Ooh, this one was GOOD. Like, really good.

Switching back and forth between the past and the present, the structure of this book is clean and adds to the suspense as it builds up around the unsolved mystery at the core of the story. It focuses on a group of school friends who attended Oxford together, and whose world is shattered when one of their friends is brutally murdered. The obvious suspect is convicted and put in jail for the crime, but years later, questions arise again, and our main protagonist takes it upon herself to finally find the truth.

It's a wild ride with an exciting climax, and one of Ware's best works yet.

Ruth Ware is a writer who doesn't pigeonhole herself. Her books are a box of chocolates -- you never know quite what you'll get. In "The It Girl," we get a slowly unspooling psychological thriller, taking place largely in the head of Hannah, a young woman whose Oxford roommate -- the "it" girl of the title -- was murdered.. Suddenly convinced her testimony may have convicted the wrong man, Hannah works herself into a near-breakdown, while in flashbacks we learn what led up to that terrible night. Ware is a master at building claustrophobic tension in books like "The Woman in Cabin 10," and "The It Girl" does a masterly job of that. Fans probably won't complain that it seems maybe 50-1p0 pages too long. (Reviewed in print and online for the Sat. Louis Post-Dispatch.)

TITLE: THE IT GIRL
AUTHOR: Ruth Ware
AUDIO: @simon.audio
NARRATOR: Imogen Church
LENGTH: 17h 8m
PUB DATE: 07.12.2022 Now Available

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I really love reading a Ruth Ware book!

When I first received this early copy, I felt an intense giddiness, as if a child early on Christmas morning,. The book cover is truly stunning and eye catching. I read the book in a course of two days enjoying every exciting page.

In THE IT GIRL, the story was about an enigmatic young woman named April - the penultimate It Girl, who was murdered by the end of her first year at Oxford. Set into two timelines as before, where friends start their lives at Oxford, and then the after a decade later. Hannah’s testimony puts the school porter John Neville in prison, and up to the time of his death, claims innocence. A journalist revisits the case and some evidence may just point to one of their circle of friends.

I loved the unpredictability, tension, and suspense that made this novel unputdownable for me. I loved eliminating the suspects and paying attention to the breadcrumbs in the story. One of my favorite Ruth Ware novels.

AUDIO REVIEW: Imogen Church narrated THE IT GIRL flawlessly. I loved and enjoyed the distinct way she narrates each of the characters giving each one their true essence. Fantastic!

10/5⭐️s!! This is my 5th Ruth Ware book and favorite so far! (They are all 5⭐️ reads for me.)

April Clarke-Cliveden is the supreme It Girl. She’s got style, charisma, beauty, and money. Hannah is just happy to be pulled into her orbit when they are roomed together on their first day at Oxford. The duo develop a tight-knit group of friends. Then, April is killed.

Since finding her body a decade ago, Hannah has been haunted by April’s murder. Hannah is now pregnant and married to April’s ex-boyfriend, Will. When April’s killer dies in prison and new information is brought to light, Hannah knows she must uncover the truth about her best friend’s murder. Even if it means taking down those closest to her.

Every time I thought I had the killer pegged, Ware threw in another twist. The last quarter was peak suspense and had me gasping on every page. I never could have guessed the ending!

Ruth Ware is the Mystery Maven and Thriller Queen🖤. I loved this book. Thank you to Gallery Books, Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The It Girl - Ruth Ware
10/5⭐️ (ok ok, 5/5 🙃)

I was excited when I saw that Ruth Ware had written a new book. There was a lot of publicity for The It Girl and everything I read about it made me want to read it even more. For me, The It Girl lived up to my expectations. It was a riveting and suspenseful psychological thriller as well as a murder mystery. Once again, Ruth Ware was able to invent engaging characters and place them in setting that could be reminiscent for most. The chapters alternated between “before” and “after”. It was fast paced and hard to put down once I began reading it.

When Hannah Jones met April Clarke-Clivedin for the first time at Oxford and realized that they were to be roommates, Hannah knew they were completely different from each other. Despite all their differences, though, Hannah and April became best friends. They had a tight group of friends that consisted of Will, Emily, Ryan and Hugh. At the end of their second year at Oxford, the most unthinkable thing happened. April had just given her last performance in the play she was cast in and Hannah and the others had arranged a surprise celebration for April and her fellow cast members. Near the end of the celebration, April returned to the suite she shared with Hannah to change her clothes and remove her stage makeup. Shortly after April’s departure, Hugh had been nice enough to walk Hannah back to the dorm. As Hugh and Hannah approached the dorm, Hannah spotted John Neville, one of the university’s porters, exiting the staircase that led to her and April’s suite. Why was John Neville there at that time of the night? When Hannah got up to her and April’s rooms, she discovered that April was lying on the floor of her bedroom and appeared as if she was dead. Hannah’s screams were piercing. Hugh ran up to see why Hannah was screaming. Hugh being a pre-med student bent over April’s body and felt for a pulse. He sent Hannah to go get help. Hannah was convinced that John Neville, the creepy porter, had done this to her best friend. He was put on trial for murder. John Neville was charged with the murder of April and he was placed in prison. Hannah was so shaken by April’s death that she never came back to complete her education.

