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.

This was my first Ruth Ware novel, and it had me second guessing my predictions the whole way through. I thought I had it all figured out early on, but kept switching back and forth between who I thought was guilty. Even so, I never saw the actual reveal coming until it was slapping me in the face. Ruth Ware has my attention, and I'll definitely be checking out more!

Ruth Ware's newest release, The It Girl, keeps readers on their toes til the very last page with a plot that twists and turns more quickly than cheap bumper cars at a small county fair. The characters are unique yet still fit all the archetypal molds needed to advance a story centering on the murder of a high profile student on a school campus. Fast paced-weekend getaway read! Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to prevew #TheItGirl by Ruth Ware. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you so much @ScoutPressBooks & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 12 July 2022)

SYNOPSIS | It has been 10 years since Hannah found her best friend & roommate (April) murdered in their Oxford dormitory. The accused perpetrator dies in prison & an ambitious journalist is eager to re-open the case as he believes that the real killer is still out there.

WHAT I LIKED:
- my inner armchair detective was piqued by all of the red herrings thrown around (this is one of those books where at some point throughout the story you suspect every single character)
- Oxford was a lovely setting for this academic whodunnit mystery

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- it took me a little while to warm up to Hannah as the narrator
- it felt 100 pages too long (the middle section especially dragging) & the big reveal felt very drawn out
- I find locked room style mysteries too formulaic & I think this story suffered a bit because of it

The It Girl is a twisty, winding read about the death of a beautiful teenager and the impact it had on the lives of her friends, loved ones, and accused killer in the decade that followed. I enjoyed a lot of the story--the parts that were set at Oxford were richly detailed and atmospheric. I can't say the same for the "After" sections. However, that didn't stop me from being wholly engrossed in the story. This was a page turner, for sure. The It Girl will be a great read for fans of Ruth Ware and true crime podcast listeners.

1st time read of this author and while it was a slow starter for me, I did like how the author left many clues throughout the book on who the killer could be. While I understood where the author was going with the back & forth storyline it was very slow in the beginning, but definitely picked up and became more interesting as the book went on. Overall, I'm glad I stuck with it & as the author tighten the noose around the killer I will say I was surprised at the end. Good job, Ms. Ware.

When you “assume” you make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”.
Jumping to conclusions may be great exercise but it can have ramifications lasting years or lifetimes and the ripple effect goes on and on.
Another can’t-put-down-must-read by Ruth Ware.
When the “it girl” (whose always had any and everything she wanted) becomes roommates with the plain Jane nothing remarkable girl at college worlds collide. Friendships and lifelong relationships are forged in college — but what happens when trauma and tragedy are what bind you?
Full of twists and turns, the reader will be jumping to nearly as many conclusions and false starts as the main characters. Luckily for the reader, their over zealous reactions don’t affect the lives of anyone (and luckily the character are fictions because ouch!).
Clear some time and tune out the world before you pick up “The It Girl”!