4.5 stars!

Winning the lottery ruined Opal Devlin's life. After being bombarded by people asking for money, Opal decides to protect herself by any means necessary, including buying a failing flower farm in Asheville, NC. But her plans go awry when the "rightful", owner of Thistle & Bloom, the gorgeous Pepper Smith is waiting on her doorstep and isn’t going anywhere. The two agree to co-habitate but will their head-butting turn into something more and save the farm in the process?

~
Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings is a queer found family (imo), grumpyxsunshine romance that encompasses loss, failed relationships, and learning to love one's self. Deeper themes aside, this was sooo cute, wholesome, and lighthearted!!!!
I will add that buying a flower farm in Asheville is like a total dream. Throw in a coffee shop/bookstore combo and you have my retirement plan set so I knew immediately after reading the synopsis and the tropes that I wanted to get my hands on this as soon as possible and it did not disappoint! As someone that came out later in life and doesn't have much relationship experience, Peppers autistic self was my favorite characters. The way her feelings were explained - and her vulnerability portrayed - was relatable in more ways than one. The other character, especially Pepper’s best friends, listened and validated her and it so refreshing to see a nontoxic friendship between women.
I was super close to both of my grandmothers growing up so i felt pepper’s heartbreak at losing hers. (I’ve tried to expand on this and get a little toooo emotional so I’ll leave it at this: the loss is handled well and it was appreciated.) I also looooved that Pepper gives off "looks like they could kill you but is actually a cinnamon roll"vibes. Opal on the other hand gives off the opposite vibe (so they’re obviously a perfect match from the get go). I really really really wanted to like Opal more than I did but she felt like two entirely different people without the character development to match. I can see how that was intentional to show her character growth(?) but the timeframe for it didn’t entirely feel authentic. But Asheville Opal to the end was lovely and the relationship with Pepper was so wholesome (most of the time👀). I haven’t read many books with one of the mcs as an artist so it was so cool to get that dynamic and perspective.

Overall, I LOVED! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Mini playlist:
Lavender Haze - Taylor Swift (iykyk💜)
She - Dodie
Silk Chiffon - MUNA


Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Story: C
Prose: A
Characters: B
World: A
Theme(s): B-
Enjoyment: B

The Good:
Fun prose. Eddings' writing is DELIGHTFUL to read. It's vibrant and personal, while remaining readable and conversational. It flows quite nicely, and Eddings' practice and experience as an author shows.
Charming main characters. Opal is an impulsive people pleaser. She's bubbly and sweet. Eddings tempers Opal's hasty (and sometimes irritating) decisions with an earnest desire to bring joy to those she cares for. Pepper is closed off and grumpy: the world isn't a kind place to autistic folks to start with, and Pepper's flaky, absent mother has shredded her heart and her trust. Both young women feel genuine and real, and it's heartwarming to watch Opal's kindness in action with Pepper.
Charming supporting cast. Eddings' characterization of the supporting cast is sharp. They're a fun bunch, and Diksha is great opposite Pepper without taking Opal's role.
Great concept. So much goodness pre-baked into the concept. The grumpy x sunshine. Opposites working together. The flower farm setting. Catching feelings for someone you live with but have a complicated situation with. The flower farm again! I'm sorry, it's just so cute and Eddings handles it perfectly!
Stardew Valley vibes. The little farm, the storms, the preparation for a competition? Honestly, BIG Stardew Valley vibes from Late Bloomer, and I love it.
Neurodivergent MCs. Pepper is autistic and Opal is neurodivergent, unspecified, maybe AuDHD.

The Bad:
Important item (& Convenience Plot Points.) There's an important item of Grandma Lou's. Incredibly important. Stupidly, ridiculously important. It's plot-altering, life-altering important, and Pepper CANNOT find it. But then she finds it in the world's most obvious spot, at a stupidly convenient time? It's cheap plotting and makes the characters look stupid.
Some parts feel thrown in. Thematically, part of the title refers to Pepper's struggle with defining her sexuality. But that paragraph feels sort of tossed in there. It's disconnected from her character arc or anything that happens after.
Not much happens in second half. There's a distinct lack of plot in the second half. Things still happen, but what the few things that do happen are heavily padded with internal monologues. It also throws the pacing out of whack.


YMMV:
Opal's spirals. Opal falls into self-pity spirals whenever she screws up–or even so much as THINKS she's screwed up. They're relatable… to a degree. At some point they cross the line from "oof, that sucks, I feel ya" to "your issues are comparatively minor… could you suck it up and gain some perspective, this once, PLEASE?"
Bad communication. There's a lot of poor communication between Pepper and Opal. (Pepper struggles with cues that are obvious to others, and Opal jumps to conclusions she doesn't share outloud.) It makes sense for the characters to make these mistakes, but it's frustrating for readers.
Won't work long-term. Honestly, although Pepper and Opal are a sweet couple, it's hard to imagine them lasting longer than five minutes. (Based on where they are emotionally, etc., at the end.) Their latest miscommunication is solved solely through serendipity, and that's not a reliable long-term tactic. Any ending is soured (for me) by the thought, "And what happens the next time they miscommunicate?"

Final thoughts:
I'm reading a ton of romcoms lately (Sept 2023) that start off adorable and sweep me off my feet for the first 75% and then just… end on a tepid note.
So, Late Bloomer: adorable, funny, exquisite Stardew Valley vibes, but relies too much on luck to resolve problems. And, maybe I'm a Scrooge, but I don't think these two will last.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

You cannot put "two women forced together at a flower farm falling in love" near me and expect me NOT to lose my entire goddamn mind over it, are you KIDDING me? I love, love, loved this so much.

The neurodivergent representation is done so wonderfully, and I found myself relating to Pepper and Opal because of it, which I don't find often in books. That gets a gold star from me.
Both girls had well-written out backstories that came back up occasionally and it didn't feel like they were thrown to the side, which was nice.

I will say that it was sometimes hard to tell who was speaking. The inner monologues of both girls were very similar, and I would have to go back a little bit to figure out who said what a couple of times. It wasn't too bad, though.

Overall, absolutely wonderful read that was just so fun. I can't believe I have to wait until April 2024 to buy a physical copy of this. (ALSO THE COVER!!! GORGEOUS!!!)

✨book review✨
🪻🌸Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings🌸🪻


This book absolutely SHOCKED me in the best way. This is my first book by Mazey Eddings and I will definitely continue to read her books in the future. Let’s start with the amazing visual descriptions in this book. Most of this book is set on a flower farm and Mazey makes you feel like you are in the middle of the blooms

“These flowers are wrapped around my bones. They’re pieces of me…The beautiful pieces at least.”

“Every piece of you is beautiful.”

TEARSSSS.

I am an absolute sucker for a sapphic/queer rom-com with a grumpy/sunshine element and this book absolutely hit the mark for me. I LOVE the neurodivergent aspect to both of the FMC and it just melted my heart. The growth and change the MC’s went on together and the realization of how they are the perfect balance to each other. They were each others light in the dark of the never being able to rely on someone else, they found each other at the most opportune time in their lives. The grand gestures in this book were AMAZING and had me crying. I LOVE Opal with my whole heart and her witty banter and her chaotic inner thoughts melt me to a puddle and made me laugh, I love how she comforts Pepper effortlessly. The amount of times happy tears came out of nowhere while reading this book, I could not begin to count. Please, please add this book to your TBR. You will not be sorry.

But let’s not forget that GREENHOUSE SCENE. 🔥🥵

This book will be released on April 16th 2024.

Thank you to @netgalley for this ARC copy, in return for an honest review.

This is the most beautiful trade romance cover I have ever seen I love women and women kissing and flowers and this type of retro-style art. It is pure, distilled romance.

I was literally SO excited to read this book. Sapphics AND disability AND flowers? Love. Unfortunately (and I feel like I start of my Mazey Eddings reviews like this), it just didn't work for me. The relationship between the two fell really flat for me and it felt like a bunch of stung-together, loosely related bits instead of a strong, cohesive story. I did love the flower symbology though.

Thanks to St. Martin's and NetGalley for this ARC.

As always thank you to publishes and Netgalley for a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

I must admit I use romance novels for pure escapism, however I can be extremely picky with them. A third act miscommunication and pointless third act breakup can absolutely kill a romance book for me, no matter how good. This novel however was such a breath of fresh air.

Opal and Pepper are forced to make do with each other's presence after Opal purchases a flower farm (in an attempt to change her admittingly depressing life) from a woman, only to find out that the woman's daughter is actually still living there. And is her absolute opposite in so many ways. Instead of “forcing each other out” of the house they agree to become roommates until they can figure something else out and thus, romance and chaos ensues. I loved these girls and their characterization, while at points i felt it was a bit tropie i easily was able to get through it and absolutely loose and enjoy myself. Pepper and Opal are so understanding and compassionate with each other while still accepting and loving each other's differences and god i just love them! This is a beautiful book showcasing love between some lovely neurodivergent sapphics and how to stand up to people who are genuinely just bad for you, I absolutely recommend it.

