Opal has won the lottery, literally. She quits the job she hates and hastily purchases a flower farm, hoping to turn it into a place where she can focus on her painting full-time. Upon arriving at the farm, she meets Pepper, who has no idea the farm where she works has been sold. The two must learn to work (and live) together to both achieve their dreams.

Unfortunately, I stopped reading this one at 25% and decided to DNF it. I could not connect with any of the characters or the writing style. The premise sounded interesting, but something kept me from fully investing in Opal and Pepper's story. I know this one will find its audience, and I would be interested in trying another book from this author in the future.

Thank you to author Mazey Eddings, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of Late Bloomer in exchange for my review.

This was a delightful book. Opal and Pepper were great characters. I loved how real they were, and the fact that the author showed their neurodiversity and autism is all its glory.
Opal wins the lottery and decided to buy a flower farm with her winnings. Unbeknownst to her, the farm already have somebody living there. Pepper is none too pleased when Opal shows up.
Their decision to cohabitate leads to a lot of crazy happenings. Besides Opal and Pepper, I was particularly fond of Peppers friend Diksha. This book made me laugh and cheer, and it also made me want to strangle a few of the characters.
It had a little bit of spice, nothing bad or over the top. This book is well worth a read.

The sapphic springtime novel you didn’t know you needed!

Opal is down on her luck and unexpectedly wins some money playing the lottery. With her winnings she buys a cottage core cabin on a flower farm to work on her art (the DREAM), but when she pulls up with all her belongings, a woman (Pepper) is already living there and doesn’t know anything about the sale. Opal is bi and Pepper is a lesbian - if they stay in the same cabin and work to figure out a solution no romance will happen, right? 🤗

This book has:
🌸 Bi representation
🌸 Cottage core vibes
🌸 Neurodivergence
🌸 Grumpy/sunshine
🌸 Forced proximity
🌸 One bed
🌸 Lots of open door spice

Make sure to grab this one when it comes out 4/16! @mazeyeddings I loved the afterword and the language of flowers section, too. 😊

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I loved Opal and Pepper, the flower farm, how much they both developed throughout the book and the ending 🥹🥹🥹🥹


Huge thanks to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio & St Martin's Press for an advance

I love mazey’s books so so much!! They’re always full of humor, passion, sexiness, emotion and so much more. Late Bloomer was no exception!

I loved both main characters equally and could relate to both of them in different ways. Pepper was standoffish, brash and guarded while Opal was open, cheery and excitable. Classic grumpy/sunshine trope! I especially loved Opal’s growth throughout this book. She seemed like a doormat at the start of the story and after cutting off the negative energy in her life and spending time at Thistle and Bloom with Pepper and friends she really started to ~bloom~ 😉. Basically, she got a backbone and found her voice and really discovered her confidence with Pepper’s support.

I felt so connected to the relationship Pepper had with her late grandmother. The sweet flashbacks where she was remembering special moments with her grandma were some of my favorite parts! I appreciated Pepper’s healing as well through her constant grief.

Overall totally adored this story, and let’s give a moment to that COVER!!

My review will be withheld until St. Martin's Press appropriately addresses the 3 simple demands of the boycott. When the demands are met, I will update with my full review.

After bingeing a whole bunch of dark and dramatic fantasy (which I loved, don't get me wrong!), this was the EXACT book I was looking for. Low-stakes, low-conflict, but high-heat and all around warm and fuzzy, Late Bloomer swept me off my feet!

Told in the dual first person POVs of neurodivergent artist Opal and autistic flower farmer Pepper, Late Bloomer not only scratches that burning itch I have for neurodivergent AND sapphic stories, but does it so charmingly. This is the kind of rep I've been looking for: two neurodivergent people falling for each other and supporting each other and avoiding every single horrible cliche that's out there. Like, I want to shove this book at everyone and not only say, "this is how you write an ND love story," but also, "this is how you write a love story. Period."

I have said time and time again that I don't love grumpy/sunshine, but something about the way Eddings does it just feels right. Opal is believably quirky, and Pepper is rightfully pessimistic (hey, girlfriend DID just wake up one morning and find that her farm's been sold), and I loved spending time inside their heads. I found the romance to be not only believable in its progression, but sexy and fun. The spice is to die for! And I loved how very little miscommunication there was. Any miscommunication that pops up is dealt with within the chapter, basically, and the angst resolves so quickly.

If you wanna experience the cottagecore sapphic dream, you HAVE to read Late Bloomer! I'll be eagerly awaiting Eddings' next title.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Mazey Eddings for gifting me this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 ⭐️

This was my first Mazey Eddings book, and I can easily say it did not disappoint. I adored the representation in this book with the main characters being nerodivergent and autistic. I specifically felt such a connection to Opal and I want to read another story with her in it so badly.

The scenery of where this book took place felt so comfy, and is perfect for spring. Seeing Opal and Pepper grow together and build a connection was beautiful, and I will not be getting over how adorable they are together for a long while. Don't be surprised when you see me reading another Mazey Eddings book in the near future <3

I received an arc from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Late Bloomer is such a sweet sapphic romance novel between Opal and Pepper. I loved reading about the character’s growth individually and reading how they grew together as well. There were so many funny moments throughout the novel, but also some moments that really made me reflect on my upbringing and childhood. I am one of three girls so I love that Opal has two sisters :) Overall, a wonderful book that kept me interested from the start!

Absolutely no one does chaotic main characters like Mazey Eddings. Somehow she manages to make her main characters endearing, loveable, hilarious, and impossible not to root for while also leaving them impulsive, chaos demons. It's a true gift that she managed to keep me rooting for Opal even as she made so many terrible, impulsive decisions. Eddings must be a powerful, floral witch.
I truly loved this book and am so glad Eddings gave the sapphics a story of our own!

