Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - The It Girl

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

The It Girl by Ruth Ware

18 reviews

noooootalie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

this book just reminded me why I love thrillers so much. I would absolutely recommend if you like the trope of citizen turned detective to investigate the past murder of someone close to them.

I loved the usage of third person in this book--it was so well written that I actually still felt like I was reading from Hannah's perspective, without first person.

I also truly could not have guessed the outcome of this book.

Like I'll be so fr with you I thought it was Will up until Hannah herself knew it was Hugh.

Ware did a magnificent job of planting a variety of seeds that would divert your attention just enough to keep you on your toes about how the story would end.

The only reason why I won't give this book 5 stars is because I feel like the buildup was a little too slow for my taste. I would love to reread this book knowing the outcome so I could try to play detective and see more clues, but alas it was a little slow and there are too many other books in the world that I am dying to read!! and now I'm gonna go pick up some more thrillers ;-) byeeee

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lindsaytimmerman92's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-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? No

2.5

Predictable and a bit vapid but enjoyable nonetheless.

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adriennelarocque's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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sarahmarie094's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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raych_bee's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Although not too original of a plot, very well written and good twist at the end! Dragged for a bit in the middle, but 78% of it was fast paced and gripping. My guess is Ruth was pregnant when she wrote it, or had recently been. The 22% of the plot that I found slow was mostly centered around her bump, blood pressure, or anxiety of motherhood.

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amyvl93's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

This was my first Ruth Ware pick as my book club chose it as their latest read. It follows Hannah who when she was at Oxford University provided eyewitness evidence that placed the college porter, John Neville, in prison for the murder of her roommate April. Many years later, Hannah is married to (April's ex) Will and they live together in Edinburgh and are expecting their first child. When John dies in prison, this sparks renewed interest in whether he truly committed the crime he died in prison for; and Hannah herself begins to review her past.

This was a fairly entertaining read. The supporting characters are by-and-large stereotypes; ranging from the one character with a working class accent to to the prickly smart girl. Hannah, our protagonist, is not like the other girls in her university years, and largely defined by her pregnancy in her later years. April is perhaps slightly more complicated, but her character type does feel familiar in many contemporary thrillers (wealthy, incredibly attractive woman who manipulates everyone around her whilst struggling with some undefined inner demons). I found the introduction of November to be quite intriguing, but she tends to serve as just a sidekick to Hannah's investigating.

There are definitely moments where both the plot and character decisions stretch reality and my personal enjoyment; Hannah is easily drawn towards believing in people's potential motives and often makes some questionable decisions as a result of this, and the last 10% really felt like it jumped off a cliff (no pun intended) which undermined some of the tension that Ware had built up.

That being said, this was a pretty entertaining read, and Ware is definitely on my list of authors to check out next time I want an easier read.

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m1923's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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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.

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uhhlexiconic's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Despite the sour note of the treatment of the original suspect, the It Girl is a hard to put down thriller that manages to make each of its suspects feel plausible.

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cpratreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

I liked this book! Ruth Ware is my vacation go-to author and she didn't dissapoint with this one either.

This is the first book of hers (I've read 2 others) where I didn't guess the outcome so that was fun! It did feel like it went a little quickly once the reveal happened but it was a fun ride.

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