Hannah has been accepted into Oxford and begins settling into her new life. Her dorm-mate April, is the self-designated leader of their tight-knit pack which includes Hannah’s new friends Emily, Hugh and Will. With a whole school-year of hope and possibilities ahead she’s simply giddy to begin her journey.
But everything changes when one member of the group doesn’t survive that freshman year.
Flash forward ten years, the man responsible for the death of her friend has died. Never wavering, he claimed his innocence to his final breathe. That has Hannah beginning to question everything! Was he truly guilty? Could she have pointed the finger at the wrong person all those years ago?

I have read other Ruth Ware books and enjoyed them very much, so I was looking forward to this one!
Hannah gets into Oxford and meets her roommate, April, along with Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily. They quickly became a close-knit group, with April being the "It Girl." April likes to play pranks on people and sometimes the pranks are quite hurtful. When April ends up murdered, Hannah helps to put her murderer away.
Now fast forward several years, and a journalist contacts Hannah suggesting that the wrong person was put away for the murder. Hannah struggles with this and starts digging into the murder. What she doesn't know is that the murderer is now watching her. This book had a couple of unexpected twists that I didn't see coming. Read this book if you like dark academia, mystery, and twists.

Hannah Jones has it all. Handsome husband, great career, and a baby on the way. She has worked hard to try to escape the past. For 10 years Hannah has pushed that awful night out of her head. But, it all comes roaring to a screeching halt when a journalist comes knocking with information about her best friend April's untimely death and the man convicted of murdering her.

Hannah is thrust into a game of who dunnit when she realizes that the man convicted may be innocent. But if he is that means April's murder is still out there and Hannah gets swept up in trying to figure out what really happened on that fateful night.

This story starts out very faced paced. In the book April is not a likeable character. Honestly I am really surprised that she had any friends at all. It just shows you what money can buy. Hannah Jones is also a whiney, self absorbed character. I tried really hard to like her but I just couldn't. I did not feel sorry for her at all in the entire book. Even the friends characters of everyone are just plain awful. I really did like the book. Going back and forth between the before and the after was something I wasn't sure I would like but I really enjoyed it. I was kept guessing the entire time on who did it. All in all this was a very face paced read with lots of twists and turns that kept me on my toes. I love when I cannot figure out who is the one who did it!


Thank you to the publishers and to Netgalley for the early read and for allowing me to give my honest critique of the book.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware was thrilling! I read tons of thrillers and thought I knew how this one would end! Of course there were multiple twists and I can honestly say I was surprised in the best way. Ware is still the reigning thriller queen!

I was so excited to begin the latest Ruth Ware novel, The It Girl. The chapters alternate between "Before" and "After" a tragic even that happened to Hannah Jones and her friends who she met at Oxford University, April Coutts-Cliveden was the suite-mate assigned to Hannah in her first year. April was from a family with money, outgoing, the life of the the party, the IT girl. All of the things that Hannah was not. Despite this, and with some unease along the way, Hannah and April became great friends. Their circle included Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily and together, they let loose on the campus in their first semester. At the end of the second semester, April is dead and Hannah has given the testimony that put a man behind bars for her murder. Having died in prison, still proclaiming his innocence, a now pregnant Hannah is hounded by reporters for interviews. Her conscience will not let her rest until she knows if she put the wrong man behind bars.

As much as it pains me to say, this is not my favorite of Ruth Ware's books. I was unable to connect to any of the characters. I felt that the much of it became a bit drawn out at times.
I will say that this does not mean that this book will not hit just the right spot with other readers. I know this to be true by looking at other reviews. Ruth Ware is one of the best story tellers of our time. I will absolutely be eagerly awaiting her next publication.

