This was the first Ruth Ware I have read and it absolutely did not disappoint. The flashback narrative running alongside present day kept the tension throughout and I couldn’t put it down!

I've got a bit of a confession here. I know I like Ruth Ware's books but I'd kind of...put this one off. The title made me think it was going to be about wealthy people living Instagrammable lives - not that I have a problem with that at all, but I kind of need to be in the right mood.

I was wrong and should have read the blurb.

This book is actually about a murder at a fictitious Oxford University college. It centres on Hannah and the 'before' and 'after' of her discovery of the body of her roommate, April, in their shared rooms. April is the 'It Girl' of the novel's title, bringing champagne, designer clothes and luxury furniture to their digs, but this is much more the story of a friendship group and a university experience gone tragically wrong.

In the 'before' sections, we see Hannah arrive at Pelham College and start to get to grips with Oxford University life - complete with rich girl roommate, creepy college porter, sleazy professor and a whole host of Oxford traditions and lingo to master. Her friendship group grows and the tension rises as we get nearer to the fateful night when April is killed.

These glimpses at university life are cut through with 'after' sections in which Hannah is living in Edinburgh years later. As she becomes increasingly concerned that her testimony jailed an innocent man, she is forced to re-examine the events of the night of April's death. This means not only confronting the fact she may have made a disastrous mistake, but also reinterpreting her friendships and relationships from her Oxford days.

Because if she got it wrong ten years ago, it means a killer is still on the loose...

I liked the setting of the story within an Oxford context - the 'before' sections were particularly engaging and has me scouring every word for details of what could have subsequently gone wrong. Ware perfectly captured the sense of arriving at university and feeling out of your depth when everything is so unfamiliar - doubly so for Hannah with the Oxford conventions, In that regard, Hannah was a sympathetic and relatable central figure - even though some of her decisions (especially in the 'after' sections) were slightly ill-advised.

I found lots to enjoy in this novel, even though I identified whodunit quite early on - I just couldn't see the how! I thought it was cleverly plotted and it did keep me reading, even though some of the early stages felt a bit slow compared to some of Ware's other books.

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys closed circle crime novels - there is a limited cast of suspects here and they are an interesting bunch. The university setting is well done and Hannah is a likeable character to follow through her toughest times.

I loved this book! Full of gripping twists and turns, it certainly keeps you guessing throughout the whole book. I thought I had it sussed so many times! Lots of characters to keep up with but it's written in a way that it was easy to remember their stories and personalities. A must read whodunnit!

Hannah Jones became a key witness in the murder of her best friend April. That day onwards her life changed. John Neville, was prosecuted and was found guilty of murder of April. Hannah was key witness in this trial. 10 years on, she now lives in Edinburgh with her husband Will and is almost 6 months pregnant.
Since the day she saw April’s lifeless body sprawled across the lobby of their rooms in Pelham, Hannah and five their lives changed forever. She is no more in touch with any of her friends from that time, except for Will whom she got married to.

John Neville died in prison due to a cardiac arrest. Now a whole new can of worms opened up after his death. A journalist found some inconsistencies in the defence case’s. When he reached out to Hannah, she too felt something is really off with the case. She had been hiding for 10 years so that case stops tormenting her. This time she will face the devil head on and once she will put the case to rest.

The storyline is complex and intriguing. Every turn of page not just revealed something new, it just keep getting better with every page wondering what will happen next? It will keep you guessing until the very end. It is not exactly a locked room mystery but it has its feel.

Overall, the book is yet another intriguing read from Ruth Ware. My rating for the book is 4 stars.

This was a book that was really easy to get in to and the twists and turns took you on one hell of a journey! I love the way the plot evolved over the dual timeline - then and now - and you got to see glimpses of the lives before the murder -and all the aftermath and how such a tragic event affected so many people.

Hannah is at the heart of the story as her evidence, after her rich 'influencer' roommate, was murdered at Oxford, and the porter was convicted of this crime. When he dies in jail many years later, doubts start to surface about his conviction and Hannah sets out to replay the events and see if she did make an error.

It was really fast paced as the truth starts to slot in to place and it really showed to be careful who you trust!!

