Carola Lovering returns with another captivating novel that delves into themes of toxic friendship, obsession, motherhood, and the superficiality of privileged social media-driven lives in the Gramercy neighborhood.

Her latest work takes a departure from the thriller/mystery genre, focusing more on women's fiction. The story revolves around two narrators who were childhood friends and faced a tragic event that altered the trajectory of their lives, ultimately leading them down different paths and causing their friendship to unravel.

The book kicks off with Cassie's emotional breakdown after her baby is abducted, witnessed by her estranged best friend Billie, who shockingly happens to be the kidnapper! The intriguing opening immediately grabs your attention, prompting you to ask questions like "why?" and "what's driving her?"

This compelling start propels you to turn the pages, eager to uncover Billie's motives behind this heinous act and what might have triggered such drastic behavior towards Cassie.

The narrative seamlessly navigates between different timeframes: the days leading up to the kidnapping, which highlight the evolving differences in the women's lives, and flashbacks to their childhood at the age of 12, shedding light on the foundation of their long-lasting friendship.

At 35, Billie West lives a jet-setting life, organizing exclusive events and experiences for people's special occasions. Despite her seemingly enviable lifestyle, she grapples with loneliness and an unhealthy obsession with following Cassie's every move through her phone.

On the other hand, Cassie is married to a hedge fund manager, has her own clothing brand, and is immersed in the world of Instagram, sharing every aspect of her life with her followers. Her newfound popularity and motherhood status create a rift between her and Billie, making their once unbreakable bond strain.

As the story unfolds, tensions rise between the two friends, leading to a confrontation that forces them to confront their shared past, their fractured relationship, and their personal struggles. Can they heal their dysfunctional friendship? Will Billie face consequences for her drastic actions? Dive into the story to find out!

Overall, I had a love-hate relationship with the characters, particularly Cassie and her friend McKay, whose behavior frustrated me. Nevertheless, the book was engaging, attention-grabbing, and offered an insightful exploration of the complexities of female friendships. I'm rounding up my rating from 3.5 stars to a solid 4 stars for this dramatic New York tale. I eagerly anticipate the author's future works.

A special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

This was an interesting story, very different from what I thought it would be. It was a little less mystery, and a little more drama than expected. It is ultimately the story of two friends, and their twisted relationship flashing between two time periods and both characters. I did enjoy it, just thought at times it went on a bit too long.
I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Loved the story I just wish it was a bit shorter! Some of the flashbacks just weren’t needed IMO. I did love Billie though! It was great seeing why she is the way she is.

Listed as a mystery but this is actually a domestic women's fiction about friendship, secrets and shared trauma. There is a mystery element but it only lasts a few pages and is only a small part of this story. Told by two narrators, this is the story about the friendship between Cassie and Billie, who met as teenagers and are in their mid-thirties when the story begins. The girls met in high school where Billie came from a blue collar family and Cassie came from a once wealthy family who had to downsize their life after her father made a number of bad investments. Cassie clings to her wealthy grandmother who treats her (and Billie) to a trip to Paris and expensive presents while ignoring Cassie's older sister.

Cassie is a very unlikable person and her drive to only date rich guys and have rich friends was a turn-off throughout the story. The story begins when Cassie is married to Grant, a man with family wealth, and she has a newborn baby named Ella. Cassie also has a designer clothing store financed by her husband and is an Instagram influencer who details every minute of her life for her followers. The author spends a lot of time telling us the designer who makes every piece of Cassie's clothing and it gets annoying after awhile. Billie has a job traveling the world with a luxury travel company, her boss is like a best friend and she has recently met a really nice guy who seems to care about her. But, Billie is obsessed with Cassie and keeps trying to get Cassie to notice her even though Cassie treats her terribly.

As we go back into their past we see the two women shared a traumatic incident as teenagers and Billie never received the therapy she needed to process this event. When Cassie married she chose the wealthy cousin of her husband to be her maid of honor and when she tells Billie she doesn't want to celebrate her 35th birthday, Billie finds out she had a big party and didn't invite her. There is an incident that happens during the party and it further changes the relationship between the women. There are lots of things explored in this novel and I think that the author chose too many things with the result being none of them are given the right amount of attention. I struggled to like anyone here and in the end I liked Alex (Billie's boyfriend) and Jane, Billie's boss. The endless descriptions of the superficial life that Cassie loved just made me roll my eyes. Also, Cassie was breast feeding but consuming huge amounts of alcohol and not just wine, In almost every scene she was drinking shots or having numerous martinis and breastfeeding right after. That would not be healthy for the baby. I did think the ending was well thought out and I think the book will appeal to readers who enjoy novels about friendship. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for a review.

