📖 Bookish Thoughts
This was one of my most anticipated new releases of the year, and while I was really hoping for a five-star read, it ended up being more of a 3.5 for me.
Bed and Breakup is a cute second-chance romance with solid romcom vibes, but it moved at a much slower pace than I expected. I didn’t really click with either of the FMCs until about 30% in. Even then, both Molly and Robin often came across as pretty immature.

That said, there were some elements I really enjoyed. The chosen family and queer community themes were heartwarming, and I liked how the story explored coming back to a shared past and trying to rebuild something new. The prank war between Robin and Molly had some funny moments, though a few of the pranks were a bit too mean for my taste. That doll prank? That would have sent me over and I would have packed my bags. 😭

The ending was cute, but it felt a little rushed, especially after such a slow build throughout the book. I wanted more and a deeper sense of growth from both main characters by the end. It just felt abrupt.

🩷What You Can Expect
• Second chance romance
• Forced proximity
• Small town charm
• Chosen family
• Prank war
• Queer community

📖 Final Score: ★★★½
📅 Pub Date: June 24, 2025
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

I absolutely loved this read! This was a first read of this author and I’ll definitely be going back to read her past books. I could fully picture the setting and longed to be there. The feelings and characters felt so realistic!

Thank you to Dial Press and Penguin Random House for the EARC in exchange for an honest review.

Bed and Breakup is a second chance romance that forces two exes into close proximity in the place they fell in love. Along the way they drive each other up a wall and can’t seem to stop bickering, until they decide to sell the Inn. Only problem? First they have to bring back the charm it had when they were running it, which means they’ll have to work together.

Bed and Breakup had a fun storyline that celebrated queer joy and a lovable cast of characters. I loved the idea of a DIY home fixer upper/artist and a celebrity chef coming back to the small town where their romance was born. And it felt at times like I was watching a crossover of a HGTV show and a Food Network show. As someone who grew up watching both networks constantly it was like coming home.

I loved watching both character come to a point where they found joy in the things they loved again after making them their careers. It was a reminder that sometimes we loose sight of why we fell in love with something, especially if we make it our career. I loved watching both characters relearn the things they loved and also have their own realizations about what they want from life in general moving forward.

The main issue I had while reading though was the romance fell flat. Molly and Robin’s relationship just didn’t seem to get off the ground the second time around. I first started getting nervous when both of them decided to prank each other with some of their biggest fears. It just felt wrong because they both knew how deep the fears ran and would know the type of reaction it would induce. If they hadn’t been married and together for so long I maybe wouldn’t have felt as strongly with this, but knowing how well they knew each other made me feel weird about it.

Then there was also the fact we don’t really see them fall in love. It’s more the old feelings stir and so they engage in a physical relationship. And while we get moments where you feel a slight tug towards romance, it doesn’t fully develop. Mix that with we don’t really get much detail on how they fell in love in the first place and it just felt hard to place exactly why they loved each other. Especially when there were signs of possible infidelity (it wasn’t very clear) , abandonment, and the fact they never legally got divorced in 7 years. It just made the whole romantic element of this story feel flat.

I will say there were some amazing moments at the end when they did decide to be together, but it felt like we didn’t get to see that type of love play out on page.

A sweet, second chance romance, Bed and Breakup is my second Susie Dumond read. For fans of cooking shows, HGTV and enemies to friends romance stories.

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Bed and Breakup by Susie Dumond
I was hooked from the beginning!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

📚: Bed and Breakup by Susie Dumond
⭐️: 3/5

Estranged exes Molly and Robin find themselves back in the town they were married in as each of their lives hit unexpected crossroads. Robin, a tv-famous cook has hit bottom (along with her bank account), as her restaurants have gone under and tv appearances run dry. Molly, an artist, finds herself back in little town Arkansas commissioned for her stained glass art, but has lost herself along the way. As they reunite to renovate the bed and breakfast inn they once shared, they not only find their past but their future too.

