Two ladies with neurodivergent brains, count me in. I have never felt more scene in my life.

Opal has found herself with some extra cash after winning the lottery. She decides to start fresh by buying a flower farm in the middle of nowhere. Pepper has been working at this farm since she was dropped off by her mother as a teenager. Her life is turned upside down by the site of Opal taking over her home and farm. Opal has no desire to kick Pepper out of her home so they make a deal that is convenient for both of them. You can guess how that will end.

This book is absolutely adorable. If you are looking for the list below, look no further than this book:
-Neurodivergence Representation
-Sapphic Love
-Forced Proximity
-One Bed

Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

I thought this was really cute! Pepper and Opal were such an adorable couple and I love how they both cared so deeply and were protective of each other. I also liked how Opal usually took the lead while Pepper was not as experienced, I felt like it was a complete 180 from who they were personality wise! Mazey had a great way of making this a cute love story while also diving into deeper topics. 3.5⭐️

I absolutely adored Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings. I often think a romance is only as good as its leads, and Opal and Pepper were the absolute perfect pairing. The eternally sunshine artist and grumpy flower farmer are thrust together in this novel after Opal wins the lottery and impulsively decides to spend almost all her wins on purchasing a flower farm… The exact flower farm that Pepper believes is her’s after her grandmother’s recent passing.

It’s the middle of my summer break and I am in the midst of a romance reading binge, so Late Bloomers was the perfect book for me to pick up. I was immediately invested from the beginning all the way to the very end. Both Opal and Pepper were so easy to root for. I really enjoyed watching Pepper’s walls slowly start to come down and Opal’s self-confidence grow as they fell in love with each other. I adore when love brings out the best in people, and that was so well displayed here. Their love story was so sweet and tender. My heart melted while reading this feel-good novel.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC of this book. All thoughts are my own.

For a second I wanted to give this 2.5 stars but I was so bored that it has to be a 2. I literally read this and felt nothing cause both of them were mid, to me.

Cute story and premise. I enjoyed reading this cozy book, and it made me hopeful for my own circumstantial romance. I had some difficulty reading this due to the grumpy sunshine trope, which is not my favorite. However, there were more redeeming qualities than poor.

I thought I had already submitted a review for this, I can't believe I didn't! I really appreciated the neurodivergent rep in here as well as the exploration of grief and complicated relationships. I had a really good time reading Late Bloomer and will read more from Mazey Eddings in the future.

Corny but also cute. What else is there to say? The steamy parts were so steamy and the romance parts were cute.

Fast paced and full of witty banter. Sometimes I’d forget the characters were in their twenties and not teenagers (I felt this when there was a bunch of miscommunication). Intimacy scenes were on point! *giving snaps*. This book was sweet, and cheesy; I enjoyed this story. If you’re into neurodivergent rep, sapphic stories, bisexual messes, flowers, cottage core, impulsive DIY hair color, and romcoms - give this one a shot.

This book was cute, but very predictable. I think others would find this book lovely, but I admittedly struggled to get through it. I thought the house part of the story was compelling, but that was about it.

I am a fan of some of Mazey Eddings previous books, so I was really looking forward to devouring Late Bloomer. An opposites-attracts, sapphic romance? Sign me up! Unfortunately, this didn't really hit the mark for me. While I initially like the premise (and I know that you need to suspend disbelief for fiction), the idea that Opal would buy a farm without seeing it on Facebook marketplace is hilarious and completely threw me off. The moments that Opal and Pepper spent working together to improve the farm and slowly getting to know each other were sweet. However, it wasn't enough to save how stagnant both the plot and the character development felt.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mazey Eddings is a fantastic writer! This story completely captivated my attention and did not let go. It's such a heartwarming story that will pull you in from the start.

Recommended!!

This Pride Month, I really have wanted to read more sapphic stories. I was eager to dive into this one. Opal starting over and falling in love in the process? I was ready to devour it, but I do think it fell a little short for me.

I really did like the setup for Opal. Her being a major people pleaser and determined to change that was a great introduction. She is so cheery, and I really did love her personality and how it contrasted with Pepper's. Their contrast created some moments that I did enjoy.