Late Bloomer is a cute and cosy romance between two women who find themselves unexpectedly on the same flower farm. For me, I enjoyed the read, and I thought Opal and Pepper had a sweet arc to romance, but I was a little underwhelmed by some aspects. First - once their relationship started heating up, Opal and Pepper's personalities started to merge for me, and they felt eerily similar to each other. This was especially disappointing since at the start of the book, I could clearly see them as two very distinct characters. Second - certain aspects of the story felt a little old-fashioned? I can't quite describe it, but it almost seemed like it was a period piece, despite being a contemporary story.

I do always appreciate Mazey Edding's neurodiversity rep, and that is on display here! Three stars for me, but others may enjoy this one more! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Opal had terrible friends, except for her two sisters. However, when her awful breast friends gives Opal a lucky lottery ticket for her birthday, Opal's life changes forever. Suddenly half a million dollars richer, Opal bits a flower farm on a whim so she can have somewhere to make art. When Opal arrives at the farm, sure is shocked to find a beautiful flower farmer, Pepper, still living on the farm. The two have to work out their differences to live together until Pepper has the funds to buy the farm back from Opal, but as they get to know each other, Opal and Pepper can't deny the attraction blossoming between them.

This is a romance with an interesting premise and good representation of neurodivergent characters. Opal and Pepper's inner thoughts do read as similar at times, but they are both lovable.

This title does a great job with neurodivergent representation, and while the premise is a bit unusual, the characters are likeable and easy to root for.

A girly with abandonment issues meets a girly with the world's worst case of people-pleasing and they fall in love. Honestly, the best kind of book for me. I adored Pepper and Opal, they both had such distinct personalities and growth.

Opal aka our people-pleaser just wants to find her place after being treated like third-best so naturally she buys a flower farm to start a small business of painting shoes. Pepper aka our abandonment issue girly, is living on said flower farm and was unaware of this sale so the girls strike a deal which leads to forced proximity, friends with benefits, and relationship growth.

I loved seeing both learn from each other and wanting to be better for themselves. Eddings does a great job with neurodiversity representation for both characters. Not only did she turn stereotypes on their head, she made both girls so realistic and relatable while maintaining their neurodivergence as a part of their personality and not their entire personality.

This one was a little more dense than I would have liked. At times, I found myself skimming some of the internal ramblings from both characters, but I understand from a writing perspective on why they were kept. I also felt the end was a little rushed, we get a feel of a third-act break-up but not an actual third-act break-up.

Overall, a great sapphic love story between two neurodiverse girlies just trying to figure out who they are to themselves and each other.

This book was hard for me to start at and finish at first. The language and phrases used felt almost cringey at the beginning of the book. I am a Gen Z and understand that the language is relatable, but I’m not sure the way it will come off to all ages and future generations.

I also had a hard time rooting for the main character at the beginning, her naivety was a lot to unpack. Halfway through the book I started to like her and found myself finally backing her. I think that it is a very cute love story, but it may belong to YA and younger generations, and not contemporary, fiction, or romance.

YA lgbtqia readers this one you will love so much! I appreciate the opportunity to have read this advanced reader copy.

<i>Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this digital ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.</i>

3.5/5

I was really in the market for a romance book that didn't have that random conflict that comes with most contemporary romance novels, and it's part of the reason why I enjoyed this as much as I did. It was super cute, and I loved how they were just thrown together. Close proximity for the win!

Opal and Pepper are thrown together after Opal purchases the farm from her mother she later learns and that's when things hit the fan. Instead of just leaving (like maybe any other normal person) Opal suggests they become roommates until they can get their things figured out with the farm.

It's a really sweet book! It deals with grief and maybe some type of parental abuse (mentions, I think?) it shows how Pepper is trying to overcome that to be what Opal needs in a way. They're both neurodivergent, even if Opal is self-diagnosed, but they both try to understand each other without there being so much miscommunication even if it can be a tangled mess of miscommunication.

I enjoyed it! Highly recommend others to read it. This was my first Mazey Eddings book.

