This was my first time readings one of Eddings' books and I was super excited! The premise sounded different and interesting, and I love a good sapphic romance. I just didn't feel that the chemistry was there, but I was still along for the ride. I also really appreciated all the different representation in just one book. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC!

I loved this so much. Super sweet and hot. I adored Opal and Pepper. Their personalities meshed so well together even though they were so different. I loved everything about them and their flower farm.

This book was one i unfortunately couldn't get into. I've hear wonderful things about the author, but this book could not grab my attention at all. Thank you for the opportunity.

To be honest, I have loved the majority of Mazey’s books that I read, and naturally I was anxiously awaiting this one. Unfortunately, I did not finish this book. I had to DNF pretty early on because I was just not vibing with the whole plot line. Perhaps I will revisit it sometime in the future, but I doubt it.

Plot contrived convenience, I loved and hated one of the character’s mother for pushing the two main characters together.
Quotes from published book that I loved.

“I used to stress over finding a label that fit me. Lesbian. Bisexual. Pan. Demi… I’ve filtered through them all. None of them feeling right.” Boy do I heavily relate to this. I needed this discussion because Diksha and Tal reminded them that the way you feel matters more than labels.

I laughed at the Jeff Goldblum reference.

This was a fun time with deep conversations I needed to read in my life. LGBTQIAP+ rep, neurodivergent rep, and mental health rep are forever important to me.

was not able to get into this book at the time it was due to be reviewed and was not able to finish reading. i am grateful to have been given the opportunity to read this book early and have heard nothing but good things about this author.

DNF'd at 36% & I honestly couldn't handle it anymore. I had high hopes for the book, but the main characters were the worst. One of the main characters seem so much like a pick me girl/a people pleaser and I just can't deal with that. I am a tell it how it is type of person, and I don't have much sympathy for people who try to people please or want to be liked and then their life goes all to heck because of it. Frfr, these characters deserve the bad things.

This was a sweet story. I was expecting a little more from the characters but overall it was a pleasant read.

In Late Bloomer, Opal wins the lottery and is quickly approached by everyone for a handout. On a whim she purchases a flower farm on Facebook Marketplace to set up her shoe painting business. But it’s not that easy because Pepper believes the farm was left to her by her grandmother. They agree to a roommate situation while they uncover the true owner and discover if they can both live out their dreams and plant roots.

This was a cozy sapphic romcom with cottage core vibes full of steam, charm, and pop culture references galore. Opal and Pepper’s messiness as they fell in love mfurther endeared them to me. It gave off the same feeling of being enveloped in a soft, fuzzy sweater and was a cute read with low angst.

What you can expect:
🌸 sapphic romance with bi representation
🌸 forced proximity
🌸 cottage core vibes
🌸 neurodivergent rep
🌸 Sunshine x grumpy
🌸 Dealing with trauma and grief

Do yourself a favor and make sure to read the Author’s Note at the end for the increasingly funny potential titles. I also loved the discussion on flower meanings and why certain flowers were used in the book.

I enjoyed Ellie Gossage’s narration and felt there was clear delineation between the main characters.

Though this intrigued me at first it did not keep my attention. Will set it down for now and try again in the future. Still open to trying other books by the author.

A beautiful story about learning who you are in the face of adversity and finding love along the way.

Opal pissed me off in the beginning, I kept yelling “GIRL STAND UP” at my kindle!! I feel like they had the exact same fight numerous times which got a little old after a while, would’ve been nice if the conflict switched up throughout instead of coming back to the same thing.

This was a cute and fluffy sapphic romance with excellent neurodivergent rep, as one has come to expect from Mazey Eddings, and while I appreciate the lighter approach to heavier topics, I struggled to connect with the MCs. Their “no strings attached” relationship seemed to switch to something more with almost no quality dialogue or really anything suggesting that they’ve grown to feel something deeper for one another.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really loved these characters, and I really loved all the symbolism in this book.

I would give the characters 5 stars on their own! I felt like I really knew them, and they were just so well-developed.

The plot and book itself just felt flat for me, but I can see how it would be perfect for so many others! If I was a flower girly, I think this would have been a knockout, but I was just not fully vibing with what this book was.

I would definitely love to read more from this author, this just wasn’t THE one for me.

*Late Bloomer* by Mazey Eddings is a super cute sapphic romcom with plenty of heart. Total opposites Opal and Pepper start off on the wrong foot, but their chemistry is undeniable. The book is light, fun, full of witty banter, and just the right amount of spice.

This was cozy, cute, and lighthearted! A little cliche and predictable? Yes, but sometimes you want something sweet and uncomplicated. Mazey Eddings always does a great job writing well-rounded characters with great chemistry, and this was no exception... I loved the way these characters balanced each other out and how they came to adapt to each other's quirks instead of pressuring each other to change.

FINALLY!! I love a good sapphic book and Late Blommer was amazing. I recommend it to my girlfriend and she also loves it. It was grown and lovely

Super cute, and heartwarming read! Definitely enjoyed the chemistry between Opal and Pepper. Also loved the neurodivergent representation in this book too!

When most people think of winning the lottery, they think their life is going in a positive direction. They think their life has changed for the better. But for Opal, she feels like her life has been ruined. Immediately, Opal is bombarded with people holding their hand out asking for money and favors, and Opal does not say no. Her relationships with her "friends" has changed to the point she's ready to run. Her job leaves her miserable daily so she quits. Next thing Opal knows, she's buying a flower farm that she finds online and moving states to live in peace to start her dream painting business. When she arrives at the farm, Opal's fresh start is interrupted by a woman claiming that the farm is hers, not Opal's.

This book has a wild setup that I was all in for. I suspended my belief and dived in, ready for Mazey Eddings' typical humor and sweet moments with the characters, Being my fourth book read by Eddings, I was ready to fall in love with yet another set of characters and continue my theory that Eddings is writing all her books in the same world (more on that later!) Unfortunately, this is currently my least favorite of Eddings' books, bumping her YA novel up in the ranking. Despite the writing feeling familiar, the usual shenanigans, complex characters with representation (ADHD, autism, abandonment/neglect issues, grief), and spice that I expect from Eddings being included, I did not feel the same connection and emotional investment in the characters or the story. I was not itching to read this in one sitting or tabbing every line. Instead, I was cringing, even rolling my eyes at some points, and ready to move onto another book. I was left feeling underwhelming and wondering what was missing.

Remember when I said I had a theory that some authors write their series set in the same world but don't always announce them to be companion or spin-off series? Well, Mazey Eddings is a fan of Taylor Swift and many Swift fans know, she's one for Easter eggs and hints. So, it would not surprise me if Mazey did the same. Sure enough, there is some dialogue between the characters about a certain bakery (Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake) that confirmed my theories and I squealed, immediately highlighting the section. Now if I could get all her characters in the same room...

What a sweet sapphic romance. I love unique locations with book, and this one takes place in the Appalachian Mountains of Asheville, NC. Asheville is a place I've always wanted to visit (and I love when books let me "travel" to new places). And as someone who wants to know more about flowers, this one was also interesting. I love Opal and Pepper's characters and I truly love it when characters seem to grow with one another during the course of a book!