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_snarkysharky's review against another edition
2.0
Story: 2 stars
Audio: 3 stars
"Only If You're Lucky" is a mystery thriller that follows the story of Margot, a college sophomore haunted by the death of her childhood best friend, Eliza. Margot's life takes a turn when she moves in with Lucy Sharpe, the coolest girl on campus.
Margot and Lucy quickly become close, but the situation spirals out of control when a fraternity boy from next door is found dead, and Lucy, the prime suspect, disappears without a trace.
The premise of the book is very intriguing, but I found myself struggling through the very juvenile narrative. Not much happens in this story — it's just a bunch of college kids doing typical college things.
Margot's character is difficult to root for. Her obsession with Eliza and her baseless accusations quickly becomes grating. As the main character, she lacks redeeming qualities: she's not particularly intelligent, she consistently plays the victim, and she desperately tries to fit into the "in" crowd, though she won't admit it.
Her obsession with Eliza and Lucy feels unsettling. The plot twists were predictable, save for the big reveal at the end, which seemed illogical and forced, appearing out of nowhere without a satisfying buildup.
Overall, I wouldn’t have persisted with the book in print. Thankfully, the audiobook format made it more bearable as it successfully captures the intended mood of the story.
If you’re searching for a compelling murder mystery, you might want to look elsewhere.
Audio: 3 stars
"Only If You're Lucky" is a mystery thriller that follows the story of Margot, a college sophomore haunted by the death of her childhood best friend, Eliza. Margot's life takes a turn when she moves in with Lucy Sharpe, the coolest girl on campus.
Margot and Lucy quickly become close, but the situation spirals out of control when a fraternity boy from next door is found dead, and Lucy, the prime suspect, disappears without a trace.
The premise of the book is very intriguing, but I found myself struggling through the very juvenile narrative. Not much happens in this story — it's just a bunch of college kids doing typical college things.
Margot's character is difficult to root for. Her obsession with Eliza and her baseless accusations quickly becomes grating. As the main character, she lacks redeeming qualities: she's not particularly intelligent, she consistently plays the victim, and she desperately tries to fit into the "in" crowd, though she won't admit it.
Her obsession with Eliza and Lucy feels unsettling. The plot twists were predictable, save for the big reveal at the end, which seemed illogical and forced, appearing out of nowhere without a satisfying buildup.
Overall, I wouldn’t have persisted with the book in print. Thankfully, the audiobook format made it more bearable as it successfully captures the intended mood of the story.
If you’re searching for a compelling murder mystery, you might want to look elsewhere.
bookycatlady's review
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
Willingham’s weakest book IMO.
Felt very slow to get into. What I knew at 60% of the book, I knew at 5%; slow feed of info for sure. I’m glad I stuck it out though. The ending and final twists were good.
Felt very slow to get into. What I knew at 60% of the book, I knew at 5%; slow feed of info for sure. I’m glad I stuck it out though. The ending and final twists were good.
nina90's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
cefuller's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
turningpageswithkate's review
2.0
This had the potential to be great, but ultimately, it went off the rails and missed the mark for me. As a fan of Willingham's other novels, I was disappointed by this one, which fell short of the chilling and addictive storytelling I've come to expect. The premise held promise, but the execution left much to be desired.
avid_read's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
katsutter18's review against another edition
3.0
I found Margot to be boring. I get that she was supposed to be, but she had no personality whatsoever. The ending did surprise me but I wasn’t shocked.
serene216's review
3.0
It had promise as the storyline (dual timeline) was intriguing but the storyline failed to keep my attention and fell flat. I usually like her books but this book was missing the spark of intrigue her other titles had.