Bye Baby is one of those stories you can't put down. Neither of the main characters, Cassie and Billie, are truly likeable. But their shared past endears them to your heart. One woman's love for her child, another woman's love for her lifelong friend. When the worst happens, you'd never suspect someone so close. Highly recommend this twisty tale.

Thank you for the opportunity to preview Bye Baby. My daughter told me I would like this book. She was wrong. I loved it. This is written well and told in two voices. Cassie and Billie.
These two friends tell their stories of their lives as teens till today when they are in their thirties. But these two women are tied together by secrecy and as they navigate their lives and become adults each one tells their story to the reader. And thru the pain and tough times their friendship changes and evolves. Cassie has always been selfish and Billie a people pleaser and Cassie has abandoned Billie to New York society and as Billie watches from the sidelines. She is so hurt that one incident will change their lives and Billie knows there is no turning back
Excellent and real 5 stars

This book was so easy to get into. It had me on page one. Interesting story of how friendships change. I will definitely read more from this author.

3.5 Stars

This is my third book by Carola Lovering and it was a pretty satisfying read. It was in my favourite format of different points of view and past and present timelines. This wasn't so much a thriller as a social commentary on women's friendship and motherhood. When the friends grow up they grow apart and become two very different women. The reason for their continued toxic friendship is slowly revealed and peeled away layer by layer like an onion. And just like an onion, it will make you want to cry.

There are many issues in this one sexual abuse, classism, Alzheimer's disease and of course the downside of being an influencer. I think the author tried to throw too much into the mix so some parts felt a little watered down, especially Billie's mom and her sickness. I did love how the story showed the relationship is one-sided and why it faltered. Lovering knows how to write an engrossing story. I understand how the social media aspect was needed for the plot but it bored me to tears.

Even though there is a lot going on in the plot itself this is definitely a character-driven story and I really liked that about it. These were some pretty messed up women, one of whom has every right to be that way. I really felt for Billie and could empathize with what she was going through, but it is not an excuse for what she did. I was really happy when she finally got herself together. This is a book I will be thinking about for a long time so for that reason I am rounding up to four stars and that is saying something because I rarely round up.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC! This is a new to me author but I really loved her writing- the book kept me really engaged and interested the whole time. I liked the multiple POVs and the glimpses back into the past- it gave great context to the characters. I found Billie irritating- I just wanted to shake her! But I found her more redeeming in the end and was happy with the book overall! Looking forward to more wild rides with this author.

Bye, Baby, by Carola Lovering was not at all that I expected. It is not a thriller and the mystery is very slight and somewhat predictable. There are secrets, most of which take place in the earlier of the dual timelines. The author does a nice job of labeling chapters so that both the timeline and the narrator for any chapter is clear. There are a great many unlikeable and selfish characters, which makes the novel rather difficult to read. The conclusion does tie together all the narrations and history, and for at least one central character, Billie, her life appears salvageable.

At its most basic level. Bye, Baby is about a toxic friendship. As children Billie and Cassie are such good friends that there is no room in their lives for another friend. The beginning of Bye, Baby opens with an event from the middle of the novel. That event seems determined to make Cassie a good friend and Billie a bad friend. Their friendship ends up being far more complex and the nuances of their relationship more deceptive than is initially understood, and thus, I would urge readers to pay close attention to the clues that appear throughout the narration.

Halfway through Bye, Baby I was so irritated by Cassie and her use of social media to share every single moment of her life and to such a degree, I was not sure I was going to be able to finish the novel, but I I am glad I struggled through.. As it turns out, Cassie and all her friends are so selfish and irritating that I quickly realized that Lovering was playing with her readers. As she slowly began to unwrap this childhood friendship, Billie began to grow on me. Her childhood was so appalling and so tragic that it is clear that Cassie was a much needed escape when they were children. As adults, this childhood friendship and the secret that truly was not much of a secret, changes into a toxic relationship, primarily because Cassie is totally focused on creating a superficial life populated by superficial people. Old childhood friends, especially someone like Billie, who holds such a damning secret, is best kept at a distance. If Lovering's goal was to expose the superficial lives of wealthy influencers, she does succeed in that goal.

