This book starts push-pounding and unputdownable. There are some very graphic and triggering content in this novel. Why has Billie and Cassie drifted apart after such a close and inseparable bond? I wanted to figure it out...then, I didn't. I would say the last half dragged on: didn't have the emotional pull the first half did. Also, some plot points just wrapped up to neatly.

I really liked this one. I went in blind which really added to the experience in my opinion.

This one is dual POV and dual timeline. I don't want to say much about the plot besides it follows two best friends who have grown apart.

My only complaint is that some parts felt a little long. In reality not that much happens but I still found myself eager to keep reading and thinking about the characters. There is some relatable stuff around social media and mom culture.

Carola Lovering is an auto buy author for me. BYE, BABY was a fun, quick read about two lifelong friends, whose adult lives have gone in different directions. One of them holds onto the friendship, while the other put in little effort. I felt this! It was relatable in that friendships fracture and friendships can be a lot of work.

I enjoyed juxtaposition of Billie and Cassie. If they met as adults, I don’t think they would have much in common, but I felt sorry for Billie, who was keen to keep the friendship alive, even when it was painfully obvious that it was one sided efforts. I didn’t care for how Billie was portrayed as desperate, weak, with nothing going on in life. I thought she had a great career, and that should’ve been enough. Personally, I don’t think Cassie deserved her.

I loved this book! It might be my new favorite of Carola Lovering's. I picked it up on a whim way before the publishing date, and couldn't put it down. It follows two best friends in New York: Cassie, who went the route of getting married and having a baby, and Billie, who is still struggling to find her footing in her career. They have a toxic codependent relationship, and as you read the novel the truth behind their relationship slowly unravels.

In a departure from her usual thriller style, Lovering's latest novel comes across more as women's fiction. The story gripped me from the start as Cassie suffers the trauma of her baby's abduction, shockingly witnessed by her estranged friend Billie, who turns out to be the kidnapper. This gripping premise captivates with questions about motives and the underlying reasons driving Billie's actions.

The narrative skillfully weaves between past and present, unveiling the evolution of their friendship and exploring their current lives. Billie, leading a glamorous yet lonely lifestyle, fixates on Cassie, while Cassie's newfound fame as a social media influencer strains their bond. Tensions escalate, leading to a confrontation that forces them to confront their shared history and personal struggles. Despite some frustrations with certain characters, the book remains engaging, offering a profound exploration of female friendships in the bustling backdrop of New York,

WOW this book was SO good!! This story follows the friendship between Billie and Cassie, bouncing between past and present. We see their friendship from the start at 12 yrs old and how it grows through the years to present day (mid-30’s). I think everyone has a friendship with someone that has changed in some ways - whether it be from growing apart, relationships, other friendships etc. I found that this made it very relatable. I was SUPER invested and couldn’t put it down. I do think it’s worth mentioning that this isn’t quite a thriller BUT 1000% worth the read!! This is my first book by this author and I look forward to checking out her other work.

THANK YOU to the author, Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Grab your copy of Bye, Baby on 3/5/2024 :)

This book’s synopsis is definitely what pulled me in. How and why did a woman kidnap her friend’s baby?! How could she listen to her friend’s wails, knowing she’s the one responsible for the pain? The kidnapping part was great, but it’s actually not a large part of the book - it’s the thing that makes you want to read the book. When you do start to read, you get this fantastic story of two friends.

Our characters are written quite well. Cassie is complex and slightly needy. She’s a gorgeous influencer who is (obviously) very insecure. She spent twenty years working her way back into high society, and now has a clothing store that her husband sees as a hobby. She also has a new baby, a phenomenal home, and plenty of followers who want to know her every move.

Billie is the opposite of Cassie. She is a luxury travel agent, she’s single and childless (and prefers it that way) and she doesn’t care for Cassie’s new lifestyle and friends. These two women have been in each other’s lives for over twenty years, but they slowly drifted apart as their priorities shifted. There is one thing that will always bind them together, and as the book begins, we find them tentatively seeing if they can still be friendly despite their differences.

This whole story was great, right from the beginning. It does belong in the mystery/thriller genre, but I would also place this in women’s fiction. By and large this book is about a friendship, and how that relationship has evolved over the years. How did they go from inseparable high school students to women who could hurt each other so badly? You’ll find out, and it’s really good. I couldn’t decide between four or five stars on this one, so I’m going with 4.5, because these aren’t characters that I’ll forget anytime soon!

(Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Carola Lovering and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on March 5, 2024.)

This story immediately hooked me and I liked following the friendship of Billie and Cassie. The backstory and the dark secret they kept together was a good twist but the ending for me was a bust. I don’t like when things end in a nice neat bow like this and I think there should have been once last dark twist. That would have made all the difference for me. I liked the alternating points of view. Elements of this thriller worked for me but overall it missed the mark largely due to the ending.

Goodreads has this as a thriller but it is certainly not a thriller. A small bit of suspense but overall I’d call this a drama. Both characters were very much people you know in real life that you don’t really like all that much lol. I enjoyed the story but I do wish we got to know the results of billie’s genetic testing to see if she had the Alzheimer’s gene?? If it was in there I totally missed it but I was curious to know and that could have explained away her action as to why she took the baby.

