Lovering has crafted a unique, suspenseful domestic thriller where there is no clear protagonist or antagonist. Both Cassie and Billie are deeply flawed people, bound together by the secrets of their younger years. The alternating perspectives allow readers into the psyches of both women, and how they view the actions of the other. Emotions always run high when children are involved, and Bye, Baby is no exception. In her latest outing, Lovering tackles the intricacies of female friendships, childhood trauma, and the obsession with status in today's digital age.

Another great read from Carola Lovering! A twisty domestic thriller about two best friends and how their friendship has evolved over the years laced with dark secrets from the past and current kidnapping. I loved that this story involved best friends, it had great character development – I felt like I knew both Cassie and Billie and I couldn’t put it down!


I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book

I HATED the characters in this book. The story is about two childhood friends, Billie and Cassie, and how their lives diverged. I guess I was supposed to be sympathetic to Billie because she's not evil, but her neediness and desperation were so off-putting. And Cassie is an influencer, and I hated her from page one.

Billie is desperate for most of the book to get Cassie's attention, but Cassie has a new friend group who understands her lifestyle, motherhood, her newfound fame, and her husband's financial situation. Billie grew up with Cassie, and even though Cassie has always been a gold digger, she loved her anyway.

I did finish the book because I wanted to know what happened, but I can't recommend this one to anyone. Both characters were so wretched that I don't want to subject others to them.

Carola Lovering writes multi perspective, domestic thriller like no one else. The story of Billie and Cassie and the ebbs and flows of their friendship is relatable and anxiety inducing all at once.

The best thing about Lovering’s writing is her relatability in her characters. You know these people, you’ve been there. The way she describes friendships as we take different paths is spot on.

You know the twist from the first page but seeing how the story plays out made this a five star read!

Wow. This book! Wow. I loved it. This was so good! I couldn't put it down! "Chefs Kiss"
I just reviewed Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering. #NetGalley
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Cassie and Billie definitely have their share of trauma and secrets in their past. Each plagued by different wants, desires and a past.

When Cassie has a birthday party and later finds her daughter Ella missing, shes beside herself. When Ella is returned a short time later Cassie is relieved and somewhat confused. The one person she wants to see is Billie. As Cassie learns to live with the uncertainty that is life, her daughters safety and what she can do to keep her safe, her life could unravel with finding out the truth. Or will it make her stronger?

Thank you netgalley and St Martins the early release in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by this author and I have to say I'm unimpressed. I was hoping for a twisty storyline that kept you guessing til the end, but this book lacked that.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering is a propulsive, thrilling novel. Like in previous books, Lovering is a master is capturing the nuances of female friendship—particularly when they turn toxic. I don't want to give anything away, this is a book with so many twists and turns. You will not forget Cassie and Billie! Highly recommend!!

Thanks to netgalley and st.martins press for this one. I loved the female friendships and storylines. And how accurate it was about friends drifting apart.

Cassie and Billie have been best friends since high school. But now in their 30s, Cassie is a social media influencer, boutique owner, new mom and married to a trust fund man. Billie is single, working for a travel agency and doesn’t want kids. Their lives are in clearly different places. But when Cassie’s daughter goes missing, Billie is the first person she wants to call.

I did really enjoy reading this book. And going back in time to see how their friendship used to be. But hello…why is nobody talking about the fact that Cassie was drinking at a party and left her baby alone outside to be taken. But she was never questioned about leaving her baby alone. The baby was crying and crying and nobody did anything. I do wish the ending of the book was different and they could forgive each other for their friendship.

A twisty tale of friendship gone haywire. I enjoyed the multiple view points of the two main characters. I liked it a little better than her previous novels. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

This book is a masterfully written portrayal of a complex relationship between two women from childhood up into their mid thirties. At the heart of their relationship is a terrible secret that binds these two women together through the years in both good and bad times and also despite their disagreements and opposing values. Then one of them steals the others baby and all heck is turned loose. As the story unfolds, the author explores layer after layer of the ties that bind these two women together. It leads you to ask the reader what is it that you value in a romantic relationship or in a friendship. How much are you willing to give up of yourself to be with another person? As a woman, I am left examining how I feel about my relationships with other women, and how much do I buy into the idea of aggression between women and are women truly catty towards one another? How much can you rely on other women to have your back. I found it fascinating to see the inclusion of the role of social media in the plot, and I found that to a certain extent social media itself acted like another character in the book. I did hold back one star because I feel as though the book doesn't ring a note of universality in it, and so it comes across sometimes as the foolish nonsense of very limited women who don't have much to make their lives meaningful.

Another great twisty tale from Carola Lovering! Billie and Cassie meet as girls and swear to be best friends forever. Until they’re not. As the girls grow into adulthood, priorities change and even the closest bounds can fray. Sometimes the secrets that bind can break a friendship. Themes of sexual abuse, friendship, and loss.
Told from alternating POV, Bye Baby is a compelling read.

