Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this title! All thoughts are my own.

This was my first read by this author and I do admit it has me wanting to read more for sure!

These characters are likeable and entertaining. The writing style caters to me ADHD brain and the banter was superb.

I love a good sapphic story, but the actual storyline felt a bit forced at times and the timeline of some of it seemed to not make sense.

Even though I didn't overly love the storyline, I did really love the characters and the neurodivergent representation! That's why I'm rating this 4 stars.

Unfortunately, did to the SMP boycott on social media I won't be posting my review. I was given access to this title prior to the start of that. I hope SMP does take action soon so we can all share and talk about books like this one and spread the love for authors and all their hard work.

What happens when all of a sudden you win the lottery and have more money than you know what to do with? If you answered "buy a flower farm in North Carolina" you'd be making the exact same choice as Opal.

With a start of cute and fluffy, this quickly switched gears and while I expected some of the tougher subjects- this fell just a smidge flat for me. I adore cute sapphic romances and the premise of a flower farm is honestly adorable. There was some disconnect between Opal and Pepper in terms of relationship growth that just didn't fully work for me. The no strings attached was fine, I was excited for the 'who falls first' turn but the work these two need to do independently before falling for anyone really took me out of the romance aspect. These are some wishy-washy characters and you've just gotta get into the right mindset to really appreciate them and the story.

“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.”

References to The Mummy AND Twilight? I think I’m in love with Mazey Eddings. 🥰

This book was like a warm hug and a cup of coffee on a rainy day. It was so sweet and achingly wholesome. How I wish I could go to the Thistle & Bloom to visit Opal and Pepper!

This book offers the audience mental health representation and also a cast & crew of lgbtq characters with various neurodivergence. 🫶🏻 Pepper is autistic and doesn’t really go by any sexual orientation and Opal is either autistic or ADHD, but she’s never really been tested. She’s also bisexual.

It was so nice to see this representation in the book and it was done well which I loved! I really enjoyed getting to see thoughts that are so similar to my own neurodivergent brain. ☺️💜

I would absolutely recommend this one if you’re looking for a light & fluffy romance mixed with a bit of spice!

- I adore Mazey Eddings’ writing. Her characters are such beautiful portrayals of neurodiverse people (autism and ADHD in this book), showing readers that thees people are full human beings worthy of being loved just as they are.
- The setup of this plot, on the other hand, I had a bit of a hard time wrapping my mind around. I think I just had a hard time believing that they would come around to each other, despite the incredible chemistry they had.
- Regardless, everything else about this book is lovely and tender.

Thank you Netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore these neurodivergent sapphics.

The premise for Late Bloomer already seemed exactly like I what j want in a romance novel and it more than delivered. Humor but without being too focused on making the reader laugh, dramatic premise without being too cheesy, and lots of heart without being saccharine.

The characters felt like fully fledged people and not just caricatures existing within a plot. I felt like I knew both Opal and Pepper and would be so happy hanging out with their friend group.

I also appreciated the showcasing of two different types of neurodivergence and the differences and similarities between them. I felt like the descriptions of both characters’ actions and thought process was quite realistic and did not try and act like there was something wrong with them for being neurodivergent.

I absolutely adored this book and would definitely recommend it.

A low stakes queer romance with neurodivergent leads and a dual POV structure, this felt cozy though not particularly memorable.

Opal is quite manic, naive, a bit trill and annoying, but overall very warm. She’s a lovely doormat and while I get where the author was going with her…she was just a step too far IMO. Also someone really needs to get her a financial planner. No one like her should win the lottery.

Pepper was meant to be the grumpy / prickly half and while she doesn’t quite manage that, her distrustful nature certainly ruffled my feathers and took me a while to come around on her.

Ultimately I didn’t really buy the romance between these two. They don’t make sense together, their attraction seems built solely on lust, and their character growth seems too intertwined with the romance.

Overall it was just ok and I found myself more interested in the side characters than the main ones. The spice itself felt stilted and almost formulaic instead of organic and heart pounding, which stems from the lack of believability of the romance.

Mazey Eddings is one of my insta-request authors. This one was just as good as I was expecting. More to come upon release!

I really enjoyed this book and the romance. I've never read Mazey Eddings before but after reading Late Bloomer, I definitely will be reading more of their books.

I always love Mazey's books and so of course I loved this one too. The story was fresh and fun but comfortable. I loved the representation of sexuality but also of neurodivergence. I saw parts of myself in both opal and pepper. Even though the story was fairly lighthearted the writing wasn't. I love when a book might be simple on the surface but the words pack a punch. The line about being loved just because you exist not because of whatever value you limit yourself to (bad paraphrase) was so good.

3.5 Stars

This was a cute read about Opal who ends up winning the lottery and buying a flower farm in NC. Pepper however, is currently living on the farm and had no idea it was even up for sale so the two upon realizing it come up with a plan for both of them to stay.

