starters, the book is set in college, with age-appropriate characters, activities, thoughts/feelings, etc., which is a departure from her older narrators. It's focused a lot on the complicated dynamics of female friendships, social acceptance, and jealousy. None of these are negative- they are just a shift from the focus of her other two books, which focus on women in their careers, engaged/divorced, having children.

The book still contains Willingham's distinct writing style and voice, which I have loved ever since I read A Flicker in the Dark; I could recognize her writing just by style alone. It's a compelling, but slower, story, with not a ton happening all the time except learning the relationships amongst the girls. It still features a past storyline set in high school, which I felt wasn't as interesting as the past storylines in the first two books.

I think the book falters with its giant twist, but if you aren't as concerned with the realism of a twist, I think you should be fine. It's an interesting wrinkle, but I don't know if it holds up to scrutiny in a way where I could suspend disbelief. It didn't ring true for my own college experience and those of my friends, which felt essential to being able to accept the twist on face value.

I think a lot of people will enjoy Only If You're Lucky if you're a fan of Willingham's first two novels, which I wholeheartedly recommend still, but I think this one is a step down from All The Dangerous Things. I am still looking forward to whatever her next novel will be, because if nothing else, Willingham knows how to write a compelling story.

I was really excited and appreciative to receive Only If You're Lucky as an ARC! I read both of Stacy Willingham's previous novels and absolutely loved them! This novel is a solid 4 stars for me. It is a little different from her previous works - it has more of a slow-burn start. However, the twist at the end caught me by surprise and I couldn't put it down at the 70% mark. I really enjoyed the setting and how it was inspired by Stacy's college experience.

Thank you NetGalley, Stacy Willingham, and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have read all of Stacy Willingham’s thrillers so I was excited to dive into Only If You’re Lucky. It was a bit too slow paced for me. The plot didn’t have a lot going on for me to truly feel engaged in it. I liked how it all came together in the end, lots of secrets revealed. It was a good thriller, but not great.

Right off the bat, this story felt really familiar like something I had read before. The thing I could most closely relate it to was Pretty Little Liars. I think the ending was good, I didn't really see it coming but the beginning just felt like I was rereading the typical lonely girl gets involved with the popular crowd and it all goes south story. The timelines are a bit confusing since it flips between multiple timeframes but the chapters don't necessarily make it clear where you are.

Only if You're Lucky follows Margot who is starting college alone in a new town. Her best friend just died and she is mourning her loss but also looking for a fresh start. She finds herself gravitating towards Lucy and her group of friends. While they party it up, Margot starts noticing odd behaviors in Lucy and finds herself reliving her past when Levi, the guy who last saw her best friend alive, shows up as her new neighbor. The timeline flips between Margot and the group of friends

This is a great mystery/thriller that had me hooked from the start. I enjoyed the character connection, and family drama. Lots of twists and turns, many I did not see coming. I you enjoy female friendships, a small town vibes thriller, be sure to pick this up. Thank you to St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy of this e-arc. 4.5 stars

what happens when you put the shy one, the sarcastic one, the nice one, and the larger-than-life one in a college house together?

the answer?

people go missing. people turn up dead. secrets come out. secrets stay buried.
•

margot was suoposed to be starting at Rutledge College with her best friend by her side. but eliza isn’t here. she’s dead. and who is at Rutledge? her murderer.

will margot be able to keep running from the past? will she be able to reinvent herself the way she hopes becoming friends with lucy will allow her to? or will she be forced to face the truth? can people change or are they who they are, no matter what?
•

stacy willingham is always an immediate five star read for me. only if you’re lucky is different than her previous books—more of a slow-burn suspense than thriller. but she doesn’t miss. i was hooked from the beginning and found myself saying “what the f*ck” aloud at every twist. i highly recommend this one (and both of her others!)
•

thank you @minotaur_books for gifting me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review and opinion. thank you @stacywillingham for writing books good enough to make it to my top 10 reads for 2022 and 2023.

Stacy Willingham, you have yet to let me down 👏🏼
Book 3/3 that lands at 5 stars on my scale.

Margot moves to college while mourning the death of her best friend, who was supposed to be moving there with her. She’s quiet & shy, but ends up befriending and moving in with 3 of the more popular girls on campus. As she gets sucked into this new world and her social circle grows, she realizes how many secrets and lies she’s surrounded by, and how little she really knows about some of her best friends, both old and new.

I actually almost didn’t pick this one up just yet, because I wasn’t sure that I was quite in the mood for a thriller… but as usual, I was immediately hooked. The twists and turns- I thought, for certain at one point, that I had it all figured out, but at the very end, my jaw was left hanging.

Stacy has become an auto-buy-author for me, that I recommend to everyone when looking for a good thriller, and this book just solidified her even more as one of my favorites. This was one of my most anticipated upcoming reads, so I literally screamed when I was approved for an ARC. THANK YOU NetGalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin’s Press! 📚

3.5 stars ⭐️

It was a slower start for me. It didn’t pick up until around 200 pages. It switched from present to senior year of high school to college years frequently. Sometimes to the point of which I lost track.

But, the twists I never saw coming!

Thank you for Net Galley and the publisher for this ARC.

