I love the way Carola builds up her charcters- the details and personalities are so fun. I like other books of hers better but this was still a fun read. Would be a great book club read. Thanks for the advanced copy!

I had high hopes for this book thinking it was a suspense/thriller. Maybe it was my lack of education about this book prior to reading it so I won’t hold it against the author, but it definitely did affect my reading experience! It reads more like a women’s fiction/slightly suspenseful which was enjoyable at times & highly character driven throughout. This would definitely be a great book club pick because I can see so many good discussions starting from this!
3.5 ⭐️

Lovering has mastered toxic relationships. Nothing will ever live up to Tell Me Lies but in this story we examine the deep rooted desire to be needed. This is shown not only in real life relationships between Cassie and Billie but also related to social media. I really liked this insight from the author.

I kind of keep hoping the author will return with a little suspense so that’s probably a me problem. The story also plays out a little predictable and characters are not exactly likable.

Overall I do think Lovering has a way of portraying very authentic complicated relationships.

very compelling read and i liked it way better than i liked tell me lies. this deals with more friendship based feelings and the trials and tribulations of that. i enjoyed it and was very intrigued.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

I was a little nervous to read this as a mom of a young baby thinking it would scare me, but I'm here to report I was never scared, so if that's your worry, you'll be fine! LOL

This definitely was less of an edge-of-your-seat thriller and more of a slow-burn friendship drama. It revolves around two adult women who have had a (toxic) friendship since they were in highschool. The story is told in present tense and past tense from both of their perspectives. The past tense definitely sucked me in more than the current day drama with it's higher level of intensity!

While it held my attention and kept me entertained, I did find the ending to be a little lackluster. Overall, a good read that I think will be a hit!

3.5 stars

This will be available for purchase on March 5, 2024.

I have seen this one on SO MANY 2024 Anticipated Reads lists and now I know why! I could hardly put this one down and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish it. Cassie and Billie are childhood best friends who have grown apart after college. Cassie’s infant daughter goes missing and Billie is responsible. This is a story about how relationships change and can even become toxic. Even though there are two main characters there were so many storylines to follow, which kept me very engrossed and turning pages. Typically this is too much for me, but @carolatlovering does this so well. Every storyline is pertinent to the overall tale, I can’t imagine deleting any part of it. Grab this when it comes out March 5th! Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this early copy in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up

The whole premise is pretty far fetch and shallow for me. We are clearly dealing with insecure people, but where do we draw the line between insecure and insane? Until what point can our actions be explained by our past and not our conscious decisions?
The book has some very heavy parts, explicit sexual abuse of teens ...

Not my favourite book by Carola Lovering but it was a decent one nevertheless.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read this book!

We all have that one friendship that we thought would last forever. And, we quickly found out, that as we grow, things aren’t always the same. Sometimes we change, sometimes they change, sometimes nothing changes. Cassie and Billie find out how strong their friendship is in this whirlwind book. Some friendships weren’t meant to last a lifetime and others not so much. And, sometimes, we find our way back to each other, both changed but still very much friends. What will be the case for Cassie and Billie??

This book had me guessing the entire time. I was really hooked from the beginning. The author really did a good job of making you have to think about who the good person and bad person was in the story. I swear i was back and forth the entire time. I didn't love the ending though. I felt that it just seemed rushed, oh its figured out and immediately over. I wanted to know more about what happened after and more of where their lives went.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so wild to see the things people will do for their friendship to not be over. I have nothing bad to say about this book!

Overall, this was a fantastic story. While not exactly a thriller, it had very similar vibes as Lovering’s previous book Can’t Look Away. This digs into the nitty gritty of friendship, and how they can change as we grow. The way my allegiances changed so frequently throughout the book did an incredible job of proving how nuanced relationships can be and how complex we are as humans. I truly could not put this book down! I found the ending to be perfectly imperfect, giving a satisfying conclusion while also being realistic.

My only small issue is to do with the cultural references included. Billie and Cassie are written to be 35 years old, graduating high school in 2006. I am exactly the same age, so it was easy to know what was popular and relevant during different times in the book. I can only speak for myself, but Alanis Morissette, Prince, and Working Girl were popular well before I came of age. I feel like these references took me out of the story, because I could think of things that would have fit better.

Due to a recent eye surgery I had, I requested the copy of the audio to review instead of the ebook I originally received. Please see my full review of audio when completed. Thank you

🩶ARC Review🩶

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering
St. Martin's Press
Releases on 5 March 2024
3.5⭐️

First off, thank you, @netgalley and @stmartinspress , for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So, for those who have read this, can we all agree that Cassie is the worst! I mean Billie is no angel, but I'd quicker be friends with her than Cassie.😆
This book definitely was definitely interesting. I was invested in the characters, plot, and storyline. The ending, I thought it was okay. I was expecting a bigger reaction, but the more mellow ending worked out in favor of the characters.

