✨5/5
I can’t lie, I really REALLY enjoyed this book. Late Bloomer hits the nail on the head for everything I want in a book. They’re queer, awkward, feuding women who are also neurodivergent and are stuck in the same house. It talks about grief in an emotional way, makes you cry, is so very relatable and realistic. Yet this book has the perfect balance of Sweet and Spicy to go along with it. I genuinely didn’t expect this good of Smut from this book, but let me tell you, it did NOT disappoint. And the cover?!? Gorgeous! Opal and Pepper left a lasting impact on me and I genuinely will never stop thinking about them. Their love is one I dream of.

There are so many quotes I would love to write, but I think this one really shows the love-able (and hilarious) characters:

“Hunger takes me go to a dark place.” -Opal
“Yeah, no shit. I’m scared of what will happen if I don’t get a full meal in you in the next ten minutes.” -Pepper
“I’ll make my final metamorphosis into a cuntossaurus Rex and pillage this lovely hotel.” I hold up my limp wrists in front of me, making a roaring sound. -Opal

Late Bloomer is a fun read and has some good discussions about grief and finding value in yourself when you've been treated badly in the past. I was also happy to see the neurodivergent rep in this book. That being said, I felt like the plot outside of the romance between the two main characters wasn't engaging enough for me. It was still enjoyable and I did feel a lot for the characters.

Mazey Eddings is my autobuy author. She hasn’t written anything I haven’t loved. I was so excited to receive this ARC- crying, screaming the whole works. First, look at this cover! It’s gorgeous! The story is a grumpy/sunshine forced roommate rom com set on a flower farm. The explanations of the different flowers was such a nice detail in the story. I laughed out loud throughout the book and felt super emotional throughout the parts that made me feel seen. This was such a beautiful story that wrapped up nicely. Another lovely book from the author!

I am a firm advocate for taking risky leaps, but this story showed the (potentially hilarious) disastrous things that could result from those risks. Opal's lottery winnings didn't create a materialistic, shallow grasper of our main character, but it definitely brought those people out of where they were taking advantage of the loveable duo. In a series of mix ups, Opal and Pepper were thrown together in a way that didn't seem complementary, but it became so as they learned more about one another. This is a sweet story of making the best of situations we find ourselves in - that also tongue-in-cheek feeds the stereotype about lesbians moving in too soon!

hank you netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book!
ugh, i loved this book so much!!! it has been on my tbr since mazey announced this book and it did not disappoint!!
opal and pepper were so real and raw. i loved their individual stories.
as a florist, i absolutely loved the flower farm aspect of this book.
the autism and neurodivergent rep in this book was also so good!!!
if you’re looking for a steamy, emotional, sapphic romance with lovable characters and a cute setting look no further!
absolutely recommend this book!!

I loved this book. It was raw, emotional, and romantic. This bi enemies to lovers, opposites attract romance was so good.

The writing was beautiful and you can’t help but root for Opal and Pepper. I loved the autistic and ADHD Representation and the dual-POV’s too. This book had a great balance between grief, being neurodivergent, dealing with difficult family and friends, and also amazing romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for my honest review!

A really wonderful book! I was pleasantly surprised I would rate this book 3/5 thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read.

I've been waiting for this book since Mazey talked about it first and it wasn't even titled Late Bloomer, so yes, to say that I was anticipating it is a big understatement.

Opal and Pepper are the softest girls ever. If you're familiar with Mazey's books, you will know what I mean. Her books are so delicate and just feel so comfy. I've loved all of her books but this one has become a comfort read for me. I always feel more connected to sapphic romances and I felt like both Opal and Pepper were real people. I think this also happened because Mazey's characters are flawed and relatable. Both girls are neurodivergent so it takes them a bit of time to adjust to each other. Opal's character development was a big highlight for me. She's always let everyone step on her just so she can have ''friends'', but in this book she learns to only give her time to the people who love her as much as she loves them. Pepper's development was also great. Facing a toxic parent is a terrible experience and I was so glad when they both confronted Trish!

I don't know if this will be a standalone or Opal's sisters will also have books, but I would LOVE it. Diksha and Tal were amazing characters as well and I loved Diksha so much. I wanted more scenes of her with Opal. Opal deserved a friend like her so bad. Opal and Pepper's romance is adorable, steamy and as mentioned, so soft. I always trust Mazey to deliver the best kind of heartfelt reads.

tw: grief

Rating: 5/5
Steam level: Open door, 4-5 scenes, medium/high level of detail

ARC provided by St. Martin's Press and NetGalley. Opinions are my own!

I had to DNF it. It was good but not good enough to keep me hooked to this book.

I am glad i got approved for his book but i just couldn't finish it somehow.
The 40 % book i read was cute and if you are into it you will probably like it but this book just wasn't my cup of tea and i really wish i could finish reading it. So you might as well ignore this review of mine.

