Carola Lovering you are such a great author. While reading this book I wanted to skip to the end to see what the outcome is. Cassie and Billie are long time best friends. Billie hears Cassie screaming that her baby is missing. Billie looks down at hers arms and is holding Cassie's baby. A relatable exploration of an old friendship with new tensions. This book is full of suspense with characters you’ll love-hate and a setup that’s irresistible. Highly recommend.

I absolutely gobble up Loverings novels the minute they come out so I was thrilled to receive an ARC for Bye, Baby. I was hooked within the first few chapters but felt it went on for longer than it needed to. Really liked the past and present back and forth though.

A missing baby. A fraught friendship. A secret that can never be told.

This was a great mystery with lots of intense twists and turns. Definitely recommended for fans of the genre.

Heart wrenching, raw and full of untold trauma and secrets to take to the grave. This suspense filled thriller will keep you on the edge of your seat as everything unravels and spins out of control.

Billie and Cassie, two friends close to each other pushed away by growing up and adulthood. Where Cassie became a mom, found money, a husband and more friends while Billie sits with the strain of desperately trying to maintain a relationship doomed to fail. Even with being ghosted and entirely left out of even the most important things.

Cassie, I never liked with her materialistic and fake mannerisms, where money and name brand labels are more important. All tied up with a bow with her addiction to social media and the presence she has over Instagram. I truly felt for Billie throughout the novel as we see into her side of things and press forward.

The prologue is incredibly inviting and pulls you in for a ride where you don’t know what lays around the corner. Where by the end, truth prevails and truly sets you free.

If you like a good thriller with a good dash of suspense and drama, you’re sure to pick this up and get lost in the story as I did.

This book kept me on my toes. With a rich history, Billie and Cassie have had a following out. Cassie’s baby goes missing and Billie finds herself with the baby (page 1!). I couldn’t wait to finish this book. The ending was not what I expected.

This was an absolute great thriller of a book. I was ask to read this book and given 72 hours,to read it. believe me I read it in 24 hours. I just couldn’t put it down. I love the way the author went from Cassie to Billie, the two main characters in this book, from childhood to college to marriage, to separation of the two. And the deep dark secret that the girls share.
I can’t wait to recommend this book to my book club, I would love to hear a discussion about why did Billie feel such a dependence on Cassie and no matter how many times, Billie always went back to her.
Billie, had a sad life with her single mother, who found a boyfriend Wade, who was a real dirt bag.
Then there was Cassie, a money hungry girl, who wanted it all and got it. She was a blogger and with Instagram shared her whole life, til the night that her baby went missing.

Carola Levering never disappoints! Her latest, Bye, Baby is impossible to put down! It twists and turns and keeps you guessing until the very end. Highly addicting read!

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

Billie and her best friend Cassie have been inseparable since meeting in middle school. They share a secret they will take to their graves, but even this secret cannot prevent their friendship from growing in different directions. Cassie has moved on and has slowly shut Billie out of her life, but Billie grasps at straws to keep Cassie close and be at her beck and call. One night in a moment of weakness after Billie realizes Cassie has lied to her about plans for her birthday, Billie makes a rash decision to do something that inevitably sets the wheels in motion to finally be the end of their friendship. Told in alternating perspectives of Billie and Cassie, the plot jumps in time to see the progression and final end to their friendship.

I loved this book. I gave it 5 stars because Carola used so much detail and captured the pain and hurt each character faced in both their past and present. It was a beautiful story of friendship and the consequences Billie faced after making a split decision to take Cassie's baby. Billie's anger was justified, but even she realizes by the end of the story she should have just moved on and ended her friendship with Cassie. She had been grasping at straws for so long to save their friendship, her actions made her do something out of character for her and something she ultimately regrets. Billie gave Cassie too many chances and offered her more forgiveness for her behaviors than she should. The only thing I would have changed about this book was taking out the Prologue. I did not like knowing right off the bat that Billie was the one who took Cassie's baby. I felt like knowing that ruined my appreciation of who Billie was and what she went through with her mom, Wade, and the hateful things Cassie did to her that led up to the moment she snapped and took Ella. I think Billie telling her side of the story and finding out she took Ella in the moment would have been better than reading it as a Prologue. Just my opinion.

I loved everything else about this book. The song references, the brand labels mentioned, and fancy restaurant. Carola does a great job of representing the life Cassie chose to live and thinking people were beneath her. Billie started off the story as the villain, but by the end you realize Billie is such a good person at heart who just had a bad hand of cards in life. This was a wonderful, well written plot. I will absolutely recommend this book to my friends.

I just loved this book. Well written with chapters just the right length
With the back and forth of previous time to current made it easy to understand the story.
Love/hate relationship was spot on.
Definitely a book to read.

This was a DNF for me, I didn’t think to look up trigger warnings before I read this book. This was heavy and just not for me.

Thank you netgalley, Carola and St. Martins Press for the ARC!

