If you want to be thrown back to your college days, you need to read The It Girl. Ruth Ware is one of my auto buy authors and one of the authors I always recommend. She has a way of setting a scene that draws you in and leaves you wanting more until you devour the book in one sitting. She develops the scenes so you can smell the rain, imagine every dark nook, and feel what the characters are going through. Who doesn't want to be transported to Oxford or Edinburgh?

Hannah is a mix of emotions on her first day of Oxford. Fear, intimidation, excitement, nervousness, and grit all mix together into one emotional mass. She stumbles into her room and into her new best friend April. The girl everyone wants to be, and everyone wants to know. She is gorgeous, sarcastic, and rich beyond your wildest dreams. She knows everyone and Hannah falls into her group of friends seamlessly. They make a mad dash into Freshman year depending on one another for support and for fun. Until one tragic night this all changes in a blink of an eye. Leaving Hannah scrambling to figure out what she saw and what actually happened to April.

I love the set-up for this book. It slowly builds upon itself, throwing you between their college years and ten years later. Is Hannah wrong about what she saw that fateful night? Should she second guess what she saw and who she believes killed her best friend? There are tons of twists and turns throughout the story. Filled with people who fit the crime and this unknowing leaves Hannah in tatters. Thank you to Ruth Ware, Scout Press, and NetGalley for letting me read this thrilling, spine tingling read!

in the vast churning sea of academic thrillers centered around the murder of a beautiful and magnetic young woman, what shocking twists does an author need to devise in order to stand out?

in this case, the answer is "none," really.

in the rankings of Ruth Ware Books I Have Read, [book:The It Girl|59345249] is sandwiched alongside [book:One by One|50892433] in the "perfectly fine" territory between the great: [book:The Turn of the Key|42080142], and the terrible: [book:In a Dark, Dark Wood|27834600].

it's a very familiar setup: a close-knit group of college students satellite around a beautiful, wealthy, selfish roman candle of a young woman, and after she gets murdered, everyone's secrets are revealed.

here, many of those secrets don't come out until a decade after april's murder, when her former bestie/roommate/narrator hannah is married to april's college-sweetheart will, when she is pregnant with his child, when john neville—the college porter hannah's testimony implicated in april's murder—dies in jail, when a reporter approaches hannah with information exonerating neville, when she becomes wracked with guilt over possibly ruining an innocent man's life, wracked with anger over april's unavenged death, and wracked with terror that a killer might still be on the loose. it's a whole lot of wracking.

the story alternates between adult hannah—pregnant, living in scotland, and working in a bookshop, and her student days at oxford, when she met the larger-than-life april and was engulfed into her clustering clique: april, will, emily, hugh, and ryan.

april is...the way all aprils are in books like this:

<blockquote>There was something otherworldly about her—some indefinable quality Hannah could not put her finger on. She felt almost as if she had seen her somewhere before...or watched her in a film. She had that kind of beauty that hurt your eyes if you looked at her for too long, but made it hard to tear your gaze away. It was, Hannah realized, as if a different kind of light were shining on her than on the rest of the room.</blockquote>

but after her death, she became a symbol—a promising life cut short, reduced to tragedy in the media:

<blockquote>How dare they—the journalists, the public, the vultures who have picked over this case for years like they care, like they have a <i>right</i> to the truth just as much as Hannah does. They've stripped April of her identity, of her uniqueness, of everything that made her real and compelling and fascinating—they've reduced her to a cardboard cutout of a girl and a series of Instagram pictures. The perfect victim, in fact.</blockquote>

the ten-year-gap permits hannah enough emotional distance to revisit her past with different eyes, to consider that the creepy porter was maybe <i>just</i> creepy, and not necessarily a killer, and to perceive the cracks in april's shine; see the way her vanity, her carelessness with other people's feelings and her mischievous pranks may have driven someone to kill her—someone she considered a friend.

