The It Girl by Ruth Ware takes place in two timelines, before and after the murder of a college girl. All the clues and twists and turns will keep you guessing until the end! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Pub date: 7/12/22
Genre: dark academia, thriller
In one sentence: April Clarke-Cliveden was the ultimate It Girl at Oxford - and her friend Hannah is still dealing with her death ten years later.

Oh, how I love dark academia! Ruth Ware excels at writing books where everyone is a suspect, and it's not until the last pages that you unravel the mystery. April and Hannah's opposites attract friendship was so much fun, and I loved watching queen bee April get into scrape after scrape, wondering how she would end up dead. This book takes the dark academia of The Maidens and improves it with a tighter plot and more satisfying ending, and there are also echoes of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife in the dual timeline.

If you enjoy dark academia and friends with secrets, I bet you'll enjoy this one! I read it on a plane and had to finish it before my flight landed. I know a lot of readers were disappointed with One By One, but this one is much more suspenseful!

Thank you to Gallery Books/Scout Press for providing a NetGalley ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Posted to Instagram 6/28/22.

In the past I've had good experiences with Ruth Ware's books. For me they've always fallen into the category of junk food reading. They aren't exceptionally written and usually fall flat in some areas, but are nevertheless fun to read. And I always devour her books within a short time period. However, The IT Girl didn't do this for me. It instead resembled a dry granola bar that was marketed a fun flavor.

It's hard to explain what felt different about this book without giving away minor spoilers, but a large part of it was most definitely the university setting and Ware's lack of ability to write younger characters. You could quite honestly stick this book in the YA mystery section of a bookstore and it'd fit right in. But while saying that, the 'current day' chapters of the book felt more adult. It often seemed like Ware wanted to go the dark academia route but was instead told she had to make it a domestic thriller. It simply had no cohesive vibe.

If you've read other Ruth Ware books you'll already know that her protagonists are usually duller than dull. But Hannah took that to another level. She was such an infuriating character to read from, and not in a thrillery 'ooh, she's mysterious' way. She was simply bland. You'd think reading from younger her and adult her would be interesting as surely she's matured even a smidge, but alas, nope. Her character continued to be dumb in any decision making and somehow became more whiny with age?

April, however, was interesting. While yes, she was a very stereotypical IT girl from a thriller standpoint, she did have layers and I was interested in reading more about her character. All the other characters, you ask? One of the same. Think The Secret History character list but without the eerie atmosphere surrounding them.

But what is a thriller review without a non-spoiler discussion on the twist? Well.. it was something. The ending of books has never been Ruth Ware's strong point (unless you're talking Turn of the Key, which I did wholly enjoy), and The IT Girl sadly continues that trait. It was lackluster and seemed to drag on without it needing to.

Basically, if you tend to read Ruth Ware's new releases, you may as well pick this up. It's more of the same. However, if you aren't that familiar with Ware's writing and are just looking for a fun thriller to pick up this Summer, skip this. It's not going to be a memorable read.

3.5 stars. I waffle on Ruth Ware novels, but I really enjoyed this one. Interesting characters, atmospheric setting, good pacing, this book had everything I ask for in a mystery read. My major gripe is that it felt a bit long, but this only knocked it down half a star for me, since it was an otherwise enjoyable escape from reality. Perfect for fans of Ware, Paula Hawkins, etc.

April Clarke-Cliveden had it all back in her college days. She had friends, money, charm, and everything else under the sun & more! Until she is murdered at college … Fast forward to the present, her roomate/best friend starts to question if the man who was convicted of her murder is actually guilty when he dies suddenly in jail.
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When I saw this one on netgalley, I had to request it! I’ve only read ‘In a Dark, Dark Wood’ and ‘One by One’! I have ‘The Turn of the Key’ and ‘The Women in Cabin 10’ on my bookshelf at home still to read. I really want to try and check those out soon. For this book, I enjoyed the different alternating timelines that were going on. When both timelines really fell into place it was so satisfying and interesting!! The characters were fantastic and developed very well. The plot in this one was intriguing! Twisty to say the least and kept me guessing throughout the story!! Thanks to @netgalley @scoutpress and @gallerybooks for the gifted ebook of this one! Make sure to check this one out when it hits shelves July 18th!

