In the opening scene, Billie has just inexplicably kidnapped her best friend Cassie’s baby. From there, the story goes back in time to piece together the events leading her to this moment. Told in alternating perspectives between Billie and Cassie, Lovering explores the 20+ year relationship between the two friends. This reminded me a little of Big Little Lies, which I loved. This is more of a character driven story but with enough plot to keep you turning the pages to figure out why the opening scene happened. I personally love a story told in reverse and I enjoyed the flashbacks. The main characters were not the most loveable but I don’t have a problem with unlikeable characters. Overall this was a fast, satisfying read and I would read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for an scanned reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I had a hard time putting this one down and finished in less than two days. Carola Lovering is great at building suspense and drama.

I liked the alternating timelines and perspectives from Billie and Cassie. Overall I enjoyed the book but the ending was predictable and not as shocking as some of Carola’s other books.

Toxic friendships seem to be the 2024 books I keep picking up and this one was no different.
Jealousy, petty drama, lying and exaggerated nonsense that left me disliking both of the women in the book.

Which isn’t always a problem for me when I’m reading thrillers but this one felt like it was overloaded by themes that the author wanted to spotlight (social media, Alzheimer’s, toxic friendships, kidnapping. pedophiles etc) and so the “thrilling” part felt hard to figure out.

In the end, it was just fine. Too many things going on and not enough depth to the characters to make me care about either of them. It felt like it needs to be marketed as a fiction book and not a mystery/thriller because I think that was part of my problem with it. My expectations were skewed.

Long story short: not for me.

I throughly enjoyed reading this book! The point of view shifts between the two main characters. It starts with present tense than has flashbacks into the past. This creates such a depth of layers of the intricacies of characters' friendship. There is one friend who has outgrown or redeveloped her sense of self and one character who is struggling with the loss of her best friend. The story is weaves through two mains characters in both past and preset. .

yes there's murder and other crimes but this is really all about the relationship (very disfunctional) of Cassie and Billie. While more drama than I tend to like in my thrillers, this one hooked me. Flashbacks of their childhood finally pull it all together. Wonderful characters. Will look for more by Carola Lovering!

This book was riveting! I was so excited to be given the opportunity to read it early after seeing Grace Atwood from The Stripe rave about it on her blog. The story did not disappoint! I really enjoyed how the story alternated between the past and present friendship of the two main characters - especially as the past illuminated more and more for the reader why the friendship was the way that it was. At first you feel like the one woman, Billie, is unhinged and obsessive over the other, Cassie, but as you are given more information on their past you are able to better understand both perspectives. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but this story is definitely one that will keep you up reading late into the night. I thought it was fast paced, the characters were well developed and it was very well written. I felt anxious for both characters throughout most of the book which I feel really shows just how engrossed in the story you can become. I'm excited to read more from this author and just bought Tell Me Lies to start next! Highly recommend this novel!

5/5 Stars - WOW my first Carola Lovering book and definitely not my last. It's not your typical thriller since the story opens up saying who kidnapped the baby but it keeps you on the edge of your seat with the aftermath. I thought the author did an amazing job with the character development and allowed for a clear understanding of the complex, toxic friendship. I absolutely devoured this book and couldn't put it down and as a 20-something living in NYC I loved all of the city references (big Westville fan, too!)

I will say a tiny part of me was disappointed by the ending but I'm also not sure what I was looking for in an ending anyway.

This book was good but I couldn’t really relate to any of the characters. I had a hard time understanding. It also didn’t have any twists and turns that I am used to with a thriller/suspense. This is the first book I’ve read by this author.

Billie and Cassie have been best friends their entire lives; however, over the past three years, Cassie has begun pulling away from Billie. While Billie fights for their friendship, Cassie is busy with her new marriage, her new friend group, and her new baby. After an unfortunate incident occurs during Cassie's birthday party, she starts to re-evaluate her life; however, where does Billie fit into this new re-evaluation?

I feel like I'm in the minority and did not really like this book. I think I wasn't a huge fan because it marketed itself as a thriller but was more a story of the complexity of friendships. At times it feels like a story I’ve read a million times. There’s not much about it that makes it stand out from similar books. The writing is fine but not super impressive. And the plot is missing things that would make it cohesive. The characters are unlikeable and I couldn't connect with them, and the plot is fairly straightforward without any real twists or turns to keep me hanging on. I loved Carola Loverings last novel “tell me lies”which was so much more intense than this story so this is disappointing to me.
Thank you @stmartinspress & @netgalley for my digital copy. My thoughts are my own. Bye Baby debuts March 2024.

This book was wonderful! Did not see the twists coming. Very impressed, great reading experience. The author’s writing felt like I was there experiencing everything first hand. The alternating perspectives between Cassie and Billie kept things interesting and not stagnant.

Billie and Cassie have been best friends since they were children. Cassie always said that she was going to marry rich. Billie just always wanted to be a Mom. Their friendship like all friendships has their secrets and sometimes secrets can alter a friendship. Cassie has fulfilled her fantasy to marry rich while Billie has not been as fortunate. She is still not married and her dreams of children are fading away. Billie tries to keep the friendship with Cassie but doesn’t seem to fit into Cassie’s new lifestyle of extravagance and IG followers. Now Cassie has a beautiful baby daughter, Ella, and the jealousy starts to rise within Billie. After blowing Billie off with an excuse, Billie checks Cassie’s instagram and sees that she is actually having a lavish party. Anger and jealousy take over and Billie takes Ella. This is not a spoiler as the book starts with Billie holding Ella. We will go from past to present to see the friendship evolve and then dissolve. Buried secrets will come to light. This book was a very fun read and kept me reading throughout. Even though it’s a great thriller, it does show the close and pure friendships between women. Thank you to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press and the talented Carola Lovering for the ARC of this great read. Don’t miss this one!

