Riveting from the very beginning, you will be on the edge of your seat not entirely sure what will happen to protagonist, Billie, but wishing the best for her as you are already sympathetic towards her difficult life. However, she has done wrong so you are stretched to the point where you are shouting at her, “No, don’t do it!” Yet, you are still hoping she finds a way out of trouble in the end.

Lovering has crafted a well paced story of two best friends, who are no longer best friends-but only one of them seems to know that. Jealousy, hurt, and misdirected threat, are at the heart of Bye, Baby.

Billie and Cassie have a long and complicated friendship. They hold secrets and are connected by the bonds of these secrets. But when Cassie marries the blue blooded trust fund receiving Grant and begins hanging out with his crowd and posting her grandiose lifestyle with her Instagram followers, Billie is left to wonder where or if she still fits into Cassie’s life. Then one night Cassie holds a big birthday bash, after telling Billie that she was staying in and having a quiet night, and the uninvited Billie discovers this while checking Cassie’s Instagram stories. During the party, Cassie’s infant daughter, Ella, goes missing. The story opens with Billie sitting on a sofa with Ella in her arms.

Taut and juicy, Bye, Baby delivered the drama. If not for my brain telling me I needed sleep, I would have continued reading this one all the way through in one go.

My favourite structure of before and now and sustained pacing made this book a solid read that I would highly recommend to other readers. There are a few trigger warnings outside of the obvious kidnapped baby; I will post the warnings in my StoryGraph review.

Thank you to @stmartinspress for reaching out to me to offer me this book, knowing that I would enjoy it and to @netgalley for the ARC. Bye, Baby publishes March 5, 2024. I am sharing my honest opinions on this selection.

this was FUN. The places this fiction with some slow-burn thriller elements went weren’t necessarily unexpected, but I liked being along for the ride. I loved the influencer tidbits throughout. Rich people behaving badly and unlikeable characters to the MAX

I was so bored.

The book starts with a friendship on the fritz. Two women who were inseparable in childhood and are no longer bosom buddies. Their friendship is now awkward. One is holding on tighter to the past than the other.

Fast forward to a birthday party event for one and the other not being invited (the audacity), but happens to find herself in the same building by chance. Birthday girl’s baby is hysterically crying. The sound can be heard over the party goers shrill streaks. Before you know it, the alienated friend has stolen her previous sister from another mister’s baby. That’s it. That’s the book.

Between A to B, it covers more grounds (imo too many) (paedophelia / sexual abuse, Alzheimer’s disease, motherhood expectations of women, problems with social media) - but at the end of the day it was another book about toxic female friendship. It was predictable; the narrative didn’t offer any fresh perspective.

They both just needed new friends. Upwards and onwards, as they say.

I really enjoyed this story...although I'm a hardcore mystery and thriller person, there were a couple of those in the story but the main focus is on childhood best friends...their past and their current. Also a bit of romance!

A quick read, I would classify Bye, Baby as a domestic drama rather than a thriller or suspense.
Toxic friendships, multiple POVs, unresolved conflict and drama.
The story builds in the first half and gets a bit twisty in the second half.
A solid read.

👯‍♀️𝙱𝚈𝙴, 𝙱𝙰𝙱𝚈👯‍♀️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝙸𝙼𝙾
𝙿𝚞𝚋 𝙳𝚊𝚝𝚎: 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚌𝚑 𝟻, 𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟺
𝙼𝚢 𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 𝟻 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚜!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜💭..
First off, who has watched Tell me lies on Hulu? 📺So friggin good, right? Well, this book is by THAT author so to say I was thrilled to get this advanced copy would be an understatement . Okay, to start..Holy Hells Bells🤌. I loved it! This one resonated with me so much! Okay, so…🤷‍♀️have you ever had a friendship that meant so much to you that you would almost do anything to hold on to it?Even when it became too toxic? Well, I have & I swear breaking it off was harder than most of my boyfriend breakups. I mean I still think about it today. ❤️‍🩹A true friendship(for women) is something so hard to come by so I see why Billie in this story had a hard time just letting it go…(no spoilers, I promise). This wasn’t necessarily a thriller either…..to me, it was a thought provoking character driven women’s drama with some mystery & suspense (alright, easier to just say thriller, I reckon). It had that trope that you critics out there are always hoping for too…a woman in her 30s who actually doesn’t want children(and it being “okay” to be that way!)

🩷I found this one completely engrossing….we have friendships, real ones & toxic ones. An academia setting..you have Harvard & a “regular” school. You get gold digging bitches & those happy to make an honest living. You get Instagram influencers & baby mamas talking breast feeding…all of this & more with the back drop of New York City!! 👌🗽To me, it was amaze balls! It hit just right! 🤌

🤏𝚃𝚎𝚎𝚗𝚢 𝚝𝚒𝚍𝚋𝚒𝚝 A missing baby. A fraught friendship. A secret that can never be told. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚜 𝚒𝚝..𝚐𝚘 𝚒𝚗 𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚍, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎!

Thank you for the fun @carolatlovering 🥳!! Also thanks for this advanced copy @netgalley & @stmartinspress

I have been a Carola Lovering fan from day one (Tell Me No Lies) and every subsequent release, so i was super excited to receive an Arc of "Bye, Baby". "Bye, Baby" is scheduled to release in March of 2024. This novel is just as strong as her previous work and it explores some similar themes, most notably, toxic friendships. The main characters, Billie and Cassie are lifelong friends who share a trauma bond. Their lives take different paths, causing some anger and resentment which leads to an incident on Cassie's 35th birthday. Lovering does a great job of making you feel empathy for the "villian" in this scenario. I don't want to give away too many details here, but if you liked Lovering's earlier novels you will like this one too! Also if you are a fan of female friendship psychological drama you will really enjoy this book.

