I generally love Mazey Weddings books, especially the way she portrays neurodivergent characters. I really enjoyed reading about Opal and Pepper as individuals and how the coped with the people around them and their circumstances. I thought I would connect more with the characters given their personalities but I had difficulty doing so. I understood the struggle they had with the ownership and issues with the flower farm and I intellectually understood their histories I just struggled with how they grew together within their relationship.

Bought a copy after publication and really enjoyed! Will post a review on my instagram, but enjoyed the story. My career is rooted in working with individuals on the spectrum and while I did appreciate the autistic lense, it felt a little shoved down my throat at times.

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity

This book definitely helped up against the hype that I keep seeing. Sweet and romantic with just a hint of spice.

I was recommended this author by a friend and I now I find myself recommending to others. The love and internal battles are so well written I could not put this book down.

Thank you NetGalley for proving me a chance to read this.

I struggled to get into this but I pushed through. Unfortunately there were too many things that drove me crazy about the MC’s and a lot just felt soooo unrealistic.

I was bored most of the way through.

This book is great for those that like a cozier romance that is just super far fetched.

The pacing is perfect in this book. I enjoyed both main characters and their love story along with the ending.

This book drew me in with the cover and I loved the sweet FF vibes of the book. The pacing was somewhat slow but I didn't mind the cozy low stakes vibes of it. It was fun and whimsical and followed Opal after she winds the lottery and buying a farm that the current caretaker doesnt think she deserves. LOL>

There are shenanigans and stolen moments and I enjoyed the gentle character devel0pment for both FMCs.
Found family, steam, banter and opposites attract made this the perfect sapphic cozy romcom.

3.5-4ish stars. This is my favorite Mazey Eddings book so far. I've been in the mood for sapphic contemporaries and this just hit the spot. I love the queer and neurodivergent rep along with the found family aspect. You can tell how much the author enjoyed writing this story and those are my favorite books.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for my copy to review.

Mazey Eddings is truly one of my favorite authors ever. Her ability to write the most gentle and loving romances featuring the most real and raw characters is incredible!!!!!

First of all, I am Pepper and Pepper is me!!!!!!!! I understood her so deeply. I found myself often saying sammmee when it came to Peppers POV. She just makes sense to me and I loved seeing her grow and heal and love and be love and gosh I wish she were a real person so we could be best friends!!!! When her friend said to her "just say you're queer and move on" hit home for me. The exhaustion of trying to find a label that works when so many feel right and wrong and finally feeling comfortable saying you're queer is a feeling I know all too well.

Opal honestly reminded me a lot of Mazey herself. Their energies just match. Opal is so sweet it was rotting my teeth!!!!! I really loved that she was able to discover herself in this story. Her journey is so real and often I feel like it's looked over. I love her relationship with her sisters and low key would love a second story featuring one of them.

Overall this story is so sweet and I highly recommend!!!! The cute cover really does match the story.

While this wasn't my favorite Mazey Eddings book, I did enjoy the lighthearted storyline and the neurodivergent rep. I would have enjoyed the forced proximity more if there had been more tension to it.

I snagged an ARC of this adorable book on Netgalley, and I am grateful it came my way!

Opal is your quintessential nice girl—always saying yes, always giving second chances, and a hopeless romantic with an artistic soul, eager to make her mark in subtle, meaningful ways. She's relatable, like someone you know, maybe even like you. Following her journey as she navigates what to do with a mind-blowing lottery win was a blast.

She buys a flower farm because what else would a dreamer do, right? Turns out, the farm’s nearly broke, and it comes with a grumpy Pepper (and not the spice kind). This sets the stage for a classic hate-to-love scenario that's just impossible to tire of. I was completely hooked, living vicariously through their ups and downs.

The book dives deep into the psyche of the "too-nice-girl," challenging the notion that being overly kind is a flaw. It’s a strength. The mantra here is poignant: "Hope doesn't hurt you. People do." And it’s a reminder that expecting kindness and empathy isn't asking too much.

Imagine being a neurodivergent artist who suddenly has the means to explore life’s complexities. That’s Opal’s reality, a heartfelt exploration of understanding and love. Watching Opal and Pepper grow together was a delight.

