This thriller had me captivated right from the beginning. I enjoyed the present day and past narrative of the friendship between Cassie and Billie. I enjoyed their back stories and thought it did a great job at explaining their complicated relationship. I did find the 'lack of evidence' at the crime scene unbelievable. No one now days doesn't have a home security camera, let alone someone living in a 7 million dollar penthouse. I also didn't understand why there needed to be a conflict between Grant and Jane. It felt like an unnecessary part of the story. Overall, this was an intriguing story and I enjoyed it.

Bye, Baby switches between teen years and current day of childhood best friends, Billie and Cassie. In present day, Cassie is a married budding "influencer" with a seemingly perfect life. As her new life flourishes, she begins to leave Billie in the past. That is until Cassie's 35th birthday party when her infant daughter is stolen off her balcony. Cassie immediately turns to Billie for support, not knowing that Billie is really the one who took Cassie's baby. This was a quick read, and maybe as someone who's pregnant, it just felt too upsetting for me to read in parts because isn't every mothers biggest fear their baby being stolen? I think many would enjoy this, but it was just an average read for me.

I loved this thriller! I really appreciated the social commentary on female friendship and motherhood. I was very invested in the dual timelines and I really enjoyed seeing the characters grow into the (messy) adults they became. I definitely would recommend this! 4.5 stars rounded to 5 just because it was a little slow at a few parts.

Read this for book club and loved it! I thought the friendship was a little weird and the obsession kind of freaked out; however, I really loved the storyline.

This was a twisted story of deception. Cassie’s baby is missing. She doesn’t know that it was her friend Billie who stole her. Cassie and Billie have been friends since they were very young. There’s a big history between them that goes back to years ago. The deception going on between the two of them is deepening.

Man, this one started out SO WELL! This was a tale of friendship, mystery, jealousy, and how our pasts influence our futures. The buildup to the climax was amazing, but I was expecting more out of the resolution. I would still highly recommend this one (especially because I LOVED Tell Me Lies!)

Thank you to the author Carola Lovering, publishers St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of BYE, BABY. All views are mine.

McKay snorts. "That's a load of crock. Everyone wants kids." Loc. 1547

"[...B]eing childless by choice makes you a terrible person." "A leper, basically. A woman with no real place in society." Loc.1754

Three (or more) things I loved:

1. The story form is pretty wild, with two alternating perspectives each experience two alternating timelines, but Lovering manages this element well. I didn't find myself getting lost in all the transitions; had no trouble following the narrative.

2. The 2 fmcs in the "past" sections have good, natural speaking voices. Narrative voices need a bit more distinction.

Three (or less) things I didn't love:

This section isn't only for criticisms. It's merely for items that I felt something for other than "love" or some interpretation thereof.

1. There's so much– what would you even call it? Pro-bio-mom? pregnancy-forward? Procreation celebration?– anyway, an obvious favoring of the traditional bio family unit.

2. "That's a load of crock. Everyone wants kids." Loc. 1547 First, the expression is "a load of" something or "a crock of" something, not "a load of crock." Second, "Everyone wants kids," pretty well sums up one of the universal beliefs behind this book.

3. This book is extremely hard on women who don't have children. “And in our culture, being childless by choice makes you a terrible person.” “A leper, basically. A woman with no real place in society.” Loc.1754 Neither one of these statements is true. They are very extreme. And yet neither participant in the scene refutes the fallacies. Then, the two women say this: “And you never know. Maybe you’ll change your mind.” “Maybe.” Loc.1757 As though what women without children need to change their minds is more pressure and trickery.

4. Once the graphic, on-page descriptions of child SA started (and were slated to continue, according to another Goodreads reviewer) I had to throw it in with this book. Such content is triggering for me. This book definitely need content warnings in the front matter.

Rating: DNF @ 40%
Finished: Mar 07 '24
Format: Digital arc, Kindle, NetGalley

I keep forgetting to write about this book.
It was a nice, if basic thriller that I liked, but remember nothing about

Billie and Cassie are childhood best friends who have drifted apart after Cassie marries rich and begins her journey into motherhood and social media influencing. Told from several time points, readers discover there is more to the story than one friend no longer fitting into the other's Pinterest perfect life. Even though Bye Baby is more of a deep dive into a decades long relationship than a thriller, the fascinating characters and suspenseful events held my interest long after I'd finished. I really enjoyed that the characters held firm to their traits and didn't change on a whim to make for an easy plot. Bye Baby was an enthralling read and I'll be keeping an eye out for Carola Lovering's future works.

Note: I received a free Ebook copy of Bye Baby from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

📝 Billie & Cassie were once the best of friends but they've really grown apart & are now barely friends. Since Cassie is extremely distant from Billie, Billie turns to social media to keep up with Cassie's life. When Billie comes across Cassie's baby girl crying alone, she decides that taking her is the best option. In absolute distress, Cassie turns to Billie to give her the support she needs through this time. This brings them closer together just like Billie always wanted but only continues for so long before everything falls apart.