I dont know how she does it, but EVERY Mazey Eddings book I read just gets better and better. I cannot even express how ADORABLE I found this book. I loved it so much.

I think one of many things I like about Mazey's books is not only the representation shown in every book but they fact that her characters are SO human that you can easily see yourself in the book. Nothing feels out of touch about the romance book and that is a change for the better in my opinion. I wanted to put both Opal and Pepper in my pocket and protect them forever.

While definitely still spicy, it was so precious I couldn't even stand it. I am a SUCKER for found family too. Gracious I loved every bit of it!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. This is the first novel I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. I loved the spice and the neurodivergent characters. I will definitely check out Eddings backlist and recommend her books to others.

After Opal wins the lottery, she packs up her bags and buys a flower farm, site unseen. The problem? The woman she bought it from, her daughter still lives there…

My Thoughts:
My favorite thing about Mazey’s books is how she writes neurodivergent representation so, so well. She writes these amazing characters that I just want to hug.

This one wasn’t my favorite of hers though. A lot of things just didn’t add up to me - for example she won some lottery money, not a lot, and ALL her acquaintances come out of the woodwork to use her for such an amount, the My Chemical Romance references when they’re 24 and would have been 5 when MCR was popular, how much of a doormat Opal was. BUT it was a cute light read, and had me chuckling several times. If you like flower farms and want a light read, it’s great for that.

What You’ll Find In This Book:
🌸 Sapphic Romance
🌸 Flower farm
🌸 Opposites Attract
🌸 Only One Bed
🌸 Forced Proximity
🌸 Neurodivergent Rep

3.5 Stars // I love Mazey Eddings. I think she's so talented and I'm always pulled into her stories. Late Bloomer was no exception. There was SO much to love about this story. Queer/bisexual rep, mental health rep, autism & neurodivergent rep, grump x sunshine main characters, great humor and banter, etc. That said, the story fell a bit flat for me. I'm not sure why? I think the plot just wasn't big enough. I needed more and was a bit bored.

That said, I still enjoyed this story and do recommend adding it to your LGBTQIA+ TBR. I also loved the audiobook. Ellie Gossage did a wonderful job and I'd absolutely listen to an auduobook narrated by them again!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the eARC and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Mazey Eddings is one of the best writers out there for romance with neurodivergence and mental health at the center. Her characters and the way their brains and emotions work feel so real and relatable, threaded through the book without ever overdoing it. Opal and Pepper are a true grumpy/sunshine pairing that isn't just basic personality but the contrasting ways they're wired, coming through in both their worldviews and need for energy and optimism or safety and pessimism. Her writing is also so funny as always, from Opal's chaotic humor to Pepper's sharper jokes. The pair stumble through their messy situation of flower farm ownership into figuring out a shared future.

The only real drawback to me was that I think some parts were a bit too easy or quick, a lot of ideas introduced - for example: Opal as a recovering people pleaser with people trying to take advantage of her, Pepper and her history with her mother, even their brief friends with benefits situation - that weren't given enough time or development. Otherwise I still loved reading a new book by Mazey Eddings, whose work I jump to read every time and know I'll have a wonderful time.

I had such a good time reading this. The romance felt real, it had some good sexy scenes, and I appreciated that the characters were complex people who were also neurodivergent. I don’t know if people still make scratch and sniff stickers but I would love to be smelling all the beautiful flowers in this book as I read. If you’re looking for a sweet and sexy book that makes you feel like a warm, summer day, read this book.

Late Bloomer is a wonderful sapphic love story. This was such a unique read. I want to start by saying that Ellie Gossage narration of this book was FANTASTIC! I love the emotion and inflection she brought to Opal and Pepper (and even Trish) was just - FANTASTIC!! Everything about this pairing was wonderful. I think it's the best way to experience this novel.

This was such a unique story and I'm so happy that I read/listened to it. This story has so many things! From grief and loss, letting go of what was and stepping into what is, a precious flower farm with an amazing found family, forced proximity ( there's only one cabin), autism rep, neurodivergent rep, sexual awakening, first love, the messiness of our self-doubt to the power of seeing our strengths and talent.

Eddings wrote such beautiful characters all the way around. I loved the Thistle and Bloom crew. They were such a fun, diverse group of people and their connection and love for each other was so fun to read. Opal's family was also just lovely. Her sisters had me laughing out loud several times.

Pepper and Opal are such a great couple. I loved watching them grow on each other. I really enjoyed the dual POV in this book because there was something so special about seeing each character through the other character's eyes. Eddings did a great job highlighting that some of the things we dislike about ourselves turn out to be the things someone loves most about us.

This book was such a feel-good read. The ending was just like stepping out into the sunshine a spring day. It feels like meandering on a flower farm.

Thank you to Netgalley, McMillian Audio, & Mazy Edding for an e-arc and advanced copy of the audiobook of this wonderful story.

I wanted to like this so badly, but I could never get around to liking Opal:( She is whiney and spineless, and I can’t stand a people pleaser. I’ve loved all of Mazey’s other books, and I would’ve loved this one too if I could have related to Opal at all. 😔

And I’m learning that I reallyyyy don’t like the grumpy x sunshine trope. Mazey did it it well, but I just find it unrealistic.

Sweet romance with excellent neurodivergent representation. I really enjoyed the tropes at play here, and I loved the amount of spice included.

Obsessed. I love Mazey and I loved this book. The grumpy sunshine, the humor, the perfectly flawed characters. Chefs kiss. Thank you for the opportunity to read this book early.