This book had a promising premise, but I unfortunately did not finish it. I was hoping it was more of a thriller, based on the blurb, but it was mostly just a story of two-women who have grown apart.

"She used to be my family."

We all have that childhood friendship we thought would be forever. Then life happens. One moves away, goes to college, gets married and has children. In the intense, often startling, Bye, Baby by introspective author Carola Lovering, we experience two young girls becoming best friends, sharing adventures and secrets. But what happens when those adventures and secrets lead to the unthinkable...when being away from your BFF may be the healthier choice or when judgement and jealousy replace the love?

These moral dilemmas happen to Billie and Cassie, opposites from the start. Cassie dreams of being a social influencer with a rich husband. Her dreams come true. Billie has always struggled in life. Left with a slimy stepfather when her mother suffers from early onset Alzheimers, Billie just wants to survive. But when Cassie makes the ultimate sacrifice for Billie do they owe each other life long friendship?

The incomparable voice actresses Karissa Vacker and Helen Laser are phenomenal as these traumatized, often self-destructive women. Told in alternating perspectives, I'm worried that I felt more connected to Billie, considering she kidnaps Cassie's baby in the prologue and we look back at how we got to this point.

Melding drama, traumatic friendship, murder and mystery this writer has created the ultimate book club read loaded with heavy discussion topics such as judgement for not choosing motherhood.

I didn't agree with all the choices at the end but the journey from the opening shocker to the final resolutions will have you saying hello to this unique author.

I received a free copy of this book/audiobook from the publishers via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bye, Baby is a fantastic read!!

Well developed characters, twists and turns and absolutely unputdownable. Well developed characters. I was hooked until the very end. Just read it!! You won't be sorry!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

I really tried to like this book more than I did. It was good ish but there was just something missing. That little spark to make you care about the characters. The concept was great. It just fell a little short for me.

Important details about Bye, Baby

Pace: Medium but does go too fast during crucial scenes.

POV: 1st person (Billie and Cassie)

Trigger Warnings: Bye, Baby contains themes that include sexual assault, kidnapping, toxic friendship, death of a parent, adult/minor relationships, rape, sexual harassment, child abuse, pedophilia, murder, dementia, bullying, grief, pregnancy, death, emotional abuse, mental illness, sexual violence, stalking, alcohol, alcoholism, body horror, chronic illness, domestic abuse, infertility, toxic relationships, vomit, abortion, gaslighting, classism, body shaming, and eating disorder.

Language: Bye, Baby contains mild to moderate swearing and language that might offend some people.

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in A Smoking Bun.

Setting: Bye, Baby is set in New York City, New York.

My Review

When I read the blurb for Bye, Baby, my interest was caught. I enjoy psychological thrillers with a mystery element. However, as I read the book, I found that the storyline focused more on Cassie and Billie’s decades-long friendship rather than the kidnapping outlined in the blurb.

Bye, Baby’s storyline revolves around Cassie and Billie, their decades-long friendship, and the kidnapping of Cassie’s daughter. I thought this was a well-written storyline that showed society’s expectations of mothers and the pressure that women who choose not to have children go through by other women. The kidnapping was not the focal point of this book. It was a tiny part of a very complex storyline.

The author did something interesting with this storyline. She started the book fifty days before the kidnapping and detailed Cassie and Billie’s lives. As she was building the present-day storyline, she returned to when Billie and Cassie first met and detailed the trauma that Billie went through as a teenager. I liked seeing both Cassie and Billie in the present and past. So much was explained about each of them and how their friendship turned toxic and one-sided.

The mystery angle of Bye, Baby was interesting. The author tells you who kidnapped the baby, but the why and how are not explained. The author does build up to that, but it seemed to go on longer than it should have. It was the afterward that was drawn out.

I was very interested in the mothers vs. women choosing to be child-free. There were times when the author did lay it on thick for the mothers. The pressure and adult bullying that Cassie and her friends did to Billie about choosing to be child-free was disgusting but very spot on.

The behind-the-scenes look into what it takes to be an influencer was fascinating. Cassie was obsessed with her followers, comments, and likes. Even though she started the Instagram account to promote her business, it became more of a mom vlog and promoting different brands. Honestly, it sounds exhausting and not something I can see myself doing.

The childhood trauma that shaped Billie was heartbreaking. So much happened to her quickly, and it became a little hard to follow. I enjoyed seeing Billie bloom during college, but I couldn’t understand why she kept returning to Cassie every time something went wrong. It was explained towards the end of the book (and it is linked to her trauma), but still.

The end of Bye, Baby seemed a little rushed. I didn’t believe what Cassie did. Hell, I didn’t even believe what Billie’s boyfriend did (and he’s a police officer). I was a little irritated by how everything went down (Cassie’s new best friend has issues with Billie but did the right thing in the end).

