I was hooked at the beginning with the premise and promise of a mystery/thriller, but the book didn’t quite live up to that. It’s ultimately a story about a toxic female friendship between two characters whom I often didn’t like or want to root for. Cassie was shallow and unlikeable and displays zero character development throughout the story, reverting to the same social media-obsessed woman we originally meet. Billie was easier to relate to and root for but made too many frustrating choices to fully invest in her victory. The multiple POVs/timelines mostly worked but sometimes didn’t sound distinct enough from one another. I was invested enough in the story and Billie to want to know the outcome but think the book will be ultimately forgettable.

I struggled a bit it on how to rate this book as I enjoyed it for the most part, but as some who reads 5-6 books per month, at times it just seemed to be a recycled story of a toxic friendship. There were times where I could like Billie and definitely sympathize with her, but some of her choices as an adult left me annoyed as well. Cassie was just overall an unlikable character, but you find yourself wanting the friendship with Billie to work due to events that happened in their past. All of that being said, I will settle on 3 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the digital ARC of “Bye, Baby” in exchange for my honest opinion.

Unfortunately this book was not a favourite of mine. I enjoyed the second half of the book and the way that the author set up the prologue but I found the first half REALLY dragged. The story overall was just okay not the twisty and shocking book I was looking for. Thank you for the opportunity!

Billie and Cassie were childhood BFF’s, but the forever friends just doesn’t last. Told in alternating perspectives between characters as well as flashbacks through their childhood. The chapters build the story well. Through Part One Billie stole my heart! BUT I realized throughout the rest of the novel that it was only because I could connect with her sooo well. I had a “Wade” and a “BFF” that were just like the characters. As the book progressed, I connected less and less. The pitch of complex stories of friendship and womanhood is completely off the mark. This is more of an outlandish story that feels completely YA. I was definitely not looking for or appreciative of the YA feels; overall part two left me wanting so much more.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the early read!

I would consider this novel more domestic thriller or a contemporary fiction with elements of mystery. It's an interesting and well written story that weaves in themes of friendship and relationships against the back drop of murder. This novel has alot going for it. Entertaining and interesting

I really enjoyed this suspense thriller. Although I wonder if suspense/thriller is a correct label for it. While there was an aspect to that, it almost read more like a story of friendship, with hints of romance and family issues which I found interesting. I found it sort of relatable on a few areas.

This is the story of Billie, who when the book begins kidnaps a baby. The story unfolds to show us what happened leading up to that and after. I liked the different POVS and flashbacks. I don't want to give too much away but there were some difficult parts to the book that should have a TW - SA being one of them.

I thought the author did a great job of writing the characters. I had strong reactions to some of them. I enjoyed the arc of Billie and I loved the ending. This is a hard book to review without spoiling too much but this was a good book that I couldn't put down. I read a lot of it in one sitting.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy. Opinions are my own. 4.5 rounded up.

This book sucked me in and did not let up. A twisted twenty-three-year friendship. Which has had its up and downs along the way. Currently they are on the outs. The characters are easy to connect with, their story is fantastic and gripping. Billie and Cassie met at their small town's pool. From that moment they were inseparable, until Cassie decided she no longer needed Billie. You see Cassie is a bit of a social climber. As soon as she is on the ins with someone better, she is happy to leave you in the dust. Billie always knew Cassie was looking for a man with a trust fund, and she was lucky enough to find it. All her dreams have come true, and she is leaving Billie in the dust. We all know how that feels. The Instagram pics showing everyone having a great time, with one person missing...you. Billie has a great life as well. I wish I had her job of designing travel itineraries for the rich. Umm hello, perfect job. She has had a tough time meeting Mister Right and she is still giving love a halfhearted go.