This book had Mazey’s signature voice and humour, which I love. I think what went sideways for me was the underbaked romance. I think Opal and Pepper were kind and gentle to one another as landing spots, but I would not say that I felt that those moments established the pair as relationship-prone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of Late Bloomer” in exchange for an honest review. The premise is great and I like the idea of the alternating POV. It did feel like the characters were pretty basic templates and kind of interchangeable. I think there could have been more depth to the characters themselves. I also had a lot of moments where the writing style gave me pause. Lots of the phrases used are very current, so this year they were funny but I wonder how long that will last. Maybe I’m just getting old but it also made me feel in those moments that this was more of a YA read. Ultimately a very sweet story with a fantastic setting.

This is the first Mazey Eddings book I’ve read and I’m definitely going to read more of hers. This was a heartwarming story. I loved the neurodivergent representation. This was a fun quick read.

What a fun, light hearted romance from Mazey Eddings! Mazey has been an auto-buy author for me since I read Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake and The Plus One. This book centers around Opal, an artist who is not very happy with her direction in life, after she wins the lottery and decides to buy a flower farm. Only thing is... that flower farm also comes with Pepper, who recently lost her grandmother, the former owner of the flower farm. Pepper is still grieving her grandmother, and the sale of the flower farm feels like the rug being ripped from underneath her. However, Opal agrees to let Pepper stay with her on the property, and work to be able to buy the farm back.

Something Mazey has always excelled at in her books for me is the neurodivergent representation, and it is not different in this book! Pepper is on the spectrum, while Opal is neurodivergent herself. Reading these two women learn to understand each other and accept each other no questions asked was beautiful!

There were a few times when I got confused which POV we were in because sometimes the inner dialogue was similar. For example, both characters make a lot of pop culture references and it sometimes made it confusing. I think Opal in particular felt a bit under developed, while Pepper was more fleshed out. The ending also felt slightly rushed and too fast paced. Although they technically did not break up, their "fight" near the end felt kind unnecessary.

Overall, this was a sweet, light hearted read with excellent sapphic and neurodivergent representation.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was so cute!!

I loved seeing Pepper and Opal come together event though they are opposites in a lot of ways.
Though it's the beginning of fall, I think this would be the perfect spring to summer transitional romance novel for next year!

Would definitely recommend this sapphic romance.

4 out of 5 stars

I love everything that Mazey releases - she has a way of getting to the core of her characters. As much as I love everything Mazey - I didn't love the characters that much, I liked them but I wasn't obsessed with them

Opal wins the lottery and this changes her life - I do wish she won more - the amount she won didn't seem like enough for what Opal was trying to do

Opal is what I would call a push over someone who is being taken advantage of. I do love a story of a woman who gets a backbone however Opal is scammed and instead of being more causation she gets involved with Pepper and her issues and puts 100% into helping her.

Pepper is going through a hard time and has issues trusting people however she loved and trusted her late grandmother. Pepper is more standoffish and cautious which seems more normal

Within their collaboration - Pepper and Opal fall in love which was as always a sweet part of the story. I was happy to see the villains brought down some which is always a major plus within a storyline

A good story with some swoony moments however not my favorite from Mazey

I loved this book so much! I love the neurodivergent rep, the autistic rep, the fact that these two had a lot more in common than they even thought. The writing was fantastic, I was totally sucked into the story. I will now be checking out this author's past works!

If books could speak, this one would scream “Girls are just superior!” the moment you touched it.

I'm familiar with the majestic pen of Mazey Eddings, but she outdid herself with Opal and Pepper’s story.
The pace, the characters’ arc, the delicate writing about sexuality and intimacy, being neurodivergent, dealing with traumas and grief, even the spicy moments between them… chef’s kiss.
The thing that took my breath away is the reality of them; I've no idea how many times either of them has spiralled in here, but it's certainly the right amount for a totally normal girl in her 20s.

Personal feelings aside, the only drawback is the not-so-different POVs.
Some people look for similar ones - instead of a polar opposite -, and it’s cool, but Opal and Pepper’s voices are so similar that more than once I asked myself whose chapter was I reading. Both characters have their personality, are shy and don't properly communicate, and they’re both great in bed, and would tear apart anyone who messed up with the other; even their spiralling is very similar.
I'm not saying they can't have the same insecurities or be bold about the same stuff, but I’d have liked it if there were something that would have clearly distinguished them, not only Opal’s hair colour or Pepper’s love for flowers.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

p.s.: please, look how cute the cover is!