amyvl93's review against another edition
- 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 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.
Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Pregnancy
sampcole21's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Pregnancy, Violence, and Stalking
Minor: Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Drug use, Death, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.25
“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.
Graphic: Grief, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, Bullying, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Stalking, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Classism, Kidnapping, and Violence
uhhlexiconic's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Murder, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
jakobmarleymommy's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Moderate: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Pregnancy, and Murder
mouwuol's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Child death, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Gun violence, Grief, Violence, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Classism, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Murder, Blood, Sexual harassment, Medical content, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, and Death
doreyghc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Toxic friendship, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Drug use, Blood, Bullying, Gaslighting, and Gun violence
Minor: Vomit, Cancer, Cursing, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Panic attacks/disorders
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Infidelity, Classism, Toxic friendship, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Gun violence
slayergirl3281's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
If you l you’re looking for a beach read true crime novel this one’s for you!
Cw
Murder
Strangulation
Kidnapping
Drug use
Alcohol
Toxic friendship
Bullying
Harassment
Sexual predator
Suicide
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Kidnapping, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicide
uranaishi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Kidnapping and Pregnancy
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Drug use, Infidelity, Murder, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Cancer, and Death of parent