Opal and Pepper and flowers, oh my! Did this book make me a little bi??????

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Griffin for early access to the ALC/ARC of this book. These are my honest thoughts!

I truly enjoyed myself while reading this book. I felt like I got to know so many different things about the characters, and I loved the fluidity of this story. There was so much diversity that challenged the typical "southern charm" of "bless your little heart," I could almost die from it.

The two main characters, Opal and Pepper, could NOT be more opposite. Opal is soft and gooey and kind of a pushover. Pepper is hesitant and stiff and kind of mean, tbh. These two do not seem like the perfect pair by any comparison. But where Opal is soft, Pepper is stiff, and that balance in many ways brings them together. I love that these characters together are forced to see outside of themselves and to identify the ways in which their perceived barriers/struggles/flaws are actually blessings.

In addition to these beautiful *and freaking steamy* book, I adored the diversity of the friends and family (and found family) within the pages. SO MUCH REPRESENTATION. I loved it so much and I'm sure there will be readers who will feel seen in fiction. That's my hope for everyone, to read books where they can see themselves in the story.

I absolutely loved the thought behind the flowers, the metaphors and the overall vibe of this book. Doesn't buying a flower farm and living on it with your best friend/lover sound like the dream? It does to this girl! :)

I think this lands somewhere around the 3.75star range for me. Out April 16th!

I have loved every book that I have read by @mazeyeddings and this one did not disappoint! The story of Opal and Pepper was adorable! I loved getting to know the characters, how they operate, and their quirks. I love the representation of neurodiversity, with autism and ADHD. Was the story a bit cheesy in some places? Maybe, but that is fine with me! I love a good romance that makes me smile and Mazey Eddings always delivers!

LOVED this one so much! Late Bloomer was a fantastic read and this one is perfect for the upcoming romance by the pool season! Thank you for an early copy.

Due to the ongoing marketing boycott of St. Martin’s Press, I will not be sharing a review of Late Bloomer on social media. This is disappointing, as it is charming, and Mazey Eddings deserves better.

This book just wasn't for me and that's fine! The queer and neurodivergent representations was lovely, but ultimately I didn't enjoy it purely because of my own reading tastes.

I would love to rate this and tell you what I thought about it. But alas, it's a St. Martin's Press title and I'm boycotting them for their lack of response to racist and misinformed remarks their employee made concerning Palestine.

Sucks for them for not being better humans and running a better publishing house. (One-star rating only because I had to rate it. Does not reflect feelings about the book.)

I really loved this sweet romance about two people who have led very different lives coming together to find common ground and love. The flower farm setting was a huge plus as well! This one was emotional, but also lighthearted and funny.

2.5 stars
I started out really loving this one, but as I continued on, I found myself just dragging through it because I had already read so much of it. Opal as an FMC was not my cup of tea. She was a bit too fantastical and felt more like a stereotypical caricature rather than a well-rounded character.
The romance itself was very sweet, and I enjoyed watching two people learn to love each other and honor their flaws as a part of who they were.

Overall, this was not my favorite book of Eddings' but I will continue to give her books a shot, because I love her other reads.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is officially my favourite Mazey Eddings book! What an amazing story - I’m obsessed!

I loved Opal and Pepper so much!! The way they were so open and vulnerable with each other was adorable.

I genuinely can’t recommend it enough! This is such a cute, fluffy read; conflict is minimal and when it did happen, Opal and Pepper tried her best to talk things through, which I really appreciate.

I had to DNF about a quarter way through. I just couldn't read it anymore. Opal was insufferable with her self-deprecating-millennial attitude. Almost everything she did and said made me roll my eyes. And yes I understand both characters are neurodivergent and that was NOT the issue, I have read other books that wrote neurodiverse people very well, and this was just... I didn't like it. I didn't believe the connection between the two main characters because it felt so forced and like the book was trying its hardest to be a romance. It's never a good sign when you can't stand the main character.

Once I started this book I kept putting it off because I didn't want to read it and I won't be reviewing it on my media platforms because of the St. Martin's Press boycott so there was no reason for me to continue to suffer through this.

Late Bloomer has an intriguing description and a beautiful cover, but the story itself is a standard romance.