Bye Baby was a symbol.of love between two teenage girls who grew up together. Cassie is from a wealthy family with one sister who she isn't close with. Their father went through his share of the family fortune. Billie grew up without her father. Her parents were divorced. The two girls were inseparable through high school and college. During Billie's senior year her and Mother was living with an abusive man. He was taking advantage of her mother who had Alzheimer's and didn't have long. This man repeatedly raped Billie. After a while she broke and told Cassie. Cassie ended his life and an end to Billie's
suffering. a secret they both swore would be kept between them. It was ruled an accident. The story goes back and forth between College years, some high school years and after College when Cassie met and Married a very wealthy man. Cassie' s circle of friends from Harvard were also wealthy which left Billie out of the circle. During a birthday party that Billie wasn't invited to left Cassie down a very dark road. Her four month old daughter was kidnapped! Billie had a promising job and met a guy who she fell in love with until the one mistake she made that almost cost her everything! A great book and kudos to the author Carola Love ring !

This was a page turner! I wouldn’t necessarily call it a thriller but it is a domestic suspense. We meet friends Cassie and Billie who have grown up close as can be. Now in New York as adults they’ve drifted. Cassie marries into an old money family and is a high end influencer. Billie is single and works for a travel company. We know there’s tension and something in the past that has broken this friendship apart but what is it? And then Billie in a moment of depravity kidnaps Billies baby foe a few hours. What?! Yeah.

I really couldn’t put this book down. Between the gross bad rich people behaving badly passages and the backstory I really found this incredibly riveting. I was hoping for a little more to happen to Cassie in the end but maybe there will be a sequel?! Or maybe there is an ominous end implied. In any event I really enjoyed this one!!

Bye, Baby explores a topic we can all relate to — friendships (especially those from childhood) evolving as time passes.

Billie and Cassie were inseparable through childhood to early adulthood, but as Cassie’s life changes directions her interest in their friendship dwindles. Vying for a way to stay connected to Cassie, Billie turns to obsessively watching Cassie’s frequent social media updates. From Cassie’s perspective, we learn that the glamorous life she portrays as a social media influencer isn’t exactly as it seems.

The examination of their complex relationship leading up to Billie’s decision to kidnap Cassie’s baby kept me on the edge of my seat.

The suspense carried the entire way though and the ending was satisfying. This book was impossible to put down!

Bye, Baby is a must-read if you’re interested in twisty suspense, toxic friendships, the social media influencer lifestyle, and take-it-to-the-grave secrets.

So this book was definitely not what I thought it was going to be. Picking up the book, I thought that the whole story was going to be focused on a baby's kidnapping. But in reality, this was really a story of two friends and their twisted relationship throughout the years. I actually really enjoyed the book which alternated between the two characters and also between the past and current time. The ending made me cry - but in the best way as I was so invested in the characters. Such an interesting story - I really enjoyed it!

I love Carola Lovering's writing style and stories - always a mix between a drama and a thriller. I've binged her books in the past and was excited to get an ARC of this one. As always, it didn't disappoint. The story line kept me intrigued and I enjoyed the character development. I did feel a bit anxious at times about the characters finding out the "secret" but in the end was happy with how things turned out. As always Carola delivered a book that kept me turning the pages!

I typically like her books but this was a big nothing burger. I enjoy the writing and I don’t find myself not wanting to read but from the story itself I wanted more, something to tie it all together.

I would change the James Franco reference to keep it up to date with people who aren’t tarnished. And I didn’t love the name Billie Jean for a similar reason. Could have had just Billie.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4.
The premise of this book really intrigued me, but it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. I did like this book, but I felt like it was a little longer than it should have been. I found myself skipping parts because they didn’t feel necessary to the story. However, I still wasn’t able to put it down because I needed to know what was going to happen next. All in all, I would recommend this to a friend. It was an easy read and made me want to read more from this author.

A gripping story of how deep dark secrets affect friendships and relationships. How far would you and your old best friend who thinks she’s better than you go to hide a dark secret? Would you push an understanding boyfriend away in order to keep her pleased and happy to keep your own secret? How far will it go?

Spoilers may be included: Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC from Carola Lovering. This was my first book by this author and it will not be my last. This was a great book about the friendship of Billie and Cassie over the years. It starts off with Cassie's baby being taken during her at home 35th birthday party and we seem to know that Billie was the one who took her. I enjoyed how the book went back and forth in time from the past when Callie and Billie were in school together to current day when they are mostly estranged. Told from both of their points of view the characters were well developed. I must say I didn't particularly like either of them. Cassie was very shallow and was not a good friend to Billie. Billie put too much stock in their friendship and let herself be taken advantage of too often., always jumping when Cassie needed her. But the book kept me reading and I finished it pretty quickly. I would definitely recommend.

