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Only If You're Lucky
4 stars

I am such a fan of Stacy Willingham and this book proves once again how she masters the art of mystery and suspense in her novels. I was completely engrossed from start to finish, trying to piece together the puzzle and I was not disappointed!

The story revolves around Margot, an upcoming sophomore in college grappling with the recent loss of her best friend Eliza. They planned to attend college together but sadly before freshman year, Eliza tragically died in an accident. Withdrawn, Eliza admires a fellow student, Lucy, who is the quintessential cool girl on campus. At the end of the year, Lucy asks Eliza to join her and two friends, Sloane and Nicole, to live off campus. Astounded by her luck to befriend and live with Lucy, Margot agrees and soon finds herself in a close-knit foursome.

Soon, through a series of events, the friend group reveals secrets that cannot be forgotten. A figure from Margots past comes to the same college and Margot has to explain what actually happened to her best friend, or more appropriately, who happened to her friend. Levi is a legacy pledging the fraternity who owns the house the girls are living in and was the boyfriend of Eliza. Margot says that Levi killed Eliza and Lucy makes it her mission to invoke justice.

As you switch from past to present chapters, it's revealed that Levi is dead and Lucy is the prime suspect in his death. As the pace of the book intensifies, the reader is immersed and propelled forward trying to put together the shocking twists and turns. Each scene ramps up the tension and the final reveal is jaw-dropping. You will be entertained, shocked, and in-awe of where this story takes you.

While I enjoyed the read, I will say that some of the reveals felt coincidental or even stretched at times. Granted it is fiction, but it seemed almost too perfect in parts where young adults would not be capable of pulling off such elaborate stunts. Each character was also so unlikeable that it was hard to feel empathy of them throughout the story.

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[arc review]
Thank you to Minotaur Books for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Only If You’re Lucky releases January 16, 2024

<i>“You’re only young once, and only if you’re lucky.”</I>

Margot is in her second year of college, and is still grappling with the loss of her childhood best friend. This proves to be difficult when she moves in with three other girls, and a fraternity pledge next door just so happens to be someone from her hometown who was linked to the death of her best friend.

Told through dual timelines is a college setting murder mystery in which the prime suspect is also missing.

Willingham’s third novel is a stark departure to what she has previously written.
It’s best to view this one as a character study on friendship, the types of personalities you might be drawn to and feed off of, and what it means to belong, rather than a suspenseful thriller.

A lot of other reviewers mention that this is extremely slow paced, and I do agree with that! However, as someone that tends to fly through too many books, I didn’t find it to be such a bad thing as it was a nice change of pace to find something that allowed me to slow down.

cw: SA

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Friendships come and go but actions with consequences may live on forever. Loyalty, envy, lies, and betrayal are the driving forces in this thriller about the lengths one will go to for friends and the feeling of belonging. Sloane, Margot, and Nicole are “just a couple of harmless girls” brought together by the enigmatic Lucy. She is magnetic and captivating much like Margot’s dearly departed best friend Eliza. Both have secrets that eventually become contagious and deadly. The ramifications of murder or permanent.” One was an accident, one a mistake, and one a necessity.” Who is responsible and who will suffer as truths are revealed and deception uncovered? This is another beautifully written and character-driven emotive psychological thriller by Stacy Willingham. It's easy to get lost in her prose and captured by the original, gripping plot. Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy.

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I've enjoyed Stacy Willingham's previous books, but unfortunately this one missed the mark for me. I found it to be very repetitive with not much happening along the way.

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I am a Willingham fan, so I knew I would want to read this one.

Margot spends her first year of college hiding in her room after the unexpected death of her best friend Eliza. When popular girl on campus Lucy asks her to move in for the summer, she decides to take Lucy up on the offer and make some changes. The off campus house is located next to a fraternity, and Margot gets blindsided when Levi - Eliza's boyfriend - starts rushing that fraternity. Levi's appearance seems to jumpstart questions about Eliza, and Margot is concerned when Levi and Lucy start to form a close relationship.

The book shifts time periods between Now and Before. As readers, we know in the Now that someone has died and someone has disappeared, but we don't yet know exactly what the situation is. This book is very much a slow burn, driven more by character development than by actions moving the plot along. There were times when I almost forgot that I was trying to get to the bottom of a mystery and I was just invested in reading about the characters.

I enjoyed this book, but I took a star away because it felt like the book was a little longer than it needed to be in order to develop the story and the characters. If you're already a fan of Willingham or if you love a character-driven thriller, this one might be for you.

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I really wanted to like this, but finishing the book was a struggle. I did love the premise and thought the story would be a slam dunk, but I was so bored. The first 80% of the book drags. Margot is insufferable as a main character. This book would have benefited from multiple POVs since the main character was so weak. I loved her first two books, so this is a disappointment.

