It was a cute story. I liked that it was a tale of going back home and being reminded of how much you’re loved. The romance felt a bit forced at times, but I enjoyed it.

Bed and Breakup is a cozy romcom about two exes who unwittingly reunite at the bed and breakfast they ran during their marriage. When Robin left Molly years ago, it was to become a food TV star. When Molly left the Hummingbird Inn, it was because Robin left her heartbroken.

Seven years after their marriage went up in flames, Robin heads back to the Hummingbird to seek refuge. Her career is at a standstill after yet another of her restaurants closed, and she needs to figure out what comes next. Molly returns to design stained glass windows for local businesses. Neither expects the other, but when an old friend makes an irresistible offer to purchase the inn, Robin and Molly call a temporary truce in order to bring the Hummingbird back to life.

I adored both Robin and Molly and immediately was pulled into their love story. With a cast of hilarious and lovable side characters, Bed and Breakup was unputdownable.

Thank you goes to @thedialpress, @netgalley , and @susiedoom for the advanced copy!

Molly is a stained glass artist and Robin is a celebrity chef. Seven years ago, Robin broke Molly’s heart by abandoning her and the inn they bought and restored together. Now, Robin’s had some professional setbacks and finds herself low on funds and therefore crashing at the inn she still owns with Molly. To her devastation, Molly is staying at the inn as well! Molly has some commissions to work on. Neither Molly nor Robin want to leave the inn but they also don’t want to be in the same space. After trying to make each other miserable, they decide to take the high road work together to update the inn and sell it for a tidy profit.

I found this to be a lighthearted and relaxing read and cute second-chance romance. Molly and Robin have believable chemistry and I enjoyed reading about the recipes Robin was creating and the restoration of the inn.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Bed and Breakup is one that took me by surprise as I had not heard about it until the publisher reached out to me. Seeing that it was set in my home state, I couldn’t NOT read it!

I will say, besides the fictional inn/stores/restaurants, everything was real! Yes, even Toad Suck Daze and the Razorbacks. Having never heard these mentioned in a book before, it definitely threw me for a loop literally every time something niche and local to me was mentioned.

The actual story - I thought was cute! I loved the representation seeing that this is a deep red state. There are pockets of communities like this, so I loved seeing them highlighted. I thought the lovers to exes to friends to lovers was well done, but Molly and Robin were a little childish in the beginning. The pranks were mean and made me not want to root for either of them until they started getting their act together. I loved how Robin had to humble herself and address her past failings and how Molly was there to support her through it. The side characters were also fantastic.

My complaints - it took a while for the story to really get going. Probably 20-25%. I already mentioned the pranks, but they really did make me want to shake them and tell them to grow up and act their ages.

Overall, if you’re looking for a cute story that is set in a small town with awesome representation, then this one is for you!

Thank you to Madison at The Dial Press for reaching out for this eARC opportunity!

This was an amazing lesbian romance, with second chance in a small town tropes. Light and fluffy like I love them.

things i liked:
-the pranks/banter
-watching Molly and Robin falling back in love
-the friendships were so magical to read

things i didn't like:
-the eding, "why did Molly and Robins sory have to end

this book and her backlis book shows that there are wonderful people in the south.

Bed and Breakup is a heartfelt, second-chance romance that blends humor, emotional depth, and richly layered characters. Molly and Robin’s reunion at the Hummingbird Inn is anything but smooth—each woman arrives with her own baggage, grievances, and sense of what went wrong in their marriage. At first, their clashing personalities and petty pranks provide sharp comic relief, but as the story unfolds, both characters begin to reveal deeper wounds and regrets. Molly’s creative ambition and Robin’s fall from culinary fame highlight the personal sacrifices that drove them apart, making their journey feel all the more human and relatable.

What makes this story particularly resonant is how the characters grow on the reader with each chapter. Molly and Robin are flawed in believable ways, each making missteps as they navigate not just the crumbling bed-and-breakfast, but their own unresolved feelings. Their shared history seeps through the walls of the Hummingbird Inn as they mend both the building and their bond, piece by piece. Alison Cochrun writes with warmth and clarity, showing that sometimes love doesn’t work the first time.