Ten years later, Hannah had married Will, they were expecting their first child and they lived and worked in Edinburgh. It had just been reported that John Neville had died. Hannah should have felt elated but she didn’t. A work colleague of Ryan’s had contacted Hannah and told her that he believed John Neville had been wrongly accused of killing April. Could Hannah had been wrong and made an innocent man go to prison for a crime he did not commit? Hannah began jostling her memory to remember the details of that fateful night. New memories began to surface. Long buried secrets that her close group of friends held close began to surface. Hannah was now tasked with trying to unravel the secrets her university friends had hidden for more than ten years. Could Hannah discover who really strangled April, make sure the killer was punished and finally put her nightmare to rest?

The It Girl by Ruth Ware was a very clever and engaging psychological thriller. I thought I had the mystery figured out a few times only to be thrown another twist in the plot. The ending was unexpected but satisfying. I truly enjoyed The It Girl and recommend it very highly. Thank you to Gallery Books for allowing me to read The It Girl through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The It Girl is a story that uses two time periods. As the chapters alternate, the reader learns that Hannah was a first-year student at Oxford, where she was a roommate with April Clarke-Cliveden who is wealthy, beautiful, and glamorous. April is everything Hannah isn’t, although becoming friends with her expands Hannah’s world almost immediately. But, when April is murdered and one of the porter’s is charged and convicted of the crime, Hannah’s world changes yet again. Told from Hannah’s point of view, the story alternates from that fateful first year at Oxford to a time ten years later, when Hannah begins to question whether or not the porter was actually guilty of April’s murder.

The writing is well-done and the plot line well-conceived. However, I didn’t find any of the characters particularly appealing, the story was quite slow in places, and, while there were parts that held my attention, it seemed as though the story progressed in fits and starts. For me, I would have enjoyed more descriptions of Oxford and Edinburgh, rather than continually revisiting Hannah’s worries and insecurities. For me The It Girl wasn’t a thriller, but instead a mystery and a very slow and long burn at that.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

This one was enjoyable. I love a spooky academic mystery. It did a good job of creating both real and vivid characters and a setting so descriptive you swear you were there. The plot did a good job of subverting typical mystery/thriller tropes. Highly recommend you pick this up now but it would also be a perfect Fall read!

I have read most of Ruth Ware's books, and she always knows how to tell a good suspenseful story. The It Girl definitely had moments that captured my interest and intrigue, but it also dragged on in parts and ultimately I felt it was a bit too long.

The story is about a woman named Hannah who is starting to question and doubt what happened when her friend was murdered 10 years earlier while they were at Oxford College together. Hannah thought that she ID'ed the murder and put the right guy behind bars, but new evidence is brought to light that makes her questions everything and everyone.

This story jumps back and forth between two time periods from Hannah's perspective-- their time in college and the present, which is 10 years later. For the most part, I thought this structure worked to build suspense and give the reader clues and details as more was revealed. Ware does a good job writing suspicious characters, and it would have been easy to believe that ANY of these characters could have been the murdered.

But the book is long, and there comes a point where not a lot happens and everything drags to a crawl. I was impatient to keep reading and just get to the end! I was a little disappointed that the story didn't keep my attention throughout the whole thing, but I did find it interesting at the end.

Thank you so much @netgalley @gallerybooks and @scoutpress for my gifted e-copy!

This was my first Ruth Ware book, and I had such high expectations after seeing some people rave about it, but it didn’t quiet live up to the full hype.

▪️I loved the academia setting, and the first half of the book reminded me of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife (which I loved). It had the past and present dual timelines that I’m always a fan of.

▪️ I enjoyed the characters and their friend group. Hannah’s obsession with April did get to be a bit much for me in the present timeline.

▪️It’s LONG and a slow burn. The second half dragged on for me, and I just wanted it to end. At over 400 pages, it could have been a lot shorter.

▪️I did not guess the ending, but by the time I got there, I didn’t really care anymore 😬 there weren’t any real twists or turns a long the way which would have helped.

It’s definitely more mystery than thriller, so if that’s your jam, you should give this one a chance!

Formulaic mystery. Spineless female narrator has girl crush on glamorous roommate with unpleasant habit of playing pranks on friends. Roommate is murdered and obvious suspect is convicted on testimony of narrator. Ten years later possibility raised that they got the wrong guy. Sticking to the formula, the reader quickly dismisses all suspicious possibilities for the actual murderer and settles on the.most unlikely. Case closed. Don’t dwell on logic and you might enjoy the setting in Oxford and Edinburgh.