And Mazey Eddings? She’s done something special here. The author's note moved me—it’s clear she poured her heart into these pages.

This was my first Mazey Edding's book and certainly not my last. The cover alone drew me into this book, and it's so damn pretty. Including a new sapphic romance, I'm all in. Opal buys a flower farm from a random stranger on the internet, who she finds out is Pepper's mother, whom Pepper doesn't have the best relationship with. Opal gets to the flower farm, only to find out from Pepper, that she might have been scammed and Pepper is the rightful owner of the flower farm. They decide to work it out, but not without some bumps along the way. The pacing of the story felt a little off. The enemies-to-lovers storyline felt a bit fast to me, and they started getting along and developing feelings for each other right away. I was hoping for more of the "we need to enter this contest to save the farm" storyline. It felt rushed, and not cared for. It felt like it was just thrown into the book for a storyline, but it wasn't executed well enough for it to be memorable. Towards the end, it became more of a "let's just go have sex" storyline, but that's okay because I love a little steam in my romance books. I did love the character development for both Opal and Pepper. They did come out of their shells and opened up with one another about their personal problems and worked on it as a team. Overall, I did enjoy this story. I was rooting for Opal and Pepper the whole time, and if you read this, I hope you fell in love with them as much as I did.

This one had great neurodivergent, mental health, and LGBTQ rep! Unfortunately it missed the mark on timing and dialogue for me.

listen. i love mazey and her writing. i’ve read everything she’s ever released. but i am currently withholding any review due to the smp boycott

Winning the lottery ruined Opal's life. Despite being a people pleaser, she's frustrated with her "friends" coming around asking for handouts once she's overflowing with cash. On a whim, Opal buys a flower farm where she can exist in nature and focus on being an artist, painting shoes into the sunset. Enter Pepper, the woman who states she’s the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom Farms, and isn’t moving out. Until the two can figure things out, they come up with an agreement to cohabitate in close quarters.

Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by Late Bloomer. The concept was kind of let down and very unbelievable–more unbelievable than even a cheesy Hallmark romcom movie. I really had to fight the urge to DNF and fought through, but it didn't get any better like I hoped. Most importantly, the sex scenes literally made me cringe. I was not buying the romance, the plot or the emotional depth the author was trying to explore. However, the cover, designed by sapphic artist Jenifer Prince, IS TO DIE FOR.

While I have a soft spot for Pepper, I could not stand the annoying and one-dimensional Opal. Their chemistry was lacklustre and their entire situationship was up and down so much it was like watching a yo-yo on a string. It got old fast and I was just bored.

That said, if you love opposites attract, forced proximity, strangers to friends to lovers, friends with benefits and miscommunication tropes, Late Bloomer just might be for you. I think it's also important to note this book explores ideologies and actions that may be triggering to some readers including conversations surrounding the loss of a family member, grief and emotionally abusive parents.

To end this on a positive note, I would like to highlight the autism rep, undiagnosed ADHD rep, and disability (painful migraines) rep. It's really wonderful to see these explored more in contemporary romances, but I cannot specifically comment on if it was done well or not.

After opal wins the lottery she buys a flower farm. Turns out it wasn't hers to buy.
Her and pepper come to a deal that pepper will slowly buy it back but it turns out love has other plans
Lgbtq

I adore Mazey Eddings' books, and this was no exception. I appreciated how unabashedly chaotic Opal is and the tender, burgeoning romance between Opal and Pepper against the backdrop of flowers and art and awkward self-discovery was simply delightful!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this. It was light and fluffy, and I loved the neurodivergent rep in both main characters. The grumpy x sunshine vibes were perfect, and both women were well developed characters. All in all, a very fun and cottage core contemporary sapphic romance.

Many thanks to Netgalley for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed the book overall but I wish there was more chemistry between Opal and Pepper. There was some insta-love there which is not my favorite trope. I really liked the ending though.

This was a nice little opposites attract romance. The setting was delightful, and the main characters were well drawn and likable. I thought the portrayal of two neurodivergent folks getting together was well done. Aspects of their personalities were explored in a non-judgemental way while still demonstrating how their neurodivergence affected their ability to form new relationships. The spice was nice too. It happened fairly soon in the book and continued throughout. Not the hottest I've read, but certainly was enjoyable.