A good read -- I felt that it fell a little flat compared to her earlier books. It seemed predictable at several points, and there was never rely a lot of doubt about who was responsible.

Ruth Ware does it again! Hannah arrives at Oxford College from a middle class background in southern England. Her roommate, April, is very wealthy and totally different from Hannah. They become best friends anyway. They form a small group of friends and navigate their first year together, until...Hannah finds April strangled in their suite. One of the school porters is convicted mostly on Hannah's testimony. Ten years later, he dies and his guilt publicly speculated upon. Hannah gets drawn back into her nightmare, and nearly dies herself in the process.

Wow! Ruth Ware does it again. The perfect thrill full of twists and turns. What if you had it all wrong? What would you do. Ruth Ware crafts her characters in such a way that you jump when they jump, you worry when they worry. What a wild ride!

First off, I am a huge fan of Ms. Ware. I have read all of her books and have not been disappointed. I didn’t think this book was necessarily “bad”, but it didn’t live up to my expectations. I devoured The Lying Game, and The Death of Mrs. Westaway in hours, and The It Girl did not draw me in. I didn’t seem to care about the characters or why I was SUPPOSED to care that April died. (Lol that seems harsh). But, it took every ounce of me forcing myself to finish this book.
There’s some twists and turns that come and it does spike some curiosities, but I could’ve been fine to not finish the book.

2.5 stars rounded up

I found this book hard to get into at first, I think the dual timelines threw me a little. However, once I got into the swing of things I was intrigued. I didn't find this to be as compelling as some of her other books. The way she wrote the escalating events in Before with John Neville was the most gripping part of the story to me. April didn't really strike me as someone who was nice or good, so I didn't fell terribly upset at her murder. The Will and Hannah love story felt forced almost? I don't know it didn't quite strike the right tone. I liked how the author made it clear the cost and weight of this tragedy on everyone involved and how impactful it was on their lives even years later. Overall, it wasn't my favorite book by her, but it was a good read.

Another great mystery by Ruth Ware. Thanks to Net Galley for an early copy.
Each one of her books are so original that they are the best.
The It Girl is set at Oxford in England and centers around Hannah and her new roommate, April. Great characters and each a suspect when one of them is found dead.
Not to miss - watch for its release in July.

This book was rather a slow-burn with much back and forth and little much happening. Only until I was around 30% did it grab my attention. Once this started rolling for me, it was enjoyable and I finished the last 70% in one day as the story developed more. Could have been 5 stars if not for the drag in the beginning. As always, I believe Ruth Ware is a wonderful storyteller. I have listened to her books in the past, and would be interested to see if I would be engaged earlier in the book with her usual narrator Imogen Church...

Ware’s books are always a satisfying read. This one is missing the creepy element I expect and love from Ware. The main character Hannah is kind of meek and sad but her devotion to April is heartwarming. The twists at the end will have your pulse pounding. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this very entertaining mystery!

Yet another enticing read for a Ruth aware fans! A fascinating read that switches time periods that are divided between “before” and “after.” Not my favorite by her, but any fan of Ruth Ware’s needs to check it out!

I’ve been a huge Ruth Ware fan for ages and “The It Girl” doesn’t disappoint. This thriller is just as much of a page turner as the rest of her novels.

Ruth Ware is one of my favorite authors, and while I have always enjoyed her writing, THIS book is a next level addition to her ever-growing repertoire of first rate mysteries. The way in which she spins this tale is spellbinding. and her writing has somehow exponentially grown since her last book was published. I love how she portrayed Hannah's need to discover the truth surrounding April's death: "For there are messy, wriggling, unfinished ends putrefying beneath the surface of what happened that night--things that she has refused to think about and look at for a long time."

Sometimes with books that flash between the past and current day, one time period can get neglected, but I found both worlds developed fully with characters that were both delightful and deplorable. I'm so excited to recommend this book to the ever-growing number of Ruth Ware fans that are in my classroom!

The It Girl was a fantastic thriller. The story is told from the point of view of Hannah, both in the present day and ten years ago, when she was a student at university. Hannah’s recollections mainly center around her roommate, a charismatic young lady from an affluent family. In the present, the murderer of one of Hannah’s college friends has just died in prison and Hannah starts doubting her own recollections of that night. Was the right person behind bars this whole time? Or is there a murderer still at large? I thought the author did a superb job of portraying Hannah’s emotions, especially the never ending emotional roller coaster of pregnancy. There were a lot of red herrings but confined within Hannah’s friend group. I thought the ending was satisfying and believable. Would recommend to a friend.

