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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my favorite romance sub-genres is the small town romance. Unfortunately we don't often see many queer small town romance stories, especially set in the south. But Susie Dumond has created such a wonderful story that celebrated second chances, reconnecting with community, and queer joy. This book is also incredibly funny and hit all the comedic moments that I want in a rom-com. Like I kept picturing this as a early 2000's rom-com and it's everything I would want in a movie. I think it's important too that the characters acknowledge that this small town is not the norm for everywhere in the south, but gives hope that maybe someday it could be. So if you're looking for a funny and heartwarming sapphic romance, this is the book for you!
Thank you Dial Press for the review copy!
Thank you Dial Press for the review copy!
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Susie did such an excellent job of capturing the love hate relationship with Arkansas in this book.
This book is a second chance romance, and In the author event I went to, she said “this book is kind of like my second-chance romance with Arkansas.” And I loved that so much. Because growing up here you love the state, then you realize all of the horrible horrible things that happen here, and it makes you hate the state.
But you come back to realize that despite all of those horrible things, there are deeply wonderful and beautiful things and people in this state that make it a state worth fighting for.
The hummingbird was the cutest place I could ever think of, and I wanted to make a trip to Eureka immediately!
Molly and Robin’s tension is palpable. Maybe it’s the Taurus in me, but I couldn’t stand robin for so much of the book because I was holding this huge grudge against her for Molly. But, Robin’s growth really grew on me, and I was rooting for them both by the end. Which is hard to do in a second chance romance. I’m so glad the book was dual POV.
The cast of characters were some of the most lovable and “that’s not a character, I know that guy” characters that I’ve ever read.
I also commend Susie for writing so diversely as well. She made sure to include so many perspectives in the book that it felt actually authentic to what Arkansas is like and can be like for people. The really really good, the bad, and the really really ugly.
My favorite scenes were probably the waterfall scene, the doll scene, the birthday party scene, and the first kiss scene… 👀 what can I say, I love it when a yearning pays off.
The only part that was my not so favorite was that I felt like sometimes the sex scenes didn’t necessarily add much value to the story, and sometimes they were so quick and vague that I felt like if the goal was to be less “spicy” then I think something like hand holding or simply a passionate and slow kiss would have sufficed, or more really intimate and deep talks. (Even though the book was full of those)
This book is a second chance romance, and In the author event I went to, she said “this book is kind of like my second-chance romance with Arkansas.” And I loved that so much. Because growing up here you love the state, then you realize all of the horrible horrible things that happen here, and it makes you hate the state.
But you come back to realize that despite all of those horrible things, there are deeply wonderful and beautiful things and people in this state that make it a state worth fighting for.
The hummingbird was the cutest place I could ever think of, and I wanted to make a trip to Eureka immediately!
Molly and Robin’s tension is palpable. Maybe it’s the Taurus in me, but I couldn’t stand robin for so much of the book because I was holding this huge grudge against her for Molly. But, Robin’s growth really grew on me, and I was rooting for them both by the end. Which is hard to do in a second chance romance. I’m so glad the book was dual POV.
The cast of characters were some of the most lovable and “that’s not a character, I know that guy” characters that I’ve ever read.
I also commend Susie for writing so diversely as well. She made sure to include so many perspectives in the book that it felt actually authentic to what Arkansas is like and can be like for people. The really really good, the bad, and the really really ugly.
My favorite scenes were probably the waterfall scene, the doll scene, the birthday party scene, and the first kiss scene… 👀 what can I say, I love it when a yearning pays off.
The only part that was my not so favorite was that I felt like sometimes the sex scenes didn’t necessarily add much value to the story, and sometimes they were so quick and vague that I felt like if the goal was to be less “spicy” then I think something like hand holding or simply a passionate and slow kiss would have sufficed, or more really intimate and deep talks. (Even though the book was full of those)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bed and Breakup is a second-chance romance with a dash of home and self-improvement.
Molly and Robin bought and renovated the Hummingbird Inn as newlyweds; now, as exes, they're forced back to the inn to remodel, sell, and move on?
In Eureka Springs, a queer haven in the midwest, Susie Dumond takes the pair back through their past. The warts-and-all look at their marriage and who they are now vs. who they were then helps the reader see the growth, just as they see it in themselves, which allows the reader really feel like part of their relationship and part of their growth.
Dumond deftly creates a supporting cast of characters that help immerse the readers into their lives.
It's nostalgic, emotional and a really enjoyable read.
Molly and Robin bought and renovated the Hummingbird Inn as newlyweds; now, as exes, they're forced back to the inn to remodel, sell, and move on?
In Eureka Springs, a queer haven in the midwest, Susie Dumond takes the pair back through their past. The warts-and-all look at their marriage and who they are now vs. who they were then helps the reader see the growth, just as they see it in themselves, which allows the reader really feel like part of their relationship and part of their growth.
Dumond deftly creates a supporting cast of characters that help immerse the readers into their lives.
It's nostalgic, emotional and a really enjoyable read.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early.
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.
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.
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a cute Susie dumond. This didn't hit as much as the last one, but I think it was because I'm not a mid 30s person who was married. I liked the quirkiness of the book and the cute little moments. I enjoyed rhe book and its a good queer read about living queer and not worrying about the issues in the world right now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Drug use, Sexual content
Moderate: Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol
Minor: Death, Slavery, Transphobia
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced