Will forever recommend!! I feel in love with this plot! And I will forever love the characters, the perfect twist and turns to keep my attention

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher for the audiobook of Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering in exchange of an honest review.

Carola Lovering's 'Bye, Baby' is a deeply enthralling exploration of friendship, envy, and the power of social media. The story revolves around Billie and Cassie, childhood friends who drift apart after college. As Cassie marries into wealth and becomes a doting mother, Billie, still single and childless, feels excluded from Cassie's seemingly perfect life. The narrative delves into the complexities of their relationship, capturing the essence of jealousy, one-sided obsession, and the bitter tastes of resentment. Lovering masterfully portrays the impact of social media on modern-day friendships, poignantly highlighting the facades and comparisons that can strain even the closest bonds. With fully realized characters and a storyline that unfolds with razor-sharp tension, 'Bye, Baby' held me captive. I found myself mesmerized by the flawed yet relatable characters, yearning for answers to why Billie couldn't let go of her connection with Cassie. While I was deeply immersed in the book and could have finished it in just a few sittings, the demands of work and life kept interrupting, a testament to its ability to captivate my attention. 'Bye, Baby' is an engrossing and thought-provoking read that explores the complexities of friendship in the digital age.

Thank you for the ARC! I was completely sucked into this story, especially Cassie’s bougie NYC elite lifestyle. Loved the NYC references galore!

I love books with toxic and twister friendships. This definitely hit the spot. It took a while to get into, but after a while, I was hooked and couldn't put this down!

Oh my god. There are so many things that happen in this book that shocked me and disgusted me and honestly none of them were the baby being kidnapped.

First of all, content warning and trigger warning for pedophelia, sexual assault and sexual harassment. There’s explicit scenes of pedophelia and sexual assault so please be mindful while you read. I almost had to DNF because I was so repulsed.

None of the characters in this book are likable - this is an understatement. They’re all basically insufferable and very hard to feel bad for. There are like two side characters I can think of that were fine but really all our main characters are awful people and it made the book such a drag to read.

We follow Billie, who has had an incredibly rough, traumatizing upbringing with a sick parent and an abusive step father. Billie has a best friend Cassie. Cassie went to Harvard and now has a husband named Grant and they had a baby named Ella. That’s about all I can say before shit hits the fan.

**SPOILERS AHEAD** Billie is borderline obsessed with Cassie. Like genuinely a concerning amount of obsession going on. There’s so much we could unpack but I just. Don’t have the energy.
So if Billie doesn’t want kids, why didn’t she just tell Remy? You basically wasted seven years because Billie doesn’t like controversy. Girl what.. you’re supposed to be a grown adult who loves people! Crazy. ALSO it doesn’t help that Billie is our mc who doesn’t want to have children. I don’t know if this book was set out to be some social commentary, but Billie is creepily insane. She thought Cassie was HERS (a literal quote from the book). Women who don’t want children just don’t want children. There doesn’t have to be this sick twisted backstory behind it. If there is, completely understandable but if there isn’t that’s still so valid. Sometimes people just don’t want children!!! Why is it such a big deal!! And why do we have to watch Billie the deranged lady be the one to not want kids!! It comes off like women who don’t want kids are “crazy / unhinged / somethings wrong with them!!” Why couldn’t we just have a normal person who doesn’t want kids! It was just so upsetting and ridiculous how that whole perspective was framed. I understand that Billie was a complex main character, she definitely exhibited childish and immature behavior like obsessive and possessive and easy to get jealous/to feel rage, while also acknowledging Billie’s been through hell and back growing up and reconciling that you can still have trauma and be a decent human being! You can take accountability for your actions! But alas she does not do that lol I’m getting a migraine thinking about her.

Cassie was ALSO an awful human being lmaooo. Like the way she basically crafted her way into building her life picture perfect the way she wants to, only dating guys who were from wealthy families and only talking to her rich grandma for the material benefit of it all. And then the social media stuff her brand stuff the money stuff with her husband. Her stupid friends. I got a headache so many times reading this it’s actually ridiculous looking back how did I even finish this book. I also feel like Cassie learned literally nothing from this experience LOL like I thought she was going to come out of this a better person and I might like one of our main characters but no! She doesn’t.

Why was Cassie the only one therapy was suggested to. Billie needs therapy ASAP probably more than Cassie does. And now I need therapy! Phewww this is so long wow this is one of the worst books I’ve read this year.

Thanks to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the arc in exchange for my opinion.

