ARC Review: ‘Bed and Breakup’ by Susie Dumond
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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Bed and Breakup
by Susie DumondPublished by The Dial Press (Dial Delights) on June 24, 2025
SubGenres: Contemporary Romance, FF Romance, Lesbian Romance, LGBT Romance
Format: eArc
Pages: 369
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
Audience: 18+/Adult
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“A small-town second-chance romance that celebrates the joy of art, food, and chosen family with a scorching hot love story impossible not to root for.”—Amy Spalding, bestselling author of For Her Consideration
Two exes reunite to fix up and sell the bed-and-breakfast that destroyed their marriage—because some dreams, no matter how dusty or broken, deserve a second chance.
Their love story is a bit of a fixer-upper.
As newlyweds, Molly and Robin made the Hummingbird Inn into a trendy destination for queer travelers in the quirky mountain town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas. But when their career ambitions drove them apart, the young couple separated, handed over the property’s upkeep to a management firm, and never looked back.
Seven years later, Molly and Robin return to the Hummingbird Inn for very different reasons. Molly is an artist on the rise who’s been commissioned to create pieces in Eureka Springs; Robin is a celebrity chef whose restaurants have gone belly-up. Both feel entitled to their shared property, furious that the other refuses to leave, and each resorts to a series of escalating pranks in the hopes of scaring the other off. When neither woman budges, they resolve to renovate the bed-and-breakfast together, sell it, and at last go their separate ways. But their work to restore the inn’s vintage charm reignites memories—and chemistry—that make it hard to say goodbye.
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
About Susie Dumond
Susie Dumond is a queer writer originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. She is the author of Queerly Beloved, Looking for a Sign, and Bed and Breakup. Susie is also a senior contributor at Book Riot and a bookseller at Loyalty Bookstores. Susie lives in Washington, D.C., with her spouse, Mickey, and her cat, Maple. When she’s not writing or reading, you can find her baking cupcakes or belting karaoke at the nearest gay bar.
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