Out of Stacy Willingham’s three thrillers, this is definitely my new favorite!

Here are a few aspects of this book that I found myself drawn to:

🏫 The college setting and Greek Life references
👯‍♀️ The intoxicating friend group between Margot, Lucy, Nicole, and Sloane (reminded me of Pretty Little Liars)
🎳 The bowling alley parties
🔀 The before and after dual timelines
🕑 The pacing (I’ve seen reviews that this book was slow-paced, but it felt just fine to me on audio!)

I was in the mood for a solid thriller, and while the ending did not have me totally shocked, I can confidently say that this book delivered.

(Please note that I will add the link when I post this on my reviewer page)

I have enjoyed the previous works of this author's but felt this one was a departure. It was twisty, and I didn't see the ending coming, but I found it to be a little melodramatic and maybe more YA.

First of all, huge thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of this book. This one started out promising and I was genuinely curious to know what was going to happen. But eventually the slow burn became too slow for my taste and I started losing interest in the plot and the characters. Margot’s weird obsession with her friends just made me roll my eyes and it all started to feel pretty YA which I’m not sure was the intent. I’ve heard good things about her other books so I would check those out but unfortunately this one was pretty forgettable for me.

I was given an ARC in return for my honest review:

If you have loved the author's previous books, you might enjoy this one. I myself found this one a lot slower. The first 75% of this book was really slow and it took until the end of this book for me to actually care about what was going on.

"If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?"

This book follows the before/after kind of timeline, which is usually fine but I just didn't care for it in this book.

This book centers around Margot, who is in her freshman year of college. She is suffering from the loss of her best friend after graduation. Enter Lucy, Nicole, and Sloan - the girls she meets moving into her college dorm. What then follows is a story of good and evil, lots of games to bring out people's truth as well as the need to feel like one belongs and what one might do to feel like they fit in.

Many thanks to netgalley, St. Martins press and author for my advanced copy of this book. Publication date - January 16, 2024

3/5

This one didn’t live up to my expectations, especially if considering A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham. It seemed too drawn out, too overly-calculated, and wholly unrealistic once everything pieced together. I also didn’t feel connected with any of the characters until maaaybe the very end.

It’s disappointing and unfortunate that Only If You’re Lucky was a miss, but I’m still grateful to NetGalley and Minotaur for the ARC. I’m also still a fan of Willingham’s other work and look forward to any future publications.

I loved A Flicker In The Dark so I was so excited to get this ARC! Unfortunately it’s not as good but definitely still had twists that I didn’t see coming. I wish there was a bit more, it took until the end of the book for anything to happen so the book felt longer than it needed to. Overall I would recommend this book to someone who doesn’t want a full-on thriller but wants to just dip their feet into the genre. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you, Macmillan audio for this advance copy in exchange for my review.

While I very much enjoyed Stacy Willingham’s previous books, Only If You’re Lucky just wasn’t my favourite.
I will say I did enjoy the overall story and her incredible character building. (as always)
I think for me my hesitation lies with the age of Margot and the other girls. While it didn’t feel like a YA book exactly, the ages and setting really made me feel like I was reading YA.
That being said, if that’s your thing you will 100% love this as the story itself is great, and the twist was unexpected.
I look forward to reading what Stacy writes next.

🎧 📖 note: Karissa Vacker is exceptional as usual with her unique way of making every character their own person.

I have enjoyed all of Stacy Willingham's novels and this one is no different. I listened to the audiobook for this and it was extremely well-performed and quite enjoyable.

The general plot for this book is that you have a story from the viewpoint of a character, Margot, who was recently traumatized by the loss of her best friend. When she's taken under the wing of a confident and popular woman on campus, she feels like her luck may be changing. But this woman, Lucy is unpredictable and sometimes mean. Is she really trying to help Margot or hurt her? There's a lot that happens in this book along with some creative twists.

