This was such a wonderful, heartwarming, giggly, inspiring read that I loved so much.

I identified so much with one of the main characters, Opal, and loved watching her challenge herself and grow throughout this book. The story starts out with her feeling extremely stuck, lost, unfulfilled, and overwhelmed, until she suddenly comes into enough money to help possibly make her dreams a reality. She impulsively decides to buy a flower farm and uproot her life to a new city for a fresh start.

In comes Poppy who lets just say…complicates her fresh start, but Opal is determined to keep moving forward.

I loved the neurodivergent representation and that was part of what helped me identify with Opal (and Poppy) so much and the way her brain worked/she navigated life. Also her impulsive hair dye antics as a coping skill were just 12/10 so relatable.

Poppy was such a grump and I absolutely loved it, especially when we started to see her open up more.

Oh also the SPICE?!?! It was good let me tell ya. I looooove when a semi shy/awkward character knows what they’re doing in bed and then add some good dirty talking in there??? Sold.

So thankful to NetGalley and Griffin for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review! Late Bloomers comes out on April 16th and couldn’t be a more perfect spring read for all the girlies, the gays, the swifties, the neurodivergent peeps, and really just anyone that loves a good Grumpy x Sunshine!!!

This was the perfect romance to get me out of Winter and into the Spring season. Initially I didn't fully enjoy either of the heroines, but I grew to really enjoy them and understand them and their mannerisms better. The Thistle and Bloom farm is such a perfect setting for the novel and it had me wanting to go and experience a flower farm for myself. I wish we had been able to get to know some of the side characters a little bit better including both Opal's sisters as well as Pepper's friend group. I really loved the progression of Opal and Pepper's relationship and that the epilogue wasn't the typical ending that many epilogues seem to have.

“Late Bloomer” is a chaotic whirlwind of a story. It starts with the chaos of impulsive youth, but ends with compassion, dedication, and hard work. I was quite hesitant at first because Opal really made me worry about her, but the one thing I could say about her impulsive decisions is that she saw them all through until the end. She didn’t give up, she worked outside of the box, and dug in (literally) to get things done. I wasn’t completely sold on Pepper and Opal’s relationship, but I truly appreciated their ability to work through their issues. I think this was less of a romance and more of a friendship, but I liked seeing this two opposing forces combine to take charge and work together instead of against one another.

This was so cute, it’s perfect!

I don’t often read sapphic books, but books like this remind me why I need to. Opal and Pepper, can I start by saying those are the cutest names ever??? Okay, back to my actual review.

This book was cheesy, fun, and it had so many pop culture references so no complaints here. This book was an actual dream, it was that good. I loved the character development, the banter, and every sweet moment.

I can talk about this book for a while but all I’ll say is it’s a must read. It just gives all the warm feelings their love is so pure!

4 Stars There's something about the characters in sapphic rom coms that make me want to swaddle them in bubble wrap and keep them safe from the world so they only experience happiness. Late Bloomer is Mazey Eddings' first sapphic romance and Opal and Pepper absolutely deserve to be bubble wrapped lol

Winning the lottery is a life-changing experience--too bad for Opal Devlin that winning a bunch of cash didn't necessarily change her life for the better. People from her past suddenly came out of the woodwork seeking to "reconnect" and revealing their true selves. In order to carry out her dream of opening a shoe-painting art studio and business, Opal pours her winnings into a failing flower farm in Asheville. Opal's plans for a new life are temporarily thwarted when she arrives to the farm and meets Pepper Smith, who claims to be the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom. The two butt heads at every turn, but agree to an unlikely partnership for an upcoming flower show competition and to cohabitate. Though each woman finds the other aggravating, they can't ignore the sparks between them either.

Mazey Eddings excels at writing stories with beautiful OwnVoices representation, including autism, ADHD, and bi/queer rep. With Late Bloomer, she also delves into parental neglect, loss and grief, and feelings of failure when you don't have your life together. I could absolutely relate to this last one and at multiple points while reading I wanted to give Opal and Pepper a hug and reassure them that they were doing just fine, it would all be okay 💗 Late Bloomer is a beautiful story full of hope and love!

A neurodiverse sapphic novel where two people from different backgrounds find themselves stuck together at a farm. Each carries through own trauma, lack of trust, some good and some bad relationships - and it touches on many a romance trope along the way.

I loved the setting of a floral farm - the idea and visuals just made the scenes for me.

