I find Ruth Ware to be a good thriller story teller and I found this book to be in line with that impression. It was long, but I didn’t think it was dragging on, it just covered a lot. I liked the twist at the end, a little more subtle than I would have thought but it really worked for the story. The story takes place in two timelines Before which starts at Hannah’s first day at Oxford and After which starts in the present time. Hannah was excited to go to Oxford and the first person she truly meets is her suite mate April. April is an It Girl, she has money, Beaty, smarts, and attracts all the attention. Hannah’s college experience is shattered when April is found murdered and her testimony sends the man she saw leave their rooms moments before to prison. In the present day he’s passed away and a reporter who is a friend of a friend sends some questions that make her guess what she saw and dig back into the past.

I couldn't stop reading this book! I was on the edge of my seat and the very end and it was just perfect, I have no other words.

April was the It Girl!

Everyone was drawn to her and Hannah was no exception, along with their other friends Hugh, Will, Ryan and Emily.

A decade after her murder, new evidence may prove that Neville wasn't the one who was responsible.

Once Hannah figures it out, she's abducted while pregnant, thinking she was telling her friend her find and they were going to the police..

I truly was unsure of who "did it" the whole time, to the very end....

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read and review this title, all words and opinions are my own.

I just reviewed The It Girl by Ruth Ware. #NetGalley

Review published on Goodreads, 7 March 2022:

I'm always up for a new Ware book and this one did not disappoint. Like all of the author's novels, THE IT GIRL is fast-paced, compelling, and twisty. I couldn't put it down. Hannah is sympathetic and relatable. April, on the other hand, is a spoiled, self-centered, manipulative witch. I didn't get why anyone would want to be around her. That made it a titch difficult to care about who killed April (since, frankly, she kind of deserved it), but I did want answers for Hannah because I cared about her physical and emotional health. She's not much of a detective, true, as she's a little slow on the uptake, but that, of course, just heightens the suspense in the story. Even though I saw the killer coming long before Hannah did, that didn't dampen my enjoyment of this book. I still found it totally immersive and gripping. THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY remains my favorite Ware book, so I wouldn't call this one her best yet, but I did very much enjoy it.

Hannah Jones was from a working-class background and she decided she'd go to Oxford as a youngster. All her energy went toward achieving that goal. She made it. Her roommate was April Clarke-Cliveden--vivacious, upper class, rich, self-confident, friendly with a hard edge, and a lover of pranks. Hannah immediately found herself pulled into April's orbit. April's friends (Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily) became her friends. Keeping her balance between classes, studying, and April pushing her to join in her nightly activities was sometimes overwhelming. Until the evening she found April dead. That's when everything changed for Hannah.

It's been ten years since April's murder. Hannah now lives in Scotland and works at a bookstore. She's married to Will and is happily pregnant. That's when the news broke that John Neville, who was charged with April's murder, had died in prison still claiming to be innocent. A reporter, a friend of Ryan, wants to meet her to go over the case. He claims there is a possibility Neville was innocent.

Hannah is overwhelmed and begins to question everything about her time at Oxford and her involvement with April. The book is organized with chapters labeled Before and After, with April's murder being the fulcrum point. As Hannah delves into the past, she learns events that seemed routine, in hindsight, were not quite as she remembered them.

Talking to the others in April's orbit fills in a lot of information that either Hannah didn't know, didn't remember, or ignored. Secrets, as they are wont to do, are unearthed and feelings long buried return until Hannah doubts everyone and herself as she searches for the truth of what happened.

The story is tightly woven together with the past and present allowing the reader to gather the clues as Hannah remembers the events leading to April's death while reconnecting with friends she'd lost touch with. The tension builds slowly but there is enough to keep readers guessing until the final chapter.

Ruth Ware does it again! The tension is high throughout the story, and the twists kept me guessing until the end. I love trying to figure out who the murderer is, and I managed to guess a little but I couldn't put it all together. A good locked-room style mystery that I can recommend to some of my teen readers.

This latest by Ruth Ware was well-paced and plotted with a mystery that keeps you guessing until the end. I enjoyed the jumping back and forth in time from the past (when the murder took place) to the present where the after effects of that night are still haunting everyone involved.

This was my first Ruth Ware novel, and it had me second guessing my predictions the whole way through. I thought I had it all figured out early on, but kept switching back and forth between who I thought was guilty. Even so, I never saw the actual reveal coming until it was slapping me in the face. Ruth Ware has my attention, and I'll definitely be checking out more!

Ruth Ware's newest release, The It Girl, keeps readers on their toes til the very last page with a plot that twists and turns more quickly than cheap bumper cars at a small county fair. The characters are unique yet still fit all the archetypal molds needed to advance a story centering on the murder of a high profile student on a school campus. Fast paced-weekend getaway read! Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to prevew #TheItGirl by Ruth Ware. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you so much @ScoutPressBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 12 July 2022)

SYNOPSIS | It has been 10 years since Hannah found her best friend & roommate (April) murdered in their Oxford dormitory. The accused perpetrator dies in prison & an ambitious journalist is eager to re-open the case as he believes that the real killer is still out there.