Thank you to Mazey Eddings, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I decided to DNF this book at 63%. I started to realize how bored I was every time I picked up the book, which is never how a reader wants to feel. I think the fact that the characters never left the house or farm enough added to the monotony and attributed greatly to my feelings about the book. I love Mazey's other books! I was really loving Opal and Pepper too for a while, but this one just didn't have the same flare that her others have and I was sad to see that spark missing in Late Bloomer.

Mazey Eddings’ Late Bloomer is a charming and engaging romance. Its delightful narrative explores growth and maturation with keen insight, offering readers a sweet, sapphic romance that easily resonates. Eddings’ ability to balance humor and raw emotion is noteworthy; she uses it to deliver a fun book with a bit of substance.

The story follows Opal Devlin, whose life takes a strange turn after winning the lottery. Looking for a fresh start and a place to grow her painting business, she purchases a flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina via Facebook Marketplace. However, her plans are thrown into disarray when she discovers the sale may not have been on the up and up. When Pepper Boden, the supposed rightful owner, enters the picture, Opal’s idyllic notions of farm life are squashed. Forced to coexist on the farm until the ownership can be sorted out, Opal and Pepper do nothing but chafe and irritate one another. Over time, however, the dynamic between the two shifts and an unexpected attraction develops. As this de facto relationship slowly blooms, readers quickly flip through the pages to find out if it will become a floral tribute or a whoops a daisy.

Eddings does a nice job developing Opal and Pepper. They are multifaceted characters with delightful personalities; readers easily form a connection to them. Their “grumpy/sunshine” dynamic is smile worthy, making this slow-burn romance an enchanting read. What’s more, the storytelling is filled to the brim with Eddings’ joyful, animated tone, making Late Bloomer the perfect vacation read.

Final remarks…

Eddings does a nice job with this heartfelt depiction of love and relationships. Told with raw, refreshing tenderness, Late Bloomer is both captivating and engaging. Readers will enjoy this happily-ever-after.

Late Bloomer’s Strengths…

Well-written
Entertaining
Fresh & original
Heartfelt and tender

A delightful sapphic romance. Opal and Pepper are so sweet, so tender, and so precious. Mazey always delivers a delightful read.

I only recently discovered Mazey Eddings but she's becoming a must read author for me!

I enjoyed this one, I love a good opposites attract. I definitely connected to both characters for different reasons. Pepper was hard to like at first, but I ended up liking that she came around and often stood up for Opal. Opal is such an innocent spirit - all she wants to do is create and don't I feel that down to my bones. Her need to people please was a bit much at times and I would've loved to see her character grow a little more in the self-love aspect and wish she had stood up for herself earlier on in the story. This book also has a great cast of side characters, I actually hope we get Opal's sisters' side love stories as well!

All in all, I did love the artistic/flower farm aspect to this one. I do wish we had gotten to see them working on the contest piece a bit more/around the flower farm together more. But all in all, still an enjoyable Sapphic romance!

CW: abandonment, emotional abuse, death, grief, toxic friendship, Alcoholism.

I went between the ebook and audiobook at first for this one. The narrator did such a great job though- I thought there were 2! The voices for each character were so distinct. I'm impressed!

A huge thanks to St. Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the early copy and ALC. All opinions are my own.

This may be my favorite book of 2024 so far. It’s rare to find an author or book that is able to capture the struggles of neurodivergence in a new relationship. Not only does this book do so perfectly, but it feels like a queer Hallmark movie with a perfect balance of plot, character development, and spice. Opal is a feisty hot mess, Pepper is a quirky curmudgeon with everything to lose. Together, they are a captivating duo with a mission to save their flower farm from financial collapse and discover the love they cannot live without.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

At time of review the St. Martin's Press boycott is still ongoing as SMP has chosen to still not address islamaphobic and racist remarks made by a member of their team.

The boycott of St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and other related imprints is a direct response to the publisher’s lack of accountability regarding statements made by an employee in their marketing department and their failure to respond to concerns about possible systemic issues within the department.

See https://r4acollective.org/ for more information on the boycott and see how you can help not cross the line.

