The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a slow burner that pays off nicely in the end.

For some reason, the opening chapters told in retrospect from Hannah’s POV about Oxford life reminded me more than once of The Secret History.

The elite group of misfits who band together, the snobbish professor who opens student’s eyes to classical literature, etc.

Then after that the similarity ends and I became invested in the personal and tragic story about April the poor-little-rich-girl and her best friend, the ever loyal and tormented by demons Hannah.

The push and pull between two young women in life, love and academia certainly holds its own manner of tension, but when you throw in murder and perhaps a romantic triangulation… it gets complicated and very realistic.

I’m a sucker for unreliable characters and narrators and in this novel, I was delighted to have both.

There was just enough information thrown out to keep me guessing until the final pages. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and can’t wait to read the next one. Well done!

I have long been a fan of Ruth Ware's books and this one had me up til 4:30 am finishing it. April Clarke-Cliveden and Hannah Jones improbably become best friends after becoming roommates at Oxford. Hannah is shy and from a middle-class background while April is impossibly beautiful, extroverted and grew up with every luxury. They soon form a close-knit group of friends who support each other through the grueling academic world that is Oxford. As with any friends group there is jealousy and fights. Then April is brutally murdered and the group moves on with their lives as her killer rots away in prison. Ten years later when he dies in prison, Hannah thinks the whole ordeal is finally over until a journalist contacts her and casts doubt on his guilt. From here on out it is a wild ride going back and forth between the past and present as a pregnant Hannah opens up old wounds and tries to determine whether the man accused (and convicted on her testimony) really was April's killer or whether someone else was responsible and has escaped justice all these years.

Loved this one! Ruth Ware does such a great job of building the suspense in this one. Yes, it is a slow build up but I think the book doesn't suffer for this because of the character development and atmosphere. Of course, when reading 99% of thriller novels, the person who the murder is initially pinned on is usually never actually the murderer. She does such a fantastic job of casting doubt and raising suspicion towards multiple characters that I would totally be on board with one and then something else would happen and I'd change my mind. This happened multiple times while I was reading. So, the only thing that had me scratching my head was how is a character who is 6 months pregnant performing the mental gymnastics of Sherlock to figure this out? When I was pregnant it was constant mental fog but clearly pregnancy brain doesn't factor for our Hannah Jones. Ordered this one for my library and will definitely be recommending to patrons. Thanks Netgalley for review copy.

Ruth Ware is historically hit or miss for me, but this one worked for me. I love that she's circling around dark academia here, and that she continues to try out new sub-genres within her specialty. She is just such a pro at this: the pacing, the characters, the build-up, the twist. Her experience really shines through. I don't always love the time-jumping in stories (Before, After), but I thought it worked well here.

Ruth Ware doesn't need my help is selling her books, but some read-a-like titles I'd recommend for these are THE MAIDENS and IN MY DREAMS I HOLD A KNIFE.

Also I don't think the cover or title is doing this book any favors. This could easily be the name of a YA, contemporary, or romance novel, and the cover is so nondescript.

Before I give my review of "It Girl", just a quick thank you to Scout Press/Simon and Schuster Publishing, as well as netgalley.com, for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review of the novel.

I've found that I really like novels by Ruth Ware. Like - really, really like her novels. Starting with "In a Dark, Dark Wood", to "The Girl in Cabin 10", all of Ware's novels have exactly what I like in a thriller - a protagonist that has some kind of flaw that brings about a lot of questions throughout her novels. In Ware's newest read, "It Girl", that protagonist is Hannah Jones.

The book goes back and forth in a 10-year span with characters Hannah Jones, her university roommate, the beautiful, smart, and popular April Clarke-Cliveden, as well as friends, Emily, Ryan, and Hannah's then-friend (and current husband) Will, as well as a strange-acting porter named John Neville. Readers come to find out that April has been murdered at the university, and it is suspected (known?) that John Neville, the local porter/creep is the murderer, all thanks to the testimony of Hannah.

Fast-forward 10-years later, and a journalist named Geraint, who has been following the case and the questioned guilt of John Neville, begin to ask Hannah questions about the death of her roommate, and possible holes in her account of that evening.

