If you enjoy stories about college kids behaving badly with underage drinking, frat parties, and secrets, this is a perfect choice. Margot quickly falls under the spell of Lucy Sharpe, and after a freshman year of hiding within herself, agrees to move into an off-campus house with her and two other friends. As the girls slowly unfold their secrets, boys from their past show up, someone dies, and Lucy disappears. The tension rackets up slowly and then the pace increases rapidly toward an unexpected denouement. I really enjoyed this read, especially the later chapters when I kept changing my mind about what I thought was happening. The atmosphere of the setting in the old house the girls are renting and the beach they visit, the descriptions of how depression felt to Margot, and the final answers were all so well written.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my eARC.

This was my first book by Stacy Willingham and I will definitely be reading more of her work! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the characters, the drama, and how you discover more of the truth as you read along. This is my ideal kind of book to read.

Only If You're Lucky is the first Stacy Willingham book I've read, after hearing so many great things about her previous books, and it was a very fun ride!
A slow burn, this is the story of Margot and her experience at college after the death of her childhood best friend. At school she meets a girl named Lucy and is instantly taken with her and the ways that she reminds Margot of her old friend. From there it's a story draped in mystery as we watch all of the twists and turns unfold. The book kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end and I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for this author in the future.
Please find attached my spoiler free youtube review that goes a little more indepth.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC of this book. I may becoming spoiled by all of the psych thrillers I have read. This authors first two books were quite good but this one fell flat. The female friendship storyline felt too predictable. I struggled to finish

I was thrilled when I received an advanced copy for Only If You're Lucky, and this book did not disappoint! Right for the beginning, this slow burn novel kept me hooked and reading long into the night. Every single character was so perfectly written. I felt like I was just another college student living alongside the main characters, watching the thrills and chills unfold. I was fully immersed, and every twist was more shocking than the last. Stellar!

Thank you, Stacy Willingham, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book!

"In time, it may fade, but it'll never truly be gone - because if one goes down, we all go down, which might be the most steadfast act of friendship I've ever known."

This story is a dark and chilling look into female friendships, the lies we tell each other, and how much we may never know those closest to us. If you like slow paced, character driven thrillers, this is the one for you. I have loved this authors previous books and this one is no different. Willingham is clearly a talented author and she knows how to write a good thriller.

This one was a little hard for me, because I didn't truly get into the story until about halfway through. This is definitely a slow burn, but it ramps up speed and the pieces of the puzzle start coming together quickly. I still highly recommend this book, because this author is an incredible writer and the ending is wild, but be aware of the slow burn!

5 stars

This book tells the twisty tale of friendship between Margot, a shy college student grieving the death of her best friend, and Lucy, the bold and dangerous girl who lives down the hall. At the end of the year, Lucy singles Margot out and asks her to be the fourth roommate at her new house. Margot accepts and becomes a party girl, frequenting the frat house next door with her new roomies. When one of the frat boys ends up dead and Lucy goes missing, Margot finds herself in the middle of a police investigation.

Yes! I really enjoyed this book! It had me from the start and I couldn’t put it down. Although a bit of a slow burn, there are lots of twists revealed as the book goes on. I would definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Stacy Willingham just doesn't miss! I've read every one of her books so far and haven't been let down. She's become an insta-read author for me.

Only If You're Lucky follows Margot as she navigates college life while still grieving the death of her best friend. Enter Lucy -- she's magnetic and popular and full of life. She invites Margot to live in an off-campus house with her and her two friends, Sloane and Nicole. Only it's not long before one of the fraternity boys next door ends up dead and Lucy goes missing.

This book is full of unexpected twists and turns and had me racing through the pages to figure out what was going on. Loved this so much and highly recommend!

📚 Review: Only If You’re Lucky 🍁
Wow!! What a book!! I loved it! Once I was about halfway through the book, I could not put it down. I had my interest the entire time.
I kept thinking I knew who was going to be guilty but I was wrong again and again. So many twists in this one, which I love. When a book has me guessing and I get them all wrong, then you know it’s good.
For those not familiar because it’s not out yet, this book takes place on a college campus. College friends living the life at school, partying and falling in love, until someone ends up dead. This book gave me In My Dreams I Hold A Knife vibes and I was totally here for it. It’s told in two timelines, Before and After. It’s just so good with so many twists. I really enjoyed this one a lot. This is my third Stacy Willingham book and it is definitely my favorite. For those who liked her first two books, you’ll see what I mean. As a writer, Stacy is definitely perfecting her craft with each book. 🙌🏻♥️ This was a great binge read and it was for sure ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars for me!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress and @stacyvwillingham for this advanced ebook copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Pub Date: January 16, 2024
You’ll definitely want to pick up your own copy.

Have you read this book yet? Did you like her first two books?

Another solid 4.5 ⭐️ read from Stacy Willingham! Only If You’re Lucky tells the twisty tale of Margot and how she deals with losing her best friend Eliza right before they leave for college. Where it is a twisty and suspenseful ride, it is also a slow burn 🔥. However, the last 30% of this read are fantastic!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Absolutely amazing story! There were so many complexities to this story that I was kept on the edge of my seat, devouring the story! The twists were completely unexpected!

After the tragic death of her best friend, Eliza, Margot heads off to college bruised and broken from the loss. There she finds her people: Lucy, the one everyone is drawn to, Sloane, the brash one, and Nicole, the sweet one. She doesn’t know how she has made it into their orbit, but there she is living with these girls and starting to come out of her shell.

