If you have been here awhile, you know how much I love Mazey Eddings. The Plus One remains my favorite contemporary romance of all time, but I am sad to report that I was a tiny bit disappointed with Late Bloomer.

I always adore Mazey's characters. They are relatable, and I care deeply about their inner thoughts and how they work through issues, especially with their neurodiversity. When I read Eddings' books, I feel seen.

Opal and Pepper are no different. I liked both the main characters and Opal's sisters, too. (I hope we get their books.) I connected most with Pepper, as I also have past trauma caused by family. I think what was missing for me was the characters' vulnerability. While it is touched upon, I wanted more. I wanted to feel Pepper's hurt, but I didn't. This is usually standard in Mazey's books. So, I was expecting to be hurt.

My other issue, which was surprising, was that I struggled with the plot. As a character-driven reader, the plot rarely matters. Yet, here, it felt unfocused, especially the competition aspect. Had this plot point been brought to the forefront more, it would have helped a ton. It felt like a waste of a beautiful and clever setting.

Despite my issues, I still had fun. I loved Opal and Pepper and their romance. I smiled and laughed a lot. If you love sweet, sapphic contemporary romances, I recommend you try this and all of Mazey's works.

I did this via audio. Ellie Gossage did a great job. While listening, I thought this was dual narration. I was shocked to find out it wasn't. I could easily tell the difference between the POVs.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars★

Opal's luck strikes when she wins the lottery and impulsively purchases a flower farm in Asheville. Little does she know, Pepper is already residing there! To make amends, Opal proposes a plan for Pepper to stay and work together on the farm as repayment.

This book had me going through a whirlwind of emotions. On one hand, I absolutely loved the representation of neurodivergent characters and the sapphic spice level. But on the other hand, I gotta keep it real, the contrived drama and situations didn't quite hit the mark for me. And let's not forget about Pepper and Opal's similar voices! It was like a never-ending guessing game of who was speaking. I was really hoping for a deeper emotional connection with the main characters too. Sometimes, it got a bit cringey or over the top for my taste. The dialogue felt a bit clunky in places, and I wanted more tension. Overall this was light-hearted read, not too heavy on the plot.

This was delightful!! A cozy sapphic romance between two neurodiverse women with a version of forced proximity. Opal wins the lottery and after being fed up with friends wanting handouts, impulsively decides to buy a flower farm where she can do her art in peace. But she buys it off of Facebook marketplace, and when she arrives the grand-daughter of the late owner is still living there and Pepper refuses to move out. They come to a tentative agreement for the next year, and then slowly fall in love. Pepper is autistic and Opal probably has ADHD and is maybe autistic as well, but they are definitely an opposites attract kind of romance. I found this to be incredibly charming, while also being quite sexy as well. A really great contemporary romance that is worth reading! Especially if you're looking for a very low-angst romance with cozy vibes. The audiobook narrator does make Opal sound a bit young when they're actually mid-twenties, but otherwise did a good job. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.

This is a sapphic romance with grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, and bi and neurodiverse representation. It started well for me, fluffy, cute, and kinda cringe with all the pop culture references, but nothing offensive.

The further I got, though, the less interested I became. I just couldn't connect with the characters at all and didn't care about the romance whatsoever, so I decided to DNF at 49.7% and then jump to the last chapter and epilogue to see how it ended because life's too short. I know enough to say that this didn't work for me.

Another thing that didn't work for me was the narrator. She was slightly grating to me. Sometimes, I can ignore it when I don't particularly like the narration, but something about this made it impossible. The approach she took for her delivery overall and the way she made Pepper sound in particular got on my last nerve. I just didn't like it.

The cover of this one alone will have you from the start!

Opal is tired of her life, her job, all of it. Once night she wins the lottery and decides to up and buy an old flower farm. However, once she arrives, Pepper is there, the granddaughter of the sweet little gal who owned the farm, the daughter of the estranged mother who sold the farm to Opal. Opal feels for Pepper, and agrees to sell the farm back to Pepper, staying there with her to help bring the farm back to life. What she didn't expect, however, was to fall in love.

The delightful story will tug at your heart and give you all the feels of a cheesy romance.

Narrator: The narrator chosen for this story was a good choice. She did an excellent job bringing the story to life and making it feel like I was in the story. She transitioned well among the characters throughout the story, especially the two main characters. Because this story is told in dual POV, I do wish two narrators has been chosen for the main characters.

Story: Overall I enjoyed the story. It was sweet and lighthearted. If you like spicy sapphic books this will hit the spot.

It focuses more on the two main characters with short bits from side characters, but I enjoyed the characters. I did feel like something little was missing between the two main characters. For me they were more friends with benefits and I didn't feel as much chemistry between the two as the author meant for there to be. They were great together and I enjoyed both of the characters.

At the end of the book the author includes a list of flowers used throughout the story, the flower meaning and how each was used throughout the story. Not just where the flowers were in the scene, but also what the flowers meant for that particular scene. This was a wonderful touch to the story and shows the author did her homework and put care into the story.

