"I want to stay so long at the Thistle and Bloom that my veins turn to roots in the soil. I want to walk up and down the rows of flowers until I know the paths in the pitch black, my final destination always being your doorstep…”

A chaotic, sunshiney artist, and a surly flower farmer bumble their way into love.

What I liked:
- Opal & Pepper: I adore these two. Their inner monologues are so damn good.
- The flower farm: Can I just pick up and move to a flower farm for the rest of my days?
- Neurodivergent rep: Mazey does this so well in all of her books.
- Pepper’s friends: I love Pepper’s friends so much - their support system is amazing.
- Grief: Mazey’s description of Pepper’s grief was so raw and real.

What didn’t work for me:
- Nothing at all

Beautiful audiobook and narration!
The story, however, while it had a strong start ended up falling quite short for me. I found it hard to like the two main characters and didn’t feel like I cared enough about their progressing relationship to finish the last 1/4 of the novel. Beautiful writing style, just not the title for me.

How could a sapphic romance taking place on a flower farm NOT be the cutest thing ever? With characters that felt real and with real life shit happening to them, their romance felt believable. Also, amazing smut with these two as well!
I have read all of Eddings’ works prior to release and I don’t think I will stop requesting!
4 stars!

Opal and Pepper are Mazey Eddings’ answer to the missing cozy sapphic neurodivergent love story from the romance genre. After winning the lottery, Opal buys a flower farm sight unseen at the spur of a moment. What she doesn’t bargain inheriting with it, is resident farmer Pepper who feels her home has just been stolen out from under her. It’s hate at first sight for neurodivergent Pepper who hates change of any kind and is highly untrusting of the manic pixie dream girl Opal, with the fried white hair who seems to think she can win Pepper over with her bubbly personality. Realizing they might have to work and live together, at least until Pepper can afford to buy Opal out, the two strike up a deal that will leave them sexually satisfied with no-strings attached. This book is hot. Like HOT hot. Eddings’ fans already know she can write a sex scene, and really, isn’t that what we’re here for? This was fresh and fun, even a little emotional, and I enjoyed all of it. Do I think Opal and Pepper will stay together until the end of time? Eh, probably not, but I am here for their ride and appreciate all that Eddings is doing in this book breaking down stereotypes and labels of ADHD and autism.
Ellie Gossage did a fabulous job narrating and I loved her stylization for Opal and Pepper’s voices and Pepper’s mother’s Southern accent. As a new-to-me narrator, I hope to hear her voice more romance because I would definitely listen to her again. Thank you to Macmillan for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

CWs (as noted by the author): Grief after the loss of a loved one, Complicated relationships with alcohol, Parental neglect/abandonment

Super cute and easy read, I love lesbian cottage core vibes with a little smut. It was cringy at times and I think the pop culture references will date it pretty quickly, but overall it was enjoyable to read :). Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

(3.5)

This was a cute, springtime, diverse sapphic romance between Opal, an artist, and Pepper, a flower farmer. Opal unexpectedly wins the lottery and decides to quit her job and buy a piece of property to start her textile painting business. A beautiful farm is put up for sale and Opal sees it as the perfect opportunity to start fresh. What she doesn’t expect is to arrive at the farm, finding out that the woman who sold it was a con-artist and the mother of our other FMC Pepper, who currently resides at the farm.

This was super cute, as all of Mazeys books are! Both of our MC’s are neurodivergent which Mazey always does so well. I am not usually interested in sapphic romance (just not my cup of tea personally) but I always love Mazeys books and knew it would be quick to get through. This was cute but I think where it fell flat with me was the plot. The main plot points weren’t really touched on (other than trying to make money so Pepper could buy back the farm). I was expecting Peppers mom to play a bigger role, and that plot point kind of just fell off. And the plot with Laney and Miles also started in the beginning of the book, we hear nothing about them, and then they show up at the last minute.

The audiobook for this story was so good! I think the narrator fit the roles perfectly, everything was clear and concise.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, Mazey Eddings and NetGalley for the early ARC of Late Bloomer, available April 16th!

