This was such a wonderful domestic/literary suspense! I loved the dual timeline POV and it kept me hooked throughout! It was a very bingeable read and I finished it in < 3 sittings! This had SO much drama, so many secrets, and offered a glimpse into the influence/mommy blogger life. The story allows you to really connect with the main character, Billy. The commentary on female friendships, trauma bonds, social media, and motherhood are done perfectly. Lovering explores toxic friendships in a way that most people will likely be able to relate to in some capacity and it is so thought provoking! The reason for my 4 star rating is that the ending ends on somewhat of a cliff-hanger and ties up a little too neatly for me. I was hoping for a bigger, maybe even more sinister, ending. Overall, I loved this book and will definitely be picking up more from Lovering in the future. Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the advance copy! I recommend this read for people who LOVE domestic dramas/suspense books and want a read that is so hard to put down!

Thank you so much for giving me an ARC of this book! I was almost in a reading slump and this book pulled me out! I can’t wait to read more from this author. I loved the past and present time line and for some reason I was rooting for this toxic friendship but I think it has a very satisfying ending!

Thanks to Net Galley for this ARC (advanced readers copy)! This one comes out in March.

Part 1: Eh ... two very unlikeable characters, and I got pretty tired of Cassie and her obsession with social media.

Part 2: I was really wanting to know how all this was going to play out, so I couldn't put it down.

All in all, a very unbelievable story about two people, one shallow and one who experienced trauma, with an ending that was a bit lackluster.

I think more than anything this is about toxic relationships and mental health issues. We already know the big reveal: Billie takes Cassie’s baby. What’s left is the why and if Billie gets caught. But really, the book focuses on self-centered people who think the world revolves around them and many in need of serious therapy.

Cassie takes advantage of Billie’s friendship their whole life (evident in the flashback chapters- many of which I felt unnecessary). However, Billie has an unhealthy attachment and obsession to Cassie and won’t accept that some friendships come to an end or change with time.

I enjoyed the writing and the pacing, and I felt most of the characters well written, even if unlikeable (we all love to hate sometimes). However, I couldn’t stand the ending. I disliked it so much I actually dropped a half star from my rating. <spoiler> I’m sorry but Billie kidnapped a baby and her boyfriend cop finds out and doesn’t arrest her?! And chooses to get back together with her?! And Cassie says we’re even b/c of what happened as teens? And her boss knows and doesn’t do anything? Like has no one heard of mental health treatment at the very least?</spoiler>

While <i>technically</i> the book revolves around the kidnapping of baby Ella, that really has so little to do with the book that I wouldn’t call this a mystery, thriller, or even suspense. I think this falls more to contemporary, women’s fiction.

Trigger warnings <spoiler> sexual assault, specifically with a step-daughter</spoiler>

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

This book was a rollercoaster and the characters were ridiculously dumb, but I enjoyed every second! Billie was actually my favorite character, despite the whole kidnapping thing; which seemed kind of anticlimactic. I mean… I just really don’t know what she was thinking. 😂 But I did feel bad for her. Her life kind of sucked and then her lifelong best friend just drops her. Cassie was just terrible. I liked her in the high school parts, but adult Cassie/influencer Cassie was insufferable. I also think that’s what made parts of the story so entertaining though. I really liked the ending! This was just overall a very well written character driven story.

There are some really heavy scenes, so check trigger warnings before reading.

Read this if you:
🍼enjoy character driven stories
🍼have ever been part of a toxic relationship
🍼wish you had a private jet 🛩️

Bye, Baby | Carola Lovering
4⭐️

Brief synopsis: Bye, Baby follows Cassie and Billie, two childhood BFFs who have grown apart as adults, but are tied together by traumatic events from their childhood. These events are slowly revealed and help explain their incomprehensible, obsessive “friendship”. The pair is later brought back together as adults when Cassie’s baby is suddenly kidnapped.