This was a really cute lighthearted romance between the two and I had fun reading it. There were points that felt rushed which ended up in me rating the book slightly lower. Overall, I did enjoy this one!

"𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 ... 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘰. 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘵'𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦."



I swear that Mazey Eddings can do no wrong.

This was such a beautiful masterpiece and I saw so many pieces of myself in both Pepper and Opal.

Pepper's abandonment issues.

Opal's general feelings of being in the way... or being a burden... or making a mess of things.

But, man. The way they stand up for each other with Trish and Laney (who are the absolute worst, by the way)... gosh, my heart. ❤️

Thank you so so much to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for this review!
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#bookstagram #booksta #books #booksbooksbooks #avidreader #ilovereading #thetwistedlibrarian #professionalbookworm #latebloomer #mazeyeddings #whatsnikkireading #book33of2024 #lgbtqiap #onehouse #roommateswithbenefits #mentalhealthrep #adhd #autism #flowerfarm

I love Mazey’s writing and character-building! The setting of a flower farm was splendid. The sapphic romance was lovely. You go to see inside both of the character’s heads and understand their viewpoint and reasoning.

My girl Lizzie and her cake-making were mentioned!!

I think it would be lovely if Opal’s sisters were able to have their happily ever afters told in the future.

I absolutely adored this book! The chemistry between these two characters was everything and more. I loved how we got to see the transition between their start and getting off on the wrong foot to growing this amazing connection!! I could not get enough of this book. I seriously want more of them! Mazey Eddings truly outdid themselves on this book!

This was so fun!! A sapphic romance between two neurodiverse women with a version of forced proximity. I enjoyed the dual POV and the happy ending of course!

3.5

This cover is everything! And then I saw it was an opposites attract sapphic romcom with two neurodiverse main characters and I knew I had to read this.

Let's start with what I loved. Opal and Pepper are both incredibly well fleshed out main characters and I really liked them and related to them both in a lot of ways. Opal is a disaster bisexual who probably has some form of autism and/or ADHD but hasn't been able to get a diagnosis because the testing as an adult is ridiculously convoluted and expensive. She's trying to find her place in the world when she wins the lottery and decides to buy a flower farm (off Facebook Marketplace?). That flower farm is home to Pepper, who is autistic and still dealing with the grief of her grandmother's death and her traumatic childhood with a flighty mom. For reasons, when the two meet up they decide they should both stay at the farm.

Honestly, the plot requires a lot of suspension of belief but I didn't really mind because I was enjoying the ride. That being said, I had to pause reading this at about the 70% mark and then really had no desire to pick it back up. I did and I enjoyed the ending but I think because I was forced to leave the world Eddings built here, it made me really sit with how unbelievable the plot was and I was less invested in the story. That might be something particular to my reading experience, but I thought it was worth noting.

Overall, I thought this was a fun escapist time. I haven't read any of Eddings' other work, though I know they have been popular. I'd be interested in checking out more of her work because I liked the writing and I liked the neurodiverse representation.

The flower farm makes for a perfect setting for this love story that blossoms with both tenderness and ferocity. Mazey Eddings does it again!

Mazey Eddings is a brilliant story teller. This is a big change from her Brush With Love series, but the characters are still lovable and relatable.

I was really looking forward to this book and it did not let me down! I am a huge sucker for a fun, lighthearted sapphic romance. Whether that be adult or young adult. I really applaud this author for stepping out of her comfort zone and writing a story like this. I loved all of the representation in this book, including neurodivergence. I can tell it was handled with a lot of thought and care. Pepper and Opal had a great connection and I was rooting for them from start to finish. It gave all the lesbian vibes I needed. I will definitely be thinking of this book for awhile after!

Opal wins the lottery buys a flower farm. Pepper still lives at said flower farm. What happens when a failing flower farm gets sold underneath the real owner and two women get caught in the crosshairs? They bloom a little later that's what.

Late Bloomer was a PERFECT sapphic romance to read. Some spicier scenes but overall a fantastic book. I cried (more than once) during this book and have been recommending it since. Both FMC's are mental health reps and navigating the world as an adult. There was a small and I mean SMALL mention of a third act breakup but with the characters and their personalities, it made sense.

If you're looking for a feel good, down to earth, coming age, and coming into one's self/sexuality, PICK UP THIS BOOK.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I love the forced proximity of the relationship and the floral backdrop, but mostly I just loved the building sapphic romance! I particularly love when character give in to sexual attraction before they figure out their heavier long-term romance feelings, and this delivered on that. These two had plenty of chemistry against the backdrop of their real-world problems, so it was the perfect balance of that, too.

I would highly recommend this one to fans of other spicy sapphic romcoms like Kiss Her Once for Me and Delilah Green Doesn't Care. I eat these books up and I know my fellow sapphics do, too. I pre=ordered the book in paperback after finishing my NetGalley copy and can't wait to feature it in recommendation videos on TikTok in the future.