I really respect Mazey Eddings and her inclusion and willingness to tackle themes of mental health, neurodivergence, and more. I appreciate as an autistic mother to an autistic child, seeing more representation of neurodivergence in romance. In this case, I may just be a bit too old for this particular book. There was also just A LOT of themes and issues and plot points jam packed into this book, so it felt chaotic and a bit disjointed. I’m glad we did get both POV, as it helped us understand where the characters (particularly Pepper) were coming from, but it just felt like too much. The lottery, the farm, the competition, all the side characters, it was just a lot for me personally. I do think a younger audience may enjoy this more than I did this time! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to provide my honest review.

Mazey Eddings books are sort of a hit or miss with me. This one was a miss. I'm not entirely sure what it is. It had so much promise, I loved the prose I just honestly didn't find what everyone loved about it. The book honestly bored me. Which is weird because it has a wonderful message with great subplots but it was just too slow in the beginning and then throughout it, the story just got me bored.

I was given an ARC by Net Galley in exchange for an honest review, as always, all words are my own.

This book gave me everything. Opal & Pepper are the neurospicy pair you don't know you need in your bookshelf until you read their book. And don't get me started on the gorgeous cover that this book has!

I cried, laughed, pulled my hairs out, and fell in love with these two. I will be grabbing a physical copy for sure.

Mazey Eddings is an auto-buy author for me so I was over the moon to get an ARC of this book.

I was so excited when I read the premise of this book and the characters didn't disappoint. I loved Opal's quirkiness and how deeply she felt things. It tore my heart out the interactions she had in the beginning of the book. Seeing her grow and the innate strength she had was a beautiful transition. Pepper was brilliant! She was authentically herself and the layers of guilt and shame that she was buried under through her grief and childhood was really intense. It was so perfect seeing how they each brought out so many amazing qualities in each other and the love and respect they had for the person as a whole. As always, Mazey shone a light on neurodivergence with her characters with all the love and respect that the topic deserves.

While the plot itself was fairly simple and was somewhat predictable, the characters really were the shining stars. I will always read Mazey's books and I will definitely recommend this one too.

Ahhh... Spring time. When it’s denim jacket weather & we can eat lunch outside again. Lucky for us Mazey Eddings has written the perfect spring romance novel to read under a tree: Late Bloomer. Specifically a spicy, neurospicy, Sapphic romance set at a flower farm. And with a cover that dares you to read in public and not make a new friend. Late Bloomer is sweet, sexy, funny, and touching. Bonus for having a great
sisters-as besties subplot.

CW for grief, gaslighting, and a shitty ex-boyfriend.

This book is the equivalent of a warm hug. It’ll make you feel comforted and a bit hopeful. Pepper and Opal will become like your friends - you’ll be rooting for them while wanting to smack them for being idiots. There are some elements that are a bit far-fetched and some parts that - like the reveal of the display - that just didn’t have the impact I was hoping for, but overall a solid, emotional, enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Griffin Publishing for the opportunity to read an arc of this book!

I loved it, long story short. The sapphic grumpy x sunshine dynamic? Perfect. The neurodivergent rep is incredible. It was tropey and sweet and the characters are dynamic and lovable. The portrayal of Pepper’s grief and the way she and Opal found comfort in one another was so sweet and really drew me in to their story.

My ONLY critique is that it really takes me out of the story when a sweet, normally timid character turns into a freakin DRILL SERGEANT in the bedroom 😂

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC.

Late Bloomer is a sapphic romance which follows Opal, a recent lottery winner who uses her winnings to purchase a struggling flower farm, and Pepper, whose mother sold the flower farm to Opal.

As far as romances go, I don't think there was anything particularly objectionable about this one. It was sweet, decently paced, and had ample pop culture references. Its biggest drawback for me was a lack of character development. This is the kind of story where I really want to believe in the characters and in their internal conflicts, but I just didn't end up feeling like they were developed enough for me. Because of this, I did also struggle to believe in the romance, although I did love the concept of it. I just wish that the characters had been rounder than the plot.

Ultimately, I think there's a lot to enjoy in this sweet, quick sapphic romance, as well as the awesome representation within the story.

This was the sapphic romance I didn’t know I needed! Pepper and Opal were perfection! There is such angst and sweet moments and the spice, wow just wow! I loved the setting of the flower farm it just made all the special moments so beautiful! Mazey has seriously done it again and why she is an auto buy author for me each and every time!

Mazey Eddings writes the cutest stories, but they also have so much more. I love that all her characters are neurodivergent, either with ADHD or Autism, and she writes it so beautifully. Opal and Pepper were complete opposites (grumpy vs. sunshine) and its was fun to read of a sapphic couple. I loved all the flowers and the relationships they had with their friends and family.

Mazey Eddings does what she does best in this book: create lovable, quirky, neurodivergent characters. Opal feels like a chaos demon, and she is too susceptible to her awful ex-boyfriend and her "friend" Laney, who is most likely sleeping with her ex. Everything in her life changes when she wins the lottery. At first, I thought that this was a silly plot device (been there, done that), but of course Opal spends the money in her own unique way--all in one go, making a spur of the moment decision to trust a complete stranger and buy her flower farm. It's on the flower farm that she meets Pepper, who is busily working to try to keep her grandmother's farm afloat while also grieving her grandmother's death. The two girls decide to be roommates, and Opal helps Pepper with the farm while setting up her painting studio. Pepper describes herself as autistic, and is used to people not understanding her, but Opal has oodles of patience, and the two end up having a lot of chemistry. Eddings is great at the romance part--she always is--and there are some hot scenes between Opal and Pepper. Overall, this is a charming book about two women who help each other through grief, self-doubt, and all the hard parts of being a human in the world who might think or act neurodivergently. And they fall in love! What's not to love about all that? It's pretty perfect.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3.5)
🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was such a cute read! If you like contemporary romance, with a few explicit scenes, and forced proximity, opposites attract, and virgin tropes, you’ll probably like this story. As always, Eddings has her signature inclusion of representation, this time regarding neurodivergence. Overall, this is a light read that’s fun and steamy too 😉

Thank you NetGalley, Mazey Eddings, and St. Martin’s for a free copy of Late Bloomer in exchange for an honest review. Happy pub day!! 🫶

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings is a sapphic love story between Opal and Pepper. After winning the lottery, Opal decides to buy a failing flower farm in North Carolina to start her career as an artist. Once she gets there, she soon discovers that the farm is not empty, and a woman Pepper, lives there. Pepper says she refuses to move out, so Opal comes up with a solution: they will live there together and all they do is fight. Unfortunately, I DNF'ed this book. Mazey Eddings writing is great, and I did enjoy the beginning, but I could not connect with either one of the characters. As the story progressed, I hoped there would be be some type of spark between the characters that made me want to root for them to be together. Unfortunately, some of the characters felt like they were manipulating Opal. Opal is very insecure in her relationships with people in general, and even though Opal legally owns the farm, no one cared and treated her poorly. I can understand that somewhat because Pepper and her friends were sticking up for Pepper, but Opal feeling unwelcome in her own home in the beginning rubbed me the wrong way. I got 40% into the story before I realized I don't think I should continue. I was not the right person for this story. If you can suspend your beliefs more than I did considering this is a fictional romance, then I definitely think you'll enjoy it- but one thing that felt extremely unrealistic was Opal buying a farm on Facebook Marketplace for $300,000. I don't think anyone would do that, but again, if you suspend your beliefs in some of the details, I think you'll enjoy it. I do think the neurodivergent representation in this story is important; however, I think at times Pepper used her neurodivergence as an excuse for her reactions and I didn't necessarily agree with them.

I’ve read all of Mazey’s books and I love her representation and her humor and the way she develops her characters. This was not my favorite of hers though. It was still really good and I blew through it in 2 days, I just found opal and pepper and their relationship underdeveloped. I still consider Eddings to be one of my favorite authors and I really hope we get the Christmas romance that she mentioned in her acknowledgements!!

If I won the lottery I think I would also buy a flower farm too to get away from the people taking advantage of me. Late Bloomer was a cute read with a little bit of unexpected spice and dirty talk. I think I blushed a little. I really enjoyed Opal and Peppers relationship. I loved this "no strings attached" situation they started and what it evolved into. I thought Opal was fun and creative and I found her background to be similar to mine. I would totally buy a pair of her shoes. I would do anything for Pepper. I thought the autism/neurodivergent rep in this book was also done really well, A little bit cheesy and full of pop culture references which aren't my favorite thing to include in books. My biggest gripe was saying that Taylor Swift was emo music. I still enjoyed this book and thought it was a pretty quick read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this arc in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings simply has the cutest of all the cute covers!

This is a light and airy, opposites attract, sapphic romance, which gave off some new adult vibes (Opal is twenty-four and Pepper is twenty-six). There are steamy scenes (hello lavender!), amazing autistic and neurodivergent representation, plus a supportive cast of found family... but this story just lacked something for it to really stand out, elevating it just that little bit extra.

I loved the included information of how the title came to be and the meaning behind the many flowers mentioned throughout the novel. Both of these inclusions added some fun character and plot information, allowing a deeper connection with the story and the authors process!

Ellie Gossage did a phenomenal job narrating! With this being a dual perspective romance, it was amazing to have the unique voices throughout each and every chapter, no matter whose narrative it was! Gossage nailed two very distinct main voices, as well as a cast of other characters, always adding the right bit of emotion at just the right time! I have honestly checked multiple times just to confirm there was only one narrator - that's how good of a job Gossage did providing such different voices for Opal and Pepper!

I really think this is the perfect low conflict book to sit with in the shade of a weeping willow or to read amongst the blooms this summer!

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, St. Martin's Griffin and Macmillan Audio for the complimentary copies to read and review.

This was a really cute read, perfect for fans of Grumpy x sunshine and Opposites attract!

First, let's talk about how GORGEOUS this cover is! Absolutely stunning!

I loved the setting, a beautiful flower farm in a cozy small-town with all the spring and summer vibes. I loved the representation - neurodivergent and LGTQIA+.

I had a bit of a hard time getting into this, because in the first chapters, we meet Opal at a really low-point in her life (post break-up), with no self-esteem and no backbone, and we meet Lainey and Miles, who are both despicable characters.

Then, following her lottery win, Opal impulsively spends all her winnings on buying a flower farm, in a different city, away from her family, and while I understand now it's part of her charm, initially, I had a hard time connecting with her.

I really felt for Pepper's character. She didn't have an easy childhood, and she had recently lost the most important person in her life - her Grandma Lou. I could feel her grief through the pages!

All in all, this was a great read, with the perfect amount of slow-burn and pining! While this wasn't my favorite book by the author (The Plus One remains number 1), I definitely recommend!

What a beautiful story about finding the life and partner that works for you. I may need to go buy a flower farm and come right back!

If you want a book with the most perfect spring vibes this is it! I loved that Opal and Pepper had such complementary skills when it came to the flower farm. Opal bought a flower farm for the vibes and without Pepper would have had absolutely no hope of maintaining it. Honestly relatable. I loved seeing them working together and learning to understand one another.

I also loved how this story explored neurodivergence and the different strengths and struggles it can bring. Opal's experience of being neurodivergent is dissimilar to other descriptions I have read and I really appreciated it. I became a reader because I love seeing how people's minds work differently but with how much I read it's unusual that I come across a character who really stands out. Opal is one who does.

If you want a story that is the perfect escapism while also being very grounded in issues and experiences people have then this is the perfect fit! I love reading books about things that sound so incredibly cool, like owning a flower farm, but I would be completely terrible at! I'm over here like maybe I do need a flower farm and my half-dead houseplants are judging me.

🌶️🌶️🌶️ - This one had a few open door spicy scenes. They are fairly descriptive but nothing out of the norm for an adult romcom.

I was so taken in by the elegance and romance of Mazey Eddings latest work, Late Bloomer, that I completely lost track of time. So much so I read it through the night which made me late for work the next day. But zero regrets here. Opal and Pepper's journey to each other combined with there individual character's growth truly opened up an unknown world to me. As someone who does not identify as neurodivergent, I appreciate Eddings' skill at translating that feeling to the reader. I also very much appreciated all the tropes at work on the flower farm. Overwhelming enjoyed!

5/5 Stars 3/5 Spice

Tropes:
Small Town
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Roomates to Lovers
Autism Representation
Opposites Attract
Grumpy x Sunshine

Relationship: FF

I absolutely adored this book. It was so cute & so fun. It had some heavy topics that i thought were handled really well - death & grief & starting over. i loved how opal was so sunshine but dealt with anxiety & people pleasing. it was so relatable & i just felt really seen. her brief mention of her college sexual history also was a nice moment of not shaming someone for their past. this is something that i feel like gets either too heavy or really shame focused & i felt like the author handled this perfectly. i lovedddddd pepper. her grumpy black cat vibes with her directness & the way she melted for opal just killed me. i loved their dynamic & the way opal stood up for herself but also was so giving & loving to pepper. this whole book was a love letter to healthy relationship & flower puns & i loved it.