
Member Reviews

Cassie's baby is missing, and Billie, her best friend of 23 years, is the kidnapper. Told in alternating points of view, we find out how the two became friends and what leads up to the fateful night in question. As we find out why their relationship has become estranged, the story explores the myriad ways friendships change and evolve over time, especially when added in is a secret that can never be told. Unlikeable characters, tragic secrets, betrayal, and twisted revelations. Bye Bye Baby is a psychological thriller that keeps you in suspense until the end. The story drags a bit in places, so I highly recommend the audiobook to help keep the mementum.

A compelling story with just enough surprises to keep me flipping pages. Lovering does an excellent job crafting relatable characters and exploring long-lasting friendships that fade and come back in time - and the toxicity that can sprout up along with it! All in all, this was a good domestic thriller, and one that I could see my friends passing around at the pool all summer.

What a wild ride this book was! I was hooked from the prologue. I absolutely loved the dual POVs of childhood friends to adult acquaintances Billie and Cassie and the added dual timeline of their childhood into adulthood through Billie’s POV. I felt that the backstory was very detailed and thorough, to the point that it took me a little longer to read and understand.
I like that the title is a play on words from what the girls called themselves when they were young because of their love for Dirty Dancing, and the event that propels this entire story. Honestly I loved reading the prologue without any prior knowledge what this book was about, so I encourage you to do the same.
This is a messy domestic thriller-esque, I don’t know if this truly qualifies as a thriller, with messy family drama, toxic friendships, and unlikeable characters. Overall I loved it. One critique I have is the pacing was very good until the very end and there were characters and events that were introduced that didn’t feel completely necessary or didn’t go anywhere. But really, I loved how this was written and the story unfolded.
Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for an advanced electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I had not read anything by this author before this book, but I requested it based on my best friend's love of Lovering's writing, and it was a solid read!
Billie and Cassie were close. They grew up together. Spent most of their 20s together. They've been through really hard things together. But now, their friendship is strained. Cassie doesn't want anything to do with Billie... that is, until her baby disappears, and Billie is the first person she calls. The problem is, Billie is the one who took the baby...
From the start, you're told that Billie is responsible, but you have no idea why she would do what she did. The journey of understanding, and backstory, and drama all folded together really well to tell a great story. It was long ish but never felt long.
Bonus, it mentioned the Azores in the first chapter, which is becoming a more popular travel destination in recent years but is also the land of my grandparents and all older relatives/ancestors. It's always cool to see an aspect of your life represented in fiction!

I loved this book! 5 stars! The author did a wonderful job writing about the complexity of a friendship that has shifted as life takes people in different directions. I found myself questioning Cassie's choices and having compassion for Billie. The story takes you on an emotional journey and the suspense keeps you turning pages!

This is a book that I have been very excited about. It is my first Carola Loveing book but I had heard so many good things about it.
Domestic thrillers can be hit or miss with me - but this one was a hit. A NYC setting introduces Cassie Barnwell who's infant daughter has gone missing. Cassie seems to have had it all - rich husband, new baby, social influencer with success and more. But in creating her perfect life who freezes out her former best friend Billie. Billie knows all of Cassie's secrets - including where the baby is.
Told from Cassie and Bilie's perspectives in alternating chapters this book held my interest with excellent story creation. It is a warped story of friendship with all the twists and drama that can go with it.

3.5/5 stars: This was a very addicting read - I had a hard time putting it down. I was disappointed that this wasn’t a psychological thriller like I thought was going to be. This is very character driven and both MCs were well developed - I just didn’t find either to be very likable. However, I don’t think it took away from the story. Definitely check out the trigger warnings before jumping as this does touch on quite a few heavier themes.

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2024
This story was intriguing and entertaining. I enjoyed the well crafted plot. The story of Billie and Cassie’s friendship was very interesting and entertaining. I was drawn into the mystery immediately and couldn’t put it down. This is a must-read.

BYE, BABY
This is my third Lovering - I read and really enjoyed both CANT LOOK AWAY and TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE (I really need to read TELL ME LIES because I’m a big fan of her writing!)
Bye, Baby is a character driver “thriller” (I use that word loosely) but it’s really more of a commentary on a lot of things - adult friendships, the influencer industry, toxic relationships, loyalties. Lovering’s characters are so richly developed - you both hate and love them. They’re deeply flawed and SO real and relatable. I could see myself in both of the MCs which I think is a testament to how she writes her characters.
I will say this one is full of CW - let me know if you want me to go over any! But I think this one is an incredibly engaging and fast paced read that most readers will enjoy like I did!

Thank you so much @StMartinsPress for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 05 March 2024)
SYNOPSIS | Billie & Cassie have been best friends since school, however recently Cassie has begun to pull away. Cassie blames her distance on being so busy launching her clothing company and having a new baby, but Billie suspects that she has outgrown her despite her going to considerable lengths to maintain their friendship.
WHAT I LIKED:
- that we learn the whole premise of the book within the prologue
- the dual timeline really helped solidify Billie & Cassie's relationship as children & how that has shaped them as adults
- a lot of unlikeable characters
- more of a social commentary on women's friendships, motherhood and social media than a true mystery / thriller
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- it felt slower paced from Part 2 onwards
- wanted more of a conversation around trauma bonding

I did not know what to expect of this book and I am so glad I read it without knowing! It was such a well written thriller without the cheesiness that can develop in some of them. I loved the toxicity of the relationships and it made you think about similar relationships in your own life (past or present) I could not put it down!

