This was a great book. I loved every paragraph, every sentence and every word of this masterpiece! I read it in 12 hours, which is a lot for me to do! It had everything and more laid out in the novel! I sure hope There is more to come from this author! I am totally hooked!

Carola Lovering does toxic so well. It’s unnerving. Everyone in this book was so completely insufferable and it’s a little hard to disentangle that from the plot and the writing.

Growing up, Billie and Cassie are inseparable. Bound together by a secret that they must never spill, the girls go through everything together throughout their post-college days in New York

Billie is in her 30’s and remains unmarried and childless. Cassie, constantly seeking a better life, has married up and has become a popular influencer on Instagram, showcasing her picture perfect life. Billie doesn’t fit into Cassie’s new shiny life and is cast aside, which obviously hurts. Billie goes to truly astounding lengths to keep up the one-sided toxic friendship with Cassie who she has on the world’s highest pedestal. Everything comes to a head one October night as Billie does the unthinkable. Her hopes for this friendship being brought back to it’s prior glory all but detonate as she looks down in to the face of Cassie’s beautiful baby, Ella.

This was a fun read. It wasn’t earth shattering or deeply eloquent, but it kept my hooked. If you’re looking for a real mystery or thriller…this just isn’t it. However, I really enjoyed the multiple POV’s and past and present timelines. Sometimes the book felt a little disjointed, like it could have been multiple distinct books. There was a LOT going on in the plot and I would’ve liked to see some aspects more deeply explored including the relationship between Billie and her mom and her mom’s illness. Some parts felt rushed and a bit glossed over where they probably didn’t need to be included. Overall, I enjoyed this book. One of my first comments early on in the book was “wow this is the insufferable people olympics”…and it only got worse. But man, Lovering really delivers on creating ICKY characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

Billie West is in a NYC apartment when she hears the terrified screams. Her lifelong best friend Cassie is one floor above and has just realized her daughter is missing. Billie is shaken to look down into her arms and see the missing baby that has shattered Cassie's world. BYE, BABY is the story of Billie and Cassie's friendship, filled with secrets and shared trauma, from the time they met in seventh grade up to now at 35 years old. Cassie is a fashion and lifestyle influencer and married to a wealthy man with an infant. Billie is single, childless, and is hurt that she no longer fits in Cassie's world with her new priorities; Billie is ready to do anything to restore their friendship.

BYE, BABY is labeled by some as a thriller but I think that we should be careful with this labeling as it may lead to some false expectations as to what this story entails. I'd be more inclined to state that it is a women's fiction novel with a mix of suspense and psychological drama.

That aside, this novel is a fantastic read and is incredibly bingeworthy. I was quickly hooked into the story by the clever prologue that tells us what happens but not the how or why. BYE, BABY is told in alternating dual POV (Cassie's and Billie's) in the days leading up to the event described in the prologue and the days following. There are some chapters interspersed from the past that highlights how close of a bond Cassie and Billie shared from a young age up to the present.

Lovering does an excellent job at depicting a friendship that has lasted for 20+ years but now is showing the stress of time as the two slowly drift apart as their priorities and interests change. The exploration of the many facets of a friendship, the influence and impact of social media, and overall narration of the plot is highly compelling. Each character is well developed and dynamic if not always likeable. I really enjoyed the side characters: Jane, Alex, Grant, McKay, etc as they each provided a solid support system for both of the main characters. The ending is truly well done and ties up everything neatly.


<i>I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, of this advanced digital copy for the opportunity to read this novel in exchange for an honest review! All opinions shared are my own.</i>

Well this novel did a number on my anxiety! Be mindful that this is billed as a thriller but it was more of an interesting character study about two best friends and how their relationship has changed over many years peppered with some drama and mystery. Both Billie and Cassidy made some extremely questionable choices and were highly flawed. I jumped between listening and reading this one and would recommend either format - the dual narrators (Helen Laser and Karissa Vacker) were great and played both MCs so well.

A baby is missing.
Billie’s best friend, Cassie, is in the apartment above her screaming for her child.
Billie looks down at the infant in her arms.
What has she done?

Billie and Cassie were best friends in high school, but now that they’ve grown up, they’ve grown estranged from one another because Cassie married a man with money and quickly started a family. Cassie has become a social media influencer by promoting her clothing store & giving advice to her online followers.

