Even though there is never a mystery as to who did what, this book is still intensely gripping and keeps you wanting to read. It is about friendship toxic friendship and true friendship and knowing the difference between them and when to let a friendship that has run its course go. The character of Billie in particular is so relatable. She just can't give up her friendship with Cassie even though it's clear that the friendship has run its course, and Cassie is and always was a gold-digging social climber who doesn't think Billie is good enough for her. Cassie, on the other hand, is a much harder character to like although her devotion to her daughter is admirable. Other characters in the book who are likable include Billie's boss, Jane, and Billie's boyfriend, Alex. They are examples of what true friendship and caring are like.

This was my first book by this author. The writing was great, there was a lot of depth, but the story just wasn’t for me. This book starts with the kidnapping, then gives us glimpses into the past to show what led up to this point. I felt there was no suspense this way. You already knew what happened, and honestly, the alternating points of view between Billie and Cassie just proved how unlikeable both characters were. They were toxic for one another and this book just proves that some relationships outlive their usefulness and it’s best for everyone involved to go their separate ways. Alex was the best thing about this book, and unfortunately he deserved so much better.

Billie West and Cassie Barnwell developed a friendship as young girls. They have always been bound together by a horrific accident that happened during high school. They grew apart during college as Cassie made other friends, and grew especially distant after she met her wealthy husband. Suddenly Billie did not fit into her world. Cassie tolerated their friendship, at best, but Billie had become a nuisance. She was more interested in hanging out with her rich friends. Now that she has a baby, their interests are even further apart.

Billie is hurt about being cast aside. She tries to insert herself into Cassie's life, but she is constantly either rebuffed or completely ignored. Cassie is also a big social media influencer and catalogs everything she does everyday in videos she shares on her social media. Billie is obsessed with keeping up with Cassie. You think Billie may have finally found balance in her life with a new love, but she still has to know what Cassie is doing every day. Billie will do anything to be included in her life. This is where it gets a little messy.

Obsession, toxic friendships, social media craze and haughty attitudes make this plot fairly interesting. The book goes back and forth from different points of view and goes from past to present. This book was not what I thought it was going to be. I did stay engaged in the story because I had to know where it was headed and where it was going to end. However, I was disappointed in the ending. I am not sure what I expected or wanted, but it did not end well, It was still an interesting book that will hold you hostage until you finish it. The characters were very unlikable to me. Cassie was spoiled and cared more about appearance than anything else. Her new friends were just snobs. Billie was just a little pathetic, but I also felt sorry for her. Her past was very sad. Cassie was the one who helped her through a very difficult time, but at some point she just needed to move on.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. What a roller coaster of a story and a roller coaster of a reading experience! There's a lot going on here - friendship growing pains of going away to college, finding love, establishing a career, getting married, having a baby and social media. But at the heart of the story is the friendship of Billie and Cassie. On the friendship level, I could relate to them. We all have at least one friend that has known us our whole lives - demons and all - and an unspoken devotion to what we've gone through together. But these girls had so much to navigate that at times I could understand why they did what they did and others, I scratched my head thinking there's no way grown adults act this way!

Bye, Baby • Carola Lovering ⭐️ - 3 stars
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This book caught my eye right away! Unfortunately I found it to be a let down. Before you start Bye, Baby definitely check out the trigger warnings as I thought there were quite a few that would make it difficult for readers to get through it.

Reflecting on the book I can relate a little to both characters. Cassidy with the mom aspect (and nothing else- thank god) and Billie in the sense of holding on to a friendship that had run its course.
For some weird reason when I was around 50% through I thought the book should have been over. I don’t know what it was, not all the questions had been answered at that point but enough had been answered that I would have been fine if the book ended there.

Honestly I don’t know what to think of this book. I go back and forth on my rating, either it should be 2.5 stars or 3 stars.

Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest review

I wish I could pin point what exactly it is that I enjoy about Carola Lovering's books. All the books I've read of hers have been a 4 star for me. I guess I'll say its her writing style and the way she grabs my attention. There wasn't a crazy twist to this book, or anything really shocking. Just a story of two friends and their toxic relationship (oh and a baby that one of them stole). She has the types of books that I look forward to picking up, and could finish in one sitting. Add Bye, Baby as another book of hers I enjoyed!!

