This is labeled as a psychological thriller, but it reads more like a young adult mystery.

Margot is a freshman at Rutledge College and trying to find her way. She had planned to attend with her very best friend, Eliza, but she died shortly after high school graduation so she arrived alone. She spends the year with quiet Maggie, not making friends, and just keeping a low profile. When magnetic Lucy Sharpe selects Margot to be the 4th person in the house they are renting, she has no idea why, but quickly drops Maggie and joins this new group.

Lucy has no regard for rules and is so popular that Margot is sucked in and quickly feels like they are developing a friendship like the one she had with Eliza. Nicole and Sloan complete their friend group and they set out to rule the college. But then a local fraternity boy, Levi, who was last seen with Lucy, is found murdered and Lucy is nowhere to be found. Margot quickly realizes she didn't know Lucy as well as she thought.

Margot is the only narrator and the point of view alternates from before Levi's body is found and after. Stacy Willingham uses a lot of descriptive writing and a TON of similes and to me, this bogs down the story. There was not much character development, so it was hard to form a connection and feel like I knew or cared about anyone. The 1st 75% is dragged out with Lucy is so great, party, repeat, body found, and then the action starts. The twists are actually good and the ultimate conclusion is rushed but satisfying. I think what actually happened could have been developed more so that when we find out who committed the crime(s) it doesn't come out of nowhere.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

After the tragic loss of her friend, Eliza, Margot heads to college alone. The first year Margot sticks to herself as she grieves. When she notices Lucy, she’s immediately taken in by her. Lucy is bigger than life and reminds Margot of Eliza in so many ways. When Lucy offers Margot a room off campus for her sophomore year, Margot jumps at the chance. She needs a change in her life and this is more than she ever dreamed of. When Levi, boy from her hometown moves into the frat house next door, Margot is shaken to the core. She is sure that he had something to do with Eliza’s death. Soon Margot forms a bond with her roommates and they’ll do anything for each other … anything!! After someone dies in a hazing accident, secrets start to unravel and when one of their own goes missing, no one is talking! I listened to this one on audio and Karrissa Vacker is a favorite of mine, but this one came across as a YA novel. A genre that fits for many, but one that I’m not overly fond of. Parts I liked, but many I did not and the twists were just a bit over the top. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for an ALC of this book.

Rating - 3.5 stars rounded down.

Saves the best for the last!

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange on an honest review.

Synopsis –

Margot, the shy and cautious girl, is always behind the scenes. As she becomes a close friend to the “It girl” Lucy Sharpe, she can’t help feeling singled out, even while living with two other girls. Still reeling from the loss of her best friend Eliza, Margot’s new found stability is under threat when one of the boys in the neighbourhood fraternity is found dead and Lucy is missing.

Review –

Karissa Vacker does a brilliant job with Margot’s narrative, as she voices her deepest thoughts, secrets and vulnerabilities.

The plot is juicy and salacious, brimming with all the things that makes college life colourful, scandalous and deeply experiential. We have a bunch of girls who couldn’t be more different from one another hanging out with a group of marauding boys - parties, bonfires, truth or dare games and of course hook ups.

The author does a great job in exploring these dynamics, as she brings out the nuances, highlights and pit falls with female friendships. Drawing parallels between the effervescent Lucy and the vivacious Eliza, we get an in-depth understanding of how these two girls affected Margot, altering her mindsets, behaviour & timid persona.

Soon after Lucy goes missing, although it was evident that these girls were harbouring secrets, Margot’s narrative however, dragged out the tension and suspense. Her monologue felt tedious, repetitive & at one point, her obsession with Lucy and Eliza felt overdone and unrealistic.

I do love a great slow burn thriller that packs a punch all the way at the end, but sadly here, it went a little too far, rendering the single POV of Margot boring and monotonous. I think multi POVs would have done wonders in this.

Finally when the twists arrive, they were indeed unexpected and shocking, but it rather felt anti-climactic, as if they were done in desperation, just for the sake of it.

Overall, I did mostly enjoy this one and thought it had great potential, but not my favourite by the author. I absolutely loved her previous works and look forward to her next.

When we reach the end of this year, I know I will be looking back on Only If You're Lucky as a standout thriller, just as I did with Stacy Willingham’s 2023 release, All The Dangerous Things.

This is the first thriller of 2024 that had me swearing out loud, and left me gasping in awe as the hits kept coming. There’s an incredible and everyday hook (maybe it’s actually two incredible and everyday hooks), impeccable reveal timing and delivery… and it clearly has a thing with groups of three. Sigh.

Characters Margot, Sloane and Nicole, three identities squirreled away, hand picked and befriended by puppet master Lucy. Each personality sharp and precise, playing their intended role perfectly.