This was a great read—beautiful writing, well-developed characters, and a story that had me hooked from start to finish. The characters felt real, with strong arcs, emotional depth, and just the right mix of fun, heartbreak, and astrology.

That said, some major elements fell a bit flat. For a second-chance romance, I wanted a more compelling reason for both the original fallout and the reconciliation. The romance worked, but lacked the emotional weight I was hoping for.

Still, I’d definitely recommend it—especially if you’ve read the author’s Looking for a Sign, which I thought was absolutely perfect.

I love second chance romance and this one really hit that trope well! I loved the characters and really enjoyed the Inn. I thought the cute, quirky middle of nowhere Inn sounded like a haven that I want to visit! Loved this book—perfect for a quick, happy pick me up with silliness spread all throughout!

While I felt this book was written well I did end up DNFing it. To start I didn’t like Robin having believed that Molly could only be broke since she is an artist when she is literally the broke one.
I feel the biggest thing that bothered me was the almost excessive amount of LGBTQ+ population. It almost felt like the author did not want to leave any letter unaccounted for. Which in some places this would fit. San Diego/ LA/ San Francisco/ Miami/ New York… these places I could 100% believe this demographic would have a large population… the MIDDLE OF ARKANSAS… not so much. Especially a small town that is noted to be near “the birthplace of the KKK” within the book.
It felt very forced and not realistic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Susie Dumond for an advanced copy of Bed and Breakup! This book had such a great plot - Robin and Molly, estranged wives, come back to their beloved town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas (surprisingly a real place!) after 7 years apart. Molly has become a successful stained glass artist and Robin is coming off of several low points after building a career as a C-list celebrity chef.

The two return to the inn they refurbished years ago, The Hummingbird Inn, coincidentally at the same time and agree to once again remodel and sell the inn - while the project brings them new perspectives on one another, they agree to “maritime law” while at the inn to close the chapter from seven years earlier that never really got closure.

This had a bit of a slower start for me, but once it picked up I appreciated the pacing and where the story was headed. Although it was a fairly predictable read, it was a sweet story about coming back together after maturing and understanding yourself better than when you’re in your early twenties.

4.5, rounded up to 5 stars here.

This book was so adorable. I love a second chance romance and this one was done superbly. It got me hooked from the beginning, which is difficult for a romance book to do for me. The pacing was done super well. I loved how the characters reflected on themselves and both found not only problems with their behavior in the past, but also reasons that they had grown after the breakup. The communication here was A1. There was enough miscommunication/lack of communication to keep conflict and tension, but there wasn't anything unnecessary and when it was clearly time to talk, they talked. Chef's kiss. There were just small things that kept it from being a 5 star for me personally. Maybe spoilers ahead?

One was that I kinda wanted to know more about Georgina and that whole situation. A teensy more backstory about the specifics of the breakup and how it went down would have been nice.

And while I appreciated that they both apologized for their behavior relating to the breakup, in ~my~ view, Robin was more at fault here and Molly should have just taken more of the apology for what it was and not been quick to counter it with what she did wrong too.

Overall, I absolutely loved this! Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for this e-ARC!

i dnf this book a little bit over 60%. i’m not going to lie but i was thinking about stopping my read around 40%, however, “bed and breakup” is a second chance romance, so i gave this book another chance.

the story and characters felt very bland and basic. they were married and then broke up, 7 years later they are pinning over each other again, both wishing to try the relationship. the premise of their second chance meting was promising and kind of unique. however, idk i couldn’t find any chemistry or tension. the moments where they were supposed have small touches and glances were just undeveloped and unrealistic.