Thank you to St Martins Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I will happily leave a review for this when the racist remarks by one of their employees is addressed. I want to support the author, but also want to know they don’t support this behavior.

Excuse me this cover though??? Immediately drew me in, imma sucker for a beautiful cover.

Plus as a florist/flower lover if there is a book about a florist, flower farm, gardening or anything flower related im going to read it and Late Bloomer did NOT disappoint! I loved the growth for both pepper and opal throughout the book. This is my first book I’ve ever read from mazey eddings but definitely won’t be my last! 🌈

Thank you st. Martins press and NetGalley for this wonderful ARC!

I am probably biased as I really love anything by Mazey Eddings. She is a phenomenal writer, who can captivate you in any story she writes, whether it be from her straight romances or her queer ones. I absolutely loved this book, as a bi gal with AuDHD, I not only felt represented, but I felt seen. Another fabulous book, I cannot wait to pick up her next book.

Opal and Pepper find themselves thrust together (wink) at Thistle and Bloom Flower Farm after an epic misunderstanding and a swirl of mayhem with Pepper’s mom’s latest con. Mazey Eddings continues to craft the most incredible descriptions of the setting, including dream-worthy mountain fields full of flowers. If you love The Office and Schitt’s Creek, you will fall head over heels for the hijinks and awkward encounters that Pepper and Opal (“the chaos demon”) experience! Just like the other novels from Eddings that we love, the accompanying characters are incredibly developed and hilarious. Prepare for several really hot sapphic love scenes! Mazey Eddings is an auto buy for me, mostly for her swoon-worthy and poetic declarations of love. And we get to see several of these in Late Bloomer! #sapphicromance #forcedproximity #neurodivergentromance

This was a pretty low stakes book with little conflict and no third act breakup which I loved! It was also such a beautiful and unique sapphic romance book. I never would have thought to write about someone winning the lottery and buying a flower farm. How do you think of these things Mazey?! Watching Pepper and Opal's relationship grow and change from enemies to lovers was so cute. The mental health and neurodiverse representation was also really good and so nice to see. I wish we could have had more scenes with Opal's sisters though, but maybe they'll get their own books???

This was overall such a great read. I very much enjoyed the story and the growth of these characters.

Unfortunately I did not like this book at all. I was fully prepared to be obsessed with this book and have the glorious cover faced out on my bookshelf. But unfortunately it was so wildly unrealistic, insta-lovey, and filled with horrible characters that I couldn't enjoy it at all.

The more I read this author’s books, the more I fall in love. She has got such a way of writing! She writes for everyone. Her characters show it is ok to not be ok! You can still persevere and find love and happiness! She makes everyone worthy. If you haven’t found this author yet, do it.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley.

Never met a Mazey Eddings book I didn’t love! One of my favorite things about her writing is her portrayal of beautiful, messy, neurodivergent characters and how they’re equally deserving of love. Opal, in particular, with her ADHD/maybe Autism/but definitely neurodivergent, I related to a lot and it’s so important to see that kind of representation in art. I adored Opal and Pepper so much and couldn’t stop reading, all the stars!

Wow, where do i begin 😭 maybe with the fact that i can't believe i could read one of my most anticipated 2024 releases before the end of the year. sorry to everyone who has to wait until April because this book is INCREDIBLE.

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings is her first sapphic romance, and it is as beautiful on the inside as the outside. (Can we take a second to just stare at that beauty of a cover? Absolutely perfect.) It follows Pepper and Opal, and has the good old trope "we both believe we own this property so we just have to co-exist here until we solve that problem" which I'm obsessed with. It's like the roommate trope but with added drama and tension. Opal wins the lottery and she buys a flower farm - a flower farm Pepper lives on and thinks belongs to her after her beloved aunt passed away. So they decide they'll stay there until Pepper can pay off the money Opal bought it for. Of course, along the way, they pine after each other, fight their love with all their might, and decide to get rid of the tension by sleeping together.... without catching feelings, of course.

It is grumpy/sunshine goodness, has autistic rep, queer rep obviously, is emotional, raw and real, steamy, and sweet, and the two of them are everything to me. It is relatable, almost painfully so at some points, and utterly charming. Like I mentioned, it's set at a flower farm so it's going to be the perfect spring read. It also has great side characters.

If it isn't obvious, I absolutely adored this book. I might have shed a few tears at the end. Mazey Eddings' books have such a strong personality, and she really knows how to create characters who feel so real, they might as well be my best friends. This was just overall incredible, and y'all need to read this when it comes out - for the grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, sexual tension, beautiful spring setting, and a beautiful romance where two women who have been badly hurt before finally find a home within each other. Just perfect.

I love everything Mazey writes and this book is no exception. I loved this book so much. The neurodivergent representation, the romance and the found family were absolutely everything to me.