I always look forward to the newest Carola Lovering book and this one did not disappoint. While her other novels focused more on a romantic relationship, this one revolves around a female friendship that has had a lot of ups and downs over the years. Cassie and Billie are childhood best friends. Billie grew up with a mother who suffered from dementia and a stepfather who was less than ideal. Cassie's father lost a ton of money, so she was always in search of someone rich to love. They are linked together despite periods of time in which they have lost touch.

The story is told in alternating timelines - present day and throughout the years of their friendship. The drama kicks off with Billie hearing a baby crying, left alone at a party, and she takes the baby. The baby is Cassie's, and pretty soon Cassie is screaming when she learns her daughter is missing. While the reader quickly learns what happens to the baby, there is more to this story then this kidnapping.

It is difficult to offer up much more of a review as it would give away too much of the story. But if you enjoy reading something that is very propulsive, filled with unlikeable characters, explores female friendship, and offers a glimpse behind closed doors, then this book is for you.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review.

Billie and Cassie have been best friends since they were children, always being part of each others lives. So when Cassie stops returning Billie’s text messages she feels lost. Cassie on the other hand is trying to balance being a mom, wife, and influencer, and really doesn’t feel like Billie fits into her “new” life. The book goes between Billie’s and Cassie’s point of view as well as their shared past. When Billie gets pushed or her breaking point she makes an impulsive decision that changes her friendship forever.
I definitely felt annoyed with both characters but also felt compassion for what lead the girls to be the women they became. Overall I thought the story was an enjoyable one to read and I think Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read Bye, Baby before its release.

I really enjoyed this book. The main plot is about toxicity in friendships and I think it was portrayed extremely well.

Cassie, one of our main characters, annoyed the absolute crap out of me because of her toxic ways. I think that just shows how fantastic of an author Carola Lovering is though. If you're going to write a book about toxicity, you should make it toxic, and that's what she did.

I'm not going to lie, this book was a little bit slow for me to get into, it was probably around the 30% mark once I finally got hooked. Both main characters didn't feel likable and I didn't really find myself connecting to them. The first few chapters definitely came with a lot of eye rolling. But, once I was finally hooked, I flew through the rest of the story.

I will say, this book definitely should come with blatant trigger warnings, or something in the synopsis that hints at Billie's trauma. I don't love the idea of that being a "twist" in this story. The scenes showing Billie's traumatic past honestly made me sick to my stomach, and I did think about DNFing the book because it shocked me so much. I think if I knew more of what I was getting myself into I wouldn't have gotten so jarred by it.

Overall I really did enjoy this book! Definitely one I will be recommending to my friends.

Although this isn't as much of a thriller/mystery as it was advertised as, I still really loved it.

Here's what I loved:
-The exploration of a toxic long standing friendship definitely brought drama and interest. I couldn't put this one down.
-I loved that the book delved into the expectations society puts on women and whether they want children. It was nice to see that broken down.

This wasn't my favorite:
-I didn't love how dedicated Billie was to Cassie. I just wanted her to stop begging and groveling to be Cassie's friend.
-The little twist thrown in there about the private DM that Cassie received. It just didn't feel needed.

Overall, I really enjoyed this domestic drama and would definitely recommend it.

Absolutely loved this one. I’ve been a Carola Lovering fan for years and this is my favorite of hers so far. The complicated relationship between Cassie and Billie kept me captivated wanting to see how the story unfolded. The author beautifully captured the complexity of female relationships and the notion of outgrowing one’s from our youth that no longer serve us (with a lottttt of toxicity). Would highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Stories about child kidnapping and sick friendships don't do it for me. I also didn't like either character

Two longtime friends, at different points in life, grown apart.

One night in New York Cassie's baby goes missing. Ex best friend Billie is close enough to hear her anguished cries. Somehow she is the one who took the baby. How and why did this happen?

Cassie and Billie used to be so close. They share a terrible secret and yet now they barely see each other. Cassie doesn't seem to want Billie around. They live such different lives. Cassie moves in a completely different social circle. She has a business and is an influencer. Billie is confused and hurt. She also won't give up on Cassie.

The book starts off with the baby going missing. From there we go back to when Cassie and Billie first met and we get chapters from the days leading up to the incident. You begin to wonder why or how it's going to happen at all. Many uncomfortable situations arise.

Bye, Baby is more of a domestic suspense than a thriller. We get an in depth look at these two characters. They aren't very nice people. In fact most of the characters aren't, but we can still understand some of their actions.

The writing is very good and not just with the character development and suspense. There are a lot of lovely descriptions of setting and we feel what the characters are feeling.

Bye, Baby propels you along an uncomfortable journey. It's hard to look away.