Wow. What a head spinner. A story that shows how messed up and twisted people can be, and how that affects all the relationships they have. A showing of how shallow people can be, and how that affects the people around them. I couldn't put it down.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC.

I really loved "Too Good to be True" and "tell me Lies" by Carola Lovering. When I was given a chance to read this early and review it, I was super excited. I expected it to be a thriller however, it was more of a Contemporary Fiction/Women's Lit.

I was definitely drawn into the characters and Carola got me to deeply care about Billie. This is a story about decades old friendship, secrets and lies that can build and break down them down.

A solid 3.75 stars.

I loved Carola Lovering's book, Too Good to Be True, so I clicked request on this one immediately! While I did not enjoy it as much, I would still recommend this book. Nothing shocked me too much, but I liked the character development. This book is not so much of a thriller and more of a drama. This novel explores the complexities of friendship and how we grow with or away from childhood friends. 3.5 stars rounded up. I'm excited to read more Carola Lovering in the future!

The way I devoured this book!! This one starts out like a thriller then delves into the history of a rocky but long-winded female friendship. While I do wish it was a little more of a thriller near the end, I think it was fabulous nonetheless!

Honestly, I'm not sure I've read a book that so seamlessly made me shift my opinion on a character like this one. At first, I thought Billie was insane and she was totally set up to be the crazy, obsessed friend. As the story progressed, I realized that Cassie had her own flaws and Billie's questionable but somewhat understandable actions were not as evil as I thought.

Wow. This was the most addictive book I've read in a long time. If you are getting ready to start this book, go ahead and clear your schedule. It's that enthralling. I was completely immersed in the complexities of Billie and Cassie's relationship, and Carola Lovering created such dynamic, three-dimensional characters that I couldn't get enough of! It's definitely one of the top books I've read this year.

I absolutely loved this book. First, I enjoy reading stories from different points of view. Also reading about the characters past shows how relationships and personalities were formed.
Billie & Cassie have been inseparable best friends since middle school. Tragedy occurs during their senior year that forms a stronger bond among them. They thought they would be forever friends, but as their friendship changes & they lead much different lives will another tragedy bring them back together?

One friend is trauma bonded, and the other wants to leave it all (and her) in the past. How far would you go to secure your spot in the forefront of someone’s life, when they’re purposefully making you a background character?

I loved the premise of this multi-layered codependent friendship and eventual self discovery. Carola definitely fills out her characters completely to the point that you feel like you know them, but not to the extent that the plot is predictable. I did feel that there was a bit of wordiness when it came to the protagonist’s thoughts and reactions. It felt like a literal play by play of her brain, which admittedly was useful at times! It’s like one of those movies where you nudge your friend “pay attention or you’ll miss something important!”

Cassie and Billie are friends that, until a few years after college are inseparable. But they are very different people. . They were both raised by middle class parents, but Cassie's family is from money and she is determined to marry rich. She does and spends her day posting the minutiae of her life to her many Instagram followers.

The book opens with Billie one floor down from Cassie's apartment, holding Cassie's infant daughter, while Cassie panics upstairs when she notices her daughter is missing. It then alternates between the two characters in the current time and their days and years leading up to the present. You see how Cassie's love for Billie is pretty much just love for herself and wanting Cassie to always be there for her. Although Billie still loves Cassie, Billie just isn't rich or cool enough for Cassie to want to spend any time with.

This book was sad for me, maybe because I had a high school and college friend that was similar to Cassie. But it was well-written and the plot was good.

I enjoyed this book so much!

It was dark, but I couldn’t put it down. There was something about it, and I needed to know what was going to happen next.

There were some storylines that felt like that were bigger than they were. And some characters needed more development.

There’s two unreliable narrators, and I love that you can’t tell exactly how things are.

An ARC was provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

I honestly can not be more grateful than I am for this ARC of Carola Lovering’s Bye, Baby. I liked Tell me Lies but this was exponentially better. What are the odds that I’d be on the side (and so attached to) the person who kidnapped a baby? I definitely would never have guessed I would be.

