Bye, Baby
- Downloads：7331
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2024-04-01 04:20:44
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Carola Lovering
- ISBN：B0C1X6VTTB
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Summary
A missing baby。 A fraught friendship。 A secret that can never be told。
On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment， 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams。 It's her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell， one floor above， and she's just realized her infant daughter has gone missing。 Billie is shaken as she looks down into her own arms to see the baby， remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world。
So begins the story of Billie and Cassie's friendship--both in recent weeks， and since they met twenty-three years ago， in their small Hudson Valley hometown the summer before seventh grade。 Once fiercely bonded by their secrets， including a traumatic， unspeakable incident in high school， Cassie and Billie have drifted apart in adulthood， no longer the inseparable pair they used to be。 Cassie is married to a wealthy man， has recently become a mother， and is building a following as a fashion and lifestyle influencer。 She is desperate to leave her past behind--including Billie， who is single and childless， and no longer fits into her world。 Hurt and rejected by Cassie’s new priorities， Billie will do anything to restore their friendship， even as she hides the truth about what really happened the night the baby was taken。
Told in alternating perspectives in Lovering’s signature suspenseful style， Bye Baby confronts the myriad ways friendships change and evolve over time， the lingering echoes of childhood trauma， and the impact of women’s choices on their lifelong relationships。
On a brisk fall night in a New York apartment， 35-year-old Billie West hears terrified screams。 It's her lifelong best friend Cassie Barnwell， one floor above， and she's just realized her infant daughter has gone missing。 Billie is shaken as she looks down into her own arms to see the baby， remembering—with a jolt of fear—that she is responsible for the kidnapping that has instantly shattered Cassie’s world。
So begins the story of Billie and Cassie's friendship--both in recent weeks， and since they met twenty-three years ago， in their small Hudson Valley hometown the summer before seventh grade。 Once fiercely bonded by their secrets， including a traumatic， unspeakable incident in high school， Cassie and Billie have drifted apart in adulthood， no longer the inseparable pair they used to be。 Cassie is married to a wealthy man， has recently become a mother， and is building a following as a fashion and lifestyle influencer。 She is desperate to leave her past behind--including Billie， who is single and childless， and no longer fits into her world。 Hurt and rejected by Cassie’s new priorities， Billie will do anything to restore their friendship， even as she hides the truth about what really happened the night the baby was taken。
Told in alternating perspectives in Lovering’s signature suspenseful style， Bye Baby confronts the myriad ways friendships change and evolve over time， the lingering echoes of childhood trauma， and the impact of women’s choices on their lifelong relationships。
Reviews
Michelle
，
This book was a strong 4 until the last 50 pages。 The end left you wondering what all the buildup was about。 It was like someone else picked up the manuscript and wrote the last few chapters。 I would’ve liked to have seen the end come to a climax worthy of the story。
Amy
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This was so fun and so juicy！ I was sucked in from the start and glued to the pages！！
Courtney
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I was lucky to receive an ARC of this story on audiobook thanks to NetGally。 The dual narrators divulge into the history of Billie and Cassie as they have naviagted being childhood best friends， but now are mostly estranged。 I thoroughly enjoyed the narrators bringing us through two different timeframes， sharing secrets and revealing a dark history。 This book kept my interest， I just was not satisfied with the ending。I do recommend this book to others。
Vanessa
，
keeps you on your toesThe book had me HOOKED from the beginning， but the ending was so anticlimactic， I am understand now why other reviews stress how this is NOT a thriller/suspense story the way it’s being portrayed。 Overall 3/5， ending was such a letdown。 :（
Amanda
，
This book follows former best friends Billie and Cassie。 Billie is trying to hold on to her friendship while Cassie is attempting to move on to a new class of friends。 After a traumatic event for Cassie and some poor decision making by Billie the two are thrown back together。 This book is great at showing how unhealthy codependency can be。 I could see how Billie ended up doing what she did and I appreciated that Cassie did show some insight。 I thought the ending was satisfying。
megreadsalot23
