As a bisexual with anxiety that has always been super awkward flirting with women.... this adorable love story grabbed ahold of my heart and squeezed. It was tender and real and spicy. I LOVED IT!

This was very slow paced for me and had the lowest of stakes. While it had enjoyable moments, it didn’t quite pull on my heartstrings like I wanted it to. The narrators were alright though I feel like some of the dialogue was delivered a little strange. Overall pretty average.

Opal and Pepper and flowers, oh my! Did this book make me a little bi??????

Thanks to Macmillan Audio and St. Martin's Griffin for early access to the ALC/ARC of this book. These are my honest thoughts!

I truly enjoyed myself while reading this book. I felt like I got to know so many different things about the characters, and I loved the fluidity of this story. There was so much diversity that challenged the typical "southern charm" of "bless your little heart," I could almost die from it.

The two main characters, Opal and Pepper, could NOT be more opposite. Opal is soft and gooey and kind of a pushover. Pepper is hesitant and stiff and kind of mean, tbh. These two do not seem like the perfect pair by any comparison. But where Opal is soft, Pepper is stiff, and that balance in many ways brings them together. I love that these characters together are forced to see outside of themselves and to identify the ways in which their perceived barriers/struggles/flaws are actually blessings.

In addition to these beautiful *and freaking steamy* book, I adored the diversity of the friends and family (and found family) within the pages. SO MUCH REPRESENTATION. I loved it so much and I'm sure there will be readers who will feel seen in fiction. That's my hope for everyone, to read books where they can see themselves in the story.

I absolutely loved the thought behind the flowers, the metaphors and the overall vibe of this book. Doesn't buying a flower farm and living on it with your best friend/lover sound like the dream? It does to this girl! :)

I think this lands somewhere around the 3.75star range for me. The narrator was great. I loved how she played both main character parts. It was sweet in the moment and I definitely enjoyed myself while listening!

i loved this book and the audiobook was no different. im not a huge audiobook person but i truly loved this one. I felt like the characters were so well captured!

This was so darn good!

This was the sapphic read us readers need. Equal parts individual development of characters mixed with that adorable attraction and falling for each other.
It def is the sapphic summer read for everyone to fall in love with!

Mazey Eddings’ Late Bloomer is a charming and engaging romance. Its delightful narrative explores growth and maturation with keen insight, offering readers a sweet, sapphic romance that easily resonates. Eddings’ ability to balance humor and raw emotion is noteworthy; she uses it to deliver a fun book with a bit of substance.

The story follows Opal Devlin, whose life takes a strange turn after winning the lottery. Looking for a fresh start and a place to grow her painting business, she purchases a flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina via Facebook Marketplace. However, her plans are thrown into disarray when she discovers the sale may not have been on the up and up. When Pepper Boden, the supposed rightful owner, enters the picture, Opal’s idyllic notions of farm life are squashed. Forced to coexist on the farm until the ownership can be sorted out, Opal and Pepper do nothing but chafe and irritate one another. Over time, however, the dynamic between the two shifts and an unexpected attraction develops. As this de facto relationship slowly blooms, readers quickly flip through the pages to find out if it will become a floral tribute or a whoops a daisy.

Eddings does a nice job developing Opal and Pepper. They are multifaceted characters with delightful personalities; readers easily form a connection to them. Their “grumpy/sunshine” dynamic is smile worthy, making this slow-burn romance an enchanting read. What’s more, the storytelling is filled to the brim with Eddings’ joyful, animated tone, making Late Bloomer the perfect vacation read.

Final remarks…

Eddings does a nice job with this heartfelt depiction of love and relationships. Told with raw, refreshing tenderness, Late Bloomer is both captivating and engaging. Readers will enjoy this happily-ever-after.

Late Bloomer’s Strengths…

Well-written
Entertaining
Fresh & original
Heartfelt and tender

The audiobook narration…

If you are one that prefers to listen to books, Ellie Gossage delivers a polished, emotive, and nuanced performance in Late Bloomer’s audiobook adaptation. Her narration style and range are quite distinctive, providing her with the ability to give voice to Eddings’ multidimensional, layered characters. Her highly skilled, passionate narration is nothing short of immersive and captivating; she simply makes the storytelling come to life. It is easy to see why she is considered one of the top audiobook narrators in the industry; her performance in Late Bloomer is exemplary.

I only recently discovered Mazey Eddings but she's becoming a must read author for me!

I enjoyed this one, I love a good opposites attract. I definitely connected to both characters for different reasons. Pepper was hard to like at first, but I ended up liking that she came around and often stood up for Opal. Opal is such an innocent spirit - all she wants to do is create and don't I feel that down to my bones. Her need to people please was a bit much at times and I would've loved to see her character grow a little more in the self-love aspect and wish she had stood up for herself earlier on in the story. This book also has a great cast of side characters, I actually hope we get Opal's sisters' side love stories as well!

All in all, I did love the artistic/flower farm aspect to this one. I do wish we had gotten to see them working on the contest piece a bit more/around the flower farm together more. But all in all, still an enjoyable Sapphic romance!

