A very immersive read about two best friends who have begun to grow a part, Although this was fast paced I just couldn’t quite get over how unlikable the two characters are.

I went into Bye, Baby thinking it was a mystery, and about one third of the way through realized that was not the case. Once I readjusted my perceptions, I began to really enjoy the book for what it was. The book is told from the POV of Billie and Cassie, two friends from childhood who have grown apart in adulthood. Billie has a great job and has a promising romance happening, but she can't stop wishing she and Cassie's friendship was as close as it used to be. Cassie has married money and become an influencer, with all that entails. For her, Billie is a reminder of a past she would rather forget.

Any woman who has ever lost a close friend or been ghosted by a friend who used to mean the world to them will find much to identify with in this story. Billie and Cassie shared so much when they were teens and were so close they considered each other family. But ultimately their goals in life are different. Billie has a job that brings her satisfaction, a boss who is also a good friend, and she is happy in her world. Cassie wants security, and not just security but wealth and everything that implies. She leverages her beauty to find a husband from a rich family, and after her baby is born is living the dream life on New York's Upper East Side. But that life doesn't include Billie, an unfortunate reminder of her past life.

The author does a great job at portraying how strong female friendship can be, and how the betrayal of those bonds can hurt as bad as betrayal by a lover. My heart ached for Billie as she chased for attention from Cassie, who now seems very shallow, living for Instagram likes. I want to shake Billie at some points and say you have got this wonderful friend, Jane!

But least this story sounds too chick lit, there is a very dark event that takes place that we get a look at on the opening pages, before we delve into the past. I didn't see how the author was going to bring any redemption at the end of the story, but she did, and I will admit it brought a couple of tears to my eyes.

If I had rated this book a quarter way in, I would have given it a 3 star. If I rated it at the end, I would give a 5 star. So I'm settling for a very strong 4 star. I'm glad I read this book, with its dark currents and strong storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Carola Lovering for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is suspenseful and intense. It focuses on the friendship between Billie and Cassie, and how their relationship transforms through the years.

The story starts off with a bang - Cassie’s baby has been kidnapped and Billie is the one that did it. From the very first page, I needed to know what was going to happen. That feeling stayed with me until the last sentence.

Billie and Cassie had so much depth to them. I didn’t really want to root for either person because their flaws were large and in charge…but isn’t that how most real human beings are? Reading about their tumultuous friendship was so captivating.

I loved this one and will be thinking about it for quite awhile.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy!

Oof, this book gave me so many feelings. First of all, this is not a thriller or even a mystery. Second of all, trigger warning for sexual abuse of a minor. Just Throw out the description of this book because it is very misleading.

Cassie and Billie are lifelong friends. Or they were, until Cassie gets the life she always wanted and determines she is too good for Billie.

The story takes place in present day New York and flashes back to their childhood in the Hudson Valley. It also has alternating POVs.

Cassie was always a social climber, from the first time Billie met her. For Cassie, it’s all about what brands you wear, where you go to school, where you live, and who you know.

Billie sees Cassie for who she is, but she loves her anyway. They are bound by a terrible secret from their high school years. And Billie is just a little too dependent on Cassie.

Cassie pulls away due to her new life as the wife of a rich WASPY guy, influencer, owner of a boutique clothing store, and status in her cliquey, rich mommy friend group. Billie becomes more obsessive and compulsive as a result of her rejection. This culminates in an act that brings them close again.

This book was so readable. I was surprised how quickly I was sucked in despite the fact that I hated Cassie from the jump. I could not relate to her at all. Billie isn’t exactly likable in the beginning, either, though. Her desperation for attention from Cassie is cringy. However, I could at least sympathize with Billie in her feelings of rejection by Cassie and some of the other things Billie was dealing with in her own life. This aspect was all very realistic. That being said, Cassie had no redemptive qualities at all so it was impossible to feel any sympathy for her, even when she was at her lowest.

I will say that this is another one of those books that gave me a lot of anxiety while waiting for the truth to come out. I couldn’t wait for the reveal but I also I dreaded turning the page to get to that part. That seems like a bad thing, but I think it’s a hallmark of a good book if you can put yourself in the story and feel allll the feelings.

A domestic drama about an extremely toxic friendship, marriage, motherhood, relationships and secrets.

I was drawn in by the premise - I find books about toxic friendships to be enthralling. What is it about adults behaving badly that I just can't tear myself away from?

While I enjoyed this, I never felt 100% invested. I think going in knowing that Billie takes Cassie's baby takes a bit of the mystery away. I liked the different POVs and how we slowly find out about their friendship and what caused it to unravel in the past, while experiencing the present alongside them. The dependency between these two women was T-O-X-I-C! When we see what they went through together as young girls the bond makes sense. Yet, you also understand how it unraveled.

I do think there may have been too much explored (toxic friendships & relationships, Alzheimers, abuse, rape, trauma, social media & influencers, social class) and as a result, some elements remained too surface level for me to really care ir feel invested as a reader.

These two women and their partners) drove me nuts for 90% of the book.
There were just too many bad decisions made. There was not a responsible adult in the bunch!