Thank you to NetGalley for this early listening copy. I voluntarily chose to listen to it and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

3.75ish stars

This was a darkly entertaining tale of murder, betrayal, secrets, and revenge. I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite book from the writer, but I have consistently enjoyed her stories, and I didn’t suspect all the twists and turns of the story’s resolution before they were revealed. I’m excited to see what her next book brings.

Recently, I had the pleasure of receiving an advanced listening copy of "Only if You're Lucky," the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Stacy Willingham. Although it wasn't my top choice among her works, I still found it to be a delightful listen. While there were a few parts that didn't quite capture my attention, the final plot twist was definitely a highlight!

The audiobook's narrator was outstanding in bringing the story to life. Her voice was both pleasing to the ear and could have easily been mistaken for one of the characters in the book.

Only if You’re Lucky is my least favorite of Stacy Willinghams books so far. I didn’t dislike it but I didn’t love it either. I will say I definitely wanted to know who did it so I wasn’t considering DNFing it or anything. A decent book, just not her best in my opinion.

Would recommend audio over print, the narrator is excellent! Karissa Vacker as the narrator makes me want to read a book!

Margot went to college in South Carolina for a new start. It’s a chance to get away – from her small town, her family and the memories of her dead best friend.
She gets her wish when the enigmatic Lucy invites her to join two other girls in a shared house for their second year. But as Margot gets to know the girls, she begins to realize that something’s off about Lucy, she’s not quite what she seems.
Six months later, Lucy is missing and a boy from the frat house next door is dead, leaving Margot in the wake of the investigation. But as the police continue to dig, they realize Lucy isn’t the only one with secrets.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio e-arc.*

Margot was supposed to go to school with her best friend Eliza, she even turned down Duke to do so.  But Margot is there and Eliza's not because she died in the spring of their senior year.  Margot spent her freshman year introverted and antisocial, and then she met Lucy, a popular girl who invited her to live with her and her friends Nicole and Sloane for sophomore year.  Margot couldn't figure out why she was picked to be part of the group but jumped at the opportunity, especially since Lucy reminded Margot of Eliza.  And then, just as Margot thinks her life has turned a corner, Levi, the boy that Margot insists is the reason Eliza is dead, shows up on campus as a freshman.  
I found this book weirdly slog-like for a thriller - I really wanted to know what happened but I found it just went too slow.  There were a few twists but nothing that saved the book for me; I enjoyed parts but not enough parts.  I listened to half of it on audio and read the other half and I did think the narrator did a great job.  From I've heard the author's back list is really good and so I'm going to read it and wait for her next one.  
3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC to review

I really enjoyed this one! I won’t summarize again since that can be found in other places but it has themes of friendship, college/coming of age, recreating yourself, jealousy , and questionable enough characters to keep you guessing who the real villains are. Trigger warning for references to domestic violence and sexual assault as well as frat hazing. I listened to the audio and stayed up way too late multiple nights because I just needed to know what happened. Had some Rachel Hawkins reckless girls vibes but a more complete story to go with it. Definitely recommend for thriller/mystery fans! I liked this a ton more than a flicker in the dark.

This was my 3rd novel by Stacy Willingham and having devoured her other two thrillers, I was so excited to jump into this one. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to her others for me. We meet a tight group of college aged girls who are in the midst of a police investigation involving a dead body and a missing housemate. We jump around in time: distant past, near past and present, each with a storyline that will eventually converge with the others. It was a bit of a slow burn until the last bit when things twisted and turned as fast as a roller coaster. Worth reading, just don't set your expectations too high. I listened to this one, and I really enjoyed the narration.
Thanks Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for the early opportunity to read and review this novel.

I really enjoy Stacy Willingham’s writing. Her character development is legit, and she has mastered the thriller twist. I listened to this on audio book and I loved the narrator. She did a great job creating different voices for the different female characters.
Margot starts her freshman year in college after her best friend tragically dies that summer. She begins her year in seclusion, struggling to make friends, but then is strangely pursued by the cool girl on campus. The secrets and deception run deep through this story down to the last chapter.
Loved this story. Will totally recommend to others.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the audio book.

