Bye, Baby

"This book covered motherhood, friendship, and what it is like to be abused or grieve. It went to some deep places that really moved me and made me think. Billie and Cassie are the two main characters and their friendship days are mostly over, but Billie remains glued to Cassie’s expertly curated social media feed. Cassie is self-obsessed and a new mother, while Billie remains stuck in perpetual singledom until she meets Alex. Cassie and Billie each go through a lot to become who they are and what will always remain is their lingering bond because of what they went through in the past. The writing was strong and hard-hitting and really got to the heart of what it is to be a woman and the pressures that come along with it. I could relate to Billie a lot because of how my friendships too have come in phases and sometimes naturally come to an end because of time and circumstance. Sometimes you want to just preserve time and place, especially of a friendship, and it can be hard to let go when time, place, and people change, which is what Billie finds. I thought the writing cleverly captured what it is to grow up and find ways to move on when things aren’t working or flowing as intuitively. It isn’t always easy to change or start anew, but when it is necessary then it is the right course of action. The characters in this story were real, flawed, and unquestionably relatable and I think my largest takeaway was that life can go to some ugly, uncomfortable places, but it is all about how we choose to come back from its struggle and strife."

"Carola Lovering- really have been enjoying her books lately. Loved the characters and alternating timelines. Billie deserved a better friend. It broke my heart how much she still wanted to be friends with Cassie. I found it very relatable, it is difficult to give up a friendship that has existed for so many years and has such deep history. "

"So good! I could not put this down and felt genuine anxiety with the character Billie as to what was she going to do? Must read!"

"I continue to be a fan of Lovering’s writing style. This was a good read but not quite as good as her other books."

"I think I have become a Carola Lovering fan for life. I love the way she writes thrilling books that are not thrillers. She has this way of turning the awkward and dark parts of life into these twisted reads and I’m all about it. This book is centered on childhood friends Billie West and Cassie Barnwell. They have been through life’s ups and downs at each other’s sides, but now that Cassie is having all her dreams come true, there is less and less time for Billie in her life. As Billie feels this relationship slipping, she clings to any hope that things can still be salvaged. When Cassie’s baby is kidnapped during a thirty-fifth birthday party her first instinct is to reach out to Billie. The only problem is that Billie may have been the one who accidentally took the crying baby from the party. The Aftermath of that night brings the friends back together, but with a big giant secret threatening to tear their friendship apart how can the two of them hope to make it through. This is a character driven novel that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat. The characters will make you cringe and shake your head, but the bare bones plot is relatable. The death of a friendship is hard. It’s hard to let go of the person you once knew and the person you once were, but sometimes it takes darkness to see the light to move on to the next phase of life.<br/><br/>Thank you to St. Marten's Press for trusting me again with a Carola Lovering ARC (and hopefully with her next one too). This book is now available, so head to your local independent bookstore or library and pick up a copy today."

"2~ ɪᴛs ᴊᴜsᴛ ɴᴏᴛ ғᴏʀ ᴍᴇ.<br/>ᴛʀɪɢɢᴇʀ ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢ: sᴇxᴜᴀʟ ᴀʙᴜsᴇ ᴏғ ᴀ ᴍɪɴᴏʀ<br/>ɪ ᴅᴏɴᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴇɴᴅ ᴜᴘ ʀᴇᴄ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛᴏ ᴀɴʏᴏɴᴇ.<br/><br/>ɪ ᴇɴᴊᴏʏᴇᴅ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛs ᴏғ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ʙᴜᴛ ɴᴏᴛ ᴍᴜᴄʜ, ɪ ᴅᴏ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇs ғʟᴀsʜʙᴀᴄᴋs ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀsᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛ ᴇxᴘʟᴀɪɴɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇʟᴀᴛɪᴏɴsʜɪᴘ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛᴡᴏ ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs. ɪ ʟɪᴋᴇᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀɪɴ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ʙɪʟʟɪᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴀs ᴀʙʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ғᴇᴇʟ ғᴏʀ ʜᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ sʜᴇ ʜᴀᴅ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ. ɪ ᴀɢʀᴇᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ʀᴇᴠɪᴇᴡs ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪs ʙᴏᴏᴋ ɴᴏᴛ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴀ ᴍʏsᴛᴇʀʏ ᴏʀ ᴀ ᴛʜʀɪʟʟᴇʀ."

"I was really disappointed in this book. I preordered it and couldn’t wait to read it. I found myself not wanting to finish it, but I was hoping it would get better. Pretty much everything can be read in the synopsis and what isn’t there was pretty obvious from the first few chapters."

"Bye, Baby was such an interesting read. I told myself I would read this closer to the release date, but I read a few chapters and was hooked. I finished this book in less than 24 hours, the story was realistic, and I was on the edge of my seat wanting to read what led Billie to do what she did. This story is told in a dual pov, switching between the main characters Cassie and Billie. It also alternates in past and present timelines giving us insights into how Cassie and Billie's friendship started and how it got to where it is in the present. <br/><br/>This is about friendship, gossip, drama, and the lengths characters go to keep people in their lives and feel like they belong. The characters make mistakes and decisions that are not good, but I came out of this book empathizing with Billie and her actions. The author did a good job weaving everything together, and the writing was great. I was distracted by the past timeline, it was helpful in knowing how the friendships came together, but I think there was so much going on that I focused a lot on the present. I liked the end because it showed that some friendships aren't meant to be, and some people are toxic to be around. <br/><br/>Overall this was a compelling story about unraveling secrets, drama, and the history of a friendship. It wasn't really a thriller, but it was still an interesting and suspenseful book.<br/><br/>Thank you, St. Martins Press for this arc for an honest review."