My great Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Hannah's college roommate, April has everything; looks, money, brains and influence. April introduces Hannah to a world she could only imagine in her small country village. But April has a dark side too; she loves to pull hurtful pranks on her "friends." When Hannah discovers April's body on the floor of their room, she is so traumatized that she leaves the college, never to return and is haunted for the next ten years by reporters. It doesn't help trying to dissuade the paparazzi; especially since Hannah ends up married to April's former boyfriend and is now pregnant with their first child. When news of the convicted killer's death in prison reaches her, Hannah begins to remember "that night" at the college and doubts begin to swim in her head. Was "creepy" John Neville really April's killer? Who among their group of friends has information they did not share with the police at the time of the murder? Did anyone really check up on alibis? Hannah is now driven to know the truth about April's death. Did her testimony send an innocent man to prison, where he died? Is she truly remembering the events of that night clearly or is she just "going along" with the official narrative? Ruth Ware brings us another suspenseful "whodunit" filled with twists and turns, truth and lies, and a need to keep the pages turning while the reader as well as Hannah try to figure out the truth of this decade old event that changed everything for a group of college friends.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is another great one. I loved the Oxford setting, how wrapped up the characters were in conflict with each other, and the way this story unfolded. Definitely one of my favorites from Ruth Ware. Atmospheric, strong plot, and solid ending. Recommend and thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy.

A totally absorbing, page-turner told in two-time lines- before Hannah’s roommate, April is murdered and 10 years after as the murder still haunts Hannah. A few red herrings and a heart-stopping ending all made for an unputdownable read.

Ruth ware really read all these dark academia books that have come out and said, "bitch, bet."

This is dark academia vibes! Ruth Ware has come back swinging y'all.

I loved the characters and friendships in this one. I loved the plot and the twists and drama and tension!

I did figure it out early on but it still led to a great conclusion!

I am a huge fan of Ruth Ware’s and was thrilled to receive an advance copy of this novel to read in exchange for my honest review.

Hannah and Will have settled into a happy life, married and a baby on the way. They met a decade before at Oxford, though the origination story is not a very happy one.

<i>The It Girl</i> splits between the past and present. Focusing on Hannah's first year at Oxford and her roommate and best friend, April. April was <b>THE</b> it girl in college. Everyone loved her or wanted to be like her. Rich, beautiful and cutting, April had a vicious habit of playing pranks on her best friends. But all of their group - Hannah, Hugh, Emily, Ryan, April and Will - were close friends. Back then, Will was actually April's boyfriend. And Hannah just adored him from afar. Everything was going great until April is viciously murdered and Hannah is the one who witnessed the murderer coming out of their stairway and her testimony is the one that put that man away for the rest of his life.

Until, in the present, that man dies in jail. And Hannah begins to doubt herself. Suddenly, she's digging into the past again and trying to jog her memories that she spent a decade trying to block out.

I found this novel unlike most of Ware's novels in that it was a bit hum-drum and not very exciting. I'm not sure if it's because Hannah's life is so mundane, but I felt it fell short on the thriller aspect, even at the ending.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of “The It Girl” in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed the setting and cast of characters. I found myself not super actively invested in the outcome of the characters. I usually love Ruth Ware, while I still enjoyed this it wasn’t my favorite. The resolution at the end felt a little inevitable and I wasn’t very surprised. I also got a little bothered by how many times the word “bump” was used. So. Many. Times. I did appreciate having an opportunity to read this. I recommend that you binge read this one if possible, to help get some momentum into the plot early on.

I haven’t been too excited with Ruth Ware’s latest, so I was skeptical about this one. Two words…. She’s back! The Ruth Ware that I fell in love with years ago has bought me back into her world with this book. Absolutely fantastic! Kept my interest and kept me guessing until the very end!

Ruth Ware has knocked it out if the park with The It Girl. She is at the top of her game.. I couldn’t put it down and found myself waking at 3:00am to read just one more chapter about the mysterious murder of the beautiful ‘life of the party’ April in her rooms at Oxford as a first year student. Ten years after discovering April strangled in their rooms, former roomie Hannah, still psychologically traumatized and married to April’s former boyfriend, begins to question whether her evidence had sent the wrong man to prison.

The well drawn characters are intriguingly authentic and remarkably likable; the plot tightly woven. Instead of a ‘who done it’, The It Girl is a ‘did he do it’? Just loved this book!

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Another great Ruth Ware book. This time, the characters are young college students at Oxford. There is suspense, a love story, and tragedy with the backdrop being the Oxford campus. I enjoyed both the story and learning about the school. Also, don’t even think you can guess the ending. There are so many unpredictable twists and turns that you may just stay up all night reading.

Thank you, Netgalley, for an ARC.