Ruth Ware is a master at keeping the reader guessing for nearly the entire book. The It Girl was no exception. The lives of 6 college students collide as they begin their freshman year. One of them does not make it out alive. Switching between then and 10 years into the future, Ware does an excellent job with characterization as well as keeping the reader on their toes. A definite page turner- I highly recommend!
** huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

I have been a fan of this author for awhile. And I thought I had this figured out many times and was wrong at every turn. I love that!

This is a well written story that centers around a murdered university student. While it starts out slow, the early chapters alternate between before the murder and after the murder. The reader meets a group of friends in their first year at Oxford, all friends of the murdered girl. In the after chapters the reader drops into the lives of the same friends living their lives 10 years later. All seem to have moved on and put the tragedy behind them. The death of the man convicted of the murder in prison shatters the thin veneer of their adult lives and everyone begins to relive the night of the murder and they start asking too many questions and second guessing what each saw and heard that fateful night. This leads to the kind of thrilling climax that readers have come to expect from this author. Well written characters and several twists that are as surprising as they are satisfying lead to one great read.

The It Girl, Ruth Ware’s latest thriller, to be released this summer. This book tells the story of a small friend group in school at Oxford until one of them, the rich, beautiful, prankster friend April, gets murdered. 10 years later, Hannah reconnects with her friends from the past and look at evidence from a new lens.

This book really appeals to a younger audience, those have just graduated from college, in college, and younger adults. I instantly remembered scenes back in my college days. Ruth Ware really described the characters very well and all six main characters were very distinct. We learned a lot about them throughout the storyline. The book is told from the perspective of before and after the murder and goes back-and-forth from chapter to chapter. I really enjoyed this presentation of the storyline. It really was a game of whodunit. Throughout the entire story I had a different murderer in mind, and that twist at the end definitely was worth the read. I definitely recommend reading this 5 STAR book when it comes out ASAP!

I've adored all of Ware's books and this is no exception! Hannah and April become fast friends at college until one night when tragedy strikes and Hannah's life changes forever. Told in alternating "before" and "after" chapters, we see the two young women making friends, boyfriends, partying, and the usual college "routine." But later Hannah has lingering doubts and questions that she can't answer by herself and newly pregnant with their first child, she and husband Will are ecstatic until things escalate and Hannah knows she needs hard and fast answers. So be prepared to enter this maelstrom of emotions as Ware slowly draws you in, dangles the loose ends in your face, and wills you to confront the truth. So satisfying (as are all of her novels)!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Ruth Ware’s writing has enthralled me since her very first novel, “In A Dark, Dark Wood” but this might be her best work yet. Well-paced and featuring a bifurcated timeline divided into ‘before’ and ‘after’, “The It Girl” is about a group of 5 friends in their freshman year at Oxford University whose lives are shattered by the devastating death of their friend April. In it, Ware deftly uses thriller tropes only to shatter them moments later, culminating in a final scene that ties in all of the clues she’d hidden in the book to a satisfying conclusion. The collegiate setting perfectly encapsulates those relationships you build in your freshman year of uni, adding an emotional layer in the ‘after' chapters, set in Edinburgh.

The only wrinkle of ‘The It GIrl’, for me, was the addition of Instagram - Ware mentions it to establish the ‘Before’ chapters solidly in the early 2010s, but beyond that, there isn’t much use of it in any particularly compelling way. It’s mentioned often enough that I expected a kind of ‘Chekov’s Gun’ reveal, and while there is a tie-in to IG later in the book, it has nothing to do with the actual function of the app itself.

Overall, a solid, well-paced thriller. My new favourite of Ware’s!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
Best ever Ruth Ware! The year off brought freshness and an innovative plot.
Fast moving plot flipping between two time frames. Never gets confusing and stays interesting with not totally predictable twists at the end. Love the characters. One gets into their heads. A real page turner.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a classic whodunit page turner. Hanna and April, roommates at fictional Pelham House at Oxford, quickly bond and form a tight clique with fellow classmates Will, Ryan, Hugh, and Emily. When April is brutally strangled, justice is served quickly, thanks to the eye witness testimonies of Hanna and Hugh, but when convicted killer, Neville, dies in prison, and rumors swirl about new evidence, Hanna questions her own memories of that night and embarks on a search for truth, and discovers that April had many enemies, and even more secrets.

Fans of campus fiction will devour this novel and relish in the description of Oxford, This character driven novel is sure to be a great 2022 beach read. April fits the bill as the charismatic, deliciously wicked, and self absorbed It Girl.

Thanks to NetGalley and ScoutPress for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.