it does what thrillers do—a mad scramble of suspicion and doubt, red herrings, remembered details given new emphasis, etc etc, and it's a compelling, if conventional, page-turner. i figured it out before the grand reveal, but i enjoyed the ride nonetheless.

honestly, the best parts for me were hannah's working-in-the-bookstore bits, which were very relatable, both the comfort in feeling "safest surrounded by books," and the joyful challenge of readers' advisory work:

<blockquote>...an elderly lady, who comes in every Tuesday and buys a book, and then comes back the following Tuesday and tells Hannah how many marks out of ten she would award it. She has never, ever given ten. Hamnet got 8.75. This week Razorblade Tears got 9.2. The first Bridgerton novel got 7.7. Lord of the Flies got a surprising 4.1. Hannah finds it impossible to predict what will score high—some of her most confident recommendations bomb, but she lives in hope of finding something that will hit the magic jackpot. </blockquote>

i've read far too many campus thrillers in my life, and i will read many more before i die (knock wood), so this was more of a comfort-food read for me than a mind-blowing experience, but it's a fun summertime thriller to escape from the real world, and i'm taking my comforts where i can these days.

Ruth Ware has done it again! Her novels never disappoint and her new one is no exception. I loved the dual timeline and trying to piece everything together. I did predict the “whodunnit” but the way Ware put everything together was immaculate. She is a must read author for me!

I really love Ruth Ware and was so excited to get an advanced copy of this book. I sat down to read it immediately. I really tried to get into this book, I really enjoyed the first 25% of the book and then I just could not get myself to pick it up again. The characters were predictable, unlikable, and just did not come alive for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve been struggling with LOVING thrillers lately, and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I’ve read THREE thrillers this year with similar premises: dual-timeline stories focusing on both the present and the characters’ college years, where a friend was murdered and something has recently been uncovered to shed light or doubt on how the case was handled. I loved one (In My Dreams I Hold a Knife), kinda hated one (The Girls Are All So Nice Here) and felt just fine about this one. I think I need to stay away from this premise for a bit.

The cast of characters was my favorite part of this one - this is my third Ruth Ware, and she definitely knows how to develop characters. I was suspicious of just about everyone at some point. There are red herrings, but they are red herrings that actually make sense and are explained, rather just being there to manipulate the reader with no explanation.

This is a solid thriller, and I look forward to reading more Ruth Ware in the future.

When I think of the mystery genre, Ruth Ware is the name that comes to the forefront of my mind. Every book Ware writes is suspenseful & dark. The It Girl has the perfect plot full of creepy twists and characters that I can’t stop thinking about. My favorite part of the book was the ending; it is so shocking it left me saying “what?!”

Wowza! Ruth Ware has done it again. She has written a can’t put down thriller! Hannah Jones attending Oxford University is roommates with April, the It Girl. April is gorgeous, rich, and can be mean. April is murdered, and Hannah mistakenly identifies her killer. The book is written in a before/after format, and leads up to a thrilling climax. I give it five stars.

I always look forward to a Ruth Ware novel, and this one was a quick and fun read. It's giving Caroline Calloway meets Lily Kane, with a dash of The Secret History and dark academia. Alternating between the past and the present, with Hannah questioning whether she put the wrong man in prison for the murder of her college best friend, its short chapters and frequent clues (and red herrings) kept me turning the pages. I will pat myself on the back for solving the mystery before it was revealed (but not until just before it was revealed) and I'd recommend it to those who enjoy slow-burn mysteries and thrillers.

April Coutts-Cliveden has everything, looks, brains, money, and Hannah Jones is lucky to be her roommate at Oxford, drawn into her orbit, an instant best friend. But April has a mean streak and sometimes her practical jokes go too far, ending in her murder at the end of their freshman year. Hannah's evidence helps convict a creepy college porter who has stalked more than one coed.

