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

This is just a trope that keeps on giving, isn't it? It seems like every other book I read from the suspense genre is that of the flashy 'it' girl whose less-than-'it' best friend gets swallowed up by the personality that is the shiny friend. Then she is killed, and the questions start bubbling to the surface. Someone is responsible, but is it the person that was convicted of the crime in the first place? I foundmyself at some point saying out loud "well dang it," as I could see who was the culprit much sooner than the final pages would allow. Ruth Ware just doesn't grip me the same way other writers do. But the ride to the destination was enjoyable all the same.

I personally thought this was one of the better books written by Ruth Ware. It was more of a mystery compared to a thriller, but I was kept entertained until the very end. This type of story would make an excellent podcast series.

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

Hannah Jones lives her life with the knowledge that there is the before, and there is the after. When she shows up for her first year as a student at Oxford and finds herself pulled into the orbit of her dazzling roommate April Couuts-Cloviden. But at the end of the second term, her after begins when she finds April dead in their room and Hannah has to provide evidence of who did it.

In the after, Hannah is married to April's former boyfriend Will and expecting their first child, when her world is once again rocked when the man who was convicted in Hannah's evidence of killing April dies in prison and a reporter approaches Hannah with some evidence that has Hannah questioning what is the truth about April's death.

I was fully invested in both storylines of this book, the before and the after. And I was so certain several times I knew what the truth was. But Ruth Ware takes us on a journey through this one to make us question the truths we hold as anchors and the people we trust as we are unsettled. I think the way April is painted as a victim and a villain are fascinating and added such depth to the story and Hannah's recollections.

Plus, as always, the incomparable Imogen Church knocks the narration out of the park.

Content Warning: Hannah is pregnant in this book and some scenes were uncomfortable for me to read as a pregnant woman. So just a heads up for that.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this title. This was an engrossing and atmospheric thriller that flipped seamlessly between the present and past. The characters were well developed and it had a great surprise twist at the end. I like that the author also resolved other storylines that happened before ending the book.

The it Girl is a dual time line thriller that alternates between Hannah's present day life in Scotland and her college days a decade prior in Oxford. Hannah lives with the memory of finding her best friend murdered in their shared dorm room back in Oxford. After helping to convict the murderer, Hannah has tried to move on and build a life and a family of her own. However, new information has come to light and now Hannah questions whether or not she pointed her figure at the right person or if the murderer is still walking free - perhaps even someone she is close to?

This was such a good thriller! It kept me guessing and intrigued the whole time! The characters were likable and well developed. I would definitely recommend this to everyone!

I loved this book! The dark academia setting was perfect! And this cover is my favorite of hers so far! I have read everything of hers so far, and this one is up there with Turn Of The Key!!

It is a bit of a slow burn.. there was a point during the first half that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish it. The ending was worth it, but it’s not a book I could read in one sitting.

3.5⭐️
- slow start
- much quicker second half
- action packed ending
- lots of red herrings, which made it fun to guess the murder
- back and forth timeline and 1 POV
- enjoyed the final twists!

Another great thriller with tons of twists by Ruth Ware. I look forward to her next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Book Review — “The It Girl” by Ruth Ware (July 2022, Gallery/Scout Press)

No spoilers! :)

Genres & Categories — Murder Mystery, Thriller/Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Academia/Uni, Set in the UK, Dual Timeline

Available now. Currently has a 3.95 average with almost 20,000 reviews on Goodreads.

This may be my favorite fiction of the year so far!

My Summary ⤵️

In this dual timeline story, we follow Hannah as she departs for Oxford and meets her new rich and electric “roommate” (share a common space), April Clarke-Cliveden. April’s a daughter of rich, albeit apparently distant, parents and Hannah is from a working class background. Despite obvious differences, they click and become BFF, form a friends group with a few others known by April from their previous schools and those met along the way. Everything seems to be going fine — Hannah is doing great in her English courses, April is helping her have fun in ways she wouldn’t have considered before. And there’s Will... but he’s with April. Yet, things start to get weird when a creepy porter seemingly stalks Hannah.

After a few bizarre instances, April is found dead in their shared common space. Strangled. Ten years later, Hannah is pregnant, married to her deceased best friend’s former boyfriend Will, and things are still Getting Worse™️. The creepy porter was arrested and jailed for April’s murder, having been seen by Hannah leaving the area right before. He just died in prison attesting his innocence til the end. And some people think he was innocent, including a journalist who brings it all back to the surface for Hannah.

She has to make sure she didn’t send someone innocent to prison and that her friend gets justice.

My thoughts ⤵️

I’ve read several Ware’s books and this is my favorite. Read it in 48 hours. I loved the Oxford setting; I felt like the friend group and atmosphere was believable and engaging. Chapters are quick so you don’t spend too much time in one timeline. I really liked how the author wove the timelines together. Everyone becomes a suspect at some point, but I didn’t expect the villain to be who it was!

Otherwise, I really suggest it to those who like academic settings. I think that’s what I really enjoyed the most. 4 stars!

Ruth Ware is a hit or miss for me so I’ve been hesitant to pick up her latest, The It Girl. The It Girl explores friendship, secrets, strained relationships, and dark academia. Overall, I had mixed feelings about this book. The storyline was interesting and reminded me a lot of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife which was fine. But the part that bothered me the most was how slow the story was. The author threw in a lot of red herrings, but by a quarter of the way through the book, I was easily able to tell who it was. The way the ending came in the last 15% was fun to read but it felt way too rushed. I liked the before and after chapters that are told from Hannah’s perspective. I also found the friend group to be interesting. However, I kind of wished that it was told through multiple perspectives instead of just Hannah’s. Those who are a fan of dark academia mysteries or a fan of Ruth Ware will enjoy The It Girl.