Honestly, this took me a while to read. I felt like every time I picked it up to read I would get no where. I thought I was at the end only to find out I was about 50% through. I’m not a quitter so I hung on until the end. Overall, I was pretty disappointed. Bye, Baby is marketed as a thriller/psychological thriller but everything was predictable and really there was no suspense. (Like I mentioned, the storyline was resolved at about the halfway point.) This book was more of a domestic/contemporary/women’s fiction by diving into the complex relationship of females through different stages of life and the hardships women can face. Also, quite frankly both lead FMC were unlikable. Billie is easier to sympathize with and I wish there was more of her current storyline (and Alex) than selfish, shallow Cassie. The “ending” was so drawn out and unsatisfying.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read in exchange for a review of Bye, Baby.

The opening of this book had me hooked and reading into the night. I loved the dual timelines and you could really see the friendship from both sides and why they each thought the way they did. A good amount of suspense- love a good thriller between friends!
Great read! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Two unreliable narrators in a toxic, co-dependent friendship should make for an interesting, twisty plot.

There are two timelines in addition to the two narrators, Billie and Cassie. We get a look back at their childhood in addition to present day where Cassie is a influencer and new mom with a rich husband and Billie works at a boutique travel company. This friendship should have faded away after high school but it's hanging on by a one-sided thread. Will they be able to reconnect as adults?

The opening chapter is definitely an attention grabber. The rest of the book didn't really deliver on that fantastic promise. There is so much back story going on before the story gets back to the opening chapter in the timeline. It's much more a drama than a thriller; there weren't any big twists and the ending was more of a fizzle than a sizzle.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this advanced reader copy. I am required by law to disclose this.

Dual-timelines are an auto-read for me, and I loved what it contributed to the storytelling in this one. The timelines, intricate friendship dynamics, and raw, occasionally startling revelations kept me completely engrossed, simultaneously loathing and admiring these flawed characters. Yet, therein lies the essence: at the heart of it all were these flawed individuals forging their own destinies. While their decisions might not garner unanimous approval, they undeniably revealed the depths of their character, a testament to the skill of a seasoned author. Highly recommended!

Carola Lovering’s latest book offers a satisfying read with its multiple points of view and past-present timelines, delving into the complexities of women’s friendships and motherhood rather than a straightforward thriller. The unraveling of the toxic friendship’s secrets adds depth, though some aspects like Billie’s mother’s illness feel underdeveloped amidst the multitude of themes explored, including sexual abuse, classism, Alzheimer’s, and influencer culture. Despite the plot’s complexity, the characters drive the narrative, particularly Billie, whose journey evokes empathy despite her flaws. While the social media aspect adds to the plot, it may not engage all readers. Overall, an engrossing, thought-provoking read that merits a rounded-up four-star rating, a testament to its lasting impact. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Reader’s Copy.

Cassie and Billie were inseparable growing up in their small hometown. But after they moved to New York, things changed and they have grown apart. Cassie has moved into the "it" crowd and is married to a family with old money and has a new baby. While Billie has a wonderful job traveling the world, she feels like she isn't good enough for Cassie anymore. How far will Billie go to get back to being Cassie's best friend again? Will the secret that they have kept since childhood bind them together or push them further apart?

A great story with great characters that makes you stop and think. Thank you to the Publishers and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Ok what an opening!!! Loved how this was set up with timelines and different viewpoints of a fizzled friendship. A domestic thriller in a new light that focuses more on a friendship than a romantic one, usually it’s the latter.

Also, this cover. Obsessed.

Domestic thriller, coming of age, dynamics of trauma and complexity of female friendships. This was a genre bending book that had be hooked right away with that wild opening! Loved it.

First and foremost I think most people will be caught off guard because this is marketed as a thriller. I don't personally consider it a thriller. It had a lot of suspenseful moments, but all around this was more of a mystery drama!

Bye Baby is compelling from the very first chapter and is a fast paced read. It's one of those you want to read with a cozy blanket on a chilly night. The writing style really captivated me right from the beginning and even though the main characters weren't my favorite I loved how fleshed out they were!

I enjoyed the entirety of this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone that wants a fast paced mystery!

BYE, BABY👩🏼‍🍼

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
@goodreads: 3.82
Author: Carola Lovering
Narrator: Helen Laser, Karissa Vacker
Length: 339 pages / 11 hours audio
TW: sexual harassment
Pub Date: 03/05/24

💭 this is one of the craziest book synopses I’ve ever read.🤪 I truly wasn’t sure what I was about to read, but carola is the queen of books about friendships and how they change over time! I’m a little over the influencer trope + was definitely more invested in the “past” timeline. I wish we could have gotten even more chapters from their childhood; I was really interested in the early onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis! this did have an epic epilogue with a satisfying ending…the choices you make in life have a lasting impact on your future. 👏🏼

Read if you enjoy: TELL ME LIES

I just started reading this book today but it is so captivating and catchy, that I am already halfway through. The characters are unlikable, the relationships are toxic, but the plot is well written and enticing, short chapters that keep the story moving quickly.
Cassie and Billie are highschool friends from Red Hook, they have a shared past but their current lives are quite different. Cassie is a married, entrepreneur/influencer with a baby and a rich husband whereas Billie is single and working. Billie feels like Cassie is cutting her out of her life - she may be right but is that possible considering their shared past... what if she takes drastic actions to be noticed ?
I'll just keep reading to find out ...
This truly is a fast entertaining read !