The last Ruth Ware book I read was “One By One” which was outstanding! “The It Girl”, however, just didn’t give me that same experience or enjoyment.


It is of course well written and flows seamlessly between the dual timelines and cities, but its slow and overly drawn out at times. It felt as though it took an age to get to the excitement and there was more background story/build up than the reader actually needed.


Three things I loved about “The It Girl”:


1) The ending!
2) The last few chapters where the excitement happened, and the way it built up for the big reveal and the why.
3) That there were no loose ends left or unanswered questions.


Now, it is important to remember:


1) This review is my opinion only and there are many a reviewer out there who felt about this title the way I did about “One By One”.

2) Just because I felt it was slow, does not mean I didn’t enjoy it and wouldn’t recommend it to others. It’s perfect for all fans of locked room mysteries and Ruth Ware as a writer should be on everyone’s bookcase. I still made sure I ordered a signed first edition to add to my collection and Ruth Ware will remain an auto read author for me.


Not my favourite, but when Ruth Ware has written so many other fantastic titles, you start to compare them all together and this one just didn’t compete with her others.


3.5 Stars – Slow Burner With A Great Ending!


Publication Date: 3rd March 2022


Thank you to #NetGalley, #RuthWare and #SimonAndSuchusterUK for an ARC of #TheItGirl in exchange for an honest review.

I was fortunate to receive a copy of this ARC from NetGalley. Ooh I really enjoyed this book! I was thinking of "It Girls" from the early 90s. This book was a really good mystery and was a real page turner for me.

I like Ruth Wares books so was excited to receive an arc of the IT Girl. The Oxford and Edinburgh settings were well written but the story and characters lacked depth and the narrative was too slow and drawn out.

I read this one not long after reading In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and that was possibly a mistake. Very similar plot of dual timelines, looking back on someone murdered at college and trying to figure out who did it within the friendship group. I therefore didn't enjoy this as much had I read it first or even a while after IMDIHAK. It was still good, but just had a moment of "I've literally just read this" which is a shame.

I absolutely love this author. I know that I am guaranteed to get a great read and this has been no different.
This is a book I have devoured in one sitting.

I found this a decent read. It was well written but I found it a little slow paced. There were times when it failed to hold my interest and I found the story dragged a tad.

Eventhough Hannah is happily married with a baby on the way she is still haunted by her best friend's death 10 years ago. She was the one that discovered the body and she was the one that helped convict the killer...but what if she got it wrong.

As usual I went into this book blind, which is hard to do as it seems to bed everywhere! However the book starts with a dead body in a dorm room so I was all in straight away. I can't quite put my finger on why but I just love dark academia where things go awry at a college or school. Ruth Ware expertly sets the scene so I was instantly transported to the hallowed halls of Oxford University darkness and secrecy lingering around every corner. I did actually feel like I was a fly on the wall. Also as an added bonus the present day story takes place in Edinburgh in particular a fictional book shop, so I relished all the book related details. The main story of shy quiet girl befriended by wild popular girl who is then killed is a story I have read many times before however this one stands out from the crowd. This is because Ware knows how to write suspect characters with depth to them. I always get Agatha Christie vibes from her books and this was definitely a modern whodunnit. I was looking at everyone from Hannah's past very closely and two suspects stood out for me very early on. I was right with one of them but this did not leave me disappointed because the final reveal was satisfyingly surprising. The pacing throughout was just right as the story burns slowly before taking alight and finishing with a bang. I have now read all Ware's books but one and this is by far my favourite. The It Girl deserves all the popularity and adoration.

I loved this book. I convicted killer maintains his innocence throughout his imprisonment and when he dies a journalist decides to revisit the evidence and find out once and for all. I thought the characters were very well described and the storyline kept me hooked.
In fact, I felt as if I were still connected to the characters even after I’d finished the book.

📖Synopsis

Before: April was the first person Hannah met at Oxford. April is the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of friends—Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily—during their first term. By the end of the second, April was dead.

After: Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison. However, a journalist contacts Hannah and is convinced that Neville may have been innocent. As Hannah reconnects with old friends and delves deeper into the mystery of April’s death, she realizes that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide

Rating: 2 ⭐️

Thoughts 💬
I read Turn of the Key earlier this year and absolutely loved it. I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately those hopes were dashed.

