Honestly, I usually hate an influencer plot but this one hit different.

Carola Lovering's books always slap. It's like watching a Bravo show with all the drama and toxic relationships. This one focuses on a toxic friendship and I could not stop reading. Lovering has such a way of writing books that have you so invested with not much of a plot if that makes sense. It's like you are just getting a look into these people's lives and you can't look away.

BYE,BABY follows two best friends that have grown apart with time… but a dark secret ties them together. When one of the women's newborn baby goes missing, the cracks in their friendships really get exposed. It's juicy you guys.

Carola Lovering is one of my favorite authors so when I received this eARC, I was pumped! Unfortunately I liked this one just okay. I felt like it was longer than necessary and I really struggled with Billie and Cassie’s friendship. I know that was the point, but it just really wore me down. This was still a fun read, but not one I’d recommend to moms probably! Thank you St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

3.5⭐️

I liked this one.
You have Cassie and Billie, who were childhood friends and started growing apart as their lives have led them in different directions. Billie hopes and tries to cling to the relationship, while Cassie is going where life takes her.

I don’t quite know how to explain how I feel. I feel like it went fast but at the same time nothing really happened. The ending just ended. With what happens through the book and the ending. I was just left thinking “huh?” But I also see how the ending ended that way.

Thank you to Carola Lovering, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

I’ve read two of Lovering’s prior novels and didn’t really like them, so this was my last try. And I’ll say im glad I stuck around because I really enjoyed this one! There was a ton of drama and the deep dive into the friendship was really well done. This book gave me similar anxiety reading it as I had when reading Yellowface (iykyk). My only complaint is I actually wish that first chapter (which tells you what happens halfway through the book) wasn’t even in there, I think it would have added to the suspense and drama even more.

Withholding my post for this on social media until the publisher provides a response regarding the boycott.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering is the story of a missing baby and a changing friendship. Cassie is married and successful, and she has just had a baby. Billie is the opposite. They were friends while growing up, but they've drifted apart over the years. What happens when Cassie's baby goes missing? This story was a little crazy, but it kept me entertained. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

So the thing about this book was that it’s not a mystery thriller at all. Like I hate the term but this is women’s fiction. The dramatic thing that the entire book is based around doesn’t happen until about 50% if the way through. and honestly? I’m kind of glad I picked up the book after forgetting what the synopsis was because instead of waiting for the twist, I would’ve been waiting for when the baby goes missing.

The relationship between Cassie and Billie was AWFUL. Like, I get it. I understand that one ended up being terrible and one ends up essentially staring at her online. But like - Cassie’s reason for calling her friend trash was so little, and Billie needed some self esteem. But tbh, having the background that she had, there was no way that she would be doing okay.

Speaking of which, holy fucking content warnings, Batman!!!! I was not expecting that, and to have it on page was so gross!!! Holy shit. But also watching the slow descent of her mother into Alzheimer's was so incredibly sad, especially with what was coming.

Honestly, all the red herrings might have been a better story than what we got. This was sad, but like… not fun. Another reviewer mentioned something how this book was all tension and no substance, and that really was it. This was so…disappointing.

I usually love this author’s work because there is always a twist that is truly batshit insane, but this twist was just… sad. Like.

Geez.

Anyway.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

This was a great read! The characters were super unique and kind of not like-able, but also so relatable. I do wish this has been branded more as a fictional drama, as opposed to a mystery / thriller, since I kept waiting for a twist or something, and there was none. But the ending was still very satisfying! Overall, this was a solid 4 star read for me. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC!

LOVE a book about motherhood/being female/female friendships but that was the only thing that I really LOVED. Everything else was fine if a bit formulaic!

This was a book about a toxic friendship. I am not a fan of this subject matter, but I struggled through it, The story did get quite involved with dual timelines. This book is probably best as a book club read, as it has many areas for in-depth discussion. If you are looking to read as an escape, choose something else.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

Bye, Baby was to me more of a contemporary women's fiction versus a thriller, which left me disappointed.

Billie and Cassie ahad been close friends since their teens, torn apart when Callie began marriage and motherhood. The two recently connect again one time and Billie instantly realizes how much she missed her friend. Immersed once more in Cassie's life, she can't help but grab Cassie's sobbing baby when no one comes to her aide. Cassie has no ill will when her friendship with Billie grows apart, they are just different people. She agrees to one meet up, nothing more. So why does Cassie start relying once again on Billie when tragedy hits?

I wanted more thrillery elements from Bye, Baby although I was captivated and needed to hear how the story ended up. Several plot points just fell flat for me and again, it felt like a tale with the other woman looking in wanting everything of their one friennd. I wanted, needed more with that ending with the storm brewing. Fans of Carola Lovering's other novels may enjoy this one but for me, I would question picking up another novel by her.

4.5 stars

Ahh this was so good and addicting!!! I was kinda expecting some kind of extra twist at the end, which sadly there was not. But overall loved and would recommend

This book takes a great look at female friendships. The book shows how many things can happen in a millisecond and life can change. This book had me turning the page quickly to find out the ending. A really good and suspenseful book.