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC. I enjoyed this suspense thriller. It was a book about friendships, family, and loyalties. We’ve all had that friend who we are more committed to than they are to us and our main character, Billie, is no exception to this. The book opens with the elephant in the room, which in hindsight is the only feasible way to have approached the novel. The interplay between past and present and the exploring of the character’s history also worked very well.

Bye, Baby is a clever mash-up between a thriller and a book about the vagaries of female friendships. I couldn’t put it down!

The book alternates between past and present and two long-term female friends, Billie and Cassie. Both from the wrong side of the tracks growing up, the two are inseparable until their paths diverge in early adulthood. Cassie married for money, and is now an “influencer” with a husband and baby daughter, while Billie is single with a new relationship with a police officer, and a dream job planning luxury travel excursions.

Since Billie no longer fits within Cassie’s lifestyle or social circle, Cassie shuns her. That is, until her baby disappears during Cassie’s birthday party — a party to which Billie was not invited. In fact, we know from the first page that it was Billie who kidnapped Cassie’s daughter.

The remainder of the novel focuses on the longstanding relationship between these two women. However, it is also a thriller as the reader is propelled forward by the question of whether Billie will be discovered as the kidnapper, and the moral question of what you would do in her circumstances. 4.5 (rounded up) out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary eARC of this book.

I REALLY enjoyed this book so much, and truly didn’t want to put it down. I am drawn to character-driven novels and this story delivered in spades. Bye, Baby is filled with tension because Lovering doesn’t hide the tipping point that the friendship may not recover from. Billie taking Cassie’s baby happens in the opening chapter in a shocking reveal. The reader knows from this point where the events are leading but doesn’t know why it happened. The premise that a woman would take another woman’s baby is a horrifying one, and you’ll start the book strongly disliking Billie. Lovering has a lot more to reveal, though. Nothing excuses Billie’s action, but the close bond and subsequent distance between the friends makes more sense as the story unfolds.

the book was good. I enjoyed reading it and being able to fall in love with the story. The story has me on the edge of my seat

I did not end up finishing this book - just a lot of triggering content, drama and a lot of toxic relationships. I think that there is an audience for this book it just happens to not be me at this stage in my life (mother of young children)

Great tale of friendship and how people can drift apart and come back together. How secrets and lies can lurk in the background of our lives waiting to snap and come back with a vengeance.

Lots of twists and turns and although we know "who did it" from page one, we don't understand the why. The why is powerful and weighty.

I highly recommend this read.

One note, however, and the reason for 4 stars instead of 5. Much of the story is told from the past and the publisher chose to use italics for those chapters. Reading long passages of italics is extremely difficult for those of us with vision issues. It is also an insult to our intelligence to think we won't understand the time shift without a font change. The chapters are clearly labeled with the year, so there is little chance of confusion. Fix that, and you've got a 5.

Sometimes friends grow apart… That was exactly the case of Cassie & Billie our FMCs. Growing up as childhood besties, these two were inseparable and promised to be there for each other always. However, now that Cassie is married and a new mother, she wants nothing to do with her past nor Billie.

It’s not until Emma, Cassie’s 4 month old is suspiciously taken that this Cassie wants to reconnect with Billie but it won’t be enough to “get that old thing back”. Billie’s rash decision was definitely the end to a friendship rekindled but at least Cassie and Billie are now even.

I liked the setup of the chapters and I enjoyed the dual POV for this story. I also listened along with the audio.

Female friendship, Motherhood. Life’s changing circumstances. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for a review.

This took me so long to finish. The overall story was good, but it was not “thrilling”. Cassie and Billie, these two got on my nerves. I didn’t want to DNF the book and kept reading on in hopes of something good/thrilling to happen. This should have be categorized as a contemporary mystery Not a thriller. I downloaded the eARC from the Read Now shelf on Netgalley. Thanks to Netgalley and Publisher.

This was an interesting case of having different expectations of what I thought the book was versus what the book turned out to be. I expected a thriller about female friendship, and while this book centered on a kidnapping, it reads as more of a character study than an adrenaline filled book full of twists. And maybe it's better off for it! I found Cassie and Billie to work as friends who've drifted apart in their adult life -- Cassie is married to a wealthy man and is something of a mommy blogger, while Billie is the childless, unmarried friend who doesn't fit into Cassie's world anymore. Both women were equal parts insufferable and sympathetic, and I found their dynamic to be fascinating. It's a quick read but there's a lot of depth about why we keep people in our lives when we have nothing in common with them anymore. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc!