This was such a wonderful thriller. Once I picked it up and couldn't put it down! I love thrillers where I'm not sure where the end will take me and this definitely achieved that feeling of mystery throughout. Once I got about 60% done, I had to just sit down and finish it - I couldn't take not knowing what happened and let me tell you, I was not disappointed with the ending. My jaw was on the floor besties.

I really enjoyed the dark themes of female friendship, trauma, and grief. Stacy Willingham is always an insta buy for me - her way with words and storytelling makes for the perfect thriller/mystery.

Give me all the dark academia thrillers!!! This book is the PERFECT creepy fall read, and it is hands down Stacy’s BEST book so far.

I was hooked from the beginning. The slow build up of tension was expertly done. The major twists happen at the end, but there are definitely clues scattered throughout that keep you guessing and turning those pages.

The old apartment next to the frat house where the girls lived was a character on its own!! The haunting, beautifully written prose really draws the reader in. The themes of belonging, rejection, betrayal, and secrets were slowly revealed at the perfect times.

I loved, loved, loved everything about this book!!

Thank you to @minotaur_books, @stmartinspress, and @netgalley for giving me access to this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was thrilled to get this early release and dropped everything to read it! Suspenseful and fast paced- read this book! If you’re fans of her earlier work you’ll love this one.

I loved Willingham's All the Dangerous Things so knew I'd like this one too as it involves a group of friends at college and we know how crazy those times can be! Margot lost her best friend, Eliza in a tragic accident before she left for school and she still mourns for her. But as the "new girl," when a group of girls invite her to live with them sophomore year, she jumps at the chance to be part of something--especially since it's cheap rent as it's owned by the fraternity right next door. And when the beautiful and popular Lucy (who was the instigator) continues to drag Margot to parties and "force" her to socialize by playing Truth or Dare, Margot continues to be entranced and is drawn in by her spell. But of course the spell is broken as truths begin to surface and it's clear there is a "method" to her madness! Dark and suspenseful, this novel is fast-paced and easily devoured!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

I loved A Flicker in the Dark, so I had high hopes for this one, and it did not disappoint! This will definitely be one of my favorite thrillers of the year. Stacy’s writing is so great - I love the prose and the pacing of all of her novels. I would classify this as a slow-burn thriller, but the sense of dread was weaved into the storyline right from the beginning. The use of the old house as a setting was superb, and I could picture it like I was there. The twists were unexpected and the reveals were done well. I enjoyed the two timelines and how everything tied together in the end. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the portrayal of female friendships. All in all just a super well done thriller that I will be thinking about for a long time and recommending to everyone!

This one was definitely a slow burn. But man when it got going wondering what was going to happen kept popping up.

“If you could truly get away with murder, would you?”

This was a question that popped up quite often in this book. Have you ever wondered what truly happens during the pledge parties for college fraternities? Sometimes things can go wrong quickly. When making friends in college it is also hard to know who is truly your friend.

I definitely enjoyed this story and the anticipation on trying to figure out how it was going to be played out! Stacy has a good way of bringing a thriller to action! Was excited to get to read this one early!
#Netgalley #bookstagram

WOW Stacy Willingham is becoming such a go to thriller author for me. I have loved her other books and this one is no exception.

This entire book keeps you guessing until about the last quarter when the pieces slowly fall into place. It’s so satisfying to see where all the Easter eggs along the way fit in. The ending was incredible and I can truly say I didn’t see it coming. So many good twists and turns.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and Stacy Willingham for this eARC!

This thriller is a slow burn with short chapters that alternate between the past and present. I loved the college setting! Female friendship, lies, and manipulation were interwoven throughout the plot.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! This is the third book of Stacy Willingham’s that I have read. Willingham’s stories are known for their thrilling twists and she never disappoints! I liked that this story was told in “before” and “after” chapters. I think the reader gets so much more out of a book when you experience the full timeline with the characters. Getting little bits and pieces here and there to keep the reader completely entranced. I found myself wishing I was reading this book anytime I had to stop to do normal everyday activities and rushed through everything so I could get back to reading as fast as possible. I really like that everything is tied up by the end of the book and doesn’t end with a cliffhanger. I’m not really a fan of cliffhangers because it feels like you’re getting cheated out of the full story. Only If You’re Lucky was absolute PERFECTION!!

