What a sweet and fun concept for a romance book! Buying a flower farm not knowing someone else was currently living on it. Then falling for that prickly person you are forced to live with!

Read this for:
- Forced proximity
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Just a hookup
- Neurodivergent rep
- Only one bed situation
- Roommates
- Workplace

What would you do if you won the lottery? But a flower farm site unseen of course! That is what Opal does and finds out that things were not as legitimate as she thought buying off Facebook Marketplace.

Pepper is trying to get through the loss of the one person she could count on, her Grandmother. Then her life is upended when some pink haired sunshine artist shows up at her door saying she bought the place.

The two become forced roommates and slowly start to uncover the real raw bits about one another. As they get to know one another, they think a just bang it out relationship will help them. Of course the hooking up turns more serious and each one is consistently denying their feelings.

I enjoyed the wild and fun hilarious moments these two had and the friend group that surrounded them. Mazey painted a beautiful picture of the scenery and the farm, and the moments Pepper had remembering her Grandmother were so sweet.

Thank you to SMP and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

SMPRomance eARC
What I've come to love about Eddings' books is how I know I'll get an adorable romance with plenty of depth and neurodivergent characters. This was one was so much fun and a book all about self-discovery and starting over. Opal bought a flower farm after winning the lottery, but Pepper was living there. It was so much fun to see how these two would figure out their situation while both trying to get what they want. This is a dual POV which made the story so fun, and I highly recommend the audio. While there was only one narrator, the voices were incredible and it was always so easy keeping the two characters straight. Such a great sapphic romance, and I can't wait to see what she writes next!

The cover is absolutely beautiful and it was just begging me to read this book. This was my first sapphic romance and it was so fun to read! I loved the vulnerability the MC’s showed and how they talked through their insecurities with each other.

As a people pleasure, Opal’s struggles with letting people walk all over her was so relatable. Seeing her work through that and be able to stand up for herself in the end was so rewarding. I will say that she irked me in the beginning with her decisions but I think she made up for it in the end. Pepper’s story with grief hit home. I really enjoyed her POV and she felt more real to me. I loved the appearance of Opal’s sisters but wished there was more constant communication throughout the book. It seemed like they popped out of nowhere during the competition. Laney and Miles were written a little too good, I was fuming every time I saw them on the pages.

For me, the downfall of this book was how unbelievable Opals decisions were at the beginning of the book. I found it very silly that she would just meet up with a stranger and write her a check for a place she has never seen.

I adored Mazey’s notes at the end about naming this book and the symbolic meaning of the flowers mentioned in the book.

My favorite quotes from this book:

“I hate that hate. I have endless grace for everyone in the world, but none for myself. Why am I not allowed to make mistakes? Why does my compassion stretch to strangers but stop at my own front door?”

"I love you in the most basic and complicated and overwhelming and simple and Meritable way possible."

Thanks Netgalley for sending me this gem a little early!

I am so sorry I could not get past the idea of buying a farm like this as a person with agricultural experience.

The writing overall was decent but that one detail was something I couldn’t get past.

Opal could be the posterchild for a wallflower - at least at the beginning. She has a dictatorial boyfriend and a minimum wage job despite having an arts degree. She wins the lottery and decides to live her life by buying a flower farm. Several roadblocks turn up not the least of which is people who now want to be friends due to her winnings. The flower farm has its own issues including the resident farmer. The story then revolves around the relationship of Opal with the resident farmer.

I swear every single book Mazey writes is my new favorite and honestly, this one brought my heart so much joy.

Lets start with how gorgeous the cover is, then quickly jump into talking about the title and how Mazey included a whole afterwords about how it was originally going to be titled Lavender Haze and then one Miss Taylor Alison Swift screwed any and all SEO for anything titled that (but honestly SUCH A PERFECT TITLE FOR A SAPPHIC ROMANCE) and how this book went through many chaotic renamings until we ended up with perfection that is Late Bloomer…that journey is much like the beautifully chaotic love story that is Late Bloomer.

Opal, one of our leading ladies, is neurodivergent in that she has ADHD and anxiety and impulses that are hard to control. She wins the lottery and after a lot of people pleasing she decided to just BUY A FLOWER FARM OKAY?! What she doesn’t know is that the flower farm is the one place our other leading lady, Pepper, has ever felt at home. She is autistic and this farm is her purpose and her only remaining tie to her late grandma figure. So naturally when Pepper finds out that Opal now owns her home, farm, and honestly everything, she is simply baffled.

Even more baffling is why she would be drawn to someone who is her polar opposite and has accidentally wrecked her life. But attracted is kind of an understatement. Watching these two women fall into a messy yet beautiful sort of love while learning to let someone in and to communicate those BUG FEELINGS was equal parts beautiful and omg-I-just-need-to-wrap-y’all-in-bubble-wrap-and-force-y’all-to-stop-being-dense.

Set in the beautiful mountains surrounding Asheville, NC with glorious flowers oozing off every page, Mazey put so much heart and thought into every aspect of this story. The meanings of the flowers during different moments are so poignant, that truly this book is a work of love and art.

