This book took me nearly three months to read because of its length and superficiality. I was consistently bored up until the last fifty pages and I know it didn't save the book for me at all by knowing the killer in the end. I had great expectations for this book as many others have, since it is so highly anticipated, but I'm rather disappointed. I had high hopes due to the reputation of the writer, and I hadn't read any of her work before. I really wish this could have been shorter, snappier. The sentences and thoughts meandered and for what? To get to a place in twice the length of time as necessary? Also I didn't feel close to any of the characters at all, which is bizarre considering the amount of time I spent with them. This was such an average, average story.

Set in Pelham College, this is the story of six students in their late teens who come from different walks of life to meld in the melting pot of the prestigious Oxford University. Hannah arrives in the high-status university in October 2011 and finds to her good fortune that she is the room-mate of the eponymous "It girl", April Coutts-Clivden. Rich, generous, extraverted, clever April has it all, and beauty to boot. As the cliché goes, every girl wants to be her, and every guy wants to date her.

There's April’s boyfriend Will de Chastaigne, witty, brash Ryan, his straight-speaking, straightforward girlfriend, Emily, and tongue-tied medical student Hugh. There are a slew of other Oxford characters, Slimy Oxford porter John Neville, and equally-slimy, mysterious good-looking professor whose dorm is across the aisle from Hannah and Emily. Surely, there should be a rule against this to prevent lecherous professors from encroaching in the space of their female students?

But April had her dark side. Each of her 5 friends had been the brunt of this to a lesser or greater extent. Flirty, smart, multi-talented she may have been but April loved playing pranks on her dearest friends, sometimes to devastating effect. It's only after 10 years that Hannah realises how ingenuous she had been to April's malevolent surprises wrought upon her Pelham friends. Distraught, Hannah discovers that nearly everyone had a motive, not least of all, her beloved Will, April's then boyfriend.

As the blurb notes, Hannah finds Emily's body in their room after a campus show in which Emily starred. John Neville was convicted of April’s murder on Hannah’s evidence that she saw him emerge in the dark and in the distance from her dorm's building. Soon after, the friends disperse. The death had such a profound effect on Hannah that she aborted her studies and moved to Scotland to work. She forgot about her crush on Will and hoped to move on. However, Will moved to Scotland, sought out Hannah, reciprocated her love and married her. In 2021, ten years later, they are expecting their first child.

John Neville, however, protested his innocence from the start, through until his death in prison, also in 2021. His appeals had been unsuccessful. Hannah is sick to death of the publicity surrounding her, every time April's death comes up in the media. She hopes that Neville's will put a stop to the media circus, the emails in her personal inbox and journalists' calls of the past 10 years.

Then, a journalist, Geraint Williams, seeks Hannah out, claiming to have fresh information about April's death, which he requests her to look into. One of Hannah's worst nightmares is that she may have put an innocent man in prison. The only information she had was a blurred sight of John Neville in the middle of the night some distance away.

Ruth Ware has written a page-turning, academic, love-story-cum-murder mystery. I guessed at – aka clutched at straws suspecting – every one of the friends plus the side characters, and failed. This is a much better version of The Maidens by Alex Michaelides. Same milieu, slimy professors, young entitled people. But the The It Girl by Ruth Ware has superior plotting, brilliant red herrings, amazing character-building of April and of Will, and an excellent resolution. Brilliant murder /psychological mystery, thriller, written from the past and present. Thoroughly recommended. Thank you to NetGalley, Ruth Ware Simon & Schuster Australia for allowing me the opportunity to read and review.

This review also appears in https://thereadersvault.blogspot.com/2022/07/the-it-girl-ruth-ware-5.html and https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4884696710.

4.5★s
The It Girl is the seventh novel by best-selling British author, Ruth Ware. When Hannah Jones arrives at Pelham College in October 2011 to begin her three years at Oxford, the last thing she expects is to be part of a group of six funny, clever students, but sharing a suite with intimidatingly beautiful and conspicuously wealthy April Clarke-Cliveden turns out to confer automatic acceptance.

