Another book, another story about complicated female friendships… it never gets old.

Cassie and Billie used to be best friends, but their relationship has cooled down in recent years. When Cassie has a baby, Billie just wants to be there for her - but Cassie can’t imagine anything worse. One day, Billie finds Cassie’s daughter crying, alone, and decided to save her - and salvage her relationship with Cassie. But things quickly spiral out of control, and Billie realizes that is only a matter of time before everything blows up… and Cassie’s friendship might be worth it.

Bye, Baby is fast-paced and keeps you reading, with characters that are somehow relatable, even as they make unthinkable decisions. Definitely worth a read.

Cassie & Billie are the best of friends who have endured many challenges through the years. Their history ties them together despite their vastly different social circles and life experiences. The story is drought with tension and suspense as we learn about their history and how they are bound together. I highly recommend this book to someone looking for a strong story.

Bye, Baby was the first novel I have read by Carola Lovering. I enjoyed the story of friendship and how the friendship changed over the years. I felt as though this was more of a book about friendship than a thriller. If I went into the mindset of it being a fiction novel, I think I would have enjoyed it more. During the whole story was waiting for something to happen and it never did. I will give Carola's writing another shot because I did enjoy her writing style and she wrote very relatable characters.

This was so good. The dirty dancing theme the toxic female friendship it was sooo good this is an auto read author for me now.

I couldn't put this book down -- it was a page turner and the short chapters made it go so quickly.

Bye, Baby is told in alternating chapters between Billie and Cassie, both in present day and when they were teenagers and in their 20s. Now they are in their mid-30s, and have grown apart for reasons not initially known to the reader. Cassie has a new baby and is an Instagram influencer, and Billie has a hard time relating to Cassie's lifestyle.

This isn't exactly a thriller, but I found the whole book so creepy and unsettling. Both Cassie and Billie are fairly unlikeable, but I didn't mind spending time with either of them anyhow.

I love reading anything set in New York, and I love reading books about parents of young kids -- so I really enjoyed all those aspects of the book. I thought all of the portrayals of influencer culture were also very interesting, as I definitely know Cassie's type on Instagram.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting a fast-paced look at a friendship and two complex characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I liked this book. It was a little crazy and kind of like watching a train wreck. But it was entertaining. I liked Billie and felt like she was believable. I didn’t feel the same way towards Cassie though. And was it just me or was she doing an awful lot of drinking alcohol and coffee for someone actively breastfeeding?

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

This one you follow the missing baby. Billie has been best friends for Cassie since she was younger, and they used to be inseparable. Until Cassie marries and she’s in a new tax bracket. But one day Cassie’s baby goes missing, and the only person she can think of to make it better is Billie. But who took the baby? I guess you’ll have to read and find out.

If you like suspense this book is for you. You get the multi pov and it’s just shocking to see the inside of everyone’s head while this tragic thing happens to Cassie.

I’m a little upset with myself that I took too long to read this, because once I hit download I literally couldn’t put it down. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out when everything would crack and break and explode! I give this one a 4/5.

Grab it today!

This is listed as a thriller. Unfortunately, I didn't find that to be the case. The writing is "meh," and nothing about it was really unique or something that will stick with me after the final page. There is definitely some behavior in the story that stuck out as odd that it wasn't questioned by authorities, etc. I did enjoy the multiple POVs, but the characters, as a whole, were annoying and hard to root for. The book is more of a story of friendship than a thriller. I kept waiting for something big to happen, but that wasn't the case.

Bye Baby starts off with a baby being taken from a terrace and from there the pace never slows down! While not much is actually happening the entire story, I was on the edge of my seat and anxious the entire time! I could not put this book down and if I had more time when reading it, could have easily finished in a day!

It alternates POV between Cassie and Billie- 2 childhood best friends who have grown apart as adults. It also dives into their past to give you insight into the current lives. I was guessing how it was going to end right up to the very end. Even though this is not classified as a thriller, it reads like one.

While at times I didn’t like either character, I still felt a lot of empathy for both. The author did a great job of getting the reader inside the character’s heads. I liked the exploration into motherhood and friendships in this book.

Definitely grab this one when it comes out! Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved Carola Lovering books ever since reading "Tell Me Lies." I knew "Bye, Baby" would be completely enthralling just like her other books have been. I cannot wait for the next one!!

