I had seen this one being talked about everywhere and the synopsis sounded interesting so I decided to give it a go. It was quite the ride. It was an interesting exploration on friendship, our past/present and what influences each, social media, and choices we make.

I liked the use of flashbacks to tell about the friendship between Billie and Cassie. The beauty of this book was that, throughout the whole thing, it's hard to tell whether most things are genuine or not -- appearance, friendships, love, etc.

This was a great psychological thriller and my first Lovering, but surely not my last.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc. All opinions are my own.

Friendships change, that’s no secret. As we get older though, that’s when we begin to notice how much they have changed since those early years when they are first built on confidence and trust and the secrets kept in between. Carola Lovering’s upcoming novel, BYE, BABY, takes a darker look at adult friendships focusing on two women forever bonded by the past that lurks in the present.

When Billie West first met Cassie Barnwell when they were preteens, she was in awe of her. Cassie was cool and confident and offered solace to Billie during a time she needed it most. Now twenty-three years later, Billie and Cassie are in their mid-thirties and no longer the inseparable best friends they used to be. Cassie has all but abandoned Billie as she no longer fits into her lifestyle as a wealthy and popular influencer and new mother to infant daughter, Ella. In comparison, Billie is not at all interested in motherhood but still wants to maintain a relationship with Cassie despite how she’s been pulling away. So, why in one evening does Billie take Ella and what secrets from the past is Cassie trying to bury?

BYE, BABY is an enticing, well-written read that delivers as a psychological thriller examining friendships and the ties that bind, along with the idea of motherhood and what we want out of life. As a fan of Lovering’s Too Good to Be True, BYE, BABY gives a similar inkling that there is more than what is initially perceived. The anticipation and the gradual build up had me turning the page, wanting to find out the truth and the fallout right after.

Billie and Cassie are intriguing and complex characters. It is interesting to see the flashbacks to the genesis and progression of their friendship juxtaposition to their present adult selves. How Billie and Cassie get to where they are is a mystery that drew me in while also making me think about their choices. Cassie, especially as I learned about her background, gave me an idea of who she is and I actually like how Lovering makes her motives or reasoning behind her decisions subtle and that it could even be open to interpretation.

The characters, the themes, and the story as a whole had me thinking about social media, getting older, and our attachment to the past, whether we want to distance ourselves from it or hold on to it for better or worse.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Wonderful story, I loved it to pieces, you’ll love it. Beautiful characters and terrific plot. YOU’LL SURELY LOVE IT.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for a ARC.

Bye, Baby is a story of a toxic friendship between two people who have known each other since childhood. Cassie aspired to marry old money and has achieved this and is an influencer on Instagram “influencing” people to buy $500 shirts and showing them what she does ALL day. She was a great reminder as to why I don’t use Instagram. The other, Billie, really has no personality and she’s obsessed with Cassie and that’s really all there is to her. This book was lacking substance for me. There was no character development, and there was plenty of room for it. This is not a mystery or thriller at all, I’m not sure why it’s falsely advertised this way but you find out the “mystery” in the first couple minutes reading the book. The book basically repeats itself multiple times and then it ends exactly the way you think it will.

There also needs to be a trigger warning with the book for child sexual abuse.

I love Carola Lovering's writing. Her stories do not always work for me, but this one really did. I felt so invested in the Billie and Cassie's friendship, and I felt such sadness with the distance Cassie created between them. While Billie's actions are not acceptable, they are somewhat (almost) understandable. This dramatic story is entertaining and a quick read. I finished it in one sitting!

I loved this book! Thank you for approving my request to read the ARC! Billie was my favorite character and I hate how she was created by Cassie.

I was so excited to get an early copy of Bye Baby as Lovering is one of my most favorite authors.
So thanks to all involved.

Bye Baby was not at all what I expected and is more domestic suspense driven than thriller.

Cassie and Billie have been friends forever. This is mostly the story of their toxic friendship. Both characters are very Unlikeable. Sometimes I love to hate characters but here I just kinda hated them both. I flip flopped back and forth over who I liked better and sided with. No winner. 😂

Overall I did race through this one and the writing is great. I will always continue to read this author and it was a good read. Not my favorite of hers but different. These days different is a good thing!

3.5 ⭐️

First, I would like to thank NetGalley, St Martin’s Press, and Carola Lovering for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was phenomenal. From the very first page I was hooked by the characters, descriptions, and why the 2 main characters had such a toxic friendship.

Told in alternating perspectives between the two friends, with an alternate timeline examining the past, we learn about Cassie - It Girl, married to a rich guy and has it all, and Billie - single, doesn’t want kids, and at a very different spot in her life. What links them is their childhood friendship spanning to adulthood and a devastating secret.

I couldn’t put this book down, and although a big part was revealed about halfway through I was still on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen to Billie.
I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who likes thrillers!

This was an enjoyable read. Not so much a thriller as I expected, but I enjoyed the complexity of the relationship between Billie and Cassie. The author did a great job writing this type of friendship. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Bye, Baby is a study on toxic female friendships and self-esteem (or lack thereof). Emotionally evoking, but not in a developmental or personal growth way, more like annoying. Unlikeable, unsympathetic characters are stuck in a hamster wheel of narcissism and self-centeredness. Told in dual POVs with continuous flashbacks, it is easy to follow. In part because the character arcs are decidedly one note, they never grow beyond their teen selves, and they need a lot of growth.
Billie, the more bearable protagonist, is cloddish and self-destructive in her personal life, a relatable quality, but she never seems to learn from her mistakes. Cassie is insufferable and, despite being a new mother, another relatable circumstance, cannot see beyond her next social media post. There is lots to chew on here, but it does not materialize The issue that brings these two back together does not provide the expected tension or emotion. The ending is abrupt and unsatisfying despite the neat delivery. Disappointing.