This was my first book by Lovering and it definitely won’t be my last! A bingeable book with an interesting set of characters. Honestly, I didn’t really love any of the characters, but sometimes I enjoy reading books with unlikeable characters! 🤷🏼‍♀️ This was definitely a character-driven plot. Personally, I wouldn’t classify this a “thriller”, leans more towards domestic drama/suspense. I loved the short chapters, dual POVs, and alternating timelines (past/present). The influencer plot was little annoying, but seemed realistic and made me giggle at times🤣

A couple small issues with this book…Billie’s obsession with Cassie drove me crazy (especially at first). After learning about their secrets though, I could understand Billie’s reasoning a little more (she was almost toxically “bonded” to Cassie). Also, the ending UGH. I had to suspend disbelief a little too much and it tied up a little too nicely for my personal preferences, but I don’t think it took away from the rest of the story.

However, this was a well-paced and intriguing story about friendship, secrets, and lies. Definitely recommend for a binge worthy, drama-filled read!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Carola Lovering for providing me with a gifted copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read. The book was good!!! Bye, Baby was a book with two women that I was not really found of and but kind of grew on me by the end. I don’t want to give anything away but the book was full of sexual abuse, secrets and more. This will be a book people will want on their TBR for 2024.

Bye, Baby had me hooked right from the start! I really enjoyed reading this book and thought it was a great mix of friendship, lies, and betrayal! Cassie and Billie were complete opposites and it was interesting seeing their dynamic within their friendship. I really thought Alex was a sweet character within the book!

I would recommend this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read the ARC!

We are just two weeks into 2024, and I’ve read five books. One okay, three great, and one phenomenal. Bye, Baby is phenomenal. I’ve read all of Lovering’s books, and per usual, she does not disappoint. I truly did not see what was coming or how anyone would react. Typically, I don’t love to read books with unlikeable main characters, but Lovering did a fantastic job of weaving in their back stories so we have a better understanding of why the characters may act the way they do. 5/5 10/10 100/100…totally loved it!

4🌟
This was my first time reading a Carola Lovering book and I have to say: I love her writing style. Dual POV, short chapters, and writing that flows incredibly well and leaves you wanting more--sign me up! I binged this book in 3 days. Bye, Baby tells the story of Billie and Cassie and their friendship over the course of 23 years centering around not one, but several, life-altering events. This book is definitely more of a psychological thriller as opposed to a mystery since the "whodunnit" of Cassie's missing daughter (as mentioned in the book's description) is revealed in the first chapter.

This story was engaging and honestly, at times disturbing, but those parts--though difficult to read--helped me understand Billie and Cassie and their friendship better. I found my perspective of the 2 women change over the course of the novel. At first, Billie was a bit annoying and I couldn't understand why she was clinging onto a friendship with someone who didn't care about her. However, in the latter half of the book I could see why she acted the way she did (in some regards) and empathize with her. We're human and we all make mistakes.

I felt the opposite way about Cassie. At first, I was super interested in her microinfluencer career and I thought Carola's writing about the life of an influencer was quite on point. I really liked hearing about Cassie's life and her as a mom. I also felt sorry for her and having to deal with a needy friend like Billie. But in the latter half of the book, Cassie's true personality is revealed. She's vapid, more concerned with appearances than reality, judgemental, and vaguely narcissistic. I do think she truly loves her daughter but her sole focus on her daughter only lasted for about 2 weeks until her anxiety over the incident settled. As you can probably tell, I was quite annoyed with her character and her POV became increasingly hard to read, whereas before I could overlook some of her flaws.

Overall, I enjoyed reading about the relational dynamics and appreciated the real and raw way friendship, family, and relationships in general were depicted. They're not always sunshine and roses. I also thought the ending wrapped the storyline up nicely and I liked that there was still a happy(ish) ending!

Thank you so much to Carola Lovering, NetGalley, and St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

TW: abortion, sexual abuse, violence, and early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Please take care when reading.

I have mixed feelings on this novel. The story started off strong, but then it mellowed out and lost my attention a lot. I wouldn't consider this a mystery novel at all. You know what happens, and the only question is will it be revealed. That's the entire book. You have two POV's from each of the female MC's...but neither are very likable.

Also, there is rape of a minor in the story. It was part of the storyline, but there was no need for the detail description provided.