First of all I felt the book dragged a bit and could have been much shorter. I found the chapters a bit too long and for me thrillers work best when the chapters are short and make me flip through the pages quickly.

Secondly there are plot holes in the evidence that convicted John Neville and it really makes you wonder how he was convicted in the first place.

Thirdly for me there were far too many misdirects, some of which really didn't hold up.

Lastly the why, who and the conclusion behind the murder ruined the ending for me. I won't go into details here because there would be spoliers but I was looking for a much better conclusion.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster UK for my ARC in exchange the review.

Let me start by saying I adore Ruth Ware, I’ve read everything she’s ever written but and it pains me to say it, this is my least favourite of hers. It’s not a bad book by no means I just didn’t connect with it. I didn’t care about the characters, the story or the twists. It was a bit of a slog to get through. The ending was a bit too convenient. I liked the reveal as I didn’t see it coming but that was the only saving grace for me. 3 stars from me. Thank you to Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I love Ruth Ware as a writer and her books. Unfortunately this one did not live up to my expectations. I found that i skim read parts and didn't engage with the characters. Wasn't as fast paced as previous books of hers.

Will look forward to further books by her.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion

So many words and yet so little happening. Let me say it for the umpteenth time, a thriller needs to be fast=paced or it doesn't thrill. The endless interior thoughts of characters simply slow it to a crawl. I'm bored, bored, bored. I know no more after 20% of the book than I did after the first chapter. And I couldn't care less who dun what to whom and why because none of the characters has developed into a "real" person. Abandoned.

I enjoy Ruth Ware’s books and this one felt a big too flat for me unfortunately. Not sure if it was the heroine that seemed just too cold and calculated it was it me. I had to stop reading after 40% mark unfortunately, I couldn’t get into it at all and while I tried a fes times to pick it up, I just gave up. Maybe, someday I’ll go back to it but for now I have to say stop.

That doesn’t mean I won’t read the author’s next books, she’s a must read author for me and I will definitely read more in the future.

Very grateful to the publisher for my review copy

Hannah arrived in Oxford ten years ago with a bright future ahead of her. But all that changed the night she found her roommate dead. April was the centre of every party, the one everyone gravitated towards. But someone wanted her dead, and Hannah worries that the man she helped put away for murder might have been innocent after all. But if he was innocent, that must mean that someone she knew killed April...

This one really didn't worked for me, and there's a number of reasons why. First and foremost there's Hannah herself. She's such a wet blanket it's unreal. She's forever doubting herself, putting herself down, that she fades into the background a lot of the time. She's a walking stereotype of the comprehensive poor girl turned good, and I found her incredibly irritating. In comparison we have the gregarious April, the light and soul of the party. She's the typical posh party girl, the one everyone secretly hates but can't help loving at the same time. Selfish and hateful, it feels like it's only a matter of time before someone kills her. The sections told in the past with April alive are easily the better parts of the story, as she's by far the more interesting character.

Speaking of how the plot is divided, into 'before April's death and ' after', I found it threw me out of the story quite a lot. I'm personally not a fan of stories told in this way and I found that the set up for the before sections were a lot more detailed and atmospheric than the present sections, as thought the author put a lot more thought into one part of the story more than the other. The present sections were actually quite the drag to get through, and for the most part really boring. I also found the ending very anticlimactic, as I'd worked a lot of it out beforehand. It's not subtle, although I did find the writing intriguing.

One note I really want to mention is a comment Hannah makes right at the end of the book. She states that her baby's movements have changed as they are 'growing out of space to shift and turn' which is a dangerously inaccurate and irresponsible comment to make. Your baby does NOT move less towards the end of pregnancy (further information here: https://www.kickscount.org.uk/your-baby's-movements) and this is a topic I have personal experiences with.

Unfortunately this was rather distinctly average, not helped by a flip flopping between timelines that doesn't really work and a setting that I'm also not personally a fan of. The off hand comment about baby movements also left a bad taste in my mouth. Not for me.

Finishing Ruth Ware's The It Girl feels like leaving a close friend. I loved the group of characters (even the despicable ones) and the twists and turns. The whole book feels like a gut punch. I loved it!