Hello and welcome to my stop on the blog tour for The It Girl by Ruth Ware. Thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours and Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for inviting me to take part and to Simon & Schuster UK for my PDF copy. Before I share my review here’s what the book is all about:

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“April Coutts-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 second, 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 realises that the friends she thought she knew all have something to hide…including a murder.“

Available now from: Bookshop – Hive  – Waterstones – Kobo – Amazon – Audible – Google Play

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My Review

I really enjoyed this latest thriller from Ruth Ware set in Oxford and Edinburgh.

It’s told from Hannah’s point of view, in before and after chapters, so I got to know Hannah very well and liked her, especially as her character developed throughout the story. Hannah was April’s room mate at Oxford University so she knew April very well. It was through Hannah’s memories that I got to know April, or did I?

I really enjoyed the Oxford setting, one of my sisters used to live there and I knew it quite well back in the 80s and 90s. It felt a bit like a trip down memory lane, particularly when certain places were mentioned.

It was definitely a slow burner of a thriller, but it didn’t stop me from flipping the pages as I got closer and closer to finding out whodunnit and why? I couldn’t quite decide who was guilty for most of the book, but then I had a very strong suspicion and hoped I was right. As to the motive I didn’t have a clue, and actually completely forgot about it, that’s how tense it got towards the end!! 😱

This is only my second Ruth Ware book and I definitely want to read more of her back catalogue.

Definitely recommended if you enjoy slow burner thrillers.

Book 16/20

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