Willingham is an excellent thriller author and I really enjoyed her other books, Flicker in the Dark and All the Dangerous Things. I didn’t connect at first that this was the same author…until now.

I’m surprised because in Only If You’re Lucky I was so bored. The writing is boring, the MC Margot is boring and Margot has boring thoughts. I found myself skimming some of the large paragraphs as it was repetitive, boring nonsense.

The overall structure of the book was good. I enjoyed the BEFORE and AFTER flipping. Well constructed. There are two nights in question that the reader is hoping to learn what happened. Stacy did a great job building that tension. Which is a weird thing to say because I was still so bored.

Even when the reveals started hitting me, I wasn’t sure if I was surprised or not because I wasn’t fully engaged in the story. I guess I assumed ‘who-dun-it’ and I’ll admit I was wrong. Stacy did a good job of overcomplicating things in a realistic way. Yet, it all fell flat due to the rest of the story not meeting expectations.

For me, this is a pass. I’m glad I’m writing this review right after finishing or I might have forgotten the storyline. I’m excited for her next book and again, I’d recommend one of her earlier books if you want a real Stacy Willingham thriller.

Amazon Link – Only If You’re Lucky By: Stacy Willingham

Stats: 375 pages – Kindle – First published January 16, 2024

Favorite Moments from Only If You’re Lucky

Leaving my favorite moments here as I don’t want to bother with a separate post. Even if the book gave me ‘meh’ vibes, Willingham is nonetheless a talent writer.

That’s the beauty of fiction, of words: when your life becomes too boring, too bland, too hard or depressing or chaotic or calm, they allow you to simply float away and inhabit another, try it on for size.

“The only thing that makes bad things bad are the consequences, right? Think about it. The fact that we’re all here right now means we’re all a little morally loose.”