“Now, as she stood there, her head spinning a little from the champagne she had drunk, she had the strangest feeling— almost as if she were surveying herself from a distance, marveling at the fact that she— Hannah Jones—had found herself surrounded by these exotic, clever, glamorous creatures.”

About the only fly in the ointment is that the guy who renders her weak at the knees, Will de Chastaigne, hooks up with April. None of them could ever have predicted that, less than a year later, April would be strangled to death. And Hannah would find her body.

Ten years on, Hannah and Will are expecting their first baby. Will is working crazy hours, trying to make full partner: they’re gong to need the income when Hannah has to give up her bookshop job. The nightmares and PTSD have finally decreased to manageable levels. Hannah has always felt guilty, both for surviving when April didn’t, and living the life April should have been living, with the husband she should have had, and now the baby she could have had.

Then, the news that the man convicted of April’s murder on Hannah’s evidence has died in prison. John Neville was absolutely resolute from the trial onward that he had nothing to do with her death and mounted several unsuccessful appeals. Will his death finally put an end to the media circus, the emails and calls that surround every appeal?

It seems that journalist Geraint Williams wants to look further into claims that the police and the court got it wrong, and his words have Hannah wondering, as do remarks made about the whole awful incident by others in that close group who re-establish contact: did she get it wrong? Did she put an innocent man into prison?

Hannah recalls that while brilliant, luminously beautiful April could be charming, beguiling and kind, she also had a malicious streak, revelling in cruel pranks, and what Hannah now learns from those friends has her guessing and second-guessing about who might have had motive and opportunity, other than John Neville.

Ware has crafted a dual-timeline mystery that is hard to put down: plenty of clues and red herrings and a brilliant twist to distract the reader in the lead-up to a nail-biting climax. It does lose half a star for a poorly-researched factual error that is integral to the resolution, but the Oxford scenes cannot fail to strike a chord with anyone who has lived in the residential college of a long-established university. A gripping thriller.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia.

The it girl by Ruth Ware
4⭐️
𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘱—𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯.
———
A very well written academia mystery thriller. Kept me on my toes throughout the whole story; constantly guessing, but little did I know I would always be wrong - you have to expect the unexpected.
Hannah starts at prestigious Oxford and shares her dorm with the beautiful, ever adventurous April Coutts-Clivden. Hannah joins April’s inner circle, and only a semester later she finds April dead in their dorm. It is ultimately Hannah’s testimony that puts Aprils killer behind bars. However, a decade on, Hannah is living in Edinburgh with her husband (April’s collage sweetheart) and a baby on the way. She is approached by a reporter who believes the killer, now dead, is innocent. Sent into a spiral, Hannah is determined to find out if she put an innocent man behind bars.

I suspected almost every character of Aprils murder throughout this book. Everyone had motive, but the ending blew my mind. A psychological thriller, written from both past and present perspectives gives a great insight into each of the characters. Very well written and highly recommend.
Thank you to netgalley and Ruth Ware for allowing me the opportunity to read and review.

**3 1/2 stars**
I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I love Ruth Ware’s gothic style of books ie Turn of the Key and The Death of Mrs Westaway and her others not as much. This book falls in the middle.
Hannah meets April at Oxford and they quickly form a friendship group. Hannah is the one who finds April murdered in her room and with Hannah’s testimony a man is arrested.
10 years on, Hannah has married Will from the group and they are expecting their first child. It’s in the news that John Neville, the porter who was convicted for April’s murder has died in prison and he has always maintained his innocence.
With a phone call out of the blue, all is turned on it’s head and Hannah is questioning wether she helped put an innocent man away.
This book is told in two time lines, time at Oxford and the present day. These chapters were easy to follow but as a personal preference, I found the past didn’t really hold my attention and maybe that’s because I didn’t feel invested in the characters. Where as I quite enjoyed the present day.
It was a very slow burn of a book and if I was wasn’t choosing to review this book I may have put it aside BUT I am really glad that I kept with it because the pace really stepped up in the second half.
In the end, I’m glad I persisted as the conclusion was satisfying.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to review.