I definitely went into this book thinking it was a thriller, but it was not. No thrills. Once I realized this, I was able to enjoy the book a bit more and really feel Cassie and Billie’s toxic, messed up friendship. While there was no suspense, there was DRAMA. So much drama and I was here for it. I really appreciated the depth of the characters and the overall story itself. I think if you enjoy contemporary fiction, past trauma, and toxic friendships, then you could really enjoy this book. If you’re more into thrillers, mysteries, and suspense (like myself) this book isn’t for you.
Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the eARC!
This is the second book from Carola Lovering I’ve read and I really enjoyed it! I think it’s safe to say that she is now an auto-buy author for me.
In this book, we get two alternating POVs from former best friends Cassie and Billie. We also get flashback chapters from Billie’s POV where we get to see firsthand the making of their friendship and who they used to be with each other, as well as the events that led them to where they are now.
This is about dependent relationships and what happens when one takes a step back while the other is clinging on desperately; when one wants to move on and the other wants things to stay the same. It also shows us that sometimes, the people we love the most aren’t always the people we’ve made them out to be in our own minds.
This was dramatic and suspenseful yet totally believable. While it’s definitely a more extreme version of a friendship turned toxic, I understood how Billie could be pushed to the edge to do what she did and then how she attempted to get out of it after she realized her mistake. I actually sympathized with Billie and felt constant stress at the potential of her getting found out and what that could mean for her.
I thought there was great character development as well and felt that I really got to know each of the characters which definitely added to my enjoyment of the story because it kept me invested in what would happen to each of them.
The writing style itself is well written but also very easy to read. When combining that with the suspense of the story, it made for an extremely bingeable book that I read in under 24 hours.
There is also a heavy emphasis on motherhood and whether or not that is something that is meant for everybody and I appreciated Lovering’s commentary/message on the subject that no, not every woman needs to be a mother and that’s okay.
Overall, this was a great book and one that I’ll be thinking about for some time. I plan to pick up a physical copy for my shelf and look forward to reading more of Lovering’s books in the future!

This is my favorite book I've read in a long time. Probably since I read another book of Carola Lovering's called Tell Me Lies. This book really resonated with me for many reasons. I could relate so closely with Billie. Girl friendships that begin in adolescence are such precious and delicate affairs. We have these attachments because of history and nostalgia when sometimes we have to face that we change and grow apart. This happened with Billie and Cassie and as usual in these situations, one was holding on and the other pushing away. I couldn't understand at all why Billie took the baby- like, what an insane thing to do (not a spoiler- literally in the prologue) but I found myself rooting for Billie anyway and I thought Cassie and her friends were insufferable snobs. I loved the way the story changed povs and also told us about Billie and Cassie's history. I read in other reviews that this was about a toxic friendship, but I don't think this was toxic. I think the friendship had just run its course and both girls were no longer who they used to be. The conflict came from one party still fighting for the relationship and the other pushing it away, which can definitely be devastating. I just really love the way Carola Lovering writes. She might be my favorite author as her books hit me super personally and leave me haunted by the characters long after I close the books.

This is a very well written book, with a lot of "hot takes" in it. What do I mean by that? Well, it's sort of a casual treatise on decades old friendships, on social media, on expectations on women in today's society. Spoiler alert, that last one isn't much different than it was in yesterday's society.
I was enjoying this book very much until the end. I did not like the ending at all. Ha. That is likely just me due to some things going on in my work life right now, where I need people to just do their jobs, but I can't help the timing for when I read it.
Will I read more from this author? Absolutely.

At the core this book is about female friendships and all the wonderful memories and toxic trauma that can come with it. I picked this book up and didn’t stop reading it until it was over, I loved it, related to it and never wanted it to end. Thank you so much to @stmartinspress for my copy!

This book is about friendship at it's core - how friendships grow and develop, and how they fall apart. Jealousy tearing them apart. Secrets bonding them together. But ultimately, it's about friendship.
What a friendship can't handle, is when one friend causes another to experience trauma, even if it's an accident.
I really enjoyed the character development of Billie and Cassie. I feel that Carola did an excellent job feeding backstory and present together so that the reader has a whole picture of the characters and the why behind the current actions.
There were a lot of emotions in this book, some good and some bad. It was the perfect way to draw me in and get me attached to the characters and to the plot.

3.5 rounded up to 4.
I had a hard time putting a rating to this book because there were so many things happening/not happening. There were so many subjects brought up in this story and while some of them really mesh together well while some could've been left out and not changed the story. It took me a bit of time to really get into the story but once the buildup starts happening you end up getting hooked. This book was like watching a shipwreck happen, you know it's going to end badly but you can't stop watching it. I liked how we got both sides of the main characters and you can't help but love/hate both of them. It shows how a lot of people and relationships are so fake and toxic nowadays and I felt like I could relate. One thing I had a harder time with was the ending. The buildup was so high and you expect a huge ending and it just sort of fell really flat and I was a bit disappointed by it. At some points there are so many things happening at once between the flashbacks and the current timeline that it feels like nothing is happening and it starts dragging a bit. Overall it was a good book but not the thriller I was expecting at all.

Billie and Cassie are best friends. Terrible things happen and they keep secrets that can never be shared. After college, they both move to NYC. Cassie and Billie grow apart after Cassie gets married and has a baby. However, things take a turn when Cassie’s baby goes missing from their apartment the night of her birthday party.
This book has great potential and I really loved parts of it. However, I feel like it had no real plot and was very anticlimactic. I did love the author’s writing style, though.

Billie and Cassie’s relationship is a complicated sisterhood. I found Cassie’s entitlement very cringey. The “twists” in this book were highly predictable . Although it wasn’t my favorite thriller, it was an easy read.