Review: Only If You're Lucky

Only If You're Lucky by Stacy Willingham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Having swooned over the in-depth storytelling in A Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things, my expectations for Only If You're Lucky were sky-high. This book has taken a pretty big turn in both tone and style, delving into the lives of college students rather than the complicated adult women I've grown to love from Stacy Willingham's other books.

This novel presents a much slower burn, focusing mainly on the usual college experience: late-night parties, impulsive decisions, and youthful romance. While those themes can be quite easy to relate to, I found the pace to lag just a bit, which made me wish for the pulse-pounding suspense that was a key element in Willingham's prior work. There are moments of tension throughout the story, yet they don't fully bring out the urgency that I wanted to feel.

Because at the heart of this is Margot, who has fallen into an all-encompassing circle of friends, with the charismatic Lucy Sharpe leading the way. We are told that their connection is very strong, but I found it hard to make it through to Margot's fixation on Lucy. It felt more like tell rather than show; we are told time and time again that Lucy is beguiling, but the text often left me wondering why Margot would be compelled to do all that she does for her.

And as the plot moves forward, a mystery reveals itself, with a brutal murder of a fraternity boy and the dreadful disappearance of Lucy. Intriguing as the premise might sound, the execution felt a bit empty. It's such a twist-laden climax that, unfortunately, was predictable and some of the developments were a bit unbelievable, really stretching my suspension of disbelief. The final reveal, revolving around a bizarre coincidence, was more ludicrous than shocking.

While Willingham's prose was compelling, and her ability to establish lively characters is beyond dispute, on the other hand, in this novel, she relies on quite a lot of themes that felt rather YA to me, not really the psychological thrillers that I find appealing, so possibly they will work better with a younger audience.

Ultimately, this is a wistfully nostalgic portrayal of college life, giving YA vibes, but beyond that, your expectations for depth and intensity will not be met compared to Willingham's former works. Nonetheless, I'm excited to see what she comes up with next.

If you need an easy read with friendship and some intrigue, you might just find what you're looking for here.

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