There are some moments in our lives that change everything—moments that define the rest of our lives. For the expectant mother in The It Girl by Ruth Ware, that moment was a devastating one—one that’s haunted her for years—and she’s determined to get some long-overdue closure.

Review published on NightsAndWeekends.com and aired on Shelf Discovery

I thought the ending was really creative, but this book really dragged, and I skimmed way too much of it. It pissed me off in some ways because I thought if it's labeled a thriller, it should be more shocking and thrilling, but overall it was a good story, and I did like some of the events that I didn't see coming until I did.

Thank you so much to @netgalley for this advanced reader's copy for an honest review.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
This one kept me on my toes. I never knew who the killer was. Usually, I can guess, but Ruth Ware did a good job keeping me guessing.

I enjoyed this, but it didn't quite have the ZING that Ruth Ware books usually have for me. Hannah was a likable character and easy to follow. There were so many red herrings for the whodunit that it became too much and spoiled a bit of the mystery. Still worth the read, for sure.

I wasn't sure what to expect here, but I ended up enjoying it.

The It Girl is about a group of college friends in Cambridge, told in alternating timelines both before and after the murder of April, the "It Girl" of the group. The story is told from the perspective of April's roommate Hannah, who discovered April's body and has never truly moved on after her murder. When the man convicted of the crime after Hannah's damning testimony dies in prison after maintaining his innocence, Hannah feels compelled to begin looking into April's murder again.

And I have to admit that I was wrong about who the murderer was and did not see the last twist coming. I wasn't a big fan of Hannah's character though, and the setting kept giving me The Maidens flashbacks and I would never have picked this up based on the title alone, because it makes me think about the roaring 20s and flappers. The Turn of the Key is still my favorite Ruth Ware, but I did enjoy this one.

I always like the way Ruth Ware can make her readers feel. She can weave so many side stories and characters into a book to throw you off. I was suspicious of every single character at one point until finding out who was actually guilty. I found it to be a little long and dragged out during some scenes, but I liked the past and present timelines and dynamic of this friend group.

Hannah is excited to attend Oxford and discovers she has a rich, spoiled roommate, April. April’s antics are usually thrown on everyone except Hannah, sparing Hannah from April’s devious pranks. One night, Hannah finds April strangled and dead in their dorm room. She’s shocked and doesn’t remember what happens after she finds April. She’s the main witness in April’s murder trial and the only information she has is seeing a college porter going down the stairs by her dorm room. He’s found guilty on that little bit of evidence but insists he’s innocent until the day he dies, even though he remains imprisoned. Hannah begins to doubt that he was guilty and digs into any evidence she can find. She uncovers much more than she bargained for, putting her life and her unborn baby in danger. Love the twist of this mystery thriller and the suspense had me glued to the page, 5 stars!

Ten years ago, Hannah Jones returned to her suite at Oxford’s Pelham College to find her roommate, rich, beautiful and famous “it girl” April Clive-Cliveden, lying dead on the floor. Minutes before while crossing the Quad, she’d seen one of the college porters, a man named Neville whom she’d always found disturbing, leaving the stairway that led to her rooms. She’d given testimony to that effect in court and the man had been put away, but he’d always proclaimed his innocence, even when it cost him the possibility of parole.

Now Hannah’s living in Edinburgh, married to college friend Will, and expecting their first child. The news of Neville’s death in jail sets off a new round of interest in the decade-old story, and she finds herself unable to escape it. She’s always had nagging feelings of doubt, and when a journalist confronts her with possible proof of Neville’s innocence, she is haunted by the possibility that she may have been wrong. But if it wasn’t Neville, who?

Author Ruth Ware does an absolutely masterful job of building suspense, shining light one way and then another, and keeping you guessing. I also really appreciated how well developed the characters were. The timeline moves back and forth between “Before”–Hannah’s freshman year at Pelham, her friends April and Emily, Will, Ryan and Hugh, her flirtatious tutor and the creepy porter–and “After”–after April’s death. Her deepening description of April’s character, multi-faceted and nuanced, is really well done. As Hannah revisits the past, she begins to see events in new ways, and discovers secrets that have been hidden for years.

The It Girl is a great read. The characters are well formed, the pace is just right, and the story is gripping. It’s stayed with me for days. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Ruth Ware writes a fine puzzle of a novel again.
Similar in setting to Donna Tartt’s THE SECRET HISTORY but with the feel of a traditional thriller. Twists at the end are laid out deliberately to keep you on edge. Characters are likable.

I read lots of mysteries, and usually know "who done it" before the end, but not with this one. Hannah tells this story in a before and after narrative. Hannah came from a small town, a very ordinary background, and she felt a bit awed, excited, and scared when she entered Oxford. Fortunately her wealthy, outgoing roommate, April, takes Hannah under her wing, and Hannah begins to thrive. But there are secrets beneath the surface of their crowd, and then April is killed, and Hannah's testimony is critical to the conviction of the killer. Years later, there are questions, and Hannah is consumed with guilt thinking she may have convicted the wrong person. I received an arc and am under no pressure to make a positive review.