April, the life of the party, the epic prankster the It girl. Life changes for her 5 close friends when April is murdered in their Oxford University digs. But what if the convicted killer, a Porter named Neville might be innocent? Years later when Neville dies in Prison, Hannah must uncover the truth. What did she see that night? Who of their closest group has the answers?

With this story being told in two timelines we get a really nice look in the Before and After throughout the book. Its gripping with loads of what-if's. We get to know April very closely with the Before looks and you really get a sense of her character. We also get good looks into the other four friends lives. The book flowed well and kept you gripped and wanting more. I do feel there were some part that was unnecessary and irrelevant and made it a bit too long.

I really like the ending as it hit me for a six, definitely did not expect that outcome. Overall I enjoyed it and can't wait for the next Ruth Ware bestseller to come out!

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for the opportunity to review this ARC.

Ahh just like that Ruth has done it again! She's weaved a story that has captivated me the whole time and kept me holding on through every chapter while I tried to read fast enough to get to the end and the TRUTH.

I loved this book and how it was written from before / after, learning about the friends surrounding April and the very ending was just crazy.

This book is perfect for those that love that high college murder plots, where everyone is literally a suspect and you think you have guessed the killer right before being stripped of all you know!

Read this! Out August 3rd in Australia

Thank you to Netgalley and Ruth Ware for the ARC of this book!

The It Girl is set in two different time frames before and after the murder of April. I usually don't like books that are set on two different time frames but for this novel it works perfectly. Hannah is our narrator and we get to see the events at Oxford through her eyes.
This novel looks at the impact that a murder has on those left behind. Hannah who's testimony placed the murdered in jail, starts to think that maybe she got it wrong.
Over all this was a good book. It is a slow burn with no real tension and I feel that maybe it would have benefited from being a little shorter. It is still worth the time invested in it.

Thanks to Netgalley the author and the publisher for the opportunity to read this novel

This book fought me the entire time I was reading it. It started off slow & by the time the action picked up in the second half, I was just reading to see who the killer was. I did like the flashbacks to the group’s time at Oxford and all the misdirections & red herrings that had me guessing until the last minute. However, that wasn’t enough to override the fact that I found most of the characters to be bland and/or unlikeable, especially Hannah. For me, the synopsis dragged me in & gave the book potential, but that potential was not met. This book was a miss for me but I think fans will love it.

Ruth Ware has been an autobuy author for me since her first book came out. I was excited to have the opportunity to read this one as an eARC. A dark academia book, told in a dual timeline. I enjoyed the way the storyline played out over the two different timelines. There was plenty of suspense and red herrings as Hannah started questioning the events of past. I didn’t pick the killer. An overall solid thriller but it took me a while to connect with Hannah and I didn’t find myself turning the pages quite as fast as I have with her other books.

I received an eARC copy through the publisher from Netgalley.

The It Girl is the latest offering from Ruth Ware and it certainly didn’t disappoint. It was an intriguing read and one that kept me flipping and flopping between characters as the ‘who dun it’ became more apparent. With excellent character development it had you nervously flicking the pages to see if you had it worked out. The dual timelines worked well and while 10 years apart they moved seamlessly to take you to the scene of the crime and back to current day.
Looking back the clues were there if you took the time to unravel them, but with plenty of red herrings and just enough twists and turns it made for a very entertaining read and it is one I would highly recommend. It was dark and enthralling and kept my attention throughout, The It Girl is one to add to your list immediately!
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for this early reading copy.

‘Before, everything was fine. After, everything was broken.’

Hannah Jones was excited to be attending Oxford University: she had worked hard to get there. When she arrives, she finds she is to share a set of rooms with April Coutts-Cliveden, a bright, rich, vivacious and occasionally cruel young woman who seemed to have ‘it’ all. Six students: April, Hannah, Emily, Hugh, Ryan and Will formed a group of inseparable friends during their first term. By the end of the second term, April was dead.