I had a hard time with how the characters started out - one refusing to leave while the other contractually got the property - and then the one who purchased feeling bad... it seemed a bit too outlandish to me that it would start out that way - but I get that you need a reason to keep the two in a close proximity setting for the story to flow.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Opal receives a scratch-off lottery ticket from a co-worker and surprisingly wins $500,000. She’s in a rut in her life and decides to use her winnings for a fresh start. When she finds an advertisement on Facebook for a flower farm (complete with a charming cabin) for sale, she decides to buy it sight-unseen. This decision was insane, but I digress. When she shows up to move in, ready to start her shoe-painting business, she is shocked to learn that a woman already lives there and runs the farm. Rather than make Pepper leave or return home while the ownership situation is sorted (either of which would be reasonable IMO), she decides to move in with the stranger and give Pepper time to buy her out.

As I mentioned, Opal made a lot of questionable decisions and I feel like some belief must be suspended to enjoy the premise of the book. But I apparently had no problem with that, because I ate it all up. It was very reminiscent of Seasons of Love, which I read and enjoyed last winter.

This is the fourth Mazey Eddings book I’ve read, and she’s definitely one of my favorite romance authors. She does a great job of creating complicated and complex characters that you can’t help but root for. Once again, Mazey includes mental health representation (in this case, undiagnosed ADHD, autism, grief, and abandonment/neglect issues.) Although it’s a standalone, there is a fun Easter egg referencing our favorite erotic baker. This is Mazey’s first sapphic romance, but the spice was not in any way sacrificed. In fact, it might be her spiciest one yet.

Although the premise was a little crazy and there could have been more character development, this as a fun read that I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.

Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this complementary ARC, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

I have really loved all of Mazey Eddings books, so I was super excited to read Late Bloomer! I really liked it! Opal and Pepper were a delight and I loved their story. The flower farm setting was great and I enjoyed the plot. Definitely would recommend it!

DNF at 19%. I just can't get behind this one because the whole "I just spent 300k on a flower farm I've never seen" is so unbelievable to me. And it makes me sad because I've loved Mazey's previous books.

This book was sweet, and I really appreciated the exploration of neurodivergence.

This was a highly, highly anticipated book for me as a huge fan of Mazey’s, and a queer person thrilled to read Mazey’s first sapphic novel. I just couldn’t get absorbed in this world the way I’ve been able to with her first series. It felt like a chore to pick this up, and I just couldn’t care about it like I wanted to.

There were lots of great things in this, it just didn’t have that Mazey Eddings magic that I was looking forward to.

I've loved all of Mazey's books that I've read so far and this gets added to the list. Both Opal and Pepper were such complex, unique, and well-developed characters. I was rooting for both of them both individually and collectively. I thought the neurodivergent representation was so well done. I also love that this took place in a flower farm, it felt so immersive and pretty. Mazey also delved into grief and a neglectful parent and while these were heavier topics, she handled them with grace and care. The Sapphic rep was so cute and I loved the cast of queer characters as well! There was no real third act break-up which made me like it even more. This was full of chaos, sweet moments and lots of validation and I really enjoyed that. Thank you to SMP romance and Netgalley for the e-ARC to read and review!

I adored this book. Opal and Pepper grabbed my heart and didn’t let go. I also loved the world that was created in this book and would love to see future stories about Opal and Pepper’s friends and family. The sex scenes in this book are hot and don’t skimp on the details. The only issue I had is that the Opal seems like a different person from the character we meet in the very beginning to when she arrives in North Carolina. She went from a (seemingly) meek person who lets people walk over her to a supremely confident person almost overnight. I would have liked to see a little more of her growth on the page. Eddings has written a tender, emotional romance that handles neurodivergence and grief in a realistic way. Highly recommend.

"There is no happy ending that could ever, ever come from this nightmare."

Surprise! Opal and Pepper DO get their happy ending and it's beautiful. When Opal wins the lottery off a scratch off, she decides to use the money for a fresh start and a flower farm. Pepper's grumpy welcome is no match for Opal's bright and sunshine-y personality. This is a beautiful story of growth and family and grief.

This book was such a fresh breath of air. I absolutely loved everything about it. Eddings creates two distinct voices of messy, honest, compelling women. And the side characters are just PERFECT. This book made Eddings an auto buy for me and I can't wait to read her back list!

Late Bloomer... Is a book that definitely lives up to its name. The beginning of the book was giving me major cringe vibes with Opal being a major pushover and with impulse control issues. I may have actually been reading it with one eye because I wasn't prepared for a lot of the chaos that Opal brings to herself, which is probably good because it really set me up for the next phase of the book when we meet Pepper, and more importantly, their meet cute/disaster. Also I wasn't sure if I could handle much more "old Opal" at that point. Once our heroines get to know each other it is a wonderful blossoming (pun intended) of not only their relationship but also working through their issues and learning to trust themselves and each other. In a way their relationship is a quiet growth and the comfort of them being there for each other but also very much misreading each other, especially due to them both being neurodivergent. It was really heartwarming seeing them navigate their relationship and also incredibly sensually steamy. It had the slow pace of a Regency sexual encounter and I loved how they took time to get to know each other and their tenderness. The ending was not necessarily what I expected, which was great and the epilogue served up the Lesbian cottage core we were all waiting for.

