I received this as an ARC copy from NetGalley.

This was one of the “fluffier” books I have read in a long time, and I don’t mean that to be a bad thing! As someone who reads a lot of dark romance it is nice to have a palette cleanser of sorts - meaning - it was lighthearted, minimal conflict, and overall the HEA you’d expect from a romance book.

I related so much with Opal in that she tends to be a people pleaser, overthinks literally everything, but also tends to be a little flighty and overreacts to certain things. She is truly a sunshine in this book and while sometimes the optimistic characters can get on my nerves (call me a pessimist I know) she wasn’t so overalls sunshiny that it wasn’t realistic.

Pepper was less relatable to me, but nevertheless she was a great character and paired perfectly to opal for the grumpy-meets-sunshine trope. I really liked that the author included characters that weren’t neurotypical. Sometimes this can come across as a weird if the author hasn’t done research on the conditions, but this author clearly had knowledge on the subject matter.

The plot, while far fetched, was cute (I mean look at the cover, of course it’s cute) and it was an overall fun reading experience. If you’re looking for an easy, lighthearted, rom-com, forced-roommate, comfort type read book of sorts (with a little spice even) then you have came to the right place!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Readers who enjoy low-stakes, introspective, meager-plot-mostly-vibes stories will likely enjoy Late Bloomer.

As a queer, neurodivergent person, I wanted to love this book. And what's more, I love introspection and depth in romance novels! But the inner monologues and constant explanations of everything, including the details of neurodivergence, was way, way, way too much. I thought writers were meant to describe, not explain. The one benefit of the explanations... I guess... is to help neurotypical readers understand better what goes through ND's heads. I just don't think it was well executed. Though, there were indeed little moments of inner monologue that landed well, those moments when the character let her thoughts run away from her, like a bit of stream of consciousness writing. If the explanatory passages were removed and these raw moments retained, the novel would be much improved.

That said, I deeply appreciate the neurodivergent rep, and all the other aspects of humanity represented in this novel. It's not a bad story, not by any means. The romance arc parts of the book were great, and for the most part everything is very well written and characterizations create a good amount of sympathy. For me though it was a drag to read, so many scenes I wondered what they were for, and I generally love stories that are a little slow.

The first few chapters were particularly a drag, and had this not been an ARC I would have DNFd within the first few. Too many aspects were cliche (third act...sigh...) and just uninteresting. The overall structure and composition of the ending felt far more natural and much less over-produced than the beginning. I want to read a novel that reads like the last 30% of Late Bloomer.

rep: autistic mc, neurodiverse mc, bi mcs
tropes: grumpy x sunshine, forced proximity

first, let’s start with the obvious, the cover is absolutely stunning.


now for the book itself, wow! i cannot express how much i adored pepper and opal. their dynamics, their backstories, their personalities, everything about them was very well thought out. i also found the side characters to be very likable which is an important part of the reading process for me. with this book being dual pov, it was easy for me to tell the main characters point of views apart — which i sometimes struggle with if the main characters are too much alike.

moving forward to the writing. i found some parts near the beginning to be quite slow but it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. i did enjoy the plot/premise of this book. i found it original and interesting. i loved the taylor swift reference and the constant nods to different flowers.

overall i would definitely recommend this swoon-worthy, giggling-and-kicking-your-feet, spicy, cozy romance.

thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advance copy of this book.

I really like this author, Mazey Eddings, and have enjoyed her past books a lot. She writes her characters with so much personality! This one is no exception - Olive, an undiagnosed but self-proclaimed neurodivergent woman, screams so much chaos off the page that it was almost too much for me, especially at the first third of the book. So. Much. Chaos. But I know people like this, and she was such a loveable misfit it really grew on me.

I felt that the other MC, Pepper, did not give as much of a clear picture to me. She's autistic, which meant that her perspective was much quieter and more thoughtful, but was difficult to compare next to the stream of chaos from Olive. I wonder if the dual narrators doesn't work as well here, due to that - there's some overshadowing happening.

The story and the romance were sweet, with enough of a story to pull it all together. I could have used more of a slow burn here - I wasn't sure that someone with zero sexual experience would jump into a friends with benefits situation!!. There was thoughtful self-awareness and emotions coming from the characters. I would have liked to see the villains be a bit more present or fleshed out - I think there was a missed opportunity for sabatoge, for example. But I think the real conflict of the story was internal to both MCs, which also works.

I also love the beautiful cover but they don't "look" like the characters to me - particularly Olive - where is the green or pink hair?

ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS STORY!!! I have loved everything that Mazey Eddings has written, but this one shot right up to the top of the list as my favourite.
I loved the characters and how they grew throughout the entire book to find themselves and be the best for themselves. The neurodivergent representation was well done, and I liked that while it was an important part of the characters, it was not the main focus, and that they learned to excel past things that held them back.
Quick and easy read. Would 100% recommend to anyone who asks.

This book was so good!! I found myself laughing out loud and wanting to tell the people around me what was happening in the story. This was a cozy, cute read with some very unexpected but some very well done spice 😍 I am so happy I had the chance to read it! I will be thinking about this book for a long time. Pepper and Opal forever 🥹🥹

This book was adorable from start to finish. This was my first book by the author and I can’t wait to read more. A book with neurodivergent representation, sapphic love, a flower farm, green hair dye, and lottery winnings? What’s not to love. This book was the perfect level of unhinged to keep me hooked the whole time. 4.5 stars.

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

This is a really lovely sapphic rom-com. I had a great time reading it, immersing myself in the flower farm and the sweet forced proximity romance between Opal and Pepper. They were such wonderful, fully fleshed out characters. I also loved the neurodivergent rep, which I always appreciate in Mazey Eddings’ books. Highly recommend this for all rom-com readers, especially fans of queer romance!

This was a sweet, flowery romcom. Both leads, Abby and Pepper, were fleshed out and had their own very real problems and personalities. I liked the contention between them and how it coalesced into a friends-with-benefits and then something more. The supporting characters were also fun and the plot, while mostly predictable, was a fun read. Overall an easy, sweet read!

WOW. This is my first Mazey Eddings novel and it did NOT disappoint! A fun and spicy read with plenty of neurodivergent representation! I adored the flower shop setting and the entire premise behind the lottery - not something I'd typically think of spending winnings on, but it led to a sweet story with plenty of LOL moments! That being said, it still did a great job of touching on tough topics like family issues. A quick read for romance lovers of all interests!

Late Bloomer is my first sapphic romance, but not my first romance from Mazey Eddings. I always love Mazey’s books and will read whatever she puts out. I was so intrigued when I saw she was writing a sapphic romance and I knew she would do a phenomenal job.

This story is a sweet, low conflict romance with a unique/fun storyline. I love the idea of forced proximity due to a lottery winner buying a a flower farm, that happens to already have a person living there. There certainly is not another book with that plot line and it makes for a fun premise.

Pepper is obviously upset to learn someone bought the place she lives/work that means so much to her, but Opal being the sweet people pleaser she is insists she can stay as her roommate because what could go wrong! It takes a bit for Pepper‘s walls to come down and for her to let Opal in. They both are dealing with their own hardships and difficult life events, so it’s sweet that they have each other to lean on.

As I said, this is a low conflict romance and is the perfect low angst/tension book for an easy, sweet read. Mazey is not only a great author, but an amazing human that works hard to write diverse stories/characters. I honestly just love her as a person and she inspires me with all she has accomplished.

This was incredibly cute! Opal wins the lottery and decides to quit her dead end job and buy a flower farm in North Carolina. When she gets there she finds Pepper, the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom Farms and she’s not leaving!

I had such a fun time reading this one. Both Opal and Pepper are loveable, relatable characters that I just wanted to keep reading about. Their dynamic worked really well for me and I found their relationship so lighthearted and cute.

Would highly recommend this if you’re looking for a fun sapphic romance read!

Huge thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the ARC!

I absolutely adored Tilly in Technicolor and so Late Bloomer having autism and adhd rep+being sapphic put it at my number one most looked forward to release of 2024. So thank you for the opportunity to read it early. It was really complex and the characters were really well developed. There were some characters who felt trope forced, like Opal's 'best friend' and ex. Pepper's best friend crossed the line of protective/supportive to infantilising and just kept calling out her autistic traits as things to work on. Along with invading her no-touch preferences, so she wasn't my favourite character. All in all though, this was a really lovely read and Opal and Pepper will stay in mind as though they're old friends of mine.

Perhaps readers could revisit the town with a new neurodivergent wlw couple in Pining? That title just cannot go unused and I'd love to visit this pocket of book worlds again during Christmastime.

Oh, one last thing is that I really enjoyed the addition of info dumping at the end about the flowers. Would have loved this in Technicolor about all of the thoughts that went into Pantone choices and think it would be a lovely addition to any neurodiverse authors books. Bring on the special interest info dumps!

Thank you NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. As usual, Mazey Eddings never fails to amaze me with her writing. This book felt so real, and there truly wasn’t a moment where I got bored reading it. Although it’s different from what she usually writes, it’s the exact same. The wit, vulnerability, and creativity are still very present, along with the chemistry between both main characters. Additionally, the epilogue was just absolutely perfect.

