✨𝐑 𝐄 𝐕 𝐈 𝐄 𝐖✨

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐛𝐲 𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐞

I really enjoyed this one! I haven’t read a ton of Ruth Ware books, so I was looking forward to this one. The length was intimidating, but I actually flew through it.

👍🏼: I loved that this one kept me guessing until the very very end. I’m horrible at guessing #whodunnit anyways, but loved the twists & turns. I also enjoyed the academia setting and reminiscing on the college days. (minus a murder lol)

👎🏼: This one was fairly long and took a while to pick up, but it kept me engaged & turning the pages to see who did it 🤷🏼‍♀️

Thanks to @netgalley & @gallerybooks for the e-ARC! This one is out now.

I’m definitely looking forward to reading more by Ruth Ware- which is your favorite? 📚⬇️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ruth Ware has been an auto-read for me, but I didn't love her last book so I was a little wary of this one. I was pleasantly proved wrong! It feels weird to call a murder mystery a fun read but that's what this was. I loved the characters, the group of friends. Ware strikes a great balance between character and plot and there were some great twists I didn't see coming. Would definitely recommend!

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is an entertaining mystery. One of the best I’ve read in a long time!

Overall, I thought Hannah is pretty compelling. I do think her being pregnant added more tension to the story especially as she goes deeper and deeper into the investigation. I liked reading about her past at Oxford and relationship with April. Their friendship is interesting—initially it seemed stereotypical with rich girl/shy girl dynamic but there’s much more there. I do think Hannah saw something different in April than anyone else did.

I found this to be an engaging and even insightful story about image, perception, friendship and more. My favorite mysteries do a deep dive on the characters and this more than delivered on that front. While I do think it would have benefited to have more characters give their input, I still very much enjoyed the novel.

Blog:
I’ve read about half of Ruth Ware’s books and enjoyed them all, so I was excited and surprised when the publisher approved me for a review copy of her newest book on NetGalley. Most of her other books I’ve read part of the thrill is the characters’ tie to a place – like a ski chalet or weekend hen do rental. This one, though, the thrills come from everyone’s tie to an event that happened a decade ago – the death of April Clarke-Cliveden.

To me, the most important part of a thriller is that at least one of the twists (preferably the last one) both surprises me but also strikes me as fair. In other words, that it’s not only a twist because the writer withheld something from the reader that other characters we closely follow know. The twist must also not have been immediately possible for the main character to figure out. This book definitely ticks that criterion. Although, I thought I’d guessed the twist about 18% of the way into the book, I was definitely wrong. I hadn’t guessed the twist even moments before it happened. And I didn’t feel cheated because the twist did make sense. So if a surprising twist that makes sense if what you’re after, this read is for you.

Now, I will say, I nearly wore my eyes out rolling them at the main character Hannah. She just struck me as quite emotionally/psychologically weak and easily influenced. I don’t need to love a main character to enjoy a read, though, so I wasn’t bothered. Something about Hannah that some readers may enjoy, partially because it’s unusual in a thriller, is that she’s about six months pregnant for the meat of the story. I’ve never been pregnant myself, so I can’t say how necessarily realistic the portrayal is, but it did make for some different and interesting scenes.

The only thing that does bother me, which is why this is four stars, is I just do not understand why Hannah ever considered April her “best friend” or why she’s still so enamored with her years later. From the first moment we meet her when Hannah does on move-in day at Oxford, I was like…man this girl is the WORST. Did I know people like her in college? Sure. Did I befriend them? No. Am I aware of someone who had a roommate like her? Yes. Did she befriend her? No, they just hung out in separate groups and lived their separate lives. But I will say, Hannah is characterized as weak and easily swayed, so, in a way, it makes sense she’s friends with her. But I never felt sympathy for Hannah about any of it.

Overall, this was a fun thriller. For me it took a little bit to pick up speed, but once it did, I was definitely motivated to find out the final twist.

Instagram:
What if your roommate the first year of university was murdered and your eyewitness account was what sent the unlikeable porter away to prison? But then after he died ten years later a podcaster showed up arguing the porter might have been innocent? Who can you trust? And can you solve the mystery while 6 months pregnant? Ruth Ware’s newest thriller delivers a unique plot with twists I didn’t see coming and a rogue civilian investigator who’s pregnant. This was a fun read. Link to my book blog in my profile for my full review. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the free reviewer’s copy!

