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Verdict: A warm, funny, very queer small-town romance with a great setting and side cast — and a genuinely divisive central couple. Readers love Eureka Springs, the inn and the food; many found Molly and Robin’s prank war childish and wanted the book to deal more honestly with why their marriage ended.
Best for: Readers who want a second-chance, forced-proximity renovation romance with found family and a real-world queer haven.
Heat level: Moderate (open door; no romance.io steam rating)
Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.5/5 — a 3.59 Goodreads average across 1,065 ratings, 3.67 on StoryGraph from 640 reviews, and 4.3 stars across 57 Amazon ratings)
Tropes: Second chance, estranged spouses, lovers to enemies to lovers, prank war, forced proximity, renovation, small town, found family, dual first-person POV.
Bed and Breakup is Susie Dumond’s June 2025 contemporary lesbian romance from The Dial Press. As newlyweds, Molly and Robin turned the Hummingbird Inn in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, into a destination for queer travellers. Seven years after their marriage fell apart, both come back — and neither will leave.
It holds a 3.59 average across 1,065 Goodreads ratings, with 54% of them four or five stars, 3.67 on StoryGraph from 640 reviews, and 4.3 stars across 57 Amazon ratings.
What Is Bed and Breakup About?
Molly, a stained-glass artist on the rise, has a commission in town. Robin, a celebrity chef whose restaurants have collapsed, has nowhere else to go. Both feel entitled to the inn they still jointly own, and both start an escalating prank war to drive the other out.
When neither budges, they agree to renovate the neglected inn, sell it and finally go their separate ways. Restoring its old charm brings back the memories — and the chemistry — they walked away from.
What Works in This Second-Chance Romance
- Eureka Springs: The most praised thing in the book. Readers were delighted to learn the quirky, queer-friendly Ozarks town is real, and several want to move there.
- Side characters and found family: Readers repeatedly name the supporting cast as a highlight, and 90% of StoryGraph readers called the cast diverse.
- Food and craft: Robin’s vegan cooking and Molly’s stained glass give the renovation real texture; there is a recipe at the back.
- Chemistry: Even critics note the spark under the bickering.
- Audio: Listeners praise the dual-narrator audiobook.
Book Synopsis
Two exes return to the vacant bed and breakfast that ended their marriage. Molly is there for an art commission; Robin is there because her career has gone under. Each is furious the other won’t leave.
After pranks fail, they strike a deal: fix up the inn, sell it and part for good. But bringing the Hummingbird back to life stirs up everything they once had.
My Review
Dumond is at her best with community. The town, the inn and the friends around Molly and Robin are vivid and generous, and the book is a love letter to queer life in the rural South. Readers who connect with the couple describe a fun, emotional second-chance story, and the renovation gives it a satisfying shape.
The problems are in the romance itself. The most repeated criticism is that the leads act immature, and that the prank war tips from playful into cruel; a number of readers didn’t warm to either woman until 30 to 45% of the way in. The second is the past: several readers say Robin cheated and the book glosses over it, while others say it is only implied — and many simply wanted to know what really broke them up. Smaller complaints: the two first-person voices sound alike, and one reader found the ending rushed.
My honest note: Come for the town; stay if the couple wins you over by the halfway mark.
| Element | In Bed and Breakup |
|---|---|
| Central relationship | Molly (stained-glass artist) & Robin (celebrity chef), separated but still married |
| Core tropes | Second chance, prank war, forced proximity, renovation, small town |
| Setting | The Hummingbird Inn, Eureka Springs, Arkansas |
| Heat level | Moderate — open door |
| Length | 349 pages (Kindle listing); 9 h 55 min audiobook |
| Series | Standalone — happy ending |
| Content notes | Homophobia, abandonment, alcohol and drug use, sexual content, infidelity, the pandemic, a fire |
How Spicy Is Bed and Breakup?
Moderately. It is open door, and readers mention steamy scenes and an exes-with-benefits stage, but one rates the spice 2 out of 5. Romance.io has no steam rating.
StoryGraph readers flag graphic sexual content, drug use and cursing; moderate homophobia, abandonment, alcohol and the pandemic; and minor transphobia and death, among others.
