I love everything that Mazey Eddings writes. This book has fantastic dirty talk, found family, and forced proximity. The concept of it being at a flower farm was so cute.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of Late Bloomers. Unfortunately I did not get to this before it was archived. I'm looking forward to checking it out at my local library!

Oh how I love this book! Mazey is one of my favorite authors and the cover drew me right in - it's absolutely stunning.

Like all of Mazey's books she has wonderful representation of neurodivergence - this one has both ADHD and autism rep. I find that it really resonated with me - it felt incredibly real and to me that includes perfectly imperfect characters. Mazey shows all facets of life with ADHD/autism - including the frustrating parts. And dang I was frustrated at times but I honestly think that's okay!

I loved Opal and Pepper - they were absolutely perfect for each other. The flower farm setting was romantic and fun and involved just a teeny bit of suspension of belief. That added to the swoony-ness of it! And the spice was spicing - seriously hot but also helped with growing the relationship.

Overall I adore this sapphic love story from Mazey!

3.5 Stars

Just like I didn’t get the family gardening gene, I did not get the butterflies of love for this book like so many did. It’s cute as all get out, I love the setting, and the neurodivergent rep is incredible. Unfortunately, there’s some really frustratingly naive choices made that really pulled me out of the story. There’s a point in life where you learn and change your behavior and make choices that reflect that, that doesn’t happen here. Opal and Pepper are adorable, the plot is fantastic, the sex scenes are actually so accurate (lesbian love scenes really aren’t always done well), but the communication is minimal and the work to go from casual to serious didn’t happen. You kind of just have to trust, but we aren’t given anything to go on. Yes, it’s cute and easy to read, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me.

This is one of my favorite sapphic romances this year! I hadn’t read Mazey Eddings since A Brush with Love two years ago and that’s a shame because I had forgotten how sweet, funny, and sexy her writing is!

I loved Opal and Pepper, both together and separately. They were both at crossroads and the last thing they needed was the complication of the other person in their life. But forced proximity was bound to work its magic! Their clashes sizzled off the page and there are a few scenes that have lived rent-free in my head for months. 😉🔥

If you haven’t had a chance to grab this romance since it pubbed in April, I encourage you to do it! Eddings’ bright, swoony story will bring all the feels.

Mazey Eddings is one of the most underrated romance authors around. I have loved every book she has written and although queer romances aren't always my jam, how could I NOT love this story? Opal and Pepper are absolute perfection and I ship them and I'd read another book about them, gah.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-ARC!

This was such a cute romance and I really enjoyed the setting. I will for sure be reading everything this author writes in the future :)

This book was set up to be one of my faves. While I adored the sapphic opposites attract trope, the execution was a little lacking. The characters felt flat and I honestly had a hard time telling the two main characters apart, which is weird considering they were opposites. There also isn’t a lot of tension so if that’s your vibe this is a slower romcom.

Thank you Mazey Eddings & St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of Late Bloomer!

Late Bloomer is my first Mazey Eddings book and I LOVED it! Late Bloomer is a sapphic romance and just gives everything I love about romance. It’s sweet, funny, full of warm, fuzzy feelings, and I loved the representation!

That being said, loneliness is a significant theme in this book and the brutally honest depiction of loneliness in this book is raw and painfully relatable—like, do we all feel this way or is it just me? Eddings doesn’t shy away from diving deep into vulnerable moments, and it hits hard.

BUT—this book is also cozy, funny, and so, so swoony. Opal and Pepper are both incredibly sweet and totally unique. Opal’s unfailing kindness shines through, while Pepper makes sure that kindness is never taken for granted. They balance each other in such a beautiful way. 💛

Overall, loved it and can’t wait to read more Mazey Eddings!

LIKES:
🧠 Mental Health rep
❤️ Autism rep
🌼 Cottagecore vibes
🌈 Sapphic romance
🖤 Themes of loss/grief
🌱 Personal growth themes

I have a couple plot issues with this book, namely that the characters seemed fairly unrealistic. That said, I loved it! I really identified with one of the characters specifically and loved seeing myself in her. It was a fun summer read and the second book I read in a row with an "oops! i accidentally fell in love with my roommate" plot, weirdly enough.

LATE BLOOMER was a sweet, spicy, novel with a very well done audio version.

Opal and Pepper are the cutest couple that I absolutely fell in love with. Opal starts the book as a bit of a doormat (which is generally hard for me to read), but she thankfully gets her backbone together while still retaining a kind generosity and inclination to help others. I love her character finding that line.

And Pepper is all prickly guarded aloofness and I loved her slowly coming to trust Opal and opening herself up to love and care from others. The way these two go to bat for each other is the sweetest!

In the middle the book's pace slowed down and I was struggling a bit to stay engaged, but it picked back up again and had a great ending.

SPICE LEVEL: Rated R / 2-4 descriptive sex scenes, may have harsh language.
CONTENT WARNING: past parent abandonment, past cheating ex, parent steals money
FEELS: 3/5 - You will definitely feel some feels.

This was very sweet but I just didn’t feel the chemistry between the two characters. I’m big on angst and tension and this didn’t really have any so I didn’t feel quite as pulled into the story. I loved the humor although at times it was a bit cheesy. As always, I appreciated her neurodiverse representation!

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review previously withheld in solidarity with the St. Martin’s Press reviewer boycott. All opinions are my own.