A decade later, Hannah and Will are married and expecting their first child. The man convicted of murdering April, former Oxford porter, has died in prison. Hannah is relieved: perhaps she can leave the past behind her. But soon after, she is approached by a young journalist who believes that John Neville may have been innocent. Hannah is concerned: she was a witness at the murder trial. Her doubts have Hannah reconnecting with other members of the group to try to track down the truth.

The story, from Hannah’s perspective, shifts between past and present. From the events leading up to April’s death, through Hannah’s marriage to Will and her increasing doubt that John Neville was the murderer. But if it wasn’t John Neville, who was it? Hannah’s search for truth will bring her into conflict with some of the group and creates friction with Will. And the ending? A very neat twist after a suspenseful ride.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

The IT Girl is a fast-paced twisty read that had me turning the pages so quickly in anticipation of what the outcome was going to be! I was wracking my brain trying to figure out who the killer was and how they did it! And just when I thought I was on the right track, I'd change my mind again!

Ware keeps the suspense going all the way through this one and I love a book like this that I just down want to put down until I know how it ends! I love that Ware had me second guessing myself over and over again!

Told in multiple timelines -
Before, when Hannah arrives at Oxford and is pulled into the world of April Coutts-Cliveden who ends up murderered by the end of second term.
After - Ten years later, John Neville the man convicted of murdering April dies in prison. Soon after a journalist contacts Hannah with evidence that may prove the John innocent.

But if John Neville is innocent, who killed April Coutts-Cliveden? Hannah won't rest until she finds out the truth.. after all, it was her testimony that help convict John Neville to start with!

The IT Girl is out 3rd August

Thank you so much to the team at @simonschusterau for so kindly sending me an advanced copy to read and review.

Hannah Jones is excited to be commencing University at Oxford. She worked hard at her government high school to get there and is looking forward to enjoying everything that Oxford has to offer. She discovers she is to share a set of rooms with wealthy, beautiful, vivacious April Coutts-Cliveden, the girl who has ‘it’ all. As well as a bedroom each they also have a joint living room/study which soon becomes a focal point for April’s private school friends to hang out. Quickly accepted by April’s group of Will, Hugh, Ryan and Emily, Hannah is soon doing everything together with them. Hannah becomes April’s best friend even though they don’t seem to have much in common and April can be cruel, playing some horrible pranks on her friends. However, before the end of the second term, April will be dead and Hannah will have fled Oxford.

Written entirely with Hannah’s voice the novel tells of the events leading up to April’s death as well as Hannah’s life ten years later. She is married to Will and expecting a baby when she learns that the man who was convicted of April’s murder has died in prison. Hannah was one of the key witnesses at his trial but since then he has continued to proclaim his innocence and Hannah wonders if she could have got his involvement wrong.

I think this is a type of novel written in a single voice could be hard to write but the author does it well. A lot of the narrative is Hannah’s thoughts and introspection which can make it a tad repetitive, but the author does well to keep us guessing and interested in working out what really happened to April. The descriptions Oxford with its old buildings and traditions are well done and help to build the atmosphere, especially during some creepy moments. The alternating timelines provide moments of tension in the book with the suspense building gradually to culminate towards the end when Hannah finally works out who killed April. A little different to Ruth Ware’s earlier books but a solid mystery with a clever little twist at the end.

It’s no secret that Ruth Ware is one of my favourite authors and I will devour anything she has written. In THE IT GIRL, she once again showcases the writing style she is famous for: the slow-burning, character driven mystery that keeps you guessing the whole time. Featuring her trademark slightly damaged / neurotic character, there is that delicious element of doubt whether they are being totally honest with you, which adds additional challenges to the armchair detective. My initial theory, as clever as I though it was, was ultimately proven wrong again!

