I absolutely loved this book. It was really well written and it was also surprising. Thank you for the arc. I really appreciate it.

I loved so many things about this.

It has big themes of trusting yourself, learning to love others who are different than you, AND an amazing love story.

Eddings provokes so much emotion. Brings the human experience directly to the page. I really appreciated the LGBTQ+ representation AND neurodiversity. Unlike anything else I’ve seen on the book market lately.

This book was truly heartfelt and delightful. I loved Opal and Pepper’s evolving relationship and chemistry. There were so many really beautiful moments in this story both for the characters individually and together. They were awkward and endearing and just so very lovely.

This would have been a five star read for me if the two external conflicts at the end were swapped. I understand they work in the timeline with the arc of the characters but both weren’t enough to solidify their big win moment. I needed a grand gesture for Opal. After everything she was put through, I needed there to be something more for her.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and looking forward to reading others by this author.

This was a young adult LGBTQ book that I enjoyed reading. It was cute and heartwarming but with some spice.

Opal wins the lottery and she buys a farm with her money. Pepper is now without a place to live because her grandmother passed and her mother sold the farm to Opal. Opal and Pepper become close friends and live together on the farm together.

I 100% would have been okay with a closed door romance book but I loved their relationship. It was very sweet.

I received this book for free in return for my honest opinion from Netgalley and publisher.

This was my first read by Mazey Eddings, and while it is a solid option for sapphic contemporary fiction readers, the main characters just really irked me. I really struggled with Opal’s people pleasing, like I just felt bad for her. Opal is a floor mat, being walked all over for almost the entire book, and it just made me not want to root for her and Pepper. The humor and writing style was very….. interesting, and it didn’t land with me personally.

If you enjoy sapphic, neurodivergent rep, grumpy/sunshine, early twenty-somethings cheesy romance stories, you will love this. This isn’t a bad book by any means, I just think it wasn’t for me!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review <3

Late Bloomer

💐ARC Review💐

First off, thank you NetGalley for the early ARC of this beautiful book. ‘Late Bloomer’ is a story whose characters jump off the page right from the start. What stood out most to me about the storyline was the swapping of the typical grumpy x sunshine trope.

Opal is the ray of sunshine who goes out of her way to always go above and beyond for her friends and family, even when they don’t always deserve it. She always puts herself last, and acts of kindness are definitely her love language. Although she is bubbly and happy, she is strong and purposeful when it comes to her relationship with Pepper.

Pepper is a complex and deep soul who opens up about her complicated family past, the loss of her dear grandmother, and the mental and physical conditions surrounding her autism. She is strong, brave, and perseveres through what life has dealt her. Opal is just what she needs to see how beautiful life can be when you stop and smell the flowers.

4.5/5 - a sapphic story that blends new tropes and dialogue with a timeless love story.

Super cute sapphic romance. I really enjoyed the characters and the storyline. Quick and fun read, love Mazey Eddings!

I absolutely loved this sweet, and surprisingly spicy, romance. Late Bloomer is a sapphic, opposites attract, forced proximity romance between two neurodivergent women who meet over a flower farm. Everything about this is perfect. Opal and Pepper are so funny, and so charming. I love that they actually communicate, and I love that we get to see a book couple struggling to find a communication style that works for them.

Opal's sisters and Pepper's friends make for a fantastic cast, and I am 1000% crossing my fingers for books about Opal's sisters. As someone who normally gags at a pop culture reference in books, they're actually pretty good here. The book effectively highlights mental health, a common theme in Mazey's works. It goes beyond the usual romance plot, skillfully exploring grief, which adds depth to the story.

I also really enjoyed the content at the end! Eddings included a list of almost titles, plus a guide to explain her reasoning for choosing the flowers mentioned in the book. Her acknowledgements also made me want to cry almost as much as the book did.

I can't say enough good things about this, or Mazey's work in general. Immediate five stars, I will be preordering ASAP.

