Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - The It Girl

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

54 reviews

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

2.25

Finished reading: July 2nd 2023

“Don’t let yourself get caught up in what-ifs. That way madness lies.”

WARNING: it's unpopular opinion time again!!

I somehow tend to have a love-hate relationship with Ruth Ware's books. Some of her titles are on my list of favorites, while others fail to hit the mark completely instead... I tend to love her gothic thrillers most, so part of me was a bit hesitant to pick up The It Girl because I wasn't sure how I would react to it. Most people seemed to enjoy the story and I did like the sound of the blurb, so I still had hopes that I would enjoy it... But in the end it just wasn't ment to be. I think part of the issue was that the pace is considerably slow, and it took a LONG time for anything substantial to happen. Add the fact that I didn't like any of the characters, which is always an issue in a character-driven story, and I struggled considerably to find the motivation to keep reading. Sure, we have the mystery around April's death, but I honestly couldn't care less who did it and I personally thought she had it coming. Hannah was very frustrating as a character, both the past and present chapters. The It Girl is mostly a story of toxic friendships, characters not standing up for themselves, infidelity and a not exactly credible hunt for the truth in the present. By the time things got a little more tense near the end, I had already long given up on the story... And I didn't find the reveals exactly worth the wait either. In short, The It Girl was overlong, way too slow and had a disappointing cast of unlikeable and frustrating characters. This is probably one of my least favorite Ruth Ware stories to date... I do hope she will return to the gothic thrillers at some point, because otherwise I might just have to leave her books be in the future.

Content Warnings

funofme's review against another edition

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dark slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

This was such a weak story, lots of repetition of the same thoughts over and over. I really did not like the main character. The mystery was an enticing who-dun-it but there should have been a lot more meat on the bones. I like the structure of the ending & the before and after method of storytelling. I will always read ruth ware though because despite all of this, it was stilly a comfy read.

Content Warnings

allielippe's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Content Warnings

latashman's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

amberjackonski's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

katymat18's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This one felt eerily similar to In My Dreams I Hold a Knife plot-wise, and while I gave that one 5 stars there was something missing in The It Girl for me. I pretty much love everything Ruth Ware writes, but this book just felt super slow to me and the motive felt a bit weak. The ending is really where this story struck gold - I had my suspicions and was super thrilled to be proven right! However the amount of times Ware and our narrator made me question so many characters got a little irritating. In the end another solid who-done-it mystery by Ware, I did enjoy it despite some misgivings.

Content Warnings