3.75 stars

Aaaaaaw. This is a sweet one.

Opal and Pepper meet through an intriguing circumstance. After coming into a lot of money, Opal purchases a large flower farm. It turns out that the seller of this farm, Pepper's mother, is a shady individual who has not had Pepper - the farm's long-time resident - in mind at all during her selfish money grab. Trouble and romance ensue simultaneously when Opal and Pepper find themselves in the same place with at first different and then quite complementary goals.

As is the case in many romances, some of the opportunities for character development and plot expansion move aside for the sake of the burgeoning relationship. I did enjoy both characters - Pepper more than Opal - and the queer and neurodivergent rep is great, but the most satisfied readers will be those who come for the romance versus other elements.

This is a cute one, and the author's note about the title is a funny must-read at the end.

In solidarity of the smp boycott, I will be withholding my review of this title. Once that boycott is resolved, I will update my review.

“I want your hope. I’ll do everything in my power to protect that hope if you let me. Put it all on me.”

This forthcoming novel from St. Martin’s Press will have you kicking up your feet and giggling. After artist Opal wins the library, she moves to Asheville in search of a fresh start, deed in hand to Thistle & Bloom Farms. Never mind that Opal has never lived on a farm, let alone a flower farm, or that this new home comes with a complicating factor: It’s already occupied by Pepper. Pepper has been caring for the flowers for years and, following the death of her beloved grandmother, has no intention of leaving the most permanent place she ever called home.

This is a romance book so we can easily anticipate the beats:

Forced proximity? Check.

Grumpy meets sunshine? Check.

But my goodness isn’t it satisfying to see Pepper and Opal come together. Author Mazey Eddings unapologetically portrays underrepresented love in Opal and Pepper, two characters who experience life with an unspecified ADHD/neurodiverse combo and autism.

The conflict of this story - the inevitable character disagreements - was less believable to me. It felt a bit like it came out of nowhere. But that didn’t detract from the story’s charm or success.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ page 101

Look, I was very excited about an ADHD bisexual figuring out her sexuality later in life. Very relatable.

BUT Opal is immediately identified as a people pleasing pushover who is a complete disaster and it's questionable how she survives on her own. And that's just such a tired stereotype if a neurodivergent person. I was willing to still give it a try and at least meet the love interest and Pepper also felt like a caricature of an autistic person. Add to that everyone treating Opal like a monster because she bought the farm with know knowledge of it's history and Opal bending over backwards to make these people happy just wasn't appealing at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Griffin for providing this ARC to me!

Late Bloomer

Oh my goodness this book stole my heart. I’ve loved everything Mazey Eddings writes but it’s possible this is my new favorite.

Opal won the lottery, left her dead end job (and loser ex boyfriend) and buys a flower farm. It’s a total surprise when she finds, Pepper, who lives and works on the farm and is searching for her late grandmother’s will.

The two come to a truce of sorts where both stay on the farm. As they decide to compete in a contest to help Pepper buy back the farm they develop a friendship with benefits that quickly becomes more.

This was just so tender. I wanted to give Opal and Pepper a hug at different points. I loved the setting on the flower farm and am dreaming of a beautiful bouquet after reading. I loved the friendship with benefits they shared that was quickly more. I just adore the relatable characters Eddings writes. They both needed someone to love them. I loved how they cared die each other. I mostly listened to the audiobook and appreciated how the narrator was able to alternate between Pepper and Opal. As always, I cannot wait for more books from Mazey Eddings.

THANK YOU!!! Thank you!!! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this swoonworthy ARC.

Mazey is a goddess and I once again pledge my undying love to her and any book babies she puts out in to this world. I went crazy over the Easter egg that was dropped in from another book and was happy to catch as many references as I did for other things. I cannot wait to get my physical copy of this book!!!

SO CUTE!! this is Mazey Eddings best book yet! I am absolutely so in love with both these main characters, and their family, and their friends...every one! Currently experiencing grief myself, seeing how Pepper is dealing with hers was real, and raw and so accurate. It dug a little hole in my heart but in a good way. The charactersd are flawed and honest and so relatable. Love this book and I hope Mazey Eddings continues to write more like it.

Mazey Eddings can do no wrong in my opinion! I absolutely loved this opposites attract, forced proximity, dual POV, Sapphic romance that sees Opal winning the lottery and buying a flower farm unbeknownst to the former owner's daughter, Pepper, who is also the farm manager.

With great neurodiversity rep (Pepper is autistic and Opal has undiagnosed ADHD) and disability rep (Pepper suffers from migraines), this book is full of heart, heat and all the feels as the two women are forced to work together as they try to win a big flower sculpting competition in order to win a grand prize that would allow Pepper to put a down payment towards buying back the farm.