This new adult, F/F romance probably hit closer to a 3.5 for me but it was worth bumping it up to a 4. This story follows a young woman, Opal, living in a no-name town working a dead end job and thoroughly not enjoying life. One day, she is gifted a lottery ticket and wins. She is an impulsive little soul and ends up buying a flower farm in North Carolina, sight unseen, from some seemingly nice woman on facebook of all places. Already pretty outlandish, right? That was the roughest part of this book for me. There were just a lot of convenient things happening that felt unbelievable on their own but, all together, felt like I was really stretching myself to imagine all of this happening as it did. If you want to read this one you have to be ready to just buy the plot the author is selling to tell the story of these two characters. Anyway, Opal goes to her new farm only to find that someone is already living there...Pepper, a young woman with Autism who just lost her grandmother and, apparently, the flower farm the two of them tended together. The two clash immediately because of the circumstances and also their contrasting natures of impulsivity and cautiousness buuuut, I mean you've seen the cover, things take a turn and they fall for each other and work together to solve problems. If you're looking for something light and cuddly with women loving women, flowers and neurodivergent representation then this might be for you.

This was an enjoyable romance novel with the late bloom of emotions and figuring out how to ground oneself while maneuvering around others in your life! Mazey Eddings made this such an inclusive novel, making it a place anyone can find themselves in a character. Opal and Pepper learned to communicate throughout the book, which was heartwarming to read.
Thank you so much to NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy!

Enjoyed this queer romance by Mazey Eddings. I haven't read anything by her before and would recommend to anyone who enjoys Abby Jimenez and Helen Hoang. This book was set on a picturesque flower farm and I loved all the descriptions of flowers and could see it all very clearly.

Mazey Eddings never disappoints me. Honestly, this was breathtaking, refreshing and so raw. I loved every moment about this. The dislike and angst between Pepper and Opal. The hilarious moments and forced roommate situation. Then the blooming of feelings between the two MCs. All of it was such a beautiful thing to watch. The messy bits, the ups and the downs. All of it played out beautifully. The epilogue was truly CHEF'S KISS. Beautiful way to wrap it all up with a bow. Absolutely brilliant! 4.5 stars!

Absolutely adore this book. It is so sweet, with the perfect steam. I love the representation within the book as well. This is the most perfect spring/summer read! It is also incredibly well written and the pacing is perfection.

In this sorry, we follow Opal, a down-on-her-luck bisexual who works as an ice cream cone on the side of the road. Then she wins the lottery and has almost everyone in her life begging for handouts, so she does what any sane person would do, and buys a flower farm to escape to. There, she meets Pepper, the person who’s been keeping the farm alive for years and who has no idea that her mother has sold the farm to Opal. They decide to share the cabin until they can get the ownership under control, and their love story ensues from there.

This was really sweet, if you’re looking for a quick, silly sapphic romance, this is the perfect fit. I loved how simple and natural the autistic representation was and the nonchalant mention of one of the characters being a 26-year-old virgin. The plot was interesting enough, but the real shining star in this story was the romance. Besides these positives, I did have some believability issues with the book.

First, Opal’s very bad “friend” Laney is the one who gives her the winning lotto ticket for her birthday, and I have a really hard time believing that someone who treats her so badly wouldn’t try to bring her to court or something. I’ve heard stories where close family members have legal battles over stuff like this, so Laney being so chill just made no sense to me

Opal’s relationship with her ex was also very unrealistic to me. At first, it was hard for me to sympathize with her because she KNEW that he was a bad boyfriend and literally couldn’t name ONE nice thing about him, but is still obsessed with him. I know this happens, but it was super exaggerated and just too much and could’ve been way more enjoyable to read if it was just dialed down.

I also thought Opal and Pepper’s relationship progressed a little too quickly. Fans of insta love would enjoy this, but for me, it felt a little… you guessed it, unrealistic.

The craziest thing to me was at the end when the whole will/property ownership thing was resolved, and all Pepper had to do was go into her dead grandma's room to find a will. I get that if she’d done this at the start, there would be no story to tell, but come on, this is so stupid. It really makes this super sweet love story seem silly and takes away a lot of the good feelings I had about this story because it seems like such a waste to end a good story that way. It felt lazy and I think Opal and Pepper deserved more than that.

Overall, this was cute and fun but lacked any grounding in reality. A great story for naive romantics and a not-so-great story for realists. Luckily for me, I'm very naive and was able to enjoy this despite its flaws.