4.5 ⭐️ rounded to 5

I’m a huge fan of Carola Lovering, so I was really excited to check out her new thriller Bye, Baby. Lovering has quite a gift for writing slightly twisted characters, and the characters in this novel were no exception.

Billie and Cassie have been best friends since childhood. During the start of the book, it’s obvious they are experiencing some kind of fallout. As the story unfolds, it jumps between past and present, exposing the cracks and fragility of their friendship and the bond that keeps them returning to each other.

While Bye, Baby has some elements of a psychological thriller, it’s very much a novel about the twists and turns of friendship. The characters in this one were very interesting. I didn’t dislike Billie, but I struggled with her lack of self respect and her obsession with Cassie. Cassie was just insufferable. She’s conceited and snotty, and I really disliked her. I don’t want to give too much away about each woman, but while I didn’t necessarily like either one, seeing how they build in personality both together and apart throughout the story was really compelling.

While this wasn’t a complete 5 stars for me, it was pretty close, and I really enjoyed it. Carola Lovering is a fantastic Author and I truly love her writing. I can’t wait to see what she comes out with next! Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Book Review ✨

Psychological Thriller
4/5⭐️

Pub Date:
March 5 2024

A book about friendship more than anything. Cassie and Billie have been best friends for years- growing into themselves. They have a dark secret between them. As they enter adulthood and grow apart, things get complicated.

I really did love this book. Both main characters were very unlikeable in my opinion but I definitely had a favorite. I thought Cassie was just awful. This book was giving mean girls, meets desperate housewives, meets one of us is dead.

This is definitely a PSYCHOLOGICAL thriller. As a woman there was several times I thought “PREACH SIS”. I think everyone should be pumped for this to be published! Check out the trigger warnings before diving into this one.

Bye, Baby's cover intrigued me just by the book's cover. I know "you shouldn't judge"... but consider this book's cover judged. I love thrillers that involve best friends. They always involve deep dark secrets that bind people together. "Friends" that have nothing in common anymore besides their past. The added social media influencer aspect made this book even more fun to read as it is current with the times. Loved it.

Carola is the queen of toxic relationship stories and Bye, Baby was another hit for her! This book gave me so much anxiety, but in a good way as I was waiting to see what would happen to Billie if Cassie ever found out her secret.

Both Billie and Cassie can be unlikeable throughout the book, but I sympathized with Billie the most. While I feel like she should have just owned up to taking Cassie’s baby, I also understand why she did it. Cassie was a horrible friend to her and while she should’ve just walked away from her, I understand why she kept thinking the Cassie she grew up with would return.

While not a typical thriller, this book did have me unable to put it down and guessing what could happen next. While I love all of Carola’s books, this one is a top read for me!

It was hard to put this book down. Keeps you interested and intrigued. Different than what I usually read but I really enjoyed it.

Billie hears her best friend, Cassie, screaming after her daughter is kidnapped. She’s surprised to remember she took the baby. Billie and Cassie’s secret history is told before the kidnapping occurs.

This story combined a few of my favorite themes… best friends, wealthy snobby mothers, and an influencer. There was also a backstory and flashbacks that added a lot of depth to the current story. I loved how Cassie and Billie’s relationship development was done; it was true to life and familiar to me.. especially that desire to hold on. This was a great read I wasn’t able to put down.

“… of the love between two best friends that dies but doesn’t disappear. There’s still the soul of that love. It goes somewhere.”

Bye, Baby comes out 3/5.

Cassie and Billie became friends years ago and used to be inseparable—they’d do anything for each other. Cassie’s lifelong goal wasn’t just to marry someone with money, but someone with OLD money. She finally accomplished her goal, and now that she’s wealthy and has a baby, Billie doesn’t have anything to offer her. Cassie barely keeps in touch and only does that because she and Billie share a secret that could both get them into big trouble.

Billie never wanted children, which has led to a heartbreak because the man she loved desperately wanted them. Now she’s wary of falling for a guy again and telling him that she doesn’t want kids and getting rejected over again.

Billie is an OK character despite some very stupid things she does. I found Cassie to be insufferable in every way.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES MARCH 5, 2024.

Cassie and Billie have been the best of friends since childhood, and bonded together in inexplicable ways. Now in their 30s, Billie remains unmarried and childless, while the term “gold digger” is an understatement when it comes to Cassie. She married up in a big way, is a new mom, and is now an “influencer” on IG. With her new life and rich friends, she has cast Billie aside.

Billie is deeply hurt and can’t let it go. She goes to extraordinary means to maintain the friendship, which clearly is one-sided.

I admit to being frustrated with Billie’s character in the beginning, but we eventually learn why Billie is trauma bonded to Cassie and it all starts to make sense.

Carola Lovering doesn’t miss 👏🏼

I’ve loved every book I’ve read from this author. I didn’t want to put this book down. I was eager to see how Billie’s story played out. I thought the ending worked really well for this book and left me content.