Thank you Netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore these neurodivergent sapphics.

The premise for Late Bloomer already seemed exactly like I what j want in a romance novel and it more than delivered. Humor but without being too focused on making the reader laugh, dramatic premise without being too cheesy, and lots of heart without being saccharine.

The characters felt like fully fledged people and not just caricatures existing within a plot. I felt like I knew both Opal and Pepper and would be so happy hanging out with their friend group.

I also appreciated the showcasing of two different types of neurodivergence and the differences and similarities between them. I felt like the descriptions of both characters’ actions and thought process was quite realistic and did not try and act like there was something wrong with them for being neurodivergent.

I absolutely adored this book and would definitely recommend it.

A low stakes queer romance with neurodivergent leads and a dual POV structure, this felt cozy though not particularly memorable.

Opal is quite manic, naive, a bit trill and annoying, but overall very warm. She’s a lovely doormat and while I get where the author was going with her…she was just a step too far IMO. Also someone really needs to get her a financial planner. No one like her should win the lottery.

Pepper was meant to be the grumpy / prickly half and while she doesn’t quite manage that, her distrustful nature certainly ruffled my feathers and took me a while to come around on her.

Ultimately I didn’t really buy the romance between these two. They don’t make sense together, their attraction seems built solely on lust, and their character growth seems too intertwined with the romance.

Overall it was just ok and I found myself more interested in the side characters than the main ones. The spice itself felt stilted and almost formulaic instead of organic and heart pounding, which stems from the lack of believability of the romance.

Mazey Eddings is one of my insta-request authors. This one was just as good as I was expecting. More to come upon release!

I really enjoyed this book and the romance. I've never read Mazey Eddings before but after reading Late Bloomer, I definitely will be reading more of their books.

I always love Mazey's books and so of course I loved this one too. The story was fresh and fun but comfortable. I loved the representation of sexuality but also of neurodivergence. I saw parts of myself in both opal and pepper. Even though the story was fairly lighthearted the writing wasn't. I love when a book might be simple on the surface but the words pack a punch. The line about being loved just because you exist not because of whatever value you limit yourself to (bad paraphrase) was so good.

3.5 Stars

This was a cute read about Opal who ends up winning the lottery and buying a flower farm in NC. Pepper however, is currently living on the farm and had no idea it was even up for sale so the two upon realizing it come up with a plan for both of them to stay.

This was a really cute lighthearted romance between the two and I had fun reading it. There were points that felt rushed which ended up in me rating the book slightly lower. Overall, I did enjoy this one!

"𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 ... 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦."



I swear that Mazey Eddings can do no wrong.

This was such a beautiful masterpiece and I saw so many pieces of myself in both Pepper and Opal.

Pepper's abandonment issues.

Opal's general feelings of being in the way... or being a burden... or making a mess of things.

But, man. The way they stand up for each other with Trish and Laney (who are the absolute worst, by the way)... gosh, my heart. ❤️

Thank you so so much to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #latebloomer #mazeyeddings #whatsnikkireading #book33of2024 #lgbtqiap #onehouse #roommateswithbenefits #mentalhealthrep #adhd #autism #flowerfarm

I love Mazey’s writing and character-building! The setting of a flower farm was splendid. The sapphic romance was lovely. You go to see inside both of the character’s heads and understand their viewpoint and reasoning.

My girl Lizzie and her cake-making were mentioned!!

I think it would be lovely if Opal’s sisters were able to have their happily ever afters told in the future.

I absolutely adored this book! The chemistry between these two characters was everything and more. I loved how we got to see the transition between their start and getting off on the wrong foot to growing this amazing connection!! I could not get enough of this book. I seriously want more of them! Mazey Eddings truly outdid themselves on this book!

This was so fun!! A sapphic romance between two neurodiverse women with a version of forced proximity. I enjoyed the dual POV and the happy ending of course!

3.5

This cover is everything! And then I saw it was an opposites attract sapphic romcom with two neurodiverse main characters and I knew I had to read this.

Let's start with what I loved. Opal and Pepper are both incredibly well fleshed out main characters and I really liked them and related to them both in a lot of ways. Opal is a disaster bisexual who probably has some form of autism and/or ADHD but hasn't been able to get a diagnosis because the testing as an adult is ridiculously convoluted and expensive. She's trying to find her place in the world when she wins the lottery and decides to buy a flower farm (off Facebook Marketplace?). That flower farm is home to Pepper, who is autistic and still dealing with the grief of her grandmother's death and her traumatic childhood with a flighty mom. For reasons, when the two meet up they decide they should both stay at the farm.

Honestly, the plot requires a lot of suspension of belief but I didn't really mind because I was enjoying the ride. That being said, I had to pause reading this at about the 70% mark and then really had no desire to pick it back up. I did and I enjoyed the ending but I think because I was forced to leave the world Eddings built here, it made me really sit with how unbelievable the plot was and I was less invested in the story. That might be something particular to my reading experience, but I thought it was worth noting.

Overall, I thought this was a fun escapist time. I haven't read any of Eddings' other work, though I know they have been popular. I'd be interested in checking out more of her work because I liked the writing and I liked the neurodiverse representation.

The flower farm makes for a perfect setting for this love story that blossoms with both tenderness and ferocity. Mazey Eddings does it again!

