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.

We don’t talk enough about how friendships change. This is one of the key elements of Bye, Baby. Billie and Cassie have been friends for over 20 years and their lives have transformed during this period. They grew up together, went through some deeply challenging moments, and after college the pair of them moved to New York together.

Now that they’re in their 30s, Cassie is a mom and one night her infant goes missing. And we quickly learn that Billie has the baby in her arms. The story reveals itself in the days leading up to and after the baby’s disappearance, while also helping us learn more about Cassie and Billie’s history and friendship through alternating chapters from each woman’s point of view.

While touted as a thriller, I would say this book is more suspenseful or dramatic. It manages to cover a lot of themes and topics including influencer culture, childhood trauma, decisions around motherhood, and of course, friendship. There’s bits I could have done without, and would have loved to see more character development with some of the more vapid characters. But I was captivated by the story and curious to see how it would all turn out.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Whoa! This book is a power house from Carola Lovering. No one does depth of character like here. Told in alternating timelines and character point of views, the reader is given a front row seat to a friendship that has always been on the brink of collapsing. When a fateful night threatens to destroy their relationship, Billie finds she is lost without the whirlwind known as bff Cassie in her life. Years later another bad choice brings them together, and tears them apart. Dark and delicious with secrets that will break your heart and make you mad. Loved this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering. This book was extremely well written about the love of family and friends. Two young girls who were best friends growing up and the dramatic changes as adults. It’s about all kinds of love. So many twists and turns as Carola weaves her story. The twist and turns are not only throughout the book but right up to the end. I found this book to be unputdownable! Hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.
Irene G

Billie and Cassie are lifelong friends who share a dark secret. Cassie is married and has a new baby while Billie has a successful job she loves, but she feels that Cassie is moving on from their friendship while Billie is still hanging on to it and will do anything to keep Cassie’s friendship. This was good book that kept me interested to the end. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for my arc.