This one kept me up late reading! Lots of twists and surprises, many that I did not see coming. Overall, a good, solidly entertaining book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Three strangers became friends at Rutledge. Rutledge was the college Margot and Eliza planned to attend together. They had been best friends since they were kids. Then a guy showed up eliciting interest in Eliza. Margot didn’t want to share Eliza with this guy, but Eliza stood firm to her interest in him causing them to be torn apart. Then tragedy struck. Margot went off to Rutledge just as they had planned except now she was alone with the memories of Eliza.
…
During her sophomore year Lucy Sharpe noticed Margot. Margot had been keenly aware of Lucy and her two friends Sloane Peters and Nicole Clausen. Margot envied the bond these three shared it reminded her of her own childhood friendship she had with Eliza. She craved to have that bond again. More than that Margot is drawn to her be because Lucy reminds her of Eliza.
…
As luck would have it Lucy invited Margot to become roommates with Sloan and Nicole. The house was next to the Kappa Nu fraternity. Margot becomes part of a tight knit group of people who spend time together the summer before school begins.
…
The story opens with murder and Detective Frank questioning Sloane, Margot and Nicole. Later we find out who was murdered, but not all the details. As for the missing person, we know who is missing, but nothing pertaining towards her whereabouts.
…
Stacy Willingham writes a riveting story of murder and mystery pulling twist after twist. The interactions between these girls was fascinating. The way Stacy blended the college scene with the friendship was intriguing. I was absorbed immensely in their lives. I was eager to finish out the story to find out what took place. My mind is ravaged by curiosity. The way Margot has this wonderment about Lucy and the way Lucy watches people collecting information. Everything’s so calculating. I’m eager to get to the bottom of it all.
…
Willingham delivers a riveting plot concept that has audiences eager for more. With a spectacular execution and steady pace it’s sure to be a crowd pleaser. Readers are kept on the edge of there seat as Willingham delivers scenes from both the past and present executing it in a timely manner as to warrant our attention.

Margot has made it through her freshman year of college after losing her best friend the summer before. She hasn’t made friends and keeps to herself, until she’s drawn to the mysterious Lucy. Lucy wants to be roommates and they form a fast friendship. Things may not be what they seem, people aren’t who they say they are, and multiple people wind up dead in this twisted tale.

I loved this dark and mysterious thriller set in the creepiest of houses off campus (based on the author’s real college housing). I can’t get enough of unreliable characters, dark academia, and multiple intertwined mysteries, and this book has all of that and more. I loved all the breadcrumbs dropped throughout the story and was blown away by the last chapters. I guessed one twist, but then was completely wrong about the others. I love a thriller that leaves your head spinning and keeps you thinking after you’ve closed the book. I definitely recommend this to thriller fans!

Thank you to Stacy Willingham, Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

A sharp and twisty exploration of female friendship from the “New York Times” bestselling author of “A Flicker in the Dark” and “All the Dangerous Things.”

Still grieving from the loss of her best friend who died three weeks after their high school graduation, Margot spends her first year of college playing it safe, staying in, and studying. Margot has always been the shy, careful one—the sidekick, never the center of attention. At the end of her freshman year, Margot meets Lucy and is drawn to her magnetic, larger-than-life personality. Lucy invites Margot to live in an off-campus house with two other roommates, Sloane and Nicole. Soon, Margot and Lucy become close friends, and Margot begins opening up and getting out of her comfort zone. But then, in the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity brothers from the house next door is murdered, and Lucy is missing without a trace.

I really enjoyed Willingham’s debut novel, “A Flicker in the Dark,” so I was excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint. The book started off slow and then picked up in the second half with so many twists and turns. It really kept me guessing, right up to the very end. The ending was completely unexpected, but everything fell into place perfectly and all the loose ends were neatly tied up. Willingham is a beautiful writer, and she has become an auto-buy author for me. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another beautifully written, slow-burn mystery by Willingham! This book was dark and thought provoking. Would you kill someone if you knew that you could get away with it? I admit to questioning my own morals while devouring every page of this twisted story. I thought I knew who did it. I thought I knew why. Oh, man, was I wrong! Those curveballs knocked me into left field. I really enjoyed this book and can't recommend it enough! Preorder and add to your TBR's now! This is a must read!