In the opening scene, Billie has just inexplicably kidnapped her best friend Cassie’s baby. From there, the story goes back in time to piece together the events leading her to this moment. Told in alternating perspectives between Billie and Cassie, Lovering explores the 20+ year relationship between the two friends. This reminded me a little of Big Little Lies, which I loved. This is more of a character driven story but with enough plot to keep you turning the pages to figure out why the opening scene happened. I personally love a story told in reverse and I enjoyed the flashbacks. The main characters were not the most loveable but I don’t have a problem with unlikeable characters. Overall this was a fast, satisfying read and I would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an scanned reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had a hard time putting this one down and finished in less than two days. Carola Lovering is great at building suspense and drama.

I liked the alternating timelines and perspectives from Billie and Cassie. Overall I enjoyed the book but the ending was predictable and not as shocking as some of Carola’s other books.

Toxic friendships seem to be the 2024 books I keep picking up and this one was no different.
Jealousy, petty drama, lying and exaggerated nonsense that left me disliking both of the women in the book.

Which isn’t always a problem for me when I’m reading thrillers but this one felt like it was overloaded by themes that the author wanted to spotlight (social media, Alzheimer’s, toxic friendships, kidnapping. pedophiles etc) and so the “thrilling” part felt hard to figure out.

In the end, it was just fine. Too many things going on and not enough depth to the characters to make me care about either of them. It felt like it needs to be marketed as a fiction book and not a mystery/thriller because I think that was part of my problem with it. My expectations were skewed.

Long story short: not for me.

I throughly enjoyed reading this book! The point of view shifts between the two main characters. It starts with present tense than has flashbacks into the past. This creates such a depth of layers of the intricacies of characters' friendship. There is one friend who has outgrown or redeveloped her sense of self and one character who is struggling with the loss of her best friend. The story is weaves through two mains characters in both past and preset. .

yes there's murder and other crimes but this is really all about the relationship (very disfunctional) of Cassie and Billie. While more drama than I tend to like in my thrillers, this one hooked me. Flashbacks of their childhood finally pull it all together. Wonderful characters. Will look for more by Carola Lovering!

This book was riveting! I was so excited to be given the opportunity to read it early after seeing Grace Atwood from The Stripe rave about it on her blog. The story did not disappoint! I really enjoyed how the story alternated between the past and present friendship of the two main characters - especially as the past illuminated more and more for the reader why the friendship was the way that it was. At first you feel like the one woman, Billie, is unhinged and obsessive over the other, Cassie, but as you are given more information on their past you are able to better understand both perspectives. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but this story is definitely one that will keep you up reading late into the night. I thought it was fast paced, the characters were well developed and it was very well written. I felt anxious for both characters throughout most of the book which I feel really shows just how engrossed in the story you can become. I'm excited to read more from this author and just bought Tell Me Lies to start next! Highly recommend this novel!

5/5 Stars - WOW my first Carola Lovering book and definitely not my last. It's not your typical thriller since the story opens up saying who kidnapped the baby but it keeps you on the edge of your seat with the aftermath. I thought the author did an amazing job with the character development and allowed for a clear understanding of the complex, toxic friendship. I absolutely devoured this book and couldn't put it down and as a 20-something living in NYC I loved all of the city references (big Westville fan, too!)

I will say a tiny part of me was disappointed by the ending but I'm also not sure what I was looking for in an ending anyway.

This book was good but I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters. I had a hard time understanding. It also didn’t have any twists and turns that I am used to with a thriller/suspense. This is the first book I’ve read by this author.

Billie and Cassie have been best friends their entire lives; however, over the past three years, Cassie has begun pulling away from Billie. While Billie fights for their friendship, Cassie is busy with her new marriage, her new friend group, and her new baby. After an unfortunate incident occurs during Cassie's birthday party, she starts to re-evaluate her life; however, where does Billie fit into this new re-evaluation?

I feel like I'm in the minority and did not really like this book. I think I wasn't a huge fan because it marketed itself as a thriller but was more a story of the complexity of friendships. At times it feels like a story I’ve read a million times. There’s not much about it that makes it stand out from similar books. The writing is fine but not super impressive. And the plot is missing things that would make it cohesive. The characters are unlikeable and I couldn't connect with them, and the plot is fairly straightforward without any real twists or turns to keep me hanging on. I loved Carola Loverings last novel “tell me lies”which was so much more intense than this story so this is disappointing to me.
Thank you @stmartinspress & @netgalley for my digital copy. My thoughts are my own. Bye Baby debuts March 2024.

This book was wonderful! Did not see the twists coming. Very impressed, great reading experience. The author’s writing felt like I was there experiencing everything first hand. The alternating perspectives between Cassie and Billie kept things interesting and not stagnant.