Reviews with content warning for Kidnapping - The It Girl

Definitely full of twists and turns. A really good whodunit thriller that has a great medium pace throughout. Full of complex characters who come from different class backgrounds to meet at Oxford. The main character is a newcomer to the area and through her roommate blends into this new group full of historh and secrets that lead to tragic consequences.

Content Warnings

thecriticalreader's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.0

Review:

I am not someone who typically enjoys mysteries and thrillers, but I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone more often. I picked up The It Girl by Ruth Ware for a transatlantic flight, thinking it would pass the time.

Although I’ve seen some people complain about the slow pace of this book, I appreciate the fact that this book takes its time to develop its characters and their backstories. The depth of its characters saves the book from being irredeemably unoriginal (a wealthy and sexy popular college student at Oxford is murdered! I haven’t heard that one before /s). The protagonist, Hannah, is not exactly the most dynamic main character on the planet, but Ware writes her trauma in a believable and sympathetic way. I especially like that Ware gives Hannah a good reason for revisiting the murder several years later—there’s nothing I hate more than main characters who play detective for the fun of it.

In short, I found myself enjoying the story for the first 80% or so. It is more grounded in reality than other thrillers I’ve read and is decently well-written. However, I know from experience that thrillers rarely impress me with their endings. Usually, thriller and mystery endings ruin the stories for me; why do thriller and mystery authors feel so desperate to add so many twists and turns to their story at the expense of narrative cohesion? Unfortunately, The It Girl is no exception. The ending and its twists are stupid, unbelievable, and ridiculous. I can think of a handful of alternative endings that would have made more sense than this one.

The Run-Down:

You will probably like The It Girl if . . .

· You like thrillers that take time to build up their characters

· You don’t mind “slow-paced” thrillers

· You like dark academia settings and vibes

You might not like The It Girl if . . .

· You want a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time

· You don’t like bland protaganists

· You dislike the twisty/turny nature of thriller endings

Content Warnings

rhgrimes's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

rachel_stout's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

Great build up and plot in this one, wish the relationships between the characters had been developed a bit more, especially in the flashbacks.

Content Warnings

elliedwrites's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This one made me say “WTF” out loud multiple times. So good.

Content Warnings

amyvl93's review

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

sampcole21's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

yvo_about_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

More...