Bye Baby starts with a bang! The irresistible setup immediately grabbed my attention and kept me turning the pages to find out why and how… and just WHY?

The writing seamlessly transitioned between points of view and timelines and slowly unraveled the motivations and impulses of our main characters. I just could not stop turning the pages.

This book also explores the changing nature of childhood friendships, trauma bonding, motherhood and social media toxicity. While it’s labeled as a thriller, I would consider it more women’s fiction with elements of suspense.

Don’t miss this one.

My thanks to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date.

Wow! Can you say creep factor? Omg. This book had a little bit of everything! From secrets to lies and friendships aplenty. It’s always fun to take a look into an influencer’s influence. Such giant emotions and fabulous characters. Great read.
Thank you NetGalley and Carola Lovering for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I have so many thoughts about this book after finishing it up in an early morning marathon reading session of the last 35% - but can't decide if I actually liked what I read or if I just wanted it to be over? In fairness, this was my first Carola Lovering book (I've seen the covers and am familiar with the authors name) and was excited to receive an advance copy of this novel from NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press.

The writing is fresh and fast-paced and the main characters, Billie and Cassie, are psychologically complex. We learn right off the bat that Cassie's baby is abducted – by her estranged former best friend, Billie...but why? Through the course of flashbacks and current day events that lead up to an unraveling, we learn all about their motivations. Both main characters are interesting, but neither are particularly likable which seems to be the author's intent. Cassie is especially intolerable.

Bye Baby is positioned as a mystery/thriller, and it reads much more like contemporary women's fiction. It explores a lot of really heavy topics - obsession, toxic friendships, rape, Alzheimer's Disease, death, social media addiction (and the influencers that fuel it).

Carola Lovering's Bye, Baby is categorized as Mystery & Thriller as well as Women's Lit. Although I agree with Women's Lit, the book falls short of being a true mystery or a thriller. The book's synopsis very adeptly gives the reader the what and the who: Billie West has kidnapped her best friend's baby. While one might go into the book thinking that this act is, in and of itself, the mystery or that there is something dark and sinister about to happen, that would be a simplification of what the story is truly about: the relationship between two women and how friendships evolve over time. The storyline will be eminently relatable, as the transition from childhood friendships to adult friendships, in the face of marriage, work, children, and simply life challenges, is one that most women will face throughout their lifetime. There is a continual ebb and flow around friendships as one friend marries while the other remains single, one has children as the other doesn't, as couples divorce. If there is a mystery, it is how do two women maintain a lifelong friendship? Are they even meant to? And at what stage does gracefully letting go happen? What happens when one friend has moved on but the other hasn't?

Bye Baby is an excellent book, read in one evening. The story itself was interesting and well written. But mostly, it was thought provoking. I dare any woman to read the book and not have some thoughts about their own friendships or their behavior as a friend.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering is a good and well crafted thrilling novel. There are many good twists and the relationships between the characters were entertaining. A great book with a solid story. Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

Bye, Baby looks at friendship, how it evolves and changes, as well as the lasting effects of childhood trauma and guilt. Told in alternative points of view, as well as alternating timelines, this was an great read. Both main characters made poor choices, but in the end you were rooting for them!

domestic thrillers exploring female friendships is one of my family genres and this books is a electrifying read .

Thank you netgalley for the eARrc

Carola Lovering never disappoints. I have loved everything this woman has wrote so it's no surprise that I loved this book. She writes in a way that hooks you right from the beginning. I can't wait to buy this to have a physical copy.

Wow. I just don't know what to say because I got chills while reading. The story was hauntingly good and suspense was right and left. The plot twist made my jaw drop and it was heartbreaking. I've to say, it was one of my favourite thriller read of the year!

The plot of this book peaked my interest and once I picked it up I was sucked in, The reader is instantly grabbed and never lets go. While there was a lot I really liked about this book there were some negatives.

I enjoyed the initial storyline of the kidnapping and how a lifelong friendship between Billie and Cassie was impacted, The focus on social media was very, very well done and a reminder to EVERYONE that what you see online is not real.