I always love to see queer representation in books! This was a great and inclusive romance book. It was definitely too spicy 🔥 to include or recommend to any of my students!
I love that it revolved around a flower farm since I love growing flowers in the summer. The idea of buying and moving to a flower farm does sound tempting to me!

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book to read and review!

This was so cute! As an avid gardener myself, I was excited to pick this up, but I was unprepared for how utterly charming it would be. Opal and Pepper are both so messy, but I loved them and their journeys to love and self actualization! It's my first Mazey Eddings read, but I'll be diving into the backlist pronto!

4 stars!

Mazey Eddings is one of my favorite authors. She has never steered me wrong, and "Late Bloomer" is no different. I loved this lovely story full of autism and ADHD representation, bi/queer/sapphic romance, flowers, kitsch, self-acceptance, and grumpy x sunshine wonderfulness! Eddings treats her characters with such passion, such care, that they feel authentic and lived-in, like friends I know in real life. Opal and Pepper are both messes in their own very specific ways. That is what endears readers to Eddings' characters, in my opinion. They aren't cookie-cutter-perfect people who have their lives together tied up with neat little bows. They are blunt, honest, flailing, unsure, compassionate, misunderstood, solid, beautiful, chaotic messes. Opal and Pepper are total opposites. Opal is sunshine personified, always trying to do things selflessly, to a fault. When she buys Thistle and Bloom Farms, she wants to use it as her fresh start. Pepper, the rightful owner of the farm (or so she thought), has been jaded by life and grief and abandonment and is better off hiding away on the farm out of reach of harm's way. Together, they teach each other how to love, care, be tender, express themselves, be affectionate, and communicate effectively. I might not have been as pulled in by their love story as I have been with some of Mazey's other books, but I still really, really liked this one. Terrific spice, incredible heart, bursting with vibrancy and love! I also loved the audiobook narration by Ellie Gossage. She really brings these characters to life in a vivacious, intricate way.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mazey Eddings, St. Martin's Press, and St. Martin's Griffin for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

3.5. this was cute but the plot kinda lacked. I felt for Opal but she felt a little half baked. I also wish there were more characters. A little flat.

I’m a huge fan of Mazey Eddings - I’ve read all of her new releases right from the very beginning. I love them all equally in their own unique ways (meaning they’re all equally my favourite and you can’t make me pick between them!). late Bloomer is a sweet and soft, slow burn, sapphic romance with neurodivergent characters and is really special in its own way.

I loved how Pepper, an autistic girl left abandoned by her mother with a great aunt she called her grandmother, learned to live and thrive on the flower farm (Thistle and Bloom, in Asheville) she grew to call home. She created a network of friends as a support system. I loved how Opal was wildly impulsive and even with her insanely supportive family, and craftily manipulative friends, when her “best friend “ gave her a scratch-off lotto ticket for her birthday which she won big on, and she decided to buy a flower farm through a FB marketplace advertisement, they supported her new endeavor to leave town and go paint fabrics (and especially her attempt to get away from the manipulative friend and terrible boyfriend).

Right from the moment Opal and Pepper have their prickly meeting you can tell this is going to be an excellent and emotional opposites attract story - and Mazey doesn’t let us down! It’s a thrilling emotional ride through every single page and I love every word and every minute spent with these characters. I completely and totally recommend this book to everybody … whether you have read any sapphic romance before or not, this is such a beautiful, slow burn love story, because both have their neurodivergence to work around that it takes longer than most to get to a place where they realize and give into their feelings.

Audio is narrated by Ellie Gossage, who did a really fantastic job. She voices both characters and while I normally prefer two POVs to be separate narrators, especially when they’re both the same gender (to have better differentiation between them), she’s given enough vocal inflection to make us realize she’s changed between Opal and Pepper - the sign of a great vocal actor. Very well done. You’re definitely going to want to get the audio version of Late Bloomer!

I received an advance read and listen copy from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press (St. Martin's Griffin), and Macmillan Audio, and this is my honest feedback.

This was 3.5-4 stars for me!