I was excited to hear that Mazey Eddings’ next book would be a sapphic romance, and given I already enjoyed her previous work, I had high hopes. As expected, this was a charming, sweet read, and a warm hug for neurodivergent people and those who’ve dealt with toxic friends and family. Plus, a great homage to the world of flowers.

Opal and Pepper are delightful leads. They’re perfect opposites, yet together, make perfect sense. Opal is chaotic, yet soft-hearted, and has ADHD. Pepper, meanwhile, is more guarded and closed-off, and has autism. I really liked the initial battle of wills between them as they tried to figure out how to navigate their difficult situation and how to get along, not to mention reckoning with the pesky attraction between them. But as their bond grew, I loved how they came to each other’s defense in the face of opposition, especially Pepper’s toxic mother and Opal’s grifter friends. The plot is rather low-stakes/low-angst, with even the will conundrum being conveniently resolved, but I can’t help but be happy for how things worked out, and how it all served as a vehicle to bring them together.

I also love how Eddings gave a little peek behind the scenes at the end into the process of coming up with a title. While Late Bloomer was on the final shortlist, I love some of the alternate punny floral and farming. Not only did I get a good laugh, but I loved seeing how much thought went into what otherwise seemed like an innocuous title, that, in fairness, did suit the characters.

This was an enjoyable, sweet read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a sweet, fairly lighthearted sapphic romance.

thanks to NetGalley for the eARC

⭐️=3.5 | 😘=5 | 🤬=5 | 18+

summary: FMC1 wins the lottery and buys a flower farm but FMC2 already works at the flower farm bc it’s her grandma’s so then they have to work together forced proximity grumpy sunshine et cetera

thoughts: this is cute! it is cute! it’s also occasionally kind of cringe prose-wise, which is unfortunate, but overall this is a solid sapphic romance. definition 3.5 stars. it’s okay.

Mazey Eddings never fails to write a book that I like, and this was a delightful book. I have not read nearly enough sapphic stories, but this book has made me want to read more. There's a great mix of sweetness, representation, mild angst, and humor in this book. And that's not even mentioning the absolutely gorgeous cover!

I am 100% a sucker for a cute cover so when I saw this one I knew I was gonna request it. I didn't read this as quickly as I expected but I still enjoyed it. It's a sweet sapphic romance that takes place on a flower farm. I liked both MCs and the premise for this one; I love a good "save the small business" story. Plus there's kind of enemies to lovers vibes even though Opal is a big cinnamon roll who wants everything to work out so they're not REALLY enemies but it was enough to make me happy! It's cozy and sweet with steamy moments told in dual POV so you get to know both Opal and Pepper. There are some mentions of grief and trauma but it's handled with care. The pace is slow and steady and overall it's an easy read for fans of Mazey's other books or gentle romance in general. Also, if you like pop culture references, you'll have a field day with this one =p

If you're looking for a cute cottage core vibes romance with opposites attract, forced proximity, grumpy x sunshine, and neurodiversity representation this one fits the bill!

Thank you St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5 stars | 2 spice

I absolutely adored some of Eddings other works so when I saw this GORGEOUS cover and the promise of a friends with benefits to lovers sapphic read I was excited... but it was a bit of a slow start for me.

I'm not sure why but I started and stopped this book so many times. It wasn't that it wasn't good - it just wasn't as witty as her previous books were this one had a more serious edge to it. Eddings always has put characters with something they are trying to overcome and I appreciate that.

There was so much miscommunication in this one that it took away from the story at times. But I did adore Pepper and Opal overall. They had great chemistry and really leaned on each other. Opal helped Pepper come out of her shell and Pepper helped Opal become a bit less of a people pleaser. The audiobook was great and the narration was perfect.

I loved this flower farm though and the idea of the competition. It was interesting and I wanted to see what their final design was which was what pushed me to continue. But really I just wanted these characters to tell each other about their feelings for about 75% of the book before I SCREAMED. No so much a slow burn but definitely a slow burn when it came to feelings being shared.

The character arcs were great though and I did appreciate the growth. I actually loved where the ending went and how things ended up for the two of them.

Overall a 3.5-star read. It was good but not my favorite sapphic romance I have read. I do recommend this for those who love Mazey Eddings writing and some people will love it more than I did.

Big thanks to St. Martin's Press, Mazey Eddings, and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

LATE BLOOMER by Mazey Eddings is sweet, heartfelt, steamy, and funny. As more and more of my friends read and posted about this book the last few months, they all kept noting that it just felt like a “hug” of a book and I couldn’t agree more! I loved Opal and Pepper so much and found myself relating to each of them in a way that had me smiling and rooting for them throughout the whole book! I absolutely loved the plot and tropes and I cannot wait to read more of Mazey’s backlist!

LATE BLOOMER may have a (stunning) floral and spring-vibey cover but this book is so cozy that it’d be the perfect fall/winter read! 🩷

Finally!!! I am just getting around to reading this, unfortunately. Totally worth the read, I love every minute of this book and will continue to pursue this authors books!

Mazy Eddings has some of my very favorite books, a d this one was no different! I mean, a sapphic opposites attract?! What's not to love!

I thought this book was beautifully written and overall amazing. Though I do not like the miscommunication tropes, this one was just so cute!! She really knows how to write characters people can relate to, and she always has the best representation in her books. She is an auto read author for me!

Read if you enjoy:
Opposites attract
Sapphic love story
Autism/ADHD rep
Lighthearted story