I have read a few of Ruth Ware's books, this was one of the better ones for me. I enjoyed the Oxford setting and the group of friends. Hannah's roommate, April is murdered. Hannah thinks she knows who did it, but 10 years later she's having doubts about whether or not her testimony sent the wrong man to prison. Could one of her friends be responsible? Or even her husband? The story keeps us guessing until the end with a few good twists along the way. No one is who Hannah thought they were, even her best friend April had secrets. The story switches back and forth from the present to the time leading up to the murder. I didn't know who did it until the very end, and then it was a surprise. I did have a little trouble working out how the exact details of the murder made sense. But overall a good, compelling read.

I liked the before/after story line. I thought it was a nice change from the Mutliple POV storylines we have been seeing a lot of lately. The dynamic of the group was really spot on for what I envision a group like that at college would be like. I also think the character of April was really well written and a very believable character

I've been trying to think about how to write this review and share my thoughts for a little while and what it comes to is that it disappointed me with this story. It had its positives and all, but overall, it was a letdown. This was a very hyped-up book and I'm not sure why.
This story is about Hannah and Will, who are married and expecting their first baby. They have had to build a life and recover from 10 years earlier when Hannah found her friend/roommate murdered one night and this story is told from two different timelines. One timeline is from a decade ago when Hannah was living the events that lead up to finding April, her roommate, strangled, and the other is the present timeline. Hannah finds herself lead to uncover the answers to what really happened and who killed April 10 years ago and in the process finds out secrets being kept by others around her and puts herself, her baby, her husband, her marriage all in danger as she pushes to find and uncover the truth.
As I mentioned previously, this was an extremely hyped-up book and I felt that it didn't live. up to that hype. The first half or so of this book was a bit long, slow moving and hard for me to get through to get to the good part and finish the story.
If you like Ruth Ware or can push through the slow parts then you'll probably enjoy this one more than I did. This one, I think, was just not for me.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and Gallery Books/Gallery/Scout Press for letting me read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've never met a Ruth Ware novel I didn't love, and this was no exception. The It Girl is told in a dual timeline, following Hannah's university days a decade ago, contrasted against present day events.

Because of the dual timeline, we see how the characters have each changed over a decade's time, and it's interesting, especially approaching the end of the book, to consider whether our impressions of the college-age characters were accurate.

This had all the twists and surprises that Ruth Ware has become known for... as the book progressed, I found myself thinking: Could it be this person? No, that's impossible. But what about him? What about her? And I promise that whatever you predict at first... you'll marvel at the ending!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the complimentary digital review copy of this title.

Ruth Ware always keeps you guessing to the end and this one does that too. At times I found the story dragged as it took awhile to introduce new characters as Hannah waffled about whether she should pursue finding out who really killed April. I enjoyed the English college setting. This story would make a good movie.

Could this be my new favorite book by this author? It's definitely close! I love a good dark academia setting and the historical prestige of Oxford makes this one a winner. 

I am also a sucker for dual timelines. I enjoyed seeing the progression of development in each of the characters over the years. I wasn't fond of any of the characters, but I appreciate a book that makes me dislike all characters equally!

As far as the plot itself, I found it more exciting and more unique than the more recent books from the author. Things unraveled in a way that you knew what was coming, but it didn't take away from the action. I was still surprised by a few things. 

Overall, this was a hit for me! Ruth Ware will always be an auto-read author for me so I am already looking forward to what she writes next.

It’s harder to care about a murder when the victim sucks. Loved the setting and the switch between past and present, but this felt bloated.

When the alleged murderer of her best friend dies in prison, it opens up a lot of questions for Hannah. The story switches back and forth between 10 years ago, before "It Girl" April was killed, and present day. The author leaves us many breadcrumbs to figure out who the killer is. There are a few red herrings, but for the most part the who is predictable. I enjoyed the story and definitely found it hard to put down at times.

I am probably the only person that hasn’t read a Ruth Ware title, but I swear I have always meant to! When I saw this come up on NetGalley, I thought it was the perfect time to start. I have been trying to get into this genre, so I took the jump! This is a mystery about Hannah, who gets pulled back a decade into the past when the murder of April, her roomate at Oxford, is back in the headlines. The trial for April’s murderer hinged on what Hannah saw, and her testimony. When what she believed to be true is called into question, she goes back and tries to make sense of what she is hearing, and all the things that are beginning to come to light.

I really enjoyed this! I don’t usually read this genre as I try too hard to guess the ending and it always ruins it for me. I tried not to this time, and I enjoyed it so much. The twists and turns and the ending were great, I thought! I will be going back and reading more of Ruth’s books for sure!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Ruth Ware brings the reader right into the heart of this mystery when a man accused of murdering a young college girl dies in prison just before the 10 year-class reunion. We follow dual timelines of a group of friends centered around a beautiful, ethereal yet untrustworthy "it girl", both before her murder and in the years that follow. If you enjoyed In My Dreams I Hold a Knife, you will love this ride into the halls of a dark campus thriller.

Ruth Ware's books can be hit or miss for me but I've loved her last couple and this sounded intriguing. Unfortunately it took me a while to get into it, and it reminded me too much of other thrillers (which, in fairness, is hard NOT to do these days). So while it was enjoyable, it wasn't as enthralling as I'd hoped. I know others have loved it though, so this might just not be for me.

This book would have been a million times better without the pregnancy storyline. Loved a dark academia and got excited about Oxford, but I kind of felt like it could have been set at any school, really. Also this had no business being so long! It wrapped up well but it dragged soooo much in the middle. I seem to keep continuing to miss the bus on big Ruth Ware Fandom. Not sure there's one by her I'd really recommend.

DNF @12%

Absolutely not. I read the first 12% of this and thought to myself, "This writing is terrible." I knew that I could not continue reading after hearing from several people that they regretted finishing it. So, I decided to skip from 12% all the way to the last three chapters and wouldn't you know that the character that they introduced us to who is obviously suspicious is the one who did it. I was not surprised and I feel vindicated in my choice not to read this whole thing because I would've pissed. Instead I only wasted an hour of my time instead of 4 which I would've been angry at having not been able to get back. Glad that I decided to skip ahead and was confronted with how bad this book is. I think Ruth Ware is not for me anymore and she's an author who I am going to stop reading and checking out. Her mysteries do nothing for me and while I had fun with One by One, that's the only one that I've really liked a lot. The rest have been mediocre and this one is no different.

another stunning, compelling and captivating book by Ruth ware! Absolutely cannot wait for her next.

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.