A tale of two lifelong friends, filled with secrets, lies, and a toxic relationship that traps you and doesn't let go.

Billie and Cassie have been through a lot together. As kids they were inseparable, but as they start transitioning into adulthood, the dynamic of their friendship shifts and becomes a toxic, co-dependent relationship that leads to betrayal, jealousy, and tragedy.

This book is marketed as a thriller and it is not, but regardless I enjoyed it for what it was - a domestic/friendship drama. I found myself coming back to the audiobook to see what direction their relationship would head to next. Told in alternating views, I enjoyed getting to know each character individually. This is a very character-driven plot and having alternating POV's puts things into perspective nicely.

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of this book.

Talk about a toxic friendship! Billie and Cassie are friends from childhood but have slowly drifted apart. Billie is single and works in travel and Cassie is married with a baby and is also an influencer with a huge following. The plot revolves around Cassie's baby going missing and the events before and after this event. I went in thinking the plot would be more mystery/thriller but it was actually more of just contemporary fiction. I'm not sure if that's why my expectations weren't met but unfortunately it did fall short for me. Read this if you like books about complicated relationships + and dash of mystery with some twists.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

I loved that this was handled with care for both mothers and non-mothers. I was surprised to feel sympathy for the character who took the baby. I really liked the spotlight on influencer culture as well. I love Carola Lovering’s books and look forward to her next one!

This book is well written. The author brings the characters to life. Lots of twists and turns. This is the kind of book that makes readers buy all the author's other books.

This was a good read. Where it goes back and forth between the past and present. The story of Cassie and Billie’s friendship is complicated and they have so much history and secrets. They’re relationship has been strained until Cassie’s baby is kidnapped and she needs Billie.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this eArc of Bye, Baby. I absolutely loved “Too Good To Be True” and knew immediately that I had to pick this one up. Also, side note, I went into this one completely blind. (**cough, cough this is not a thriller).

Why is it that I love reading the “toxic friendship” trope so much? Seriously, what does that say about me? All jokes aside, I thought this one was done very well. I felt like I just couldn’t stop reading the hot mess express!

Lovering has this ability to write relatable characters/plots while the story still being absolutely bonkers. You know that phrase, “I can’t make this sh*t up”, well both books I’ve read by Carola Lovering have that same jaw dropping effect.

I just jived with this book so hard! What a rollercoaster ride! Highly recommend!

Really enjoyed this story of a long friendship that goes wrong. The incites to their pasts was interesting and how the relationship was co dependent , til one moves away from the other and hard feelings flare up.

BYE, BABY opens with an ambitious and startling scene, and never lets up from there. On a chilly fall night, Billie West hears the terrified screams of her lifelong best friend, Cassie Barnwell just one floor above her as she realizes her infant daughter has gone missing. The culprit? Billie, who has gotten so fed up with the one-sided friendship that she has kidnapped Cassie’s daughter to teach her a lesson. The novel then backtracks into multiple timelines — Billie and Cassie’s teen years as they build an inseparable friendship and the weeks before the kidnapping as Billie and Cassie’s lives diverge. Billie, single and childless while Cassie is a newlywed and new mother who is building a following online as an influencer.

OKAY — Carola Lovering’s novels always scratch the itch when I’m craving a book that’s not quite a thriller, but still has an air of suspense. This hits the sweet spot between suspense and contemporary fiction.

At its core, BYE, BABY is an exploration of obsession and toxic friendships. Without giving too much away, we learn why Billie and Cassie are inextricably tied together for life. Lovering often uses alternating timelines, and I adore the way they peel back the truth layer-by-layer.

There’s something special about a friendship book — I love not only those that focus on the strengths of lifelong relationships, but those that delve into the ways those bonds can be fractured. I always lament that there aren’t more of them in this world, and BYE, BABY is one that I’ll certainly be recommending!

Lovering has a knack for infusing her work with the perfect level of rich people problems, and I loved the way she wrote about NYC and influencer culture.

This book made me feel so many emotions. I loved the friendship that Billie and Cassie had when they were young, with each of them having each other's backs as they went through tough things. And then the adult versions of themselves, not so much. I got so frustrated with both of them, sabotaging their deep friendship. How could they do that to each other?

I won't go any further into the story because I don't want to give anything away but..... seriously? I had to keep going to see what was going to happen next. And I'm glad I did, but oh what a ride to get there.

Like other books of Ms. Lovering's that I have read, this one had me on the edge of me seat, feeling it all, and racing to the end. Bye, Baby is an exciting and riveting thriller that I highly recommend.

BYE, BABY is the newest from Carola Lovering that I've been dying to check out after all the mixed reviews. I'm a little torn on my feelings on this one. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I gone in not expecting a thriller because the whole time we, the reader, know what happened and we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop. I did like how Lovering displayed the toxic friendship between Billie and Cassie. They're childhood friends who are trying to force their lives together as adults even though they've both changed so much and I think a lot of women can relate to that. I did find the main character Billie to be frustrating with her naivety and her overall devotion to Cassie regardless of how Cassie is acting. I was also very irked by how she treated her new friend Jane. I found the plot to be a little too slow in the middle and wished there were more chapters from the past as I found that timeline more interesting. Overall, this is a middle of the road read for me and definitely won't be a book that sticks with me.