Autistic meets AuDHD and much sapphic sex was had! While I wish some of the confrontations had been more confront-y, they were true to the characters' amazing and distinct personalities. After DNF'ing a book with yet another bland city girl protag, the way Opal jumps right off the page is refreshing and endearing. Pepper is a perfect foil for Opal and the interactions and misunderstandings are a great representation of what it's like to live and love neurodivergently.

This is such a beautiful rom-com! It's a dual POV slow-burn sexy book about two women who are thrown together in a pretty bonkers situation (Lottery winnings! Buying a house without visiting it! Oops, someone else lives there still!)

Opal is a bisexual who just freed herself from a terrible relationship with a man who starts sleeping with her sort-of best friend. She then wins $500,000 from a scratch card (what a twist!) and buys a flower farm to get a fresh start on life. One hiccup - when she arrives at the farm, Pepper, who runs the farm, has no idea it's been sold. Pepper is a sweet, but slightly grumpy, lesbian late bloomer and right away - the sparks fly!

LATE BLOOMER is a sweet, lighthearted novel about how two people can find love in unexpected places and that it's never to late to open up to someone you want to trust. Also, very very spicy!

At it's core, Late Bloomer is a low stakes, low conflict, spicy romance. Both Opal and Pepper are untrusting due to their pasts. But it doesn't stop either of them from falling for one another. The cast of characters is eclectic and very diverse. It's a fun read if you need something lighthearted to read. It's described as a slow burn, but I feel like it was more of the characters couldn't decide if the other liked them enough to commit.
It may have been a little too low stakes for me. The threat of losing the farm is big but I feel like it didn't hold enough weight in the end. I did enjoy that both Opal and Pepper stood up to the people who pushed them around in the end. I liked the closure for both of them.

Loved this sapphic read! It’s so hard to find queer romance that has such deep stories that are also fun. This toed the line perfectly.

4.5. Gloriously queer and gloriously sweet worn some really cool aspects! I loved Pepper so much and Opal was great too.Thanks for the arc! I really liked it.

I love Mazey’s books. Every book of hers are always such a pleasure to read and I always enjoy myself when reading this. This was an adorable queer story and the cover of the book is just stunning. Seriously amazing read !

This was a sweet sapphic romance between two flawed but empathetic protagonists as they found their way to better understandings of themselves through love. I wish there had been more on-page time for both Opal and Pepper with the other important people in their lives, to get a better sense of them outside of the context of each other, but overall it was a really fun read. I'd love to read a romance about Ophelia or Olivia in the future.

The Thistle and Bloom, a perfect backdrop for this story.
We follow Opal, an artist struggling to find a new start and Pepper, a mourning horticulturist who just lost the place that means the most to her. Although opposites in all accounts, both are drawn to each other.

This was a great love story of characters finding themselves and each other. This was a nice slow burn romance that was a comfort read. I enjoyed the story overall. I would love to have had some extra drama in the flower competition, a little added spice!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me to provide an honest review for this ARC.

First Mazey Eddings book and I loved it! The dislike between the MCs Pepper and Opal was well written and there were many hilarious moments because of their forced roommate situation.

Would recommend this cute Sapphic Romance

I'll just say that it was such a relief to read a romance where I was actually rooting for both characters... Lately, the romance genre has been dead for me and I was at my breaking point. There's only so many stories I can read where white men save the day. Which is why this may have been my first WLW book, but it definitely won't be my last.

Late Bloomers by Mazey Eddings is a heartwarming sapphic romance. This cute, low-stakes love story is the perfect companion for a cozy reading weekend. The forced roommate situation was chef’s kiss and there were some seriously hilarious moments. Eddings' writing style effortlessly draws you into the characters' world, making it a thoroughly enjoyable experience. I wholeheartedly recommend Late Bloomers for anyone seeking a light, feel-good read that leaves you with a smile.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I did not love this book as much as I thought I would. I will definitely give it a reread when the audiobook becomes available. I just feel like I was missing that everyone loved about the book.  This book is a slowburn which I genuinely love but I feel like it just did not work with our two main characters. I felt that the misunderstandings that continued to happen were just not important so they annoyed me a little bit. I would recommend this to anyone who loves romance, slowburn, and queer characters. At this time I just feel like it was not the book for me. 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher  for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.