I will be honest. Halfway through Bye, Baby I was pretty sure this would end up being a 2-star novel, but then I wisely sat on the book and thought about it for a couple of days after I finished it. Bye, Baby stuck with me, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked the way that author Lovering was manipulating her readers. This is not an easy novel and will likely need two readings to understand the underlying story, but in the end, I was glad I read it.

Thank you to the author and to publisher, St. Martins Press, for sending this ARC for me to read and review. All the comments are my honest response. I took a lot of notes while reading Bye, Baby, which is when I realized that my initial thoughts about this novel were more complex than I had expected or even understood.
Thank you also to NetGalley for suggesting this novel.

I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering.

This book is a great example of how the dynamic of a friendship can change over time and no matter what you try to do, sometimes people just grow apart with age.

I enjoyed the 2 perspectives of Cassie and Billie and the dual timelines. I could feel the rollercoaster of emotions from both characters throughout the story. Lovering does a great job at making you feel for both characters and I often found myself switching sides.

I will look for more books by this author!

Billie & Cassie are the best of friends, until they aren’t. When Billie confesses what’s happening to her behind closed doors, Cassie steps in to save her. Flash forward to college, and Cassie decides she needs to dream bigger, leaving Billie in the dust. When Cassie has a scare within her family, she reaches out to her old best friend, Billie, for comfort.



This novel was more of a work of literary fiction than a thriller. It took a deep dive into friendships and the way they change into adulthood. I enjoyed the book, but there weren’t any real twists that you expect in a thriller.

Damn. 😮‍💨
This thriller put me through a roller-coaster of emotions! I felt every single emotion!! My heart hurt, I was MAD, disgusted and ready to get inside the book to cause some damage to some characters! Lol I was invested!

There is no slow burn for this one. Off the bat you know Cassie's baby has been kidnapped by her oldest BFF Billie. It keeps you so invested on discovering why, how and what happens next. It's dual POV that alternates between the past and present timeline. So you really get to see how these friends became so close and what led to them being in their current state. This was great and I'm excited to read more from this author!
Thank you to the publisher for the ARC

I'm having trouble placing this novel into a specific genre. From the description I thought I would be reading a domestic thriller, while there are some tense moments in the book, it's more of a general adult fiction with a bit of darkness in the plot.

Bye, Baby centres around two lifelong best friends bonded by some secret trauma. However, Billie and Cassie start to drift apart as the latter becomes a wealthy wife and new mom with a large following on social media. The difficulty Billie has in letting go of her friend Cassie allows the reader to explore the darkness of their past while also untangling a very tense conflict in the present.

Without revealing too much, I had some difficulty reading the passages about the present day conflict. The scale of the debacle Billie finds herself in was so outlandish it made me cringe. I found myself skimming some of those chapters.

Overall, the novel has some unlikeable characters and the resolution felt a bit too neat, but I enjoyed the ride and found myself absorbed in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a free digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Having liked two other books by Carola Lovering, I was excited to receive an ARC from NetGalley. Unfortunately, this one didn't live up to my expectations. The plot revolves around 2 women who had been best friends growing up but had very much so grown apart. One now has money and a baby while the other is single and poor. Without giving away too much, there is a shocking incident that harms both women as well as some backstory to shed some light on why these two are not close friends. This really was more of a domestic drama book. I didn't really think it was a mystery nor a thriller. For that reason, it was just an average read to me.

Carola Lovering is back! I didn't love her last book Can't Look Away, so was nervous to start this one. Fortunately, it had a somewhat similar feel to Tell Me Lies, while the plot was completely different. Lovering does such a good job with characters and details, it makes everything feel real. There was also a great amount of tension in this story which made it truly unputdownable. Would definitely recommend!