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Carola Lovering for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Bye, Baby. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

Compelling, ominous, and addictive!

Bye, Baby is a taut, intricate tale that takes you into the life of Cassie Adler, a young mother and social media influencer who seems to have the affluent life she’s always coveted, until one day her four-month-old baby girl goes missing and she feels like the only person who can help her is her childhood best friend Billie West who for the past few years she’s deliberately snubbed and left behind.

The prose is tight and edgy. The characters are secretive, consumed, and troubled. And the plot, using a past/present, back-and-forth style, builds and unravels quickly into a twisty tale full of drama, deception, lies, jealousy, obsession, manipulation, tragedy, childhood trauma, dark secrets, and the complex relationships that can exist between friends.

Overall, Bye, Baby is an engrossing, sinister, tortuous novel by Lovering that kept me riveted from the very first page and is the perfect choice for anyone who loves a menacing, highly entertaining, tension-filled read.

A story filled with obsession and toxic friendship leads to a good drama. I did however think there were too many topics covered. A couple less and it would have been so much more enjoyable. Thanks for the chance to read early!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC.

This book does... a lot. There are so many things going on. But, as always, I love dual POV, and I love a dual timeline. This domestic drama really kept me hooked.

This was my first time reading a book by Carola Lovering and Bye, Baby did not disappoint! Its genre is mystery and suspense. It’s a story about friendship and how through the years things can change, secrets can be kept and the friendship can evolve or sometimes just disintegrate. In this story, Cassie and Billie meet at a very young age and become fast friends. They are pretty much inseparable. But with time the two change, they want different things in life and things get tense. I didn’t really care for Cassie. I thought she was a self-centered kind of person, a real gold digger! Billie on the other hand was such a nice, down to earth and caring person. This book reminded me of a friendship I had when I was younger that ended very similarly. It was a great book, I was really invested in the storyline and it kept me reading way past my normal bedtime. It’s a book I would recommend to others. I’d like to thank NetGalley for the arc that I obtained off the Read Now section. I really enjoyed this and I’d love to read more by Carola Lovering in the future. I’m giving this a 4 star rating!

I’m here for a twisty thriller circled around a complicated lifelong friendship. I loved the alternating POV of Cassie and Billie. The author kept me on my toes and it has a perfectly wrapped ending

CONTENT WARNING: kidnapping, exploitation of person with dementia, sexual exploitation, grief, loss of a parent, sexual assault, alcoholism, murder, trauma, mention of abortion

I was really curious about this story. The plot summary sounded really intriguing, and I couldn’t wait to find out what actually happens in the story. And while there were parts that didn’t quite hit my expectations, it was a really good read for me overall.

Lovering knows how to capture her readers, for sure. The book opens with Billie looking down to see a baby in her arms, while her best friend from childhood, Cassie, is shrieking about her baby daughter being missing. After this short chapter, the story flips back a little bit in time. We see both Billie and Cassie’s POV, both in the immediate and distant past, as we uncover what led up to what were ultimately two traumatic incidents—one that is never mentioned outright, and the other being the kidnapping.

Both Cassie and Billie were unlikable, but in different ways. And speaking to Lovering’s skill, she somehow managed to make me root for them both. Normally, I’m not a fan of unlikable characters, but there was something about this story that made me want to read through to the end and find out what happens. Their unlikability comes from trauma, rather than simply who they are, and demonstrates how damaged they are from their early years. However, I found myself rooting for both of them to have a happy ending somehow, even if I wasn’t sure how that could possibly happen.

Cassie is overly focused on gathering things as a status symbol, and is basically an outright gold digger, but outside of that, she’s not a bad person at all. She’s fixated on the tangible things in her life, and has determined that Billie doesn’t fit into her life. Maybe because she views Billie as more of a reminder of the childhood that she is trying to leave behind, but she’s pushing Billie out of her life to the point of being nearly cruel to her. Cassie has a clothing store that recently expanded and added another location, but spends most of her time working as an Instagram influencer. It kind of felt like she looks at everything in her life as a tangible symbol of her status in life, including her daughter.

“The wedding pictures, the penthouse apartment, the beach house, the baby. The life of my dreams.”

Billie, on the other hand, can see Cassie pushing her away, but is doing anything she can to prevent it from happening. She’s willing to demean herself in the extreme for Cassie so that she can still claim the title of friend, but in all areas of her life, she seems like a decent, level-headed adult. But when it comes to Cassie, it’s like she loses all sense. In the absence of being able to spend time with Cassie, she gains a window into her life through her near-constant Instagram story updates. But I found it endlessly frustrating to see Billie sabotaging her relationships for someone who doesn’t prioritize her.