This was the best one of Ruth Ware's books I have read so far. A woman's traumatic experience at the prestigious Oxford College in England confronts her head on ten years down the road. Who murdered her best friend and roommate? Did she really see what she saw? I enjoyed reading about the setting and I typically like the dual timeline stories. The only drawback would be that the plot has been quite overused in the past five years. Each novel has tweaks that make it unique, yet it just doesn't seem fresh. You may keep guessing who did it but you ultimately know how you are going to get there. I would recommend to Ware fans and those that love suspense thrillers. #netgalley #goodreads #theitgirl #ruthware

Hannah Jones has rebuilt her life after her college roommate was horrifically murdered in their dorm room. Now pregnant and married, she's done her best to move on with her life. That is, until the accused and convicted murderer dies in prison and rumors start to spread that he was actually innocent.

This one kept me guessing! I definitely didn't see the murderer coming, which is always nice in a thriller. I did find it slow at times, and the constant back and forth between present day and the past could be jarring at times. Overall, though, a solid read.

This book was one that I could not put down. Three different times I thought I knew what was going on but didn’t. Great twist at the end.

Hannah Jones has built her life back from the crumbling despair that followed the murder of her best friend. As a new college student at Oxford, Hannah had met April Clarke-Cliveden on her first day at the campus. The rich and affluent April took Hannah under her wing and soon Hannah melded seamlessly with a group of Oxford students who held much of the limelight on campus. April's upbringing and past caused her to often behave with reckless abandon or cruel teasing. The gamut of people April has hurt creates an interesting array of red herrings. The novel moves backward and forward in time recounting the last days before April's murder. All the while, Hannah must decide if she made a horrible mistake over a decade ago.

I tried but unfortunately wasn't able to finish this book. It seemed to drag on with no real developments. After a few times of trying I just couldn't do it. I would like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

Ruth Ware's latest novel is an engrossing dark academia mystery that centers around the murder of Oxford "it" girl April Coutts-Cliveden. Hannah Jones became BFFs with the wealthy, clever, and sometimes cruel April, after they're paired as roommates freshman year. But, before the school year ends, April is dead, and a creepy porter will be convicted of the crime based on Hannah's eyewitness testimony.

Fast forward a decade, and Hannah is still haunted by April's death, in part because the porter has died in prison, maintaining his innocence until the end. Then a journalist contacts her, claiming that new evidence suggests the police got the wrong guy. Hannah's life is once again in turmoil. If it wasn't the porter, then who killed April?

I feel very neutral about this title. I think it was well written but I did find trouble connecting with the characters. I think there should have been more character development. I did appreciate the plot twist. It was unsuspecting. Yet, I wanted to understand more of his motive from his point of view, not necessarily from Hannah piecing things together.

Normally, nationality differences don't impact my reading but I know there were a lot of references that I just did not get.

Overall, the author writes really well and I would likely read another title.

When Hannah's Oxford roommate April dies, Hannah leaves school and her friends behind. Ten years later the events of that tragic time are revisited when the man convicted of April's death dies in prison.

Do you really know the people closest to you? This is the story of a group of college friends told in dual timelines--their first year at Oxford and 10 years later. We see the struggles to be top of the class, the hurts, the jealousy, the snobbishness. Hannah begins to second guess everything that happened on that last night. I could understand her concerns but had a hard time with some of her decisions. While I guessed the killer, there were several surprises to keep me turning pages. I liked the resolution of the story, but The Death of Mrs Westaway is still my favorite by this author.
Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy of this book.

First line: Afterwards, it was the door she would remember.

Summary: Hannah Jones arrives at Oxford for her first term to find her life changed forever. It has been her dream to attend university and when she meets her roommate April, she feels as if she has won the jackpot. April is smart, beautiful and thrilling. However, by the end of the year April will be dead.

Ten years later, Hannah is married to Will and is expecting their first child. She has spent the last decade trying to forget that terrible night when she came home to find her best friend murdered in their dorm room. But when the news of April’s killer dying in prison it starts to bring everything back. Then a reporter contacts her hoping to get more insight into that night because he believes that the wrong person was convicted of April’s death. If Hannah was wrong, then who killed April?

My Thoughts: I go back and forth on Ruth Ware. Some books have been good and others have been very predictable. I think this one is probably close to being her best. It had a twisting plot filled with flashbacks which I love. And parts of it were set in Edinburgh which I also love!

The beginning moved fairly slowly as we are introduced to the characters and the layout of the story plus all of the introspection on Hannah’s part but at the end the pace picked up. I could easily imagine a girl like April. I feel we have all known someone similar to her making it easy to sympathize with Hannah. Throughout I kept changing my mind on who I suspected as Hannah kept looking into the past. And until just before the big reveal did I finally get it. Even though the book is rather large it seemed to quickly once I was invested in Hannah’s search for answers.

FYI: Violence, drug use and murder.

This was an interesting book for me. It started out with lots of promise but I feel like to slowed down toward the end. Thank you