This was the perfect whodunnit story, yet it's so much more than that. The It Girl follows Hannah through her journey of self-reflection, and confronting her worst fears in order to find out the truth of what really happened to April that fateful night at Oxford. Set against the backdrop of Oxford and modern-day Edinburgh, it gives off dark academia vibes in flashbacks that correspond with Hannah's life now.

I thought the chapter layout was absolutely brilliant, segmented into "before" April's death, and "after". The twists and turns were unpredictable, even right up until the very end. Overall this was very well-written, and extremely hard to put down. Definitely a 5-star read for me.

First I wanna say thank you to Ruth Ware, Gallery Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. This was my first Ruth Ware book and definitely not my last.

This story is about Hannah & April who meet as roommates freshmen year at college and instantly become best friends. When Hannah arrives home to find April murdered her whole world shattered into pieces. Years later the convicted murderer dies in prison but Hannah is left with some unsettling feelings especially after a reporter reaches out convinced that the killer may still be out there and Neville was wrongly convicted.

Thoughts: I was pulled in by this academic thriller. It was a bit of a slow build and drawn out in a few spots. I was shocked when the “official killer” came to light because my thoughts were all pointing to someone else so I enjoyed the surprise and suspense of that. The characters are all relatively likable, although Hannah was a bit annoying with her obsession with April, especially as it came out that April wasn’t the greatest friend or person at times. All in all this was a good thriller that I’m giving 4 stars.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It is one my new favorites by Ruth Ware. The writing was creative hopping back and forth between time periods “before” and “after” the death of a beloved friend named April. I also really enjoyed the characters and final twist on who murdered their friend. The reason this book will not receive five stars from me is that I feel like it could have been much shorter and still just as good. Otherwise, I loved it!

There is so much publicity around Ruth Ware’s novels that I was excited to read and review her latest book, The It Girl, to experience the hype for myself. In my mind, I thought this novel was going to be a thriller. I was expecting to be kept at the edge of my seat for the bulk of the book. The read is more of a “who did it” murder mystery that revolves around the lives first-year college students and resurfaces over a decade later.

Ware’s characters are well-developed, and I kept wanting to read more about each of them. However, if you are looking for a book consisting of nonstop action, this is not that book. It is still very much an enjoyable read, and the surprising twist at the end is quite shocking!

Thank you, NetGalley and Gallery Books, for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions stated above are my own.

I am a huge fan of Ruth Ware and all her books. The mysteries are always so twisty turning that she gets me every time. The It Girl was no exception, though I did have to wonder what everyone saw in the character April, but some times people are superficial and don't look beyond a glossy exterior. I loved how this one paced out and I didn't see the twist until the main character did.

THIS BOOK!!!!! It was compulsively readable and so thrilling and surprising and sneaky! The ending was so sneaky - I did not see it coming at all. Great read

Rounded up from 3.5 Ruth Ware always writes a good book. This one is no different. Well-crafted with dual timelines leading up to an ending where mostly everything is tied up—that’s at least how I like my books to end. Nothing left for me to stew over 🙃

The Oxford setting gives the “before” pieces a sense of place. The “after” bits leaves us every bit as untethered as our MMC, Hannah. After the murder of her friend, our It Girl, April, Hannah never returns to school and never gets a degree. I’m pretty sure she has a dream job though working at a bookstore in Scotland. She’s also married to her dream man, Will, who happens to be April’s former boyfriend. It’s not quite as weird as you think, trust me.

Hannah, Will and their friends still suffer from the events of the past which are brought to the forefront when Hannah starts investigating, putting herself and her unborn child at risk. A bit of a slow burn, Hannah begins to make questionable decisions in order to get to the truth and when reading the “before” bits about her friendship with April, we are often left wondering why? I guess you could say I ultimately found myself frustrated with Hannah’s life choices in both timelines.

Definitely read this one if you’re a fan of Ruth Ware—or even if you’re not. You’ll certainly be brought back to your college days 🤦‍♀️

Thank you to @netgalley @gallerybooks and @ruthwarewriter for an advanced copy of this book.