“If you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it?”
I was excited to receive this ARC of Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham, especially after previously reading A Flicker in the Dark. I wish I could give a good review, but this book is painfully slow and beyond boring. Nothing happens, really, until the last 20% of the book and the reveal is lackluster and completely unrealistic. The story is told from one character (who is unreliable), but there are multiple timelines. I felt like I was getting information in the wrong order, at times. The characters are shallow and not intelligent. This was not for me and pretty disappointing. ⭐️⭐️💫 Thank you, Net Galley for an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is [author:Stacy Willingham|21408101]'s third novel. I loved her debut, [book:A Flicker in the Dark|54387330]. I really liked [book:All the Dangerous Things|60784862]. I nearly DNFed this book. I persevered for two reasons- I hoped it got better after how much I enjoyed the author's first two books. And I was listening to the audiobook, which is narrated by Karissa Vacker, who is one of my favorite narrators. I can't say I am happy that I finished it, but I felt like I should give the author and narrator their due.

This book is centered around Margo- it mostly takes place immediately after her high school graduation and goes into her college sophomore year. The focus is Margo and her friends. It all felt very immature and pointless to me. I kept waiting for things to happen, but you begin the book knowing what happens. The plot is what led up to the events, I suppose, and exactly how they happened. Well, most of it I predicted. Only one revelation was something I hadn't thought of (Nicole).

I received an advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Margot arrives to college without her best friend. That wasn’t the plan, they were supposed to go together. While at college, a popular girl, Lucy Sharpe, befriends Margot, asks her to move into her off-campus house with her and two of her other friends, and they quickly become best friends. But somebody moves in to the frat house next door, somebody from Margot’s past that she would rather forget. And something is off about Lucy, and Margot is going to get to the bottom of it, especially after one of the boys next door is murdered.

Stacy Willingham is a captivating writer, and I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book. This book did not give me that heart-pounding creepy feeling that I loved in Willingham’s other book, A Flicker in the Dark. The book is a dark psychological thriller with secrets and lies, but I felt like it was missing something. I liked the story, it was refreshing and different from a typical thriller’s storyline (almost like a YA book). I actually surprised myself when I figured out the twist, and it was a good twist with everything nicely coming together in the end! I would recommend picking this one up on audio. The narrator was fantastic and you really felt connected to the characters and all of their emotions/situations!

Book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Narrator: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and @NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.

Another great mystery from Stacy Willingham to get the year started!

After the death of a college student, Lucy Sharpe is missing. Her larger-than-life personality is what drew Margot to her at the end of her freshman year at Rutgers. Finding herself living with Lucy and two others (Sloane and Nicole) in an off campus house the summer before her sophomore year will change Margot forever and will also make her face the death of her best friend Eliza, which has haunted her since before she left for college.

I primarily listened to the audiobook and the narration is fabulous. Karissa Vacker is quickly becoming one of my favorite audiobook narrators. Even though I’d just listened to her narrations for two of Kate Alice Marshall’s books, I find she does such a great job of bringing characters to life with a unique sound for each.

I enjoyed Willingham’s debut A Flicker in the Dark and then really enjoyed All the Dangerous Things earlier this year but this one is my favorite so far. It does have a more YA / New Adult vibe to it, which I attribute to the college atmosphere and settings. However, with references to more sensitive topics such as: domestic violence, anorexia, and toxic friendships, it’s definitely not for a younger audience. I found that Willingham did an excellent job of portraying the need to ‘belong’ that teenagers and college students tend to feel.

I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting the ending and while the pacing was a bit slower than her previous books, I still found myself hooked. If you enjoy dark academia stories and unexpected twists than this book is perfect for you.

Only If You’re Lucky comes out January 16, 2024. Huge thank you to Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for my advanced copies in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review, please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my Instagram @speakingof.books.