Unfortunately for me neither one of the main characters was very likable, I could not see how any genuine relationship was ever formed and at times I actually disliked both Billie and Cassie. Some of the scenarios seemed incredibly far fetched and the reader really needed to suspend disbelief,

Overall I would recommend this book as it was one that I could not put down and I never felt like I forgot the storyline between readings,

Trigger warning for this book is important.

Lovering has crafted a unique, suspenseful domestic thriller where there is no clear protagonist or antagonist. Both Cassie and Billie are deeply flawed people, bound together by the secrets of their younger years. The alternating perspectives allow readers into the psyches of both women, and how they view the actions of the other. Emotions always run high when children are involved, and Bye, Baby is no exception. In her latest outing, Lovering tackles the intricacies of female friendships, childhood trauma, and the obsession with status in today's digital age.

Another great read from Carola Lovering! A twisty domestic thriller about two best friends and how their friendship has evolved over the years laced with dark secrets from the past and current kidnapping. I loved that this story involved best friends, it had great character development – I felt like I knew both Cassie and Billie and I couldn’t put it down!


I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book

I HATED the characters in this book. The story is about two childhood friends, Billie and Cassie, and how their lives diverged. I guess I was supposed to be sympathetic to Billie because she's not evil, but her neediness and desperation were so off-putting. And Cassie is an influencer, and I hated her from page one.

Billie is desperate for most of the book to get Cassie's attention, but Cassie has a new friend group who understands her lifestyle, motherhood, her newfound fame, and her husband's financial situation. Billie grew up with Cassie, and even though Cassie has always been a gold digger, she loved her anyway.

I did finish the book because I wanted to know what happened, but I can't recommend this one to anyone. Both characters were so wretched that I don't want to subject others to them.

Carola Lovering writes multi perspective, domestic thriller like no one else. The story of Billie and Cassie and the ebbs and flows of their friendship is relatable and anxiety inducing all at once.

The best thing about Lovering’s writing is her relatability in her characters. You know these people, you’ve been there. The way she describes friendships as we take different paths is spot on.

You know the twist from the first page but seeing how the story plays out made this a five star read!

Wow. This book! Wow. I loved it. This was so good! I couldn't put it down! "Chefs Kiss"
I just reviewed Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Cassie and Billie definitely have their share of trauma and secrets in their past. Each plagued by different wants, desires and a past.

When Cassie has a birthday party and later finds her daughter Ella missing, shes beside herself. When Ella is returned a short time later Cassie is relieved and somewhat confused. The one person she wants to see is Billie. As Cassie learns to live with the uncertainty that is life, her daughters safety and what she can do to keep her safe, her life could unravel with finding out the truth. Or will it make her stronger?

Thank you netgalley and St Martins the early release in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book by this author and I have to say I'm unimpressed. I was hoping for a twisty storyline that kept you guessing til the end, but this book lacked that.
Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering is a propulsive, thrilling novel. Like in previous books, Lovering is a master is capturing the nuances of female friendship—particularly when they turn toxic. I don't want to give anything away, this is a book with so many twists and turns. You will not forget Cassie and Billie! Highly recommend!!

Thanks to netgalley and st.martins press for this one. I loved the female friendships and storylines. And how accurate it was about friends drifting apart.

Cassie and Billie have been best friends since high school. But now in their 30s, Cassie is a social media influencer, boutique owner, new mom and married to a trust fund man. Billie is single, working for a travel agency and doesn’t want kids. Their lives are in clearly different places. But when Cassie’s daughter goes missing, Billie is the first person she wants to call.

I did really enjoy reading this book. And going back in time to see how their friendship used to be. But hello…why is nobody talking about the fact that Cassie was drinking at a party and left her baby alone outside to be taken. But she was never questioned about leaving her baby alone. The baby was crying and crying and nobody did anything. I do wish the ending of the book was different and they could forgive each other for their friendship.

A twisty tale of friendship gone haywire. I enjoyed the multiple view points of the two main characters. I liked it a little better than her previous novels. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.