Another delightful read from Mazey Eddings! I really enjoyed Opal and Pepper, also the people pleaser in Opal really spoke to me, and watching there story play out. Will-they won't-they has got to be one of the best tropes out there and Mazey Eddings does it so well. I look forward to reading whatever she does next.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

*Late Bloomer* by Mazey Eddings offers a heartfelt exploration of love, self-discovery, and personal growth. The story follows a woman navigating her late-blooming romantic journey, offering moments of charm and vulnerability. Eddings’ writing is warm, and the characters are relatable, with well-crafted dialogue and authentic emotions. However, the plot can feel predictable at times, and the pacing slows in the middle, making it harder to stay fully engaged. While the book has plenty of sweet, tender moments, it doesn't break new ground in the romance genre. It's a pleasant read, but lacks the depth to leave a lasting impression.

I love Maizey Eddings normally but I could not get with these vibes. I just felt the characters were not good. I don’t mind characters who aren’t likeable but it just didn’t work for me. I might try again in the future but now it’s a dnf.

This particular Mazey Eddings book was more my kind of book than one or two others of hers that I've tried. I was really happy to reading a F/F romance about characters that don't fit into a typical box. I enjoy the way she portrays neurodiverse characters, too. Overall, an enjoyable read.

I am a big Mazey Eddings fan and yet again, this book delivers with a heartfelt celebration of personal growth with well-developed characters, witty dialogue, and opposites attract sapphic romance. I loved that this story is set on a flower farm in Asheville, NC! What a delightful backdrop for a lighthearted plot filled with queer and neurodivergent representation.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

More Like 3 and ½ Stars ✨

I really liked this. I don't know what took me so long to get to it.
A huge thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Griffin for my advanced copy of Late Bloomer.

I love Mazey Eddings. I will always read and recommend her books. She is amazing.
I listened to this book on audio and the narration was fantastic. The story was very easy to follow and I had no problem multitasking.

I really loved Opal as a character and Pepper slowly grew on me. They were a great couple and I was rooting for them while reading this book.
There was a good bit of steam which I appreciated.

This just wasn't my favorite Mazey book and I can't put my finger on exactly why.
As much as I wanted these characters together nothing really made me swoon.

I look forward to Mazey's next release. It is already added to my TBR

I was not able to read past the first chapter. Mazey Eddings' writing style was simply not appealing to me. The storyline and dialogue seemed clunky and forced, and a sarcastic reference to mental illness seemed honestly a bit lazy in regards to effort towards creativity and originality. I could not finish this book. Since I didn't actually read it, and it does currently have a modest average review rating of 3.7 stars, I went ahead and ranked it 2 stars instead of 1 star because perhaps the storyline and writing style would have grown on me if I was willing to spend more time reading further than the first chapter. NOTE: I received a free digital ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Such a cute sapphic romance following a woman who decides to spontaneously buy a farm and the grumpy woman who is still living there. They start up a begrudging partnership and of course fall in love.

Sigh. Swoon. Grin like a loon. Just some of the things this book made me do!

I love Mazey Edding's writing and Late Bloomer was no exception. This is a sweet sapphic romance that made my heart feel all the feels. Mazey writes fantastic banter between her characters and Opal and Pepper's is *chef's kiss*. And as always with Mazey, there is also great neurodivergent representation.

Forced proximity is one of my favorite romance tropes and it's done well in Late Bloomer, complete with a beautiful flower farm in Asheville, one of my favorite towns. What an idyllic setting. Family dynamics are also abound, with Opal's sisters and Pepper's mother being focal points in the book's conflict. Late Bloomer's powerful main characters navigate things together though and and fall head over heels in the process.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. And thank you to @macmillan.audio for a free download of the audiobook.

A Sweet and Whimsical Romance

Late Bloomer is a charming and heartwarming romantic comedy that celebrates individuality and the power of love. Opal, a quirky and endearing protagonist, navigates the complexities of love and friendship with humor and grace.