Mazey Eddings is a brilliant story teller. This is a big change from her Brush With Love series, but the characters are still lovable and relatable.

I was really looking forward to this book and it did not let me down! I am a huge sucker for a fun, lighthearted sapphic romance. Whether that be adult or young adult. I really applaud this author for stepping out of her comfort zone and writing a story like this. I loved all of the representation in this book, including neurodivergence. I can tell it was handled with a lot of thought and care. Pepper and Opal had a great connection and I was rooting for them from start to finish. It gave all the lesbian vibes I needed. I will definitely be thinking of this book for awhile after!

Opal wins the lottery buys a flower farm. Pepper still lives at said flower farm. What happens when a failing flower farm gets sold underneath the real owner and two women get caught in the crosshairs? They bloom a little later that's what.

Late Bloomer was a PERFECT sapphic romance to read. Some spicier scenes but overall a fantastic book. I cried (more than once) during this book and have been recommending it since. Both FMC's are mental health reps and navigating the world as an adult. There was a small and I mean SMALL mention of a third act breakup but with the characters and their personalities, it made sense.

If you're looking for a feel good, down to earth, coming age, and coming into one's self/sexuality, PICK UP THIS BOOK.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I love the forced proximity of the relationship and the floral backdrop, but mostly I just loved the building sapphic romance! I particularly love when character give in to sexual attraction before they figure out their heavier long-term romance feelings, and this delivered on that. These two had plenty of chemistry against the backdrop of their real-world problems, so it was the perfect balance of that, too.

I would highly recommend this one to fans of other spicy sapphic romcoms like Kiss Her Once for Me and Delilah Green Doesn't Care. I eat these books up and I know my fellow sapphics do, too. I pre=ordered the book in paperback after finishing my NetGalley copy and can't wait to feature it in recommendation videos on TikTok in the future.

"𝘔𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘐𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰." 

At this point, Ms Mazey could write about the trials and tribulations of two rocks falling in love, and you'll catch me front and center eating that uppp! 

Late Bloomer is probably one of the softest sapphic "cottagecore" romances I've ever read; it's beautifully delicate, just like Opal and Pepper.
They may be doing their little dance around each other while battling some inner turmoil, but that just makes their "moments" so much more precious. Their chemistry is fiery hot.... especially in the bedroom🤭 or greenhouse😏

Honestly, this is the first sapphic romance that I truly find relatable; a little bit of something from both Opal and Pepper I can connect with. And as always, Mazey will always be the master of writing the mental health rep so meticulously and efficient that will without a doubt warm the soul❤️‍🔥
I'll always be a sucker for opposites falling in love because when they do, they fall HARD, and one being a grumpy goose and the other a ferocious sunshine... match made in heaven🥹 

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨." 

what you can expect:
🌸 a flower farm about to collapse
🌸 opposites-attract romance 
🌸 grumpy x sunshine pairing
🌸 "let's huddle for warmth"
🌸 neurodivergent rep
🌸 caretaking 

Thank you so much to @mazeyeddings & @smpromance for providing me with an arc; a true delight as always 💗

I LOVE Mazey Eddings - I think there isn't a book she's written I haven't fully enjoyed.

Things I loved about this: Queer and Mental Health rep. If there's one thing Mazey's going to do, it's include representation in her books. She does it so well too! Nothing feels forced amongst the characters and never feels like a plot point.

What didn't work for me: Opal. I'm so so sorry, but I just couldn't back her as a main character. I love that she won the lotto and set on her dream about buying a flower farm. But for some reason I just did not connect with her as a character.

This could totally be a me situation and not the book.


Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press and Mazey Eddings for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start this review by saying I'm a HUGE fan of Mazey Edding's work, but this book just wasn't for me.

Late Bloomer follows Opal, a quirky people pleaser, that wins the lottery and buys a flower farm. MY DREAM. She then meets Pepper, the previous owner who is now jobless and homeless be of her mother. In comes the forced proximity/roommates, small town romance and ofc - saving the farm!!

First - I LOVED the queer & neurodivergent representation in this book. Mazey hit the mark with that one. I don't know if my expectations were too high bc I loved The Plus One and the mental health representation, but I think the characters were lacking for me. I was struggling to find like a real connection b/t Opal and Pepper outside of a physical attraction. I also struggled a bit with their dialogue. It was so hard to differentiate between the two and some internal monologue was hard to read. Also, the first 5% with Opal being a complete doormat was hard to stomach. It was ALOT.

That being said, this book might just be a one off that doesn't work for me. Which is such a shame bc I was so excited for it and the cover?? So beautiful. I will obvi still be reading more books by Mazey regardless.

Thank you to Netgalley for this arc in exchange for an Honest Review. Late Bloomer is out now!

(3.25/5 stars) This book had me waffling over a review for a week.

Things I appreciate: Mazey Eddings writes neurodivergence so well. She also writes grief so well. I can always count on her to create characters that feel fleshed out.

Things I wished were better: Opal and Pepper had such similar voices, at times it was hard to tell them apart. Also, for an *adult* novel, this read so YA to me. Perhaps it's because the characters are still relatively young (mid-20s), perhaps her previous venture into YA is running over into this book, but the YAness of it all really come through.