When it becomes more than clear to Billie that her childhood best friend, Cassie, has moved on from their friendship, she is overcome with sadness and jealousy and does a really stupid thing.
You know what she’s done right from the start of the book, but what you don’t understand is how this character, whom you grow to empathize with, will ever get away with it.
This is closer to three and a half stars, but the story is definitely compelling and the ending satisfying enough.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this #arc of #byebaby in exchange for an honest review.

Long time friends, Billie & Cassie have quite the past. And now that Cassie has a wealthy husband and a newborn, she doesn’t seem to have time for Billie. Billie pushes to keep their friendship going, but Cassie just doesn’t seem interested. Things get even more complicated when Cassie’s baby is kidnapped and the one who took her baby was none other than Billie. All of a sudden, Cassie needs Billie and Billie will do absolutely anything now to restore what they once had. Can Billie keep this secret from Cassie and assume everything will just be okay? As Cassie and Billie tell their side of the story, the truth of their history is explored that begins to show just how simple choices have affected their relationship through their lives.

This one had a lot of potential for me, but I just didn’t love it. I think a lot of it was Cassie and how over bearing character that she was. I also think there was just too much involved with Billie. I felt it was too packed with side plates that it took away from the main one, instead of building it up. I also felt that I was waiting for a twist and since we knew the twist, I didn’t feel much suspense at all. I’d certainly give this author another go and already have a few commendations.

This was a good read. Written with different views and different narratives. It takes some turns that are unexpected.
Friendships that outgrow each other for one but obsessive for the other.
Secrets and Lies are the foundation of this one.


Received a digital copy from NetGalley for review.

OK usually when I receive an advanced reader, copy of a book (which I did in this case thanks, NetGalley , and publisher, my views all all my own) I read it very slowly and take a lot of notes. But just like all of the author’s books, I devoured this book so quickly, I could barely put it down to take a breath, let alone a note. Bye,Baby by Carola Lovering is a thrilling tale of womanhood and woman friendships, something Lovering has shown she has excelled at writing in her other books. Our two main characters Billy and Cassie were lifelong best friends until around three years ago when Cassidy got married, got rich and had a baby. Since then Billy, felt really insecure with her entire relationship, causing her to latch on even stronger to Cassie, who is also a momstagrammer with an upper and boutique funded largely by her husband, Grant. The action in the story kicks off immediately as we are greeted with Cassie screaming because her baby is gone and Billy having the realization that she’s the one who took her from there we flashback into alternating perspectives in both the past and present reviewing all the dark skeletons in their friendship closet as well as the events that led up to baby Ella being taken.

Lovering is so incredibly skilled at writing unlikeable characters who you still want to root for and relatable female friendships and friendship problems. I highly recommend this and all of her work.

5🌟 - I loved it!

Expectations are everything, and I went in knowing Carola's style of writing. I think that set me up for success for loving this one! Character-driven with poignant commentary on female friendships, influencers, jealously, loss, and full of buried down secrets from the past.

I was eating this up when I was reading! I was so obsessed and sucked into the story that I NEEDED to know where it was going! I love the way she writes her characters, full of complexity and depth. Being dual timeline and POV made this story so much more dynamic and built the tension throughout the book. There was so much going on with the characters beyond the shocking plot, and that was masterfully done 👏.

I am a fan of Carola Lovering! I am caught up on her backlist, and truly have enjoyed all of her books! Here is my current list of her books!

1. Bye, Baby (5🌟)
2. Can't Look Away (4.5🌟)
3. Tell Me Lies (4.25🌟)
4. Too Good to Be True (4🌟)

This book was the epitome of rich people problems, not that it's a bad thing, it just wasn't want I wanted from this book. I really enjoyed that one of the main characters had a lot of trauma and it made her who she is, but the other character was absolutely insufferable. It is always difficult to enjoy a book when one of the POVs is great and the other makes you want to rip your hair out, which is exactly how this book made me feel.... and don't get me started on the MEN in this book! I did have an entertaining time, which I guess is the point of most fiction novels, but I wasn't blown away by any means. I know there is an audience out there for this book and that they would LOVE how messy and annoying the characters are but I am simply not one of those people.

Whew, holy twist and turns. Multiple POV's including two childhood best friends who have grown apart. This book shows motherhood and friendship and all the ups and downs. Once again, another great book by CL - I'll always be requesting the next one!! I have requested the audiobook of this one on Libby to reread and listen!

Bye Baby was a mildly satisfying read about motherhood and friendship. It wasn’t so much a thriller as a look into toxic friendship and obsession. It is marketed as a thriller/mystery, which did the book a disservice because it most definitely is not. This is definitely a character driven novel, which I enjoy, it just wasn’t what I was expecting.
I read this one very quickly, as Lovering’s books are very readable. I look forward to her next work.

Cassie was the worst friend ever but Billie also kinda sucked. I can’t believe Billie let the baby napping situation get so out of hand without just fessing up. Obviously, Cassie would’ve been upset but at the very least, no one would have faulted her for trying to help and the rest of the book would’ve been much less dramatic.

3.5⭐️
I’m glad that I saw a review before reading that said “don’t think of this one as a thriller!!”

I enjoyed it, but def less of a psychological thriller than I expected. It was a quick read and I was invested into the 2 main characters’ lives. I enjoyed the dual POV + the back and forth timeline.

While it was a quick read for me, I did think some parts seemed a tad redundant, and the ending was a little lackluster. There were a couple Qs I still had about some of the characters at the end.

Overall, the authors writing was engaging and addictive. I wished for a bit more at the end. I have enjoyed her thrillers in the past, and look forward to reading more of her books in the future!