WHAT I LIKED:
- my inner armchair detective was piqued by all of the red herrings thrown around (this is one of those books where at some point throughout the story you suspect every single character)
- Oxford was a lovely setting for this academic whodunnit mystery

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- it took me a little while to warm up to Hannah as the narrator
- it felt 100 pages too long (the middle section especially dragging) & the big reveal felt very drawn out
- I find locked room style mysteries too formulaic & I think this story suffered a bit because of it

The It Girl is a twisty, winding read about the death of a beautiful teenager and the impact it had on the lives of her friends, loved ones, and accused killer in the decade that followed. I enjoyed a lot of the story--the parts that were set at Oxford were richly detailed and atmospheric. I can't say the same for the "After" sections. However, that didn't stop me from being wholly engrossed in the story. This was a page turner, for sure. The It Girl will be a great read for fans of Ruth Ware and true crime podcast listeners.

1st time read of this author and while it was a slow starter for me, I did like how the author left many clues throughout the book on who the killer could be. While I understood where the author was going with the back & forth storyline it was very slow in the beginning, but definitely picked up and became more interesting as the book went on. Overall, I'm glad I stuck with it & as the author tighten the noose around the killer I will say I was surprised at the end. Good job, Ms. Ware.

When you “assume” you make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”.
Jumping to conclusions may be great exercise but it can have ramifications lasting years or lifetimes and the ripple effect goes on and on.
Another can’t-put-down-must-read by Ruth Ware.
When the “it girl” (whose always had any and everything she wanted) becomes roommates with the plain Jane nothing remarkable girl at college worlds collide. Friendships and lifelong relationships are forged in college — but what happens when trauma and tragedy are what bind you?
Full of twists and turns, the reader will be jumping to nearly as many conclusions and false starts as the main characters. Luckily for the reader, their over zealous reactions don’t affect the lives of anyone (and luckily the character are fictions because ouch!).
Clear some time and tune out the world before you pick up “The It Girl”!

This book just wasn't a good fit for me. I felt like the beginning was a bit slow and I really didn't connect at all with any of the main characters. The writing was good and the mystery was interesting but it didn't really hold my attention.

Ooh time goes by and if i don't write the review right away...sigh. I'm trying to be better. The best i can do right now is give a star count...

This was the first Ruth Ware book I read, and it definitely kept me guessing until the end. I loved the setting of the book in Oxford, but I just couldn't fully seem to understand the actions and thoughts of the main character.

Riveting tale of murder and betrayal, told in two timelines. "Before" and "After" perspectives introduce the cast of characters and detail their year at Oxford together, and revisits them ten years later. Ruth Ware fans will love this, and new readers will no doubt become fans after reading.

Ruth Ware has delivered another taut thriller with intriguing characters and well paced plotting. Attending Oxford is a dream for Hannah and being fully embraced by her socialite roommate April makes freshman year a fairy tale. Unfortunately, by the end of the term April is dead and Hannah is the star witness at the trial of her murderer. A decade later, Hannah is dealing with doubts about her testimony and what impact it had on a potentially innocent man. The format of alternating timelines from Hannah's perspective, add to the mystery and give credence to her growing uncertainties.

Do you have a hit or miss author? For me it’s Ruth Ware. I loved Turn of the Key so much so I’ve pretty much binged the rest of hers only to be disappointed.

The It Girl is a dark academia story taking place at Oxford. Hannah meets roommate April and they hit it off immediately. April is the life of the party and Hannah the wall flower. With their tight knit group of friends they are enjoying Uni life until April turns up dead. Flash forward and Hannah is now expecting her first baby with her husband. Things are good until she realizes the man accused of April’s murder died in jail. Then the past comes back to haunt Hannah as she struggles to come to terms with what happened the night April died.

Let me tell you that this book took me 2 months to read 🫣 You read that right 2 MONTHS! This book was too slow with not a lot happening until the last quarter of the book. It was also too long. Too slow + too long throws my attention span out the window. Here is what I liked about the book though: dark academia setting, dual timelines and short chapters.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝘼𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙’𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧.

This book was right up my alley with the trope. I love a very well-written college campus murder mystery, and this was so well done.

This is my fourth Ruth Ware book and while I have a hit or miss with her books I’m glad this one was enjoyable. Unfortunately, I haven’t had any of her books compared to my favorite, The Turn Of The Key (the book that got me into reading, specifically thrillers).

I love when murder mysteries follow a group of friends with secrets and scandals to hide. While I loved that it took place at Oxford, I would’ve loved a bit more detail in regard to the setting. It still had that academic feel, but a little more of it would’ve made this book a bit better.

As someone who likes to go into thrillers blindly, I’m going to try and be vague as possible, there are some twists here and there.

I really enjoyed that the book was split into two timelines: the before and after. The before follows the group - April (the IT girl), Hannah, Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily - as they adjust to the jealousy, scandals, cheating, etc of Oxford. On the other hand, the after (a decade later) follows the group, specifically Hannah, as they recover from their friend’s death.

Again, I don’t want to get into details just because I know some don’t like to know anything. I think the ending was a nice touch, not perfect by any means but it made sense.

I will definitely be picking up anything Ruth Ware writes. I still have a few of her backlist titles to get to, but I just love her writing style and the detail of the story.

This was a super enjoyable read by Ruth Ware. If you’re into academic books, check this out! It gave me huge In My Dreams I Hold A Knife vibes.

Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy! All thoughts are my own!

I really wanted to love this book, but after having read "In my Dreams I Hold a Knife," this book felt eerily similar but not as strongly written. It's definitely an interesting look at what it means to covet the lives of others and to "have it all." I'll still be reading other Ruth Ware books, though!