I'm not sure how I would characterize this book. It's not a thriller, because you know from the first chapter who did the crime. It's a novel of friendship -- toxic friendships -- the ways you grow apart with friends and they ways the past can fragment those bonds, both quickly and in small, but sharp ways.

Cassie and Billie. Billie and Cassie. For most of their lives, Billie and Cassie have been synonymous with one another. Childhood best friends who followed each other to college in Boston and the start of their professional lives in New York, their bond is seemingly unbreakable. Until it isn't. As Cassie moves to the upper echelons of New York as a new mom and Instagram influencer -- a place she's strived to be since her father squandered their money in her early childhood -- and Billie reckons with her traumatic past, including not wanting children or living the life that Cassie so desperately reaches for, the two best friends slowly break apart. Then a crime occurs that hits close to home for Cassie, and she comes running back to her oldest friend.

I found this book so well written and engrossing. There are trigger warnings galore but the author did a great job towing the line between being realistic while keeping the story readable to thriller-adjacent beginners.

The narrators on the audio version are PHENOMENAL. Highly recommend.

One last thing -- this cover is so ugly. It has to be said.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley, Carola Lovering, and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

While this wasn't my favorite Carola Lovering book, I still thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it! I don't think it was as much of a thriller as a friendship drama, but overall it was very entertaining and I enjoyed it. 3.5 star read for me.

This book was really interesting to me. Even thought it wasn’t a 5/5 just because I feel like it wasn’t a thriller and the synopsis gave away basically the whole book, I still found it very enticing and easy to read. There’s themes like toxic friendships, grieving those said toxic friends when that relationship falls apart, loneliness, making friends as an adult, etc. so there’s some relatability to this book. Something I will say, is that it did keep me glued to it, and I couldn’t put it down whenever I picked it up to read, and for that, I gave it a 3.5/5 (rounded to 4) star rating.

Thank you to NetGalley, and the author of this book for sending me a digital ARC copy. All opinions are my own.

This was a story about friendships and how friendships change as their lives go in different directions. A story about Cassie and Billie. Cassie marries a wealthy guy, has a baby and is a fashion influencer. Billie and Cassie have grown apart but Billie just can’t let the friendship go. She eventually kidnaps Cassie’s baby but then returns her the next day hoping no one finds out. Cassie reaches out to Billie when the baby goes missing and soon they are best friends again. Until she finds out Billie was the one who took her baby..

I feel that this is being marketed as a thriller when it is actually a story about toxic friendship and co-dependence. That being said, I did still really enjoy this and it makes me want to check out the author's other books. It was unique and well-written and kept me hooked to continue reading.

I really enjoyed the depth that Carola Lovering put into these characters!

This one was so suspenseful! Dramatic suspense. The audience knew things the characters didn’t a I love that. I also love the depth of Billie’s character. As much as I disliked her actions, I felt immense empathy for her. I wish Cassie’a character would have had that same level of depth. I also enjoyed how this story played out. Lovering always has a way of keeping readers on their toes!

Check out the trigger warnings prior to reading this one! It’s dark.

Billie West and Cassie Barnwell were best friends all through childhood into their young adult years, but they have slowly drifted apart, much to Billie’s dismay. Now in their thirties, Cassie has married rich and just welcomed her first child while she runs a small women’s clothing boutique and shares every detail of her life with her Instagram followers. Billie works as a travel concierge, planning expensive trips for her rich clients. Since graduating college, Cassie and Billie have been on drifting apart, leading separate lives with new friends. Billie is desperate to hold on to Cassie’s friendship, despite Cassie repeatedly rebuffing Billie’s attempts to connect. One fall night on Cassie’s birthday, Billie finds herself not on the invite list for the party being held at Cassie’s apartment. Finding herself in her boss’ new apartment, one floor below Cassie’s she hears terrified screams coming from Cassie’s terrace. Cassie just realized her infant daughter has gone missing, and Billie has just realized she kidnapped Cassie’s daughter.

Both Cassie and Billie were deeply unlikeable people. Cassie was so self-absorbed with maintaining her influencer persona online and shoving a camera in everyone’s face, while Billie really struggled to accept, and really could not accept that Cassie didn’t want her in her life anymore. This story was so suspenseful! The build up to Cassie finally finding out it was Billie that kidnapped her baby was cringeworthy, Billie was frankly in denial that her actions directly contributed to Cassie’s mental breakdown but she just needed to be needed by Cassie so badly that she couldn’t’ face that truth. So well written and it really explored the idea of what it feels like to drift apart from your childhood friends and what it feels like to forge your own path as an adult.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first novel by Lovering, but it definitely won’t be my last! While there were times that I didn’t much care for the characters, her writing just pulls the reader in and you get so invested in their story. There were times where I just wanted the characters to be open about their feelings instead of pushing them down. However, that being said I loved how she explored the topic of childhood trauma and how it can have lasting effects into a persons everyday life. Overall, while this is more of a mystery than a thriller, I still loved the twists and turns that Lovering had in this book and one that I definitely enjoyed!