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whenimreading's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
3.0
Only If You’re Lucky follows Margot and a group of young college women after a shocking student death and their roommate’s disappearance, featuring alternating timelines showing their lives before these events.
After enjoying Stacy Willingham’s first two novels, I immediately wanted to read her third installment. I love Karissa Vacker’s performance more and more each time. She has great narration delivery changing voices to represent different characters and the ability to build tension throughout the book.
I liked the college setup and Autumnal atmosphere from the opening chapters. However, I expected a little bit more from the plot. Jumping between timelines and going back to the past seemed too repetitive and slow to build. It lacked the investigative aspect and thrill I enjoyed from previous books. The novel also skews a tad young - jealousy, obsession, mysterious secrets, and wanting to fit in - it was reminiscent of Pretty Little Liars.
Overall, it’s a pretty average slow burn book, slightly predictable with a large reveal towards the very end.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the gifted audiobook to review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Murder, Grief, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Rape, Stalking, and Drug use
bringmybooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Thank you to Edelweiss, Minotaur Books, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
✨ 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚 ✨ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷
WOOF THIS WAS NO JOKE but in the absolute best way.
If you could take the entire ethos of the saying, “What’s your damage, Heather?” and then make it even more twisted and then put the girls into a college setting living in an unauthorized off campus housing right next to a v questionable frat house, then you’d have this book.
Willingham takes all the worst parts of female friendships and ratchets up the tension in disturbingly believable ways - I loved (hated) watching all of the drama unfold and genuinely was blown away by how everything came together at the end.
This makes 3 wins for Stacy Willingham (also really liked All the Dangerous Things and Flicker in the Dark) and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Child death, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Animal death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Stalking, Drug use, Murder, Blood, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
tallhousecookies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Stacy Willingham for the opportunity to review a digital ARC of this book. What a fun ride.
Margot is swimming in grief; her best friend died under mysterious circumstances 3 weeks after their high school graduation. She’s spent her entire first year of college merely surviving, looking at the fun from afar. Taking special interest in three girls on her hall: Nicole, Sloane, and the magnetic Lucy Sharpe.
So when, at the end of the school year, Lucy asks Margot to room with the three of them for the next school year, Margot jumps at the chance to start truly living again. What happens from there is a series of twists and turns that end up becoming fatal.
Overall, this was a really fun read. I’m personally drawn to stories about female friendship, especially when they turn sour, so this book was right up my alley. This is also my first Stacy Willingham book and it made me want to move her other titles up on my TBR shelf. There were multiple twists that I genuinely didn’t see coming. Some of which were brilliant additions and others seemed to have been thrown in order to wrap up the ending. With that being said, if you’re a thriller lover this book is not to be missed.
Margot is swimming in grief; her best friend died under mysterious circumstances 3 weeks after their high school graduation. She’s spent her entire first year of college merely surviving, looking at the fun from afar. Taking special interest in three girls on her hall: Nicole, Sloane, and the magnetic Lucy Sharpe.
So when, at the end of the school year, Lucy asks Margot to room with the three of them for the next school year, Margot jumps at the chance to start truly living again. What happens from there is a series of twists and turns that end up becoming fatal.
Overall, this was a really fun read. I’m personally drawn to stories about female friendship, especially when they turn sour, so this book was right up my alley. This is also my first Stacy Willingham book and it made me want to move her other titles up on my TBR shelf. There were multiple twists that I genuinely didn’t see coming. Some of which were brilliant additions and others seemed to have been thrown in order to wrap up the ending. With that being said, if you’re a thriller lover this book is not to be missed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Misogyny, Murder, and Stalking
Moderate: Rape, Blood, and Sexual assault
_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
3.25 stars
-
Grief, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape
-
For as long as everyone remembers, Margot and Eliza have been the closest of friends. That is until Eliza tragically passes away three weeks after graduation. Having planned their entire lives together, Margot finds herself alone at Rutledge College. Although Margot vows to herself to live the life Eliza deserves she can't help but isolate herself during her first semester. That is...until she meets Lucy Sharpe. The two of them are polar opposites, Lucy stands out in a crowd and draws people in.
