This author never fails to disappoint me. She’s 3 for 3 now and an auto listen for me. I love that Karissa Vacker has narrated all three of her books. She’s definitely a favorite of mine.

Her storytelling sucks me in right away and I’m left turning the pages as quickly as I can. Feeling an urgent need to know how it all ends.

She did a good job at portraying how intense female relationships and bonds can be. The desire to want to belong to a group or just a strong bond between two people. How jealousy can come out when someone tries to break that bond.

I like that she gives us some breadcrumbs and nothing comes as a huge shock.

A solid new release from a trusted author.

Only If You're Lucky follows Margot, a college student, who is grieving the death of her best friend who died shortly after their high school graduation. After spending her freshman year mostly to herself, she is befriended by the charismatic, Lucy Sharpe, who draws Margot into her more daring and adventurous life. Margot soon finds that there is more to Lucy than meets the eye and we follow along as one of their fraternity neighbors is murdered and Lucy goes missing.

This was my first experience with Stacy Willingham and I've heard nothing but good things about her books. Unfortunately, this book was too slow paced for me to really be able to get into the story and I didn't find myself connecting with the characters. I did think the ending was interesting because there are multiple mysteries that get wrapped up and Stacy did a great job fitting them all together. I liked the writing style enough that I will try her other books and see if I can find one that's a better fit for me.

I enjoyed the narrator and thought she did a great job with giving the characters their own voice.

Only If You're Lucky is another amazing story by Willingham with twists that I never saw coming.....wow...just wow.

I've previously really enjoyed Stacy Willingham's work. While this one fell a bit shorter than her first two novels, I think it had a lot to do with me/my interests than the story itself (as i feel pretty removed from college life). I think it was a straightforward slow burn campus thriller with an interesting twist. Karissa Vacker did an excellent job of bringing the MC to life.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for the ALC of this one.

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.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Karissa Vacker, who is one of my favorite narrators. She was the perfect choice and expertly voiced all of the characters. I love her storytelling and the way she builds tension and suspense. I highly recommend this one on audio!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The narrator gave a fantastic performance. I loved it. I was blessed to get both the digital and audio versions of this book. I absolutely love that because it is fun to see which resonates more. I actually loved both versions but this narration was wonderful!
The story is twisty, interesting mess of fun.

Thank you!

This is my second Stacy Willingham book and most definitely not my last! Willingham has an incredible ability to tell an utterly captivating story. From the moment I started this book, I could not put it down, I didn’t think the twists and turns were unpredictable but a few of them got me. I thought this book was really well executed, It’s one of those “It Girl” mysteries. I’ve read a few of them this year but I think this one was my favorite. Only if you’re lucky had exactly 0 characters that I liked, but even with hating the characters… I absolutely loved the book, I finished it it one sitting.

I was fortunate to receive the digital and audio ARC of this novel. I LOVED READING AND LISTENING AT THE SAME TIME! It’s one of my favorite ways to really get into a book. A huge, huge thank you to the publishers at St. Martins Press/minotaur books and Macmillan audio for the incredible opportunity to review the ARC copies of Only if you’re lucky.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
I absolutely loved this audiobook. I spent the entire day listening to it and could not put it down.
Amazing job by the author of weaving in multiple tragedies/incidents into one neat little bow.
Multiple timelines that fit right together and were easy to follow and a good share of likable and unlikable characters. Great storyline. Awesome job by the narrator.
Anyone who likes a good drama thriller will enjoy this book.

Margot, a freshman at a small liberal arts college, meets Lucy - a magnetic and mysterious fellow student who reminds her of her childhood best friend who has passed away. Told in dual timelines, this story follows Margot in the past as she falls under Lucy's influence and her present, where Lucy has gone missing.

While this was certainly a slower thriller, the interpersonal relationships made me want to keep reading. My one complaint is that I kind of knew where the story was going to go from the beginning, but sometimes that can be comforting. I enjoyed reading about Margot's friend group - it added other plot points that were necessary to keep the story interesting. Overall, if you are looking for an engaging, if not super thrilling, mystery/thriller - I would recommend this one. Stacey Willingham is certainly talented at creating intriguing characters and plotlines.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Only If You’re Lucky is a slow burn thriller which centers around the unbreakable bond of college girl friendships and the question: if you knew you could get away with murder, would you do it? Told through the narrative of Margot, a college freshman/sophomore struggling to come to terms with the death of her childhood best friend, Eliza. Looking for a chance to start new, Margot is approached by Lucy, a girl on campus with a larger-than-life personality, with a proposition she can’t refuse. Lucy invites Margot to move in with her and two other girls in a house owned by one of the college’s fraternities. Going from a deep depression to being thrust into the college party scene with Lucy (who’s the center of attention in every room she enters), Margot begins to really find herself in college. That is, until someone from her past shows up at the fraternity next door.

A murder, a missing person, & so many secrets - Only If You’re Lucky is much more YA-esque than Stacey Willingham’s previous blockbuster novels. Very slow burning, with little heat until about 70% in, this book alternates between 3 different time periods - Margot growing up with her best friend Eliza, Margot’s college experiences with Lucy, and the “now”. Much of this novel is filled with college party scenes (drinking to excess, drinking games such as truth or dare, etc) and while the author used excellent descriptive writing, it also got to be a bit overkill/over dramatic and drawn out. I guessed many of the twists the ending took long before they happened. A few of them took me by surprise though.

