This one felt a little slow until the 25-30% and I felt like the climax could have used a little extra substance. Only If You’re Lucky is a slow burn thriller set in a darker academia theme. I absolutely love dark academia and I feel like authors can do so much with that setting as a whole.

Margot, off to college alone without her best friend after her passing, befriends Lucy. As she makes more friends, her new ‘cool’ roommates Sloane and Nicole, things seem to skew and nothing is as it seems. After a frat boy next door is found murdered, and Lucy gone without a trace, Margot is determined to unravel the mystery within.

This novel, given its academia base, is packed full of envy, betrayal and a ton of secrets. The characters are well written, not ‘cookie cutter’ basic and memorable on their own. Willingham knows how to write a memorable ending with a handful of shocking unexpected twists without leaving any loose ends.

If you’re a fan of Pretty Little Liars, this will be a must read!

ONLY IF YOU’RE LUCKY 🍀 This is my third Stacy Willingham novel and it had a completely different feel than her other two. It was dark academia mixed with Pretty Little Liar vibes. I loved that part. I did find that it would drag you down really long rabbit holes and I would get bored. I also thought the explanations for one for the twists was a little weak and unbelievable but overall I enjoyed it. I do think fans of dark academia novels should give it a go. It is set to release January 16, 2024. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you, @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the free advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. #darkacademia #thriller #tbr #netgalley #stmartinspress

This book kept me guessing until the end... literally. The back and forth in the timeline kept my attention and was well executed. The red herrings were thrown in without obviously leading the reader to a conclusion but all the dots being connected at the end made a believable picture.

This is the first book by Stacey Willingham that I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It was a slow burn, but I’m a sucker for books with college settings, murder, and the slow unveiling of the murderer and the motive behind their actions.

thank you netgalley for the ARC! This is my 3rd book I’ve read by Stacy. The first 30% of this book was slow and took some time to get ramped up. Once it got going I couldn’t put this down. The setting was creepy and the ending kept me guessing till the very end!

The ending had a twist to it that brings everything all together but I kinda found this book to be boring

After a freshman year spent mourning her best friend who passed away the previous summer, Margot is invited to live with mysterious Lucy and her two other friends. Lucy search to come out of her shell, but things are soon shattered. When one of the frat boys next door is murdered.

I thought this was a good thriller book, though the first half is a little slow. The ending is filled with twist that you probably would not be able to figure out. At least I couldn’t.

Thanks to NetGalley, Stacy Willingham & Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy of this title! I absolutely loved it. I was completely shocked by the ending of this book and I highly recommend.

First off, thank you to NetGalley, St Martin’s Press/Minotaur for the ARC in exchange for my honest review! Only if You’re Lucky is a thriller about college girls with a mysterious past. I wouldn’t consider it dark academia personally, because it mainly follows the girls partying with the frat next door. Because of this, I’d recommend the target age group for this novel between 16-24 years old.
The first 50% of the story builds up the plot, but I did find this slow and difficult to get through. The second half gets a little more interesting leaving the reader with cliff hangers from chapter to chapter. While there was so much detail in the first half, I felt like I didn’t connect to the main characters as much as I would have liked to. The ending felt abrupt and unbelievable.
Overall, not a memorable thriller. 2.5/5 stars rounded up, simply because of the twists taking place in the second half of the book that finally grasped my attention.

I freaking LOVED the first two books by this author and just about lost it when I got approved for this arc! Unfortunately, this one fell flat for me and I couldn’t help but compare it to the first two epic mysteries by Stacey.

Margot is entering her second year of college with a gang of brand new friends. Her first year started rocky since she started school just 2 months after her best friend died. Now, Lucy seemingly saved her from another year of going through the motions. Margot has friends, has fun, and even has secrets now. The only thing is… so does everyone else.

This just read like a college drama for most of the book and there were few likeable characters throughout. Kinda felt like Tell Me Lies, so if you like that book I recommend this one! I loved the way it wrapped up but not my favorite overall.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy to read and review.

This novel is a slow burn with a few surprising twists as it nears the end…but with enough breadcrumbs dropped along the way that they tie together without being out too far in left field.

Another great read from this author.

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham is another beautifully-written thriller by an incredible talented author. It feels like I only just devoured her debut, A Flicker In The Dark, that blew me away. But her third novel is every is just as powerful, maybe even more. I raced through the pages even though I wish I could have slowed down, lingered over every beautiful paragraph. Can't wait for her fourth! Highly recommend!!

A dark academia that reminded me of a cross between Pretty Little Liars and How to Get Away with Murder. I loved the college roomies who live next door to a fraternity house take on this book. Lots of lies and secrets that unfold, which always make for an interesting story. I especially enjoyed the friendship dynamic between Margot and Lucy, one who’s malleable and one who’s bigger than life.

This slow burn does take a bit to ramp up,
and the middle could have used a bit “more” but I’m a fan of an academia thriller.. so I was invested. Each of the characters are flawed which really added to the intriguing female friendship dynamic that’s at play. Willingham knows how to build up a story and the ending was packed with twists. I binged the second half of the book in one sitting. A very well executed and memorable ending.

This book was decent. I enjoyed certain parts of it and others I didn’t. I’ve definitely read worse.

Stacy Willingham is soooo good at keeping you guessing until the very end of her books, I honestly had no idea where we were going for half this story, but in a good way. The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was a majority of the characters, for being in college they were written in a way that sounded like they were still in high school or younger. Eliza and Lucy were by far the most annoying of the bunch, but I did love Nicole and Sloane. The endless twists kept me going and of course this author continues to be an instant buy for me.

Wow. What a wild and haunting ride this book was. So many twists and turns, it was quite haunting actually and I really enjoyed it. I don't want to say too much and spoil the story, but it has a bit of everything- friendship, lies, secrets, envy and betrayal. I highly recommend!

Huge fan of this author, but this book fell short for me this time. Definitely too slow of a start and while the ending made up for that with the twist, it’s still not what I was hoping for.

Margot is off to college without her best friend, Eliza. After tragedy struck, Margot, had to move on without her. While at college, Margo meet some new friends, one being Lucy. Lucy has friended Margot, who is intrigued as she reminds her a lot of her friend Eliza. As they become friends and the roommates Sloane and Nicole become some of her friends, things do not appear as they seem. When one of the frat boys next-door gets murdered, and Lucy disappears, there are a lot of unanswered questions. Margot is determined to figure it out.

This book is a good read, just not one of my favorites this year. And definitely not as good as the first two books by this author. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC. This book comes out in January!

Psychological and chilling. Stacey always has you on the edge of your seat. The mystery wasn't quite as thrilling as in her previous works, but the relationships between the characters were so raw and real and entrancing. I would definitely recommend this to fans of psychological thrillers!

I loved A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things so I had to pick up Only if You’re Lucky!

This is the story of Margot’s exploration of friendship that is laced with themes of belonging, loyalty, envy, and betrayal.

Oh boy y’all I’m on the fence with this one. The set up was amazing and the end was twisty! BUT getting there was a slog. I think there was just way too much detail on the relationships and atmosphere that I was bored. I did love how it all came together in the bed and will read any book Stacy Willingham writes!

Only if You’re Lucky follows Margot in her second year of University as she navigates new “cool” roommates while still trying to accept her childhood best friend’s death. Just as she begins to get comfortable, a face from her past shows up and makes moving on all the more difficult.

This story is told both in past and present and moves very slowly for the first 60% of the book. The story is also a bit all over the place and felt like it could have been tightened up quite a bit, which may have helped with the predictably of the twist(s).

Thank you to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for an advanced copy.

3 stars