When Lucy offers Margot a room in her off-campus house, she can't seem to figure out why. Suddenly Margot is pulled into a lifestyle that isn't hers, it's the life that Eliza would have wanted. It doesn't take long before Margot's past starts catching up to her and forces her to come to terms with reality. This one was such a slow burn to me, but I think it's what the plot needed. I loved trying to piece everything together and figure out what was going on.
The book flashes between the past and the present, and we find out that a college frat boy next door has turned up dead, and Lucy is missing. Immediately we start to wonder how the two are connected, I would say that this book really starts to pick up at the 75% mark and becomes really thrilling, it seems that the end is filled with twists and turns that you don't see coming! From the start, we know that Lucy isn't what she seems and Margot has been told multiple times to not trust her (coming from Lucy's friends) but uncovering the truth was truly shocking.
-
Grief, Child death, Death, Murder, Violence, Vomit, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape
-
For as long as everyone remembers, Margot and Eliza have been the closest of friends. That is until Eliza tragically passes away three weeks after graduation. Having planned their entire lives together, Margot finds herself alone at Rutledge College. Although Margot vows to herself to live the life Eliza deserves she can't help but isolate herself during her first semester. That is...until she meets Lucy Sharpe. The two of them are polar opposites, Lucy stands out in a crowd and draws people in.
When Lucy offers Margot a room in her off-campus house, she can't seem to figure out why. Suddenly Margot is pulled into a lifestyle that isn't hers, it's the life that Eliza would have wanted. It doesn't take long before Margot's past starts catching up to her and forces her to come to terms with reality. This one was such a slow burn to me, but I think it's what the plot needed. I loved trying to piece everything together and figure out what was going on.
The book flashes between the past and the present, and we find out that a college frat boy next door has turned up dead, and Lucy is missing. Immediately we start to wonder how the two are connected, I would say that this book really starts to pick up at the 75% mark and becomes really thrilling, it seems that the end is filled with twists and turns that you don't see coming! From the start, we know that Lucy isn't what she seems and Margot has been told multiple times to not trust her (coming from Lucy's friends) but uncovering the truth was truly shocking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Vomit, Grief, Child death, Murder, Violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Rape
paigepeploe's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When you get approved for an ARC of the newest project from your favorite thriller author, you drop everything and binge read it in three days. Stacy's Willingham's latest novel follows Margot, whose life is upended when her best friend, Eliza, passes in a tragic accident the summer before they are destined to go away to college together. As Margot settles into life at college without Eliza, she is befriended by the mysterious and captivating, Lucy, who invites her to join a tight-knit friend group. Over the next few months, Margot's past and present will collide, secrets will be revealed, and another person will die... DUN DUN DUN (not a spoiler, this is revealed in the first chapter of the book).
Like all of Willingham's novels, Only If You're Lucky gripped me from the first line. I loved how she describes the power of female friendship and the feeling when you've finally found your place in a group. I am also a huge fan of dual timelines because the cliffhangers keep me reading for hours.
However, this book lulls a bit in the middle, but it's all necessary Easter eggs to support the ending. There are also A LOT of twists to this novel (dare I say too many?). If it were any other author, I would say the ending is straight up unbelievable, but Willingham has a way of writing away my doubt about the authenticity of the events. My jaw did indeed drop at points. This isn't my favorite of her novels, but I still highly recommend picking this one up when it drops in 2024!
*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for exchanging an e-ARC of this book for an unbiased review!
Like all of Willingham's novels, Only If You're Lucky gripped me from the first line. I loved how she describes the power of female friendship and the feeling when you've finally found your place in a group. I am also a huge fan of dual timelines because the cliffhangers keep me reading for hours.
However, this book lulls a bit in the middle, but it's all necessary Easter eggs to support the ending. There are also A LOT of twists to this novel (dare I say too many?). If it were any other author, I would say the ending is straight up unbelievable, but Willingham has a way of writing away my doubt about the authenticity of the events. My jaw did indeed drop at points. This isn't my favorite of her novels, but I still highly recommend picking this one up when it drops in 2024!
*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for exchanging an e-ARC of this book for an unbiased review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, Abandonment, Stalking, and Physical abuse
asteinke's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
This book was so slowly paced. It has such a slow beginning and it never seemed the get any more interesting. Maybe if you took out about 100 pages I would have been more engaged with the story. It was not very original story and if you are looking for an exciting page turner I would say skip this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
jillwedemeier's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Domestic abuse, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Infidelity
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