I loved the sapphic dynamics and the plot itself was cute. I just felt like it was a bit cringe at times and the pop culture references were many.

The overall story flowed well and the characters were likeable, but the overall vibes just weren't my cup of tea.

I am sitting here having just finished this story and just feeling. Feeling calm. Feeling happy. Smiling. This book was amazing. I loved the descriptions of the Thistle and Bloom, I felt like I could close my eyes and when I opened them I would be there. I wish I could be there. Both MCs are neurodivergent representation and there’s no holding back, no trying to gloss over the reality of being neurodiverse. These characters shine off the page and discover how to be confident and proud of who you are as well as how to navigate the changes that occur as their interactions become more than just tolerance. It’s very well written, the narration was fantastic! Thank you!

This is the first time i listen to an audiobook in English. That might play a role into the way I enjoyed the story.
I laughed out loud when the narrator spoke for the men in the story.
I have to admit it took me a while to learn everybody's names. Probably because my memory is more visual.
I didn't know there were going to be sexual scenes but now i know I don't like listening to it on an audiobook.
I liked the differences in the voices of the main characters but I did find it weird the way the voices fluctuated when the narrator was speaking their thoughts.
I did find the narrator voice really soothing. It actually put me to sleep in some occasions.
Now about the book itself.
At first Opal was really infuriating. They are going to fool you around sooo much and you are not gonna realize it?????? I understand that she is a people's pleaser but cmon...
Besides, buying property through FACEBOOK???? girl you are looking to be scammed.
Anyways, it was a really nice story. Even though I wouldn't act the way the main characters did, I really enjoyed it.
It's a cute book with a loving ending and a little bit of spice. And I love TS references.

I had just read this book in an ebook arc, and know I had the privilege to re-read it in audiobook and I loved it even more! The voice actor is amazing, so I fell in love with the story and the characters all over again.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the arc.

I absolutely loved this book. Pepper and Opal were lovable in their own ways. I loved the intersection of their neurodivergence and the way they balanced and challenged each other. The humor as their personalities clashed was on point, and though they were often baffled by each other, they were always respectful. I appreciated the fact that even though their interests were at odds in the beginning, they were never intentionally unkind to each other. Their conflicts were realistic and understandable. Pepper's complicated relationship with her mother was heartbreaking. Opal's difficulty standing up for herself against so-called friends and lovers was relatable and frustrating, and it was nice to watch her ability to stand up for herself evolve over the course of the book. The love between the two main characters felt natural as it progressed from simple physical attraction to love. The audio production/narration was well done and added to the enjoyment. I will definitely be recommending this widely. Side note: I love the extra note at the end about the evolution of the title. I wish more authors included peeks behind the scenes like this!

I have really loved all of Mazey Eddings books, so I was super excited to read Late Bloomer! I really liked it! Opal and Pepper were a delight and I loved their story. The flower farm setting was great and I enjoyed the plot. Definitely would recommend it!

The audiobook was good. The narrator did a great job. My only thing is that I prefer dual POV books to have a narrator for each character, so that would have been nice. Macmillan, y’all hired two narrators for all of Mazey’s MF books so why not this one?

"There is no happy ending that could ever, ever come from this nightmare."

Surprise! Opal and Pepper DO get their happy ending and it's beautiful. When Opal wins the lottery off a scratch off, she decides to use the money for a fresh start and a flower farm. Pepper's grumpy welcome is no match for Opal's bright and sunshine-y personality. This is a beautiful story of growth and family and grief.

Ellie Gossage did a phenomenal job portraying both Pepper and Opal and the audiobook was very well produced!

This book was such a fresh breath of air. I absolutely loved everything about it. Eddings creates two distinct voices of messy, honest, compelling women. And the side characters are just PERFECT. This book made Eddings an auto buy for me and I can't wait to read her back list!

A fun and thoughtful book that addresses life upheavals and how differently people deal with them. I loved how Opal took her new life in her hands and made it work for herself. Pepper's struggles with grief were so real and relatable that it was easy to cheer her on. Opal and Pepper were a fun pair to watch grow together and into each others lives.