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Stacy Willingham is one of my favorite authors and was very excited to read this one. The college setting filled with secrets and lies was very fun! Some of the twists I did feel were predictable but still an enjoyable read!

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This was more of a drama than it was thriller. Lots of character development. A little bit slower at times. I never knew I could like academia so much. That ending I don’t think anybody could ever see coming. I thought I knew what was going to happen and never would I have seen that twist come.

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Another winner from Willingham. This is a great beach read thriller. I did not see the twists coming. I read a lot of thrillers and it’s hard to fool me. This had all the ingredients for a great read. Good character development, good plot and great twists. I will be recommending this one!

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I absolutely loved this author’s previous two thrillers. Unfortunately, this one was not for me. I found the plot pretty boring and had trouble getting through it. I never connected to any of the characters. The ending had some action and twists I enjoyed.

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This was way too slow to be a thriller, and it felt very young adult to me. Nothing really happens until the end, so it's just another waste of time to be let down.

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This one was just average for me. I have really liked Stacy Willingham's previous books but this one was just OK. I felt Lucy was too over the top and Margot was flying way too under the radar. I had a hard time believing they would be friends. I think that's why it was just OK.

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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this copy.
Rutledge University is a small liberal arts school in South Carolina and it where Lucy, Margot, Sloan and Nicole all meet each other and form a friendship their Sophomore year. Margot is shy and quiet and dealing with the death of her best friend from back home 2 years prior, it was deemed an accident but Margot has doubts about Levi, Eliza's boyfriend. Levi attends Rutledge and is found dead at a Fraternity party one night and Lucy has gone missing.
You need to read the first chapter and Chapter 54 onward, the rest of the book is repetitive and is only setting the stage for the last 25% of the book.

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Toxic female friendships meet mystery in this thriller by Stacy Willingham.

Our main heroine Margot, mourning the death of her best friend, is enamored with the vivacious Lucy who invites Margot into her friend circle by living with them in off campus housing. What follows is a dead frat boy and the disappearance of Margot's newest best friend, Lucy. This is a very slow burn thriller that doesn't really ramp up until the final act. It's a bit boring to be inside Margot's head as she's navigating her grief, new friendships, college, and trying to solve this mystery.

While this is marketed as a thriller, which it most certainly is, it would be better served to be marketed as a YA thriller. The characters are young and the story suffers a bit for it. I don't know of any college girls who sit around playing spin the bottle with frat boys.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

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Loved this book!!! This is my 3rd book by this author and one of my favorites! did not see the end coming. It had so many little twists and puzzle pieces throughout the story that perfectly fit together into the final reveals. It perfectly captured deep female friendships that are built based on a power dynamic so well. How the personalities all add into one another, and how things get messy if someone goes against the leader. The author wrote amazing characters with so many different layers in this book - making it such an enjoyable read that all tied together in the end. Another added detail I liked was that part of it took place in the Outer Banks.

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I absolutely love Stacy Willingham and this book was no exception. I loved every twist and turn the author took us through and can’t wait for what the author does next.

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This is a tough book to review, because while I liked it, I didn’t love it, and it felt very different from the author’s previous work. I really enjoyed All the Dangerous Things (and A Flicker In the Dark is in my to-read pile), but I struggled with Only If You’re Lucky. This is a very slow-burn, character driven novel, and the lack of tension and urgency unfortunately made this a bit of a slog. I also felt this was a bit overlong and maybe could’ve been trimmed or tightened up a bit. However, I do enjoy Willingham’s writing and ultimately I liked how everything came together in the end. I’ll still be reading anything she writes in the future, even though this wasn’t a favorite.

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ONLY IF YOU'RE LUCKY is a dark and chilling look into female friendships, the lies we tell, the secrets we keep and how much we can ever know those closest to us. It kept me engaged and I stayed up WAY too late to finish the story because I needed to know how it ended!

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"Only If You're Lucky" by Stacy Willingham is a riveting and intense thriller that will keep readers hooked from beginning to end. The story follows a young woman who becomes entangled in a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a cunning and manipulative killer. Willingham's expertly crafted plot twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very last page. With its fast-paced action and suspenseful moments, this book is a must-read for fans of the thriller genre.

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Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview and advanced copy of Only If Your Lucky. The opinion's expressed below are my own and this is my honest review.

Overall I enjoyed Stacey Willingham’s newest book, Only If Your Lucky. I previously read and enjoyed A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things, so I went into this one with some idea of what I expected, but was surprised to find myself amidst a slow burn thriller, I did enjoy the story overall, but felt as though I were reading a YA/new adult story as opposed to adult fiction and think had I not had my own preconceived notions about what to
expect, I likely would have enjoyed it more. It wasn’t bad, just not what I’d expected.

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