I am bereft. This book is over, and I have no clue what Mazey Edding's next release is going to be. Opal is a whirlwind firecracker. She's loud and impulsive and hilarious and relatable. When her impulsiveness leads her to buy a struggling flower farm she brings her brand of chaos to Pepper's front door. Pepper is struggling to keep things going after the death of her grandmother. She's quiet and preferers to keep to herself and her flowers. The last thing she wants or needs is a human tornado in her home. Let the grumpy/sunshine battle ensue.

I adored these two, both feeling lost and doing the best they can to hold on. Pepper made my heart ache, she's full of grief and trying to cope the only way she knows how.. Her dry sense of humor was the best. Opal is trying to follow her dreams and pursue art and find her place in the world but feeling aimless. The painting, cue the tears. I loved watching them fight their feelings and each other and eventually give in. It's spicy and sweet and will leave you with a warm happy feeling.

This book was a super sweet and spicy sapphic romance. Both Pepper and Opal were really interestingly crafted characters. The strength of this book lies in all the different types of representation it includes from neurodivergence to migraines. It was really neat to see the author include both a character diagnosed with Autism and someone who finds that neurodivergent fits better as a label where ADHD and/or Autism symptoms are present. I loved that the author didn't just stick to one type of neurodivergence because that can be a very broad group. Opal's people pleasing was painfully relatable and Pepper's trust issues were heartbreaking and I so wanted a happy ending for her. As much as I loved all that the author included in the book I found that I wasn't as convinced by the actual romance as I wanted to be. The attraction I definitely believed and the smut was top tier (clearly I need to be reading more sapphic books!!) However the romance wasn't as successful with me because I found certain aspects of the characters a bit frustrating. Opal was too naïve and Pepper came across as mean when she kept taking out her frustration at the situation out on Opal. Despite some frustration with the characters at times I found the book to be both very soft and sexy in perfect balance and I definitely recommend it to those who are looking for ADHD or Autism rep.

I don't know how I feel about this book! I am a Mazey Eddings superfan so I was thrilled she'd written a queer romance, but after reading it I think this might be her weakest book.

Don't get me wrong - I loved the flower puns, the characters, the neurodivergent representation, and the premise - but something in the execution fell flat for me and I can't even fully put my finger on what it was. I just wanted MORE from this story.

I also felt like the pacing of this one was off. For two characters who talked and fretted over their flower competition for most of the book, the competition itself came and went without much fanfare. I also felt like the middle of this book dragged. I understood that the characters needed time to get to know each other, but I felt like their idea to have meaningless sex was kind of glossed over and used as a device to add in an extra spicy scene. I would have liked this a lot more if they had just skipped that step and started dating right away, because it would have eliminated a lot of unnecessary "slow burn" that just felt like it slowed down the plot.

That being said, I fell head over heels for these characters and I was really glad I read it despite the parts that disappointed me. I will always continue to read anything Mazey Eddings writes, no matter what!

When I saw this book on Netgalley I knew I needed to grab it. I want to read more LGBTQ+ books. This cover is adorable and drew me in for sure.
I liked that they were dual POVs. And I enjoyed both Opal and Pepper’s POV’s (also side note Peppers name is Pepper Ann Hahaa I miss that cartoon). Anyways, I did enjoy their bickering and how they problem solved what had happened and where to go from there. I wasn’t too much of a fan of the insta- love but it was fine, it just didn’t have enough details. It was probably a 3 on the spice scale maybe 2.5. I do want more about their lives though. I want more Grandma Lou and I want to know why Trish is the way she is.
Overall, this was a good read and I would recommend it to those just dipping there toes into LGBTQ+ romances.

Thank you to Netgalley for the copy to review.

Mazey Eddings has become one of my must read authors. Late Bloomer did not disappoint. Such a funny, and swer sapphic romance with great neurodiversity represented I loved Opal and Pepper and the supporting cast of friends that supported Thistle and Bloom.

This was a cute sapphic neurodivergent romance. There wasn't a whole lot to the plot, and things were a bit convenient at times. Opal and Pepper were slow to trust, which given past trauma was understandable, if a bit frustrating. I wanted more from it, but I enjoyed what we did get. I liked that Opal was an artist and Pepper a flower farmer. The confrontations with the causes of their past trauma were cathartic. All the characters were very quirky and individual which made the whole thing more enjoyable especially considering the amount of plot. I did like their neurodivergence and how they weren't ashamed of it and were upfront about it. That was refreshing.

The audiobook performance was good. It didn't detract from the story and I always knew who was speaking. I found listening enjoyable and the characters felt real and distinct.

*Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martins Griffin, and Macmillan audio for providing an early copy for review.

This one was so dreamy! I loved the setting and all of the flower farm details, and really enjoyed getting to know Opal and Pepper and their connection.