Like all of Ruth Ware's novels this one has great characters, a well paced plot, and totally unexpected twists. This fast paced thriller was difficult to put down... I kept reading late into the night. Highly Recommended

*Thank you to Gallery Books, Ruth Ware, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Previously published at https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/the-it-girl/

“She was the perfect friend—until she wasn’t.”

The It Girl is Ruth Ware’s latest novel about a murder at Oxford and the woman who may have been responsible for the conviction of the wrong man for the crime.

When Hannah Jones started at Oxford college 10 years ago, she was worried she wouldn’t fit in because of her working class background. But luckily, April Coutts-Cliveden, the poshest of the posh and an IT girl on Instagram, is her roommate. Even luckier, April immediately takes Hannah under her wing and introduces her to the mates she knows from school. They become the best of friends, but April has a proclivity for mean pranks and making her friends angry, so when she is found strangled in their suite, it could be many people who killed her. But Hannah and Hugh see John Neville, a 50-year-old porter, leaving the dormitory. John has been stalking Hannah since her term began at Oxford; showing up in her room, tackling her on a walk home late at night and appearing in places she is at frequently. So when they see him leaving, she determines he must have been after her. Neville is convicted and 10 years later, he dies in prison, still proclaiming his innocence.

Hannah is now married to Will, April’s ex-boyfriend, and is pregnant with her first child. They have both spent years fending off the press regarding April’s murder, and now, after the death of John Neville, journalists are eager to hear their side of the story. Feeling guilty for providing the testimony that prompted the jury to convict him, she wants to make it right and determine if he was truly April’s murderer, or is the actual killer still out there?

Another masterpiece from Ruth Ware! This novel is told in dual timelines; before and after. The before follows Hannah, April and their group of friends navigating their first year at Oxford, and the present as Hannah tries to find out if her testimony convicted the wrong man. The IT girl has it all; suspense, interesting characters, red herrings everywhere, and what may or may not be an unreliable narrator. All the characters are suspect in one way or another, which adds excitement, as the reader looks deep into each character.

I have only read two of Ware’s books; One by One and In a Dark Dark Wood, both of which are a touch shorter than her latest. I felt invested in the storyline and it was definitely a page turner. The ending is exciting and fast-paced. I know some reviewers found the plot “un-original” but I have never read a book like this, and am definitely a fan of dark academia. I can’t wait to read more by this author!

I have read quite a few of Ware's books, and have enjoyed them. This one was wonderful, and had me guessing throughout.

I enjoyed the characters, and the protagonist especially grew on me. The pacing and plot development were well done.

I thought it was a well done mystery, and told my sister-in-law, that it was a brilliant set-up when I reached the end.

3.5 stars, actually.

Hand-wringing, angst-filled females never rank high on my "fun-to-read-about" list, so fairly early on this one started to lose steam. By the end, it had pretty much blown a gasket in that regard, but that said, what's in between was intriguing enough to keep my Kindle index finger busy flipping pages.

Hannah Jones and April Clarke-Cliveden - two very different personalities - met at Oxford when they discovered they share a two-bedroom space in an old building. April is filthy rich, a self-proclaimed wild child and widely known as the "It Girl" - but her glamour and insistence on having things her way quickly won Hannah's close friendship and loyalty. They have a handful of friends, a nosy stalker and a professor who loves his female students a little too much, but they all have a blast following April's sometimes quirky, sometimes dangerous leads. Until it all falls apart.

That happens in their second term, when Hannah and friend Hugh find April dead in the dorm room after one of April's rip-roaring parties and see the aforesaid stalker running out. He's rounded up, tried and found guilty and sent to prison, thanks in large part to Hannah's testimony. But 10 years after the fact, his guilt comes into question as Hannah and her husband Will - one of those college cohorts - await the birth of their first child. The man dies in prison, and a journalist who's been following the story contacts Hannah to talk about possible holes in the chain of evidence that could substantiate the man's claim that he's not the killer. And Hannah's self doubts, of which she's had an abundance of ever since the trial, start to overwhelm her: what if her testimony sent an innocent man to jail?

From that point on, chapters shift from the group's college experiences bowing to the demands of the mercurial April to Hannah's present-day state of constant anxiety, which, coupled with her refusal to listen to reason from anyone else to the point of destroying established relationships, pretty much left me shaking my head. Honey, I thought to myself, had you been that bull-headed back at Oxford, you wouldn't be in the mess you're in now.

Needless to say, Hannah keeps up her darn the torpedoes, full speed ahead attitude, with backstory chapters filling in blanks that lead to suspicions of the whodunit that lead to what to me was an action-packed, but not entirely believable, end. But even though this isn't a favorite for me, all things considered it's an easy-to-read adventure that will appeal to many readers - especially fans of this author (and give those who are not a chance to experience her writing talent). Thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for allowing me to read and review a pre-release copy.

