It is settled. Carola Lovering is my new favorite author, having read every one of her books and loving them all. Bye, Baby, her newest release, is her best one yet, toeing the line between love and hate, dark and light, friends and enemies. This deeply absorbing, emotionally evocative novel is a tribute to teenage friendship and how it molds and shapes us, while also exploring how those relationships which once felt so sound and unbreakable have a way of changing shape as we ourselves grow and change.

Billie West and Cassie Barnwell were best friends. Were. But now Cassie Barnwell is Cassidy Adler, wife to a trust fund baby with a new baby of her own, and an emerging influencer and fashion curator to boot. Billie obsessively watches Cassie from the screen of her phone, effectively shut out of Cassie's new and sparkling life now that she is rich and famous.

Billie wonders what happened to the Cassie that she grew up with - they were once inseparable, but now feel like strangers. Billie would do anything to get back into Cassie's life ... including kidnapping her baby. That's right. Billie kidnaps Cassie's daughter in a moment of panic and desperation, and now she has to live with the consequences. But consequences sometimes come back to us in unexpected and unconventional ways, as Billie is soon to discover.

Bye, Baby is a knockout. Lovering is incredibly gifted when it comes to writing people. She gets them and all of their intimately dark and selfish motivations and machinations. She is so talented at exposing flawed people for who they are while also making them feel wholly human and sympathetic. No other author's books make me feel and think so much, while also keeping me thoroughly entertained through every single page. If you know Lovering and love Lovering, don't miss Bye, Baby.

Omg! This book kept me entertained on my flight.

This story about Cassie and Billie was wild! I love how the author mixed in the dual timelines of present and past. This definitely gave the reader more insight into this story.
Billie was obsessed with Cassie and Cassie was obsessed with herself. I knew what was going to happen (based on the description), but the way the author weaved this story together was a masterpiece! This book doesn't come out until March 2024, but I would pre-order thus asap.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC.

Rating-3.5
Cassie and Billie meet as preteens and become inseparable. They are long time best friends until Cassie finds an opportunity to begin a new life, the one she's always dreamed of, and leaves Billie behind holding on to the past. Their lives and friendship drifts further apart until one night Cassie's daughter goes missing. Billie gets the opportunity she's been waiting for to get close to her best friend again.

This book had two speeds for me. In the beginning and middle it was engaging. The main drama of the baby being taken and the fall out after held my attention. However, after the midway point it started to lose a little steam for me. I feel as if the story didn't have to go on as long as it did. That being said, I was getting a bit exasperated by Billie's unwavering loyalty to Cassie. She reminded me a lot of a high school girl vying for the mean girls attention, but she's well into her 30's.

This book is worth a read. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

A story about friendship and self realization. I was hooked from the beginning. Billie reminded me a lot of myself. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

Bye, Baby explored the friendship between Billie and Cassie how it started as intense inseparable relationship to Cassie feeling like she outgrew Billie and starts pushing her away. Billie decides to make a decision which I understand she panicked but it was still bizarre. Afterwards she has to come to terms with that choice and pairs choices of the past to see if there is a way to salvage this friendship.

I found myself relating to Billie in some ways, female friendships are complicated and as we get older priorities shift and not all friendships last forever. I loved the concept and was a fun vacation read!

Thanks St. Martin's Press and Netgalley

"bye, baby" is marketed as a thriller/suspense novel but it is everything but that.

when cassie's infant daughter goes missing, she reconnects with her old best friend billie. the novel mostly details how they became friends and what their friendship was like, along with a harrowing secret. it was obvious how the novel would end. it's not thrilling nor suspenseful. in fact it's mostly just boring.

i think i just like lovering's writing style.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering was a heart-wrenching read about two women who used to be best friends. There is also a sprinkling of mystery and why these two are still connected and can't let go. Female friendships - oh they are so complex - and yet we cling to them. For a woman to lose a longtime friend is often worse than a romantic break up.

Cassie has moved on from her childhood friend Billie. She is a bit of a snob and has finally married the right man, with the right money, the right family and has a newborn. Billie is devastated that her best friend has relegated her to once-a-month text messages - if that. Billie loves Cassie full stop and wants nothing more than to resume their friendship.

There are a lot of feelings and flashbacks in this book. Very engrossing read about a friendship gone wrong.

If you havent read this what are you waiting for? There are so many twists and turns I couldn't put it down.

Thanks Netgalley!

Wow. Lovering does it again! This time, I honestly had no idea how this would end. The dual timelines, the complicated friendship, the honest, and sometimes shocking truths had me drawn in, hating and loving these imperfect characters at once. And that's the thing. At the very core were these broken people who carved their own paths. While some might not agree with the choices, we certainly saw the depths of their character and that's the gift of a strong, seasoned author. Will recommend!

Bye Baby is a really good read where the writing is addicting enough to read the whole book in one sitting. Although the writing was fantastic, the book was missing a few elements that the story would benefit from. There was rarely any mystery or thriller aspects, and I felt like the story was perfectly laid out. Nothing was a surprise. It was easy to tell what would happen to Wade, who took the baby, and the ending wrapped up everything too perfectly. I felt like this story was more about how toxic friendships can be and years of obsession can shape your future than a true thriller.