Still, this was an enjoyable read and if you enjoyable character-driven domestic dramas you'll definitely want to check this out.

I finished this book a few days ago, and I'm still trying to sort out my feelings about it. Part of that might be that I went into it thinking it would be more of a psychological thriller, and while there's a touch of that, the stakes aren't life and death - they're love and friendship. Many reviews mention a "toxic" friendship, in the beginning it's a friendship between two girls who are very different, but are still best friends as teens. Eventually those differences remain, and as adults they grow in very different directions, as is the case with many high school friendships. But in this instance, there's a defining moment that creates a kind of "forever" bond between them. Ultimately though, one of them is ready to release that friendship (despite the bond), the other isn't. And that's where the "toxicity" comes in, and one impulsive move brings things to a head.
The history of their relationships with each other and with other significant people in their lives is revealed gradually as the time frame moves between past & present. Lovering does a good job of helping the reader keep track of those time shifts.
Cassie and Billie were each drawn as distinctly individual personalities, and while I wanted to give them each a good shake at various points in the book, I'm glad I read it.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Once best friends, Billie West and Cassie Barnwell have drifted apart. Cassie is married to a wealthy man, has recently become a mother, and is building a following as a lifestyle influencer. Billie is single and childless and no longer fits into Cassie's world. But Billie knows the worst thing Cassie has ever done, and she will do whatever it takes to restore their friendship.

The story is well told in the past and the present by Billie and Cassie. Personally I didn't much like either of these characters but Cassie really annoyed me with her sense of entitlement and Billie made me mad with her fixation on Cassie. I wouldn't class this as a thriller but there is some suspense as we await the finale and there's a lot of relationship drama. This is my first Carola Lovering book although I have a long overdue one on my Netgalley shelf. I enjoyed this one much more than I expected to.

CW: Sexual abuse, dementia, mention of abortion.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press via Netgalley for an advanced copy to read. All opinions expressed are my own.

<i>Bye, Baby</i> is a great way to show how a traumatic experience in childhood turns a friendship from unconditional love to extremely toxic over time.
The story is presented through the points of view of each friend - Billie and Cassie - the one who can't let go, therefore trying too hard and the one who is ready to move on with her life. It is written in such a relatable way that makes it easy to put yourself in each characters shoes. It's easy to lose contact and closeness when one friend gets married and has a kid before the other friend settles down. New parents have new responsiblities and new friends who are parents too, subtly leaving old friends in their dust wondering what they did wrong or why they aren't special enough anymore. Because it feels so true to life, it makes the underlying suspense feel that much more urgent. I enjoyed this pyschological thriller in such a dark way because it felt like it could mimic true life.

How far would you go to get your long lost bestie back in your life? Billie tests those limits when her childhood best friend Cassie intentionally has removed her from her life and friend group. Billie goes to extremes to make Cassie need her again, the initial blurb of this story made it read like this story would has an element of mystery but there really wasn’t much of one, rather this was a relationship drama, a story of love, trauma and toxic relationships. While I enjoyed this story it was a little too far fetched for me at times

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

Billie and Cassie were the best of friends growing up. They went their separate ways for college and things were never the same.

This book is told from alternating point of views and jumps from the present to past. Lovering’s writing definitely sucked me in but I would not classify this as a thriller. I can’t really say too much in this review without giving the storyline away. This is my first time reading a book by Lovering and will definitely be checking out her other books!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy.

I have loved all of Carola Lovering's books to date and this one is no exception. I was hooked from the beginning and didn't want to put this book down until I finished.

Cassie and Billie were childhood best friends who are now adults with very different lifestyles. Cassie married into a wealthy family, is a successful influencer, and a has newborn baby. Billie has a dream job at a travel agency and is in a new relationship. The POVs alternate between past and present (and also between Cassie and Billie).

I don't want to give too much of the plot away but this book really resonated with me. It caused me to reflect on my childhood friendships and consider the importance of them in my life today. Is it possible to outgrow friendships or do they just change with age?

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC. I will always say yes to a Carola Lovering book!

I love the multi POV in past and present timelines. I thought this was a thriller but felt more like womens fiction. This is about friendship and motherhood. The trials of life unravelling the friendship

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house, and the author for an opportunity to read a complimentary copy of this book in return for review, based upon my opinion.

While the concept for this book was okay, I found the characters quite annoying. I did sympathize with Billie, but I found Cassie totally irritating and a lot of things they did made no sense. This book just wasn’t the one for me.

This was an interesting story that infused a friendship story with a bit of thriller/mystery energy. I loved the structure of alternating POVs and that it started with the climax before going back to explain how we got there. There were still enough questions left unanswered thought to keep you invested until the end. A great choice if you are looking for a more dramatic friendship story with a heavy dash of rich people/influencer problems.

