This might be my new favorite Ruth Ware. I love a book set at a university and I love a mystery involving a group of friends so this one ticked all the boxes for me. April is a magnetic "it" girl and immediately pulls her roommate Hannah into her orbit. When April is tragically murdered, an employee of the school is convicted based on Hannah's testimony of what she saw that day. In the aftermath of the employee's death in jail questions start arising about his guilt. I really enjoyed all the twists and turns and was never quite sure who to believe was innocent. This is such an atmospheric and fun read, I loved it.

Thank you to Ruth Ware, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is classic RW—fully-fleshed characters, chilling plot, twists you don't see coming, and an ending that blows you away. Love the cover, love the premise, love the story! From beginning to end, this book is amazing! Highly recommend!!!

April is the “it” girl at Pelham College, Oxford. She is wealthy, smart, attractive, talented. Hannah, her roommate, and she quickly become close friends. When April is found murdered in her room, Hannah’s statement to police helps put someone behind bars. Ten years later, that person dies in prison, still claiming his innocence. When a journalist reaches out to Hannah, now married to April’s college boyfriend, she questions whether someone else was the guilty party and sets out to answer some nagging questions.

Told in two timelines, before (the first year at Pelham for April, Hannah and a close group of friends) and after, 10 years later, it is cleverly plotted with good character development. However, it took too long to develop the after story. The before story where all the characters are introduced was well crafted. However, the after dragged on, especially all of Hannah’s ruminations.

Still, it was an engrossing, worthwhile read for those who enjoy psychological thrillers.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallerybooks for the DRC.

This was one of my highly anticipated novels of 2022!

I’ve seen lots of polarizing reviews for this one so I was eager to job in and see where I fell with my thoughts. As per usual Ware fashion, we are hit with the tense atmosphere she is so good at building for her readers. Pretty much everyone is a suspect. At one point I even thought our narrator was?! All of the backstories are there for everyone and the way the characters were introduced really gave a fleshed out feel.

The novel is told in Before/After format, which helped keep the suspense and the mystery afloat. I felt the big “twist” was believable and realistic although I did guess it. I still enjoyed the journey and the reasoning’s behind everyone’s motives. I will say this is a chunkier Ware novel at 432 pages, but I was never bored and I did read it quite quickly. I enjoyed it!

Ruth Ware’s intricately plotted whodunnit is marvelous and breathtaking in its goal to present an ultra-realistic narrative that will keep you up nights as you unsuccessfully try to wrench yourself away from this gem for a modicum of sleep.
The It Girl follows the story of Hannah Jones in two timelines, one before the horrific murder of her Oxford roommate, and the other years later. When a journalist ambushes Hannah with the possibility that the supposed murderer Hannah helped convict may have been innocent, her life unravels as she sets off on a mission to uncover the truth while wrestling with heart-shattering guilt of possibly condemning an innocent man to death.
As a first-time reader of Ruth Ware’s works, I was thoroughly impressed by her ability to craft such a riveting slow burn that navigated brilliantly through the chapters alternating between past and present in a manner that enchanted me in the pleasant but dangerous “just one more chapter” frame of mind.
Spending the perfect amount of time on setting up an emotional investment in each of the involved characters, Ware compels you to feel for Hannah’s predicament and join her, heart and soul, in her search for the truth while planting seeds through ingenious parallels between the two timelines for a satisfying denouement to the mystery.
The It Girl requires you to keep your game faces on from the very beginning and undeniably till the last sentence, lest you miss out on subtle nuances that Ruth Ware excels at projecting in dialogues and situations throughout the narrative. Masterfully crafted storytelling laid bare for thriller fans to enjoy deeply.

Full review on https://www.bestthrillerbooks.com/kashif-hussain

One of my most anticipated books of 2022! Unfortunately I was disappointed by the really really slow burn and lack of action. Appreciated the before and after timelines, but overall, I felt this was lacking an edge-of-your-seat feel that this author typically provides.

This book is about the murder of April, an "It Girl", that happened at Oxford. Several years after the murder, the death of the man convicted of the murder sets April's roommate on a path to reexamine what happened the night of the murder. Could someone she's close to actually have been the murderer? I liked the "Before" parts - the Oxford setting and the young friendships - better than the "After" parts. Overall the pace of the book was slow until the very end.

I absolutely loved the dark academia feel as the author takes us on a dual timeline tale of a close knit group of friends 10 years after tragedy strikes. Everything they thought they knew is now being questioned. The characters were well developed and unique, the back story plausible and the final reveal intense! I loved how expertly woven this story is.

It’s all fun and games until.. well you know how it goes. When you have an It Girl, someone who seemingly has everything and everyone in her orbit, things aren’t always as they appear. In true Ware fashion, the characters were enthralling, the plot lucrative with details and scheming, suspects and motives and I would have bet money that I had it figured out, but certainly would have lost. Ware is the winner of 6 NYTimes bestsellers for a reason with her psychological crime thrillers, and she continues to prove it with The It Girl. Go pick it up, turn on all the lights, lock your doors, and dig in!