How on earth can an authors brain come up with this level of cunning corruption? Each aspect interwoven and connected, so deliberately laid out. Suddenly hours had gone past when it felt like mere minutes had transpired as I devoured this edgy plot. This book was there, and then it was over.

Do you want to know what a perfect audiobook is? This is it. Karissa Vacker absolutely nailed the inflection and intrigue the story provided while the characters become bigger than the page with her voicing them. With Lucy, the narration is vindictive and Vacker seems almost deliberate in word choice (even though she is simply just reading the book); Margot and Nicole’s voices are flawlessly naïve and mousy; with Sloane, the narration is even more subtle, adding to the constant friend or foe debate ever present; Detective Frank, has a smugness and air of authority to his voice. Each character has their role in the story, and Vacker has encompassed those qualities and traits, bringing them forth effortlessly with her voice. It is absolutely the perfect specimen of audiobook narration.

One request to anyone picking up this book after reading my review: read the acknowledgements. Just read them.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

After reading Stacey Willingham’s debut novel back in 2022, I was really excited to hear about this novel! A Flicker in The Dark was a 4⭐️ read for me!

I found this book pretty slowly paced and lacked some suspense, however, the mystery was great, and there were definitely some unexpected twists!

I’d recommend this book if you like twisty psychological thriller in an academic setting 🏫

Big thank you to NetGalley and MacMillian audio for a copy of this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I thought this book was pretty good. It gave me the “Mean Girls” vibe. It’s about college girls living together. One girl especially, struggles to fit in, even more so after the death of her best friend. She becomes friends with a group of girls that already has an established friendship, each girl offering something different to the little circle. One of the friends is a little edgy and a little mysterious which definitely causes waves in the group. This book was a slow burn. I found the beginning a little drawn out, but the twists later in the book made it a satisfying read.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC.

Only If You’re Lucky is Stacy Willingham’s latest suspense novel, and just like A Flicker in the Dark and All The Dangerous Things, you will not want to put it down!

Margot is definitely not thriving at her small college in Carolina- that is, not until she moves in with her new roommates. The group of four girls soon form a close-knit friendship that intertwines their lives and fates forever. This is a single POV but dual timeline story. The bulk of the story is told in flashback form, with interludes of present events as law enforcement interviews the girls when a classmate dies unexpectedly and one of their own is in the wind.

Only If You’re Lucky is best categorized as a mystery novel. If you’re looking for a twisty mystery with themes of new adult friendship, loyalty, revenge and grudges, and plenty of secrets and lies to go around, I would recommend this book. There are big Pretty Little Liars vibes going on! I do think this book would be best enjoyed by readers in a similar life stage as the characters- late teens through mid twenties. Some of the plot twists took me by surprise, while others I guessed from pretty early on. I was hooked by the premise and the first few chapters and binged this book in about a day!

Thank you to MacMillan Audio for the ALC of Only if You’re Lucky, which publishes today, January 16th.

The twists and turns and the unexpectedness of where it was all going to end will keep you wanting more. The only downfall is that I feel it was a very long story for something that could have been summed up earlier.

The love between best friends lasts a lifetime, Margot cannot let go of the death of her best friend and who may or mayn't be responsible. Off to college with a state of not wanting to mingle or really do much other than attend classes. She is intrigued by Lucy who reminds her of Eliza after her first initial encounter with Lucy lo and behold she ends up being her roommate, why? why me? Now Margot has not only 1 roommate but 3 and a close neighboring house that comes and goes at will. Things really heat up when Levi comes into town past and present merge together.

I would like to thank @Mcmillionaudio and @Netgalley for an advanced copy of Only if You're lucky by Stacy Willingham.

Thank you to NetGalley for the privilege of allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Expected publication January 16, 2024

As a reader of Stacy's previous books I was thankful to be given a chance to read her third book prior to publication date and in audiobook form. This was a fun read but very different from her previous books A FLICKER IN THE DARK or ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS.

This book follows Margot who is learning how to live after losing her best friend Eliza. After a forgettable freshman year, Margot befriends Lucy and life changes for her. As she forms a closer friendship, Margo comes out of her grief fog but then murder of a neighbor frat boy happens then Lucy disappears. I noticed there was the lack of action and I felt this was more Young Adult than Adult fiction. ONLY IF YOUR'RE LUCKY leaned into character development and really getting to into the minds of the MC and her daily life, thoughts and feelings. I did feel like wasn't as suspenseful or gripping as her previous books. I believe one of the reason I didn't fall in love with this story compared to her previous books was the MC wasn't as relatable to me and honestly, I didn't really like ANY of the characters.