Thank you to the author, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for granting me digital access in exchange for my honest review!

Outlier alert!

I enjoyed aspects of this book, but overall, I just really didn’t connect with it. I’ve seen several other reviewers say they absolutely loved it, so maybe it’s just me.

I will say that I have loved this author’s previous two novels, and I will be looking forward to her next one, but this just didn’t resonate with me I’m sorry to say.

Thanks to my sweet friend Destiny @reading.is.your.destiny for buddy reading this book with me.

My thanks to @minotaur_books and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

I loved Stacy Willingham’s last two books. So when I saw she had a new book coming out, I knew I had to request it and read it right away. I devoured this book. It was so brilliant, well written, and different from her last two books. It was a slower burn in the beginning but I loved getting to know Margot and Lucy and her other roommates and the house they lived in. The book really looks into the darker sides of friendships and what you are willing to do for your friends. Good and evil are not so clearly defined, the lines are very blurred in this book. It really picks up towards the end with so many twists and turns and everything falls into place perfectly. Stacy Willingham writes so beautifully. I highly recommend this book ! You will not be able to put it down.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books for the digital ARC copy in exchange for my honest review

I definitely considered myself lucky to receive an advanced copy of this book to read! I have loved and rated both of Willingham’s previous novels five stars (and if you haven’t read them yet, please do yourself a favor and read them). However, I found this newest release to be a bit different from the previous two novels, a bit of a slow burn, and not very fast-paced. I also found it to be geared towards a younger audience, and that may be only because it dealt with a college setting.

Our main character of this story is Margot. Margot is still mourning the death of her best friend Eliza, that happened three weeks after high school graduation. Margot is currently in her first year of college in an all girls dormitory when she is singled out by the mysterious and striking Lucy Sharpe. Margot cannot believe her luck when she is asked to move into a house with Lucy and her friends for the upcoming sophomore year.

The house that Margot moves into is owned by the fraternity brothers next door. Margot finally feels a sense of belonging and friendship with her new roommates in Lucy, Sloane, and Nicole. As their friendships develop and grow stronger, she tells them about her past friendship with Eliza and how she passed away. Margot also becomes frightened and concerned when Eliza’s previous neighbor, Levi moves in next door to the fraternity house to be pledged in.

There’s lots of games, truth telling, and accusations throughout this story. There’s also lots of references to Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, which makes sense because in reality we have a bunch of harmless, naive girls who are capable of both good and evil.

This is a good character study about belonging, and wanting to fit in- along with slow burn suspense. Although this wasn’t my favorite by Willingham, it’s only because it’s totally different from her first two books (and in my opinion, she set the bar too high). I don’t want to say too much more without giving the whole book away, but if you’ve loved Willingham in the past, give this book a try! As always, I will be waiting for her next book to come out!!

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.
Genre~ Mystery & Thrillers, General Fiction (Adult).

4.5 🌟 rounded up because u felt it deserved a5 more than a 4.

I loved A Flicker In the Dark and All The Dangerous Things so when I saw Only if You're Lucky, I immediately requested it. When I saw I was approved, I immediately started it because I was so excited.

If you've enjoyed either of her other two, then you'll love this one as well. It was a bit of a slow burn at first but then it picked up nicely.

The synopsis from netgalley says:

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.

And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It's a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she's been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered... and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.

From the author of A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things comes a tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

One of the best thrillers I’ve read this year. I loved that everything kept me guessing, and even when I thought I knew, I was still wrong. This was phenomenal!

Another 5 star read from Stacy Willingham! I loved the mystery in this book. The Before and After chapters had me completely hooked and I couldn’t put the book down. I went into this book blind, and was unable to figure out what the ending would be. I was surprised and pleased.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy of this book!