Billie has become alienated from her once best friend, and the only glimpse she has into Cassie’s life is through her social media stories. Billie knows that Cassie can’t cut her out of her life for good, there’s a secret they’ve kept for years that’ll crush one of them if it’s ever exposed.

I dove into this head first thinking it was a thriller that would knock my socks off, but it’s more of a mystery with a bit of drama, and a dash of romance. The beginning piqued my curiosity with the stolen baby, and it felt like the story was building, but the middle fell flat and Billie’s constant need for attention from her stuck up ex best friend was boring me. The characters were unlikable, and I had a hard time engaging with the story.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering is completely anxiety inducing. Knowing from the first chapter what is going to happen doesn’t lessen the tension, in fact, it dramatically increases it. The toxicity in Billie and Cassie’s relationship creates such a dynamic. At first, you’re like, oh this is so relatable. Then, as you continue to read, you’re like, oh wait, never mind. I loved the end and wish I could see where these characters were going to go next.

I appreciate the opportunity to read this one, unfortunately it didn't work for me. It felt scattered and a little much for all that was already going on in this story. It may be the fact that the missing baby plot was too much for me right now. I will eventually try again on audio once it's published. These type thrillers usually work better for on audio.

This isn’t a mystery or a thriller. It’s not a whodunnit - you know who from the blurb. It felt more like general fiction and focused on the two main characters, Cassie and Billie, and their changing friendship throughout their lives and as the result of what Billie does. Felt like it dragged on at times. Overall, if you’re looking for a thriller then keep on looking. But if you’re looking for more contemporary fiction then come on up!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is one of the better character-driven books I've read recently. Told mostly from the perspectives of Billie and Cassie in dual timelines, you get swept into the suspense of wondering what led these two lifelong best friends to drift apart in their present lives after their shared past cemented them together.

I would say this is more of a dark contemporary than a mystery or thriller. It's well written and fast-paced and I would have given it four stars if it wasn't for the fact that every character is absolutely awful. There is no character growth or lessons learned. Just page after page of terrible people acting like trash and doing trashy things.

Cassie Adler is the very busy mother of a four-month-old daughter. More than that, she runs a boutique and is well on her way to becoming a major social media influencer. Seemingly happily married to husband Grant, what more could Cassie ask for in life.

In order to understand what Cassie stands to lose, the story goes back to her younger years when Cassie and her friend Billie West were the best of friends. Things remained that way for years, but something pulled the women apart and their lives have taken on different directions. As far as Billie is concerned, Cassie should want to be a part of her life and has never been able to let go of that desire.

While I first got Bye, Baby as an eARC, I was approved for the audiobook ALC, and boy did this make this engaging story all that more compelling. With three narrators, the story flowed easily from differing perspectives and brought the past and present together in spectacular fashion.

This story of friendship, secrets and very sad childhood trauma had a powerful impact on me as a reader. As a survivor of the trauma that this book contained, the choices both Cassie and Billie made were easy to understand. However, the choices they made at one time in their lives would no doubt have a powerful impact on their lives as adults.

While this latest offering from Carola Lovering did factor in Cassie's missing baby, the story told so much more. In fact, I loved how the women in this book were written. There was not much to love about Cassie, yet you just had to find out what happened. Billie and her story was incredibly sad and many times I wanted to reach through the pages and to give her a hug. Kudos to Ms. Lovering for writing a story that grabbed me from beginning to end.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

This book had me on the edge of my seat!
I’ve heard some people say this isn’t technically a thriller, which in reality maybe it’s not, but I think it is a very different take on a thriller. This certainly isn’t your run of the mill who killed who thriller, but it absolutely has its mystery and dark secrets and I think it is a thriller.
I was definitely thrilled by this book and honestly, couldn’t put it down.
Billie and Cassie were extremely vibrant characters and I love the dual POV, as well as getting to hear their complete back stories. I think it gave a lot of weight to both characters and made me really connect on a deeper level with them.
The whole premise of a baby getting snatched had my jaw dropping and wishing it hadn’t happened. I loved how intricate this story ends up getting and all the tangled webs that are woven throughout.
This was a really fabulous book and I would definitely recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for my arc copy, I am leaving this review on my own.

this book is a RIDE and I loved every twisty turn. I think the thing that stands out most for me was the character development — Billy and Cass felt SO REAL. I related to both of them, their friendship struggles, their changing lives, etc. — in ways that I really wish I didn't LOL.

