I love a small town sapphic romance and the forced proximity trope!

I struggled with the first 10% of this one and was worried I wasn’t going to connect with the characters or story. I know people make large, impulsive decisions all the time but I found it incredibly hard to believe Opal could purchase a house this way. I decided to press on despite that and I’m glad I did.

Things I loved:
•grumpy sunshine
•forced proximity
•gay panic
•neurodivergent rep. stimming! sensory issues! meltdowns! creativity! emotional intensity! spell it out for me because what are social cues!
•dry humour
•portrayal of grief and mother wounds
•the nod to a historical queer icon

Favourite quote:
“Fuck anything and anyone that made you have to survive instead of live. You deserve a life so peaceful it feels deliciously boring.”

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for the eARC!

3.75/5 stars

This is a super cute sapphic story about a woman who wins the lottery and buys a flower farm that is already occupied by a prickly woman grieving the loss of her grandmother.

It’s an opposites attract, forced proximity romance with queer and neurodivergent rep.

It was a little hard to get into and lost me a little in the middle, but overall a cute story!

This was a delightful Sapphic romance that perfectly balanced humor and real life emotions and challenges. The set-up was crazy but plausible although I am glad that Opal got out of her hometown before her toxic friends could drain her of her money since the synopsis indicated that would be a thing.

I think the author did a very good job at making Opal and Pepper's voices and personalities unique and different from one another (TBH that is my issue with most dual or multiple POV novels). Eddings also did a good job at giving us such insight into their minds that even when we were seeing an emotional reaction from the narrator's POV we understood why the other woman was reacting that way. A lot of authors strive to do that in their works but not all are as successful like here.

I am also a huge fan of the protective trope so when they stood up for each other my heart swooned because that is a big step for people who normally don't like confrontation (which neither did). And their first sexual encounter was both steamy and realistic since there is always an awkwardness to the first time with some one.

All in all a great Sapphic read and I can't wait until I get my hands on the finished copy to re-read it and visit Opal and Pepper all over again.

Mazey Eddings has this way of telling a story that puts your heart in a Vice grip and imagination on overdrive- and Late Bloomer really does it as well. With an achingly familiar emotional charge to both Pepper and Opal’s beginnings, I never had a chance to do anything but LOVE this story.

Mazey did it again! I love everything I’ve read from her so far. Opal and Pepper are both so relatable and lovable characters. I love a happy ending and I was happy that Opal didn’t fall into the trap of her “friends” in the beginning, she makes me want to follow my dreams. Mazey’s writing style is so easy to read and slows so nice, this will definitely be a popular book and will fly off the shelves once released!

late bloomer review
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3.5/5
I loved Mazey Eddings writing in Tilly in Technicolor, so when I saw this on Netgalley i knew i had to request it. especially because it’s sapphic and more mature and small town romance
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pros:
+i love that it starts with a content warning!
+i wish i could win the lottery
+gay panic
+grumpy sunshine hits every time
+neurodivergent queer characters!!! my heart is so full
+one of my favorite things ever is when characters talk to themselves in their head because it’s how i think too
+i love their height difference!!!
+steamy smut
+mutual obsession
+flower farm setting is so cute
•
cons:
-heavy on the miscommunication trope
-a tad repetitive
-none of the conflicts felt that realistic
•
there were so many things i loved about this book, but at the end i didn’t have the same feeling after reading tilly in technicolor. don’t get me wrong, this is such a fun book and people should still read it. opal and pepper deserve all of the love and i can’t wait to see what more people think about it!

Sapphic romance on a flower farm and with Autism representation! This story is so heartwarming and had such a great balance of steaminess and pining!

Mazey Eddings is an auto-buy author for me. I love how she takes the time to share characters who are neurodiverse and also includes an open and honest depiction of different mental health challenges. Her characters have depth and a vulnerability that I don’t always see in books. Coupling that with humour makes them all the better. Late Bloomers is no exception. I really enjoyed Opal and Pepper individually and as the story unfolded with them together.

While I really enjoyed the book, I found some plausibility challenges that took me out of the book at times. Specifically, there were aspects around home ownership that I don’t believe would ever occur. Additionally, I found Opal’s character at the beginning of the book and her actions at the 1/3 mark and onwards not to align. I found myself thinking “a person with that background/history wouldn’t do this.”

Regardless though, I loved the heart of the book, I loved the dialogue and overall premise. I will forever continue to buy Mazey’s work because she’s out there tackling tough topics while presenting them in a way that makes me feel seen and I sincerely applaud the dedication and heart that goes into her storytelling.

Late Bloomer was such a cute book! It satisfied all of my cottagecore, sapphic fantasies from the special interest in flowers to the sprawling farm in Asheville. It was an adorable comfort read straight out of Taylor Swift’s folklore music album. One of the characters buys the other character greenhouses… What is more classic than that?

I loved Opal and Pepper’s story. I deeply enjoyed the character development alongside the romance. For example, I thought (at first) that Opal was going to be a major pick-me with all the people-pleasing tendencies, but I was completely wrong. As the plot progresses, we see what a strong, smart, and loyal person she is to the people she loves. That was a refreshing arc! Both characters are neurodiverse (though Opal isn’t sure what label fits her exactly), which was very relatable to an autistic person like me.

If there is a cozy, comforting (sapphic) version of Gilmore Girls, then this is it. Every detail was spot-on from autistic sensory issues to shoe art to niche special interests. (I loved Opal’s fleeting special interest in the Victorian era. I felt seen.) The epilogue was so perfect! I wish I lived in Opal’s and Pepper’s world! If you like sapphic romance, this will pander directly to your most iconic and cottagecore princess fantasies!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers at St. Martin’s Griffin for my e-arc! I hope Mazey Eddings keeps writing sapphic romances, because I will most definitely be reading them all.

Also, I would buy the book just for the cover alone. Stunning!

I got sooo excited for this the moment I read the blurb and saw the gorgeous cover. I am so grateful I was lucky enough to get an eARC, and that this did not disappoint. I loved this. I mean I kind of didn’t have a choice when Eddings paired a chaos demon with a routine-loving “grump” and set it on a flower farm. The descriptions of flowers and the farm are so gorgeous. I could picture the stunning, sprawling fields with ease. I love the detailed explanations of flower choices throughout the book and their meaning in the back. I don’t have much knowledge of flower symbolism so I appreciated the explanation and it made so many of the moments in the book even sweeter.
This had me laughing out loud but also almost crying (there were several lines at the end that made me tear up). It was just so tender and cute. The way grief, self-acceptance, boundary setting, and love were explored was thoughtful and beautiful. Opal and Pepper have both dealt with a lot but the way they come together for each other and show up in ways that the other never expected anyone to was equally heartwarming as it was heart-wrenching. I want everything good for both of them. It was also really special to see the autistic and neurodivergent rep in this. There are aspects of myself in both Pepper and Opal, and I appreciate how much this made me feel seen.
I did think the overall story felt like it moved really quickly, and the ending especially felt a little fast. I also loved Opal’s sisters and Pepper’s friends and would’ve liked to see more of them. But I really enjoyed this. I have other things I want to share but don’t want to spoil. I have a feeling I’ll come back to yell about this and share quotes.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 ⭑

This was so freaking cute! I loved both characters so much, and their story just felt so authentic. I felt like I was being wrapped in a big hug while reading this.

Opal and Pepper are HOT! Their connection was full of tension and a lot of back-and-forth that made their sexual relationship feel explosive. I loved their first intimate scene because it felt so wholesome yet sexy. To have a couple care for each other so much is everything.

There is so much that makes this book special. The realistic mother-daughter trauma, grief, and personal discovery made this book one that is healing while also having so much that makes it fun.

This is a book for people pleasers, neurodivergent cuties, and bisexual hotties. To have a traditionally published book make you feel so seen is a powerful thing, and I loved this so much.

I'm incredibly devastated I have to wait for this book to release to read it again. I love Pper and Opal and their silly little autism gf/ audhd gf dynamic and the mutual pining!!!! The yearning is truly what its about!!!! Pretending you haven't been head over heels in love because you think they aren't but egg on your face they are! The found family friends trope! I wish miles a very swift kick in the balls and Laney a long walk off a short pier and Trish a bus Regina George style. I loved this book. I liked some of the alternate titles too, but I think Late Bloomer was the perfect choice. Also the spice was top notch. I had to stop reading this book at work it was so good and I have mastered the I'm reading smut with a straight face technique most of the time. Highly, highly recommend.

