Yet another enticing read for a Ruth aware fans! A fascinating read that switches time periods that are divided between “before” and “after.” Not my favorite by her, but any fan of Ruth Ware’s needs to check it out!

I’ve been a huge Ruth Ware fan for ages and “The It Girl” doesn’t disappoint. This thriller is just as much of a page turner as the rest of her novels.

Ruth Ware is one of my favorite authors, and while I have always enjoyed her writing, THIS book is a next level addition to her ever-growing repertoire of first rate mysteries. The way in which she spins this tale is spellbinding. and her writing has somehow exponentially grown since her last book was published. I love how she portrayed Hannah's need to discover the truth surrounding April's death: "For there are messy, wriggling, unfinished ends putrefying beneath the surface of what happened that night--things that she has refused to think about and look at for a long time."

Sometimes with books that flash between the past and current day, one time period can get neglected, but I found both worlds developed fully with characters that were both delightful and deplorable. I'm so excited to recommend this book to the ever-growing number of Ruth Ware fans that are in my classroom!

The It Girl was a fantastic thriller. The story is told from the point of view of Hannah, both in the present day and ten years ago, when she was a student at university. Hannah’s recollections mainly center around her roommate, a charismatic young lady from an affluent family. In the present, the murderer of one of Hannah’s college friends has just died in prison and Hannah starts doubting her own recollections of that night. Was the right person behind bars this whole time? Or is there a murderer still at large? I thought the author did a superb job of portraying Hannah’s emotions, especially the never ending emotional roller coaster of pregnancy. There were a lot of red herrings but confined within Hannah’s friend group. I thought the ending was satisfying and believable. Would recommend to a friend.

Ruth Ware is a master at keeping the reader guessing for nearly the entire book. The It Girl was no exception. The lives of 6 college students collide as they begin their freshman year. One of them does not make it out alive. Switching between then and 10 years into the future, Ware does an excellent job with characterization as well as keeping the reader on their toes. A definite page turner- I highly recommend!
** huge thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

I have been a fan of this author for awhile. And I thought I had this figured out many times and was wrong at every turn. I love that!

This is a well written story that centers around a murdered university student. While it starts out slow, the early chapters alternate between before the murder and after the murder. The reader meets a group of friends in their first year at Oxford, all friends of the murdered girl. In the after chapters the reader drops into the lives of the same friends living their lives 10 years later. All seem to have moved on and put the tragedy behind them. The death of the man convicted of the murder in prison shatters the thin veneer of their adult lives and everyone begins to relive the night of the murder and they start asking too many questions and second guessing what each saw and heard that fateful night. This leads to the kind of thrilling climax that readers have come to expect from this author. Well written characters and several twists that are as surprising as they are satisfying lead to one great read.

The It Girl, Ruth Ware’s latest thriller, to be released this summer. This book tells the story of a small friend group in school at Oxford until one of them, the rich, beautiful, prankster friend April, gets murdered. 10 years later, Hannah reconnects with her friends from the past and look at evidence from a new lens.

This book really appeals to a younger audience, those have just graduated from college, in college, and younger adults. I instantly remembered scenes back in my college days. Ruth Ware really described the characters very well and all six main characters were very distinct. We learned a lot about them throughout the storyline. The book is told from the perspective of before and after the murder and goes back-and-forth from chapter to chapter. I really enjoyed this presentation of the storyline. It really was a game of whodunit. Throughout the entire story I had a different murderer in mind, and that twist at the end definitely was worth the read. I definitely recommend reading this 5 STAR book when it comes out ASAP!

I've adored all of Ware's books and this is no exception! Hannah and April become fast friends at college until one night when tragedy strikes and Hannah's life changes forever. Told in alternating "before" and "after" chapters, we see the two young women making friends, boyfriends, partying, and the usual college "routine." But later Hannah has lingering doubts and questions that she can't answer by herself and newly pregnant with their first child, she and husband Will are ecstatic until things escalate and Hannah knows she needs hard and fast answers. So be prepared to enter this maelstrom of emotions as Ware slowly draws you in, dangles the loose ends in your face, and wills you to confront the truth. So satisfying (as are all of her novels)!
Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC!

Ruth Ware’s writing has enthralled me since her very first novel, “In A Dark, Dark Wood” but this might be her best work yet. Well-paced and featuring a bifurcated timeline divided into ‘before’ and ‘after’, “The It Girl” is about a group of 5 friends in their freshman year at Oxford University whose lives are shattered by the devastating death of their friend April. In it, Ware deftly uses thriller tropes only to shatter them moments later, culminating in a final scene that ties in all of the clues she’d hidden in the book to a satisfying conclusion. The collegiate setting perfectly encapsulates those relationships you build in your freshman year of uni, adding an emotional layer in the ‘after' chapters, set in Edinburgh.