TW: Bullying, murder, stalking/harassment, harm to unborn child

I've been a fan of Ruth Ware since her first book. Everyone knows she is a master of writing mysteries with thrilling twists, but she is also magnificent at capturing a group dynamic and friendships that withstand years of misunderstandings or life changes. You totally buy into the connections. This is a grown up thriller--no creaking boards or noises in the woods--just a nagging feeling and a character who feels like something was never resolved correctly. Don't worry--the ending is as surprising as ever--even when there are only a few characters to theoretically choose from, she will lead you astray until the very end. Highly recommend.

Dark academia and a decade-old crime make for an irresistible combination in Ruth Ware’s upcoming release, THE IT GIRL.

Hannah Jones is plagued by her testimony that convicted a professor of her friend April's murder while they were in college. Just when Hannah thinks the past is behind her, she is drawn back into the case after new suspicions arise.

Hannah was an easy protagonist to root for as she grappled with her past decisions and the implications for her future. I appreciated how grounded in reality the characters and the mystery felt. The story was smart and the resolution was completely plausible, I just didn’t see it coming.

Ruth Ware takes her time setting the scene, but I didn’t mind the length as it resulted in rich characters in both the past and present timelines. The ending was satisfying and was well worth the commitment to get there.

Add THE IT GIRL to your beach bag this summer, or save it for an eerie campus read this fall!

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: July 12, 2022

Many thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for the electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks in advance of publication date

Whoa this was a wild ride!!!! Once I got started I just did not want to put it down!

Hannah get paired with April, a beautiful socialite, when she goes to Oxford. Hannah finds April murdered in their second term. They throw the creepy porter in jail for the murder. Fast forward ten years, the porter dies in jail and there are now questions as to if he actually did it. Hannah starts to investigate...

The characters are fully fleshed out and I feel like Ruth Ware did a great job of talking about the emotional ramifications of one of your good friends getting MURDERED. As someone who isn't super familiar with Europe, I struggled a bit with the references but it all made sense.

Would highly recommend to fans of this genre!

This was my first Ruth Ware book! It's a solid thriller. I don't feel like the story itself is anything new; I've read other thrillers with the same premise. However, it was still entertaining and the writing kept me intrigued to find out who had done it. I enjoyed the past vs. present timelines, but I would have liked a twistier ending!

This thriller of a mystery will have you glued to the pages LONG into the night, so be prepared to NOT want to put it down, once you start reading it! What happens when the long held assumptions you've had about your past, end up being not factual? What if suddenly you have to question everything between now and that point in time? Who do you trust? Who CAN you trust? This dfelt book takes a look at the lies we tell ourselves when faced with an absence of information, and how those assumptions can be totally wrong! This one will keep you guessing til the roller coast end

I think I've read every book Ruth Ware has written, and I'll continue to do so. "The It Girl' was a master class in suspenseful writing. I'm usually pretty good at guessing who did it, but this one kept me guessing until it was too obvious not to know!

Hannah Jones is a small town girl walking into Oxford with high hopes and expectations. The first person she meets is April Coutts-Cliveden, an It Girl of epic proportions. The two of them become fast friends, and their circle includes a variety of individuals all trying to succeed at one of the best universities in the world. Then it all comes crashing down when April is murdered. Flash forward to years later when Hannah and Will (one of the Oxford group) are married and expecting a baby and the man who went to prison for April's murder dies--and someone starts asking questions. The questions make April question everything she saw that night and everything and everyone since.

Excellent murder mystery. It seems that there are a ton of Oxford murder mysteries as of late, but this one smokes them all. Hannah's insecure and makes the reader wonder if she's an unreliable narrator and the entire cast of characters makes you wonder what they know and what they're hiding. Tense til the end, this is easily one of Ms. Ware's best books. So far.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC of this book.

On her first day as a new freshman at Oxford, Hannah meets her gorgeous roommate April and several of April's old friends. Soon, the 6 students become close friends although most agree that wealthy April has a wicked sense of humor.

When April is murdered, Hannah testifies that the college porter John Neville had been stalking the girls, had been seen leaving the building at the time of the crime and he is convicted of April's murder.

