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d0505's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Dementia
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Dementia, and Sexual assault
sstewart89's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Dementia, Rape, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Abandonment, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Kidnapping
minimicropup's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
This was fascinating! It was easy to sit back and listen to the story unfold.
Energy: Sanctimonious. Preoccupied. Hopeful.
Scene: 🇺🇸 Greenwich Village in Manhattan NYC
Perspective: The story centers around our two main characters before and after the events of October 13, 2023. The two were former besties - one is a child-free luxury travel consultant, the other a mommy influencer with a clothing boutique. We also get past timeline glances of their friend and family dynamics as preteens through to new adulthood.
🐩 Tail Wags: Character development. Writing style. Overall story.
🤔 Random Thoughts:
I love that the characters were described up front when the author had a specific image in mind. And it went beyond hair and eye colour.
The characters have depth. Cassie was insufferable to me, but I can see others loving the drama she brings and identifying with her situation, even if not her personality. I fully expected Billie to be unhinged, but surprisingly, nope. She even has some relatable moments around the crazy situation she’s gotten herself into.
There’s also great character development. And it doesn’t go so far that we gotta suspend all disbelief about how much they can change.
You can probably already guess this is very character-driven and more of a slow-burn friendship study. Not boring at all, but if you were expecting over-the-top unhinged fast-paced domestic thriller tropes, this isn’t that.
On that note, if you read a lot of thrillers and have come to expect suspense from characters investing tons of energy into hiding their secret pasts or withholding details from the reader, this is a refreshing break from that style.
🤓 Reader Role: Hearing the characters’ minds, but only what they choose to share or what they’re aware of. Kind of like we are meant to listen and then have time to analyze them.
🗺️ World-Building: Enough detail to imagine the neighbourhood, and easy to find the areas on Google Earth and YouTube.
🔥 Fuel: Why is Cassie suddenly excluding Billie? Why is Billie so eager to win Cassie’s favour? What will Billie do with Cassie’s baby? Why did she take it? In the second part, we get drama over what will happen to Billie after the baby incident and how she navigates the situation.
📖 Cred: Realistic to hyper-realistic.
🚙 Journey: People-watching in the park. Sometimes with binoculars. At night. In windows.
Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Fallen leaves. Autumn breeze. Street food sizzling. Baby powder. Phone notifications. iPhone keyboard clicks. Selfies. Sirens. Baby crying.
- Where Did It All Go Wrong friendship study
- Psychoanalyzing characters and romance with a touch of understatement and irony
Content Heads-Up: Sexual content (consenting, pressured). Birth, breast-feeding. Sexual assault, abuse, rape (teen into adulthood). Dementia, early onset Alzheimer’s. Loss of a parent. Narcissism. Classism. Bullying (adults).
Rep: White and ambiguous Americans. Lesbian. Heterosexual. Cisgender. Childfree by choice.
📚 Format: Library Audio
My musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Dementia, Classism, Rape, Pregnancy, and Death of parent
mollywill's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Dementia, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Rape, Dementia, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship
timetotalkbeauty's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Dementia, and Abortion
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.
"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.
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
desireereed's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Sexual assault
Minor: Abortion