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A review by booksrlush_
Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham
3.0
2.5
Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Margot is drawn to her charisma. Margot is the sidekick, the one in the background never the centre of attention. Margot is a freshman at a liberal arts college in South Carolina and when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year Margot can't say no. Margot is now living off campus with Lucy her inner circle Sloane and Nicole, slowly Margot starts to come out of the shell that she's been stuck in since her best friend Eliza died three weeks before graduation. Not all is as it seems and come the end of the year a boy from the fraternity next door is brutally murdered and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.
I've read Willingham's two previous books and rated them highly so I was so excited to pick this new release it up. Unfortunately, I felt this was missing the author's usual spark. The narrative at times felt like it dragged to get to the point and at times it felt like scenes could have been cut and it wouldn't have affected the overall plot. If this book was shorter I believe it would have packed the punch it intended. I did enjoy the conversation surrounding female friendships, the loss of someone close to you and the feeling of being on the outside but I just wish there was more emphasis on these aspects.
The characters weren't exactly likeable, I didn't feel much for any of them. Lucy was a character I've seen in many books and lacked depth, Margot was privileged and Judgy, Sloane could have used more page time, studious and observant and Nicole I just felt bad for frail and a follower who deserved better. I think if we had more focus on these women the plot would have packed more of a punch. we seen a lot of them interacting with the fraternity and I think some of the interactions could have been cut to have the attention on this friendship group.
Overall this one didn't work for me the way I was hoping it would. I did see some of the things I enjoy about this author's writing sprinkled in there I just think with some editing and a little more focus this could have been a hit. I will continue picking this author's work up because they have written stories I've enjoyed I do highly recommend both 'A Flicker in the Dark' and 'All the Dangerous Things'. If you looking for comp titles to this I'd recommend, Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier It follows a friend group and one of them is murdered. Also, She and I by Hannah King this one follows best friends in a bad situation when one of their boyfriends turns up dead.
Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Margot is drawn to her charisma. Margot is the sidekick, the one in the background never the centre of attention. Margot is a freshman at a liberal arts college in South Carolina and when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year Margot can't say no. Margot is now living off campus with Lucy her inner circle Sloane and Nicole, slowly Margot starts to come out of the shell that she's been stuck in since her best friend Eliza died three weeks before graduation. Not all is as it seems and come the end of the year a boy from the fraternity next door is brutally murdered and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.
I've read Willingham's two previous books and rated them highly so I was so excited to pick this new release it up. Unfortunately, I felt this was missing the author's usual spark. The narrative at times felt like it dragged to get to the point and at times it felt like scenes could have been cut and it wouldn't have affected the overall plot. If this book was shorter I believe it would have packed the punch it intended. I did enjoy the conversation surrounding female friendships, the loss of someone close to you and the feeling of being on the outside but I just wish there was more emphasis on these aspects.
The characters weren't exactly likeable, I didn't feel much for any of them. Lucy was a character I've seen in many books and lacked depth, Margot was privileged and Judgy, Sloane could have used more page time, studious and observant and Nicole I just felt bad for frail and a follower who deserved better. I think if we had more focus on these women the plot would have packed more of a punch. we seen a lot of them interacting with the fraternity and I think some of the interactions could have been cut to have the attention on this friendship group.
Overall this one didn't work for me the way I was hoping it would. I did see some of the things I enjoy about this author's writing sprinkled in there I just think with some editing and a little more focus this could have been a hit. I will continue picking this author's work up because they have written stories I've enjoyed I do highly recommend both 'A Flicker in the Dark' and 'All the Dangerous Things'. If you looking for comp titles to this I'd recommend, Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier It follows a friend group and one of them is murdered. Also, She and I by Hannah King this one follows best friends in a bad situation when one of their boyfriends turns up dead.