What did I just read? Carola Lovering is now an auto buy author for me, I don't care what it is.

Thanks to Negalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review in advance

As usual, Carola Lovering does not let me down. Her new book about a best friend who feels left behind is a high-wire act of a tense thriller.
Billie West seems like an intelligent, friendly young woman who thrives at her job as a travel agent. She’s a bit miffed that her best friend since childhood, Cassie Barnwell, has left her behind as Cassie becomes a famous influencer. Not only has Cassie left her behind, she intentionally rubs Billie’s face in it. As Billie reminisces about the close friendship the two young girls had, and the one terrible secret she keeps for Cassie, she slowly becomes more and more agitated. Her behavior becomes creepy, stalker-type, unstable. Then, in a moment of weakness, Billie takes the one thing that will knock Miss Cassie to her knees. She steals Cassie’s baby.
Billie is now needed by Cassie, and stays by her side as Cassie recovers from the horror. The tension grows, the Psycho knife theme plays, and I can’t turn the pages fast enough. This is a train wreck that can’t end well. But leave it to Carola to write a final chapter that no one will see coming. Definitely a must-read for mystery & thriller readers.
Thanks so much to St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is March 5, 2024.

Carola Lovering is back again baby!! This was such a grounded story and honestly one of my favourite aspects of this book. So often in thrillers, I find things quickly get nonsensical and fantastical in what’s supposed to be a grounded story for the sake of “the twist.” And Bye, Baby doesn’t commit this foul at all and stays completed grounded in reality the entire. There’s no giant twist, there’s no step sister twice removed that happens to look exactly like the main character waiting to pop out at us in surprise. And I’m so relieved for it.

We are focused on two different women and the lives they lead in growing together as people and what happens when adulthood starts separating them. Sometimes people truly just grow apart and that’s okay but it doesn’t discount the feelings left behind. And this tackles that feeling of insecurity and being in limbo and turns this drama into a thriller. It gave me anxiety in ways that some other thrillers haven’t because it just felt so REAL. What happens when you’re rooting for both characters and don’t want to see either of them fumble??

Overall this was a great thriller that had me reading about 40% in each sitting, so I went through it quick. The only reason this isn’t rated higher is purely due to my other personal preferences and needing to feel really moved by a book to give it that high of a rating. But as a thriller, in doing what it does, it succeeds in every way, I’d say this is a 5 star thriller and should be treated as such.

I enjoyed the multiple POV and past/present timeline. The plot had plenty of suspense and I finished the book in 1 day! The influencer portion of the plot was boring, though.

Cassie and Billie have been best friends since childhood, but grow apart in their adult lives. However, Billie can't let go of the one sided toxic friendship due to their history and one big secret that keeps her from fully losing touch. At first I was annoyed about the extraordinary lengths Billie goes to maintain the friendship, but this unfolds in the story.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first book I've read by Carola Lovering. While I didn't love it, it was entertaining enough and a very quick read, thanks to the dual POV's and timelines. I didn't find either of the main characters very likeable, but I was interested enough to keep reading to find out what happens to this baby that has gone missing. Ultimately, this is a story about a toxic friendship, and was a little like watching a train wreck (not that I've ever seen a train wreck).
The writing was good and I will definitely try her previous and future work. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital copy.

𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘.....

Special thanks to @netgalley @carolatlovering and @stmartinspress for the #gifted ARC.

👉🏼 swipe for synopsis ➡️

MY REVIEW::
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

✨️spoiler review✨️

This was more of a domestic suspense than a "mystery/thriller" for me. It was good, though. I went in blind (like usual) and wasn't disappointed.
It's a different story than I'd normally go after, but the drama had me wanting more throughout the book, which made this an easy read.

Billie and Cassie were the best of friends - through the good and bad times - 'til they weren't. And for some reason .... Billie just couldn't let that go. Cassie has moved on , clearly by all her Insta posts, but Billie was always glued to her phone wondering when Cassie would call her?!

Then one night, Cassie's birthday of all nights, Billie finds out she isn't invited - how dare her best friend! One thing leads to another, and she's taken the baby!!!!!

As the story goes on, the tension grows because Cassie magically wants Billie back in her life. But, will Billie tell her her secret, or keep it like they kept their childhood dark secret between just them?

I found myself relating to Billie in more ways than one, and sometimes it made me upset because I think she deserved better and should have walked away long before this night ever happened. I've experienced this type of "friendship" and it's not great. Toxic would be the word. I never wish that on any human. I mean, cmon - we👏🏼 should 👏🏼be 👏🏼better 👏🏼than 👏🏼that👏🏼!

Anyways - I'll get off my soap box 🤭
Preorder this book! You won't be disappointed!

Pub Date:
Mar 5, 2024

QOTD❓️⁉️❓️ Have you ever been in a toxic friendship? Are you still in it, or did you get out?

.
.
.

