This is the third book I’ve read by Stacy Willingham, and I have to say I think this is her best yet.

In Only If You’re Lucky we follow Margot, who has been left bereft following the death of her childhood best friend. They were supposed to go off to college together, so Margot has been going through the motions and barely participating in her academic life the way she had envisaged.

But when she is taken under the wing of the enigmatic Lucy and invited to move into an off-campus house with her and her friends, Margot thinks she might be able to turn a corner.

However, we know things are never going to be that straightforward, particularly since the dual timeline narrative soon reveals someone ends up missing — and someone else is dead.

Only If You’re Lucky has an absolutely wonderful college setting and a pitch-perfect take on the claustrophobic atmosphere that can come about when groups of young people (particularly girls) live in each other’s pockets for long periods of time.

I felt like I really knew these characters and missed them when the story was over — which was all too soon given that I couldn’t put the book down. It was full of twists and turns and so beautifully written that the coastal setting truly came alive as the mystery unfolded.

This was definitely a five-star read for me and I’m looking forward to seeing what Stacy Willingham writes next, as she’s been going from strength to strength so far.

Many thanks to NetGalley UK and HarperCollins UK for an advance copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

A complex story, somewhat along the lines of Donna Tart’s Secret History.
Well plotted and very dark. The characters are a mix of students and the story gradually unfolds involving all of them and the student life after studies.
I have to say that I found it a bit slow moving, all along you could tell that there was an underlying subplot, but it was hard to discern exactly what was going on at times.
An involved read that really needs to be pretty continuous to maintain the tension in the story

Margot, a quiet freshman student, is looking to reinvent herself at a liberal college, after her world was turned upside down by the death of her closest friend, just weeks after their graduation.

The story is told in 2, or maybe even 3 timelines. The earliest running in Margot’s hometown, the Outer Banks. We see their last year in school, plans being made for her and Eliza to roomshare in college.
Our second/third timelines are split between before and after another incident, which Margot finds herself in the middle of again.

The largest part of the book is very slow paced, so much scene setting, I was making myself pick up the book, as opposed to wanting to.
I’m afraid to say I wasn’t the right reader for this book, which I hate to admit, as I loved the author’s first two books. It felt and read so very differently. At the grand old age of 50, I have outgrown this sort of story. The book had a YA feel to it for me. College students high on their newly found freedom, and high from other things too. Though I do appreciate the nods to Jekyll and Hyde.

I’m afraid it’s just 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me, though I very much look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

I wasn’t sure if I would like this book as its content is so very American but I persevered and ended up really enjoying it. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but essentially it is a book about friendship, betrayal and murder on a college campus. The characters are very cleverly written and a reader can feel empathy with them.

I love novels that explore complex female friendships so I knew I had to read this one! I love the first part of the novel as we get to know Margot and see how she navigates the loss of her best friend Eliza and how she has to make new friends now she's going off to college. She's not the nicest person but because she's going through a lot I could understand her being the way she was. I did find the middle section of this book very slow - it felt like a lot of meandering and not really going anywhere but it really does step up again towards the end. I found it hard to put the book down once I got to the final third as everything plays out and we get all the reveals. I did find some of the novel predictable but there were still shocks in store. I enjoyed this book and would read more from the author in future.

A big fan of this authors work! Really liked this, will definitely check out more from this author. It was twisty and fast paced - looking forward to reading more!

Stacy is back with another gripping page turner that will have you on the edge of your seat! I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

I wanted to like this book but it didn’t really do it for me.

I think I’m potentially not the audience for this book so please do give it a chance if you’re younger than me (38!) as it may be more relatable to you.

It’s a decent story about fitting in and how we are capable of being good and bad.

This even better written than the first one I read.

I've enjoyed it from start to the end.

Character felt like they belonged.

This tale set in a university in America introduces 4 girls to a life that they weren't expecting. The shy girl is taken under the wing of an extravagant, outgoing, mysterious girl who she learns is not who she seems to be. An intriguing well written book of relationships gone wrong.