Bye, Baby takes an interesting look at female friendships and how they grow and change as we mature. The story centers on Cassie and Billie, 2 women who become best friends while teenagers. There are 2 timelines: `1 is present day where both women live and work in NYC though their friendship has drifted as Cassie is married to a wealthy man and is a new mom and Billie is single and not as financially well off. We also go back in time to when they first met and see how their relationship progresses through the years. I was initially interested in these characters, particularly their back story, and this kept me turning the pages. How Lovering portrays female friendships, and the ways motherhood affects them, as well as incorporating childhood trauma and class differences all really worked for me. What did not work for me were some specific plot points that would be spoilery to describe. Ultimately, I found myself not really caring about the present-day women -- their thoughts and actions were unrealistic. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review. 3 stars.

At the risk of being the odd woman out, this one just didn’t do it for me, sadly!

I really enjoyed the writing - Carola Lovering is a very talented author, and she does a really amazing job of developing her characters and their back stories in a shorter book. The prose and pacing was great too - i was sucked in almost instantly and stayed sucked in the whole time, but in the end the plot overall is kind of forgettable. I finished the book feeling unsatisfied and kind of annoyed honestly. 🙈

This absolutely will not put me off from checking out more by Lovering, though! As I said, she’s very talented and it actually has convinced me to pick up her backlist book that’s been on my shelf for far too long!

I started reading this book without looking at the synopsis. And that was helpful because I didn’t have any false expectation for this to be considered a thriller. Although the author was able to create such good tension that it kept me invested even when I already knew many of the answers and picked up on the clues. The entire time I wondered if Billie would come clean, or if someone would find out the truth or if she would get away with the lie just like Cassie got away with murder literally.
Speaking of the devil, aka Cassie, talk about a total narcissistic, toxic person. Calling her a friend is a total disservice to true childhood friends everywhere. At times, it was hard to understand why Billie wanted to have Cassie in her life after proving to her over and over who she truly was. The signs were all there since they were younger. Toxic codependency much? And that poor baby will either wither or become another awful person having Cassie as a mom. Just saying. The only good part about Cassie’s story was when her grandma didn’t leave anything for her LOL. Because even when she supposedly defended Billie from Wade, she only did that out of spite for what he said to her.
It would’ve been nice if Billie had gotten closer to Cassie’s family and found in them her second family. I can totally see McKay doing to Cassie what she did to Billie. They both deserve each other.
All in all, it was a book that kept me reading and interested in how everything would be resolved. Or not.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bye, Baby follows two main characters who were childhood friends that have drifted apart in the recent years. The book is told from both character's point of view. The first, Billie, is still working through her emotions about previous relationship as she searches for a new partner. The second, Cassie, who is married with a newborn while also managing a brick-and-mortar store while being a micro-influencer. Both characters have a deep history, being best friends through childhood all the way through adulthood but they also share traumas as well. The plot really picks up when Billie 'accidentally' kidnaps Cassie's infant. (None of this is spoilers, it is all listed in the description of the book).

I really wanted to love this book, and although I did enjoy it, I felt like I spent the entire book waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which might be the whole point of the book to be honest. And, to be fair, is told to you up front, but in many mysteries set up like this, it often feels like "will they get away with it", but throughout this book I felt "when will she be discovered". I think this difference is the main reason it isn't a four/five star review for me. Throughout the book it felt like Billie will be discovered for kidnapping Cassie's infant, it was a matter of when, not will it ever happen. I also spent half the book cringing, not wanting to be a fly on the wall when Billie was discovered.

The part I really enjoyed about this book was the battle we see Cassie and Billie have with holding on to an old friendship. I know I personally have struggled with trying to maneuver friendships that feel as though they have faded. I regret the distance between them and as many people say losing a friend is often harder than a breakup. So I enjoyed seeing both sides of this fictional friendship, and how the two people involved could both have different but valid perspectives of it. I mean, don't get me wrong, this book showcases the two extremes that could occur and showcase a toxic relationship, but there is a bit of me that felt as though I understood at the same time.

I agree with a lot of the reviewers in that this book felt more like Women's Fiction rather than a mystery. I think having that mindset going into it I would have enjoyed it a bit more.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Publishing for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

BYE, BABY | Carola Lovering

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Format: 📱thank you St. Martin's Press for my gifted copy!
Read if you like: dual povs // influencer reads // messy friendships // UNDER THE INFLUENCE // SUCH A FUN AGE

I have a feeling that I am going to be in the minority for this one! 🙈

Don’t get me wrong I read this one so fast - mainly because I couldn’t get enough of these characters who are HIGHLY unlikeable and I was so curious about what would happen, but even because of that it still fell flat for me in a few ways.

I also want to say that I have read and loved all of Lovering’s books before this one! I did like this one, but it’s definitely not my favorite.

I liked -
✨ the multiple povs - I feel like it gave an insight into both Billie and Cassie’s characters
✨ the commentary on womens friendships and how things inevitably change over time and circumstances
✨ the pacing at times made this book very hard to put down

I didn’t love the characters. YES they are made to be unlikeable and they absolutely were, but even so they were kind of annoying to me? I wanted to shake them both. The entire baby being taken and how that happened was also annoying to me and it made it very hard for me to not think about only that the entire time. Whomp whomp. I think this is undoubtedly a me problem, so I think if you are the least bit intrigued you should give this a shot!

I'll be happy to provide a detailed review once St-Martins Press addresses the boycott and fixes the issue.