GoodReads:
I thought I'd guessed the twist about 18% of the way into the book. I was definitely wrong. I hadn't guessed the twist even moments before it happened. And I didn't feel cheated because the twist did make sense. So if a surprising twist that makes sense if what you're after, this read is for you.

Now, I will say, I nearly wore my eyes out rolling them at the main character Hannah. She just struck me as quite emotionally/psychologically weak and easily influenced. I don't need to love a main character to enjoy a read, though, so I wasn't bothered.

The only thing that does bother me, which is why this is four stars, is I just do not understand why Hannah ever considered April her "best friend" or why she's still so enamored with her years later. From the first moment we meet her when Hannah does on move-in day at Oxford, I was like...man this girl is the WORST. Did I know people like her in college? Sure. Did I befriend them? No. Am I aware of someone who had a roommate like her? Yes. Did she befriend her? No, they just hung out in separate groups and lived their separate lives. But I will say, Hannah is characterized as weak and easily swayed, so, in a way, it makes sense she's friends with her. But I never felt sympathy for Hannah about any of it.

*I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.*

I have been looking forward to this novel since I first knew about it and it didn’t let me down. Ruth Ware does write exciting novels that draw you in and hook you. This is another thriller that twists and turns, great characters and well written.

April Coutts-Cliveden and Hannah Jones met at Oxford and were very soon best friends. Together they formed a tight friendship with Will, Hugh, Ryan and Emily and were inseparable. But by the end of the second term, April was dead.

The novel is written from the two timelines of before and after April’s death.

Ten years after April’s death, Hannah is pregnant and together with Will are expecting their first child. John Neville who worked as a porter at the university was convicted of killing April but has recently died in prison. Hannah now feels she can let go of the bad memories but when a journalist contacts her to discuss new evidence that Neville may have been innocent it all starts again. Hannah makes contact with her old group of friends and discusses April’s tragic death which sparks fears that one of them may have something to hide, even murder.

I did enjoy the novel but didn’t feel it quite lived up to some of the previous novels by this author. Still very entertaining but I didn’t feel the grip held by her other books. Dragged a little at times but perhaps I am being too picky.

In The It Girl, we are introduced to the main character Hannah, who is a new student moving into Oxford. She immediately makes friends with a group of other Oxford students including the gorgeous popular girl April who happens to be her roommate. As the school year begins this group of friends are always together even though they are all so totally different. Everything is going perfectly for this close friends group until the night Hannah finds April dead in their rooms and all their lives fall apart. Fast forward 10 years and Hannah is expecting her first baby with a member of the friends group and she hears the news that the man that she helped put away for the murder of April has died in prison still professing his innocence. Now Hannah is having second thoughts about what she remembers that night that April was murdered and everything changed for their group of friends. As she begins to look into the past to discover what really happened she reveal secrets that she’ll regret uncovering.

As soon as I picked up this book I had the hardest time putting it down because I was so absorbed by the characters, the storyline and the writing. I loved how close the friends group was and that they all brought something different to their found family. I found myself becoming absorbed in the dark academic atmosphere of the Oxford campus and the intriguing happenings that took place there. I really enjoyed the whodunit mystery that I tried to guess throughout the story but I can safely say that I did not predict the killer and loved that the end twist was so crazy. I love the unsettling tension Ware built throughout the story in both timelines. The characters were so well thought out and so interesting and the pacing of the story was perfect and had my attention the whole book. Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the digital copy of this ebook. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark academic mysteries with a fun cast of characters and so many twists.

<i>Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this in exchange for an honest review.</i>

BEFORE - Hannah and April are best friends and Pelham University roommates. In their first term, the two grow their friend group into an inseparable six: them, Will, Hugh, Emily, and Ryan. By the end of the second term, April is found dead in her and Hannah's shared room after a school production of <i>Medea</i>.

AFTER - A decade later, the man convicted of April's murder dies in prison and a young reporter emails Hannah with news that the man might have been wrongly convicted. With a potential killer still roaming free, Hannah gradually disrupts her peaceful life to dig up the past. But as Hannah uncovers more secrets about that night 10 years ago, clues begin to point in directions she...doesn't like. And you can't turn a blind eye to the truth once it's been uncovered.

