i don’t think i’ve read such true autistic representation, and very rarely have found romance with the autistic character not being infantilized. pepper and opal’s love story is so sweet and strange and silly, this was such a good read

What a delight this is for all readers, especially angsty, neurodivergent queers! Late bloomers is a gorgeous and delicious queer romance with some of the very best neurodivergent rep I’ve seen on the page. Opal is the quintessential chaos bi, and Pepper is such a beautiful prickly cactus who is nothing but mush inside. Her journey of self discovery is so honest and often underrepresented in queer lit. What makes this a true triumph, however, is the neurodivergent rep. Eddings has created two deeply complicated and endearing characters who get to be their entire selves. By allowing both characters to be candid and honest gives us insights not only in how they see and feel the world, but also in how they see each other. As a result, their careful dance around one another makes the intimate scenes all the more potent.
All the stars.

I. Loved. This. Book. As soon as I saw that this book was available on NetGalley, I HAD to have it. Mazey Eddings is one of my favorite authors, and this book is no exception. The concept was unique, the plot engaging, and the characters were compelling from page one. If you are looking for a fun sapphic book to read this upcoming spring, please pick this up! I will be getting a physical copy, which is how you know I enjoyed an e-book.

I appreciate getting an advanced copy of this book but I had to DNF @ 30%. I’ve loved Edding’s books prior to this but I wasn’t feeling the pace nor the relationship. I couldn’t become invested in their relationship like I previously had with the other relationships Edding’s has focused on. I really wanted to enjoy this but I couldn’t.

I enjoyed reading this book! It was my first book by this author and it will not be the last. As a mood reader, I sometimes struggled to get into the mindset of the flower farm. I enjoyed seeing the trust grow and build between the characters. The ending felt a bit rushed, everything tied up really quick. But I enjoyed the book and was grateful for an early copy.

I love the neurodiversity representation in this book! I feel like it is rare to find a book that captures the experience of being a queer neurodivergent woman. I don't always love when stories are told from two different perspectives, but I think it works well in this case. I do feel like I wanted to get a little deeper on Pepper' past and there were parts of her stories that I felt could have been explored more. Overall though, this was a cute little read and I would recommend it to anyone who is considering reading this book.

3.5 stars rounded to 4- This book has so much promise but needs more development and editing. “Late Bloomer” by Mazey Eddings is a cute, queer book. Many of us dream of escaping to flower farms in the country to get away and that is what Mazey’s character Opal has done. The idealism is short lived, however, as she finds that someone is on the farm she just purchased. Opal and Pepper go through the classic “enemies to lovers” situation as they are forced to share the property’s cabin, as well as go through the stress of entering a flower competition together. It is a cute book, with a fairly predictable plot. It isn’t a book I would run out to buy for all my friends, but I’d recommend it for a short, light read, with a few steamy scenes.

I am glad for the representation in the book, but this is also where my biggest criticisms lie. The characters are both underdeveloped and overexplained at the same time. Opal is bisexual, both Opal and Pepper are neurodivergent, and there’s different types of family structures represented. As someone who is also bi and neurodivergent, I did appreciate the representation, but I also felt it was a bit heavy handed at times. So many interactions or miscommunications were explained over and over in terms of their neurodivergency. It often felt stilted and overdone. It could have been more integrated into the characters and plot, rather than having to be explained many times to the other characters, and in turn the reader, as if we couldn’t understand for ourselves how their neurodivergency played into their characters or interactions without explanation. I was grateful that the bisexuality was integrated seamlessly and was never made to be a big deal or plot point. There was some mention of alcoholism and drug use. Opal’s past alcohol use also felt forced and didn’t feel as congruent with her character. It only came up a handful of times, and didn’t really play a major role in the book or the character development. I thought it would be used as a point of contention with Pepper, given her mom’s drug use, but that oddly never came up. I think maybe the author was trying to fit too many things into one book, which resulted in it feeling forced and not well-integrated given the simple plot and length of the book. It was a good easy read but could have used more editing to make the characters stronger and their stories more seamless. I would give it a 3.5/5- which I’m rounding to 4. I had higher hopes for the book, but it was a fun, light read nonetheless. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first book of Mazey’s that I’ve read, but it won’t be the last. I loved the neurodivergent representation in this, and that it is a WLW book. Opal and Pepper were fun characters to root for, and reading as they fell for each other was a delight. I appreciate that we’re getting more and more books of characters with different issues in their lives.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

First thing is I will definitely be picking up more Mazey Eddings novels in the future.

Sapphic romance: check
Metal health rep: check
Opposites attract: check
Atmosphere: beautiful
Vibes: right on
Spice:🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Opal Opal Opal I feel you so much. I have felt so many of the things Opal feels while talking and interacting with other people. This is one of my first reads with a great representation of autism and neurodivergence. There were parts where it could have been toned down a bit but it didn’t distract to much from the story.