Thank you to NetGallery and to St. Martin Press for giving me a copy of the book

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for letting me read this book for a review!

A second book on my read list by Carola Lovering. I enjoy the fact that the buildup of suspense was great throughout the book and then the ending of the book was a good happy ending for all. Talk about coincident timing because this story is about old childhood friends and how relationships can lead each other to separate ways. I had actually just ended a long-term childhood friendship about 5 years ago but recently was contacted by her for a situation, so you can see how this story caught my attention. It does make you think about old friendships and how it is okay to let go and go your separate ways. Don't get me wrong, my history is not as bad/traumatic as Billy's but it does make you think back and understand how some just has a hold over you and you can't help but remain loyal. I really enjoyed the ending and how it made sense and how everything sorta just fell into place (by accident?). I liked the fact that this book left me in a good mood instead of something so dark that I would have to read 2-3 smuck books to be back to normal - haha.

I really enjoyed the plot and all the twists that came out towards the end and looking forward to reading more of Lovering's novels.

Lovering has quickly become one of my favourite authors. I love how she delivers a drama that is still really thrilling and pulls you into the story with the character depth, and this book delivered on all those fronts. I loved the focus on friendships and that this book left you questioning a lot of your own choices and how exactly you feel about a lot. It’s difficult to dive deep with this review without giving anything away but I highly recommend this one if you’re looking for something unique!

My favorite of Carola Lovering. She has such a way of writing such unsympthetic and unlikeable characters. Recomending to all my friends!!

The prologue begins with Billie with her friend's baby in an apartment near her friend's apartment while her friend is screaming above about her missing child. How did Billie end up with Cassie's baby? Then the book alternates between Billie and Cassie beginning with their friendship 23 years ago when they were preteens. Billie and Cassie were inseparable as soon as they met. They stayed friends even when they attended different colleges but when Cassie meets her soon to be husband, their friendship cools. Cassie's husband is wealthy and she chooses to spend time with other wealthy married women who have families. Cassie and Billie both have many flaws and have been co-dependent on one another at different times. Social media makes things worse as Billie sees how often Cassie leaves her out. I can sympathize with their characters knowing their backstory but both of them were irritating. The story hinted to a secret they were hiding and this secret, along with wondering if Billie would be found out as the kidnapper.

Bye, Baby was not my cup of tea although I did finish it so I am going to review it despite my feelings of meh. Carola Lovering is a good writer but I felt this story was lacking depth and I struggled to want to enjoy it... if that makes sense. It was an easy read and thus I kept coming back waiting for it to get good.

The characters were easy to relate to but there was a bit of toxic relationship between the characters. It does do a really lovely job of exploring the complexities of friendships. I feel like this was a very character-driven novel and it did offer bits of suspense as you were trying to tie everything together. Billie was definitely my favorite character and it was really easy to empathize and relate to her. This was also my first read by Carola Lovering and I will definitely check out her other works.

4/5 stars

I really liked this book, though it is difficult to review without spoilers!
Billie and Cassie have a long, convoluted friendship, with times that they are inseparable and other long stretches of no communication. The story opens with a shocking event, and the back history of Billie and Cassie's relationship is revealed through differing points of view and events from varying time periods. Their friendship as young girls was really tight; as they grew older they changed, went to different colleges, and matured in different directions. Cassie became an influencer on Instagram with thousands of followers, while Billie didn't put herself out there, but rather remained an observer on Cassie's social media page.
Both characters are flawed, but the backstory gives you empathy for each of them and the decisions they made, no matter how shallow or hurtful.
I would recommend this book as a really good read, without saying too much else about it!

I did receive an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and my review was not influenced by receipt of the ARC.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC! I liked this book and do not regret reading it lol. Wasn't much of a mystery but more of a wonder what will happen next since the reader already knows what happened. The characters were okay but they just felt so disconnected, one sided and shallow.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I always enjoy Carola Lovering’s novels for their flow. Kept my interest, but was missing *that thing* to put it over the top to 5/5.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for my ARC of “Bye, Baby” by Carola Lovering. I am rating this book 2 out of 5 stars.

“Bye, Baby” centers around two longtime friends who have drifted apart, but find themselves drawn together again when one friend kidnaps the other’s baby. What I enjoyed about this book was the alternating POVs and timelines as a way to delve deeper into each character’s history and their friendship together. I appreciate the attempt at discussing traumatic and life-altering events the characters experienced as teenagers and the ways in which this affects the characters throughout their lives…However, I think this could have been done in a much more meaningful and specific way - as it felt confusing and scattered at times. In theory, this book has a great premise, but I felt it was severely lackluster.

First, I found it difficult to like either main character in the book (Billie and Cassie) which left me feeling like I did not have any investment in the story. Next, while the main character Cassie is a social media influencer, I felt there was an unnecessary amount of specific brand names mentioned, as well as dialogue from Cassie’s Instagram Stories, rather than attending to the storyline itself. I found this distracting and left me skimming to get back to the actual plot. Lastly, much of the storyline takes place in the first 30-50% of the book and I was left following along with no direction or intention of why until the end.

This book is marketed as a suspense/thriller, but I would definitely not place this book in that genre. It read to me more as a general fiction/women’s fiction novel. Overall, I think that this book could perhaps become significantly better through the editing process, however, I did not enjoy this one.