The book alternates chapters between BEFORE and AFTER the incident, both in 3rd person POV following our main character, Hannah. I'll admit, my main qualm with the book (and why it ultimately got 4 stars instead of 5) is because of its length. At times, it was just hard to push through—very dense with prose and so. much. description. That being said, the alternating timeline between chapters really helped with the pacing issues on this one! It really balanced the introduction of new info and the plot points with the more subtle character work.

And speaking of the characters, I like that this book had a smaller cast. We're focusing on the main six in the friend group (Will, Hugh, Emily, Ryan, April, and Hannah), John Neville (the man convicted of April's murder), November Rain (<spoiler> April's sister </spoiler>), and...I think that's it! It's much easier with the smaller cast to keep track of everyone and to really get to know them over the course of the story (and try to guess April's killer!)

I listened to the audiobook along with the eARC I received for this, and Imogen Church never disappoints. Her and Ware are an iconic duo that are auto-buys for me!

Overall, this was a really solid thriller and arguably one of Ware's best! I personally still think <i>Turn of the Key</i> takes the cake, but I will absolutely recommend this one if Ware's been a hit-or-miss for you lately (I know people weren't huge fans of <i>One by One</i> and its large cast). This book, though slow at times, does excellent character work and pulls off a believable but breath-taking twist that any mystery/thriller writer yearns to achieve. Fans of Ashley Winstead's <i>In My Dreams I Hold a Knife</i> will enjoy this one!

I need to stop reading Ruth Ware books. You see, she's highly praised all over the bookternet and I love thrillers, but each book by her leaves me wanting something more. The IT Girl is no exception.

I found this annoyingly predictable for a psychological/ domestic thriller. I clocked the killer 23% in and kept reading out of some weird sense of duty. I suppose I feel Ruth Ware has potential and can't always let me down, yet she continues to just be boring and basic Agatha Christie regurgitation. Yawn. I'm done giving her chances... probably.

A mystery set at Oxford? Say less! The “it girl” of campus is murdered her first year at school, and 10 years later her friends are still struggling with their pasts. When the man found guilty of the murder dies, Hannah, the It girl’s best friend, realizes the man she convicted of murder may have been innocent all along, and the true murderer may still roam free.

In typical Ruth Ware fashion, this book is filled with red herrings. This book is a psychological thriller that goes between the present and the past. The author sprinkles hints throughout out the book so pay attention. I didn’t guess who the killer was as I kept going back and forth on a number of characters. Ruth Ware is a modern day Agatha Christie. Great book!

If your roommate got killed in the apartment you shared, would you be able to leave it alone?
Hannah can't. She helped put a man in jail but now she's not sure if he was guilty. He dies in jail still protesting he's innocent. Her husband begs her to stop because he's scared for her and she's pregnant. They love each other but they fight over this.

The writing goes from the present back to the past all the way through the book.

She gets worried about her husband because he might be the killer. He's not.

The killer is someone she trusts. Will she be able to say alive once she figures it out?

This is probably the strongest novel I have read by Ware. A young and extremely annoying student at Oxford (the "It Girl") is murdered, and a porter who has been harassing her roommate, Hannah, is convicted of the murder. When he dies in prison, the roommate begins to have doubts about her testimony, which put him in prison. This was the rare mystery whose resolution truly surprised me - very clever. I also thought Ware's treatment of the harassment was well done - when Hannah's friends insist she report him (before the murder), her male tutor clearly questions her story and the frustration is overwhelming, for this reader at least. But overall good plot and character development.

Ruth ware's books are always a solid 3 star read for me. They are good for a quick cozy mystery read.
Things I did like:
The narrator for these audiobooks always makes for a good atmospheric listen.
I liked the dark academia vibes of this---liked this timeline more than the modern one.
The pace was nice. A bit slow going a t first but the dual timelines worked well with this story
Our main character actually didn't bug me too much---at least she didn't have a drinking problem making her unreliable.

Things I didn't like:
I have found these domestic thriller becoming tiresome with the same old troupes like the popular it girl who is really a bitch and everyone hates...
The killer was super obvious, so were the red herrings.
The whole John Neville part---the guy was still a major stalking creep and would have escalated if given more time and opportunity and still deserved it in my mind.