Interesting novel, following Margot as she moves away from home to start college after her friend dies at a party. Margot is quiet, unassuming but get noticed by Lucy, an outgoing girl who invites her to live with her and two other girls next to the frat house on campus. After moving in, the girls get invited to a party at the frat house, Margot meets one of the pledges, Levi, who is from her hometown. More than that, he was the last one seen with her friend at the party before she died.

I liked this back and forth between the present, the months leading up to the present and Margots past in her hometown. The ending was good, didn't see that coming, very twisty.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

In Margots second year at college, she's invited to move into a house by the enigmatic Lucy, whom she's been watching all year. Hoping this might be a chance to get over her grief from losing her best friend and to gain some real best friends, she says yes. Soon though, she realises Lucy's not who she seems to be, and six months later, Lucy's gone missing, and one of the frat boys from next door is dead, leaving Margot in the middle of the investigation and soon the police realise Lucy isn't the only one with secrets.

This was a gripping, fast-paced thriller. I enjoyed the college setting and the toxic friendships. I liked that we were going back and forth between past and present and that I didn't know what the twists were going to be. I really enjoyed Stacy Willinghams writing, and I liked how she kept me turning the page dying to know what was going to happen next. Highly recommend.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
It's very different from her previous two books, but I loved this dark academia. I was hooked from start to finish. Intrigued throughout the book, of what happened with Eliza & Levi. The mystery of these personalities mixed with the fraternity feels so real and relatable. The character built was incredible! The unexpected ending was perfect, a surprise but also totally plausible. A quick and addictive read!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Continued Suspense
Multiple Timelines
Fraternity
Dark Academia
Haunted House
Character built

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
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.

This book was ok but didn't really engage me. I found it a bit hard going and didn't really keep my interest. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

A great, engaging read full of twists and turns, creepy moments, and intriguing relationships. I’m a sucker for books set in academic settings and this didn’t disappoint for me. Not usually a fan of time jumps but enjoyed it on this instance.

An enjoyable read, although slightly repetitive in places with the narrative. A few twists that I guessed, but some were a surprise!

I really enjoy Stacy Willingham's books and this one sounded so good, I couldn’t wait to dive in. This book was such a fun academic thriller vibe. We follow Margot as the main character who is off at college and making friends. It is revealed that Margot’s best friend Eliza died just after graduation and Margot is still working through that. Margot meets Lucy and two of her friends and moves in with them and it all starts to unfold from there. This book was great because you always felt as if you were unsure who you could trust or where the mystery was leading. I really enjoyed the ending and all the twists and turns. If you love binge worthy thrillers, I highly recommend this one

An ok read
Wasn’t one of my favourite reads by this author
It’s quite a slow burner of a story
Doesn’t pu me off reading more by this author
Thanks NetGalley

After being thoroughly impressed with Stacy's Willingham's first two books I was excited to read this one. I've seen other reviews comment that this one isn't as strong, and while different in style and characters, I'd still highly recommend and encourage you to check out this author. Set in a college, this thrilling mystery offers up a chilling mystery which you will want to uncover. There were the expected twists and turns and a decent conclusion and reveal. I enjoyed this one a lot and will happily read anything further this author puts out. Looking forward to seeing what she comes up with next.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up.


Before starting, I pondered over the mixed opinions but decided to go in with an open mind. I do agree that it's a slow burner, much like other works by Stacy Willingham. But I’m not sure the it was worth the end payoff.

It had loads of twists and turns along the way, with Lucy's unsettling presence adding an eerie dimension. Despite this, a certain elusive quality leaves me feeling like something was missing.

Nonetheless, the novel resonates with a poignant exploration of friendship, notably in Margot's transformation from solitude to companionship. Her growth as a character was really well done and I liked seeing it all play out.

Lucy remains a compelling enigma, her disappearance a central mystery. Yet, characters like Sloane and Nicole, while not seemingly as important of characters, actually really surprised me.

While not topping my list of Willingham's works, it offers a decent read, enriched by its thematic depth and character complexities.