This could have been ripped from a Hallmark movie, which I typically love, but found this to have uneven pacing with an ending that feels abrupt. A ton of time is spent on the initial back and forth (the enemies part of the enemies to lovers), and instead of building background, it felt unnecessarily arduous.

That said, a cute story for a palette cleanser read - and the cake recipe at the end of the book is a bonus. (Seriously, I’m going to make it, it sounds delicious.)

Thanks to Random House via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Bed and Breakup is out now.

3.5 ⭐

After being separated for seven years, Molly and Robin both end up back at the inn that they renovated and ran together as newlyweds. Seeing it as an opportunity for closure, they decide to work together to re-renovate the inn and sell it. Although they are determined to see this through and break up for good, old memories and feelings arise and they find themselves drawn towards each other again.

I loved that Molly is a stained glass artist and that both her and Robin's passion for their respective arts felt detailed and genuine. I just wish I felt the same about their chemistry and passion for each other! It felt a little forced and more like I was being told that they have this tension rather than seeing it for myself. The pranking also felt childish and mean.

The secondary characters were fun and interesting and I wish they had all had a little more development and story.

Bonus points for the cat named Marmalade. :)

Thank you to Random House and Dial Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own!

This book was super cute! Perfect read for Pride month. Second chances, sapphic yearning, forced proximity, lovers to enemies to lovers, all my favorite things. I wish I could give it 4.5 stars, my only issue was the mention of Covid/Pandemic. It’s just a personal thing of mine that I’d prefer it to be omitted from my reading, but I 100% understand why it was used and it did help explain the time line and why certain things happened the way they did. It wasn’t dragged out, just mentioned here and there for the sake of the plot which I can appreciate. I loved the artist/chef aspect and how much time was taken to really get to know each character and who they were separately and what goals and aspirations they had before they came back together.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for giving me this novel!

I have to say I was so bored I did not finish this one.. I hate giving reviews like this but I did not feel any chemistry at all.. the run in after 7 years was to much of a coincidence first of all.. the story was all over the place a lot and I just didn’t vibe with if at all.

Married couple Molly and Robin built the Hummingbird Bed and Breakfast into a destination, especially with the LGBTQIA+ crowd, in Eureka, Arkansas. They split up when Robin sought stardom in cooking shows and left town. Molly hired a management firm to oversee the Hummingbird, who undid their renovations, while she hit the road doing art installations. Years later, the estranged exes return to Eureka unbeknownst to each other, each planning to stay at the inn. This is a slow, second chance at romance as Robin and Molly decide to renovate the Hummingbird to its former glory and sell to a friend and move forward with their divorce. I just felt the whole story sold the reader on why Robin and Molly split up in the first place and found it hard to root for them to get back together. I was cheering for them individually as well as the interesting side characters. This is a good one to find at the library.

Thank you, Random House Publishing Group - Random House | Dial Press Trade Paperback, for providing this book for review consideration through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

Having visited Eureka Springs so many times, this book makes me want to take another roadtrip back to experience the amazing city. I loved the characters relationship and the vulnerability they showed towards each other throughout the whole process.

- I loved everything about BED AND BREAKUP. Second chances! Returning home! Queer found family! Renovations! Why did we break up anyway, you’re so hot!
- Really though, it’s hard to write a second chance romance where both the reason for the breakup and the path back together feel genuine, and Dumond did it here.
- I also love that Dumond continues to write books set in queer enclaves in the South. Queer people are and deserve to be everywhere.

This is a super cute book, and it's a sweet and steamy second chance romance filled with a warm and charming small town and queer community, and great secondary characters.

A renovation of a bed and breakfast in a wonderfully described small town is the plot of the novel. Big hearted, charming and a big hearted novel. I was sad to see it end.