Overall, it was an average mystery.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Really exciting thriller that kept me turning pages all night long. Really enjoyed this one and will be recommending to others!

I am a huge Ruth Ware fan and that is even further solidified after finishing The It Girl! I absolutely loved this book! The dual timeline was one of my favorite parts of this one! The story begins ten years ago on our MC Hannah’s first day of college at Oxford and flashes back and forth between present time and the events leading up to one of her best friends being killed. Many years later, Hannah is unsure about the evidence she had against the convicted killer and she begins digging. Each of the characters from the past pop back into the story in different ways. I both loved and disliked this cast of characters. I loved how I had conflicting emotions regarding each one. Admittedly, I thought early on I had an idea where Ruth Ware was going with the story and I was hoping she wasn’t playing that angle… I am happy to say that I was wrong and she didn’t! I won’t say any more because it will spoil it!

The It Girl It was everything I look for in a suspense thriller! It had, a great mystery, a cast of characters that kept my guessing, twists and turns I didn’t see coming and an absolutely perfect pace that kept me eagerly flipping the pages! This was 5 huge bright and glowing stars and I highly, highly recommend!

Thanks for the ARC. I found this title by Ruth Ware a little slower at first. There were enough twists and turns to keep me interested and then the can't-put-it-down last few chapters, that I will definitely recommend it to my customers.

i liked the dark academia vibes and the dual timelines. once i got towards the end of the story i pieced together where things were going, but i really liked how the author got us there. other than that, the story felt like your average thriller. if it had been 80 or so pages shorter, i probably would have bumped up my rating, but the story really dragged for me.

overall not bad, but not great

3.5 stars

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is the story of a woman whose life changed after her college roommate was murdered. It was written in mostly alternating chapters: Before and After. To say she was profoundly affected would be an understatement. It was almost not on her mind daily, when the man convicted of the murder died of a heart attack while he was in prison. True, he had been creepy, but was he a murderer? She saw a photo online that showed him as the broken old man he had become. He had been convicted on circumstantial evidence, given by her. Had she done him wrong? She had to know. She tried to talk to her husband, Will, about it but he didn’t want to hear it again. Will had been April’s boyfriend, although the romance had been waning. He had never been a suspect because he was out of town. Maybe she could talk to Hugh, their friend, who lived here in Edinburgh. She could try. With Neville dead, she started getting calls and emails from reporters again. She never responded to any of them. Her friend, Emily, from college, called her about one who was apparently a friend of another of their friends. He ambushed her with April’s much younger sister, who looked exactly like April. She was living in a nightmare. What to do.

This was a fine thriller, keeping me guessing right along with Hannah until the very end, and then some. Hannah was a woman with a conscience. She still felt bad about so many things. She had left college after April’s murder, never to return. She had moved as far north as she could get: Edinburgh. She couldn’t work in a library or publishing house with no degree, so she compromised and worked in a bookstore. She loved it. Three months after she left, Will turned up. They date, lived together, got married, got pregnant. Then it all started again. Her blood pressure was high, not good for her unborn baby. Should she do as Will recommended, try to put it behind her? Should she return to counseling? That had helped for a while. This story had a plot done so well that Ware should be celebrated. Her primary character, Hannah, was developed and laid out before us in all her glory. Her husband and friends were less developed but it was not as necessary. The whole thing kept me on the edge, feeling Hannah’s pain every step of the way. This was an excellent book. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The It Girl by Simon and Schuster, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #simonandschuster #ruthware #theitgirl

Ruth Ware did it again— I could not put this one down. If you like your mysteries a bit twisty, this is next on your TBR pile.
Ware took me back to my university days filled with first love, shenanigans, and those deep relationships forged from newfound freedom and the intense emotions that come with it.
The shocking death of “It” girl April spins everyone’s lives in different directions; her roommate Hannah is haunted by it and her testimony that sent the creepy Porter to prison. What if she was wrong? He died in prison and now reporters are inquiring and she cannot rest until she knows the truth. Will the truth set her free or get her killed?

I am happy to say that Ruth Ware got me again.

I spent most of the book thinking I had it all figured out....and then SHE GOT ME. Yet again why she is one of my favorite authors.