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3。5⭐️I liked this one。 You have Cassie and Billie， who were childhood friends and started growing apart as their lives have led them in different directions。 Billie hopes and tries to cling to the relationship， while Cassie is going where life takes her。 I don’t quite know how to explain how I feel。 I feel like it went fast but at the same time nothing really happened。 The ending just ended。 With what happens through the book and the ending。 I was just left thinking “huh？” But I also see how the 3。5⭐️I liked this one。 You have Cassie and Billie， who were childhood friends and started growing apart as their lives have led them in different directions。 Billie hopes and tries to cling to the relationship， while Cassie is going where life takes her。 I don’t quite know how to explain how I feel。 I feel like it went fast but at the same time nothing really happened。 The ending just ended。 With what happens through the book and the ending。 I was just left thinking “huh？” But I also see how the ending ended that way。Thank you to Carola Lovering， St。 Martin’s Press， and NetGalley for my complimentary copy。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Nina Wills
，
This was so good！ I loved getting perspective from both MC the ending was a tad bit mushy but I like how things played out for the characters！
Terpsy
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Toxic Friendships。 NYC。 Hamptons。 Read it！
Karen
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This was a quick read for me。 Kept my interest and I love the short chapters and dual POV。 This is a friend drama， my only complaint would be the ending， wrapped up too neatly but I really did enjoy it！
Anna Hines
，
I have been hearing about this book for awhile prior to its release and have been looking forward to reading it。 I enjoyed the story overall， but felt the ending felt anticlimactic compared to all of the build up through the rest of the story。 It feels like it just ended too nearly without much explanation。 The characters were written to make you not like them at all， but made what was happening in the story very understandable。 Overall I did really enjoy the story and would recommend it to be r I have been hearing about this book for awhile prior to its release and have been looking forward to reading it。 I enjoyed the story overall， but felt the ending felt anticlimactic compared to all of the build up through the rest of the story。 It feels like it just ended too nearly without much explanation。 The characters were written to make you not like them at all， but made what was happening in the story very understandable。 Overall I did really enjoy the story and would recommend it to be read！ 。。。more
Abby Hernley
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A story of a very complicated friendship and the ultimate need for acceptance and love。 While the ending fell flat for me I really loved how the author developed both main characters。 Billie- constantly trying to gain the acceptance of her long time best friend and that same long time best friend trying to gain acceptance of the upper ranks of society。 Only gave three stars because I felt there was a lot of unanswered questions at the end and it leaves me feeling incomplete。
J
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 So the thing about this book was that it’s not a mystery thriller at all。 Like I hate the term but this is women’s fiction。 The dramatic thing that the entire book is based around doesn’t happen until about 50% if the way through。 and honestly？ I’m kind of glad I picked up the book after forgetting what the synopsis was because instead of waiting for the twist， I would’ve been waiting for when the baby goes missing。 The relationship between Cassie and Billie was AWFUL。 Like， I get it。 I understa So the thing about this book was that it’s not a mystery thriller at all。 Like I hate the term but this is women’s fiction。 The dramatic thing that the entire book is based around doesn’t happen until about 50% if the way through。 and honestly？ I’m kind of glad I picked up the book after forgetting what the synopsis was because instead of waiting for the twist， I would’ve been waiting for when the baby goes missing。 The relationship between Cassie and Billie was AWFUL。 Like， I get it。 I understand that one ended up being terrible and one ends up essentially staring at her online。 But like - Cassie’s reason for calling her friend trash was so little， and Billie needed some self esteem。 But tbh， having the background that she had， there was no way that she would be doing okay。Speaking of which， holy fucking content warnings， Batman！！！！ I was not expecting to have sexual assault， especially of a minor， and to have it on page was so gross！！！ Holy shit。 But also watching the slow descent of her mother into Alzheimer's was so incredibly sad， especially with what was coming。Honestly， all the red herrings might have been a better story than what we got。 This was sad， but like… not fun。 Another reviewer mentioned something how this book was all tension and no substance， and that really was it。 This was so…disappointing。I usually love this author’s work because there is always a twist that is truly batshit insane， but this twist was just… sad。 Like。 Geez。Anyway。Thanks to St。 Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the chance to read and review。 。。。more
Georgette Mas
，
3。8 The book was fine。 But it was literally just a story。 There was nothing thrilling， and there was no plot twist- just a straightforward story。 A little disappointing。
Nicole Signore
，
3。1
Vivian Weissgerber
，
3。75 ⭐️
Nicolette Lombardo
，