Synopsis ⬇️
On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment, 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams. It's her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell, one floor above, and she's just realized her infant daughter has gone missing. Billie is shaken as she looks down into her own arms to see the baby, remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world.

Once fiercely bonded by their secrets, Cassie and Billie have drifted apart in adulthood, no longer the inseparable pair they used to be in their small Hudson Valley hometown Cassie is married to a wealthy man, has recently become a mother, and is building a following as a lifestyle influencer. She is desperate to leave her past behind—including Billie, who is single and childless, and no longer fits into her world. But Billie knows the worst thing Cassie has ever done, and she will do whatever it takes to restore their friendship…

#netgalley #byebaby #carolalovering #bookstagram #bookreview #readersofinstagram #bookreviewsofinstagram #mysteryandthriller #stmartinspress
#macmillanpublishers

Wow!!! I can't believe that I left this book on my TBR as long as I did. This thrilling novel just pulled me in and Lovering did a great job with this multi-POV story. Billie and Cassie's friend was great but also toxic. You know from the first chapter what is going to happen, but in the end, I kept hoping that it would not happen that way. There are lots of twists, discoveries in female friendship, and highlights of the rich lifestyle. The second half of the story is very juicy in things happening after we get to know the two FMC's. This was such a good read!

This is my first novel by Carola Lovering and I enjoyed her writing style. It was not overly heavy in description, but the dialogue was real and captivating.

Most anyone can relate to the friendship of Billie and Cassie, especially if you grew up together and then grew apart. I felt for Billie's character throughout the entire story as she tried to navigate a world without her best friend among dealing with trauma. Without giving too much away, I think Lovering does a great job of making me dislike Cassie, but understand and see her motivations for everything (even if I don't agree with 99% of them); same goes for Billie.

While I don't think this novel should fit into the thriller genre, it does well to keep the reader engaged in what may happen, even if the resolution may feel a little flat.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will definitely check out Lovering's other works.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

Bye, Baby
A Novel
by Carola Lovering

I’m so excited to read another domestic thriller from Carola Lovering - she is a master of writing unlikable characters, and BYRR, BABY is full of it. I thought the writing was propulsive, and I really wanted to know what happened happened so it kept me turning those pages. I found the read, exciting and thrilling. I really enjoyed this one.

Billie hears her lifelong friend Cassie screaming from the apartment above her. When Billie looks down, she realizes that she’s holding Cassie’s four month old baby in her arms – she remembers she took her.

Cassie and Billie are bonded by secrets that occurred during their teenage years. As they hit adulthood they drifted apart. Cassie is married to a wealthy man, and Billie travels the world for her job. While they don’t really fit together anymore, it’s not what Billie wants, and she wants to go back to how close they used to be.

This was an interesting story of friendship. Cassie and Billie were childhood friends, but they grew apart because they wanted different things out of life. Despite Cassie being pretty insufferable, I kind of knew where she was coming from. Yes, she used people to get ahead, she deep down had a fear of being without and struggling. I also related to what it is like to have a baby and drift apart from friends that don’t have babies. So, while I don’t condone her behavior, I guess I did understand her fears. Now Billie, I also understand her character. She acted out of desperation to lose her friend. To Billie, Cassie was her everything, but sadly the same wasn’t true for Cassie. Billie’s back story was absolutely gut wrenching and part of it hit so close to home for me that I struggled with it, but it is such a great story.

This is one of those stories full of unlikeable characters, but you can understand why they’re unlikeable.

Thank you so much to St. Martins Press @stmartinspress and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Bye, Baby ~ Carola Lovering

Best friends Cassie and Billie have drifted apart in adulthood as husbands, babies, and new friends come into the mix. An impulsive decision surreptitiously brings the friends together again while threatening to end them all at the same time.

After Tell Me Lies, I will quite literally read whatever Lovering writes, even if it appeared on the back of a cereal box. This was significantly more multi-dimensional than I thought it was going to be and I appreciated the depth and complexity that developed like peeling back the layers of an onion. Couldn’t put it down! Hits the shelves March 6th, but you can read Lovering’s backlist while you wait!

2stars⚝

Billie and Cassie have been best friends since they were kids. But ever since Cassie's daughter, Ella, was born, they've grown apart. Everything changes on the night of Cassie's thirty-fifth birthday party when Ella goes missing from Cassie's apartment. In a desperate plea for help, Cassie reaches out to Billie. Despite their estrangement, Billie is determined to mend their friendship and assist Cassie, even though revealing the truth about what happened to Ella could risk their bond forever.

"Bye, Baby" ended up leaning more towards women's fiction rather than being the mystery thriller I was hoping for. Billie being the more likable character somewhat and Cassie just being terrible. Their relationship touches on relatable aspects like friendship breakups. I think it could have been trimmed down as the last 100 pages weren't necessary.

Thank you Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for a ARC.

Definitely addictive storyline. I enjoyed the past and present and format of the audio and kindle version. I wanted to see what would happen and how it would all came together. Great story to start 2024!!

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for my e arc copy in exchange for my honest review.