💭 I was stuck between a 2.5 & a 3 for this rating. I went into this expecting a thriller but it didn't give that feeling at all once I started reading. It felt more like a drama surrounding friendship. I was looking for more suspense & mystery but it fell short for me in those areas. The storyline itself is interesting & seeing the dynamic between the two main characters. However, there were parts that felt a bit dragged on. I felt like I was waiting for something big to happen & it never did. Aside from that, I did like that it was a very character driven story & the authors writing style was easy to follow.

Thank you to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

‘Bye, Baby’ is my first Carola Lovering novel. I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful thriller. I will definitely add Ms. Lovering to my future reading lists.

Cassie and Billie have been friends since childhood. Their friendship starts to fade out around high school. Cassie becomes a mega influencer on Instagram while Billie remains obsessed with internet stalking Cassie.

Billie is pet sitting for her boss in the apartment below Cassie’s and she hears a party in Cassie’s apartment. She also hears Cassie’s newborn baby crying on the balcony. After investigating a bit (and to force interaction with Cassie), Billie kidnaps the baby.

The book is told in alternating POV between Billie and Cassie. This is not really a thriller but a drama that dives into the toxicity of these two “friends.” Neither are likable characters. Their issues with each other got worse as the years advanced. The ending was just okay.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC. Bye, Baby is out now.

Bye, Baby attempts a lot of things, but it doesn't succeed at all of them. It's not exactly a thriller, more of an examination of a crumbling friendship.

I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this book. Enough said. I loved everything about this book and I highly recommend it!

I knew I had to get my hands on the next Carola Lovering book that came out. What I didn't get was a thriller of any sort. This book follows two childhood friends into adulthood as one of the friends infants is taken during a birthday party. What you receive is a history of their past as well as character development of the women in the future. You find out the main plot point at the middle of the book and from there the story turns into either a Romance or a work of Lit Fic. Very strange marketing in my opinion. I kept waiting for the sh** to hit the fan at the end which is what all of her books do. This was not the case here. I think it's important to know this before reading the book so that expectations can be properly set.

This was totally different than what I expected going in - but I should know to expect that from this author. And it’s not a bad thing!

An old friendship gone awry….but why? I loved seeing this all unfold through dual timelines and POV. I’m pretty sick of the influencer as a main character in novels lately - but I found this one tolerable and it worked for the story.

I couldn’t stop listening to this one as I was curious how it would all work itself out and was fairly satisfied with the ending.

I’ll truly read anything Carola Lovering writes. This was really great on audio! Also - the characters going to a Zac Brown Band concert made my ZBB loving heart so happy.

Up next on the NetGalley ARC backlist is “Bye, Baby” by Carola Lovering. Cassie and Billie were the closest of friends. Until they weren’t. Despite years of friendship, and a dark secret, Cassie casually begins to edge Billie (and everything that reminds her of her past) out of her life. But all that changes one night when Cassie’s baby goes missing and Cassie believes Billie is the only person who can truly understand her and what she’s feeling. Billie is willing to do anything to restore their friendship, but maybe this is a friendship better left in the past…
Okay. First, I probably shouldn’t have read this in my early postpartum days, because YIKES. Nothing really triggering happens to the baby, but it definitely motivated me to read through certain chapters more quickly (once you start something spooky, you have to finish it, I don’t make the rules).
I really enjoy Lovering’s writing style. Her books are always engaging and well plotted out, in my opinion. The pages just fly because you need to know more, and Lovering feeds you information at just the right pace.
I will say, this book was less thriller, more introspection on a friendship gone down the tubes. Maybe if we only lived in Cassie’s pov it would have felt more thrilling, but we see Billie’s pov that mellows out the fear and wonder of Cassie’s.
In the end, this book was a 3 star read for me. It was entertaining and well written, but I wanted more thriller from a thriller- also the ending kind of let me down. I guess I love a happy ending, but it felt like it needed something bigger…
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review! This book is out now!

Working in a library setting, we’re of course able to read books in between checking out patrons. I chose to read this and I could not put it down.

Billie and Cassie have been best friends since they were young. Cassie, an instagram influencer sensation has basically pushed Billie to the curb. Her rich friends have become more important than her lifelong friend. Billie’s boss asks her to feed her cat and it just so happens to be one floor below Cassie’s. Cassie swore she wasn’t having a birthday party but from the vibes, she is. Billie becomes angry and instantly hears Cassie’s newborn baby screaming – crying on Cassie’s balcony. Rage and confusion overtake her and the next thing she knows, she’s holding Cassie’s baby in her arms. What happens next is crazy!

This story was SO good and kept me turning the pages. Very good plot and the story development was perfectly placed. I thoroughly enjoyed this read! The intensity kept me on the edge of my seat. Four stars!

I thought this would be more of a mystery but it really wasn't. That's okay. More of an exploration of toxic friendship and that was interesting. Definitely a lot happening here, maybe too much. But still good.

Two unlikable main characters and I can’t bring myself to care about them or what’s going to happen to them. DNF. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free ebook to review.