As for the mystery of what happened in the past, that one was easy to figure out. I accurately guessed it at 32% of the way into the book, but since I wanted to find out how Billie ended up with Cassie’s baby, I was still hooked. The fact that there was a second mystery in the story kept my attention focused. And even after finding out how that happened, I needed to know how that got resolved in the end. While it isn’t an overly twisty book, it was fast paced, with short chapters and a gripping plot that always had me wondering what was going to happen next. Even with the fact that the characters were unlikable and one of the mystery aspects was easily predictable, I still found this to be an intriguing read that grabbed hold of my attention quickly and didn’t let go until the satisfying end.

Bye, Baby is about two childhood besties who have grown apart but a secret keeps them from fully losing touch. I was hooked from the opening chapter, wondering what was going on between the characters. It is very bingeable and the multiple POVs and timelines create great character development and suspense. I really enjoyed this and am eager to check out Carola Lovering’s backlist!
Thank you St Martin’s Press for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for a review.

This one was one of those books where there were no likeable characters. Two friends start to drift apart as their adult lives go in different directions. This all becomes clear to Billie when she realizes she wasn't invited to Cassie's birthday. This leads to a big impulsive decision that both these ladies will regret.

I did enjoy the dual POV and different timelines. I was really missing the suspense in this story that I’m used to in the author’s other books. I still liked the storyline but wasn’t gripped by it. I look forward to reading this author’s next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book was such a shock. I genuinely couldn't put it down! With the focus being placed on female friendship, it pushed the boundaries of thrillers and really just made you sit down and really invest yourself in the story. A must-read!

I’m not even sure how to describe this book. Toxic friendship, influencer, secrets?! I was enjoying myself throughout the book, but the ending felt very abrupt and lacking. A little disappointed. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my 2nd book by Carola Lovering.

Can't Look Away was my first (⭐⭐⭐💫) and her latest hit about the same for me.

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

Don't be fooled, this is not a thriller. It's not a mystery, either. It's a friendship drama.

"Told in alternating perspectives ... Bye Baby confronts the myriad ways friendships change and evolve over time, the lingering echoes of childhood trauma, and the impact of women’s choices on their lifelong relationships."

I didn't want to be friends with either of the women in this book. I thought the writing was fine, but this is more of a character than a plot driven book, and things started to drag for me towards the end.

A fine read, but not one I would recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Available now.

Unfortunately, this kidnapping storyline was too triggering for me. I couldn't get past the first chapter.

Bye Baby definitely held my interest throughout. Definitely showcased a childhood friendship as well as how circumstances can challenge and undermine it. Billie and Cassie both bonded so closely with each filling in holes in the other’s life. Once I was introduced to Cassie’s grandmother I saw the writing on the wall…and frankly, so wish Billie had as well. Cassie was so instrumental in preserving Billie’s young adulthood but I believe it definitely caused the beginning of a wedge between them. Cassie’s shallowness and newfound career, friends, and marriage finished their friendship, much to Billie’s heartbreak.
As the episode with Ella evolved it was so very predictable, yet I totally understood Billie’s choices. It was heartbreaking that Cassie reached out to Billie, finally needing her, just as Billie struggled with her own dilemma, yet was willing to put Cassie’s happiness before her own. Wishing Billie better friends in the future.
Loved the way Carola Lovering alternated between both women telling the story from their point of view. I also enjoyed reading about Cassie’s influencing, such a sign of today’s social media. The ending brought everything together and I certainly wish both women success and happiness in their future.
Although certainly not in the thriller genre, I found this read to be very entertaining. Many thanks to Carola Lovering, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for affording me hours of pleasure reading an arc of this recently published book…three and a half stars.

"Bye, Baby" by Carola Lovering presents a gripping narrative centered around the complexities of friendship, secrets, and the weight of past traumas. Lovering skillfully weaves together alternating perspectives to unravel the tangled relationship between Billie and Cassie, two women haunted by their shared history.

The novel delves into themes of betrayal, motherhood, and the enduring bonds of friendship with depth and nuance. However, the storyline can feel somewhat predictable at times, and certain plot twists may be anticipated by readers familiar with the genre.

Despite its occasional predictability, "Bye, Baby" offers a compelling exploration of the repercussions of past actions and the lengths to which individuals will go to protect their secrets. Fans of psychological suspense will find this book to be an engaging read, although it may not offer many surprises for seasoned readers of the genre.

I absolutely love Carola’s toxic writing. I’ve devoured every one, including this one. The combination of train wreck paired with the hope of happiness is so addicting. A great story about how one simple choice can lead to the next and eventually determine how life will happen. Thank you to the author and #netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. Now RUN! And get this one on your shelf.