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering
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This is the story of Billie and Cassie. They used to be close but now are drifting apart. Then Cassie’s baby goes missing and their relationship changes again. Because Billie took the baby.
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This was a really addicting read. I did a structured read so only read a certain section each day, and I found myself thinking about it after my section for the day and wondering what was going to happen next.

I would like to give the author a major kudos because they know how to really write an excellent unlike able character. 😂 Despite really NOT liking this character, I could not stop reading.

I feel like the abduction part of the story was written in the least triggering way, so if that is a trigger and you are curious about this one feel free to DM me any questions or concerns.

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a binge-worthy read, no slow parts to me, I wanted to keep reading, and I would recommend for sure.

Review of Uncorrected Digital Galley

While a festive birthday party for Cassie Adler is in full swing, baby Ella vanishes.

Cassie and Billie West have been best friends since they were twelve. But as Cassie pursued a life far different from her growing-up years, she distanced herself from Billie.

And Billie is obsessed with finding a way to return to that "best friend" status once again.

Cassie, married to uber-wealthy Grant Adler, is a social media influencer with some forty-nine thousand followers. She and Grant have recently had a child, four-month-old Ella. Billie, unmarried and childless [and determined not to become a mother], works as a luxury travel consultant and often jets off to far-flung exotic places.

Despite Cassie's indifference, Billie’s main concern is restoring the friendship she once shared with Cassie. But both women are holding secrets that could tear their worlds apart.

=========

Told in alternating voices and in both past and present timelines, the unfolding story examines changes in friendships as Billie and Cassie lives take them in different directions. Although the characters are well-drawn and believable, readers are likely to find it difficult to connect with Cassie in any meaningful way. She is the one who relentlessly pursues her dreams until they become reality . . . and the only person she truly cares about is herself. On the other hand, an obsessed Billie relentlessly seeks a way to take the friendship back to the one they had growing up but her dogged determination to pursue the friendship eventually becomes extremely paranoid and troubling.

The life-changing secrets held by the women, revealed bit by bit, help explain their behaviors; the backstory is most revealing as is the difference in the way each of them has coped with the past. Despite being frustrated by the behavior of both women at times, readers are sure to find themselves pulled into the telling of this tale of toxic friendship, trauma, and so much more.

Highly recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley
#ByeBaby #NetGalley

Oh. My. God. You guys! Carola Lovering has done it again. The master of an absolute can't put down, page turner. This quite honestly might be my favorite from her yet!

Cassie and Billie have a storied past -- childhood best friends who are now somewhat estranged. They experienced the ups and downs of adolescence together, but at some point drifted away. Billie still grasps at straws for their friendship, but Cassie has slowly shut her out.

Cassie has always wanted more for her life -- and by more, that meant more money. When Grant enters the scene, her ticket to a trust fund life, she is set. Now she owns a trendy boutique and a growing Instagram following. Coupled with great friends and a sweet baby girl? She is fulfilling her dreams.

Billie is successful in her own right, but that doesn't mean she isn't burned by Cassie moving on without her. In a lapse of judgment one night, Billie finds herself with Cassie's baby. And Cassie doesn't know she has her. Begin the unraveling of Cassie's life and further trauma to their friendship.

Knowing other Carola Lovering books, I knew not to go into this with the expectation of a true mystery thriller. Her works tend to be more psychological than anything else -- it's not like we're experiencing any sort of heart stopping suspense. But that doesn't stop you from not being able to put this down. Seriously, I found myself waiting all day to get home and be able to finish this.

It's an examination of toxic friendship and human action. Of obsession and void-filling addictions. The characters are so deeply in need of therapy but so incredibly written. I was captivated from start to finish. My ONE critique is the ending was lackluster in comparison to the rest of the book, but at least I guess most people will find it satisfying.

This is one you will want to mark your calendars for. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this read!

The latest from author, Rachel Hawkins, and I think this miiight just be my new favorite of hers! If stories about rich families with messed up dynamics particularly when it comes to inheritance and “what is rightfully theirs”, than this may be a book for you.

The eeriness of the story is set early on with the kidnapping and return of three year old, Ruby McTavish, in a small North Carolina town near the Appalachians. Ruby is the heiress to the great McTavish family fortune and lived quite a life until her death. In the present, Camden is summoned back to his childhood home to deal with the family he cut off all relations with and who despise him back. He brings along his wife, Jules, for support and their visit is the catalyst to unveiling long hidden secrets about different individuals and the family as a whole.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the different POVs and formats included. Not only do we get dual perspectives from both Camden and Jules, but we also get newspaper articles/ clippings from decades ago as well as more recently, and finally there are letters written by Ruby prior to her death that explain much of her past actions and why she did certain things. All of these different narratives and format did create a cohesive and engaging story that had me continually curious and wanting more. It helped that this also read SUPER quickly and was very easy to binge.

