This was a sweet novel about the main character Opal trying to figure herself and her life out. She recognizes she has been being used by people and wants a fresh start. She found one, but then maybe she thinks been duped by this one she bought land from. She finds that Pepper is still living there. They are both confused but can figure out how to help one another. A sweet and nice novel. 3.5 - 4 stars.

Absolutely loved getting to meet Opal and Pepper and reading their story. Beautiful story about love, loss, adjusting to change and discovering your path when you feel lost.

3.75/5 stars rounded up.

This book was nothing groundbreaking, but super cute nonetheless.

I loved the flower farm setting and the neurodivergence representation through both our main characters. The romance was also super wholesome and made me awwww out loud on multiple occasions.

Overall, an adorable read perfect for this time of the year.

I’m such a big fan of Mazey Eddings’ books, with their amazing love stories, complex characters, and neurodivergent representation, I will read anything she writes!

Late Bloomer was such an anticipated read of mine and I had such a great time reading it! I loved the plot and the setting of a flower farm. It’s such a great read for spring/summer.

The pacing felt a little rushed to me with how the relationship between Opal and Pepper developed, but their love story was still beautiful and I really enjoyed reading it!

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

2.5 stars
I had a hard time getting through this one but I'm glad I stuck with it!
Unfortunately, this book didn't have much in the way of plot and nothing about it really pulled me in. The first act felt like it was getting pulled in multiple different directions and I had a hard time gaining my footing once I had a grasp of where we were going. I had a hard time feeling compelled to finish it because of this. I thought the book felt a little juvenile and I didn't feel like the characters were super likeable either. I felt like I had more of a vested interest in the health of Opal's hair than any other part of the book. I really wish I liked this more, and maybe it was just the timing, but unfortunately this was really tough to get through for me.

I was excited about this one based on the hype and that it was sapphic but it just didn’t land as well as I wanted it to for me. I did LOVE Pepper’s vulnerability and how she and Opal communicated through everything.

Opal goes from minimum wage to millionaire overnight! Sounds like a dream come true, right? Wrong! Turns out, winning the lottery can be a total buzzkill, especially when everyone around you starts acting like dollar signs with legs. Opal decides to trade the city life for a fixer-upper flower farm except there's already a gorgeous (and admittedly grumpy) woman named Pepper living there and claiming ownership! Can Opal turn this blooming disaster into a blooming friendship (or maybe even a romance?)

I don’t think I liked Opal… or Pepper… so I couldn’t root for them necessarily. I did appreciate their vulnerable pasts but thought they were both kinda …. Not nice people?? IDK just didn’t work for me

Mazey Eddings has blown us all out of the water AGAIN. Opal and Pepper's story is so different and unique compared to other storied by Eddings (but in the best way possible). I loved this novel so much. I laughed so much and this story made my heart feel warm and fuzzy. Highly recommend!
💕
"I'm not sure the exact moment we switched roles, but Opal’s grumpiness makes it feel like sunshine is radiating through my veins." AHH!!

This was easily one of my best reads all year! I reccomend it to everyone. It was so cozy, cute and had me kicking my feet and laughing the whole time, this love story is unmatched 💕 it was my first by this author and absolutely not my last!

I got an ARC of this book.

This isn’t a bad book, but it was slower than felt right. I ended up getting the audiobook and listening to it at 1.5-2x the speed to make it feel the right speed. I think this is a me problem and not the book this time though. Everything is dragging, even when I enjoy it. I did enjoy this for the most part.

The characters were almost three dimensional. There was an attempt, but it didn’t really feel complete. Pepper’s main trait is being autistic. Opal’s main trait is being a bit flighty. The conflict was createad by someone who was barely in the book, so some of the choices to deal with it just felt weird. A lot of the book didn’t quite make sense, but it kept going and it was mostly cute so I kept going.

The romance didn’t make sense, but I liked it. I liked how Pepper and Opal showed their affection for each other, even when it didn’t make sense that they were together. I liked the big sweeping gestures and the small little details. The big gestures were needed for Pepper, but the small gestures were needed for Opal. So the way that the relationship worked out was pretty amazing. I really enjoyed that even if the start didn’t work for me.

I did appreciate that everything wasn’t magically fixed by one long shot in the end. That is a bit spoiler, but there is a lot more to it. There was a fix, it is a romance after all. It just wasn’t the plan I didn’t expect to work anyway. That was a long shot and felt too Disney.

