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!

This sapphic romance is absolutely adorable. Watching Opal and Pepper's relationship blossom was incredibly satisfying. Their opposites-attract slow-burn romance is beautifully portrayed. Each character has a distinct voice that makes reading from their perspectives a joy. The authenticity of the plot points made the story even more enjoyable. Overall, it was a delightful and enjoyable read.

I really liked the story line between Opie and Pepper. they are two complete different personalities and they click so well together at the same time. These characters were really easy to connect with in this story and i definitely will recommend it to others to read. I loved how there is a complete background of both characters in this book and not just one of the characters it focused on both of them as a whole. My complete favorite part is Pepper telling Miles and Laney off. I definitely did not like those two around Opie from the start of the book and it made me smile when they were finally told off.

This was such an adorable, sapphic love story! I really could not get enough of Opal and Pepper’s slow burn relationship through this book.

After winning the lottery, Opal decides to get back to making textile art. To get inspired by nature, she buys a flower farm and decides to venture out on creating her own independent small business. However, when she arrives, these hopes are dashed when she meets Pepper, the person running the floundering flower farm after the passing of her Aunt. They decide to cohabitate and chaos ensues as they learn to live and work together. While they work together, they find themselves developing feelings for the other, as they figure out how to save the farm together.

As always, I love the care Mazey Eddings puts into creating the all star cast of queer and neurodivergent characters. I loved how the two main characters were both neurodiverse but in very different ways. Eddings also did such a fantastic job creating the friend group - I could definitely see myself hanging out with them in real life, if I could! While she usually does a superb job with this in her books, it felt even more so in this one. I also really liked the forced proximity of the two main characters living on the flower farm. I appreciate the thought she put into selecting all the flowers, based on their meanings (read the end note, trust me it was so fascinating).

Mazey Eddings does not disappoint with this one- go read this book now! Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC!

This is the first Mazey Eddings book I’ve read and I’m definitely going to read more of hers. This was a such a sweet story with two complex women. One of my favorite things about reading romance is seeing myself in characters and being reassured that the messy pieces are meant to be that way, It’s so easy to focus on our perceived flaws, these two were flawed but were able to love each other despite them. The character growth between Opal and Pepper was rocky, which made it feels more realistic. This was a great read, it was emotional, funny and heartwarming.

This book was an easy, quick read. The characters were likable and I loved having some neurodivergent representation in both Pepper and Opal. I’m

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the early read. Late Bloomer is a quick read with a unique route to the relatively predictable ending. The characters were beautifully written and the personal struggles of each were at the center of this modern love story.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Mazey Eddings has become an auto-buy author for me and seeing her releases, she is writing like her life depends on it and I LOVE IT. My third Mazey Eddings book this year, I had high expectations and I knew I would love everything she puts out and this was no different!

Opal and Pepper take you through their sweeping, sapphic love story that's equal parts sweet and equal parts SPICY (all right, emphasis on the spicy but like, I LOVED IT). If you loved any of Mazey's previous books, you will love this one. It's easy to read, it's steamy, and it's addictive. She's just so perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and maybe a bit of Abby Jimenez.