CW: abandonment, emotional abuse, death, grief, toxic friendship, Alcoholism.

I went between the ebook and audiobook at first for this one. The narrator did such a great job though- I thought there were 2! The voices for each character were so distinct. I'm impressed!

A huge thanks to St. Martin's Press, MacMillan Audio and NetGalley for the early copy and ALC. All opinions are my own.

This may be my favorite book of 2024 so far. It's rare to find an author or book that is able to capture the struggles of neurodivergence in a new relationship. Not only does this book do so perfectly, but it feels like a queer Hallmark movie with a perfect balance of plot, character development, and spice. Opal is a feisty hot mess, Pepper is a quirky curmudgeon with everything to lose. Together, they are a captivating duo with a mission to save their flower farm from financial collapse and discover the love they cannot live without.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I had the privilege of getting an audio version from Macmillan Audio through NetGalley. I gave this a 4 stars, It was cute and funny. This story has to do with Opal winning the lottery and she quits her dead end job and people all around her start asking her for money and handouts, being the nice person she is, she helps them out. Later she decides to purchase a flower farm and wants to move into this place on the farm to start a painting business. When she gets to the farm, she meets Pepper and at first they don’t get a long. She says she is the rightful owner of the farm so they agree to co exist on this farm and they end up falling for each other.
In the epilogue you find out Opal saved money for Pepper so she could go to college. Such a sweet story, I would definitely recommend this book.

Genre: contemporary romance

When 24-year-old Opal wins the lottery, people who have never really cared about her come crawling out of the woodwork and her “best friend” (who gave her the scratch-offs for her birthday many weeks later as an afterthought) is hounding her to be a better friend. All Opal wants to do though is use this opportunity to get a fresh start on life. She sees a Facebook Marketplace ad for a flower farm in Asheville, NC, and jumps: property investment is a great way to spend her new wealth, right? Only, when she arrives at her new home, it’s already occupied by Pepper, a prickly 26-year-old woman whose grandmother owned the farm. At odds with one another over everything, Opal and Pepper need to figure out how to save the farm from bankruptcy and get along despite their smoldering attraction.

This was a messy joy to read. What a fun premise and I loved seeing the way Opal and Pepper battle hard with themselves to be able to love one another. Opal is a neurodivergent artist, bubbly, and a little directionless. Pepper is autistic, and personality-wise is the opposite of Opal in nearly every way. Opal’s ADHD makes her impulsive… but honestly, her age does as well. Ultimately, the ages of the characters made this book more difficult for me: they felt age appropriate but also so young. So while they were vibrant and real, I really struggle with stories about 24-year-olds who feel directionless because in all honesty, I’m not sure how many of us had direction at 24.

The joy in this book is palpable. From Opal’s energy to Pepper’s bluntness, the characters are as vibrant as the flowers they grow on their farm. The book is told in first person dual narration, which can have its challenges. Eddings does an excellent job writing the characters and their inner monologues clearly, so I never wondered whose perspective I was reading at a given time (I’ve read some books where I struggle with this even when the characters are the opposite gender.) The audiobook narrator does some excellent voice work for the dual POV, and honestly, I’m glad this doesn’t have two narrators.

This book was so good.. I have a thing for forced proximity I swear anyways.. Loved both characters and how the attraction was totally instant but of course they fought it.. Would love to read more from this Author totally a 4.5 star book.

this was so stinkin’ CUTE!!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️

💭 overall thoughts:
everything about this book was like sunshine - the MCs, the side characters, the competition storyline, & the flower farm setting 🌼🌸

(except Pepper’s mom & Opal’s “best friend” & ex 😒)

📖 story:
Opal wins the lottery, buys a flower farm, and shows up there to find Pepper living & working there.
The farm belonged to Pepper’s late grandmother, and without being able to find her will, it went to her mom (who sold it off to Opal).

They decide to live together until Pepper is able to buy it back, and work together on a flower competition in order to win some of the money.

🎨🌷 MCs:
I adored both Opal & Pepper & their quirks - I really enjoy reading from POVs of neurodiverse characters, I find myself relating in many ways to how their brains work (especially those with ADHD).

I also wanted to give both of them hugs! I’m so glad they found each other 🫶🏼

🤍side characters:
I love the support Opal got from her amazing sisters, and Pepper from her closest friends. They each took in the other and really became a close little group 🥰

🎧 audio thoughts:
Ellie Gossage did such a phenomenal job with both MCs + all the side characters - she really added a lot to the story!

tropes + topics:
🌦️ grumpy sunshine
🏠 roommates/forced proximity
🌸 flower farmer
🎨 textile paint artist (on shoes!)
♾️ neurodiverse rep
❤️‍🩹 grief & loss
💞 dual 1st person pov

🫶🏼 books with similar vibes:
•Set the Record Straight by Hannah Bonam-Young (sapphic, neurodiverse MCs)
•Cleat Cute by Meryl Wilsner (sapphic, neurodiverse MCs, forced proximity)

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martins Press & Macmillan Audio for advanced copies. All opinions are my own.

First would like to say thank you so much for allowing me to be an arc reader.