Ruth Ware’s books are hit or miss for me, and this one was a miss. The It Girl was a rehashing of alllll of the thriller/mystery tropes and ended up being quite dull. A super hot and wealthy girl is murdered and her much less glamorous best friend is left behind to mourn and wonder what happened (and marry the hot dead girl’s boyfriend). Then the man convicted of killing the hot girl dies in prison and now everyone is upset because some journalist guy thinks maybe he didn’t do it.

This would be a good read for newish thriller fans who might not see the twist coming, but nothing in it was much of a surprise for me.

Ruth Ware can be hit or miss with me. I find I either love her books or I don't finish them. The It Girl was one that fell into the first category for me. I liked this book a lot and it had me guessing to the very end. Parts were a little far fetched, BUT, I couldn't put this book down. Well done!
Thank you to NetGalley and Scout Press books for providing me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

With trails of perfect little breadcrumbs scattered about, it's no wonder that this book kept me guessing. And I wondered throughout if there would be any messy loose ends, but it was just NEAT. Ruth Ware does such a good job of leading the audience exactly where she wants them to go (which is usually in the wrong direction). It is a very British sort of mystery, landing somewhere between The Girls are All So Nice Here and In My Dreams I Hold a Knife for me. But overall, it was a definite improvement over One by One in my eyes so I'll be sure to check her next novel out.

*Thank you to Scout Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

The It Girl is a psychological thriller about a murder that happened ten years prior at Oxford. The alternating chapters contain what happened just before the murder occurred and ten years after the murder took place in the present.

Hannah and April were roommates when they went to Oxford together and instantly became best friends. April was marked as an “It Girl” by many. Hannah found April murdered in their dorm room after Hannah came back from a night out. After ten years, Hannah learns that the man she testified against in April’s murder died in jail. She is now questioning whether she convicted an innocent man who is now dead.

Ruth Ware is one of my auto-read authors, and her books never disappoint, but this book was a mixed bag for me. I found both “Before” and “After” narratives boring for the better portion of the book. Nothing happens until 70% of the book. The final part was much better. Ware did a great job making all the characters look suspicious, and it was fun trying to figure out the actual suspect. I was intrigued about how the story would end too. It had a very twisty page-turner ending, and it gave me a glimpse of what I love about Ruth Ware's books. This is not my favorite Ruth Ware book, but this was much better than her previous novel, One By One.


Thank you to NetGalley and to Gallery Books for giving me a copy of the book.

This wasn't the spooky thriller you expect from Ware. However, this is one of my favorite books by her. "It Girl" has a fast paced flash back to present time format. You will love the main character and trust no one.

One of the most popular thriller authors is back. This time with an academia thriller set in Oxford. It’s been a decade since April Coutts-Cliveden’s murder and trial, but it still feels like yesterday to April’s roommate and best friend Hannah. Ten years of people hounding Hannah for more information and ten years since her eye witness testimony sent John Neville to prison. The hype around the murder and trial has only now started to die down, that is until John Neville dies in prison clinging to his innocence. His death sets off a chain reaction that will send Hannah looking for new answers to the same questions she’s been asking for ten years.

We have two timelines in this book but both are told from Hannah’s perspective. We have ‘Before’, which chronicles the events leading up to April’s murder, and ‘After’ which follows Hannah 10 years after the murder. I generally like these split timelines, but I found that as soon as one got moving and interesting, we switched to the other. I personally could have gone for a few less switches between the timelines, the constant switching made the story drag on, which is really my biggest complaint with the book.

Hannah, our main character, seems typical thriller novels. She lacks all confidence and even all these years later doesn’t seem to trust her own memories and while almost 30 in the after timeline, she seems way more naïve than that. The pregnancy pieces hit a bit to close to home for me at the moment, as I had a 3 month old while reading this. While nothing major happens on that front I just found that aspect of the story lackluster. I did enjoy most of the other characters though and found Emily and Ryan to be the best.

This one had some ‘The Maidens’ vibes in terms of the dark academic setting but more gripping and better written. As a note I hated The Maidens so take that as you will. The It Girl is entertaining and keeps you guessing but it’s long and seemed familiar. At around 430 pages, this one was just too long for me. If it would have been 50-100 pages shorter I would have enjoyed it more. 3.5 stars but rounding down to 3 simply for the length.

The It Girl, isn’t my favorite Ruth Ware novel but I did like it more than One by One. I will say that The Lying Game is still my favorite of her books even though most people tend to like that one least.