The story follows Billie and Cassie, two friends who grew up together in the charming town of Hudson Valley. They were inseparable.
However, their friendship suffered a blow after a traumatic event in their teenage years, causing them to drift apart gradually.
The narrative is told from the points of view of the two main characters. Both girls share big secrets that deal with trauma and while Cassie moves on in a big way, Billie is left in a valley of despair and desperation. Can these two find themselves and this mystery, I enjoyed reading this book for the first time from this author, Carola Lovering. Thank you,

I received an advanced copy through Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! Although the characters were pretty unlikeable it was kind of like a train wreck - I couldn’t look away. I wasn’t really able to predict where this was going at any point in time, which is exactly what I look for in books like this. I am so happy I was able to read this and will definitely be recommending to friends.

This story and these characters were an unhinged duo that I could not stop reading.

The “mean girl/catty friend” trope is not one of my favorites, but I thought it was done in an interesting way here. There’s themes of friendship and loyalty as we age, motherhood, and expectations of women. There were times where the characters’ actions had me cringing, crying out “noooo!”, and on the edge of my seat wondering what could possibly happen next. The alternating POV really amped up the drama, and I liked getting both sides to certain situations. There’s a few twists along the way; some I saw coming and others that totally surprised me. The story also went deeper (and a little darker) than I was anticipating, but I liked how that depth expanded the story and made the characters’ backstories that much more complex.

This is one you’ll have a hard time putting down.

Wow! By far my favorite Carola Lovering book and one of my favorite reads of the year. Both characters were so well fleshed out and felt like I personally knew them. I've seen quite a few reviews claim this isn't a thriller and I would disagree. This is psychological thriller writing at it's finest - slowly peeling back the layers to understand why anyone took baby Ella and why Cassie and Billie's friendship is so strange. I started this at 10pm and stayed up all night to finish it.

In Bye, Baby, Carola Lovering has managed to take two now-ubiquitous stock characters—the self-obsessed semi-influencer and her left-behind childhood best friend—and turn their estrangement into a compelling thriller. Neither Cassie (the influencer) nor Billie (her erstwhile friend) are entirely sympathetic (or unsympathetic) characters; reading the story through their alternating viewpoints, I found myself siding with both at different times. They’ve grown apart, but the memories of their once-strong friendship, as well as a shared secret from their past, summon feelings of obligation to maintain their previous bond.

The mystery and thriller elements of the plot are resolved in a relatively straightforward manner, and I thought the Big Secret that Cassie and Billie were trying to protect was telegraphed fairly early in the book. Bye, Baby was not really the psychological thriller I expected when I started, but I found it engrossing and suspenseful in its own way, as I wondered how Cassie and Billie would reckon with the new shape of their relationship.

Bye, Baby
Carola Lovering
4.5⭐️
Omg that was a wild story! It started off so shocking and it was full of toxic relationships and crazy decisions. Super super interesting thriller! I really enjoyed the whole thing and I was hooked from the beginning.

BYE, BABY by Carola Lovering ventures into domestic territory I don't typically explore. Kidnapping a former best friend's baby? Who would do such a thing -- and somehow also be a character that I understood and didn't mind getting to know more? Billie and Cassie were lifelong best friends, until they weren't. The characters are rich, compelling, fascinating people -- and the twists and turns kept me up way past my bedtime, thrilled and terrified and unable to look away. I will definitely seek out more books by this talented writer. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

Rating: 2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This started off great, mysterious… engaging.
We make it through the first half and the story seems to have a direction.
Unfortunately, it goes down hill from there. I’m unsure what the point of this story was.
Marketed as a thriller? No. It’s not a thriller.
It’s a trauma bonded friendship drama and an attempt at a romance story all at once.
The ending was anticlimactic and inconcise.

Cassie and Billie were best friends. But as time has elapsed, Cassie has pushed Billie away. Cassie is a major social media influencer with tons of followers and Billie knows a terrible secret. Cassie just cannot risk it. Then the unthinkable happens. Cassie’s daughter is kidnapped and Billie is the only one she wants around her.

I love how the author creates empathy and compassion for Billie. Or rather, that is what I felt. Even though Billie made a mistake, my heart went out to her. I was so hoping it all turned out well…you will have to read this to find out.