My favorite thing about reading a Stacy Willingham's books is I never know the twists! I try my best to guess them but I am always surprised. This book was no different! Always a rollercoaster thrilling ride in the last chapters of her books. Willingham will continue to be an auto-buy author for me, and I will be at attending her two week tour promoting this book soon!

4 stars

I really like Stacy Willingham’s writing. She is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine!

Only if You’re Lucky did not disappoint. There were many surprises throughout the book that really caught me of guard. Some you can figure out before hand, but the ending really caught me off guard.

Overall the writing was great, the storyline was easy and interesting to read, and the characters were debatable. I liked Margot, I found myself feeling sorry for her in her attempts to fit in. I felt she put herself out too much and that’s why she found herself in these precarious positions she did. And Lucy, well, she wasn’t very likable but she did kind of redeem herself in the end because of her “situation”. This book is a solid 4 stars!

***Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan audio for an ARC copy in return for an honest review***

Another 4 ⭐ psychological thriller from Stacy Willingham!
Margot, mourning the death of her best friend, starts college lost and looking for a place to land. As freshman year ends, Margot becomes enamored by a magnetic girl she is seen around campus and the dorms. Lucy, the outgoing ringleader of her friend group invites Margot to move in with them off campus, next door to a fraternity house. Margot seems to fit right in, starts coming out of her shell, and even parties with the guys next door.
There are twists and turns you do not see coming, with a satisfying conclusion.
The book is written from Margot’s POV with chapters in both the past and the present.
Thank you NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for graciously sending me the ARC audiobook for review. All thoughts are my own. Publication date: January 16, 2024.
With Karissa Vacker as narrator, the audiobook was fantastic. You have heard Karissa before on Willingham’s A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things.

I had a really fun time reading this book! I found myself intrigued by the story and the characters. I also really enjoyed this being set on a college campus, but will say this read more young/new adult to me. The author really knows how to craft a story and how to write in a way that keeps you guessing until the end. The ending of this story will be one that I think you will either enjoy or have questions about. It definitely ended in a way I didn’t expect, but I didn’t have any strong issues with it. I’ve enjoyed every book from this author and this one was no exception!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of the audio edition of Only If You're Lucky in exchange for my honest review.

If you have listened to Stacy Willingham's other two audio books you will be familiar with the voice of Karissa Vacker. - who does a wonderful job at narrating the stories. Her voice is clear with no distractions which makes her narrated audios always a pleasure and easy to follow along. As far as Karissa Vacker goes, she is always a 5 star for me if I was rating her alone.

Since half stars are not an option, I have to settle on 3 stars for Stacy Willingham's third thriller. This one seemed a little different from her previous books but I think it was the college theming that made it appear to be for a younger audience, Which of course is not a bad thing but I thing if that is what you are looking for.
There is a big character study in this book with reference to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the question of "if you could get away with murder, would you do it?" Are we all capable of good and evil? How far will be go to fit in and be a part of something bigger? This one is a slow burn with the narrative following a before and after timeline which worked well.

Only If You’re Lucky is an academic thriller, one of my very favorite subgenres, that mostly worked for me.

Thank you to @macmillanaudio for my copy! This one hits shelves TODAY, Jan. 16th 📚

Margot heads off to a small liberal arts college in South Carolina still reeling from the loss of her best friend that summer. Her freshman year is spent finding her footing, but by the time sophomore year rolls around, she is living in off campus housing with a group of women, including the magnetic Lucy Sharpe. But, by the middle of the same year, one of the frat boys next door has been murdered and Lucy is missing…

In general when picking up a thriller, I am looking for plot. In most of my other reading, I prioritize atmosphere, detail, and character development over plot, but in thrillers, I want action. Only If You’re Lucky promises - and delivers - action.

There is not one central mystery to this story but several: what REALLY happened to Margot’s best friend? Where is Lucy? Who is responsible for the murder of the fraternity pledge? How is it (or is it) all connected? All of these questions lingered in the back of my mind throughout, making for a propulsive reading experience. Like many modern thrillers, this story jumps from present to past and back again, but unlike others it is blissfully easy to follow.

Having attended a small liberal arts college in North Carolina myself, I also adored the setting. I could easily relate to the descriptions of rigorous courses, the good and bad elements of Greek life, and most of all the struggles with finding your place outside the known confines of your hometown.

My critiques are simple: it is a bit too long and at times it felt like there were too many characters. Overall, I enjoyed devouring this one and recommend to fellow thriller lovers. Bonus: the audio, narrated by Karissa Vacker, is excellent - definitely recommend this route!

I LOVED the author’s debut, A Flicker in the Dark, and liked her sophomore novel, All the Dangerous Things. This one is a winner as well! So: have you read Only If You’re Lucky? Or any other Willingham thrillers? Any favorite academic thrillers? Always looking for a few to add to my TBR!

