Bye, Baby was the third book I have read by Carola Lovering. I have REALLY enjoyed each one. They are difficult to nail down to a genre because though each one has had a mystery, the majority of the stories have been focused on relationships between characters. In Bye, Baby, there are two women who have been friends since high school, though they have each gone down different paths as adults. By their mid-thirties, Billie has a career and is happily single and childless. Cassie is a married mother of a newborn with her career being that she is a social media influencer of an affluent lifestyle. The book starts with Cassie's baby having disappeared. The reader is told on the first couple pages who did it, but not the why. So the book starts as a mystery, then quickly goes into letting the reader know where Cassie and Billie's relationship stands today, which is that Billie still longs for their familiar closeness, while Cassie seems to want little to do with Billie. Then we flashback to their first meeting in high school and learn how they became close friends. This back and forth in time takes place throughout the whole book and both their past and present were very interesting to me. I kept wondering what happened to make Cassie want to distance herself from Billie so harshly. To be honest, as I was reading, very early on it was clear that most readers are going to like Billie and most will dislike Cassie. This also makes it difficult to understand why Billie keeps trying so hard with Cassie. However, when learning about what they have been through together and how much their relationship was a salvation to Billie through a tragic period in her life, it makes perfect, if dysfunctional sense. I really liked the book all the way through, including the ending. I would recommend it to anyone who is ok with a book not fitting tightly within just one genre.

Bye, Baby was a juicy, at times cringy, and scandalous story. Toxic friendship stories can be very compelling and this one was so well done. Carola Lovering pulls on her readers heartstrings, with the relatable tale of a lost friendship, but then takes it to a new level with added suspense.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for the ALC!

Secrets, lies, and hidden motives. The story is surrounded by the toxic friendship of Billy and Cassie. Besties since they were kids, until college that is. Cassie strives to be part of the popular crowd whereas Billy struggles to follow in Cassie’s shadow. The story is told with dual POVs both past and present of both women. The twists and turns of this friendship are so out there it’ll make you start questioning what you just read. There were some parts that got dark, FAST - so I suggest reading the TWs before diving into this one. It was categorized as a thriller, but I didn’t see it as that. It seemed more catty and definitely more dramatic than a RHWives episode.

The BEST new(ish) author no one has ever heard of. I don't remember how I initially stumbled across Carola Lovering's work, but THANK GOD that I did. I think she is a fantastic storyteller and the master of the dual perspective. I absolutely loved Can't Look Away, Tell Me Lies and Too Good To Be True. 5 stars all around for those three!

This is the story of Billie and Cassie. Best friends. Best frenemies. We flash from past to present, person to person. Who is really the "villain" here? But, yet, I couldn't put this book down...and that says something. What a fantastic read.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first book that I have read from this author. This was a decent read filled with page turning drama. Not a five-star book for me due to the fairy tale ending.

Toxic female friendships make for an explosive emotional rollercoaster of a read. This novel had it's ups and downs and I was here for this nasty ride. So fun! Loved it. Can't wait to read more from Carola Lovering

Thank you Netgalley for this arc

Billie and Cassie have been friends since childhood. They have recently drifted apart as Cassie gains notoriety as an influencer. On the night of Cassie's 35 birthday party, her 4 month old daughter disappears from the party. Billie is shocked to discover that she is the one who has taken the baby. Their relationship was on shaky ground before this, but Billie's actions will rock their relationship to the core.

The suspense of this story was great. There were so many things that I didn't see coming. I also didn't find it entirely believable. Cassie and Billie's actions felt inconsistent with their characters, which made it hard to believe. The story is very good once you get over that.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of Bye, Baby.

This was truly a book I could not put down. Incredibly well written story with excellent character development. I believe there is a character in this story for every person to relate to.

Thank you NetGalley, Carola Lovering and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a solid four star read. It was a complicated relationship between Cassie and Bullie which led to a complicated story.. thriller, the ending wrapped up really neatly which I have some mixed feelings about one hand I’m happy for that, but on the other, I’m not sure justice was served, but in order to serve justice to one you’d have to serve it to both so I guess the neat wrap up was the way to go This was an in-depth read of a complicated friendship of two very complicated women. I spent at half the book waiting for the shoe to drop. And I feel like it ended the only way it could.

* I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early! Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with the writing style. I expected a thriller that would give me elements of suspense, but even in the opening scene that is supposed to evoke emotion, I did not feel any sense of terror and I was just never able to get into it. Although the storyline could have been interesting, I don't think it paid off for me and I'm unlucky to pick up another book from this author.

Okay bear with me on this - I mostly picked up this book as a result of enjoying Carola Lovering's previous books and hearing a bunch of hype. I wasn't particularly drawn in by the summary of the plot. But BOY did this end up being one of my most thrilling reads of 2024 so far! The quality of writing and the pacing make this absolutely unputdownable. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!