Bed and Breakup is the first book I’ve read by author Susie Dumond, and I enjoyed getting to know the characters, Robin and Molly. They are exes who reunite after seven years apart and are forced to work together to renovate and sell the bed and breakfast that destroyed their marriage. I appreciated how Susie Dumond gave me both characters’ POVs so I could read how both characters were feeling for one another and get both sides story and not just one side. I will admit, though, that I liked Molly over Robin, but that’s due to what Robin did seven years ago to Molly. She ended up leaving Molly, and not only that, she ended up with another woman. I’m not sure if it’s considered cheating since their marriage was rocky before Robin left, but it hurt Molly, which means I sided with Molly when I started reading this book.

This is a second-chance romance story, and I trusted Susie Dumond’s approach to reuniting Molly and Robin. Initially, Molly and Robin decide to prank each other, making each other’s lives difficult while staying at the bed and breakfast. However, they eventually come to realize that the sooner they complete the renovations, the closer they will be to returning to their lives, even though one of them is dealing with what they plan on doing next after their failed restaurant.

I enjoyed reading Molly and Robin’s story, especially when it came to them renovating the bed and breakfast. I loved getting to know them individually, but I didn’t feel these two should be back together. They treated each other horribly, and they needed to work through things. I also was still bothered that Robin had been with another woman in the time Molly and her were separated, but maybe the time apart and coming back together is what they needed. They were more mature and had been through some things, but I wasn’t fully convinced.

I may have had some issues with believing the chemistry between the characters, but other than that, I did enjoy the story and its setting and would still recommend the book, especially to readers who love reading Second Chance Sapphic Romance stories. I give this book 3.5-stars and look forward to reading more from Susie Dumond.

I will say this: this book made me hungry while reading it with all the food that was mentioned whenever Robin cooked or was helping to cook. I need all the recipes for the dishes that were mentioned and not just the cake recipe.

What to Expect:
✔️Sapphic Romance
✔️Small Town Romance
✔️Enemies to Lovers
✔️Second Chance
✔️Forced Proximity

This was a great forced proximity second chance romance. I had a lot of fun reading it. It was light, which was good- however I do wish we got more of a deeper resolution between Molly and Robin- it felt like their past was just glossed over and never really talked about

This was a very cute and heartfelt second chance romance with two woman who definitely needed the breakup but who relearned how to love each other in the end. This was a quick read and I really thought there was going to be a 3rd act breakup but was pleasantly surprised when there wasn't so that's a plus. Read this one in one sitting, quick paced and tge characters really feel fleshed out. You can really feel their history with each other and the Inn that they are having to fix and sell together. Cozy read that felt like a warm hug. Highly recommend.

I loved this second chance romance. Robin and Molly split up 7 years ago but reunite by chance as they both wind up at their shared B&B in Eureka Springs. While they work on fixing it up to finally sell, they start to revisit old memories and reconnect as their present selves. The town was adorable and I loved the connections between the main characters and their surrounding families and friends. I truly devoured it!

I received a copy of the book from NetGalley, Random House, and Dial Press Trade in exchange for my honest review.

I’m in my second chance romance era and this was good. Some of the things I really liked about this book was our main characters, Robin and Molly. We start the book with them separated and barely standing each other, but I loved watching the journey of them slowly becoming reacquainted with each other.

I really liked the town and the cast of characters there. It was nice that they were all kinda rooting for our girls to get back together. Marmalade the cat was great!

I’m not really a huge fan of pranking in books, especially when the characters are adults, so I didn’t really love that aspect of it. I also would have liked a little bit more backstory on their breakup.

Molly and Robin were once newlyweds who turned the Hummingbird Inn into a cozy hotspot for queer travelers in the artsy town of Eureka Springs—until their careers pulled them in different directions and their marriage fell apart. Seven years later, both women return to the inn with very different goals: Molly is now a rising artist, and Robin’s trying to regroup after her restaurant empire crumbled. Stuck under the same roof and both claiming ownership, they resort to hilarious pranks and tension-filled renovations, determined to outlast the other. But as they restore the inn, old feelings bubble back up, making it harder and harder to let go. This was such a cute read! I loved the second chance romance and the playful dynamic between Molly and Robin—it had just the right mix of heart and humor. It was exactly what I needed during Pride Month.