⭐️Book Review⭐️

Thank-you to #netgalley and the publisher for the #AdvanceReviewCopy

Release Date: March 2024
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery

Summary: One circumstantial night, one decision, and one woman who’s desperate is all it takes to do something Billie wishes she could undo. But, without it being the intention, that one desperate act was all it took for Billie’s former best-friend to need her again after abandoning her for a new, wealthy group of friends.

Billie and Cassie go way back and we learn about the friendship through alternating points of view and flashbacks.

Summary: I loved this book so much! I enjoyed getting to know the younger girls and experiencing their connection to better understand the dynamics of the relationship later. I felt for Billie throughout and it pained me when she’d drop everything for Cassie. Cassie came across as privileged, snooty and overall just not a nice friend. I thought she was undeserving of Billie’s love and friendship. Throughout the flashbacks secrets that were difficult to read about are revealed and helped to shed some light on Billie’s character.

The book explored friendship in a unique way that kept me wanting to know what would happen next.

Don’t go into this thinking it’s a page-turning thriller, instead, treat it more like Women’s fiction written with the thriller format we see often in the genre.

Be warned there are scenes of sexual and emotional abuse, so if this is a trigger, proceed with caution. Otherwise, sit back, grab your favourite drink and enjoy devouring this book quickly!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm kinda in love with Carola Lovering's books right now. First there was Tell Me Lies, which was made into a series by Hulu (with a few small changes of course). I can't quite explain my obsession with this series. Except to say it really made me feel all the things I felt about relationships when I the characters' ages (the good and the bad!) If you want to return to teen/early twenties angst, Lovering has created a time machine to do that!

Can't Look Away brings all the past ex-boyfriend resurfaces vibes, and then if we throw it back to 2004 (of course I just read it after the other two), Too Good to Be True is also amazing cover to cover. Lovering just really gets love and desperation and co-dependent relationships so right!

So on to Bye, Baby. Again, she does it. This time the topic is best friends. Which if you've ever had one, you know that it can be complicated. Sometimes after being friends for so long, we can fall into unhealthy patterns with our friends. And they become almost like siblings, in that we love them unconditionally, even if we don't always like them. Or even when we try to destroy their lives (on accident of course?).

I don't want to give too much away, but Bye Baby is another masterfully written story that you don't want to miss. I kinda see Emma Roberts playing Cassie in a future show, but maybe that's just because of seeing her in AHS: Delicate as a mother figure.

Special thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for an advanced readers copy of this one. It's out March 5!

Such a deep novel of friendship, womanhood, and motherhood
Childhood friends seem to drift apart, and at some point this two friends try to reconnect
I don’t wanna give away too much
But I did enjoy this novel, and I did feel for these two women in different ways

I am so torn about my feelings pertaining to this book.

There may be some MILD spoilers here, so read with caution. I’m not spilling huge parts of the story, but some context.

There is no question that I enjoy Lovering’s writing! The book was riveting and I definitely couldn’t put it down. I have no problem with unlikable characters and find that I can REALLY enjoy books with them, but there has to be that something extra that fuels that enjoyment.

This just felt flat. The stakes weren’t high enough. The events that take place in the present felt almost safe. There was no real risk, which is crazy because if this happened to me I would be happy with the outcome.

I despised Cassie. She was a great friend, who totally left her best friend hanging for no real reason. I think it would have just been easier for everyone if Cassie was woman enough to actually end the friendship.

I supposed I’m just a little dissatisfied with the way the story unfolds into completion, but in general this was great.

This one was really hard for me.

I was graciously given an ARC through NetGalley and I was so excited!

When I started reading it it was interesting. However every chapter I got deeper just kind of took away my enthusiasm. I didn't really connect with either of our main characters. I think I was also looking for more of a thriller, which it wasn't really about that aspect up to this point in the book. It mostly focused on friendship and connection and how that changes over time.

The writing itself was enjoyable the contents just weren't exactly what I was looking for. I'd be interested in seeing what else this author can come up with.

Oof - friendship breakups/fallouts are incredibly painful and not talked about enough. Bye, Baby tells the story of Billie and Cassie who are drifting apart after a long childhood friendship. Being on both ends of friendship fallouts, I found myself empathizing with Billie and thinking Cassie was the villain. Later, my mind switched and felt that BILLIE was the villain! My mind changed a few more times, and even after reading I'm not sure how I feel about either character - both were well-written and developed. This book was full of suspense and with a writing style that kept me guessing on the edge of my seat until the very end. This is my first read from Lovering but will certainly not be my last. Thanks for the ARC!