At some point, the whole story fell apart for me a little. The chemistry between Opal and Pepper didn't feel as solid for me as I thought it might. It felt like their relationship took a sideline for the plot, which led to me feeling like they weren't really developed as well as their relationship.

Overall, this was cute. I just needed more from the romance to really love this. As my first Eddings book, it did give me an insight into her writing, and I will dive into more of her work.

Pride Month 2025 #4

🍦 🍓 The Ripped Bodice's 9th Annual Summer Romance Bingo 🕶️ 🏄🏼

/ Punny Title

I don't think Mazey is for me. I didn't love THE PLUS ONE. I kind of hated this.

Opal is annoying, flighty, and honestly kind of dumb. It's giving air sun sign. I smell an unevolved Libra.

Pepper, whose name is even worse than Opal's, is uptight, anxious, and kind of mean to her friends. I honestly don't even know how she has friends.

Her mom sells her dead grandmother's floral farm to Opal. Somehow, Opal has won the lottery. This is what she chooses to do with her money. Does she know what a flower farm entails? Certainly not.

They don't like each other. They're attracted to each other. They fuck. They date. It excited some of you more than it excited me, so don't let me stop you. But I won't be requesting another Mazey novel.

📱 Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Griffin

Opal is a chronic people pleaser. She can’t help herself; she doesn’t think people will like her if she’s not doing things for them. But, at her sisters’ encouragement, she uses the money she wins from a scratcher (yes, she really does) to buy a flower farm. For herself, and no one else.

She couldn’t know about Pepper - the granddaughter of the flower farm owner who is suffering a devastating loss and trying to find a way to keep the flower farm afloat. So when Opal arrives on Pepper’s doorstep claiming to own the place, the two are hesitant of each other but come to a compromise that means they both stay at the flower farm and work together to keep it running.

Opal and Pepper are such a good pair. They both struggle to believe they deserve love unconditionally, yet have no problem giving unconditional love freely to each other. It’s a beautiful thing to watch them learn to trust each other and fall in love. Not to mention a vibrant cast of supporting characters that make appearances at just the right time.

The main thing keeping me from handing out five stars (like I love to do for Mazey Eddings) was the writing of the internal monologues. A lot of explanations felt clunky or awkward and included one of my least favorite moments: a character having a romantic thought about another and immediately going “wait, where did that come from?!” It always takes me out of the story. I will readily admit this bothers me more than most, so that’s why it affected me so much!

Other than that, Late Bloomer is a lovely story showing us there is strength in love, vulnerability, and softness.

**Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this ARC!

Loved the interplay between the lead characters. It totally sucked me into the storyline and I enjoyed the read so much I forgot about everything else around me!

Late Bloomer was a sweet sapphic romance set on a flower farm. I don’t think I would buy a flower farm if I won the lottery, but it sounds like a nice place to live. I enjoyed this book but not as much I had hoped. My biggest issue was that there were so many (a bit too many) sex scenes, but Opal and Pepper didn’t have any real chemistry. I loved that the author included a section about the symbolic meanings for the flowers in the book. Overall, I thought this was a cute book.

this book is a fun and light read perfect for the spring. We meet two characters, Opal and Pepper, both are going through a very hard time in their lives and certain circumstances on life bring them together. now, while living under the same roof and starting on their left foot they have to make things work. It was so nice reading how they started liking each other and finally finding common ground.

This book was emotional and funny. Opal’s choice to purchase a flower farm on a whim is bold, but fueled by uncertainty and self-doubt. Which is a great introduction to Opal’s personality- a lot of big swings that are accompanied by fear/uncertainty. Pepper is more relatable to me, as a geriatric millennial reader. Stoic and just trying to push through after lots of unexpected, unwanted changes. Overall this was a great book but I didn’t feel like I was the intended audience. I’m not a Swiftie, I can’t imagine spending lottery money on something other than bills and creating a safety net, etc. The writing was beautiful, the characters were unique- I just didn’t connect with the characters or their situations.

I love love love Mazey Eddings but this one just didn’t work for me. I could not connect to the characters at all which was really disappointing but I think it still has a lot of Mazey’s signature charm in it.

I really enjoyed this one!! I thought Opal was cute and funny and she was crazy for some of her decisions, but I loved it! I wish there was a little bit more tension and building of the romance. I do really love this author and I love her writing style so I’m excited for the next release!