Steam: 🔥🔥
Heart Flutters: ❤️❤️

This book was so sweet and fun! It was definitely a shorter and simpler story that read more like a short story but I really enjoyed it! The bisexual and neurodivergent representation was so great and I loved all of the side characters! The setting of a flower farm was very random but fit the vibes of the book perfectly! It was a sweet romance and a very fun read!

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

DNF @ 27 %

Ugh this was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I LOVE Mazey’s other books. I was so excited to see a neurodivergent sapphic romance from her! Unfortunately I’m nearly 1/3 of the way in and I have no idea what direction this book is heading in. The characters feel too naive for women in their twenties and I found myself skimming over the last two chapters to see if I could get to a good part. I tried to get over the fact that Opal won the lottery and spent $300,000 on a farm she found on FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE. I really did. Then her family let her go off to this new place alone? Opal is giving me too much anxiety with her life choices 😂

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC.

Late Bloomer is an adorable story about two women who are shoved into an impossible situation and realize there might be more to their relationship than they originally thought. The characters are quirky and loveable with real worries and insecurities that are relatable and understandable. Pepper's sweet Grandma Lou - I wish there were more of her. She was wise and kind, and I wanted her to wrap me in a hug. While the content definitely wasn't young adult, the writing style very much felt YA. It was great to have neurodiverse representation, although there were moments it didn't read as very realistic. Opal started off as a huge pushover, people pleaser, and then all of a sudden morphed into this spitfire. I wasn't quite sure how she got from A to B so quickly. I really liked her spitfire personality, but it seemed to have developed overnight.

Overall, this was a really cute contemporary LGBT romance. I will definitely be recommending to my romance loving friends!

Though I'm giving Late Bloomer four stars, like The Plus One, it is definitely my favourite of the three Mazey Eddings books I've read. They seem to keep getting better as they are published! This is a dual POV, which I always enjoy, though I will admit that Opal and Pepper were written so similarly that sometimes I had to flip back to remember who was narrating the chapter. But despite that, this is a steamy, sapphic, close-proximity, enemies-to-lovers story that I recommend! (Oh, and there's a mention of Lizzie's bakery for any Lizzie Blake fans!)

What didn’t work for me

The thin plot: I really did like this book—a lot. This is why it might be confusing when I say that I felt that the plot was really...lacking. Other than cutting flowers and having lots of sex—with some family/friend dynamics thrown in—not much happens. Time passed quickly (sometimes weeks at a time) and I just felt that there was another event or something that needed to happen. I'm not quite sure. Opal also had these friends at the beginning that come back near the end of the book, but I could have done either without them entirely or for them to be a little more involved.

The lottery: I will say that Eddings doesn't dwell on the whole lottery thing, but I just think that winning the lottery is such a far-fetched thing to happen that it makes me suspend my disbelief too much. I almost would have preferred if Opal inherited money somehow or just came about it a different way. Their repayment plan for the farm also never made sense—so I kind of just chose to ignore it.

What I liked

The neurodiversity: When I was reviewing Lizzie Blake, I couldn't relate to her ADHD and I felt like the plot focused a little bit too much on it. A few more books under Edding's belt, and I think she nails the neurodiversity angle. We definitely don't forget that Pepper is autistic by the way her POV is written or by the way she reacts, but it isn't a major point that is constantly driven home, nor is it the only interesting thing about her.

The sex: I don't think I've ever read a sapphic story with this much detail in the steamy scenes. Eddings has always written intimacy well—and that's no different here. These characters have a lot of good sex, and, quite frankly, there are a lot of pages dedicated to their sex life, but it is well-written and realistic.

Opal's sisters and Pepper's friends: Oh, how I wish we had more of these people in the book. Opal's sisters are hilarious and blunt and pretty much exactly how I would imagine two older sisters would be. Pepper's friends (especially Dikta) were so much fun to spend time with. One of my favourite scenes was Pepper's birthday—it should have lasted a whole weekend!

4 STARS

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced book copy in exchange for my honest review.

i enjoyed this one throughly!! sapphic romances that are this good are very rare and i am very glad i got a chance to get this one.

my feedback comes late as i do stand in support of the SMP boycott but i do love this book dearly