WOW ,.... is all i can say.. I get in the moods where I just want a good thirller and this one was it !

I just reviewed Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering. #NetGalley
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I have enjoyed Eve dry thing I have read by Lovering this far. Gripping and fast paced, these would be great to take on a trip

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering
Pub date: March 5, 2024
Narrated by: Karissa Vacker & Helen Laser
Duration: 11H 24M

Billie is 35 years old, fairly comfortable in her profession and not so comfortably single. Her once best friend Cassie is living the dream; married to a wealthy man, a new baby and a whole new set of perfect shiny friends. Billie feels put on the back burner and somehow, just not fitting in to Cassie’s new life – instead, she obsessively watches Cassie’s Instagram to see what she’s up to and who she’s hanging out with. This leads to nowhere good for Billie until one night after just one more slight from Cassie, she finds herself with Cassie’s baby.

Told by both women in the past and the present, it offers a perfectly blended narrative; giving the reader a good idea of how the women got to where they are. The trauma of friendship that ends or becomes toxic is perfectly illustrated in gritty detail along with the painful drama of gossip and mean girl behavior.

While there’s a lot of gossip and drama in Bye, Baby, it’s not without a more serious focus on sexual abuse, dementia, grief and loss. I think these issues were handled beautifully by the author while still shining a light on their grim reality. My own husband has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s in May and it means something to see it represented accurately. Another focus is the influencer life – the onscreen perfection and then the gritty reality. Again, I think there’s a lot more depth than I can cover in my review without giving a lot of the plot away but I’d urge any fan of Carola Lovering or the above genres to read this one!

Narration: Karissa Vacker and Helen Laser hit this one out of the park. Both complimenting the other and moving this story forward beautifully. Well done, ladies, and bravo!

My thanks to both @MacMillan.Audio and @StMartinsPress for these gifted copies to review!

I liked this one a lot! Very fast paced, only took me a day or two, and found myself connecting with the main characters. Would reco to friends.

After reading 25 books in 2023, this one was in my top 5. I keep coming back to it in my head as a favourite. Well written, highly developed characters, and relatable, eerie plot line. For that reason, I'm changing my review from a 4 to a 5 star.

The beginning and ending of a childhood friendship, childhood trauma that leads to childhood secrets. Forgiveness and a mother love mixed with a little bit of social media addiction. This was a great book! I read it within a day and can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Billie and Cassie have been friends since they met in high school..They were always there for each other in the good and bad times. Billie had a tough life at home and when her mom develops early Alzheimers things get much more difficult at home with Billie and her deadbeat stepfather. On a night when Billie needs Cassie more than ever, she steps up and together the girls will keep a secret for the rest of their lives. As the girls continue to move on Cassie gets married to a wealthy socialite and has a baby. Cassie's life is much more different than it was back in her high school days and as she continues to make friends with the elite crowd the more and more Billie is pushed out of Cassie's life. Then one night Billie hears the gut wrenching screams coming from Cassie's apartment and the only person Cassie wants to see during this horrible ordeal is Billie.....Enjoy!!!

I could not put this down. If you’ve read (and devoured) Tell Me Lies, gear up for the toxic friendship version. Two friends grow apart and become very different women in their mid thirties in NYC - their paths are defined by those around them, and their circles have also taken wildly different forms from the time they became friends as young teens. Lovering explores a number of issues including sexual abuse, motherhood, classism, Alzheimer’s disease, and more, which felt heavy at times but drove the severity of the narrative forward. This book will be on my mind for a long time…

I definitely wouldn’t consider this in the “mystery / thriller” genre - best way to describe the writing style is contemporary fiction or “soft mystery” if that makes sense lol

Billie and Cassie are bffs who have drifted apart in their early 20s. A classic tale of ditching the hometown childhood friend for a more “prominent / exclusive ” crowd. Billie, the obsessive friend is willing to do anything to get Cassie back in her life.

This was a good story - not great. Just one of those reads to keep you occupied until something better comes along.

This is my second book by Carola Lovering and by now, I know that no matter what the marketing says, I should suspect going in that it’s not going to be a thriller. Bye, Baby unfolds as a work of women's fiction delving into themes of motherhood, friendship, loneliness, and the intriguing landscape of influencer culture.

The narrative revolves around Billie and Cassie, inseparable since they were twelve, their bond forged by past traumas. Fast forward to their thirties, with them both now residing in New York City, yet a growing divide separates them. Billie, engrossed in a jet-setting job and a budding romance, finds herself resenting the void left by Cassie’s friendship. Meanwhile, Cassie, now a married mother and social media influencer, navigates her newfound wealth, leaving little room for their once-unbreakable connection. Billie's resentment fuels a series of regrettable decisions, exposing the toxicity inherent in their trauma-bonded relationship.

Lovering does a fantastic job crafting two intricately flawed and complex characters. Despite Billie's questionable choices, I found myself relating to her and empathizing with her character. I particularly appreciated the portrayal of a childfree character in Billie, whocomes to accept and embrace her choice. As a childfree woman in my thirties, I resonated with Billie's struggle when her closest friendship changes following Cassie's marriage and motherhood. The exploration of non-traditional life paths adds depth to the narrative, portraying the difficulty of adjusting when a lifelong friend takes a different route than the one you’ve chosen for yourself.