As I listened to the audiobook version of this novel, I must admit the narration by Karissa Vacker was excellent! 👌 Her audio definitely helped keep my interest. My rating definitely reflects that.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up (for audio). Thank you to NetGalley & Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to preview this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I would give this one a 3.5. I really enjoyed the story and historically like Stacy Willingham's writing as well. It did feel a little bit like every other thriller in my opinion, but I did like that the main character was dealing with more behind the scenes than what meets the eye. Overall, liked the book a lot!

I went into this book blind and couldn’t stop listening. So many twist and turns. I was craving more. This is a book that you will wish you could reread all over again for the first time. I couldn’t get enough of the story! So well written and narrator draws you in from the first page. One of my top 5 books of 2023! Stacy Willingham is one of my favorite authors and Only If You’re Lucky might just be her best book so far! TBR Worthy!!!
Many thanks to Netgalley & Macmillan Audio for the ARC

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham is a fantastic novel that brings us deep into the mysterious, powerful pull of teenage friendship. I loved reading the novel, and the audiobook had me absolutely hanging on every word. I had to put earbuds in as I shopped at the grocery store because I couldn't bear to stop listing just to buy food. Karissa Vacker was the perfect narrator for these characters and this story. Highly recommend!!!!

3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 stars!! Thank you to NetGalley for this arc! This story follows Margot who is attending the college that her and her best friend, Eliza chose to attend together before she was killed. Margot blames Levi, her neighbor for Eliza’s death and she feels that Levi fractured their friendship.

Margot goes off to college and has a pretty normal college life until she meets Lucy. Lucy instantly pulls Margot into her friend circle and she moved in the frat house with Lucy, Simone and Nicole. They all spend the summer together living in the frat house and when school starts again in the fall, Levi is attending her college and is living in the frat house, which brings back memories for Margot. Also, Lucy isn’t what she seems and something is going on with her too. Why did Lucy become friends with Margot? What happened to Lucy? Who was the boy that was murdered and why? This book will definitely have you guessing and not knowing what going to happen next!

I was very excited to get an advance copy of this audiobook. First off, I love Karissa Vacker. She was the star of the show! I was a meh for A Flicker in the Dark but loved All the Dangerous Things so I had high hopes for Only If You’re Lucky. The blurb was promising but the execution didn’t work for me. I was drawn in at the beginning of the book, but felt it lagged through the first half and then it lost me with the reveals at the end. That being said, I’m sure many will love it and I’ll be in the minority. Enjoy!

I was intrigued throughout this entire book, however it didn't feel like all that much happened. That didn't stop me from racing through the audio to find out what was going to happen next.

Margot is just finishing her first year of college when she meets Lucy and is immediately sucked in to her life. Lucy invites her to move in to her house, which quickly becomes the center of Margot's new life. When she encounters a guy from her hometown who was involved with her best friend at the time of her death, Margot doesn't know how to manage the old life and her new life intersecting.

None of the characters in this book are particularly likable, but it did not detract from the story for me, I could see the appeal of Lucy and why everyone wants to be around her -- but it also felt hard to know who was telling the truth and what was reality.

The narrative takes place in three time periods and the transitions between the three felt seamless and very easy to follow.

There were some twists that I didn't expect, and overall I was satisfied with the ending.

Karissa Vacker is an excellent narrator and I enjoy listening to any book she's recorded! If this book sounds good to you, I highly recommend checking out the audio.

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

Few authors have made such an impact with their first two novels as Stacy Willingham. I enjoyed both Flicker In The Dark and All The Dangerous Things so was eager to read this.

Let me be one of the first to tell you - Only If You're Lucky is Stacy Willingham's best book yet!

Margot is a college student, her life was turned upside down by the sudden death of a close friend, Eliza. They had planned to attend college together and had it all planned out. When shy Margot meets charismatic Lucy, she can't believe that Lucy would befriend her and pull her in to the cool kids clique.

I'm not going into the plot, this is one to discover and savour for yourself. There's a boys frat house next and the girls live in the shadow of testosterone, alcohol and drug fuelled high jinks, up until one of the students is found dead and another is missing.

Stacy Willingham's writing style is slower, deep and detailed, and it really comes alive on this audiobook. The narration and performance by Karissa Vacker is perfect, really enhancing the characters and the text.

This is a novel to deeply drift away in and the audiobook makes this seductively easy.

The character writing and development through the story is excellent. The plot builds up gradually to an incredible crescendo, expect twists, hidden truths, secrets exposed and big reveals. It's captivating.

Don't miss out, I especially recommend the audiobook, but I'm certain it will be great to read too.

Stacy Willingham's best book yet and one of my favourite audiobooks of the year.

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio

A college student struggling to process the death of her best friend falls in with a new group of girls. Things are looking up, until a next door neighbor winds up dead and one of her new friends goes missing. I had so much fun with the campus setting, toxic female friendships and dual timelines. The twists were really good and unexpected. Pleasantly surprised with this!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy.

I couldn't wait to read this book! I have enjoyed some of Stacy Willingham's previous books. Unfortunately, this wasn't what I was hoping for. The story felt a little slow and repetitive. Things sped up by the end but I had lost interest before that.

Somewhere in the triangulation between Heathers, Mean Girls, and Scream Queens lies this book. The slow unraveling of the ending was both satisfying and just a little *too neat for me but the plot itself and writing, like everything by Stacy Willingham, was top tier, and the narration was excellent. Thank you NetGalley for this opportunity to review one of my favorite authors!