On the night that Cassie's beautiful baby girl disappears from her party, Cassie's view of the world has changed overnight. The only person she wants in her corner is Billie. Of course, Billie will be there for her no matter what. The past is in the past and Cassie needs her, is calling her, is demanding her to be by her side. No one knows what these two have shared and what they need from one another. Only the two of them. Thank you to Carola Lovering and St. Martin's Press for this captivating read.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for my free digital copy for review.

This book defies the conventional boundaries of your typical thriller. Yes, murder shadows its pages, but at its heart, this narrative delves deep into the complexities of friendship. It intricately explores the toxic dynamics between two women, Cassie and Billie—best friends whose paths have diverged, yet find themselves inextricably linked once more.

The storytelling elegantly weaves between two timelines. The past lays the foundation, offering a detailed exploration of Cassie and Billie's relationship, and enriching our understanding of these protagonists. Meanwhile, the present feels like a constant tug of war—a dance of distancing and reconnection that's both compelling and slightly disconcerting. The emotional turmoil driving a single decision unfurls a cascade of events, propelling the story forward.

I devoured this book in a single sitting, its pace never faltering. Despite finding both characters rather unlikable, their story ensnared me. I was driven by an insatiable need to discover how their intertwined tales would conclude.

TW: Sexual abuse

I love Carola Lovering's books! They are so captivating and exciting to read. I loved the friend/family dynamic and the dual POVs.

This is a story of two friends Billie and Cassie. The story goes back and forth from present to past explaining the back stories of both these characters and how they turned out the way they did. I think the author did a good job of introducing the characters and providing details on each of them separately as well both of them together. I found that the friendship kind of turned toxic and was a bit annoying on how Billie constantly felt like she needed Cassie. I definitely felt hooked into the story from the beginning and was a page turner to find out what happened and how it all ended. Thank you St Martin’s Press for allowing me to have the opportunity to read this an advanced reading copy.

If you like books that hook you from page one and never lag, then Bye, Baby is for you. The story is told in the alternating voices of Billie and Cassie, two women who have been best friends since middle school, as well as flashbacks from Billie’s perspective.

Billie and Cassie are not as close as they used to be when they grew up together in a small town. Cassie is married to a very rich man and now has a 4 month old daughter and friends with money. Billie has a career in travel and doesn’t ever want children. But that’s just the surface. We learn the deeper reasons of both their deep friendship and the later drift over the scope of the novel. And those reasons spur a terrible action on Billie’s part.

Fast-paced and with good character development, Bye, Baby was an engaging, skillfully written novel. I will be reading more from Carola Loverling!

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

Not quite a thriller, but instead a study of a teenage friendship that has turned sour.

This is a study in parasocial relationships and effect of social media on real relationships as well. There was a pretty great story here, lots of dark twists and you can see how our characters arrived at the place they’re at as adults.

I thought the relationship between Cassie and Billie to be so well done and interesting. It was a strange co-dependent, extremely toxic friendship that you can’t help but eat up.

I removed a star since there’s that trope of a character digging themselves deeper and deeper for a stupid decision. The last 20% was so anxiety inducing for me that I couldn’t stand it. And then end just didn’t sit well with me.

Bye, Baby is a book of toxic friendship, murder, kidnapping, past childhood trauma, influencer life, and more.

I enjoyed Lovering’s writing style throughout the book. Following Billie and Cassie throughout the book in dual POV and alternating timelines was one of my favorite things! It gave so much depth into the story and why the characters were the way they were. I was hooked throughout the entire book because of the choice of writing style.

It was listed as mystery/thriller, but I personally don’t think it really rang true in that category. I would categorize this as a drama and LOTS of it!

If you are looking for a mystery/thriller this probably won’t be the best book. But if you are looking for a great story line with toxic friendship and DRAMA, this is definitely for you!

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of this in return for an honest review!