I have enjoyed each of Mazey Eddings books. I love the way she tells stories and creates her characters. This wasn't my favorite of her books, but I still enjoyed it.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

📚Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings
🎧ALC Review(Copy gifted by @macmillanaudio via @netgalley)
🚨While reviewed copy is gifted, opinions are always my own.
Status: Available April 16th, Not KU

🥰Enjoyment: Ah I loved this! I loved Opal and Pepper and their friends and the flower farm. I just loved it.

📖 🎧 Writing &/or Audio Style: This was my second Mazey Eddings title, the previous one being Tilly in Technicolor, which is a YA title. This one definitely not. Not “smutty” per se but there’s spice and steaaaam. Eddings writing style is easy to get sucked into and really enjoyable. I love her representation of neurodivergent characters. Ellie Gossage did a very nice job with the narration, I particularly enjoyed her performance as Opal, but her Pepper voice grew on me over time as well.


👥 Characters & Relationships: Late Bloomer is literally the perfect title for this one (there’s a whole explanation on how this title came to be at the end of the book), but in Opal & Pepper both (despite their sunshine/grumpy demeanors) we have two perfectly imperfect women, living with ND brains, trying to carve out their spot in the world in spite of external influences.

⁉️Plot, Intrigue & Logic: The plot was really cute and enjoyable. I felt like the blurb exaggerated aspects that were not as prominent in the story, just an FYI. But I loved the premise and how Opal’s personality really dragged Pepper along for the glass half full ride.

🏞️Atmosphere & Setting: Set in Asheville NC, but primarily on the flower farm I imagined this beautiful fragrant setting.

🚨 For Reader Awareness: Really crappy parent, crappy “friends”

📣Recommended for fans of: Romcoms with Neurodivergent rep

🎭Mood Reader Classification: I loved it. Might own a copy one day, especially if the right special edition comes along.

❝ 𝓕𝓾𝓬𝓴 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓶𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓼𝓾𝓻𝓿𝓲𝓿𝓮 𝓲𝓷𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓵𝓲𝓿𝓮. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓮 𝓪 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓼𝓸 𝓹𝓮𝓪𝓬𝓮𝓯𝓾𝓵 𝓲𝓽 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵𝓼 𝓭𝓮𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼𝓵𝔂 𝓫𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰. 🌺🤍💕
🐝
𝓐 𝓵𝓲𝓯𝓮 𝓯𝓲𝓵𝓵𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓯𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓼𝓾𝓷𝓷𝔂 𝓭𝓪𝔂𝓼 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓹𝓮𝓸𝓹𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓼𝓱𝓸𝔀 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾’𝓻𝓮 𝓿𝓪𝓵𝓾𝓮𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓽𝓱𝔂. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓭𝓮𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓮 𝓲𝓽 𝓪𝓵𝓵.” ❞ 🌸🌷🍃

𝟑 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬 ⭐⭐⭐

╰┈➤ 𝓑𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓯 𝓢𝓾𝓶𝓶𝓪𝓻𝔂

Opal unexpectantly wins a scratch off lotto - trying to decide what to do with her new found fortune, she decides to buy a flower farm in Asheville NC sight unseen. When she arrives at the flower farm she discovers that there is already someone living there. Pepper. Who had no idea that the only home she has ever know had been sold right from beneath her.

Opal is a huge people pleaser and honestly doesn't seem to have much of a backbone so she comes up with a plan where Pepper can stay at the farm with her and work for her in order to pay her back for the property.

╰┈➤ 𝓜𝔂 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓼

While this started out cute and fluffy I quickly found that there was several things that didn't work for me.

As the story progressed, I found that I couldn't really connect with either one of the main characters. There wasn't much quality dialogue between the two of them and they took the approach of 'no strings attached' - many sex scenes but nothing to back up the 'I love yous' that come later. Like what?

Aside from that - I didn't feel like either of the main characters were very fleshed out, they felt very one dimensional to me. Opal's character didn't come across consistent to me - in Pepper's chapters she came across one way and in hers another way. I'm sure that could have been done intentionally but it didn't work for me.

There was way too many pop culture references for me. I hate that with a burning passion.

I think this would work for readers who have no problem with suspending belief - at all.. you have to suspend a lot here and if you like flighty self deprecating characters.

╰┈➤ 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓒𝓪𝓷 𝓔𝔁𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓽

🌸Sapphic Romance
🌸Bi Representation
🌸Cottage Core Vibes
🌸Forced Proximity
🌸Grumpy/Sunshine
🌸Autism Representation
🌸Neurodiverse Representation
🌸Grief/Healing


A huge thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Mazey Eddings for the complementary audiobook in exchange for my honest review! 🌷💕

🌸BOOK REVIEW🌸

Late Bloomer - Mazey Eddings
Rating: 4/5 ⭐️

“Sapphic, neurodivergent women working on a flower farm and falling in love? Be still my cottagecore lesbian heart! Eddings always knows how to check all my boxes with her affirming romance novels, but Late Bloomer has my whole heart. This book bursts with Eddings’ trademark compassion, humor, and beautifully flawed characters, all within a magnificent story about queer joy, queer love, and the power of queer community. As hopeful as the first bud of spring, as lovely as the lilacs in bloom, and as gay as lavender, this book is a must-read.” — Alison Cochrun

Mazey is always a must read for me and this one was no different! I love that she uses neurodiverse and flawed but lovable characters.