The novel continues to go back and forth in the past and current times, with Hannah questioning her own account of the evening's events. As with other Ruth Ware novels, the story is believable as well as enjoyable, with a few twists before we make it to the end. "It Girl" definitely makes you second guess your idea of how the novel will end.

Another good read by Ruth Ware - she continues to be a great thriller, murder-mystery writer.

Perhaps my favorite Ruth Ware book!

Told from dual timelines, we meet Hannah and Will; Hannah is working at a bookstore and expecting her first child when she gets word that John Neville has died in prison.

Mystery ensues.

Ware's timeline takes us back to Oxford and we meet young Hannah, Will, and their circle of friends. We meet John Neville. And we meet Hannah's roommate, April.

Ware spins a tight, intriguing mystery in a fabulous Oxford setting; and maybe others did but I didn't figure out the mystery until well into the novel. Hannah is a likable protagonist and Ware is a master at building tension through the novel in a slow, steady pace.

Excellent read!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Ruth Ware does not disappoint. Once again the tension grows as events from "before" and "after" are revealed. And Ware is a master at building tension as she strews doubt as to who is a reliable narrator and who is not. Once you start reading, this compelling read is impossible to put down.

Ware is the queen of pacing and characters. This close-knit friend group is shattered when one finds their sparkling center strangled in their room. Ten years later, she begins to question what she saw and Ware balances the storyline between then and now so we’ll that the transitions feel effortless and the intrigue builds to a revelation that will leave you wanting to read it again to find clues you may have missed.

When I received notification that NetGalley approved me to read an ARC of this book I literally screamed. I LOVE Ruth Ware. I’ve loved all her books so far and I knew this one would be no different. This book had In My Dreams I Hold A Knife vibes. A university mystery with a lot of twists and turns. I think I suspected nearly every character by the time the end came. And the ending STILL surprised me. This one is a slow burn but I loved piecing together the night of the accident and all the clues. I was convinced on who the killer was until the very end. I absolutely loved this one!

Really enjoyed The It Girl another entertaining read by Ruth Ware,In her latest book Oxford and the characters came alive keeping me turning the pages.#netgalley #gallerybooks

Thrillers centered around a group of college friends, a lush campus, and a murder are catnip to me, so I had to check out Ware's latest work, even though 'One by One' was kinda meh to me. This one...didn't do it for me either, unfortunately. I didn't gel with the writing or the MC fully, and I thought Ware did this type of thing much more effectively with 'The Lying Game,' (although the boarding school kids there were preternaturally mature, whereas here the college kids are...less mature?)

Freshman Hannah shows up at Oxford and meets her new roommate, uber wealthy April Clarke-Cliveden. April seems to have it all, money, beauty and charisma. She’s the ultimate It Girl. When Hannah finds April dead, her life will never be the same.

The “Before” and “After” dual timelines with the crime revealed at the start makes you wonder what the book will lead to. By about 10 percent in, then you get the idea of what will happen with the storyline. Hoping there’s more to it than just the obvious. So many red herrings that work well and have you second guessing what your original theory is. Hannah’s second guessing herself keeps the reader second guessing themselves too!

And then you hit the middle of the book. The middle of the book is a little slow going and kind of puts the brakes on things a bit. The ending chapters ramp up however and finale is satisfying enough. I think Ware fans will be happy.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Scout Press for providing the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. It’s fast paced and has me wanting to read it nonstop to finish and find out the conclusion.
I thought I had it all figured out but I was very off. I loved the epic conclusion and I fell more in love with the characters after.
This is definitely an adventure I would recommend to anyone.

This is my first Ruth Ware book and I think it was a great first choice. The combination of Oxford College (one of my favorite places in the world), social media from the last decade, and academia in general made for quite the compelling story.

I will say that unlike some of the other academic-themed books I've read this semester (I'm looking at you Vladimir), this one felt a bit more mainstream. That doesn't mean it didn't have me on the edge of my seat -- I was definitely there as we raced toward the end.

I highly recommend this as a first experience to this author, as it was mine. The combination of influencer (from the relative beginnings) + flash back and forth to the main event was really effective and makes for one of those books that you don't want to put down.