Bye, Baby kept my interest. Though I found many of the characters, shallow, needy, and unlikeable. The story, in my opinion, is highly implausible, due in part to the ending. I’m giving it three stars because it kept my interest, albeit not sure if it was worth the time spent reading it. The flashbacks, towards the end, were just annoying…..too much back-story.. Let’s get on with it. Thank you NetGally and St. Martin’s Press for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

It surprised me, how engaged I was by this story. Less a thriller and more a story of friendship, secrets, trauma, and obsession, I found myself really rooting for one of the main characters, in particular, and invested in her outcome despite her wrongdoings. I also appreciated the thought provoking role of social media in the plot, and the theme of motherhood and how it's viewed by society. My chief complaint is the ending, which felt anticlimactic. 3.5 stars rounded down from me!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for granting me an advance eCopy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

Pub Date: 05 Mar 2024

Our main characters Billie and Cassie have chosen different paths and seem total opposites, but for some reason shall a strong bond that is revealed later in our story.

Billie is portrayed as a very loyal, loving friend. Cassie is portrayed as the villain. She's a superficial, self-centered friend who is concerned only for her own needs and wants. .

The story is a good one, if a bit tough to follow at times. We are presented with a bag of issues (sexual abuse, Alzheimer’s,remaining childless by choice vs. motherhood, social media, and so much more).

It was a lot to take in and so worth the read. Had me pondering long after I finished the last page.

Wow. Five Stars

Bye Baby is a story about friendship. Billie and Cassie are lifelong friends bound together by life experiences in their teen years. Once inseparable, in their 30's, their lives have diverged. Cassie is married with a new baby and Billie is a single, working professional without any interest in becoming a mother.

Told from the perspectives of Cassie and Billie in the past and the present we get to know each of them. Cassie is selfish and feels she deserves to be rich since her father lost all of the family money and she was forced to grow up middle class--which is how she met Billie. Billie is consumed by Cassie and drops any and everything for her. Friendships grow apart as people change and most can let it go, but Billie forces the issue and continues to try to insert herself into Cassie's new life even though they haven't been close in years.

When Billie sees that Cassie has a birthday party and doesn't invite her, she makes a split second decision and kidnaps Cassie's new baby (this is not a spoiler, this is in the description). She returns the baby after a few hours without anyone knowing that it was her that took the baby. This decision has an unexpected consequence of drawing her back into Cassie's life and for a short time, they become the best of friends and Billie sacrifices other relationships to stay in Cassie's good graces. But the secret she holds threatens their renewed bond.

When the truth is revealed, other truths are uncovered and Billie and Cassie both realize what kind of people they are.

It was hard for me to relate to the way that Billie dropped everything for Cassie always. Cassie initially seems like a good friend and person, but then it becomes clear that she only cares about herself, wants Billie to be at her beck and call, and is determined to land a rich husband. Once she gets what she wants, Billie discards her. Somehow, instead of making Billie see Cassie's true colors, she fights harder to remain friends with her.

Solid 3 star read. Dragged a little at the end trying to tie everything together.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Bye Baby by Carola Lovering
4/5 🌟 pub 3/5/24

I find the mind of this author to be fascinating, she finds a way to make drama and pace to go hand in hand. I have read several of her books and there is always a fine line between right and wrong and an emotional decision.

This book is about Billie a successful travel agent and Cassie a married wealthy influencer. These two were bff as teens and got through some major traumatic events together growing up with dreams to be more and get out of their small town. Cassie was always striving to marry money and Billie wanted to protect her mother and live a fun comfortable childless life. When Billie is abused by her self father Cassie does what she needs to protect her. They begin to drift apart after college when their priorities shift.

The rift is formed and Billie desperate to repair their friendship ends up kidnapping Cassie’s baby for less than a day and in the confusion she leans on Billie for support. While Billies twisted mind is comforted that’s her bff needs her again she is conflicted since she causes this upheaval in her life.

The story is written in alternating perspectives of both characters in today and the past. Could not put it down. Addictive and toxic but exhilarating.

The book revolves around a friendship between Billie and Cassie. Billie has no children and is single. Cassie is married with a child. Each chapter comes with their point of view. Also there's flashbacks on how they met and their friendships, from good to bad. In the present day, their friendships have drifted apart as they go their separate ways. Everything changes in that one night. Inside the book, it shows some childhood trauma and other things, including the impact of friendship.

Thanks to St. Martin Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.

great book wow. recommend having nothing else to do but read for a day or 2. the character development was great as as well as the plot.