Book Review | It Girl by Ruth Ware

*I received a free advanced copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.*

Summary: April Clarke-Cliveden was the first person Hannah Jones met at Oxford. Vivacious, bright, occasionally vicious, and the ultimate It girl, she quickly pulled Hannah into her dazzling orbit. Together, they developed a group of devoted and inseparable friends — Will, Hugh, Ryan, and Emily — during their first term. By the end of the year, April was dead.

Now, a decade later, Hannah and Will are expecting their first child, and the man convicted of killing April, former Oxford porter John Neville, has died in prison.

Relieved to have finally put the past behind her, Hannah’s world is rocked when a young journalist comes knocking and presents new evidence 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…including a murder.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My Thoughts: This book was really good. I enjoyed the mystery and honestly could not figure out who did it until it was revealed. Ruth Ware did an incredible job making you think it was someone who it ended up not being…multiple times. I literally guess wrong multiple times. I love a murder mystery that I cannot figure out.

I liked how the book went back and forth between the “before” and “after” so you could learn about what happened to April and how Hannah met her, etc. It really helps to build up the story and give context to the characters in the present time.

The only thing that seems like it should be significant, but to me ended up being kind of minor is the journalist. The synopsis makes it seem like this person is a big deal, but in my opinion, in the actual story they were a minor role that could have been made into something bigger and it would have added to the story.

Overall, this was a great read and I think I finished it in about a day and a half. Highly recommend. The book will be released July 12, 2022.