2/5 for a promising storyline, but poor plot execution

One thing I loved about Bye, Baby was the alternating view points. I like to hear from both characters. I also like the alternating between past and present. I didn’t like how the story was more character driven than it was plot/action driven. I went into this story expecting a thriller and was let down. It was a good story but I wouldn’t classify it as a thriller. I don’t know if I would recommend this. It was a well written story with a few trigger warnings to watch out for.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the readers copy of Bye, Baby in return for my honest review

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-copy to read and review.

Bye, Baby was an original concept, unlike anything I've read before. I began this book thinking it was a psychological thriller (and for the most part, the first half sort of was). But part two veered off in another direction altogether, becoming more of an indepth study of the complexities of female friendship over time.
Although it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was smart, relevant and fully believable. The character development was excellent and overall, it kept me engaged from start to finish.
I definitely recommend this page-turner. Just remember though, this is not a thriller so be sure to adjust your standards accordingly 😉

3.75 stars

Bye, Baby certainly has some thriller and suspense elements going on in the story but it's also a tale of friendship and motherhood. The relationship between the best friends is really what stood out the most to me.

Billie and Cassie have been friends for over 20 years although lately they aren't as close as they once were. Cassie is married and has a baby while Billie is single and devoted to her career. At the beginning of the story you find out Billie has kidnapped Cassie's kid. So how did it get to this point? Well, you'll get the backstory, trust me.

The book has a good hook to reel you in as I was definitely curious about why Billie had Cassie's kid. The other thing driving my interest in the story is wanting to find out the details about why the friends had drifted apart. Was one person at fault or both? While the book doesn't earn high marks when it comes to specific things I want in the thriller genre, as regular fiction it works pretty well.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC from Carola Lovering. Publication Date: March 5th, 2024. This book is categorized as a Mystery Thriller and it is more a Women’s Fiction so be aware of that when you pick it up. This is a quick read and the author’s writing is beautiful, I will definitely pick up another book from her in the future.
The first half of the book went very fast but I believe the book could’ve been better if it were 100 pages shorter IMO. I have to say the plot is very original, I haven’t read anything similar in the past, I ended up giving this book 3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I dont' always love books involving trauma with kids, but this one was more focused on the women/mothers and it was pretty compelling. Some great twists and turn and character development.

The book was fast paced and I did not want to put it down once I started reading. It was told through multi POV and multi timeline. I wouldn’t quiet say this book is a thriller, more of a book about friendship, but it still kept me intrigued nonetheless. My favorite Carola lovering read thus far!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

BYE, BABY ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5. Cassidy and Billie have been friends for decades. As 35 year old women both in NYC their lives now can’t be any different. Cassidy is married, wealthy and a mother. Billie is single, with a semi successful career in the travel industry. Over the years their lives have slowly drifted apart. But when Cassidy’s baby goes missing, she turns to Billie in her time of need. But why is the missing baby in Billie’s arms? I went into this book thinking it was going to be a psychological thriller, it was not that. This book is from 2 POV’s, with 2 timelines. It’s more a book about friendship, loyalties and secrets. As a 35 year old woman who oddly enough came to NYC the same year as the characters I felt a sense of nostalgia that made me like the book more. I enjoyed the book enough to finish but felt it was described as something completely different than what it was.

Man… some parts of this were heavy but I couldn’t put it down. I really loved the ending because I was stressed about Billie what would happen to her. I went back and forth on my feelings towards Billie and towards Cassie; at first I really liked Billie but then obviously thought she might be a little deranged lol and at first I couldn’t stand Cassie but then I felt bad for her… but I understand how both ended up who they were and why they act the way they do. I’d definitely recommend this book and I enjoyed the stress I felt waiting to find out the ending 😂

Thank you Netgallary for the ARC!!
Bye, Baby follows two main characters and their evolving friendship in multiple timelines. Both characters are equally unlikable… but you find yourself rooting for them both.
I was super invested in the story, rooting for both justice, happy endings, and for everyone to get what they want, even when all of these things oppose each other.
The writing was really great, the book was fast paced, and the multi timeline and multi POV was very engaging. A strong 4.5 ⭐️