Bye, Baby tells the story of nearly lifelong friends Cassie and Billie. They met early in life and instantly became friends, but Cassie was different from everyone else in Billies life in her small upstate NY town. Cassie was fun and exciting and loved Billie fiercely. Cassie was born into money until her dad lost it all also losing the connection to his still very wealthy family. Cassie longs for that life again, does anything she can to get it back, goes to Harvard, hangs out with rich friends (like the ever perfect and none inclusive McKay), opens a posh store, becomes an influencer, etc. all the while seemingly leaving Billie behind. Billie loves Cassie endlessly and will do anything to protect their friendship. So how did she get here? Holding this baby? Looking back at their past and seeing what brought them all to this place, is an amazing story of friendship, betrayal, trauma, love, family, all the things. I couldn’t put this down, if is my first 5 ⭐️ In a long time! And I think it’s because of how attached I got to Billie and Cassie. I couldn’t stop wanting to know what happened to them and what is going to happen next. Yes, this book is thrilling and yes this book is twisty but it’s also a female driven story of toxic friendship and how to know when things just aren’t right. Having both sides of the story was really great! I loved hearing from both Cassie and Billie, though I was surely team Billie. It semi reminded me of when I was young and read something borrowed, I heard if you read Something Borrowed first you were a Rachel fan, but if you read something blue first you liked Darcy. Im not sure if that’s true, but here I am siding with a kidnapper just like I once sided with a backstabbing man stealer. Read. This. Book.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering is a unique take on the thriller novel. I enjoyed the way the perspectives and timelines shift back and forth and the novel definitely kept me turning the page. The characters are multi-layered and the ways their lives intertwine are very interesting.

This was a lovely read. So fun, well developed, and interesting. It was a unique plot with well done character development and the alternating perspectives provided thoughtful insight and kept me engaged. I also really appreciated the writing style, and was engaged with some of the details and nuances. Would recommend!

"Bye, Baby" is a gripping and emotionally charged novel that delves into the complexities of friendship, secrets, and the profound impact of past traumas on the present. The story begins with a chilling scene as Billie, the protagonist, realizes her own role in the kidnapping of her best friend Cassie's infant daughter. This shocking incident sets the stage for a narrative that explores the depth of their friendship, both in recent times and over the course of two decades. The alternating perspectives between Billie and Cassie offer readers a multifaceted view of their evolving relationship, highlighting how choices made in their youth continue to shape their lives in adulthood.

Lovering's storytelling is marked by suspense and a keen sense of psychological tension, making the novel difficult to put down. The exploration of themes like the lasting impact of childhood trauma and the ways in which women's choices can affect their lifelong bonds adds depth and resonance to the narrative. While the plot is riveting and the character dynamics are well-crafted, some readers may find certain twists predictable, but this does not diminish the overall power of the story. "Bye, Baby" is a thought-provoking and engrossing novel that captivates with its exploration of friendship, betrayal, and the enduring echoes of the past.

So much more than a thriller, Bye Baby is a novel about friendship and what happens when it starts to fade away.

Billie and Cassie have been friends since they were pre-teens. They have been through so much in life together and have always been the keeper of each other's secrets. But Cassie wishes for more in life than just being poor from a small town. She wants the glamour, the fancy home, the money and vacations. When a tragedy happens that only Billie and Cassie know about, it drives a wedge in their friendship. Years later, Cassie's life is upended when her daughter goes missing and she only wants Billie around to help her. But what is Billie hiding?

Told in alternating story lines, Cassie is almost instantly dislikable. She is all about image and money and pushes Billie to the side in order to make room for her new rich friends. My heart ached for Billie who was holding onto a friendship that clearly no longer existed.

Great, quick read. Much thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins press for the ARC. All opinions are solely my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ of 5

Cassie and Billie develop a codependent friendship at age 11 that follows them through childhood, young adult hood and into the 30 something’s. So how are 2 such girls with such different life goals and aspirations so closely bonded together and will that bond eventually be severed?

Growing up in New York, Billie and Cassie get glimpses into what motivates and drives the other. This is more of a drama in my opinion than a thriller. If marketed a drama relationship genre I think it would reach the audience more attracted to this particular genre.

The chapters alternate between Cassie and Billie between their friendship now and their relationship as it developed from the start. Chapters are concise and straightforward easy to understand and navigate through the narrative.

As Billie, a luxury travel consultant still works to be an important person in Cassie’s life, Cassie a now wealthy mother and social influencer has become distant from Billie while seemingly flourishing in new relationships. Will the disappearance of Cassie’s baby seal or sever the friendship bond once and for all?

Strong character development. Each character is flawed, neither more likable than the other. A study in human nature, what roles do we need our relationships to be at our different stages in life? What happens when those needs aren’t fulfilled?

Realistic circumstances make this a solid read. There are no sinister, eerie cliffhanger chapters. No guessing who did what but it’s the why one will continue reading to discover.