Bye, Baby was a wild ride. It follows two friends, Billie and Cassie, from the moment they meet at age twelve to years later when Cassie's daughter goes missing but is returned several hours later. The whole relationship and book are messy with a need for a lot of content warning like sexual assault and abortion. I really love/hate when a book makes me root for a villain. Not that anyone in the book was a hero or very likeable except for Jane, Billie's boss. Everyone else was extremely problematic. I wondered how the book would wrap up and I think Lovering does it nicely with the best possible outcome. This was my 2nd read by Lovering and both books were equally demented in plot, lol. If you like a psychotic thriller with problematic characters, check our Bye, Baby.

I was hooked by the first page! I loved seeing how the friendship between Cassie and Billie changed as they aged. I felt a lot of sympathy towards Billie because of all she experienced growing up and her struggles into adulthood. Very well done.

Bye, Baby is such an addictively built, impossible to set down puzzle about the messy dynamics of friendship and what happens when those fragile bonds are tattered by growing up.

I was completely sucked into this story, and I stayed up well into the night to see how the tangle of drama would play out. I absolutely love that the story jumps back and forth between character perspectives, and past and present day, unraveling and revealing bit by bit all the cracks that ever existed in Billie and Cassie's relationship and driving towards what you know will be an explosion if Billie's secrets come to light. The pacing in this one is spot on, and each chapter leaves you salivating for more juicy details.

Carola doesn't shy away from creating characters that are complicated and heavily flawed, and I deeply appreciate how well rounded and honest each character is steeped in those flaws. As a reader you're landed in the midst of rooting for people to get away with bad deeds, and simultaneously rooting for others to fall flat on their too-perfect faces. It is deviously delicious drama that you can't look away from. Reality tv has nothing on these women.

No spoilers, just know that this leans more to character drama with a drizzle of mystery rather than a thriller - but is all the rollercoaster entertainment you could ask for either way.

Definitely one to spice up your spring reading list!

Many thanks to St Martins Press for the copy.

This story began with great promise, capturing my interest with its portrayal of two characters and their intertwined history. The narrative unfolded through a dual point of view and timeline, gradually revealing facets of their friendship as they navigated the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

Despite the engaging setup, neither Cassie nor Billie emerged as likable characters. Cassie, an influencer who shaped her life for online content, appeared overly materialistic and self-centered. Meanwhile, Billie, a travel guide, has a weird fixation on Cassie stemming from a shared trauma bond.

The tension between Cassie's desire to sever ties with her past, including Billie, and Billie's determination to prevent that separation fueled the dramatic core of the book. While I found myself engrossed in the majority of the book, the story lost momentum towards the end and concluded with an anticlimactic resolution. Despite the underwhelming finale, I did find enjoyment in the overall reading experience. Just okay overall!

I was really excited about this book when I got approved for it. I loved her book “TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE” but this was not it for me. The beginning was ok as it was building up the suspense and helping us get to know the characters. I thought Billie was fine but I HATED Cassie- and not in the way I’m sure the author intended. She was the worst person and friend and I was not rotting for her at all. I ended you DNFing this book at 60%. Once I thought something exciting happened it was over and that was it, nothing really happened.

I will say, the narrators of the book were great, but the story itself, not so much.

Bye, Baby

The plot of this novel centers around a missing infant..but it really is about female friendships. Cassie and Billie grew up together but have seemingly grown apart. Cassie is happily married with a new baby, while Billie is focused on her career and her budding relationship with someone she is newly dating. Billie and Cassie are living completely different lives and see each other less and less. Until Cassie's daughter goes missing and Billie is her first call.

What I loved about this novel was that there was a dual timeline. As the present day kidnapping unfolds, we are also sent back to where Billie and Cassie's friendship started..and all the secrets they are keeping. I really thought that although I wouldn't classify this book as a thriller, it had enough drama and suspense of the story that it kept me on the edge of my seat. Lovering did a great job really creating complex characters. Their friendship and backstory was very realistic.

This one is out next week 3/4

I would recommend it if you like dramatic relationships and slow burn mysteries.

4 stars

Talk about a toxic female friendship! Billie and Cassie have been BFFs since Cassie moved to Red Hook at age 12. But they've definitely grown apart and if not for the secret they share, Cassie wouldn't have anything more to do with Billie.
Billie is having a hard time letting go and when Cassie throws herself a 35th birthday party, and doesn't invite Billie, the stakes really ramp up. The story is told from both POVs and timelines going back to the early aughts to now. No one writes a thriller quite like Lovering.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*