Insanely fantastic! I loved this book and it sucked me right in. I loved the College Setting and then Scotland. The MC was great as were all the characters. This is a must read thriller! You won’t put it down!

Ruth Ware makes a bounce back in my mind after her last book One By One - which was my least fave of her novels.

Kept me guessing, I thought I figured it out but didn’t get all the details right. Will definitely snag a physical copy when it releases!

April is the IT girl at Oxford, and happens to be the first person Hannah meets. Quickly, Hannah is swept up in her world, borrowing clothes, parties, and they become inseparable. That is until April is murdered. Fast forward 10 years later, and the man accused of killing April, John Neville, dies in prison. Hannah finally feels like she can breathe and starts to move on, that is until a journalist comes to tell her that John Neville is innocent. Hannah on a quest to find the truth, may find her days are numbered.

I was hesitant to read this one because I couldn't finish the last one of Ware's. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't see the end coming, I was on the edge of my seat, I loved the twists and turns and there were many, even at the very end. Additionally, books that flashback are my favorite, as they can allow for great character development, foreshadowing, and a fuller picture for the reader. The It Girl did not disappoint. I was able to feel the character's emotions, empathize, and gain greater insight into the characters' behaviors. I was sad when this one ended. If you like fast-paced mysteries or thrillers, you need to read this!

April Clarke-Cliveden and Hannah Jones were roommates at Oxford. As the year progressed, they became best friends and were part of a group of close, inseparable friends until April was found murdered in her dorm room. After that, although the friends went on with their lies, problems came up over a period of 10 years that affected every person involved. Hannah married April’s boyfriend, and testified against a strange faculty member at the college which resulted in him being convicted, in Ruth Ware’s novel, The It Girl . The novel goes from before (the murder) to after. Hannah wonders if her testimony convicted an innocent man when that so-called “innocent man” dies in prison, Hannah is beside herself and begins contacting her old friends to get to the bottom of it and rethink the clues leading to the murder.

Ruth Ware is an excellent storyteller and it is evident in this novel. It is well-written and even though it jumps from before to after throughout, it’s fairly easy to follow. It actually keeps readers on the edges of their seats wondering who the actual murderer is if it isn’t the man convicted. The building suspense keeps readers glued to the novel. Ware’s development of the characters is especially good in this novel, and the characters seem like real people that mainstream people actually know.

There is no question why Ruth Ware is a bestselling author; this is an excellent novel that will be enjoyed by all thriller aficionados. Highly recommended.

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

The It Girl is April Coutts-Cliden, a popular, rich (and sometimes mean) girl murdered at Oxford. The main character is Hannah, April's roommate and best friend, who helped put away April's murderer for life. When Hannah starts having doubts 10 years later about April's killer, she takes it upon herself to investigate. I'm a bit surprised I didn't enjoy this one more, as I usually love a good college campus mystery. I think the repetitiveness of Hannah's current day emotional state was just a bit much. I preferred the scenes from the past. Overall this was a solid read with a surprising reveal, but not my favorite by Ware.

I am always excited for a chance to review this author and "The It Girl" was no exception. In Ruth Ware's new thriller, we follow Hannah in the present and travel back in time with her to a traumatic event that shaped her life into what it is today. Hannah enters university and is immediately captivated by her new roommate, April. What happens next changes Hannah and she can't move forward in her present life until she resolves what happened one fateful night.

The It Girl is not the first book I have read by Ruth Ware and I had high expectations. The book did not disappoint! It is written in a format that keeps the reader wondering, the chapters are all marked "Before" or "After". I remember marking times in my life as "Before" life-changing events such as "Before Dad died" or "Before we had the money to go on vacation". After works the same way.

In The It Girl, a set of college friends mark time as "Before April was murdered" and "After April was murdered". The chapters are intertwined so as a reader you have time to consider what each step in the students' lives "Before" and what "After" entails; how they are affected when a tragedy strikes.

Written masterfully so it is impossible to know how the book will end keeps the reader engaged, VERY engaged. This reader was so engaged that I finished it in two days. It is literally impossible to put down.