Hannah is one of Ware’s trademark characters. Not completely likeable, slightly obsessive, neurotic, suspicious and hiding her own secrets, she was nevertheless relatable and quickly drew me into the story. There are few people who won’t be able to relate to an average, even a bit boring person being drawn into the limelight of a more glamorous friend and falling under their spell. Hannah Jones, an only child, bookish and as average as her surname (no slight intended), is instantly smitten by her vivacious roommate April Coutts-Clivenden as soon as they meet in their dorm room in Oxford. And here is one of Ware’s other skills that instantly draws me to her books: her ability to create a dark atmospheric setting, in this case Oxford College. Who can’t imagine sinister going-ons in those dark halls and narrow staircases? A place where creepy porters patrol the grounds, and a high wall keeps you out (or in) at night.

As in her previous novel THE LYING GAME, THE IT GIRL features a group of college friends whose dynamics drive the “THEN” part of the novel, recounting the events leading up to April’s murder. The “NOW” focuses on an adult Hannah, now married to April’s former boyfriend and living far from the scene of the crime, in Edinburgh. When Hannah hears that the man who had been convicted of April’s murder has died in prison, past memories resurface, even though she has tried so very hard to keep them buried.

THE IT GIRL is a must read for fans of dark academia or those who love mysteries based on friendship dynamics. It’s one of those rare books that features a clever twist that remains plausible and shows how cleverly plotted this book really was, and how all the clues led up to this point (and yet I totally missed them). It’s a delicious slow burn with an atmospheric setting that made for some great armchair travel. If you are a fan of Ware’s writing then you will most likely enjoy this one as well – I know I did!

Ruth Ware, The It Girl, Simon & Schuster (Australia) 2022.

Thank you, NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this uncorrected proof in exchange for an honest review.

Ruth Ware is a writer whose books I enjoy. They are smart, with characters who develop over the period of the plot, which, by the way is usually good and topical. The It Girl fulfils these criteria.

The settings are Oxford in the past, and present day in Edinburgh. Chapters ‘before’ and ‘after’ are related by Hannah, now living in Edinburgh. Before, is the heady academic year she lived with April, the ‘it girl’ of the title, in Oxford student accommodation. Hannah has admired and followed April from the time they meet in the two bedroom/ living area, space they have at the top of the stairs in a beautiful Oxford building. The reader's introduction to the two young women is dramatic – Hannah recalls, or perhaps she dreams, the night she finds April dead in their rooms.

The murder plot is well executed with clues that will impress the most avid of murder mystery readers. But it is the death and loss, rather than finding the answer that permeates this novel. After all, Hannah’s evidence has been instrumental in finding a perpetrator on the spot, with an unpleasant pattern of behaviour, guilty. Although he defends his innocence until he dies, John Neville and the possibility that he was indeed a victim of circumstances, is a background to Hannah’s life in Edinburgh and recall of her Oxford experiences. Although they end with April’s death, it is this part of the past that dominates.

The way in which the novel moves between time and location gives Ware the capacity to show the character development that makes this more than a murder mystery. Are Hannah and April and their Oxford friends likeable characters? For me they were not. Hannah seemed self-absorbed, although in a markedly different way from April’s obsessive, and sometimes cruel, demand to be the centre of attention – Hannah is no ‘it girl’. However, they were nineteen-year-olds, and this gradually becomes more apparent, so that first impressions become overlaid with understanding the characters’ youth, their excitement at the freedom they are experiencing, and their desire for success at the same time as wanting a social life worthy of being an Oxford student.

Ware’s introduction of the characters so that first impressions are paramount early in the ‘before’ sections of the book is a smart device. Initially, April does not get beyond first impressions, so that she remains the ‘it girl’ almost to the end of the novel. Hannah’s character has grown but is marked by her past. The characters of the other students involved with Hannah and April are shown as adults, apparently less impacted by April’s death. Their stories gradually become part of Hannah’s investigation of whether she was right to assume Neville’s guilt.

