4/5 stars -- thank you netgalley and the publisher! i thought this was cliche and adorable, however please note that i am a sucker - absolute sucker - for sapphic love stories. i could relate pretty deeply with pepper and her initial disdain towards opal. it very much was relatable in some ways. i can also always appreciate a romance book that touches on sensitive topics like grief, bad parental relationships, and books that don't do the third act break-up and actually have plot and character development.

Lesson learned, Mazey Eddings is not an author for me. I will not be going into a huge amount of detail here, because I think that a large part of my reaction is down to preference, and that's hard to explain (and also makes you sound like a jerk). But I will say that these characters read like fake puppet people to me, moving at the author's whims. The dialogue also felt incredibly cheesy and constructed to me, not true to life or her characterization, which by the way I also felt was a mess. Particularly Opal, who is a self-effacing doormat who is also somehow brash and friendly and outgoing. In my experience, people who have that little self-esteem are not usually troublemakers, they are go-alongers, and Mazey Eddings wasn't a good enough writer to make that contradiction make sense. An extremely beautiful book cover that tricked me into a reading a subpar romance. I am honestly baffled at the positive reviews, and some from people I love and trust! Taste is truly a mystery.

[2.5 stars]

just a soft lil romance u can tune ur brain off too and chill with, I really have been waiting for a cozy sapphic romance w sweet vibes and this tickled my pickle

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book and I very much enjoyed it! Opal is a quirky whirlwind of vibrancy and color and Pepper is a calm breeze but underneath it all stirs a much deeper soul. This book is all about love, loss, fresh starts, finding yourself, and learning to trust and give your heart, as hard as that can be! I loved seeing Opal and Pepper slowly learn each other and grow together in such a magical way and the cast of chosen and actual family brought such laughter and light. While a few bad apples tried to spoil the bunch, love wins and all the giggles, tears, grief, struggles, and confusion were well worth it. I really enjoyed the setting and premise of this one and it was a heartwarming one to boot!

I enjoyed this story of Opal and Pepper and how their relationship unfolds. It's a really sweet story about love and acceptance, set at a wonderful old flower farm. I especially appreciated the autism/neurodiverse rep, and seeing how the women worked with it all to come together. My one quibble is that the story felt a little slow at times, with little tension aside from figuring out how to navigate their differences (and similarities!) That was definitely much to work with, but more outside events/influences might have made it feel a little more engaging for me. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for the advance digital copy!

Mazzy Eddings never disappoints. Truly.

In this glorious grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers, sapphic romance, we meet Opal and Pepper, who are united under strenuous circumstances to save a beloved flower farm. (Those are a thing?! I love it!)

I adored this. Opal was so easy to relate to and love, and as always, we have beautiful and authentic autism rep in Pepper, who teaches us so much about the brain of an autistic person.

The highlight of this book by far was the beautiful setting- I want to go to this farm so. freakin'. badly.

This was also my first non-YA Mazzy Eddings book and I was um...delighted. 🌶️

This book was full of tropes. First of all, you have opposites attract: Opal and Pepper have very different personalities. On that note, there’s also a hint of grumpy/sunshine: Opal is optimistic, whereas Pepper is naturally suspicious. There’s also forced proximity: Opal and Pepper agree to share the farm while they figure out the ownership situation. Fortunately– or perhaps unfortunately– there is more than one bed in the farm, thus preventing our two protagonists from being subjected to the “only one bed” trope.

Speaking of tropes, I’m sure there’s a more succinct name for it, but I can’t quite remember. Anyway, I absolutely love when characters agree to embark on a casual no-strings-attached romantic entanglement, only to end up catching feelings for each other. I have never felt more like an omniscient ancient god as I do when I see two characters promising that they are going to be able to avoid emotional connections. Oh, you foolish mortals!

The best part about this book is that it is low stakes and there isn’t really a villain. Yes, there are clearly characters who have a history of manipulation, but part of the overall character arcs for both protagonists is the realization that they don’t have to put up with anyone’s nonsense anymore and that they have the emotional strength to advocate for themselves. I don’t want to diminish the very real anguish these antagonists have caused in the past, but the newfound knowledge of not having to tolerate manipulation reduces the antagonists to static archetypes.

I would absolutely recommend this quirky little romance novel full of queer joy and neurodivergent representation. At the risk of sounding cliche, Opal and Pepper both have big hearts and big dreams, and it was so wonderful and refreshing to see them find happiness together. The scorching hot chemistry helped too! This is my first experience reading one of Eddings’ books, but I am looking forward to reading more in the future.




I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced e-arc of this book!

Late Bloomer, in my opinion, had a lot potential with the premise. While I’m not a huge fan of a FMC who’s a complete pushover, Eddings writing style made Opal seem tolerable.

Where this story falls flat is the characters. There doesn’t seem to be much depth to them or their relationship. Opal and Pepper both had points where they seemed to be one way personality wise, but the author switched that up some point later and it didn’t feel like growth, if that makes sense?

It was a cute read despite that, and while the pop culture references will take you out of the story, it was a solid read.