#thrillerbooks #suspensethriller #thrillerreader #thrillerlover #thrillerobsessed #bookrecs #bookreview #bookstagram #bookaholic #booklover #bookstagrammer #booklove #bookobsessed #bookworm #booksbooksbooks #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookish #bookishfeatures #tbr #tbrpile #bookbuzz #mysteryandthrills #thrillerbooklovers #thrillerfriendsunite #byebaby #carolalovering #netgalley
.

I was already intrigued by the blurb, but when I saw that Bye, Baby was on the Goodreads list for most anticipated books of 2024, I just had to read it immediately!

While it is technically a Mystery/Thriller, Bye Baby feels like more of a psychological thriller or a character study of sorts. There's no "ticking clock" so to speak, but more of a slow unraveling of each of the characters motivations, flaws and desires. The characters are interesting, unique and I was extremely invested in their stories. The writing makes you want more, more and more - I read the entire book in a single day because I just couldn't put it down!

The way the story unfolded was quite refreshing and I'm definitely interested in checking out more books by Carola Lovering. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

BYE, BABY
Pub date: 3/5/24

Thank you @smartinpress for this ARC!

What a quick and fun read! I'd say this was a blend of suspense and character study. A great fit for me when looking for a book to fly through.

Lovering plunges us into a toxic and obsessive friendship. A friendship that has drifted between two besties as their lives have taken them in different directions. The only thing holding them together is a dark secret they share. Mix in motherhood, social media, and a missing baby, and you've got yourself a bingeable read!

Stars 4/5

Although classified as a thriller, this is not a thriller. It’s definitely character driven and a dive into friendship, grief, sexual abuse and growing up. It kept me hooked and wanting to know what was going to happen. The dual POVs and timeline jumps kept the story moving at a good pace. I’d be interested in reading more from this author.

I really enjoyed this domestic thriller/suspense from Carola Lovering. Even then we knew what the crime was and who did there was so much suspense leading up to the initial incident and then dealing with what comes after. This was really well written and loved the dual POV and seeing how different each character perceived their relationship with each other. Giving Bye, Baby 4 stars and would for sure recommend. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when you grow apart from your best friend … when life takes you in two different directions, and that person no longer makes a space for you in their world?

For Billie, that has led to THIS moment: looking down at her ex-best friend Cassie’s sweet baby Ella sleeping in her arms as she listens to Cassie’s frantic screams from one floor above her. How did it come to this?

Talk about a beginning! From here the story rewinds a bit, with chapters jumping between past and present.

Billie and Cassie met in seventh grade and were inseparable through young adulthood. Now in their mid-thirties, Cassie is living the dream-life she always aspired to: a wealthy, well-pedigreed husband, multiple homes, a new baby, a curated clothing boutique that bears her name, a squad of moneyed mommy friends and thousands of followers who savor her every move as an Instagram lifestyle influencer. Billie, on the other hand, is single, childless by choice, and working as a luxury travel consultant. She has a nice home, a new relationship with a cop named Alex and her own small circle of down-to-earth good friends. What she REALLY wants, though, is her best friend back. Unfortunately, Cassie is making it clearer by the day that she doesn’t want HER.

So back to the beginning … why does Billie have Cassie’s baby and where does the story go from there? Let me just say the path to those answers is a fascinating read!

I will warn that those looking for a mystery or thriller are NOT going to find that here. Honestly, it reads more like relational drama with a splash of suspense. The story is narrated by Cassie and Billie, which was nice because, despite their character flaws (and they both had plenty!), I could see the complexity of their relationship from both POVs and understand their feelings, even if I often didn’t agree with them.

All things said, this was a fun read that had me feeling the range of emotions and wanting the best for everyone by the end!

★★★★

Cassie and Billie were inseparable as teenagers, hanging out all the time, talking in code, sharing secrets, and always having each other’s backs no matter what. But Cassie always wanted more than their small town offered. Her family had to leave NYC when her dad lost all of their money, and she was determined to find her way back to the city and on top no matter who she stepped over or on to get there.

Despite some setbacks, both women find their way to the Big Apple and work to reinvent themselves. Cassie ever the social climber finds herself a trust fund baby to marry and quickly leaves Billie in the dust. In her new world, with her boutique bankrolled by her husband and her social media groupies following her every move, nothing can go wrong…right? Billie, carrying around some serious trauma, struggles to move forward with her life without Cassie in it. With the help of her boss and a new guy in her life, Billie tries to find a way in the world without her old friend, but one rash decision might bring her glass castle tumbling down.

