Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. The characters got on my nerves at times--each for different reasons. It made me want to go visit Eureka Springs!

As someone who has worked in Hospitality for years, I was drawn to this ARC because of the cover and B&B vibes.

Took me a bit to get into, but it's a quirky/cute second chance romance. Thank you again for the opportunity!

This book was SO cute! "Their love story is a bit of a fixer-upper." I mean, it's perfect. I enjoyed this book, these characters, and this world so much.

Bed and Breakup is a second-chance romance between two lesbian "ex" wives who decide to renovate and sell the historic southern inn they still co-own, seven years post-split. Over the course of several months, they get to know each other all over again: hot they've changed, and how they haven't, and how they both regret how things ended between them.

Generally speaking, I liked this book! It was a little slow at points, and even as someone who generally like character-driven stories, it felt like there could have been a little more plot. I'm finding I don't have a lot to say, because there wasn't a ton worth gushing about, and there wasn't a ton worth criticizing, either. It was mostly just good.

I think one thing that makes second chance romances hard is that readers (or at least, this reader--I'm nosy) will want to take a side. Bed and Breakup presented both characters as having made mistakes, and they both groveled, but I just didn't buy into the idea of Molly actually really doing anything wrong. To me, it seems like they just realized that they were incompatible because they both had different idea of the future, which is fine. But instead, it was written that Molly was holding Robin back. I also would have loved more detail on the woman Robin left with during the initial breakup, because it wasn't totally clear to me how soon they got together, or how or when they met. Molly made it sound like they had run off together, like Robin might have been cheating, but they never say that explicitly, so it's hard to tell.

Also, it seemed like the race stuff was sort of thrown in--the Black Business Bureau came up at the beginning and as a way to help Molly throughout the story (getting her clients and a lawyer), but otherwise wasn't very prevalent, and those characters only existed in their small roles as clients. It would have been nice to see them become part of Molly and Robin's community. Everyone who is important to them is queer, but white--except Keyana. There's also the part where Keyana scolds Molly for asking a Black woman to lie for her in court, and Molly apologizes, and that's sort of the end of that. It's like a sensitivity reader flagged it for the author, and the solution was to just add in a throwaway line to acknowledge it instead of doing anything else to fix the issue. So in the end, it came out of nowhere and disappeared pretty easily, just as a blip.

All in all, though, I did like this book. I loved the town and world building and all the friends. I could have imagined a less perfect ending, but I'm glad these lesbians get a happy ending. 3.75 stars for me.

I always love Susie Dumond's books, and Bed and Breakup is no exception. Delightfully joyful and deliciously queer, I adored this lesbian second chance romance. Molly and Robin were both such great characters, and I had wonderful time reading about them warming up to each other again. Definitely going to share this title with friends!

Molly and Robin are reunited in Eureka Springs at the Hummingbird Inn. Both women, didn’t realize the other one was one their way back to where their relationship started. After going through some ups and downs each one needs to spend some time with old friends. Robin and Molly are tasked with remodeling the Inn in order to sell it. By taking on such a task it starts to invoke feelings in both of them they didn’t know they had for each other.

This second chance romance shows how these two women can work out their differences. We see how ththey work through their feelings and emotions. It was a cute and loving story.

I thought this was so fun and cute! I am always happen to come across a good queer book and this one didn’t disappoint. It was cute and I was rooting for them to get together the entire time!

Thank you Random House and Dial Press for the review copy! this was a fun read, a plot that was engaging and filled with tropes and themes I love to see in a romance... and that I love to see in a queer inclusive romance. I am always here for enemies to lovers, nicely blended with second chance romance, and I love small town settings for a romance, they just feel more charming that way. :) What didn't quite come together was full lift off, at times the plot/writing felt a little heavier, slower than I want in a romance read... which is not a bad thing at all but at times the pace/style didn't quite reflect the romcom lightness I was looking for.


Read if you love:
🏘️ Queer small-town settings
💅 Petty exes with tools and tension
🍳 Celebrity chef meets rising artist vibes
❤️‍🔥 Second chances that feel earned

Great setting. I love the town and all its characters. I was surprised to discover that Eureka Springs, a queer-friendly hippy town in red state Arkansas is a real place!The side characters were memorable. I’d love to see more of them. The inn that is being restored seems amazing. I want to stay there. And the descriptions of the various vegan meals that Robin created made me hungry and I’m not even vegan!

I did sometimes struggle to tell which character was which, even with the dual narrators. The narrators did an excellent job. It wasn’t their fault. But sometimes I couldn’t remember which backstory went with which character.

The second chance storyline was well done. There’s not often that level of animosity between the lovers in a SCR. All that anger and hurt led to some very passionate spice. But it also lent itself to excellent personal and relationship growth.

Thank you to @Netgalley @thedialpress @randomhouse and @prhaudio for the chance to review this ARC.

Bed and Breakup by Susie Dumond
Genre: Sapphic Romance
Pages:368
Published: 6/24/2025

Synopis: Questions and old feelings arise when exs Molly & Robin end up staying at their bed & breakfast at the same time.