I have devoured and loved all of Mazey Eddings previous books. This one took a little longer to warm up to the main characters, but once I got there I was hooked. Opal Devlin is a people pleaser and has impulse control issues, often to her detriment. When she unexpectedly wins a mid-sized lottery she buys a failing flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina, where she wants to focus on her art. Pepper Smith lives on the Thistle and Bloom Farm and it is the only home she has ever known. She is hardworking, autistic and wants to figure out how to save the flower farm.

The pair decide to stay together on the farm pursuing their dreams. Pepper has been used and left behind by people who should have loved her and she is unprepared for the whirlwind of Opal. She doesn’t trust the kindness she offers. Opal is often her own worst but she is trying to learn from past mistakes. I love Opal's sisters for their support and wished they appeared or stayed in contact more. And I was perplexed that her parents have almost zero mentions in the story as she is clearly loved. Pepper’s friend group is a bit more in the story as they live in NC. The farm and flowers are almost their own character and I tried often to imagine it as they worked the fields. When you get to the end don’t forget to read the author discussing the various titles considered for the book. It made me laugh and calmed my emotions after the sweet ending. I loved the cover but can’t say it accurately shows the 9 inch height difference between the pair.

Reading this makes me want to get my TBR pile down far enough that I can go back and read the Brush With Love series again by the author. I will also be waiting for whatever Mazey Eddings writes next. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC via NetGalley and I am leaving an honest review.

What an absolutely adorable romance! Another welcome addition to the growing list of Sapphic romance novels and here's hoping there's more to come especially from this author!

LATE BLOOMER is the friend that never shames you for your intrusive thoughts. They will absolutely step up and shake you out of a spiral. It comforts without coddling. I've been fed and showered and cuddled till I've regulated my breathing to the pages of this book.

Mazey Eddings is brilliant once again at pairing the magical element of fantasy escapism (buying a mountain cottage for the vibes and meeting the hot flower farmer that lives there) with such visceral reality (rejection sensitivity, anyone?).

I appreciated how Opal & Pepper's struggles were normalized. That is, yes their neurodiverse brains are the causes of tension or miscommunication, but it's never villainized. Their lives are absolutely worthy of love and patience and support no matter how far along they are with coping - with change, failure, grief, hanger, acceptance, all of it.

You'll pick up LATE BLOOMER for its cozy idyllic cabin setting. Turn the pages as fast as possible when the spice gets hot. Laugh at how relatable Opal's glitter thoughts are that you start to believe Mazey Eddings has been taking notes on your hamster powered brain. And fall in love with the most lovable nerds who can't stop feeling all their feelings.

Thank you Netgalley & St. Martins Press for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for the eARC of Late Bloomer by Mazey Edding! This was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint. I absolutely adored Pepper and Opal. Individually, they are neurodiverse, delightful and emotionally growing characters - deeply authentic and incredibly endearing. I especially connected with Opal. As a couple their chemistry was amazing, bot emotionally and physically. 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I’m absolutely obsessed with the flower farm setting and the cast of queer characters. I’m dreaming of two more books featuring Opal’s sisters. Mazey Eddings is an auto-read author for me. Five stars!

This book was cute. Took me until at 60% to really get into it but that last 40% really made my heart swoon!

I was <i>so</i> stupid excited when I was approved for this arc. An enemies-to-friends-to-lovers sapphic romance set on a North Carolina flower farm? The dream!

Which is why it's devastating this didn't live up to my anticipation.

This is a perfectly good book and I started on a high with it, but it just slowly started to dwindle more and more. This book was much more internal conflict and these two women just not being willing to talk to each other than I expected. I thought, once it got introduced, that the flower show was going to be the big event for this book, but turns out, it's just a tiny piece of it. It's over in three chapters. Trish is introduced as one of the antagonists, but again, over in a chapter. Same with Laney and Miles. They're built up to be these big conflicts, but they inevitably fizzle into nothing.

Again, a perfectly good (if at times cringey) book that introduces a ton of interesting ideas but ultimately does nothing with any of it.

review: late bloomer by mazey eddings ✨🩷🌷

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"i want our house. our home. next to you is my favorite place in the world, and that’s the only spot i care about holding on to.”" 💬✨🩷

✨ MY THOUGHTS ✨

⚠️ cw: abandonment, emotional abuse, grief, death of a loved one, alcoholism, toxic friendship, ableism, & gaslighting ⚠️

if you love changing your hair color at minor inconveniences, floral sculptures, daydreaming of winning the lottery, taylor swift references, found families, punny jokes, queer romance, neurodivergent representation, lots of laughs, cries, & spice this book might be for you...

alexa play mirrorball by taylor swift 🎶

🌟 RATING: ★★★★★/5
🥵 spice scale: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (some details but not too explicit)

📆✨ release date: april 16th, 2024

mazey eddings is literally one of my favorite authors!! i love love love all of her books!! so absolutely no one should be surprised i fell completely in love with pepper & opal!! this book was wonderful not criticism!! just phenomenal!! add it to your tbr!! i promise you won't regret it! thank you ____ for the e-arc!! ✨🩷