Ten years later, when Neville dies in prison after years of protesting his innocence, Hannah is contacted by a reporter with questions, and she has to wonder if she was wrong about Neville. Now married to April's old boyfriend Will, Hannah can't let the circumstances surrounding April's murder go and wonders if Aprils pranks led someone else, perhaps someone from their group, to murder her. Realistic and suspenseful, the story holds true until its terrifying conclusion.
This book, Ware's best book yet, which I received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review was impossible to put down.

Ruth Ware’s latest novel delivers an entertaining and twisty read that will have readers racing to figure out what is actually going on. April is the It Girl at Oxford, and she pulls in ordinary Hannah into her friend group, her life gets so much better. But when April dies, Hannah’s life isn’t the same. Over a decade later, April’s alleged murderer dies in prison, but new evidence suggests they may have had the wrong man all along… If you enjoyed Ware’s other thrillers, where everything is not quite what it seems, be sure to pick up The It Girl! I want to keep this review spoiler free, but I will say I enjoyed this one very much and I think it is one of the thrillers of the summer for sure! (Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy for review)

Ever heard the expression "don't poke the bear"?
The plot of this book made me think of that expression, as that is just what Hannah Jones does.
Years prior, Hannah's roommate was murdered, and it was Hannah's testimony that was key in John Neville's conviction. But did she get it all wrong? Is the real killer still out there?

When a writer/podcaster reveals new potential details to Hannah, she is determined to find answers, no matter how much that information could change her life. The story is told in the past and present, with the BEFORE being prior to April's death, and the AFTER being upon the discovery of her body.

I didn't particularly care for April, the IT girl, who uses her wealth as a crutch to get whatever she wants. Did she pay her way into Oxford? Or is she as smart as her classmates at this elite college? Either way, she uses pranks to bring down each of her so-called friends. And as you read through how far she took things, I had to wonder if she crossed the line and that's what led to her death.

It is in the after sections of the book, where Hannah begins to question her own testimony. Was John Neville really as creepy as she made him out to be, or was he just doing his job?

The author did a good job of throwing doubt and casting others as possible suspects. At one point, it seemed that all facts led to one person, but I assumed that was the author's intent so we wouldn't see the big twist. And yes, I'll admit, I didn't put together what really went down, although I knew Hannah had things wrong.

The pacing of the book with two timelines kept me engaged throughout, and I liked how the puzzle pieces came together. While Hannah can't undo her mistakes, she at least did her part to bring closure to the case, which I admire. If you are into mysteries/thrillers, check this one out!

The first 60% of this book was fast paced and engaging. The tension slowed dow considerably after April’s murder when the “Before” chapters ended. It started to drag in places, and I’m on the fence about the introduction of the November Rain character - the name was horribly cheesy. Feels like the ending should have come sooner, but I was happy with the eventual resolution.

The It Girl is an intricately woven mystery that hooks you from the very beginning with well fleshed out characters and an intriguing storyline involving a closed case murder from a decade prior. Switching back in forth in timeline, the story is told through the eyes of Hannah, now pregnant with her first child, who is forced to relive the events of her university days when her posh roommate was murdered. When new details come to light, Hannah starts to question her own account of what happened and that ultimately led to the conviction of a potentially innocent man.

This thriller is a slow burn that casts suspicion on everyone. A fantastic summer read with a surprise ending. Definitely recommended for fans of Ruth Ware and Tana French,

Thank you to NetGalley, Ruth Ware, and Scout Press for this digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

WOW!! I have enjoyed all of Ruth Ware's book,s but I truly believe this is the best one I've read. The story pulled me in right away, and I loved how she told the story from both the "Before" and "After" viewpoints. I cannot wait to recommend this book to our patrons and my friends. But a warning-don't start if you have anything else to do, as you won't want to put it down!

Another great book by Ruth Ware! I loved the Oxford setting and the St. Elmo's Fire vibe. The alternating timelines between present day and ten years prior, when the characters were all freshmen worked well in telling the story. Ware kept the suspense going throughout and I was totally surprised by the ending. Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of The It Girl.