Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham

Only If You're Lucky

by Stacy Willingham

Pub. Date: January 16th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller

⭐⭐⭐.5

Synopsis:

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.

A tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

My Thoughts:

Everyone seems to be hiding something in this dark academia-style thriller. I am a big fan of thrillers that take place in college settings and this one didn't disappoint. It's a little slow-paced but we get more insights into the characters that the story is evolved around.

I enjoyed how we jump back and forth in time with this one, seeing what led the girls to the situation they are in now. Several secrets and twists are revealed along the way, some of which I didn't guess, some of which I did. But I really enjoyed Lucy's character and the way she was so calculating. I wouldn't necessarily call this one a thriller since it is so slow paced - more of a suspenseful drama.

The main twist was a bit far-fetched for me but I really enjoyed how everything was wrapped up with no plot holes. We are left with things to think about and I didn't see the main plot twist coming. If you are a fan of Willingham's other two books (which I recommend you read) then definitely give this one a read! This one was 3.5 stars for me, it was okay but I wasn't 100% invested in the plot.

Big thanks to St. Martin's Press, Stacy Willingham and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions!