I wanted to love this one so so so badly!! It seems like a perfect recipe - a cute flower farm in a small town, characters filled with depth and flaws and a competition, but it ultimately fell flat for me. I kept feeling like I was missing parts of their love story. I could tell that there were some passages of time where maybe they connected more off page ("We continued like that for the next couple of weeks," etc) but where we would get to SEE those moments in a movie montage, I felt like I was missing the little moments where Pepper and Opal got to know each other and fall slowly in love. I loved them individually and I loved the IDEA of them getting together, but I was missing chemistry and really seeing it happen. It felt like when it came to the love they went from zero to one hundred without anything in between. And the build up of the big competition ended up feeling a little pointless? Ultimately I really love Mazey Edding's writing and this was filled with her signature quirky moments and wit but this one didn't work for me overall.

What a delightful unexpected romance. Finding happiness in rubble of their lives. Both Opal and and Pepper were at points of their lives where they were lost and a little broken. Finding peace, love, and acceptance is a journey worth reading.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4.5⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
I love Mazey and I loved this book! A sapphic romance set on a flower farm?! I mean come on?! can it get any cuter than that?!

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
NC follower farm setting
All the spring vibes
Sapphic opposites attract
Forced proximity
Found family
Small town
Steamy scenes
Slowburn
Heavier topics
Dual POV
Emotional depth

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
Neurodivergent rep
The cover!
Flower symbolism

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
All the miscommunication
I didnt really feel the spark between the two characters

𝙵𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚀𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜:
★ "Hope doesn't hurt you. People do."

It took me a bit more to get into this one compared to the rest of Mazey's books. I love love love the cover, but it ended up being the best part of the book for me. I did love the flowers, but I just struggled with the main couple.

I enjoyed this book so much, it was such a chaotic little gay read with big feelings. The characters were authentic and felt so real, the conflict pertained so well to the plot along with amazing neurodivergent representation. This book was feel-good and amazing 🙌🏻

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the development of the characters and the chemistry they had! Will definitely be read more from this author!

"She opens up like a flower unfurling its petal to the sun."

*thank you to the author and publisher for an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book is pure SUNSHINE ☀️ Opal and Pepper are such fun and well-developed main characters. They both had their quirks and as always, Mazey Eddings did a fantastic job incorporating neurodiversity into the characters 👏🏼 Opal and Pepper really pushed each other to become the best versions of themselves. They also had such great chemistry together and I was rooting for them throughout the entire book. Their romance is so soft and adorable, but also steamy and has some great banter! 🤭🥰

This is a perfect and cozy sapphic romance that you didn't know you needed! 💞 I'm also hoping that Mazey makes this into a series because I would absolutely love to see books for Opal's sisters🤩

To Mazey, I will read every single book that you write & thank you for being so excited about these graphics when I DM'd them to you! 🫶🏼 I cannot wait to read your future books and I am so grateful to follow you along on your author journey - hoping we can meet in person one day, bc that book club zoom almost two years ago wasn't enough!!! 🥹

Read if you like:
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ representation
💐 flower farm setting
🗣️ witty banter
👥 dual POV
🧩 neurodiversity
🤺 enemies to lovers
🫂 found family
🌶️ spice

This is a super sweet sapphic romance that pits two young women who haven't really grown up at all against each other, and then towards each other. The plot mechanics to get them together are a little complicated (lotteries! Horrible "friends"! flower farming!) but none of that really matters- it's a sweet book with heart and you can practically smell the flowers. I liked this one- 4.5 stars, so rounding up to a 5 star reading experience. I really enjoy Mazey Eddings, and if you like neuro-diverse characters who take a while to figure it all out but get there satisfyingly in the end, you'll love this.

I loved this. Mazey Eddings always crafts beautiful, emotional, and romantic stories. Late Bloomer is now different. I enjoyed every second and can't recommend this enough!

I’ve enjoyed Mazey’s books in the past but this one missed the mark for me. The characters felt juvenile and a bit over the top. I couldn’t really read past it. I had higher hopes for this so was sadly disappointed.

Most of this book was hard to put down!!! I enjoyed this book a lot. I LOVED the autism/neurodivergent representation. The description of the farm made me want to be there! The two main characters make a wonderful couple. This is the second book I’ve read by this author, and I definitely want to read more! I got an advanced readers copy from netgalley, but my review is unbiased

this was super cute! my first mazey book and it won't be my last! i'm always looking for more sapphic romances and i loved the neurodivergent rep of the characters.