“Bye, Baby” by Corolla Lovering tells the story of childhood best friends Billie and Cassie whose friendship has grown stagnant in their adult years. While Billie does everything in her power to hold on to what they had Cassie is the polar opposite; she tries to cut Billie out of her life and focuses solely on her new baby and her up and comng career as an influencer. What keeps Cassie from completely cutting Billie from her life is the dark secret that they share, one that can ruin both of their lives if it ever comes to light.

Throughout the book we see just how painfully one-sided Cassie and Billie’s friendship is. Every coffee invite that Billie extends to Cassie is met with a lukewarm response. During the times Billie angles for an invitation to one of Cassie’s many functions, she faces cold indifference. One particularly cringeworthy scene occurs during a dinner party that Cassie actuallly deigns to invite Billie to. As all of her friends are gathered around the dinner table, of course the idea of a group photo op pops us. Cassie does the honors and takes the picture. However, before she posts the picture on her Instagram page, she crops out Billie and her date. Naturally, because Billie has been religiously stalking Cassie’s Instagram page, she sees the post, and when she does, it only adds to her simmering resentment.

As the story progresses Lovering provides an explanation for how Billie and Cassie’s friendship got to be so complex. When they were teenagers Cassie was both Billie’s best friend and her protector. This and the dark secret shared between the two women forces a bond between them and it cannot be severed despite Cassie’s best efforts.

Things finally come to a head when Billie finds out that she has not been invited to Cassie’s 30th birthday party, a party whose existence that Cassie had lied to her about. Coincidentally, during the night of the party, Billie happens to be cat sitting for a friend, who happens to live a story below Cassie and her husband. On the night of the party she cannot help but hear the angry wails of Cassie’s baby out on the terrace. In a fit of what can only be described as madness, Billie climbs one floor up from the terrace and absconds with the baby.

Things take an interesting turn when Billie sneaks Cassie’s child back to her. Billie is now at the center of Cassie’s orbit and she laps it up. She leans on Billie to help her deal with her traumatic experience all the while not knowing that it is Billie who is responsible for what happened to her. Given their history it only makes sense that Cassie immediately turns to Billie after what happens. However, this is a tense setup because I just kept waiting for Cassie to find out what really happened and for the blowback that was sure to follow.

Even though Billie can come across as a villain I sympathize with her character. When she takes Bille’s baby she immediately realizes the wrongness of her actions and immediately tries to fix it. Unfortunately, she gets caught up in her situation and she can do nothing but wait for the other shoe to drop.

Although, Cassie is definitely not my favorite because of the way she strings Billie along, I can at least understand why she is the way she is. All of her life she was influenced by her wealthy grandmother to look down on others and unfortunately, when Billie no longer fits into her own wealthy lifestyle, she simply becomes collateral damage that must be distanced from.

“Bye, Baby” is definitely an engaging story that provides a thought-provoking plot and excellent characterization. This is Carola Lovering’s best novel yet! Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

<i> special thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free, electronic arc of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

expected publication date: mar. 5, 2024 </i>

carola lovering is 2/2 and i'm here for it!!!

i think an unexpected thing that has come from both of lovering's books is finding the thriller in the mundane - similar to <i> tell me lies </i> this book is not the oversaturated kind of thriller - it is a careful and intricate exploration of obsession, toxic friendships and parenthood that doesn't need to go over the top with twists and jumps in the night to make you feel something.

i would say i preferred her previous novel, but that may be because i went into it with low expectations and with this one i came with a blank slate. nonetheless, i'm here for anything lovering publishes at this point.

This book had excellent character development - I really cared about their lives! Best new book I've read all year!

This book was crazy good. Soo addicting that I didn't want to put it down. Stephen and Lucy's characters are soo different and how the story is told from each of their perspectives is intriguing. This is a great book to discuss at a book club. So many twist and turns to the plot!

3.5/5

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good book, but I just didn’t love it for some reason? I enjoyed reading the POVs and I appreciated how flawed both our mains were. I honestly felt bad for both of them - I know Cassie isn’t getting a lot of empathy in the reviews, and with good reason tbh, but I still felt for her a few times. There was a lot in this book and I don’t think every subject needed to be broached (to be honest, I don’t think the Remy subplot added a whole lot for me personally) but the main aspect is this toxic friendship that has long run past its expiration date, and it was really interesting to see.

Cassie and Billie are the best of friends throughout childhood. They experience everything together, some good and some very bad. As they get older, though, they start to drift apart. This book was so well-written and I was hooked from the first chapter. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. You could feel so deeply the emotions of the characters. I really enjoyed this.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "Bye, Baby" and all opinions expressed are my own. Overall okay. Billie was just so desperate, she just couldn't let go of her friendship with Cassie. I really didn't care for either one of them. The was also a lot of different issues going on in the book. Just not the book for me, but giving it an ok.