First i am having a really hard time rating this book. Although it was a story that definitely captured me from the beginning. But it was disturbing. And yes it is about a missing baby but only for a short time. Most of the story is about Billie and Cassie’s very toxic relationship. I will leave it at that as not to tspoil the story. I don’t like leaving spoilers. This is my first book by this author and I’m not sure I want to read another. I received this ebook from Net Galley and this is my honest opinion.

Carola Lovering never disappoints! I find her books to be incredibly fast-paced and difficult to put down - this one was no exception! Billie and Cassie both encompassed unlikable / unreliable characters that you somehow continue to root for no matter what they do. I will continue to pick up anything Lovering writes as I think she does a fantastic of job of keeping the reader on their toes.

4.5 ⭐️

Billie & Cassie, Cassie & Billie.. they were two best friends that were inseparable at childhood and went through a lot together but once they got to adulthood they started to drift apart. This book takes you through a journey of friendship, betrayal, grief, adulthood, navigating relationships, and more. I was pulled in from the beginning, and believe me you will saying “just one more chapter” until you finish.

Cassie is a famous influencer and has a beautiful baby girl Ella. Cassie lives in an amazing home married to the handsome Grant Adler. She seems to have it all and doesn’t mind sharing it with her many followers on Instagram. Billie a single girl living in New York working for a great travel company and is trying to live her life but misses her friend Cassie who seems to be pushing her away as of late. The one thing that keeps her in touch is her Instagram. After some awkward drinks and dinners together Billie wasn’t invited to Cassie’s birthday party, and this is the night that turns everything upside down.

Grab a copy when it comes out March 2024!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC copy of Bye Baby!

First of all, I really didn’t know how to rate this one. I had to sit here and think about it a minute. Sooooo here it goes.

This is the story of two childhood friends, Cassie and Billie. Told from both POV. It starts with Cassie screaming for her baby, as Billie looks down and sees she has baby Ella. From there it goes back to past to when they first met and to the current time.

Cassie is the most hideous character ever. Sad as she seems, she is terribly shallow, money hungry, doesn’t care about anyone other than herself, disgustingly judge mental, and did I say hideous? Sometimes I found it hard to read her lines. In my mind…. I’m like…. Who tf talks like this? Obviously there are people out there that are just like her. Self righteous and obsessed with social media.

Okay, enough about Cassie. Let’s talk about Billie. I actually really loved Billie’s character. She’s real, caring, pretty normal and seems like a kickass chick. Oh, other than the fact that she’s obsessed with Billie and how their friendship has dissipated. I just couldn’t stand how Cassie continued to treat her like crap, yet Billie always appears desperate for her friendship. If someone treated me like that….. bye bye.

This touches on family, motherhood, marriage, career choices, sexual abuse, and even murder. I felt Lovering just dragged some parts out a bit. I know the point to show us how this friendship developed and crumbled to the ground…. But plenty of parts could have been omitted. However, I found that I could NOT PUT THIS DOWN. And this really isn’t even a thriller. I did enjoy the ending and how everything was wrapped up in a nice bow. I struggled with the rating but all in all I rate this 3.5 rounded up to 4 ⭐️!

I’d like to thank St Martin’s Press, Carola Lovering, and NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.
Expected publication date is March 5, 2024

Toxic friendships? Count me in!

I really enjoyed this story and I loved the dual perspectives- it really worked and made the story that much better. My one gripe was I felt like there were so many themes and side storylines that kept me sidetracked from the main plot / story. Other than that, I couldn’t put this down and would suggest looking into the many triggers this book has.

This was a great book! So thrilling and page turning. It was hard to put it down. I cannot wait for Carola Lovering's nect book!

I enjoyed this book the least out of Ms. Lovering’s novels. I didn’t like either of the main characters. And the stakes that the plot was centered around just didn’t seem very high to me. I’ll continue to read future books by the author, but I wish I had given this one a pass.

This book was so good!!! Billie and Cassie were best friends, but life has caused them to begin to drift apart. One night, an event happens that completely changes everything. This book was such a wild ride. I thoroughly enjoyed it and read it all in one day since I couldn’t put it down!!!