This was such a cute book!!! I loved the characters so much!! Opal is such a sweet and somewhat naive young woman and I relate to her so much!! The representation in this book is wonderful and I really loved Opal and Pepper as a pair. They played off of each other so well and I couldn’t help but fall for the two of them.

The plot was adorable and I rooted for them all the way!! And there are several very steamy and quite lovely scenes. If you enjoy that sort of thing… which I do. Lol… and how can I not adore the setting of a beautiful flower farm?!?! Throw in a bunch of interesting other characters, not to mention the ones that got under my skin. I won’t name them, but boy were they obnoxious!! As they were meant to be of course.

I recommend this to romance lovers who enjoy lgbtqia+ love stories with beautiful relationships that just about makes your heart burst!!

4.25⭐️ such a sweet sapphic read!!

Opal wins the lottery and decides to buy and move to a peaceful little flower farm to get away from it all and focus on her art. But what she isn’t prepared for is Pepper and her insistence that she is the actual owner (but can’t prove it without her grandmother’s missing will).

They decide to live together while they figure it all out. Pepper hoping to find a way to buy the farm back, and Opal wishing for a peaceful and safe place to land.

This was such a delight to read! Mazey’s neurodivergent reps are always done so well, and this is no exception. I absolutely love the dual POV and connected with both Pepper and Opal differently.

One of my favorites quotes:
“I am a bundle of too-sharp feelings, tangled into knots, and frustrated beyond reason that I can’t have a normal reaction for once.”

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Late Bloomer is a steamy sapphic love story between Opal and Pepper, two 20something, neurodivergent women who are trying to find their place in the world. When Opal wins the lottery and buys a flower farm sight unseen, it turns out that Pepper's no-good mom sold the home and farm Pepper shared with her grandmother without her daughter's consent. And instead of kicking Pepper out, Opal lets her stay and even offers to help her win a floral contest so Pepper can one day buy the farm back.

Sounds like an interesting plot, right? Unfortunately, I think the execution left a bit to be desired. This is much more of a vibes read than a plot forward one. Which would have been fine, great even for a romance, if I felt like I was getting a good insight into either of the characters. Something about the pacing and the dual POV was off -- there were times when I wasn't sure which character I was reading from and times when I wished I was in the other person's head. This wasn't a bad reading experience by any means, there's some funny dialogue and prose but I just wanted a bit more. 2.5 stars rounded up. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

Mazy Eddings proves, yet again, that she knows romance! Her novels always stick with me and make me feel so seen. Opal and Pepper's story was so unique and original. I loved the setting and storyline. While both of these characters didn't start up as each other's biggest fans, the sparks flew as the story progressed! Overall I enjoyed it but not necessarily as much as her previous work.

Late Bloomer is an incredible and sapphic romance you want on your spring TBR.

Following the lives of Opal, a budding artist who finally has the means to pursue her artistic dreams on a flower farm, and Pepper, the farm’s previous owner and who has no idea of the sale of said farm.

Facing their new predicament Opal and Pepper decide to live and work together until they can come up with a better plan, despite their clashing personalities. While working closely together on the flower farm their friendship begins to blossom, and a romance that fosters growth and acceptance blooms wonderfully.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Late Bloomer is available now!

This book started as what seemed like a cute story with some great neurodivergent representation but then at about the halfway point I was surprised (pleasantly) that it got incredibly steamy and continued to be so for the remained of the book. Overall loved this one and will definitely be on the lookout for more sapphic books by this new to me author.

I loved this! Mazey Eddings knocked it out of the park yet again with a sexy sapphic opposites attract romance. I don’t typically read a lot of sapphic romance but I loved this one. The banter was top tier and who doesn’t love some enemies to lovers and forced proximity.

Thanks to Netgalley & St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this one early in exchange for an honest review.

Despite having Mazey Eddings’ books on my TBR for years, Late Bloomer was my first book by her, and now I’m looking forward to diving into her backlist.

Eddings crammed so many of my favourite tropes into one book: opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity, roommates, friends with benefits, only one bed, and more. This story was sweet, tender, frustrating, steamy, romantic, funny, and kind of chaotic and messy in a good, relatable way. I loved Opal and Pepper’s interactions, their chemistry, and their growth. The flower farm setting was beautiful and easy to picture, and I adored Opal’s sisters and Pepper’s friend group. I also really appreciated the variety of rep: ADHD, autism, migraines, and grief.

If you’re looking for a sweet, sexy, heartfelt sapphic romance, be sure to add Late Bloomer to your TBR.