Bye, Baby emerges as a compelling character-driven novel, offering an intense exploration of the complexities within friendships, especially longstanding ones. While the central plot-point may feel a little out there, the underlying themes and characters will resonate with most women. Lovering skillfully captures the intricate dynamics that women often navigate in their relationships, making the novel relatable to a broad audience.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Bye, Baby tells the store of a toxic friendship between Billie and Cassie. They grew up together but have since grown apart, as Cassie’s budding family, new friends, and influencer lifestyle keeps her occupied. However, they share a traumatic event in the past that keeps them together, especially when things go wrong for Cassie.

I’m not sure I would categorize this as a mystery/thriller, but it was full of suspense and I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen. I really like the dual timelines and POVs. While I mostly sided with Billie, there were times I truly disliked her character and leaned more towards Cassie.

I liked the backstory about Billie and the relationship with her mom and her mom’s illness, and wish more time had been spent on that.

I both read and listened to the audiobook, and thought the audiobook narrators were fantastic.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.

I was so excited to read this and it didn’t disappoint. The gripped me from the start. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This novel was a whole roller coaster. Some WTF moments. Some moments where you're rooting for the main character and other times when you want to shake her. This story kept me entertained and wanting to finish quickly to find out what happened. Overall definitely recommend,

This book was not exactly what I expected. It’s a psychological thriller, the story of Billie, and her childhood best friend, Cassie, told in alternating POVs between the two. Cassie was always there for Billie as she dealt with her mother's early Alzheimer's diagnosis and sexual advances by her skeezy stepfather. Cassie retreated as they became adults and Billie became obsessed with keeping them close. Neither character is portrayed as particularly loveable.

I both read and listened to Bye, Baby and I recommend either format, but I lean toward the audio. Narration by Helen Laser and Karissa Vacker really drew me into the story. 4⭐️


Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Macmillan Audio for this complimentary ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It is difficult for one friend, when the other friend moves on without them. What if that one friend can’t let go? This was such a story, and it will leave you thinking about all aspects of friendship.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A twisted look into friendship and the changing of two people, Bye Baby is something that’s going to sit uncomfortably with me for awhile. It’s not often I read a book where it feels like no character is likable but that’s the point of this story. I kept finding myself searching for things to like and to relate to but in honesty the characters in this book are two women I’d never want to be around.
This is one I’m going to be sitting with for awhile. I loved how the chapters alternated viewpoints and that it happened over a brief period of current day time.
Thank you so much to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy!

Friendships come and go as we get older. Friends we had from Kindergarten on into adulthood are so rare and something to hold onto. But at what price? This is the premise around Lovering’s newest novel Bye, Baby.
Cassie, a up-and-coming influencer in NYC has it all: multiple vacation homes, a large following on social media, a rich und successful husband, and a beautiful daughter.
Billy, her childhood best friend, seems to be lagging behind in several of these departments (though she has been quite successful herself), and finds herself watching her friends life from the sidelines.

One night, Cassie’s daughter goes missing and Billie finds herself in a sticky situation when it is her presence that Cassie requests.

Lovering explores the depths of friendship and how hard it is to see someone live their life without being an active part in it so hauntingly. The novel is suspenseful and well written, I got sucked into the story right away. The ending does fall flat a little bit for me, but I like my thrillers with an extra twist at the end.
The characters are all unlikeable, but this does not take away from the book at all. On the contrary, it made me root for them all to get what they deserve.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC!

Carola Lovering is a fantastic writer. Absolutely pulls the reader into her world while also moving the story along. Will definitely recommend any of her books.

4.5 stars
This book was so much fun. Terrific thriller that I could not put down. I finished the entire book in less than a day. It was SO well-crafted and well-written. Do not miss this one.
I will definitely be recommending this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book and the multiple point of views and the telling of the present and the past. This was hard for me to put down and I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others.

𝐁𝐲𝐞, 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲
𝐁𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐚 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐒𝐭. 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟑.𝟓.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑆𝑜𝑜𝑛!

I’m not sure I would put this one in the thriller category. While it was suspenseful, it’s more about the dynamics of a female friendship wrought with trauma, toxicity, and poor decisions.

Billie and Cassie were the best of friends in their youth. While Billie was suffering at home, Cassie was the one who was looking for attention or needed it, and she usually got it. But after an incident occurs, the two friends are bonded by secrets, secrets that will eventually tear them apart.

As an adult, Cassie has married a wealthy man and is a recent mother. She is also a “lifestyle influencer.” She moves in different circles than Billie, who is single and childless, plus Billie reminds her too much of the past. Meanwhile, Billie desperately wants to try to restore their friendship. But Billie takes it too far when she hears Cassie’s baby crying.

I did not care for Cassie; I found her self-centered and haughty. Billie had been through a lot. I kept hoping she would just move on from Cassie, but the painful memories that bound them made her rejection all the more painful.

The narrative also discusses the lasting effects of trauma, the choice of a woman to be childless, and how secrets have a way of doing damage.

A few trigger warnings for sexual abuse, but otherwise, the story is well-paced and I felt this friendship, though toxic, became quite addicting.

Thank you @stmartinspress for the gifted ebook.

Thank you @macmillan.audio for a gifted audiobook.