I absolutely adored this book! I felt completely drawn into Molly and Robin’s journey, captivated by their history, their tension, and the undeniable chemistry that lingered between them. I appreciated how the story balanced humor and heart—their escalating pranks had me laughing, but their deeper emotions kept me fully invested. I found myself rooting for both of them, even when they were at odds. Their stubbornness made the dynamic so entertaining, and I loved watching their relationship evolve as they worked to restore the inn. The setting added an extra layer of charm, making Eureka Springs feel like its own character in the story.
By the end, I felt warm, satisfied, and completely swept up in their romance. The slow burn, the emotional depth, and the second-chance aspect all worked beautifully, creating a story that lingered with me long after I finished.

I’d highly recommend this book to anyone who loves heartfelt romances with humor, warmth, and just the right amount of spice.

I really enjoyed Dumond's "Looking for a Sign", so when I saw a queer B&B novel that took place in the South, I RAN to scoop up an ARC. Dumond is fabulous with creating well-rounded and emotionally complex characters living through realistic situations (something that I've found to be more of a stickler of as my reading interests mature). Bed and Breakup felt emotionally akin to McQuinston's "The Pairing" in that you have a previously together couple that rekindle their spark from enemies to lovers. Both Molly and Robin felt entitled to enjoy something that they were previously signed up for together, and Eureka Springs felt like a Southern queer safe haven that even I wanted to visit. Dumond's snarky humor both shines through and pairs well with Bed and Breakups theme of personal growth.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will definitely be looking for more books by Susie Dumond. This was terrific. It had all the elements required for an emotional, colorful, tasty meaningful romance.
It starts with anger, slides into a truce then warms to a strong romance and bond.
The descriptions of the food, the preparation, the work on the inn...all very entertaining and moving. And the growing love between the two MCs was so emotional. It left me breathless at times.
I even gasped at an almost tragedy near the end.
Terrific writing I highly recommend it.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

This was a really fun concept for a romance book and I loved it! Molly and Robin were so cute and so much fun. Their chemistry is off the charts.

Seven years after an acrimonious breakup, Molly and Robin both find themselves back at the Hummingbird Inn, the now-vacant bed and breakfast that they had previously turned into a nationally renowned destination for queer vacationers. Billed as a small-town second-chance lovers-to-enemies-to-lovers romance, I selected this book more for the enemies-to-lovers aspect than the second-chance-romance, and it definitely delivered what I wanted in the ETL trope!

Keep in mind that it's not just a straightforward enemies-to-lovers romance. I'm fond of those, but in this case we have two people with a long history together, who left things unresolved, and both of whom feel hurt and angry about it, and when they unexpectedly find themselves staying in the same house, they're immediately at each others throats and taking that hurt out on each other. But that's only part of the story, as they eventually do the adult thing...and realize that they are adults.

In the Afterword, author Susie Dumond writes, "With Bed and Breakup, I wanted to tell a story about what it means to love someone over years, how it feels to grow into adulthood alongside a partner and grapple with the choices you make together and apart. I wanted to dig into the messiness of building a life with someone and the beauty that blooms from those challenges."

I think this book does a great job of showing just exactly that, and doing it in an entertaining and moving way.

The premise of this book was a fun one - a second-chance romance in a small, queer friendly community, while renovating a b&b. However, this did fall a little flat to me. Both characters were written with similar sounding internal monologues and it was difficult to remember who was Robin and who was Molly. They both were just too similar on the page. I also felt like the romance was banking on what had happened in their past and not enough on how they had grown. It took a while for them to have genuine conversations, in my opinion. Overall, 3 stars.

Second chance romance is a tough trope to tackle, and I was really hoping this sapphic version would hit the mark! Unfortunately there were a few issues: firstly, I found the dynamic between the two MCs early in the book to be quite juvenile. These women are in their 30s and acting like immature teenagers. Secondly, I felt like the voices were not dissimilar enough for me - this isn't because they're both women, but because they have so many similar internal thoughts and quirks. But most importantly, I just didn't buy that they were into each other enough to rekindle their relationship.

I think there will be big fans of this one! It just really wasn't for me! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.