The emotional depth in this book was outstanding! Pepper hasn't taken a chance on love before and opens herself up to a new sexual relationship with Opal who is also experiencing what it's like to be with a woman for the first time. There was also a lot of family drama between Opal's sisters and Peppers absentee, neglectful mother.

Highly recommended for fans of authors like Alexandra Bellefleur or Alison Cochrun and great on audio. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Steam level: open door

A beautiful sapphic romance!

Opal and Pepper are brought together to save the family flower farm, but they both have the worst history of people using them and not caring. I'm a sucker for a great story that takes you along with the character's journey of growth, and this one does not disappoint.

I especially enjoyed the migraine and autistic rep, allowing me to relate to them on another level. They both just want to be loved and genuinely cared for, and I was worried at one point that it wasn't going to work out, but Mazey always makes it right in the end.

**Autism/Migraine rep
**Forced proximity
**Grumpy/Sunshine

A heart-warming story that will make you smile, but wish you could reach through the book and hug them.

3.5 Stars

This was a super cute sapphic romance between two completely opposite people. Pepper & Opal have nothing in common except Thistle & Bloom Farm. Though the rightful owner of said farm may be up for deliberation, these two make the most of things by being extremely awkward roommates who not only find a way to make things work, they manage to secure their HEA in the process.

Loved that the author gave us alternate title possibilities and the breakdown of flower meanings after the epilogue. The writing was super easy to follow along, but I have to admit I did get lost in the ending... The last two chapters before the epilogue to me were off. I'm not a fan of the third act break up, that's not a break up before the HEA. I did enjoy, just couldn't give it higher than a 3.5 star rating!

Adorable but I wished I liked it more 😩 I enjoyed the writing and representation for the most part. Sadly I found it very boring because there was a distinct lack of conflict. I need more from my romances including romcom ones.

I went into this really excited and just wanted a little more from it I guess. I loved the writing, the characters, and the romance, there was just something that I felt was missing in a sense. I think it was the pacing, everything happened really fast and I just think it needed more time, if the book was just a bit longer I think it would be able to encompass what I'm feeling that it's missing

Started this audiobook yesterday- and I feel so seen. Mental health, anxiety, desperate need to please- YEP
Struggles with using alcohol as a means to be confident and social- YEP
Struggle to make friends and find a community - YES
Ok fine I'm envisioning both women as late 30s, early 40s. Otherwise, perfection. Some spice, lots of affirmation.

This will be perfect for someone! For me it didn't quite hit how I needed it to.

My problems:
Heroines don't have to be perfect, but Opal and Pepper are incredibly frustrating every step of the way. Their conflicts are so inconsequential most of the time that it can be annoying and sometimes a slog to work through. I found myself skipping over a lot of their arguments.

Not to be a boomer but there are just way too many references to modern day/internet culture-y things. It makes the book feel dated and it hasn't come out yet. (I'm sorry, I cringe whenever there's a Taylor Swift reference in a novel.) It takes me out, unfortunately.

The "disaster bi" trope doesn't work here and feels incredibly meh.

Good things:
Solid writing. A good level of steam without it being too much or overtaking the story. Neurodivergent (autistic) rep. Grief! Guaranteed HEA. Nice fluff.

It's a sweet love story, just maybe not for me!

I liked this book, but it took me a while to get into it. I don’t know why, I think at first it felt a little disjointed and off-center for me. But once it got going I really enjoyed the book.

Opal Devlin wins the lottery and then blindly buys a flower farm. Pepper Smith knows the farm is hers but where is her Grandma’s will to prove it? The two strike up an unlikely deal, then friendship, then more as they Bloom at Thistle and Bloom Farms.

Opal and Pepper are both quirky in different ways. They are each other’s grumpy to sunshine in opposite ways. When one is grumpy the other is sunshine and vice versa. It was sort of funny and cute at the same time.

Cute Book

Format - E ARC (NetGalley)

Rating- ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

Spice- 🌶 🌶

Series- N/A

Troupes- opposites attract, enemies to lovers, forced proximity,

Representation- ADHD, Autism, anxiety, grief

CW- on page Panic attack

OMG Mazey is unstoppable, I will maintain that I will read anything she writes even it’s a phone book. So this adorable sapphic romance about a ADHD, chaos gremlin, artist falling for an autistic, flower farmer, control freak was everything I didn’t know I needed in my life!