Carola Lovering is one of my favorite authors so this book was very highly anticipated for me. It was not what I was expecting at all but it was so compelling- I binged it in a day. It was also very relatable - I’m sure we’ve all had complex, toxic relationships at one point or another in our lives at some level, and Lovering is the master at writing toxic relationships (I also loved Tell Me Lies and Can’t Look Away). I highly recommend this book, especially if you enjoy alternating timelines and POVs and character driven stories about female friendships.

Many thanks to both St Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Macmillan Audio for early access to this title in exchange for my honest opinion. This is not my first Lovering read and it definitely won’t be my last!
Bye Baby doesn’t come out for a week and a half but I spotted a copy at Barnes & Noble yesterday if you don’t want to want any longer!
And I will warn you, once you start this one it is IMPOSSIBLE to put it down. I started by listening to the audio (with one of my favorite narrators, Karissa Vacker, I knew it was going to be good!) - but then I arrived at a brewery for lunch which had a good playlist, so I switched to reading my eARC because I could not wait any longer to keep going in the book!
This book is more of a suspense read than a thriller, but its propulsive nature makes me feel fine calling it a thriller. It also has women’s fiction undertones - one of the main characters has a four and a half month old baby which plays a major role in the plot. If you’re the mother of a really young one, you may want to hold off on reading this one for a few more months if you aren’t good at separating what you read from your real life… Other than that, I don’t want to say too much because I think it is good to go into a thriller blind. I also did the magical thing where I figured out exactly where I had stopped reading when I switched back to the audiobook on the NetGalley app on the first try, which I don’t think has ever happened before!

Another book labeled as a thriller with absolutely zero thrilling aspects in it. Not even sure what the point of the book is because basically nothing happens. Cassie was totally the worst. On a positive note, it was an easy listen with good narrators.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I think I told myself no more Lovering books after her last one that I did not enjoy. Clearly I did not listen to my past self. This book was a slog. There were absolutely no mystery/thriller aspects. It is just a toxic female friendship that plays out very badly and very predictably. The book was at least 50-75 pages too long and the ending was so trite with everyone basically living happily ever after.

Bye, Baby tells the story of two former best friends, once inseparable but now at two very different stages of life. Billie is single and working for a luxury travel company, while Cassidy married wealthy and is obsessed with her life as a new mom and influencer. They were bonded together, but now that Cassidy thinks she’s above their old lives, Billie is left feeling alone. Told from both of their perspectives, this psychological thriller shows how far friends will go for one another.

Carola Lovering is the best at writing completely unlikable characters, the ones who have flaws you can spot from a mile away. Billie and Cassidy are those characters, both who made me cringe at points throughout the novel. I found the first part of this thriller fast paced, as I wanted to get to the “bad thing” that happens to put these two women more squarely back into each others lives. The second half, while decent, didn’t keep my attention as well. However, I had to see what would happen in the end and I did make it. There were some disappointing parts in the ending, but I won’t spoil that here!

I was waiting for the hat to drop here but then I got nothing…. Am I the only one who thinks that??

I was expecting a mystery/thriller type of book because the plot made me want to read this book as soon as it was sent to me. We have two best friends who after some time had a falling out, Billie and Cassie were attached to the hip, and when we go back and forth between their past and present, I went from finding Billie super suspect, to actually loving her and finding her relatable, unlike with Cassie, omg she is so damn toxic.

We get the mystery aspect from when they were younger, and the things they did, but does that relay to what is going on now??? I have no idea, none of it made sense to me. The only great thing about this book is that Billie gets the resolution and the happy ending that she deserves.

Thank you Netgalley and the Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC of this novel. I absolutely loved this author’s previous novel- Tell Me Lies, and the Hulu tv series based on it. If you haven’t checked them out I highly
recommend them.

I wouldn’t call Bye, Baby a thriller but it does have some suspense. It’s the story of Billie and Cassie, childhood friends who are both living in New York City. This book deals with themes of female friendship and motherhood. I think I would’ve enjoyed this book more if I wasn’t going it expecting a thriller but it was still enjoyable & I like the authors writing style.