This book is a multiple POV book that switches between Billie, who is the nerdier childhood BFF of Cassie, a successful influencer and new mom. The timeline also jumps back and forth, helping us understand what their friendship used to be like, and trying to figure out how it could be so distant and messy now. This book is dark and grapples with certain heavy themes so I do recommend that readers seek out trigger warnings before diving in if certain topics are dealbreakers for them.

Will be reading all of Carola Lovering's books moving forward! This one was a RIDE.

Thank you to #partner St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for the copies to review!

While this is more of a story about lifelong friends than a thriller per se, I enjoyed it very much. Billie and Cassie have been lifelong friends, bonded by secrets, but they have grown apart in recent years. And then Cassie’s infant daughter goes missing, and the only person Cassie wants to call is Billie, which rekindles their friendship. Except, there are more secrets that are revealed, and as we flash back to the past and learn the events of the present, it is clear that this is quite a toxic relationship and maybe always has been.

I loved this one, and thought Lovering crafted these two characters very well. I empathized with Billie and Cassie, but did not agree with either side at times. Overall this was an excellent read that I could not put down given I really wanted to see how it would all be resolved.

I quite enjoyed this story of a very complicated friendship (with great character development) that changed over the years as the girls became women. While some are calling this a thriller I did not think it really fit that genre, although there are a few 'thrilling' parts to the story. Both of the main characters were flawed, with interesting backgrounds that somewhat explained their behavior, but I really only found one of them to be unlikable. I particularly liked how the author presented how and why the inner drives each of the characters developed. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC. 4/5

just okay, a couple different story lines woven together. just didn’t quite “fit” for me, loved the first half way more than the second. did leave you with that need to know feeling

She is Instagram famous. I'm addicted to watching her daily posts. She is my best friend, but she forgot I even exist. Until that night. Sometimes the things we do for friendship are unforgiveable, and I really crossed the line this time.

"That's the problem with trauma. You can decide to change how you think about it, time can fade it, but it's never going to disappear."

Lovering crafts an epic exploration into a deep and sometimes toxic female friendship. Shedding a new light on growing apart and no matter how long or well you think you know someone, do you really ever actually know them.

Chalked full of rich people drama, influencer insights, mostly unlikeable characters and a few teeth wrenching moments I WAS ADDICTED. The suspense to see how and where this was going kept the pages turning faster and faster. Rushing to get to that satisfyingly perfect ending.

A huge thank you to Carola Lovering @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an advanced invitation to Cassie's birthday party. Who knows what I would of done if I wasn't invited 😉

Cassie and Billie have been friends for years and know each other better than anyone else. They hold each other's hopes and dreams close, as well as their deepest darkest secrets...but when we first meet these two women they aren't speaking. That is, until Cassie's infant daughter goes missing. Jumping between the two women's POVs as well as jumping through time, we learn of the complexities that shape their friendship, and we see how far their loyalties will lead them. An absolute page turner, this nail biting thriller is one of my top books of 2024 so far!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for ARC access.

Although I was hoping for a bit more suspense, I really enjoyed the audiobook for Bye, Baby. Told from dual POVs of childhood best friends Billie and Cassie, through present and past chapters, this was more of a domestic drama with a side of intrigue. I especially enjoyed the ending, which was different from what I expected.

A great domestic thriller with lots of twists and turns that kept you guessing! A story of relationships, even toxic ones, that everyone who reads this book probably can relate to.

I really enjoyed this slow burn domestic friendship novel. One thing that Carola Lovering is so good at is giving you a breadcrumb throughout the book that ties it all together at the end. I appreciated how she was able to weave both the perspective of Billie and Cassie with their joint history throughout the book. I found it kept it interesting and I was dying to know when their "friendship" went all wrong. This is one of those book where you feel almost the most sympathy for the one who has done the wrongdoing, or at least I did! I found Cassie to be almost unpalatable at times, which goes to show what a good author Lovering is. This was an interesting examination of female friendships throughout the course of a lifetime, and how they can affect people. I had a great time reading this book, and I would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Carola Lovering is the master of writing the most unlikable characters in a story that you can't help enjoying. Billie and Cassie have been friends forever, but their recent lives have them drifting apart. Cassie is all about appearance and sharing her perfect life on social media while Billie is just hanging on by a thread in her own life leading her to do something drastic. As the past began to be revealed, Billie's actions become more understandable. Told in alternating viewpoints, this is a tale that is suspenseful and riveting. I will continue to be first in line to read anything Carola Lovering writes.

When I saw that Karissa Vacker was a narrator for the audiobook version, I knew I definitely needed to listen. Karissa Vacker can narrate no wrong for me! I took advantage of having both the ebook and the audiobook to enjoy.