John Neville is an integral part of the story, from his menacing presence that Hannah cannot deal with, to his being found guilty of murder. In this story line Ware’s approach to the way in which a young woman deals with sexual harassment is sensitive. Neville is a porter, and Hannah a student. She has the superior position in the Oxford hierarchy. However, she is at a loss. How does she deal with a person whose behaviour is that of a bully but can be excused as ‘teasing’? Again, Ware leads the reader through various reactions to Hannah’s dilemma. Why does she not confront him? Report him? Alas, we know why not, and well into the book are shown that her caution is justified.

The It Girl is an engaging read. It is a layered novel, with a good murder plot, and issues that resonate with everyday social concerns.

Hannah was in her first year at Oxford College when her best friend and roommate was murdered. Not only does she have to live with the horror of finding her body, but she's also the star witness - having seen a creepy college porter sneaking away from their bedroom moments before she discovered the horrific scene. But 10 years later and questions are beginning to surface - has the right man been convicted?

I have a long history of LOVING Ruth Ware and this one was no different. I was immediately hooked - the characters, the Oxford setting, the dual timeline. It had me hooked from start to finish. Unfortunately I did see the ending coming a mile off, but it was so well written that I didn't even mind!

3.5 stars rounded up.

Set in the past (10 years ago) and in the present day this book is about the wide ranging effects of one single tragic death!

10 years ago, Hannah Jones, a nobody from Dodsworth is thrilled to be accepted into the prestigious Pelham College, Oxford. She is sharing her lodgings with the irrepressible and very wealthy April Clarke-Clivedon (strangely the US version gives her name as April Coutts-Cliveden). They each have a bedroom and share a sitting room which becomes party central to a group of six friends - Hannah, April, April’s boyfriend Will, the rather outspoken Ryan, shy Hugh and blunt and businesslike Emily.

April is like a golden sunbeam, everyone is mesmerised by her, hence the moniker - the It Girl. She can be quite manipulative and takes some pranks a bit far but all is soon forgiven as her sunny personality reasserts itself. The characterisations were really good. Each of the friends had a distinct personality and the group dynamic worked very well.

From the start Hannah is a bit creeped out by the porter John Neville who seems to lurk in inappropriate places. So when, after the end of the academic year and the final performance of the play in which April stars, she doesn’t return from getting changed out of her costume Hannah and Hugh go to see what’s up. They see John Neville coming out of the stairwell, heaven knows why he was there at that time of night. And when they get to April and Hannah’s rooms, they find the door slightly ajar and April lying dead on the floor. It is Hannah’s testimony about Neville that sees him convicted of April’s murder despite the lack of any forensic evidence.

Ten years on, Hannah is still haunted by the experience. She and Will are married and Hannah is pregnant. Then it transpires that John Neville has died in prison and the whole circus starts up again. A journalist who is friendly with Hugh finally gets to speak to a reluctant Hannah, he thinks that Neville may have been innocent. If that is the case then the real murderer is still at large and Hannah just can’t let it go.

This was a book in two halves for me. I found the first half very boring and nearly chucked it in. But by the second half, when Hannah’s obsession with finding out the truth really took hold it suddenly got much more interesting. I still found Hannah quite annoying but it gradually became clear that she really was onto something. The tension quickly ramped right up as she no longer knew who to trust. The final reveal was a jaw dropper and very suspenseful. Many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

This is a book that intrigued me from the start. A perfect whodunnit where you ever quite know where it is going?

The story is told in two parts, past and present, which helps you to understand the story and put the pieces together (or so you might think!). It is psychological, dark an dramatic. It is full of twists and turns and you just don't know who the murderer was until the end. Scary, thrilling, exciting and immersive for sure.

Highly recommend and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Wow, this was good! My first Ruth Ware and definitely not my last. It was the perfect read for me, a psychological thriller with a dark academia tropes. The storyline takes us to Pelham College, Oxford, we meet a group of young college students, where one ends up murdered. Told in past and present timelines mainly through protagonist Hannah’s POV, we follow her starting to question herself and the events of ten years ago. Is the person convicted of the murder really guilty? Twisty, fast paced, atmospheric with a dramatic climax that I didn’t guess. Highly recommended.