I'm so glad Late Bloomer exists. Do I think the plot was anything new or groundbreaking? No. And that's the point. Thousands and thousands of easy romance stories exist with straight leads. Thousands and thousands of easy romance stories exists with neurotypical leads. Queer people and neurodivergent people deserve easy romance stories as well.

In 2022, when the movie Bros came out, I remember there being discourse around how relationships between gay people look different than straight relationships and how it is important to portray that within a classic romcom structure. That is what this book does.

The characters were likable and distinct. The portrayal of their various diagnoses was done well.

Late Bloomer is deliberate, quirky, and steamy new adult romance.

Recently down-on-her-luck Opal finds herself with a lump sum of lottery winnings and a desire to leave town.

Pepper runs and operates a flower farm and finds herself alone after her grandmother passes away.

Enters Peppers Mother, Trish. She has a penchant for swindling and a deed for a certain flower farm, unexpectedly throwing Pepper and Opal together.

Pepper and Opal are opposites from the start in this slow-burn romance. Opal has ADHD, two sisters, and is the epitome of a bi-disaster. Pepper has autism, is an only child raised primarily by her grandmother, and has never been in a relationship.

The pair bond over their trauma and work together to keep the farm up and running in this sweet and wild sapphic romance.

This book is great for those who love steam, new adult novels, and opposites attract.

in this book, we get so many amazing things like a bisexual MC, neurodivergent MC, and sapphic romance! but unfortunately, this story just didn't hit home for me. there were a lot of moments that I found myself really enjoying the MCs and their stories but then we wouldn't get more to what it was that I had been enjoying. I kept waiting for something more to happen with the two MCs and it seems that most of the exciting aspects had been kept to the background. i also felt a disconnect between the MCs in their relationship, which could be my own disconnect from the story itself and its characters. overall, this was a very fun and light sapphic romance to pick up and I'll be looking forward to what else Mazey Eddings releases in the future!

Wow, I don't know if I've ever related to a character so much as Opal. And I loved the setting of the flower farm so much. It honestly made me want to make the short drive to Asheville to find a flower farm for myself. I do wish their was a little more slow burn to their relationship but I still loved Opal and Pepper.

**Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy**

I loved every minute of this book. Thank you, Mazey, for sharing your gift with us. Please keep 'em comin'!

This book did not do it for me. I’ve loved her other books, but this just really lacked for me. I had a hard time getting invested. I didn’t understand why miles and Laney were there at all or why they had a relationship. I almost DNF.

What an adorable book, but I could have done without the sex scenes. They felt like they came out of nowhere and would have been better if there was a little build up before they started that part of their relationship. I loved that it was set at a flower farm, I can honestly say I don't think I've ever read a book set there before.

I really respect Mazey Eddings and her inclusion and willingness to tackle themes of mental health, neurodivergence, and more. I appreciate as an autistic mother to an autistic child, seeing more representation of neurodivergence in romance. In this case, I may just be a bit too old for this particular book. There was also just A LOT of themes and issues and plot points jam packed into this book, so it felt chaotic and a bit disjointed. I’m glad we did get both POV, as it helped us understand where the characters (particularly Pepper) were coming from, but it just felt like too much. The lottery, the farm, the competition, all the side characters, it was just a lot for me personally. I do think a younger audience may enjoy this more than I did this time! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Mazey Eddings books are sort of a hit or miss with me. This one was a miss. I'm not entirely sure what it is. It had so much promise, I loved the prose I just honestly didn't find what everyone loved about it. The book honestly bored me. Which is weird because it has a wonderful message with great subplots but it was just too slow in the beginning and then throughout it, the story just got me bored.

I was given an ARC by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review, as always, all words are my own.

This book gave me everything. Opal & Pepper are the neurospicy pair you don't know you need in your bookshelf until you read their book. And don't get me started on the gorgeous cover that this book has!

I cried, laughed, pulled my hairs out, and fell in love with these two. I will be grabbing a physical copy for sure.

Mazey Eddings is an auto-buy author for me so I was over the moon to get an ARC of this book.

I was so excited when I read the premise of this book and the characters didn't disappoint. I loved Opal's quirkiness and how deeply she felt things. It tore my heart out the interactions she had in the beginning of the book. Seeing her grow and the innate strength she had was a beautiful transition. Pepper was brilliant! She was authentically herself and the layers of guilt and shame that she was buried under through her grief and childhood was really intense. It was so perfect seeing how they each brought out so many amazing qualities in each other and the love and respect they had for the person as a whole. As always, Mazey shone a light on neurodivergence with her characters with all the love and respect that the topic deserves.

While the plot itself was fairly simple and was somewhat predictable, the characters really were the shining stars. I will always read Mazey's books and I will definitely recommend this one too.

Ahhh... Spring time. When it’s denim jacket weather & we can eat lunch outside again. Lucky for us Mazey Eddings has written the perfect spring romance novel to read under a tree: Late Bloomer. Specifically a spicy, neurospicy, Sapphic romance set at a flower farm. And with a cover that dares you to read in public and not make a new friend. Late Bloomer is sweet, sexy, funny, and touching. Bonus for having a great
sisters-as besties subplot.

CW for grief, gaslighting, and a shitty ex-boyfriend.