What would you do for your true friends? This story might surprise you with what that might be. This is another amazing story by Stacy Willingham! I loved everything about the say she weaved the story together, slowly revealing everything. Even reading this story about college kids as a middle aged woman, I was thoroughly engrossed in this tale! Stacy Willingham continues to be a must read or me! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Publishers for allowing me to read this story!

This has been advertised as a book about college students, friendship, loyalty, envy and belonging. And it definitely features every single one of those topics. The book follows Margot through her sophomore year at Rutledge College, the girls she lives with, and the frat house next door. In her acknowledgements, Willingham mentions that the house itself is based on her own living situation in college. And I think that is exactly what made this book so special. Her depiction of college life, of the shyness and earnestness, the trust and betrayals, all felt true, but the environment everything happened in is what made it completely realistic.
The thriller component of this story unfolds through two timelines, the summer and current timeline in the fall. The main distinction between the two is the insertion of a detective, who is looking for their missing roommate. The back and forth between the timelines wasn’t confusing, but the amounts of information given started to get annoying. It felt like each “Before” chapter was an information dump while each “After” chapter had nothing new to offer. Despite that, I really enjoyed the storyline, and thought the twists were handled expertly. Each reveal had been slowly teased through multiple chapters, and getting to the answers felt almost doubly rewarding.
I really enjoyed this book, and think it hits all the standard thriller criteria. It was exciting, twisty, and had exceptionally well-written teenage characters. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an academic thriller that doesn’t feel stuffy or pretentious!
Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy!

It pains me to write this review - I struggled so badly with this book. It took me months to get through. I was so displeased because typically this author is a favorite of mine.

Margot, goes to college, after suffering a pretty heavy traumatic experience. She meets a few new friends and things aren’t what they seem, yadda yadda yadda.

The end was unexpected and I so wish the first 80% of the book reflected the same type of movement within the story. I could not wrap my head around these girls and their apathetic nature, resulting in my own apathy towards them.

The cover of the book is great, the writing is great, the ending was great. The rest of the book needed something else - different character names (Levi, Lucy, Lucas, Eliza - so many L’s!), more favorable protagonists, more excitement overall…just something other than this.

I received an ARC copy of this from Netgalley.
This is a story about female friendships and the extreme lengths some would go to to protect the ones they love, and themselves.
In this story we follow Margot a college freshman, living in the dorms away from
her hometown for the first time after the sudden death of her childhood best friend.
This story had great character development, but was also fast paced. I really enjoyed it.
4.5 ⭐️

Stacy Willingham’s mysteries always keep you on the edge of your seat and her newest title, Only if You’re Lucky, is no exception.

Margot tries to move on after losing her best friend Senior year in high schoo and starts college at a small liberal arts school in South Carolinal. After spending Freshman year mourning the loss and hiding in her all girls dorm with her new roommate, shy, cautious Margot is ready for a change. When magnetic, bold Lucy asks her to be the fourth in an off-campus house Sophomore year, Margot excitedly decides to take a chance and agrees. Together with Sloane and Nicole, the four girls have very different personalities yet become very close friends.
This psychological thriller builds when a student is murdered and another goes missing. It seems that everyone has a secret.

The character’s unique personalities are so richly detailed that the reader feels each awkward interaction, the painful ramifications of peer pressure and the betrayal of trusted friends. Readers will love the fast pace of Only if You’re Lucky and just wait for the unexpected surprise at the end!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced reader’s copy in return for my honest review.

When Margot is chosen by Lucy Sharpe to be the 4th roommate at their fraternity-owned rental, Margot is thrust into a different world of parties, drugs, and belonging. But when a member of the frat is found dead and Lucy goes missing, secrets from Margot's past are brought up and may be the key to discovering what happened to them.

I admit this read started off a bit slow and had a hard time holding my interest. But once it picked up, it was like Bam Bam Bam! One twist after another, each better than the last, and it made every slow moment worth it. The characters were all shady and I didn't know who to trust. I love the dark academia setting and the different timelines. I've read all of this author's books and will look forward to the next one!

Margot just barely survived her freshman year at her South Carolina college. Majoring in English and missing her childhood best friend she lives in an all female dorm with 24 other girls on her floor. Shy, never a leader, and never the center of attention she is a careful one.

Lucy is enigmatic and bold; the quintisential "cool" girl with an air of mystery. Usually flanked by her sidekicks Sloane and Nicole and rarely seen in any of her classes.

Lucy is very much like Margot's childhood best friend Eliza. When Lucy approaches Margot to move into an off campus house, with a bunch of frat bros as landlords, Margot decides to finally take a risk. She comes out of her shell, makes new friends, and runs into old aquintances.


Personally I did not have a live at college experience- but if i did I would have expected it to begin like Margot's A house on my own with friends, parties next door, and friendsgiving. What I wouldn't have expected was the death of a neighborhood frat bro and a missing person's case to content with.

The dual time-line of the story examines friendship, belonging, and daily college life both before and after Margot finds the body of her neighbor frat bro after a night of drinking and debuachery on a local island. The book toes the line between YA and NA with the final twist being slightly unbelievable, however I really enjoyed it. I generally like when characters on the cusp of adulthood are faced with both age appropriate & inappropriate situations and struggle to find solutions to either without the guidance of established authority. This one was a definite slow burn with lots of different threads of mystery coming together in the final reveal.

Fans of Pretty Little Liars, Mean Girls, and How to Get Away with Murder would more than likely enjoy this one!