emilybookedup's Reviews > Only If You're Lucky

this was a fun binge! teetering between 3.5-4 stars. it was much different A FLICKER IN THE DARK or ALL THE DANGEROUS THINGS, but i still enjoyed it and recommend it as a 2024 read.

this book is very different from her other two—it almost felt like a different author at times! i would recommend readers go in expecting more of a drama and mystery vs a thriller (which her past 2 very much were). there’s not as much “action” in this book and it’s more character building and drama that causes the suspense.

one of my fave thriller tropes is dark academia and this one had that. it followed young college kids and almost felt a bit YA when comparing to IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE w the similar storyline and trope. these characters were much younger (basically fresh out of HS) and definitely trying to find themselves and their “clique.” it brought me back to a lot of my similar college memories in that sense for SURE 😅

my second fave thing about this book were the twists—i didn’t see either coming at all and as a thriller obsessed reader, that’s low key hard to say so that gets a big W from me.

after reflecting more, reason this wasn’t a 5-star star book was bc of the characters and pacing/length of time it took to get to the twists. most of the characters are unlikeable and i felt it hard to really root for someone. there are also a lot of them, so there’s a lot to remember and keep track of personality wise.

Willingham will continue to be an auto-buy author for me! this was an easy and enjoyable binge.

thanks to Minotaur for the gifted ARC. this hits bookshelves on 1/16/24!