This one was just okay for me. It did not immediately hook me but I am glad I picked it up. I would like to pick it up again at another time to see if I like it more.

This was friendship focused and I enjoyed it! So much drama so much betrayal and so much backstory!!

It started off with a bang which was exciting and hooked you immediately. The friendship between Billie and Cassie was OFF. I wanted it to get darker though 😂

But we all have or have been in friendships that is very much codependent or a little off. I loved learning the backstory between these two and why things were the way they were now!

Billie creeped me out but I also felt for her too. I thought she was surprisingly likable. Cassie wasn’t nearly as likable to me. She was very full of herself and was very 2 faced. The influencer plot was interesting 😂 Kind of funny and odd but with our current culture, makes sense! I think that was written well and accurately.

I wanted the ending to be darker, I feel like it wrapped up a little too nicely where I was wanting more of a darker ending after reading all of this. Overall I enjoyed it!

Another book, another story about complicated female friendships… it never gets old.

Cassie and Billie used to be best friends, but their relationship has cooled down in recent years. When Cassie has a baby, Billie just wants to be there for her - but Cassie can’t imagine anything worse. One day, Billie finds Cassie’s daughter crying, alone, and decided to save her - and salvage her relationship with Cassie. But things quickly spiral out of control, and Billie realizes that is only a matter of time before everything blows up… and Cassie’s friendship might be worth it.

Bye, Baby is fast-paced and keeps you reading, with characters that are somehow relatable, even as they make unthinkable decisions. Definitely worth a read.

Cassie & Billie are the best of friends who have endured many challenges through the years. Their history ties them together despite their vastly different social circles and life experiences. The story is drought with tension and suspense as we learn about their history and how they are bound together. I highly recommend this book to someone looking for a strong story.

Bye, Baby was the first novel I have read by Carola Lovering. I enjoyed the story of friendship and how the friendship changed over the years. I felt as though this was more of a book about friendship than a thriller. If I went into the mindset of it being a fiction novel, I think I would have enjoyed it more. During the whole story was waiting for something to happen and it never did. I will give Carola's writing another shot because I did enjoy her writing style and she wrote very relatable characters.

This was so good. The dirty dancing theme the toxic female friendship it was sooo good this is an auto read author for me now.

I couldn't put this book down -- it was a page turner and the short chapters made it go so quickly.

Bye, Baby is told in alternating chapters between Billie and Cassie, both in present day and when they were teenagers and in their 20s. Now they are in their mid-30s, and have grown apart for reasons not initially known to the reader. Cassie has a new baby and is an Instagram influencer, and Billie has a hard time relating to Cassie's lifestyle.

This isn't exactly a thriller, but I found the whole book so creepy and unsettling. Both Cassie and Billie are fairly unlikeable, but I didn't mind spending time with either of them anyhow.

I love reading anything set in New York, and I love reading books about parents of young kids -- so I really enjoyed all those aspects of the book. I thought all of the portrayals of influencer culture were also very interesting, as I definitely know Cassie's type on Instagram.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting a fast-paced look at a friendship and two complex characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I liked this book. It was a little crazy and kind of like watching a train wreck. But it was entertaining. I liked Billie and felt like she was believable. I didn’t feel the same way towards Cassie though. And was it just me or was she doing an awful lot of drinking alcohol and coffee for someone actively breastfeeding?

Thank you to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

This one you follow the missing baby. Billie has been best friends for Cassie since she was younger, and they used to be inseparable. Until Cassie marries and she’s in a new tax bracket. But one day Cassie’s baby goes missing, and the only person she can think of to make it better is Billie. But who took the baby? I guess you’ll have to read and find out.

If you like suspense this book is for you. You get the multi pov and it’s just shocking to see the inside of everyone’s head while this tragic thing happens to Cassie.

I’m a little upset with myself that I took too long to read this, because once I hit download I literally couldn’t put it down. I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out when everything would crack and break and explode! I give this one a 4/5.

Grab it today!

This is listed as a thriller. Unfortunately, I didn't find that to be the case. The writing is "meh," and nothing about it was really unique or something that will stick with me after the final page. There is definitely some behavior in the story that stuck out as odd that it wasn't questioned by authorities, etc. I did enjoy the multiple POVs, but the characters, as a whole, were annoying and hard to root for. The book is more of a story of friendship than a thriller. I kept waiting for something big to happen, but that wasn't the case.

Bye Baby starts off with a baby being taken from a terrace and from there the pace never slows down! While not much is actually happening the entire story, I was on the edge of my seat and anxious the entire time! I could not put this book down and if I had more time when reading it, could have easily finished in a day!

It alternates POV between Cassie and Billie- 2 childhood best friends who have grown apart as adults. It also dives into their past to give you insight into the current lives. I was guessing how it was going to end right up to the very end. Even though this is not classified as a thriller, it reads like one.

While at times I didn’t like either character, I still felt a lot of empathy for both. The author did a great job of getting the reader inside the character’s heads. I liked the exploration into motherhood and friendships in this book.

Definitely grab this one when it comes out! Thanks Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I have loved Carola Lovering books ever since reading "Tell Me Lies." I knew "Bye, Baby" would be completely enthralling just like her other books have been. I cannot wait for the next one!!