“A missing baby. A fraught friendship. A secret that can never be told.”

I enjoy Carola Lovering’s work and this book was no different. I loved the unique plot line including the focus on an influencer, a friendship breakup and a woman’s choice to not be a mother. SO RELATABLE. I found the character development *chef’s kiss*. A heavy dose of childhood trauma and suspenseful back and forth POVs, I’d def recommend this one. I have 10+ books on my ARC shelf and I chose this, which has the furthest publishing date away, bc it literally sucked me in.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for an ARC of this book which I had the pleasure of reading.

As with all Carola Lovering's books, Bye, Baby is an addictive page turner!

This is a story about toxic friendships, obsession, motherhood and a disturbing commentary on the effects of social media. Carola Lovering is a master at writing the most loathsome characters, but somehow makes you feel compassion for them as well. Billlie and Cassie are childhood best friends, but what happens when your best friend moves on to a life that doesn't include you any longer? At times I either sympathized with or was sickened by both of them, but the ending leaves you very satisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked that there were two different timelines it kept me interested! Team Billy all the way I felt so bad for her during the whole book. I absolutely adored Carola Lovering’s writing style and I will be reading more of her books.

This book seemed to be marketed as a mystery/ thriller and I don’t think it fit that genre. It was mostly just a story about friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy :)

Great story with lots of twists and turns. Lovering explores different types of relationships and how they affect the people in the . Billie has not had an easy life but she’s always shad her friend Cassidy. Cassidy pulls away from Billie because she no longer fits in with what Cassidy wants from life. One day, without planning it or thinking it through, Billie does something that can change everything…forever.

I felt many emotions reading this book. I don't like Cassie at all. I feel bad for Billie the entire time I read it. I like Cassie's sister Mara.

Reading this book was great because there were two different timelines as well as the story being told from two different perspectives. This gave a lot of information to the story and the depth of their relationship.

The story is about a kidnapping of a baby and the arc of friendship overtime and how life changes what friendship means throughout our lives. Two friends, having gone through a lot together struggle to remain friends as they grow older and life throws different challenges their way.

I wish there had been more growth between the characters throughout the story but it felt like both were stuck in their ways instead of being stuck and then learning and growing from it. Overall, kept my interest and definitely wanted to find out how it ended!

Not what I expected but I really liked it. Interesting story about the evolution of a friendship from childhood to adulthood. It felt slightly long but excellent characters and plot. Highly recommend!

This thriller gripped me from page 1! It has 2 POVs of the two best friends that include the past and present. It goes through their changing friend ship and the secrets they hid in the past and present. Such a relatable book with how people change when they grow up, how you think your best friend is doing something great for you but it was also for them as well!

I couldn’t put this one down! I love Carola Lovering’s writing style. I would classify it more as a domestic suspense though than a thriller. I kept waiting for a twist that never came. There really weren’t any surprises or twists. Overall though, I still enjoyed the book and would recommend it. Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for this book!

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
Billie West and Cassie Barnwell have been best friends since childhood, although since the birth of Cassie’s daughter, Ella, the two have drifted apart. Until the night of Cassie’s thirty-fifth birthday party, when Ella is taken from Cassie’s apartment and Cassie desperately calls to Billie for help. Although estranged for years, Billie is desperate to rekindle the friendship so she reaches out to help Cassie, even though she knows exactly what happened to Ella that night and telling the truth will turn Cassie against her- forever.
Carola Lovering’s new novel, “Bye, Baby” is the story of a missing baby and two best friends with a horrible secret. Narrated by both Billie and Cassie, the novel is divided into two parts and across two timelines- when the girls were young and their friendship was blossoming, to the present day both before and after Cassie’s daughter was taken. Each chapter is identified with the narrator and the date of events so it is easy to tell when you’re reading (and who’s telling the tale).
Cassie is a deplorable character and there was nothing I liked about her. Vapid, shallow and self-centred, I did not connect to her in any way. Although I did not want anything bad to happen to her child, I had no other interest in what happened to Cassie. Billie was slightly more relatable, although as the plot develops, she becomes more co-dependent and desperate, which really made me grow to dislike her as well. Cassie and Billie’s friendship as adolescents was believable, but as adults, I do not see two women with any semblance of self-esteem maintaining this toxic friendship.
Cassie is a young mother and Billie has made a personal choice to not be a mother. Billie speaks of the criticism she faces as a result of this choice, and how this choice has led to the downfall of many relationships. As a non-parent (by choice) myself, I completely empathized with these societal attitudes. However, Billie clings to Cassie in desperation to fill a void in her life, which was less believable and almost insulting. Women who choose not to be parents can live completely fulfilled lives without children, if you can believe it, and as much as Lovering tried to defend Billie’s choice, she did not quite hit the mark.
I haven’t read any other novels by Lovering, but I did enjoy her writing style and I was interested enough in the plot to keep reading. The ending was concise and all of the plot lines had been thoroughly wrapped up, with no leftover questions. Lovering is a talented writer and I look forward to reading her past (and future) novels!