Thanks to #Netgalley and #StMartinsPress for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Five Stars!

This had me reading through the night to finish it. I was super excited for a new Carola Lovering book and was not disappointed. As a mom, anything that centers around motherhood in a thriller style book can either go really right or really wrong for me. Lovering did a good job of cultivating the anxiety without making me truly worry that something bad was going to happen to the kid, so that’s always a relief. I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what happened to Billie after essentially kidnapping her friend’s kid. This didn’t wrap up in a nice little bow with everyone getting off scot free and I enjoyed the way Lovering handled everything. These characters are almost all deeply flawed but this author is an expert at writing flawed characters and juicy stories.

If you love Liv Constantine and Shari Lapena, you’ll love Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering!

I was desperately in the mood for a domestic thriller and this book delivered. I ate this up in two sittings - it would’ve been one if work didn’t have to interrupt me.

Bye, Baby follows Billie and Cassie flashing back to the start of their friendship and following it through the years. We follow them in the present day where Cassie has shunned Billie and Billie ends up taking her baby.

At about 75% into the book, this was going to be an easy 5 ⭐️. I was expecting a twist or a more satisfying ending. I had about 5 ideas on the direction I was hoping the book would take and it didn’t take any of them. It was a slightly disappointing last quarter of the book.

Still really enjoyed it though. I’ll definitely be reading more from Carola Lovering.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

Official rating: 4 stars
Page-turner rating: 4 stars

I jumped into this one blind, knowing only that I have enjoyed the author's previous books, and I quickly felt like this one was in tune with her other books. Easy to read,

Its going to fall under the thriller category but a better summary is: childhood friends + new adult relationships + suspense. With a back and forth timeline and alternating perspectives, I enjoyed seeing the story unfold with the information slowly being served up. There was one topic in the book that I did'nt enjoy reading about, I understand how its crucial to the story. Let me know if you want some content warnings, otherwise, I would highly recommend this one!


Thanks to NetGalley for this early copy! This one comes out March 5th, 2024!

I’m not sure why this is being marketed as a thriller/mystery. It’s anything but that. Having said that, I think I was expecting something different. I couldn’t get Into this book because I was waiting for the suspense that never came . Maybe I’ll reread it again in the future

Thank you netgalley and publishers for this opportunity.

This book was challenging for me as I recently broke up with my childhood best friend, but I was also rooting for the friendship all the same. That breakup has helped shape me and my other friendships and relationships. There was a lot to unpack.

Billie and Cassie have been best friends through it all: a haunting childhood, adolescence, and a marriage for Cassie. But after Cassie had her baby, Ella, Billie feels her pulling away from her. Cassie is getting in over her head with her social media influencer life and trying to forget about her sad past, which includes Billie. When Ella goes missing, it pulls the two of them back together, but Billie keeps it mum that she was actually the one who took Ella. Is this something the could move past or should Billie just keep it a secret?
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💭Thoughts💭
The underlying tension throughout the whole book is something I remember from reading the authors previous book. She keeps you captivated and on your toes the whole time, even when you already know the scope of the plot.
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⌛️Favorite Moment⌛️
Cassie’s influencer life was so interesting to read about and added some depth to the book of understanding her better. When each character had their narration, you felt on their side, until the next character had their turn to talk.
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🎉 Theme Ideas 🎉
Billie and Cassie loved watching movies in the couch with some popcorn. They loved Dirty Dancing the best. They also go away for the weekend and get room service and massages!

I absolutely found this work of writing incredible realistic and believable. I could relate to being in denial and trying to make a true friendship work even though both people have changed and totally different people than the inception of the friendship. Carola did an amazing job illustrating the inner turmoil both Cassie and Billie go through when it comes to their upbringing and dealing with the great shift in their relationship. Overall, I was impressed with the writing and grieved alongside the girls when they faced their greatest challenges.

This is my first book by Carola and I cannot wait to read her other works, I really love the psychological aspect to her plot and characters, seeing the growth in them really makes me want to reflect on my own experiences and friendships.

Thank you to St. Martin Press, Carola, and NetGalley for the ARC.

I loved this book. I mainly read thrillers but I was just in the mood for this book and it was really good. Definitely recommend

Bye, Baby is a story of childhood friendship told in dual timelines and POVs. Reading the synopsis of a twenty three year old friendship resulting in Billie stealing Cassie’s baby makes you think what kind of horrible person is the Bille girl. Carola Lovering showed how childhood secrets can really shape how a people end up and how different personalities handle these kind of secrets. Without giving too much an away I liked to see how this bond and what someone helps you get through in adolescence can really cloud your judgement on who they turn out to be as an adult. Billie feels like Cassie is like family to her so no matter how poorly she ends up treating her she just wants to hold on to this friendship. It was interesting to see what it would take for Billie to see who Cassie really is and probably always was. I liked seeing the past show what is going on in someone’s life that they would stay friends with someone like this for all these years.
Some parts of this book were very hard to read. I would look up trigger warnings before getting into it.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering delves into the complexities of female friendships, weaving a gripping narrative that explores the haunting intersection of love and toxicity. Set against the backdrop of a chilling disappearance, the story unfolds with intense suspense, capturing the essence of evolving relationships and the enduring echoes of childhood trauma. Through alternating perspectives, the author masterfully navigates the intricacies of adult friendships, revealing the profound impact of choices on lifelong bonds.

This book was such an interesting read on how friendships grow and change over time. The premise and setting were great! The book was fast paced and a great weekend read.

I wouldn't count this book as a thriller,more of a complicated friendship and the decisions they make! I had a hard time finishing this book!
Thank you Net Galley and St Martins Press for allowing me to read and review this book.