A bed-and-breakfast for the brokenhearted might hold the key to another chance at love in this achingly hopeful debut romance.

Louisa Walsh emerged from a tumultuous childhood with a degree in counseling, a wealthy boyfriend, and her sunny outlook on life mostly intact. But that optimism is tested when she’s dumped and left unable to afford rent on their gorgeous house in the mountains of Colorado. Even with her life in disarray, Lou knows losing the one stable place she’s ever called home is not an option.

She asks her reclusive landlord, Henry Rhodes, to let her stay for free in exchange for renting out the house’s many rooms as a bed-and-breakfast. She’s shocked when he agrees to her terms, and even more surprised to discover Henry is a handsome thirtysomething veterinarian with silver at his temples and sadness in his eyes. One who does not take it well when Lou starts marketing her B and B as a retreat for the recently heartbroken.

But as the Comeback Inn opens its doors to its weary, hopeful guests, Lou and Henry find themselves dancing around both their undeniable connection and the closely held secrets that threaten to topple this fragile new start. A chance at love, here, could be too close to home…or it could be exactly where their hearts finally heal.

This was a nice little palate cleanser romance. It’s sweet, funny in spots, and full of characters that are easy to root for, and it never got mired down in trivial melodramatics.

We meet Louisa Walsh right after her whole life has taken a hit. She’s newly dumped, struggling with money, and about to lose her rental in the Colorado mountains. Her solution is both charming and slightly desperate: turn the place into a bed-and-breakfast. But not just any B&B. She wants to make it into a retreat for the brokenhearted. I mean, how can you not love that idea? Cozy mountain vibes, rooms full of people licking their wounds, and maybe even healing a little in the process. I only wish we’d gotten more of that side of the story. The “Comeback Inn” had so much potential, and while it does play a part, the book leans more on Louisa’s personal heartbreak journey. I found myself craving more of those guest interactions, watching her heal by helping others do the same.

Where the story shines is in the characters. Louisa herself is easy to like. She’s a little scattered, a little stubborn, and very determined to make the best out of the scraps life has handed her. Then there’s Henry, the reclusive landlord who agrees to her B&B plan. He’s the kind of character who grows on you slowly. Quiet, broody, carrying a sadness that O’Clover never overplays. By the end, it’s obvious why Lou falls for him. Their connection isn’t forced. It builds in believable steps, with just enough tension to keep the slow burn satisfying.

The side characters add depth without pulling focus. Louisa’s sister and her best friend both stand out, offering support and grounding her when her own emotions threaten to spin out of control. These relationships made Louisa feel more real, not just a main character in a romance but a young woman navigating family, friendship, and responsibility. The subplot with Lou’s mother reminded me of Abby Jimenez’s Just for the Summer (if you’ve read that one, you’ll see the similarities). It’s familiar, sure, but it fits Louisa’s growth, forcing her to face pieces of her past she’d rather leave untouched.

Something else I appreciated is that the book avoids leaning too heavily on the usual tropes. It never felt like a paint-by-numbers rom-com. Instead, the story takes its time. The intimacy is earned, and the spice level stays on the lower side, which matched the tone perfectly. Tender, hopeful, and grounded in emotion rather than pure steam.

My only real complaint is the balance of focus. The bed-and-breakfast idea was so fun, and I wanted more of it. The guests could have been a bigger part of Louisa’s healing. But at the same time, this is Lou’s story, and the way O’Clover centers her heartbreak, and her ability to find something new in the ashes of it, makes sense.

In the end, I appreciated that this one isn’t flashy or trope-heavy. It’s not trying to reinvent the genre. What it does instead is give us a tender, earned romance with characters who feel like people you could actually know. If you’re in the mood for something heartfelt, hopeful, and just a little quirky, this one’s worth checking into.

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