I have a mixed history with Ruth Ware books- enjoying half, and hating half, but I'm always game to try her latest.
The main character is a pregnant bookseller, and as a bookseller who was pregnant last year, this is a character I could certainly empathize with. And she lives in Edinburgh, a city I adore, and am pretty much always happy to visit, even in fictional ways.
The majority of the novel actually moves along at a reasonable pace with plenty of interesting red herrings to cast doubt on everyone. And the reveal of the whodunnit was complicated- all of the clues pointed strongly at the killer, but I couldn't figure out the how of it. So when that was revealed I was surprised.
I was on board with all of that. But then the ending strained credulity a bit.

This is one of my anticipated reads! On the first day at Pelham College, Hannah Jones meets “It” girl April Coutts-Cliveden, her new roommate. April soon introduces Hannah to her group of friends and become inseparable. But by the end of the second term, April is murdered! The former porter, John Neville, was charged and sent to prison. That was before, now Hannah and Will are married and expecting their first baby. They receive news that John has died in prison. He’s always declared his innocence and Hannah begins to wonder if it’s true. So she begins to probe and returns to Pelham with April’s sister, November. This is a slow burn whodunit mystery. Thank you to Gallery Books for a digital arc.

Hannah thinks she put the right man away for the murder of her college roommate, but what if she didn't? Hannah's Oxford friend and roommate, April, the It girl, is murdered in their senior year of college and Hannah is sure she did the right thing testifying. But when a reporter starts asking some important questions, Hannah starts to doubt everything that happened. More mystery than thriller, The It Girl gives us all the suspense of a typical Ruth Ware.

3.5 Stars

“Sometimes things look bad and they’re really not. Sometimes there’s another explanation for what’s going on.”—Emily, Pretty Little Liars


April Clarke-Cliveden has it all—beauty, wealth, popularity—the “It” girl on campus. Hannah Jones has worked hard and was accepted into Oxford based on merit, so when she finds herself April’s roommate, she’s hurled into a world that’s completely the opposite of what she’s accustomed. April has built an entourage of friends that she regularly pranks in a somewhat cruel and controlling fashion. Will, Hugh, Ryan and Emily along with Hannah develop a kinship revolving around the world that is April Clarke-Cliveden…until she’s found murdered. Based on a testimony given by Hannah, one of the school porters, John Neville, is convicted of the crime, and dies in prison still proclaiming his innocence.

Ten years later, Hannah and Will are married and expecting their first child, but they never fully recovered from the death and the circumstances around April’s murder. Looking for answers to finally try to lay the ghosts of the past to rest, Hannah works with a young journalist who has uncovered new evidence that may show John Neville was in fact innocent. But as each of April’s secrets are revealed, Hannah begins to doubt her past judgement…could one of her friends actually have been the killer?

There is a reason I took a quote from the TV show “Pretty Little Liars”. From the beginning of this friendship drama driven book, I kept picturing April being the ever popular but cruel Allison from the TV show, and was ever so excited to dig in! But alas, while the book had a strong beginning, the story went on and on…I started disliking the characters, and then I guessed who did it about half way in. Perhaps that ruined the big “ah ha” moment at the end.

Ruth Ware’s newest is still an enjoyable read (not my fav), but overall, if you are a fan of her works, give it a read!




**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

The first Ruth Ware book I read I enjoyed, but the subsequent two were so dismal I had stated I would remove Ware's books from my to-be-read pile. I'm glad I picked up this book based on its strong NetGalley reviews. Ware seamlessly blended together the past and current narratives. I was fully engaged in the mystery of who killed April, with several guesses as to whodunnit and while I wasn't surprised by the murderer or how the murder was committed (had guessed as much from April's weird speech about holding on to your true friends), I was satisfied with the wrap-up. Although, I didn't care much for the final misdirection over who was shot/died, it ended well. I may just add future Ware titles back into my TBR pile.

Another great page turner from Ruth Ware! I can always count on her to give me an entertaining read and a real who done it. I loved the setting this time, Oxford, and the gothic university atmosphere that city lent to the narrative. All the characters, including the "It" girl April, were well fleshed out and recognizable types and gave the story just a hint of an Agatha Christie mystery with many possible suspects. Loved it!