The only wrinkle of ‘The It GIrl’, for me, was the addition of Instagram - Ware mentions it to establish the ‘Before’ chapters solidly in the early 2010s, but beyond that, there isn’t much use of it in any particularly compelling way. It’s mentioned often enough that I expected a kind of ‘Chekov’s Gun’ reveal, and while there is a tie-in to IG later in the book, it has nothing to do with the actual function of the app itself.

Overall, a solid, well-paced thriller. My new favourite of Ware’s!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an e ARC of this book.
Best ever Ruth Ware! The year off brought freshness and an innovative plot.
Fast moving plot flipping between two time frames. Never gets confusing and stays interesting with not totally predictable twists at the end. Love the characters. One gets into their heads. A real page turner.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware is a classic whodunit page turner. Hanna and April, roommates at fictional Pelham House at Oxford, quickly bond and form a tight clique with fellow classmates Will, Ryan, Hugh, and Emily. When April is brutally strangled, justice is served quickly, thanks to the eye witness testimonies of Hanna and Hugh, but when convicted killer, Neville, dies in prison, and rumors swirl about new evidence, Hanna questions her own memories of that night and embarks on a search for truth, and discovers that April had many enemies, and even more secrets.

Fans of campus fiction will devour this novel and relish in the description of Oxford, This character driven novel is sure to be a great 2022 beach read. April fits the bill as the charismatic, deliciously wicked, and self absorbed It Girl.

Thanks to NetGalley and ScoutPress for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I see a movie in the making! This was a great read with lots of twists, turns and many, many red herrings. You cared about the characters, their relationships….even though you knew this was a mystery. Great plot, good character development, one of the better mysteries that I read lately…and really-locations and actions will make a great movie!

Thank you NetGalley for providing this book for an honest review. I have loved every book that I have read by Ruth Ware and this book was no exception. The It Girl follows the lives of a group of friends from college. It is 10 years later and they are uncovering some facts about the death of one of their friends. You will be hooked with this book and begin to suspect many of the different characters. Just when you think you have it figured it the books turns in a new direction and surprises you. Read this book, you will not be disappointed.

Ruth Ware does it again – I love a good thriller and thus enjoyed reading The It Girl and thought it was a suspenseful and engaging read.

Hannah and April meet at Oxford as roommates who then turn unlikely best friends. Ware explores multiple timelines (one “before” and one “after") as we learn that April was murdered at the end of their first year of college. We are then left figuring out who killed April, the “It girl.”

Overall, I enjoyed this book. For the most part, I liked Hannah and thought she was a reliable character. April was so enjoyable and entertaining to read about. Was it a complete amazing shock at the end? Eh. But it was a good read and would recommend it. The It Girl is out July 2022!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book – I appreciate it so very much.

4.25
Ruth Ware hits it out of the park again. She really knows how to draw the reader in, while keeping us interested the entire time.
She keeps enough tension and intrigue in her writing to make you want to keep turning the page. I’ll definitely be purchasing this for my personal shelf!

I absolutely love Ruth Ware books! This one was really good. However, this was not my favorite. Ten years ago, a group of students all become friends in college. They have a lot of good times together as well as the typical teenage/early 20’s friendship issues including dating, jealousies and insecurities.

April and Hannah are roommates and are unlikely friends. If they had not been placed in the same housing area they probably would not have been friends. They make it work though. In come the others and they go through college together. April is then murdered and there is only one likely suspect and Hannah is the main witness.

Ten years later when the suspect dies in jail Hannah decides to revisit the case and her memory of the incident. She has been second- guessing herself for years. This opens a can or worms for all of the college friends and things turn complicated.

I felt that this book didn’t have the suspense or mystery that I am used to with Ruth Ware’s books. It is more that we are walked through a second investigation of the crime as Hannah is looking into evidence and talking to people that may have information that is new. This being said, I did enjoy reading it and always look forward to Ruth Ware’s books!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this book. I appreciate the opportunity to give an honest review.

This is my second Ruth Ware work and once again she grabs the reader right from the start. Well-written, gripping and holds your attention. bravo

Newly pregnant Hannah Jones has a nice life with her caring and sweet husband, Will. Still in the back of her mind there always lingers the death that brought them together. Ten years ago, Hannah's roommate, April, (former girlfriend of Will), was murdered and discovered by Hannah. When the man who was convicted of April's murder dies while in prison, it is all brought to light again. Did he really do it? Hannah can't let go that he might have been innocent, and that maybe she missed something that night. As she digs up the past, she starts to wonder if their friends are as innocent as she thought.

This was such an enjoyable page turner! It had me guessing all the way to the end and I was so surprised by the ending! I couldn’t put it down!!