Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

Bye, Baby by Carola Lovering

15 reviews

savannabanana's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abortion, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

mynameisrebecca's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This is a fun, easy "thriller" read - one that has a mysterious overtone but nothing really shocking or twisty. Due to the multitimeline, dual perspective writing a lot of the twists are easy to see coming. While I really liked the book and couldn't put it down, it was hard to get past the fact that the core plot is centered around main characters who are oblivious and ignorant, and nothing would have happened if people just stopped to think. The writing was really fun and vivid though.

Major major warning for sexual assault/abuse. It's really prevalent and I don't think it was exactly needed to get the point across.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Addiction, Sexual content, Rape, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Classism, Abortion, Death, and Murder

codiehiger's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Dementia, and Sexual assault

masch212's review against another edition

dark reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Incest, Fatphobia, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

margscott's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Rape, Dementia, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship

lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I selected this as one of my Book of the Month selections.
"Bye, Baby" follows Billie and Cassie two women who were once the best of friends. They were nearly inseparable in high school, but in their adult years they started to lead very different lives and drifted apart. Cassie married a very wealthy man, has a budding presence online as a social media influencer, and has recently given birth to her beautiful daughter. In Cassie's eyes, Billie no longer fits into her world. Billie has made a modest name for herself, but she is still hurt that Cassie was so quick to cut her out of her life. One unfortunate night, Cassie's daughter goes missing, and Billie has to hide what really happened to the baby.
I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I do not think this book can fairly be classified as a "thriller/mystery", but I do think it is a great hard-hitting contemporary. The reader knows pretty much from the moment it happens what really happened to Cassie's baby, so there is no mystery. There is a plotline from the past that arguably could be deemed "mysterious", but it is more that the true story is drawn out over many chapters.
Billie's and Cassie's friendship I found so fascinating. I am enthralled by the idea that we are friends with people when we are young because of proximity, but as adults we learn how little we actually had in common with them. Billie's and Cassie's relationship is a little more toxic than the average person's (hopefully), but that is definitely part of why it read so interestingly.
I was very pleased with the resolution of this story. I think Billie's and Cassie's friendship came full circle, and I really loved seeing both of them move forward following the kidnapping.
Once I got into this story, I could not put it down. It felt so relatable, and I felt so connected to both Billie and Cassie for different reasons.
I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more from Carola Lovering in the future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, Classism, Kidnapping, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, and Stalking

Moderate: Pregnancy and Adult/minor relationship

meagan123's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Dementia, Toxic friendship, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Abortion and Death of parent

n_heraty's review

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Bullying, Alcoholism, and Adult/minor relationship

mallorymoyer's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual assault

heather425's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

This book was about a friendship or rather two frenemies. Billie and Cassie meet when they're in middle school. They're now in their mid-30s, living in NYC, and over each other. Kind of. 

Cassie is a gold digger, who has been trying to get into the world of old money since her dad lost their family fortune when she was a child. Billie is in awe of her the moment they meet. Billie's home life is not good. Her step dad is a perv and her mom has early Alzheimer's. 

The book alternates between the women both in the past and present day. Both are very flawed and it was hard to like either of them. Though part of the uncomfortable feelings were seeing parts of myself in both. Female friendships can definitely have a lot of jealousy. Which is part of the issue with Cassie and Billie. 

Lovering kept me interested with her writing style. The drama about the baby wasn't interesting, but the thoughts and actions of the women kept me engaged. 

Check this out when it hits shelves March 5. Thank you to netgalley for the arc! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Abortion