The It Girl comes out July 12, 2022! Huge thank you to Gallery/Scout Press for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

The It Girl switches between before and after the murder of a girl who was part of a group of friends at Oxford College. Was the person jailed really the murderer? Or did someone else commit the murder and get away with it? The It Girl is an engaging, suspenseful, and cleverly crafted mystery.

I was really excited for this book! The synopsis intrigued me.., I got about 20% of the way in and stopped reading. It took me a week to get that far… it just didn’t capture my interest the way I was expecting. I’m super upset because I wanted to love this book! Maybe one day I can continue past that point and it’ll get better but for now I am putting it down.

I’ve been trying to read this book for roughly 2 weeks now. And I don’t know why it’s not pulling me in.

It appears to have everything I love in a book. And Ware is one of my absolute favorite authors. I usually love the past and present narrative. But I’m struggling.

I think part of the issue is pacing. There’s really nothing to grab me and keep me going. It’s had a wow moment, but that’s it. We are back to a basic narration…and it just feels as though things are going nowhere. I have suspicions about the truth about April, but I’m not sure if I can continue much longer to get there.

And Hannah is untrustworthy as hell. I don’t trust Will a bit either. I feel like I should be Team Hannah, but again, she’s very blah. It’s a pity party and I can’t bear it.

For now, I’m giving up. With full intent to go back and finish after a short break.

A clever, rich thriller about a group of pals attending Oxford. There’s the rich girl, the brainiac from small town, a second generation plus many more in the group of friends. Some are friends tried and true while others are friends of opportunity. What follows is their story and the after effects of their school shenanigans all told in classic Ruth aware form. This is a sure hit. Thanks to NetGalley for the early read.

Ruth Ware has written another gripping, suspenseful story. The story is written from Hannah's POV, as she tells the story of her college roommate's murder (April). A porter named John Neville is convicted for the murder and ends up dying in prison years later. Hannah was never convinced of his guilt, so she sets out to do some more investigating. The story is told from two perspectives- "before" while they were in college and "after", when Hannah is married and later investigating.

Told in alternating chapters of “before” the murder when roommates Hannah and local “It girl” April navigate their first year at Oxford, and “after” when Hannah, ten years later, is confronted with the choices she made that might have sent an innocent man to prison.

Before: Hannah coming from a more modest working class background is put in a shared living space with April, who comes from the kind of wealth that is beyond anything Hannah could imagine. Though worlds apart financially they become fast friends and quickly form a tight knit group along with Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily. What starts as a promising first year ends up a nightmare when Hannah discovers April dead in their living area before the summer break.

After: After changing her name, her location, and her appearance, Hannah thinks she just might have found some peace ten years after the murder of her best friend and roommate April. Living in Edinburgh, she works days in a bookshop and comes home each evening to her husband Will, the only person she trusts, who understands what she has been through. Hannah’s biggest problem now is watching her blood pressure while pregnant, until another reporter finds her at work. She finds out the man who was convicted of April’s murder, because of her testimony, is dead, and there is new evidence to suggest he wasn’t guilty.

The It Girl is a fast paced psychological thriller that is hard to put down. The alternating before and after chapters make you want to keep reading long past bedtime. Although not the most original plot, it was still thoroughly enjoyable. This would make a great beach read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Gallery Books, and of course Ruth Ware for the advanced copy. The It Girl will be available on July 12th. All opinions are my own.

Hannah & April meet as roommates freshmen year at college and instantly become best friends. When Hannah arrives home to find April murdered her whole world get turned upside down. Ten years later the convicted murder dies in prison. Hannah begins to wonder what really happened that fateful night and was Neville wrongly convicted.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC for an honest review.

Another enjoyable read by Ruth Ware! This was more of a slow burn, but suspenseful and it kept me guessing.

I've definitely read several novels with almost this exact plot in the past year or two, but I'd say this one had a slight advantage over some of the others. I'd put it below Joseph Knox's True Crime Story, but above Laurie Elizabeth Flynn's The Girls are All So Nice Here. The cast of characters, especially the murder victim, felt vividly drawn and sympathetic, which helped Ware avoid some of the cliches and tropes of this sub-genre. It still felt very conventional, but it was satisfying and compelling. I'd read Ruth Ware's last book, One by One, and found the writing to be distractingly clunky. This novel had much smoother writing and dialogue, but was also a much slower burn and lighter on plot. It almost didn't seem like they were by the same author.