Ten years later Hannah is living in Edinburgh, married to her first love and April's ex boyfriend and pregnant. She thinks she has managed to move away from the horror of the past until she learns that the porter had died in jail, still protesting his innocence and a conversation with a reporter reveals new evidence. Hannah begins to wonder how well she really knew April and the other members of their circle and what really happened that night.

The plot twists and turns as Hannah pokes around and discovers many possible motives, leading to a suspenseful, surprise ending. Too much pregnancy introspection and detail slow down the middle of the book but the plot kept me turning the pages.

It was Hannah’s testimony that sent a college porter to prison for her college roommate April’s murder. Now 10 years later, he’s dead but protested his innocence till the end. When a podcaster gives Hannah some new information about April’s death, she starts questioning her own testimony and eventually suspects old friends Emily, Hugh, Remi, and even her husband Will.

Told in alternating before and after chapters, Ware’s latest will keep you guessing till the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big Ruth Ware fan and much like previous books, this one did not disappoint! I rounded up to five stars, but it was probably closer to 4.5-4.75 for me because it did drag just a bit towards the end. Overall, it was a compelling read and I couldn't put it down. I love an academia setting, especially Oxford, so I enjoyed that aspect of the book. I also really liked that the chapters alternated between "before" and "after" for most of the book - that's probably one of my favorite structures for mystery/thrillers books, and it worked well for this story. I had some ideas on how I thought the book would end, some that were correct and some that weren't, so I don't know that I'd say the ending was completely shocking, but I liked seeing how everything played out. I really enjoyed the book overall and would definitely recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for the opportunity to read and review this arc!

It was… fine? Kinda boring, and not really hooking me. The rapid switch between POVs, which worked so well for me in One By One, really killed all forward momentum in The It Girl. The After sets the hook, but the Before needs to give us all the details; in the quest to keep chapters short, the After just ends up being a blandly repetitive interruption of the development in the Before. But Before Hannah gives off vintage 2010 “not like other girls” vibes and After Hannah is the bog standard “domestic suspense housewife” (at least she can’t drink because she’s pregnant?)

Then at 16% we had a totally unnecessary throwaway HP reference. Like, it’s 2022 - can we please finally throw away the nods to books by transphobic trash? That was the end for me; only momentum kept me going the extra 9%.

Sorry, Ruth, but The It Girl ain’t it for me.

I was about half way through The It Girl by Ruth Ware when my dad called and asked me what I was up to. I told him what I was reading and went on to say, “ I keep reading her because so many people love her books and I keep hoping I’ll understand why. While they are well written and quick reads, there’s never anything really shocking. The endings are usually not her strong point, unlike many other authors who write suspense/thrillers and you can’t wait to find out what the twist is. If someone asks me what I thought of a certain title of hers I need to go back and read my review of it to even remember.”

That pretty much sums up my reading experience with The It Girl. I was hoping it would be different with this one since I really enjoy the Dark Academia genre. And while I did enjoy that aspect, once again the twist was not that exciting… although I did like that they were like, “I’m not going to tell you why I did this like the evil villain always does.” That did amuse me.

I’m sure I’ll read her next one and keep hoping she finally gives me that Wow Factor that I’m looking for.

It all starts out with a convicted man proclaiming his innocence and dying in prison. This is why Hannah is doubting her decision of testifying against him so long ago. Did he really kill her college roommate or did someone else do it?
I did not mind the plot being divided into before and after April,. Getting me to know what really happened and also where the other characters are in the future. I loved this approach because I got to know these people rather well. Still did not expect. the surprise ending.
If you want a real good mystery,this is the book for you! Thank you Ruth Ware and NetGalley for the chance to read this advanced copy.