The atmosphere was also done well because the setting of the mansion created a sense of mystery where you just knew something was off. Learning about the different dynamics and drama of the McTavish family was fascinating and I like how the author used certain characters to contrast against each other to show who genuinely had good morals vs. those who did not.

There were many twists and while some were not a huge shock, I did find that others were more well done where it caught me off guard!

Overall, I thought this was a pretty solid thriller and if you love ones that you can read in a single sitting, you will want to check this out when it releases in January 2024!

This book had a bit of a Gone Girl meets The Push vibe. Some portions of the back story seemed rushed, as well as the tidying up of loose ends at the conclusion, but overall it kept me on the edge of my seat. I read the entire thing in less than 24 hours so it was definitely a page turner, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a psychological female thriller. My biggest gripe though was that there wasn't one character I truly liked. Regardless, big thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

There are many layers to the story of Cassie and Billie... two friends bonded over family trauma, a dedication to Dirty Dancing and a desire to escape their home town. However there is an unexpected rift growing between that one of them does not want to acknowledge or accept. The cover and plot points spoke to me and I was thrilled to receive an ARC of Bye, Baby. The friendship dynamic felt raw and real and though it was not an "edge of your seat" thriller, the rotating POVs were pivotal in telling the story. Not everyone wants to be a mother, not everyone deserves to be.

We can all relate to the central question in this book - Have you ever struggled with a friendship because it changed?

Cassie Barnwell and Billie West have been inseparable, joined at the hip, until the birth of a child changes everything. Well, that's what we're lead to believe, anyways.

Firstly, Billie. I’ve been there. I’ve felt the pain. I was sucked right into this premise. Like Billie, I didn’t have children and struggled with the societal pressure linked to female destiny - motherhood. I also struggled to maintain friendships that eventually fizzled out because my friends’ priorities had now changed. Such a relatable plot.

Secondly, Cassie. I’ve been there, too. I’ve been focused on building my career and have let friendships dwindle. Not because I wasn’t interested in the effort and time it takes to nurture it, but simply because I didn’t have the time or maybe, make the time. I was busy making a living. Again, relatable to Cassie’s drive to maintain her career.

However, I’ve never shared a dark secret with anyone, so that’s where my story differs from these girls’ story. BUT this is where my interest picked up! Who doesn’t love a good secret? After sharing a past, one of them is desperate to leave it behind and one of them doesn’t. What lengths will Billie go to keep Cassie in her life? Does it have anything to do with Cassie’s baby in her arms? Has something else provided the fuel for Billie’s outlandish behaviour? Is the missing baby really the problem here?

The dueling perspectives were a must in a story such as this one. Lovering played me along and kept me engaged, wondering what really happened that night. I got sucked into the trauma that bound them and kept turning pages to see how incidents in their past affected who they became as adults. I really appreciated Lovering’s exploration of choices and how a single choice can have unforeseen ripple effects. We truly are only one decision away from a completely different life.

I did struggle with a few things:
I wonder if others thought the traits of some were exaggerated to create an effect, leaving a trail of implausibility?
Do others think it felt like a kitchen sink full of themes?
How about more focus needed on Billie’s issues?

Avail yourself of triggers.

Stuffed with lies, jealousy and obsession, this story, highlighting toxic friendships needs to be on your reading list!

I was gifted this copy by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Bye, Baby follows the alternating perspectives of lifelong friends Billie and Cassie. The story begins with Billie having abducted Cassie’s infant. With little glimpses into their shared past and present days lives, we find out what things brought these two together and what drove them apart.

I was immediately sucked in with the first few pages. With the story beginning with Billie having gotten herself into a wildly sticky situation, I had to know how she was going to get out of it. I was so engrossed in these characters: Cassie’s glossy glamorous, lifestyle that she loves to post about, and Billie, with her hard fought for stable life…even though she feels wistful about her former friendship.

This was my favorite yet by Carola Lovering.

Can your childhood friendship carry over into adulthood? Billie and Cassie have been friends since they were eleven years old, they have experienced much heartache and joy. Now as thirty- five year old adults their friendship is just cordial, until Billie does something that brings her back to her best friend. Told from Billie and Cassie's perspective, we get an insight into their bond. Really enjoyed the in depth characters history. Was torn between the two women but understood why Billie did what she did.
Thanks Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the advanced reading copy.

4.5 stars
Sooo close to a 5 star read for me. I’ll round up for the star rating. The VERY graphic molestation scenes were a big NO thank you for me. I would have hated the villain without such vivid, explicit details. Also, a central character from the beginning of the book basically fell off the pages in an unnatural way. It was as if the one person the MC went through all the trauma for just became unimportant without explanation. If I give any more details this will become a spoiler post.

With that said, Lovering is a brilliant author that holds the reader’s interest while creating unique, believable characters. What’s funny is I could completely understand both Cassie and Billie’s view on things and somehow felt each was right as I was reading their perspective. That takes writing talent, to which Lovering has. I read Can’t Look Away last year and also loved that book.