Bye, Baby starts out with a bang, grabbing the reader’s attention, and slowly flashes back, building to the moment both Cassie and Billie’s lives change forever. Alternating between the two best friend’s perspectives, we see how one became obsessed with her social media persona and the other felt a debt of gratitude and an inability to let go. The novel reads less like a psychological thriller, and more like women’s fiction as we learn about each woman’s approach to friendship, family, career choices, and motherhood. Trigger warning: there is a sexual abuse by an authoritative figure that is pretty hard to read.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author Carola Lovering for the advanced copy of the book. Bye, Baby is out on March 5th. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley,publisher and author for this arc. Poor Billie what a life she had, Cassie just had no clue of her wrong doings in anything, only worried about about herself. Cassie was written in such a way that no matter how she made you, you always wanted her to be happy still. Is there not a little in everyone. Such a good read!!!

This starts out with a bang, a baby has gone missing!!

Meet Cassie and Billie, friends from childhood bonded by trauma and secrets. As the years have gone by, they have started to drift apart. Cassie is a wealthy influencer focused on family and status, Billie an unmarried travel consultant, obsessed with the old version of Cassie. To what lengths will one go to in desperation?? I don’t want to give much away, think toxic manipulative friendships.

There was a little bit of suspense and tension, but I wouldn’t call this a thriller primarily, there isn’t much mystery either. The elements of drama (toxic) and women’s fiction were more prevalent than any mystery aspect. I could not sympathize with any of the characters, they were each unlikable in their own way. Every character at some point or other made me shake my head in frustration! I went into this one thinking it would be more of a faster paced read, which it was not and that left me feeling slightly disappointed. Ultimately, it was an entertaining read, that kept me turning the pages. This is perfect for readers looking to escape into a toxic friendship, with superficial drama and unlikeable characters, entertaining for sure!!

There are a few TW, check them out if you are sensitive to them.

Thank-you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

I absolutely LOVED Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering, and I feel like Bye, Baby was written in the same vein. Billie and Cassie have been best friends forever, since growing up together in less-than-glamorous Red Hook. But now that Cassie's life has become Instagram perfect, Billie no longer fits into her upper crust social circle. Billie, harboring understandable resentment for being kicked out of her BFF"s life (and wedding) still knows all about Cassie's every move, thanks to her social media stalking habit. When Cassie's infant baby goes missing off of her Upper East Side terrace, Cassie only wants one person by her side....Billie, Bye, Baby unwinds the dark past and trauma bond that Cassie and Billie share and tests the limits of loyalty. I found this novel to be engrossing, and was totally caught up in the toxic relationship between Cassie and Billie. Lovering does a magnificent job exploring millennial relationships, the pressures of being an "it girl," and what happens when we outgrow our childhood friendships.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

I liked the thriller aspect of this book but also loved the tale of friendship and motherhood! There is a really good hook to what Billie is doing with Cassie’s kid and that got me not able to put it down!! I love a duel POV because I like to see the thoughts happening from two different people! Not my favorite but would recommend because I love Carola!

This isn't a triller, but it's written like one. What I mean to say is, it's full of tension and it leans towards the dark moments of friendship, those moments when you expose yourself maybe a little more than you mean to. There's a desperation from each side of the friendship to pull the other closer when things are rocky and push them away when times are good. From beginning to end, it's a haunting breakdown of a friendship where as a reader you wonder where the fractures began or if they were always there.

This is a book that turned a great friendship into hopelessness.

They were two best friends for years. And then, the connection between Billie and Cassie changed. Why? Because they were so different in many ways. Yet, Billie didn't want to let go and that’s what went wrong.

Cassie had toxic traits: manipulative, unkind in many ways and totally self-absorbed. Billie was a follower and they both needed a good therapist. Sadly, Billie’s mother had Alzheimer’s, her stepfather was sexually abusive and Cassie turned into a superficial, maddening friend. Cassie was a gold-digger and image was important to her. Many of us know someone like her.

I enjoy the way Carola Lovering writes. She makes the words flow and sets the tone for a good dialogue. Yet, this plot was disturbing with unlikeable characters. It makes you want to get to the end quickly in hopes that something will change. It’s certainly a story that would appeal to those that love reading about complicated families and friendships.

My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of March 5, 2024.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering explores all the wonder and dysfunction of female friendship. How likely are you to remain close with your childhood best friend if your choices take you on different paths? What if you share a traumatic secret? Will that ensure a lifetime of loyalty? Bye, Baby explores what happens to a couple of girlfriends as they grow up and grow apart, and the desperate, insane things one of them will do to try to rekindle their friendship. It's a fascinating look at female friendship and growing up, and a reminder that all that glitters isn't necessarily gold. It also delves deeply into the world of social media influencing, and the toll it takes on someone's life to always be struggling to please and entertain thousands of strangers online.

Totally ADDICTIVE! This is not a fast paced, heart pounding thriller but it is jam packed with suspense and juiciness that you won't put it down. This is a great tale of female friendship - genuine turned toxic with a secret to be taken to the grave.

I loved this so much. I enjoyed the past and present friendship, the money and the social media aspect. I hated Cassie, well, the new Cassie but still could not imagine losing my child. BIllie was a great character, flawed but human.

Thank you so much for this ARC!