Overall, it was an ok book. It was cute, even if it didn’t land all the time.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I've read a lot of queer romance in the last 4 years as a balm in these wild times, and this one had one of the absolute wildest and most unbelievable premises of any I've read. It felt pretty formulaic, but if you're into queer romance, it'll satisfy.

✨Book Review✨
Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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This Queer romance was adorable. I really loved the light grumpy to sunshine trope. Both main characters are neurodivergent, and SO well represented. I loved them together and love the way their neurodivergence was discussed. The flower farm setting was SO cute (and it's one of my favorite covers I've ever seen!). Definitely recommended if you like a sapphic rom com!
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I listened to the audio and really enjoyed it.

4.5 This was so so good!! I really love the whole concept and their chemistry was really well done and I love the character development and how they help and support each other and stand up for each other in different situations<3

I also looove the representation - one of the MC is queer and autistic and suffers from migraines and the other is neurodivergent and bisexual

thank you to net galley for the arc

A saccharine sweet take on the opposites attract trope! I really enjoyed watching Opal and Pepper fall for each other and heal along the way. I love that Eddings isn’t shy about her portrayal of queer neurodivergence. I won’t lie. I did struggle at times with the back-and-forth in their relationship, but the softer moments and the strong cast of secondary characters kept me reading. A solid 4 stars! 🙌🏽

This was very cute. I love the representation of neurodivergence between both characters. I thought this was such a soft romance between Opal and Pepper, and I really loved the setting of the flower farm. This was just a very pleasant read and I was so happy to get the chance to read it!

I loved Opal and Pepper so much. Opal was a little too chaotic for me in the beginning (I mean, who buys a farm the way she did?!), but I loved watching the progression of her character as she grew into her own. And Pepper, I loved Pepper -- I just wanted to shield and protect her from the world. Though Opal and Pepper seemed opposite in the beginning, as the layers are slowly revealed, they had more in common than initially would seem. I loved these two characters so much, and Opal's sisters and Pepper's friends, and I can't wait to see if any of them come back in future stories!

I am part of the St Martins boycott and will provide a review when the boycott has ended. I look forward to seeing the publisher makee strides towards more equitable practices.

This was a really sweet forced-proximity, grumpy/sunshine LGBTQ romance. Winning the lottery and buying a flower farm sounds wonderful, and while this book was at times very cheesy and cliche, I also loved Opal and Pepper’s relationship! I definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a light, sweet romance. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Absolutely loved this little sapphic cutie!! My first Mazey Eddings book and it won't be my last. I'm hoping to read Lizzie Blake next.
I loved the representation in this book - queer characters, autistic and adhd rep, mental health rep
and Mazey has such a way with crafting this story with delicacy in regard to grief and trauma.
I really enjoyed and appreciated reading about Opal and Pepper's love story. They often time butted heads, but their spice was off the charts. The setting of this book is super unique. Opal buys a flower farm where Pepper currently resides and cares of the flowers. This kicks off our head butting between the two fmcs and the story unfolds.

Super cute story, totally recommend

Another entertaining novel from Mazey. This time we focus on a sapphic, neurodivergent couple in Opal and Pepper. Opal hits it big and wins the lottery and basically runs away from the dumpster fire her life has become. Her "best friend" stole her boyfriend and he cheated on her behind her back. As a pitiful attempt at anything, she gives Opal a lotto scratch-off and she wins! Opal runs away from life and only tells her family her knee-jerk plans of buying a flower farm to live on and paint textiles like shoes and purses. Pepper, who lives on and operates the farm since the death of her Grandma Lou, is completely taken by surprise when Opal shows up with the deed to the property claiming she owns it. The 2 agree to a tenuous agreement to cohabitate and let Pepper slowly buy the farm back. They grow attracted to each other quickly and cannot stop thinking about each other. They kind of bicker on and off a lot over misunderstandings and non-communication events. Opal overreacts and Pepper has autism so doesn't see cues/signs/read situations well or at all which sets Opal off. Pepper saying to Opal "Nothing is obvious to my autistic ass" made me laugh SO HARD. Overall I enjoyed myself and look forward to Mazey's next novel

I will not be reviewing this title as I am participating in the St. Martin's Press boycott. More information can be found at @readersforaccountability on Instagram.