This was by no means my favorite Ruth Ware book, but it was good and a fun read (albeit on the long side). Thanks to @netgalley and @gallerybooks for the early copy! 3.75 stars rounded up to 4.
*
Synopsis: Hannah and April are complete opposites when they're paired as roommates in Oxford, and April helps Hannah make a close group of friends. But at the end of the first year, April is dead, and Hannah is responsible for getting her killer locked up. However, a decade later, Hannah is having second thoughts about the man she accused, especially considering new secrets coming to light about April.
*
I'm not exactly sure what to think about this. I thought it was really compelling at first, and I liked the alternating timelines between now and the months leading up to April's death. I also thought the ending was really good--I didn't see it coming at all, and it plays on some typical murder mystery assumptions in a good way.
*
It did drag in the middle, and it felt like there was a lot of time spent chasing a red herring that wasn't correct because it was way too early in the book. There were a couple other plot points that I was disappointed at first at how they didn't end up mattering to the ending, but I realize a lot of that was based on other assumptions I was making.
*
There is also a lot that's pretty typical - the investigation hinged on her testimony, she was traumatized and had memory issues, new evidence showing up later - I feel like a lot of that has been done before.
*
There were a few mysteries left hanging, which I was ok with. I also really liked how the villain was like "This isn't a Bond movie, I'm not going to walk you through my motive." I hate when that happens in books haha.
*
Overall, this didn't blow me away, but it was a solid, exciting thriller with an ending that I found surprising. With some of the filler in the middle cut out, and maybe a bit more development of the early years, I think I would have loved it.

I LOVE a good dark academia thriller, and this one did not disappoint. I loved the mystery, and I didn't figure out the twists. Another solid book by Ruth Ware.

The perfect whodunnit in my eyes! And a dark academia setting to boot!!

I thought I figured it out and ended up being totally wrong. I was engaged the entire time. This is probably the fastest I’ve read a book in months!

Hannah's life is defined by its worst moment- the murder of her college roommate / best friend. Despite being haunted for many years by the events of that night, Hannah is comforted by the fact that she put away the killer. Or did she? When a podcaster begins questioning some of the pieces of the case that lingered in the back of Hannah's mind all these years, she has to learn the truth.

Unlike many of Ruth's other books, this one was definitely a slow burn. April's character was mesmerizing- complex, yet dynamic. Multiple red herrings kept me engaged throughout the 400+ pages. Must read for any Ruth Ware fan.

Hannah found her roommate, April, dead in their dorm during her first year at Oxford. She provided testimony that helped to convict a porter at Oxford, but now ten years later, she is questioning whether he actually committed the crime. Th story alternates between what happened before April's death and what happened after. The mystery was intriguing and Ruth Ware's writing is atmospheric. A compelling read.

This has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year! I love all of Ware's previous books, and this one was definitely a good read as well. \

Hannah and April, who meet while away at school and quickly become two peas in a pod, until one day when April is found murdered. After April's murder, Hannah's world is turned upside down.

Flash forward years later, Hannah is married and trying to move on with her life, trying her best to put the past behind her, and keep it that way. Then April's convicted murderer ends up dying while serving his time in prison for the crime, a devoted journalist to the case ends up finding Hannah and questioning her. The journalist is hoping to clear the convicted killers name, and to find the real person who he believes really committed the murder, with the help of Hannah. Hannah wants to keep the past in the past, but somehow, the past always has a way to come back and haunt you.

There have been a lot of great academic thrillers out there, and this one is definitely one of them. I loved the setting as well as the characters. The writing (as always with Ware) was superb, and I found myself to be completely immersed in the world within this book. The book was just the right pace, with just the right amount of suspense and tension to keep my interest. I enjoyed how the book weaved from the present to the past. There were a lot of people within the friend group, and characters close to the group of friends that I suspected, but turns out I was wrong. This is one of those books where you think you know the "who dun it" only to be wrong and have to check that person off of your list and move on to the next suspect.

The only negative thing I can say about this one is that the ending was pretty predictable and that the book was drawn out and could have been shortened a lot. Overall, it was a fun read! If you are a fan of IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE by Ashley Winstead then I think you will enjoy this one!