I received an arc for this book in exchange for my honest review. Ruth Ware has done it again! I read this book over the course of two days and only put it down so I could cook dinner for the family. The main character is rich, beautiful, smart, charismatic. She is literally the “it“ girl. It seems that she has it all. Unfortunately, she gets murdered and here in lies the mystery. Who did it? Red herrings abound. Not to give anything away but when the actual killer was revealed it was somebody literally not really on my radar. This book is set in the prestigious Oxford campus. The rich girls roommate is her complete opposite. A smart struggling student who is attending the school on a scholarship. They become quick friends. I really don’t wanna give any spoilers just go out and get this book for yourself and see how fantastic it is.

Started off a little slow but then eventually picked up, did not expect the twist of the ending but ending throughly enjoyed the book and learning about Oxford.

I love a dark academia thriller and this was just wonderful. The Oxford setting was fantastic. I found Hannah to be likable and relatable if not a bit reckless but I think I would also need to know the truth. You had many potential suspects and I had a hard time figuring out who had the real motive. This reminded me a lot of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife which is high praise as that was my favorite book from last year. I predict Ware has another hit on her hands!

The It Girl - Ruth Ware
Length: 432 Pages
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

When Hannah Jones arrives at Oxford she has no idea that the journey she's about to begin is going to change her life. At least, not in the way she'd imagined.

April is everything Hannah is not, but the two quickly become the best of friends. April shows Hannah what it's like to live the lush life, and introduces her to a group of new friends. But when Hannah finds April murdered in their dorm room, Hannah is left completely shaken. It is what Hannah sees that sends a campus porter, John Neville, to prison for the crime.

Ten years later, Hannah's world is once again catapulted into a frenzy when the man convicted of April's murder dies in prison. But murmurs of the man's possible innocence have the media circling Hannah, and now she can't shake the feeling that maybe she got it all wrong. Could John have been innocent all this time? Who else could it have been? Hannah is determined to get to the bottom of it all, for April.

This is my second Ruth Ware novel, and I can't believe I haven't read more! While this book started off a bit slow for me, it certainly picks up in the best way. Told in a "before and after" format, it's not only a murder mystery, it's a story about friendship and betrayal. It's a creepy, cautionary tale about learning who you can and can't trust. It's also about love and what lengths you will go to to save it.

Overall, this was a wonderful whirlwind story for anyone who appreciates a delicious murder mystery. I can't wait to add it to my library!

Thanks to Netgalley, Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press and Ruth Ware for my eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a bummer. It was too long, a snooze fest and where was the normal RW magic? There was no creep factor, no chill factor, at no point was I on the edge of my seat and didn’t feel any type of spark from this. If anything I must’ve said “omg this is so long” about 10385 times while reading it.

Liked:
🧐Academia setting, Oxford.
🧐The book is set up with present and past alternating POV.
🧐 Reads like the Lying Game, IMO. (…Well, if you added 150 DULL pages to that…)
🧐Gave me true crime podcast vibes.

Disliked:
💤This one was too long. A mystery has no business being almost 450 pages.
💤 A poor excuse for a whodunnit.
💤 Predictable.
💤 Super slow pace.
💤 Uneventful.

Maybe the next one will be better!

Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery Books, Gallery/Scout Press, and Ruth Ware for allowing me to read the ARC of The It Girl in exchange for an honest review.

The students are excited and proud to start their first year at Oxford. Hannah was not rich and privileged like most of the students, but when her roommate turns out to be the rich, outgoing April Clarke-Cliveden, her first year becomes a whirlwind of friendships, social experiences, and even a death of one of their group.
Years later, Hannah is married to Will and they are expecting a baby, when a reporter contacts her and says the man she identified as the killer may have been innocent. Wrecked with guilt, Hannah can’t let it go, and despite Will’s insistence she stay away from all of this, she sets out to find who the real killer might be.
There are so many suspects, you will be kept guessing until the end. This fast-paced mystery is an exciting read!

I’m not sure how Ware what she does. However, her writing is so compelling and each novel I pick up by this author quickly becomes devoured. Page turning! If thrillers as a genre, aren’t your jam, may I suggest this novel by Ware/ it may just change your mind. Worth it!

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

10 years ago, Hannah came back to her dorm to find her roommate, April, dead. Absolutely traumatized, she left England for Scotland, and several years later reunited in person with Will, April's former boyfriend. As the story begins, Hannah and Will are happily married, living in Scotland, and expecting a baby when they find out that the man convicted of murdering April has died in prison. After a journalist (and friend of their other college friend) casts doubt on the conviction, Hanna begins to dig into the mystery of who killed April, her best friend and total "It Girl." The book is divided into "Before" chapters, with a dark academia vibe, and "After" chapters, where Hannah forces herself to reconsider evidence she thought was solid.

This was another great book by Ruth Ware. If you've enjoyed her previous books, you should also check this one out.

Hannah sees her life as the before and the after. The defining event is the murder of her best friend in her first year of college. The twists are predictable and the ending felt like a let down. Altogether the book was slow and not my favorite thriller by Ware.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A group of college friends lose one of their own in a horrible murder. Ten years after the brutal death, the case is reinvestigated with unexpected results.

I liked this one but I don't know if it was her "best". Still a fairly enjoyable read, I didn't guess the murderer, and I really liked the academic setting and the "true crime podcast" storyline. Thank you, Netgalley, for my arc.