Recommend if you like:
- Sapphic romance
- Slow burn
- Enemies to lovers
- Neurodiversity
- Found family

Thank you McMillan audio for approving this title.

This book was so beautiful! (And can we talk about the cover!) Romance, friendship, self growth. It was all so beautiful.

I loved Pepper and Opals journey to eachother, I loved the support for neurodivergence and LGBTQIA+.

Seeing Opals growth in her confidence was so wonderful, I loved watching her stand up for herself and for Pepper 🩷

This was my first book from this author, and I loved it!

I found Opal to be very relatable. She's a person who wants to please everyone around her, hates the idea of someone not liking her, and wants to get a fresh start. I have always struggled to be a people pleaser, even if it meant burning out. I liked that even though she had won the lottery, she still struggled. That her entire personality didn't disappear just because she finally had some disposable income.

I struggled a little bit more with Pepper. I liked her enough, but I didn't feel like I connected with her like I did Opal. I did appreciate her love for her grandma, and wanting to keep the farm alive.

I LOVED that at the end the author includes the symbolism behind each flower that was mentioned in the book. It shows that the author put a lot of time into researching which flowers would be perfect for her book.

Overall I thought it was a perfect sapphic romance just in time for spring.

I absolutely ADORED Late Bloomer and consider it one of Mazey Eddings' best! This one is for anyone who feels unsure about themselves, whether it's about what they're doing, who they are, or what might be expected of them.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The storyline followed Opal Devlin & Pepper Smith. I enjoyed the autistic and neurodivergent representation. I think this is a really good book if you are looking for a light hearted read. I just could not get into the characters. I was waiting for a little more umph from the storyline. I felt feel like was missing that emotional connection. I got a little confused with which character was speaking at times.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio.

This book was so SO cute! I loved the dynamic between the two main characters. The neurodivergent rep is great. As a neurodivergent reader, it felt really authentic to me. I loved the premise and the setting. It was a sapphic floral dream.

The audiobook narrator did a wonderful job. Thankfully, this book had no weird moments of being pulled out of the story because of an odd delivery.

Only a quarter of a star off for the third act conflict, as it just felt a bit contrived, and for wanting the characters to just talk to each other at times.

I’m going to call this a DNF at 40%. This book felt like a chore I was dreading every time I knocked out another 10% at a time over a few weeks. I don’t know what’s not clicking. I WANTED to like this.

Opal’s people pleasing makes her make silly mistakes and she comes across as someone without any common sense. Then, she’s treated poorly by Pepper and the second Pepper is nice to her (while she’s unconscious with a migraine, mind you), Opal develops feelings for her. All the friends are telling each Opal and Pepper that they have feelings for each other and they’re denying it and whatnot but I didn’t feel it in the story at all.

Pepper was unkind. I understand her take on it but she was mean to the woman who kind of technically owns this property. Opal could toss her out any time she wanted yet Pepper is yelling at her for opening rooms in the house and telling her to leave all the time.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 This book didn't wow me, but i liked it. I dont listen to much lesbian romance, but it was just an okay read.i enjoyed the characters, and the narrators made it easy to follow along. I didn't get into the secondary characters as much. Like opals friend who "stalked her." And only cared about herself. But buying a flower farm from facebook was just bizarre to me. Like girl, you could have been scammed, but over all it was fast-paced.

Late Bloomer was a sweet and spicy sapphic romance in pure Mazey Eddings fashion. She always writes the best characters, I love how she portrays neurodivergence and sexual orientation. This was another well done book by this author.

I loved the characters. Pepper & Opal were the cutest. They were so perfect together, they had great chemistry, great banter and the way they just understood each other and were both there for one another was truly beautiful. The fact they were both new to the FF relationship, how they discovered eachother, what they liked. I loved it !!!! Their love story progressed perfectly 👌

Mazey just has a way with words, that grabs you and gives you all the feels. It was so heartwarming, sweet, spicy and just plain adorable. The setting in the flower farm was to die for. Is this super cliche and cheesy, it is but it's worth it!

🎧 The narration by Ellie Gossage was good, although it wasn't my favorite. I liked how she played Opal, but the voice she took for Penny sounded more like a man and I couldn't understand why she took that voice. I felt like just a little deeper would have worked. It was still very enjoyable.

✨️ Thank you to @netgalley, @macmillanaudio & @mazeyeddings for my gifted ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The audiobook for Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings was such a fun and cute read. The characters were quirky but not over the top and the narration went really well with the story. Such a cute, fun queer read and I'm so glad I got to listen to the audiobook.

This was a cute gay time on a flower farm. The two FMC’s were both interesting characters and had a quirky dynamic. The audiobook was done very well. I will be checking out the authors other works!

I loved this so much! It was so sweet and spicy!! I was sent an audiobook ARC from Netgally in exchange for my honest review and I couldn’t be more thankful. I had so much fun with the audio, the narrator did a great job at bringing our girls to life. I’m a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope and I ate this story up. Can’t wait to see more from this author.