From the New York Times bestselling author of A FLICKER IN THE DARK and ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS comes a gripping psychological thriller about female friendship and dark secrets

Another twisty, psychological thriller exploring female friendships. Willingham is auto buy author for me, after loving her two previous novels. Only If You’re Lucky is slower paced and a little different from her usual style - to me it almost felt YA, but hey, I’m old so what do I know - what I do know, is it was very entertaining!

Following in true dark academia style, the story takes place at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margo struggles to make friends, especially as she is still dealing with the recent death of her childhood best friend. When Lucy invites her to become roommates with her and two other girls, Margot jumps at the chance. She very quickly finds herself fully ensconced in college/fraternity life … and the beginning of some toxic relationships and mishaps.

🎧 Both these books were brilliantly narrated by Karissa Vacker (one of my favourite narrators) elevating the audiobook experience for me - highly recommend both 🎧

Many thanks to the wonderful team @macmillaaudio and @netgalley for these #gifted audiobooks 💌

Whoa! What an ending!! The main reveal more than made up for the slow beginning. This was a psych thriller that took its time. Most of the first half was character driven with breadcrumbs of suspense dropped along the way. The second half picked up with a full steam gallop in the last quarter.
Readers who enjoy a new adult mystery that takes place in a university campus setting may want to give this book a try.

Maggie is grieving the one year anniversary of her best friend's death as her freshman year comes to a close. However, she is ready for more than sitting in her room moping, so she jumps at the chance to houseshare with Lucy, a popular student she has ogled from afar in her dorm hallway but never talked to. Shortly after getting settled into her new abode, she runs into Levi, a boy from her hometown that she suspects was involved in the death of her friend. He is pledging the fraternity next door to her house, which is causing Maggie some concern. As Maggie gets to know Lucy and her two friends, she starts to learn that secrets are being kept by everyone.

This author knows how to write. She has a way with words that invite the reader into the plot. Suspenseful first-person narration that kept me intrigued and wanting to know how it would end. There was also a dual timeline with flashbacks into the past.

My only tiny disappointment was the very end. The resolution was pretty farfetched, and I'm not sure how I felt about the final curveball.

That audio was superb with one of my favorite narrators putting on a stellar performance. Terrific voice range that brought the story to life.

A gracious thank you to @MacmillanAudio and @Netgalley for an advanced audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I very much enjoy Stacy WIllingham's writing, but the plot of this book just didn't do very much for me. It is essentially a story about growing up and how friendships can fall apart but throw some murder and deviousness in the mix. A group of college kids, too much alcohol, and some bas decisions later and you have a big part of the book. The writing was fine though and the story was entertaining, the problems I had with it are very personal ones, and that is that I can not relate to teenagers at this point in my life. The readability is excellent and I can see so many people enjoying this. To be clear, I did enjoy it, I just did not love it. solid 3/5. The audiobook was well produced and I loved the narrator, she is one of my favorites out there.

I was not quite as engaged in this one as I had hoped to be. I love a novel set on campus, but this one lacked the detail and feel of the setting compared to some campus thrillers. I felt this could have been anywhere other than it needed to have the detail of moving in and out of a dorm from one year to the next. It was quite a slow burn and the book really has a strong ending.

“You’re only young once, and only if you’re lucky.”
 
Thank you to @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the ALC of this book. Karissa Vacker is my absolute favorite audiobook narrator and she truly did such an amazing job narrating this book that made me love it even more. I am completely and entirely embarrassed to admit that this is the first book I’ve read by Stacy Willingham. Her other two books (A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things) are waiting for me on my shelf and I now have renewed motivation to pick them up.
 
Margot goes away to college shortly after the death of her hometown best friend, Eliza. Still grieving, quiet and reserved, she mostly keeps to herself. At the end of her freshman year, Margot meets Lucy- a girl with a larger than life personality. Margot chooses to move into an off campus house with Lucy and two other girls, Sloan and Nicole. When a fraternity boy from the neighboring house is found dead, Lucy goes missing and the remaining roommates are interviewed by the police. This book explores the intricicities of friendship, the power of secrets, and the idea of reinventing oneself. The secrets spill slowly, until the very last page.
 
This book had me hooked! I absolutely love Willingham’s writing style and despite this being a very slow burn thriller, I was never bored. Even throughout the parts of the book that did not feel suspenseful, I enjoyed reading about the college antics that the girls were getting up to or finding out more about Margot’s past. I was super interested in how Margot’s two separate worlds of past and present overlapped, one world with Eliza, and one world with Lucy at college. I think that this was intricately and well done.

I did not guess any of the twists! Not one! What a fun, twisted, wild story. I listened to this one in a day and was sad when it was over. A great weekend binge that will keep you hooked from the get go!