Pepper and Opal are fictional people I want to be friends with so to say they are dynamic characters is an understatement. I love the flower farm as the setting! Mazey always paints the prettiest pictures in her story telling. I love Opal’s sisters and family and was really satisfied with the resolution of her terrible “Friends”

I loved the whole premiss of this story. Then Mazey sprinkled it with her magic with intense tension and longing looks and some spicy times Sex Ed and I was a goner.

Needless to say to love this book and if any of the above spoke to you, you will not regret picking up this one and falling in love with them!

Thank you Mazey Eddings, St Martins Press and Netgalley for the advanced copy. My opinions are my own.

Mazey Eddings does it again! When Opal wins the lottery why wouldn’t she buy a flower farm off of Facebook marketplace without visiting it first? Well luckily the farm is tbere, but so is its grumpy, hopeful inheritor Pepper (who can’t find the will of her deceased grandma anywhere!) and she wants nothing to do with Opal. Or does she? Quickly the two become roommates and the tension builds from there. (The sexy kind) This book is full of cheesy moments, blunt humor, autistic representation, and really good spice. Five stars!!

Well I very much appreciated some of the various representation in this book it had no real driving force and Opal was painfully annoying.

I continue to be a Eddings fan but this one was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher all opinions are mine.

This book is a gift from Mazey Eddings to readers. Late Bloomer by Eddings is a sapphic romance blooming with humour, compassion, and a hint of magic.

Meet Opal Devlin. Her life takes an unexpected turn after winning the lottery, and she faces a onslaught of relentless requests for handouts. Determined to protect herself, she invests her newfound wealth in a failing flower farm, yet her plan for solitude unravels. Meet Pepper Smith. She’s the fiery and gorgeous rightful owner of the farm, confronts her. The unlikely duo strike-up a cohabitation agreement, and their personalities clash at every turn. As the two butt heads, will sparks begin to fly?

Eddings' writing is both sparkling and raw, capturing the essence of queer joy and love. The Floridian setting adds warmth, and the magical realism elements infuse wonder into the story. I consider this book a must-read for anyone seeking a heartwarming romance that celebrates the power of community.

Eddings is a neurodiverse author who crafts love stories for every brain. If you're looking for a delightful and enchanting romance, Late Bloomer is the perfect choice!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

this is really tragic but i... did not like this. sometimes books just don't work out! but i really wanted this one to. i did love some parts, like pepper's journey with grief and how pepper and opal both learn to stand up for themselves.
unfortunately, the stuff i didn't like way overshadows the stuff i did. there's a lot that is definitely just a Me Thing, so i am going to keep this part of my review short (hopefully):
- i am sick and tired of "young people can't afford to live in this world" stories. this is my daily existence. i don't want to read about it (this is definitely just a me thing on account of how the world is full of people who are not constantly panicking about their futures! but alas, i am not one of them)
- this book suffers from a severe case of People Don't Talk Like That. every conversation with friends in this book is banter, opal and pepper are constantly writing each other love letters with their mouths. it's fun to read for a conversation but when all the dialogue is like that it just feels forced. nobody has the energy to keep that up every time they talk to someone. nobody can be witty nonstop like that. also: nobody says "and/or" out loud (at least i hope they don't). also keep your parentheses out of dialogue damn it: "that bitch (affectionate)" like no nobody says that out loud with their faces okay.
- i hate it when someone thinks something but oh no! they accidentally said it out loud! ummm no. not happening. shut up author you are incorrect.
- this much hugging people you just met is literally insane. i am a deeply huggy person and i find this concerning.
- all of pepper's friends and opal's sisters are so busy being Characters that they never get to be people. they only exist to be fun! quirky! supportive! like who has all this free time to just go help out no notice at a flower farm? who can give their friend so much of their energy so much of the time? are these people on cocaine?
- any sort of "let me guess your sexuality" is inherently boring.
- first person pov books love to have a non-gay queer character explain queerness and i do not know who it is for. they all go "i am attracted to this random quality and it doesn't matter the gender of the person and also i don't know any words that fit for me. bi, i guess. or pan" and genuinely i love that these people are able to love and fuck whoever they want but i don't need a shades of queerness ted talk in my queer romance novels.
- the times when pepper and opal fought i didn't even realise they were fighting until suddenly they like weren't talking to each other. not enough tension! i am the kind of person to hide from books and pace around my room and skip ahead to see what will happen when things get tense and i just uh didn't notice in this book? so that didn't happen.
- unsafe driving is not quirky and fun, actually.
- genuinely curious, what does impotence look like as a facial expression?
- and finally: pepper and opal got so many chances to learn to communicate with each other and never did because "love is enough!!" and i just do not believe that that is a relationship that can last sorry not sorry.
ok i am done that was longer than i meant it to be. but still. i didn't like this book, sorry!