If you can’t tell, I am not a big fan of Cassie. However, my heart went out to her when her baby came up missing….Genius writing, in my opinion. There were quite a few places in which my emotions didn’t know where to go. I definitely am looking up this author’s other books! I will be thinking about this one for quite a while.

The narrators, Helen Laser; Karissa Vacker…FANTASTIC! Of course, if you follow me at all, you know I love Karissa Vacker and she and Helen made a fabulous tag team for Cassie and Billie!

Need a good psychological and emotional thriller…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Let me start by saying, if you are going into this book thinking it’s a thriller then you’ll be disappointed. With the main plot being about a missing baby, it’s very easy to think this is a thriller. It’s truly more of a character driven suspense. I found this one to be boring and lacking something. I felt like there was really no point to the story and I was honestly pretty disappointed!

3.5🍼

Toxic friendships
Shallow Gold digger
Sexual assault
Lose of love
Strained family relationships
Growing up and apart


This is not a Thriller PSA! More of a drama.
Luckily I knew that before so it helped with my expectations.

Two bffs, two POVs and 2 timelines from back starting at age 12 to now 35.
This drama is great in the aspect of growing out of your childhood friends. Wanting different things in life. Simple, self driven, lonely vs instagram influencer who only cares to marry rich. But it was the worst toxic friendship ever. Both used and abused each others loyalty.

Cassie was insufferable even from age 12. I’m surprised they even stated friends until 32 😂 I was literally more okay with Billie legitimately kidnapping Cassie’s child l, than the way Cassie’s treated everyone especially Billie.

I liked the way it unfolded but I wish there was even one other semi suspect or a big twist. remy was being hyped up to be part of a twist but it was just that Billie didn’t want kids? Really a uneeded part of the story Who cares? (For example could have been a twist more about how grant was slimey and cheating etc)

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for granting me access to this book in exchange for my honest review.

At the age of 35, Billie starts feeling like she is losing her best friend, Cassie, of over 30 years. Billie is desperate to get close to Cassie again, even if that means lying to Cassie about what happened the night Cassie’s baby went missing.

This book is about intense, toxic, female friendships, motherhood, and how friendships change from high school to your mid thirties. These characters and their friendship felt so real. I really felt for Billie and the writing pulled me in almost immediately.

I think this would be a GREAT book club book. Definitely will be reading more Carola Lovering in the future!

Meet Cassie and Billie, long time friends who have drifted apart. From sharing an apartment to barely speaking, their lives have taken different paths with their friendship taking a back seat to life. Multiple POV show readers every step the two have taken and how Billie has gone to great lengths to remain in Cassie's world while Cassie is moving up and beyond their old neighborhood. Each step brings us closer to the explosion they've been heading towards. Carola Lovering has done an excellent job of bringing these two women to life and leading us to each clue along the way. It's interesting to see how she brings everything together at the end.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering is a story about friendships, the ties that bind, and what happens when those ties no longer hold. I’m so grateful to @stmartinspress for an advanced copy and to @macmillan.audio for an ALC. This one comes out tomorrow.

Cassie and Billie have been friends since childhood. They were inseparable as teens and their years together are full of secrets. As adults, they’ve drifted apart. Cassie has gotten the life she always wanted. A rich husband, a second home in the Hamptons, and influencer lifestyle. Billie, a travel writer, is the one who doesn’t want to let go. The story is told in dual timelines—or maybe it’s actually three timelines. The book opens with Cassie discovering her baby has been kidnapped. Then we go back to when the girls are teens and the years leading up to their falling out.

This was an interesting read, but for some reason I was expecting it to be a thriller. And it really wasn’t. I was expecting the baby disappearance and why it had happened to be a bigger part of the story, but it almost seemed unnecessary to the main plot, and the reasons for it happening—which are explained pretty early on—didn’t really make a lot of sense to me. I think if you’re looking for a story about friendships and secrets, there’s a lot to enjoy in this book. There’s also a really sweet, fraught romance that I enjoyed a lot. Billie’s story in particular is pretty heartbreaking and there are some trigger warnings. DM if anyone needs them.

The audiobook for this one is fabulous and made the story even more compelling. It’s narrated flawlessly by Karissa Vacker (a favorite of mine) and Helen Laser (who’s also fabulous). I’d definitely recommend the audio version of this book.