Thank you NetGallery and St. Martin’s Press for the advance copy.

4⭐️Thank you to St Martins Press for the ARC!

this book is so freakin adorable!! I adored both main characters and all the funny side characters as well:)

Thank you to St. Martin press and NetGalley for the advanced readers copy.

I enjoyed this book I thought the romance was cute. I thought that Opal and Pepper were cute together. I overall enjoyed but I did find myself feeling that the book was a little bit slow at times and that I had to force myself to sit down and read.

This was an amazing & beautiful story! I cant wait to read more from this author! It was great character development, it was funny, the twists, the turns and the ups & downs really made it memorable story. The ending was perfectly tied together! I loved Opal & Peppers story. Thank you

A solid 3.5-4 star romance! I loved how the differences in Opal and Pepper are what brought them closer. There is a short stint of friends with benefits and honestly I'm glad that wasn't longer. I liked that even as they worked together they didn't always win at what they were doing. They were still two complicated people trying to figure things out. I liked the Austim rep in the book as well.

DNF at 64%.

The story was so slow. I never got to that part of the book where I am just swept in and don't want to let go. I was having to force myself to keep reading.

I did like that Opal and Pepper were accepting of each other's neurodivergence's, and the way the grief was handled. No one was telling Pepper she needed to just get over it, all of her friends were helping her get through in her own way.

The neurodivergent representation is one I usually enjoy reading about, but Opal was just something else. Yes, it's hard to see sometimes that someone is using you, but once you have broken up usually hindsight helps you out. She even thinks it to herself about how bad they treat her, yet she runs right back.

The how ordeal with Opal and Pepper felt more like a budding friendship than anything. They didn't have any feelings for each other beyond lust. I just didn't connect with either one of them.

3.5 Stars

Definitely has its weird plot moments and awkward dialogue but my god it is so so sweet.

Late Bloomer does what all my favourite books do: it gets straight to the point. I don’t know if I’ve ever thought the beginning of a book was my favourite part, but I really enjoyed the first few chapters of this one! There’s no sitting around waiting for something to happen, we get right into it (thank you so much for this, Mazey Eddings)

Small cast of characters makes this a quick and easy read that allows you to focus on the “budding” relationship of Opal and Pepper. Super sweet story on a flower farm setting, there’s not much more I could ask for.

I must say I am now a fan of the forced into a situation together, then into casual sex , and slowly into lovers arc.

It took me a while to warm to these characters. Once past the set up premise that brings them together I was onboard as the developing relationship is beautifully detailed from two perspectives. Solid contemporary lesbian romance between two twenty-something’s. Has descriptions of sexual activity and use of profanity.

Loved the relationship building and the slow unraveling and realization
Spice was so tender and I loved that they gave us the opposite of what was expected
The beginning started out kind of awkwardly and clunky … while I understand why we had to learn about each Opal and Pepper’s immediate headspace’s … it was a little jarring. Also I think there could’ve been more development of Opal’s family beyond her sisters. And even her sisters were just kind of there without depth. Pepper’s friends had the depth but I think the group was too big — they only interacted all as a group once so it seems kind of unnecessary. The multiple villains was hard, too, with Pepper’s mom and then Lacey and Miles. Idk I get it but also neither of them felt strong enough to be true conflicts. Though I did love that the girls fought for each other with their respective bullies. I wish we could’ve had more resolution after getting the will — it was kind of a mind shock that the story ended and then we got a small line in the epilogue. The business deal was such a huge part of the story and it felt glossed over at the end.
I also loved Lizzie’s bakery appearance.
Very solid, but not quite perfect, read.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-arc in exchange for my review!

4.25/5
This book was so cute! Sunshine Opal wins the lottery and decides on a whim to buy a flower farm. When she arrives at the farm and finds grumpy Pepper already living and running the farm, they make a deal to figure out what to do together. What follows is a funny, sweet, and sexy story about people pleasing, grief, and figuring out their places in the world. I love Mazey Eddings’ writing style and love that she includes neurodiverse characters in her books. This was also her first sapphic romance. It was the gorgeous cover that pulled me in, but the story kept me there.

This was really lovely. Two women who seem polar opposites end up having claim of ownership to a flower farm. 🌸 💐🌺

Opal and Pepper are lovable, and it takes awhile for them to figure themselves out. There’s a lot of beautiful character work done throughout.

Just very lovely!

Screaming crying & throwing up!! I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book I absolutely love late bloomer & I can’t wait for it to be out in the world. This book made me feel so seen as a woman who didn’t know she was bisexual until she was in her late twenties!