When a blast from her not so distant past arrives, Margot is brought back to all those months before Eliza’s death. Then one of their neighboring frat boys winds up dead and Lucy goes missing.

This was reminiscent of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife. I loved the found family vibe and the story behind the mystery. The way this story unravels had me totally clueless about what would happen next. This author writes such intelligent characters and really knows how to pull you in and wind you up.

This author has been hit or miss for me and if you like extremely slow burn then this is for you. However for me, that meant it was way too boring

Only If You're Lucky is a mysterious story of Margot, a college sophomore who is grieving the tragic death of her best friend shortly after high school graduation. Margot's first year at a small Southern private college went by without incident but also without meaningful connection. She has agreed to live with her roommate again next year, but she flakes out on that plan when a charismatic girl named Lucy invites her to live with her and a few other girls in a house next to a popular fraternity house.

We follow Margot's perspective as she lives with Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole and their lives closely intertwine with the boys of Sigma Nu. Early in the story, one of the brothers is dead and then the timeline alternates between past and present to slowly reveal his tragic death and the secrets many of the characters are hiding.

This was clearly the immersive writing on Stacy Willingham with a chilling Southern atmosphere, which she does so well in all of her novels. However, the characters and plot of this one deviates from her first two novels which keeps it fresh in my opinion. I can see some readers disliking this one as it focuses on high school memories and college experiences, but I enjoyed remembering the big feelings of that time in this creepy, secretive plot. Also in Stacy Willingham style, not much happens until the 75% mark, but then you probably won't put this down and she certainly kept my interest to that point where everything starts coming together quickly.

I didn't find this one totally shocking, but I found it very satisfying. If you've liked this author in the past, this is definitely worth a try.

This was Stacy Willingham’s best book. It was fast paced, gripping, suspenseful, and had great twists. The characters were morally gray and hard to pin down which made guessing what really happened to Eliza, to Levi, and to Lucy even more interesting. Highly recommend!

This book takes place in a university setting. Think frat houses, parties and not so much studying. Margot is our main character who is grieving the death of her best friend. She feels like she doesn't really belong with the girl she's rooming with. Then she meets charismatic Lucy, who reminds her of her best friend she lost. What entails is Margot becoming a party girl with Lucy and her other 2 new roommates. This is a story of revenge, anger, murder and secrets being revealed. This was my first book by the author however, I feel as though it was a slow burn and not as thrilling as my usual reads. I gave it 3 stars. It was a pretty solid book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read for free in exchange for an honest review.

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this advanced reader copy. Margot is finishing her freshman year at a small North Carolina college. She’s also been mourning the death of her best friend. It’s been a year but she’s unable to move past her grief. She meets Lucy and quickly her world changes. She finds herself living off campus with Lucy and two other girls. They live next door to an unruly bunch of frat boys who just happen to be their landlords. One of the fraternity boys comes from Margot’s hometown though, and he was involved with Margot’s deceased friend. Things get dark and twisty about half way through the novel, and I couldn’t put it down trying to figure it all out. However, the first part of the book read like a young adult novel and it was so close to being a DNF (did not finish) for me. I rarely do that. So first half was a ⭐️ star and the second half was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. I loved Stacy Willingham’s two previous books - check those out! Publication in January 2024

Stacy Willingham's 'Only If You’re Lucky' was my least favorite of her three books, despite my initial excitement. It took nearly half the book to truly engage me, but once it did, I couldn't put it down.

The story opens with a missing girl and a dead fraternity pledge, skillfully weaving between past and present. Margot, the central character, narrates the complex relationships girls form during their coming-of-age years, making her an intriguing focal point.

While I anticipated some plot twists, others blindsided me, particularly the shocking revelation at the end. This twist ultimately redeemed the book in my eyes.

Despite a slow start, 'Only If You’re Lucky' delivers an atmospheric mystery with a compelling plot. Stacy Willingham keeps readers guessing until the final pages, making it a worthwhile read.

Starting off in a transitional moment in her life, Margot goes to college in hopes to reinvent herself and let her older self fade into the distance. With a new friend group and living next to a frat house, what could go wrong?
It’s not until Margot is too deep in her new life, with new friends, finding herself in a new mystery that’s looks strangely, very similar to her old life.

Great suspense book for those looking for a mystery that eases you into the depths of the story.

Is history always due to repeat itself?

‼️PLEASE READ THE TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING

✨thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

*Advanced copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Stacy Willingham delivers an atmospheric mystery with Only If You’re Lucky, with twists that you couldn’t see coming. The layered plot keeps the pace moving without being too convoluted or complex.

Margot lost her best friend senior year of high school, but continues on to live out their shared dream of attending the college they had picked out together. Once there Margot is drawn to the enigmatic Lucy, and finds herself living with Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole in an off campus house behind a fraternity. When Margot finds the new pledge, Levi, is the boy she blames for her best friend’s death, her tenuous happiness (and seeming grasp on reality) starts to slip. Lucy is now missing, Levi is dead - and Margot, Sloane, and Nicole are keeping a secret no one can guess.

Questioning what it means to be a girl coming of age and examining the complex and sometimes dysfunctional relationships girls form with each other, you finish the book wondering how lucky you might be to find your people in college- and what that luck exactly entails.