I’m pretty disappointed with this book I usually love everything Carola writes but this just wasn’t it for me。 I think the idea of the plot was great but the whole second half of the book was just a huge hole of the MC having anxiety that she was going to get caught for what she did like it was way to drawn out。 Idk I feel like we could have had more build up to the main event and less what’s going to happen in the aftermath。
Lauren Campbell
，
I really enjoyed reading the first half of the book。 However， I really dislike when books include social media in the plot。 That part was extremely cringey 😬 I enjoyed the past parts rather than the present。 Overall a quick， easy read！
Sarah Catherine
，
Would recommend for fans of…🍼 People Like Her🍼 Can’t Look Away🍼 The Couple Next Door I’ve read and enjoyed nearly all of Carola Lovering’s books， and know I can always count on her to deliver a taut and suspenseful book that dissects every element of female friendship。 Her latest， Bye， Baby， builds on that foundation， offering her most nuanced look at toxic friendships yet。 This isn’t a spoiler， as it’s mentioned in the jacket copy， but this book follows Billie， a woman who abducts the baby of h Would recommend for fans of…🍼 People Like Her🍼 Can’t Look Away🍼 The Couple Next Door I’ve read and enjoyed nearly all of Carola Lovering’s books， and know I can always count on her to deliver a taut and suspenseful book that dissects every element of female friendship。 Her latest， Bye， Baby， builds on that foundation， offering her most nuanced look at toxic friendships yet。 This isn’t a spoiler， as it’s mentioned in the jacket copy， but this book follows Billie， a woman who abducts the baby of her “friend” Cassie， and the path that led them to that fateful night。 Even though you know what is about to take place， this book is thrilling。 That element is really brought to life by Lovering’s characters。 Cassie and Billie feel so real， that I’m sure every reader will identify with parts of both characters。 Lovering does an excellent job of humanizing both of them。 One second I was rooting for Billie， then Cassie， and then I hated them both。 That roller coaster of emotions really speaks to Lovering’s skill in crafting these stories。 The one issue I had with this book， and really all of Lovering’s is how they are marketed。 I’m begging her publisher to stop calling her books thrillers because that’s not what they are。 Lovering’s writing hovers in the domestic/romantic suspense sphere and I feel like some readers are let down when they pick up her books expecting a pulse-pounding action。 And though her stories may be lacking those thrills， Carola Lovering is one of the best when it comes to character-driven， contemplative suspense about modern womanhood。 I can’t wait to read her next book！ Bye， Baby is out now。 Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Anisha
，
Ugh not on a good streak with books lately 😑 this was just， I’m sorry， but dumb。 The plot。。the childish high school type of mentality。。no。
Jodi
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Good book exploring how people can grow out of friendships and the lengths they will go to when it happens。 I know that's not a good description of the story but it's the gist of the book Good book exploring how people can grow out of friendships and the lengths they will go to when it happens。 I know that's not a good description of the story but it's the gist of the book 。。。more
Kimberly Gilbert-Shay
，
I loved this book。 It is blurbed as a thriller though and it’s not。 It’s more about a toxic friendship and secrets but I couldn’t stop reading it。
Allie Melocik
，
I think all Carola Lovering’s books are confusing nothing burgers to me。 At least this one had a point？ But they’re consistently about strange and extremely toxic relationships。
Clark
，
Not too remarkable with too much jumping around both people and time periods。
Kary Valentin
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This was an add on to my March BOTM box so I didn’t know what to expect since it was my first time reading this author。 The story is centered around two childhood best friends who are now adults and have a secret that binds them together。 The plot was intriguing ， but the story felt flat in some parts and I didn’t agree with how the story ended。
Haley Endsley
，
3。5。 This book had me ANXIOUS for the ending。 I was hooked from the first chapter， and binged it for most of the day。 While I did get through it quickly， I just wasn’t in love with the way it was written。
Kira
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Haven't read a book this fast in awhile！ Just loved loved loved。 So compelling， didn't want it to end。 Haven't read a book this fast in awhile！ Just loved loved loved。 So compelling， didn't want it to end。 。。。more
apryl-rose carney
，
WE ARE SO BACK！！ pardon the reading hiatus my pals！！ anyways， this book was alright。 i do generally enjoy loverings work， but this sort of lacked depth and complexity where it was most needed。 i also think the advertisement of it being a thriller is deeply misleading， but nonetheless， a great one sitting read！
Shannon
，
Wow this one stressed me out 😅
Lisa
，
TW: sexual assault against a minor （skip pages 135-139 to avoid the very detailed scene）
Alex Radley
，
3。5/4
Tag
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Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Bye, Baby
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Bye, Baby&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Bye, Baby&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0