I’ve read one of Mazey Eddings’ works before and consistent with the first one, she writes cozy, fast-paced, sweet, sweet romance. This would def make for a great beach read! I went into the book blind, the cover and my familiarity with Eddings was enough to lure me in. It made me cackle so many times, the pop culture references were delightful and there were tears, too!

Late Bloomers is a sapphic romance whose characters are both feeling lost and untethered. I love Opal, who I think is the sunshine of the story. Pepper is the grump, but a closet softy. The story revolves around new beginnings and saving a flower farm. There are a bunch of arguments in this book and I’m proud of the characters for always resolving them without the help of others.. You know when they say reading books promote empathy? This book helped open my eyes more about people who are neurodivergent and people in the spectrum. I wish there was more steam to build up more chemistry between the two characters before the first time they made out to build more excitement between them.

I’m curious whether Mazey Eddings would turn this into a trilogy with Opal’s sisters as the next main characters of her next books. Fingers crossed because I would love to know their stories, too!

Genre: contemporary romance

When 24-year-old Opal wins the lottery, people who have never really cared about her come crawling out of the woodwork and her “best friend” (who gave her the scratch-offs for her birthday many weeks later as an afterthought) is hounding her to be a better friend. All Opal wants to do though is use this opportunity to get a fresh start on life. She sees a Facebook Marketplace ad for a flower farm in Asheville, NC, and jumps: property investment is a great way to spend her new wealth, right? Only, when she arrives at her new home, it’s already occupied by Pepper, a prickly 26-year-old woman whose grandmother owned the farm. At odds with one another over everything, Opal and Pepper need to figure out how to save the farm from bankruptcy and get along despite their smoldering attraction.

This was a messy joy to read. What a fun premise and I loved seeing the way Opal and Pepper battle hard with themselves to be able to love one another. Opal is a neurodivergent artist, bubbly, and a little directionless. Pepper is autistic, and personality-wise is the opposite of Opal in nearly every way. Opal’s ADHD makes her impulsive… but honestly, her age does as well. Ultimately, the ages of the characters made this book more difficult for me: they felt age appropriate but also so young. So while they were vibrant and real, I really struggle with stories about 24-year-olds who feel directionless because in all honesty, I’m not sure how many of us had direction at 24.

The joy in this book is palpable. From Opal’s energy to Pepper’s bluntness, the characters are as vibrant as the flowers they grow on their farm. The book is told in first person dual narration, which can have its challenges. Eddings does an excellent job writing the characters and their inner monologues clearly, so I never wondered whose perspective I was reading at a given time (I’ve read some books where I struggle with this even when the characters are the opposite gender.) The audiobook narrator does some excellent voice work for the dual POV, and honestly, I’m glad this doesn’t have two narrators.

this was so stinkin’ CUTE!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

💭 overall thoughts:
everything about this book was like sunshine - the MCs, the side characters, the competition storyline, & the flower farm setting 🌼🌸

(except Pepper’s mom & Opal’s “best friend” & ex 😒)

📖 story:
Opal wins the lottery, buys a flower farm, and shows up there to find Pepper living & working there.
The farm belonged to Pepper’s late grandmother, and without being able to find her will, it went to her mom (who sold it off to Opal).

They decide to live together until Pepper is able to buy it back, and work together on a flower competition in order to win some of the money.

🎨🌷 MCs:
I adored both Opal & Pepper & their quirks - I really enjoy reading from POVs of neurodiverse characters, I find myself relating in many ways to how their brains work (especially those with ADHD).

I also wanted to give both of them hugs! I’m so glad they found each other 🫶🏼

🤍side characters:
I love the support Opal got from her amazing sisters, and Pepper from her closest friends. They each took in the other and really became a close little group 🥰

🎧 audio thoughts:
Ellie Gossage did such a phenomenal job with both MCs + all the side characters - she really added a lot to the story!

tropes + topics:
🌦️ grumpy sunshine
🏠 roommates/forced proximity
🌸 flower farmer
🎨 textile paint artist (on shoes!)
♾️ neurodiverse rep
❤️‍🩹 grief & loss
💞 dual 1st person pov

🫶🏼 books with similar vibes:
•Set the Record Straight by Hannah Bonam-Young (sapphic, neurodiverse MCs)
•Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner (sapphic, neurodiverse MCs, forced proximity)

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press & Macmillan Audio for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.