This was one of my favorite reads of 2024 so far. I have never identified with a character in a book so much. The way you portrayed mental health was so on point, I thought you were writing about me! I was able to relate and fall in love with the characters myself. I really enjoyed seeing the personal growth Opal and Pepper go through, it is truly inspiring. It has just enough spice to keep me engaged and a plot that had me listening all day!

Another banger from Mazey Eddings.

Sapphic JOY!!

Opal has been not having the best time of it- keeps going back to her shitty ex, not content in her work life so when her “friend” gifts her some scratch off lottery tickets for her birthday and she wins big! She buys the damn farm! Literally a flower farm where she intends to create and sell her artwork. But when she gets to the farm the current tenant wasn’t aware the farm had sold and isn’t going to just hand over the keys willingly.

Some of the conflict was miscommunication which is one of my least favorite tropes but the way it was done in this was endearing. I loved the romance, the flowers and both main characters so much!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy.

DNF by first chapter…Opal is super annoying and can’t deal with her people pleasing tendencies. I usually love this author’s writing style but this doesn’t work for me.

This book was so cute! A grumpy x sunshine sapphic love story between two neurodivergent women, and it takes place on a flower farm. The characters were well developed and had so much growth throughout the story. The relationship was adorable, the side characters were charming, and the setting was so gay (compliment). The author portrays different types of neurodivergence in a realistic manner, and I think everyone can see some of themselves in Opal and Pepper. I listened to this book as an audiobook and thought the narrator was amazing. Her accents were cute, and she did a great job changing her inflection, so we always knew what character was talking. The book was beautiful overall and had so many different types of representation. This story was the funny, adorable, (spicy), lesbian romance I needed.

Two women fall in love on an Appalachian flower farm despite the con that brought them together in Mazey Eddings's steamy sapphic romance, Late Bloomer. Artist and flailing adult Opal is surprised when her terrible roommate gives her a belated birthday gift: a scratch-off lottery ticket and she's absolutely shocked when she wins $500,000.
Impulsive Opal serendipitously sees a flower farm for sale on Facebook marketplace and jumps at the chance to start over and finally pursue her art as a career. After only short conversation and an exchange of check for deed, it comes as no surprise to the reader that the sweet, generous woman who sold Opal this dream wasn't exactly straightforward.
Grieving farmer Pepper has been searching for her beloved grandmother's will ever since her death a few months earlier, but when no will was found, the courts ruled that the farm belonged to Pepper's grifter mother... and apparently now it belongs to Opal.
Eddings skillfully takes a far-fetched premise and turns it into a funny, heartfelt romance. Sunshiney Opal and grumpy Pepper find common ground in both their worries about failing as adults and their experiences with manipulation by those closest to them. Opal's sisters and Pepper's spirited queer friend group provide comic relief and the support both women need as they work to find a way out of the farm's dire financial straits.
Late Bloomer enchants with humor and heat, nuanced neurodivergence representation and an especially swoony grump with a heart of gold.
Narration notes: Ellie Gossage did a great job narrating this audiobook. It's often difficult in dual POV audiobooks with same-gender pairings to tell the narrating characters apart, but Gossage made it easy. She captured the melancholy/loneliness and humor really well, too. Though I've loved her other books, this was the first time I've read a Mazey Eddings book on audio and I highly recommend it.

I loved Pepper and Opal! Loved to see neurodivergent main characters who love each other and strive to communicate and work together better!

Late Bloomer is the book my heart has been yearning for…achingly tender, heart wrenchingly relatable—this was BEAUTIFUL. It had me crying almost immediately and barely a moment of dry eyes all the way through. Both the queer rep and the neurodivergent rep were so, so good. Books like this, where I feel so seen and a little less alone in my experience of the world, are…everything. They’re everything. I need more stories from this author and will absolutely be picking up her previous books and keeping an eye out for new ones!

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of listening to the audiobook. The narrator did a great job of differentiating the characters in a natural way so it was always clear which perspective each part was in, which I always appreciate.

A sapphic neurodivergent romance set on a flower farm... the ideal spring read!!

Sweet, spicy, and full of emotion, Opal and Pepper's story begins when Opal unknowingly uses her lottery winnings to purchase Thistle and Bloom farms- Pepper's farm - and the two are quickly thrust into an unlucky roommate predicament. The neurodivergent rep (autistic & adhd/audhd) was beautifully done, and the care that Eddings puts into her writing is evident on each page. Both characters are able to grow independently in their understanding of self, and their neurodivergency helps them to better connect with each other.

While I loved the characters and their relationship, I struggled with the plot and ended the book wanting more from the story. The conflict was too minimal to really feel the payoff of a happy ending romance. There was potential with the secondary characters for a higher-stakes climax, and without it the plot skated too smoothly.

Ellie Gossage as audiobook narrator elevated the book's multiple pov's, as with each chapter's perspective switch, her clearly defined voices for Opal and Pepper carried the listener eagerly through the story. Her narration was strongly reflective of both women's internal monologues and emotions, amplifying the connection at the heart of the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio arc!