Thoughts:
*Molly & Robin were so cute together. Their chemistry was apparent early on.
*Clicked more with Molly, Robin seemed a bit immature. But I appreciated their growth & how they talked about what happened.
*The pranks were funny, and you could tell how much they knew about each other.
*It was also funny how everyone was asking if they were back together right from the start.
*Loved the concept of the town of Eureka, a Queer sanctuary in a conservative state, filled with small town charm & a suppotive community.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Thank you, netgalley & randomhouse, for giving me the opportunity to read this sweet book.
#bedandbreakup, #secondchanceromance, #forcedproximity, #sappicromance,#smalltownromance

Full of second chance romance and the change and grow that comes from aging together and apart. I loved how our characters interact with their memorable community and confront their complicated selves to reach where they need to be. All of the side characters were great and painted a vivid community for both the characters and the reader.

I did not enjoy this book and really struggled to finish reading it. The storyline was incredibly predictable and none of the “plot twists” were shocking in any way. I struggled to imagine the characters and overall the book felt very idealistic without much behind it. I really wanted to love this because I LOVE a sapphic love story, but this one just wasn’t it.

Thank you Netgalley and to Random House for providing me with this amazing ARC, in exchange for my honest review.

Second chance romance? In a small town? Sign me up every time! It was a cute, slow build up, romance. The prank war between them had me giggling. The overall vibes were so fun and heartwarming. I also loved the support of the town and everyone rooting for them to get back together.

This was my first book by Susie and I really enjoyed it. This small town 2nd chance romance was a little different than anything I’ve read before, as I typically don’t read same sex novels-I will now though!

Robin and Molly’s marriage ended 7 years ago when they are now forced back at their Hummingbird Inn. They built this inn together and are shocked to see the changes it has gone through and have decide to renovate it to its original charm. My favorite part of the book is just how much everyone in town is rooting for this couple.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thought this was a really cute second chance romance! Watching the two main characters who have been separated but still married for 7 years be forced to come together in order to end their chapter together and navigate everything was so fun. There was a ton of comedic relief surrounding all of the heavier emotions, and both characters grew so much and it was written on the page so well. I also LOVED the last dinner that Robin hosted at the inn, it was so cozy and wrapped up a lot of the story in such a beautiful way. Thanks to Dial for an early copy!

Bed and Breakup was a cute, fast, and fun read. Molly and Robin being in close proximity after being apart for seven years definitely led to some good tension and funny moments as they tried to drive each other out. Once they started renovating the Inn and growing closer, things really took off, and you could see the feelings that drew them together for the first time.
The setting of Eureka was beautiful, and I loved the Hummingbird Inn. All that, along with the secondary characters really brought the story to life.

A very cute second try romance placed in the deep south - in a small, queer welcomed and thriving community.
The banter was fantastic! A lovely cat of course to add some zest.
Molly and Robin return to their treasured inn - after years apart, and the ending of their love story. Or is the love ended? Working together to fix up the inn for sale, these women can't help but reconnect. Lovely story.

Really enjoyed this! Been a big fan since I read Looking For A Sign, so was eagerly anticipating this. Really warm, cozy, cute and the perfect read for summer and Pride!

There is an inherent beauty to the idea of a second chance romance, however that is not enough in and of itself to carry a story. This one is helped along by the wonderful setting of the Hummingbird Inn and Eureka Springs, but I was still left wanting more depth.

The biggest frustrations I have with this book come from our two protagonists. We start with Molly, who is supposed to be sympathetic but comes off as quite cruel at the start of this book and stays surface level for the majority. Robin was a bit blander in comparison, and interestingly, most of Molly’s growth is seen via Robin’s perspective which is a nice thought but the execution leaves us mostly just being told about it rather than shown it.

I think the choice to not have a full flashback to the initial breakup or some sort of final confrontation leaves the reader with a lack of context that makes a lot of the commentary between them about their breakup fall flat. There seems to be an understanding that as the reader, we’re on the same page with the characters when in reality we seem to be missing half the pages.

All in all, this was a cute story and provided an exceptionally picturesque setting with some solid backup characters. Would have loved to see more depth across the board.

I liked this second-chance romance between characters who needed to move apart and grow up before they realized how well they could be together. Molly and Robin never got divorced, which made for a tricky situation when they end up living together to renovate and sell the Hummingbird Inn that they had left behind years prior. (I am not sure how you can just stay married and "move on", but that's neither here nor there.)

I was very amused at the pranks in the beginning of the book that the two main characters pulled on each other as a way to drive the other away. It certainly showed how well they still knew each other, and then made it more believable when they realized they still have chemistry. The pacing of the storyline, which is complimented by the interactions with the other characters in the book (e.g. Molly's best friend Keyana and Robin's cooking mentee Jesse), made the relationship believable. Their chemistry dripped off the page. I wanted to shake the characters for not communicating, but also cheered when they would figure things out.

Overall I enjoyed the book. It was a fun read!

Thank you to Susie Dumond, The Dial Press, and NetGalley for the arc of this book.