3.75* The writing in this book really kept me hooked. This is something you will stay up at night to read. I was totally into the whole plot until the end. It fell a little flat for me. This reads like a thriller but it is actually more of a literary fiction novel forced to make you think about the decisions you make and how that affects those around you. This isn't an easy novel to read. Sometimes the narrative made me feel icky but I think that is the point and the author does a great job of sucking you in.
This is definitely a book you sit and think with.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy. This book will be out March 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for my ARC copy of this great story.
Your best friend, the one person you can talk to about everything, the one knows all your secrets and knows all your dreams, the one that will help you hide a body, you can't imagine ever not being friends. But then things change, you start dating, you start college, you start being a parent, you enter the adulting phase of life and you find out your best friend doesn't see you as their best friend anymore. They're different now and you no longer fit into their world. How does one move on from that? Well, apparently it's a little harder for some than others.
This is a story about how two people who were the very best of friends drifted apart and one just wasn't ready to let go, almost creepy, stalker like but when it's your best friend they're supposed to be your ride or die right? Is it stalker or just still trying to hang on to your friendship? Although Billie's behavior throughout the story can seem a little creepy and overbearing at times, I can kind of relate to her and felt kind of sorry for her and didn't care for miss snooty pants Cassie but then Cassie realizes that in her time of need the only person she wanted and needed was her best friend Billie but then the truth comes out and they both realize what their friendship was and will never be again.
It was a different kind of page turner for me, not the the thrilling mystery who done it kind of page turner but I really wanted to keep reading to find out where the friendship was going and was not disappointed in the ending and don't think that you will be either.

I didn't know what to expect with this one, and now that I've finished, I'm still not quite sure. This one hit a little close to home with the theme of old friendships we may have outgrown but that we can't really let got of, but in reading other reviews I'm not really seeing as many people comment on what an infuriating character Cassie is?

Yes, Billie is extremely flawed, but at least she's real. Cassie is exactly the kind of vapid person I actively avoid in my everyday life. I don't know, I just really understood the feelings of abandonment and loneliness when left in the dust by an old friend that Billie felt - even if the person abandoning us is someone we don't really like anymore anyways.

Cassie and Billie are childhood besties. They have had so many good memories and a few bad memories. Can their past friendship stand the test of time? Now, Cassie is married with a baby that goes missing for a day. Cassie needs her bestie from her past to help her get over this nightmare. Currently, Billie is dating a police officer named Alex, and he helps with the investigation of who took Cassie's baby. The chapters are from Cassie and Billie's earlier friendship and their most current relationship. Their friendship has a big secret that only Billie and Cassie know about. Most of the story is about friendship, a traumatic incident, and standing the test of time.
Women's Choices, Lifelong Friendships, and Secrets! 4.5 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy!

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering tells the story of Billie and Cassie, two lifelong best friends. As they grow older the two women seem to be growing apart until the unthinkable brings them back together.

I loved this book! I could not put it down. The characters were so well developed and interesting. The plot was twisty and turny and did not quit. I was riveted until the very end. A must read!

I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

“But each seemingly inconsequential interaction has amounted to something valuable, forty-eight thousand followers who define me, who’ve granted me a kind of power I could never fathom abandoning.”

I try to highlight passages that stick out to me, especially when I’m reading on my kindle. This one is the only one I’d highlighted in this book, but it perfectly captures the personality of Cassie, one of two main characters in Carola Loverling’s Bye, Baby, out in early 2024. Cassie is a slave to the influencer machine and a character I loved to hate. She’s a narcissist and a new mom.

Billie is her best friend and polar opposite. They have a toxic friendship that takes center stage in the story.

Cassie and Billie are bonded together by a traumatic event from their childhoods but have grown apart since their post-university years when they shared a small apartment in NYC and life took them in different directions. Cassie, always wanting more than her middle-class upbringing, married into generational wealth, and Billie focused on her career. Once Cassie welcomes her daughter Ella, she finds she has less and less in common with Billie and the pair grow further apart. Billie makes attempts to keep their friendship alive, but Cassie is more interested in her own brand and wealthy friends until a terrifying event bonds them again.

I loved this book. It starts as a slow burn, and in Part Two, a raging fire. The first half is a lot of character building. I won’t say it’s slow, but it’s very character driven. Second half has a lot more plot.

These characters are juicy. Especially Cassie. We all know her - we all follow her - we all hate her. And Billie has so many endearing qualities, but is equally complex.

The story explores toxic relationships, messy friendship, motherhood, unaddressed trauma, toxic narcissism and more. I LOVED it. 5/5 ⭐️

Another in a long line of books I’ve read that have terrible selfish people doing terrible selfish things.Cassie is terrible… as are her husband and friends.
Billie makes no sense to me. Why is she obsessed with Cassie. Who kinda always treated her and everyone around her like dirt.Billie has a great job, good true friends and a new man in her life. I don’t know why Billies decision about not wanting children is a part of this story.
This book did not work for me. Thanks net galley for the chance to read and review this book.

I’ve read all of Carol Lovering’s books and this is by far my favorite. An incredibly well done story on women who’s v long term friendship has become toxic and takes a turn for the worst. With flashbacks of why they can’t let go and details about different paths in life I absolutely loved this take on chosen family and what happens when things aren’t working out. It was moving and relatable while also being shocking and twisty. HIGHLY recommend this read when it comes out. Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review