I enjoyed aspects of this book but I’m still confused why these characters fell in love. The first few chapters came on so strong I LOVED it. One character had a distinctive voice and mannerisms. The other main character was nice but I felt their personalities getting meshed and keeping track between chapters or conversations became difficult. I did think some of the larger issues were glossed over and would have enjoyed getting more detail on them but overall I thought this book was cozy and that was probably the point of not delving too deep. I would read other works from this author.

A cozy but spicy sapphic novel that gave me butterflies and feel more than I ever expected to. This story delves into grief and loss, heart break, and two women finding love in an unconventional way. I love that they’re both a little neurospicy but so passionate and the love feels both slow burn and firey I blushed so hard during the spicy scenes. This was so well written I throughly enjoyed it.

Very glad I got my hands on an ARC of this! An amazing feel-good romance that delves into some heavy topics but never fails to give you a warm fuzzy feeling! I hadn’t read anything by Mazey Eddings before this so I didn’t know what to expect but I was not disappointed!
Kind of along the lines of an enemies to lovers, the two end up in a situation where two women, slightly at odds with each other are forced to share a house. The two must find common ground to work together to save the flower farm they both live on.
Eddings writes incredibly compelling characters that had me rooting for them both! Using tried and true romance tropes, but subverting my expectations at the right times Mazey Eddings has written a beautiful, hilarious, and sexy novel that I will be recommending at every chance I get.

"Late Bloomer" was really adorable. It's definitely a feel-good romcom novel, and it was the perfect first read of Sapphic September. When Opal wins the lottery, she decides to use the money to give herself a new start by buying a flower farm and selling the shoes she paints. When she arrives at the farm, she finds that someone - an angry, yet gorgeous someone - is already living there. Pepper's lived on the flower farm the last few years with her late grandmother, and she's not ready to give it up. It's a beautiful begrudging-roommates to lovers romance novel featuring two neurodivergent women, demisexual rep, queer and specifically bi rep. Pepper and Opal balance each other out so well and end up bringing out the best in each other. "Late Bloomer" is a relatively quick read; the pacing is a bit choppy at the star, but it picks up and flows into a whirlwind of romance, flowers, friendship, and wonderfully written sexy times.
My only qualm with the book was the overuse of Gen Z slang. The modern language would probably make this book unrelatable to anyone over 30, and it definitely won't make it a timeless classic. I hope I never have to read the phrase "dead ass" in a book ever again.
Other than that? "Late Bloomer" is a highly recommended book from me.

While this book is a fairly predictable romance, it’s more than that and absolutely worth the read for the representation. Two women (self described as autistic and neurodivergent) navigating life and love, tackling their own fears and impulses, feelings and desires… for themselves and each other.

Too many Taylor Swift references (what did I expect from a very cottagecore sapphic white fem4fem cover - I read this for the decently enjoyable autistic rep)

The writing starts off a bit cringe but improves enough for me to find it decent for a romance. I would recommend it to some people but yeah I am finding myself more and more alienated by this type of sapphic romances

I mean sure it hits all the cute and tropy notes and I guess it's the right book to read for no thoughts entertainment, especially next spring

Also Opal has pink and then later green hair why is she blonde on the cover?

Wanted to cleanse my palette with a book by an author I was sure I’d enjoy. Because I need a nice, breezy book about a chick winning the lottery and rebooting her life on a flower farm. Yes, I do.

I have recently discovered this author and read 3 of her books in quick succession. I really liked them - lots of humor and mental health rep. Then this one came up on NetGalley so yes of course I want to read it…

I just wasn’t feeling this one, unfortunately. The characters were lame, I honestly couldn’t keep track of which one was narrating her chapter, there was no connection between the couple, there was absolutely zero plot, everything about it was quite dull…. Ugh.

I will definitely keep reading her books… I bet this is the start of a series with the sisters. But this just wasn’t as good as her others. Like, at all.

the warmest book i’ve read in a long time!! i loved every moment of this book <3 the MC’s were both so loveable and relatable and just had such a beautiful journey with their relationship. i desperately want more from mazey eddings!!