Who Should Read This Book?
You’ll likely love it if: you want a cosy queer small town and a messy second chance. It is on our feel-good list.
You may want to skip it if: childish bickering or an unresolved infidelity question will ruin a romance for you.
In short: Great town, divisive couple.
What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)
On Goodreads the split is 14% five stars, 40% four, 36% three, 7% two and 1% one — a lot of middling ratings for a book readers otherwise call fun. On StoryGraph, 75% tagged it lighthearted, 60% emotional and 48% funny. It came out with trade support, including a Book Riot new-releases mention, and a Publishers Weekly review calling the romance sweet. The audiobook is narrated by Kimberly M. Wetherell and Jeremy Carlisle Parker, per the Libro.fm listing.
Prefer audio? Listen to Bed and Breakup on Libro.fm — the audiobook shop that supports independent bookstores.
Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Eureka Springs first. Second, the side characters. Third, the food and the renovation. Fourth, the chemistry.
What readers argue about and complain about: Immature, toxic pranks, above everything. Second, the unresolved cheating question. Third, a slow start. Fourth, voices that blur together.
The comparison worth making first: Flipping Hearts and Homes also pairs romance with a small-town renovation, with far less friction and much lower angst.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Bed and Breakup a second-chance romance?
Yes. Molly and Robin married young, ran the inn together and separated seven years earlier without ever finalising a divorce. The book follows them falling back in love.
Does Bed and Breakup have a happy ending?
Yes. Several reviewers confirm an HEA, though one felt the ending came together a little suddenly.
Is there cheating in Bed and Breakup?
Readers disagree about how to read the past. Some say Robin cheated before she left; others say it is only implied or never made clear. Several readers wanted the book to address it more directly.
How spicy is Bed and Breakup?
Moderate. It is open door, and one reader rates the spice 2 out of 5; StoryGraph readers flag the sexual content as graphic.
Where is Bed and Breakup set?
In Eureka Springs, Arkansas — a real, famously queer-friendly Ozarks town, which many readers loved discovering.
If You Loved Bed and Breakup, Read These Next
Try Flipping Hearts and Homes or Wake Up, Nat & Darcy. For more, browse our feel-good list or the full Book Reviews archive.
The Bottom Line
Bed and Breakup sets out to be a charming small-town second-chance romance, and the setting and community carry it. What holds it back is a couple many readers found hard to root for. Worth it for Eureka Springs. Check Bed and Breakup on Amazon →
The Eikna Overall Ranking
On the Eikna scale, Bed and Breakup ranks as a fair-to-good romcom — lovely world, uneven romance.
The Evidence Scorecard
Overall ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ 3.59 average across 1,065 Goodreads ratings
- ✓ 54% of Goodreads ratings are four or five stars
- ✓ 3.67 on StoryGraph from 640 reviews
- ✓ 4.3 stars across 57 Amazon ratings
Romance ★★★☆☆ 3.2/5
- ✓ Second chance
- ✓ Chemistry under the bickering
- ✓ Past left vague
- ✓ HEA
Characters ★★★☆☆ 3.4/5
- ✓ Beloved side cast
- ✓ Leads read as immature
- ✓ Slow to warm to
- ✓ 78% strong development
Writing ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Vivid setting
- ✓ Funny
- ✓ Similar POV voices
- ✓ Slow first third
Emotional Impact ★★★★☆ 3.5/5
- ✓ Tagged emotional by 60%
- ✓ Found family
- ✓ Near-tragedy late on
- ✓ Hopeful
Heat Level ★★★☆☆ 3/5
- ✓ Open door
- ✓ Steamy scenes
- ✓ 2/5 spice for one reader
- ✓ Graphic content flagged
Ending ★★★★☆ 3.8/5
- ✓ HEA confirmed
- ✓ Rushed for one
- ✓ Standalone
- ✓ Satisfying for most
Re-read Value ★★★☆☆ 3.3/5
- ✓ Dual-narrator audiobook
- ✓ Not on Kindle Unlimited
- ✓ $11.99 Kindle price
- ✓ Recipe at the back
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