Wow! This is the best Ruth Ware book I’ve read! This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The story is told by Hannah in the before and after of her friend April’s murder. I absolutely loved the characters, the suspense, and the mystery. Amazing book!!!

Having read all of Ruth Ware's previous novels, I was excited to read her latest, The It Girl. I will say this one lands right about in the middle of Ware's other works. Yes, it was suspenseful enough that I was compelled to keep reading and figure out the villain, but the story didn't feel unique or fresh in what is becoming an increasingly crowded genre.

The It Girl is April, Hannah's wealthy and sophisticated Oxford roommate. As a scholarship student, Hannah feels out of place and is thrilled to have April welcome her into her orbit. When April is murdered, Hannah flees Oxford never to return. Ten years later, she second guesses her testimony, which helped convict the supposed murderer. When Hannah reconnects with her Oxford friends, she is plagued by doubts about all of them, including the one she later married, who also happened to be April's boyfriend.

The plot was set up pretty well, and I found Hannah to be likable and believable. I liked the "before and after" structure but found myself more engaged with the "before," so I was disappointed when it became all "after." I'd like to give 3.5 stars but I'll round up to 4 because Ruth Ware knows how to tell a good story.

I will recommend this to readers who like domestic thrillers.

Thank you to GalleryScout Press and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

🍸𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐭 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥: 𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐞🍸

Well guys I wish I was back on this hammock post-massage relaxing with a book haha and shoutout to Charlie for always being my bookstagram ‘photographer’😂🥰 I finished The It Girl two nights ago and while the ending ABSOLUTELY saved the novel (loved the ending), it is a similar trope/story line as In My Dreams I Hold A Knife! AND AND thank you so much to gallery/scout press for sending me this #gifted copy. Thank you thank you!

𝕲𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖊: thriller/suspense
𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖕𝖊: who-dun-it
𝕻𝖚𝖇. 𝕯𝖆𝖙𝖊: July 12th, 2022
𝕸𝖞 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗 𝕽𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌: 3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
𝕲𝖔𝖔𝖉𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖘 𝕾𝖙𝖆𝖗 𝕽𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌: 3.97

A murder that was wrongly charged at Oxford University? Who is the real killer? And what really happened that night?

I loved the setting at Oxford University. I did a study abroad there in high school for photography and architecture and it was AWESOME being able to imagine and visualize what Ruth Ware was referencing. Even if you haven’t been and want to go, this book does a great job of imagery/how Oxford University is!

I’m not the biggest fan of academia based thrillers so I’m completely biased (I.e. if you enjoy them, pick this one up) but I felt the middle of the book was about 150 pages too long. Really enjoyed the ending though once I got there🖤

The It Girl~. April the it girl created situations that keep you guessing on who was the murder. This thriller was a bit familiar but still a great Ruth Ware read.

From the very first chapter, I was sucked into this world, wrapped in April's orbit just like Hannah. The vibe is there - something is clearly off. And of course, my curiosity wins and I must know what happens...

The present mixes with the past in Ruth Ware's newest novel. She's such a talented writer and I absorb everything she writes.

Ok, So I love Ruth Ware's works. That is not a secret. But this one may be her best yet!
Hannah is a pregnant woman who had to endure a traumatic tragic event. In college, her roommate, April, was murdered, and Hannah's testimony was one of the main things that sent April's killer to prison. Recently April's Killer, John Neville, died in prison still professing profusely his innocence. Then at work, Hannah received a visitor at her work, a reporter that wanted to talk about the case with her. Now, Hannah has received an abundance of requests to speak about the case before and she always ignored them or refused them this one was different because he was friends with one of her friends from college days so she decides to hear him out. When she does some of the facts of the case that she did not know were told to her, and then she starts to question everything. When she does this the guilt starts hitting her what if she condemned an innocent man to live out his last days and die in prison. She starts doubting herself and with that she starts looking into what happened back then and then she starts asking her friends. This leads her into a rabbit hole, putting stress on her pregnancy and marriage.
Now, this book started off AMAZING, and then somewhere in the middle while Ruth Ware was building up the book started getting sluggish. HOWEVER, DO NOT GIVE UP ON THIS BOOK!! The last 1/3 of the book is mind-blowing and amazing! Like I swear I was on the edge of my seat and second-guessing myself right along with Hannah! Like there is one character that you are rooting for and wishing that he would get his happily ever after and then BAM you are like wait did I really wish that?!?! The ending blind-sighted me completely! You will never guess who did it, I know I never suspected it, and then it was like "Oh My God!!". I would definitely recommend this book completely!
I would love to express my extreme gratitude to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the extraordinary opportunity to read and review this book!