The author's lighthearted tone and relatable characters make for an enjoyable read. The romance between Opal and Pepper is sweet and believable, and their chemistry is palpable. While the fast-paced nature of the relationship may not appeal to all readers, it adds a sense of youthful energy and excitement to the story.

The book's focus on neurodivergent representation is commendable, and the author handles the topic with sensitivity and understanding.

The audiobook narration for Late Bloomer is excellent. The narrator skillfully brings the characters to life, capturing their unique voices and personalities. This enhances the listening experience and makes the story even more enjoyable.

Overall, Late Bloomer is a delightful and feel-good read that is perfect for those seeking a lighthearted and romantic escape.

4 stars

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #stmartinspress #macmillianaudio #latebloomer #mazeyeddings

amazing book. mazey outdid herself on every single book. thank you for this book ! you are amazing and I am very obssesed with this
sapphic >

This book had all the classics. Forced proximity, enemies to lovers, grump and sunshine, but with a queer twist and also flowers. What more could you ask for. I loved reading this book, i loved the characters and I loved the warm fuzzies it left me with.

I went into reading this book with a positive heart, but a skeptical mind. I have read two other books by this author, one in which I was pleasantly surprised that I liked so much, and the other was not my favorite. I even met her at a book signing last year, so I was trying to go into this book with positive juju. Unfortunately, this book did not live up to my expectations. Opal is surrounded by shitty "friends" and when she hits the jackpot on a scratcher ticket (like the lottery) she decides to buy a flower farm in North Carolina, sight unseen. She responds to a Facebook ad about the farm and agrees to meet up with the seller in person. Please tell me why there were no real estate agents involved in this transaction? to be honest, I feel like she deserved what she got. I don't care if you are first time home buyer, you use a real estate agent. Whatever. Her stupidity drove me crazy from the beginning, and her interactions with Pepper were not helping. I had to DNF this book because I was so annoyed with all of the characters. If you like this author's other works, then you will probably like this book, but it missed the mark for me, probably because I was on the fence about this author's writing and themes.

Mazey writes in her dedication “This one I wrote for me” but this also feels very much like a love letter written for neurodivergent sapphic babes.

I fell in love with Opal immediately and Pepper not long after that. Pepper’s friends and Opal’s sisters are also fantastic.

There’s some heavier stuff in here… grief from a loved one’s passing, toxic parenting, a really shitty (non) best friend & boyfriend, trauma related to trying to fit into a neurotypical world. But it’s very well balanced out by the humor and heat in the book. I’m never going to not laugh at the line “every garden needs a hoe”.

I started this in ebook but switched over to audio. Ellie Gossage’s narration is fantastic. The way she so distinctly voices all the characters sometimes made me forget there was only one person narrating.

**I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I wish there was more to this story than lesbians and flowers but unfortunately there was not. Everything that seemed exciting about the plot like the real estate dispute, the flower competition, how to fund a bankrupt flower farm, etc, fizzled out before it got anywhere. Also, I am fairly certain this is not how real estate law works, like, at all. I still have hope for this author to deliver a better story but this was not it.

This book did not hit as hard as I wanted. I loved the idea of two queer and neurodivergent women. However, it felt like the author didn't have a good grasp on one of the characters which made it hard to get into. Also, the villains were villains to be villains. yuck.

Checkout our podcast episode where I share my full opinion.

What Did I Just Read? the podcast - "Pride Reads! - Late Bloomer by Mazey Edding & The Prospects by KT Hoffman"
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-did-i-just-read/id1688795567?i=1000660728436

I liked Opal and Pepper. Opal could have kicked Pepper out because was technically the owner of the farm. I liked the way they were able to come up with a comprise that benefited them both.

Even though I liked Opal and Pepper, I didn’t really believe the romance part of the story. At times, it seemed forced simply because they were in the house together. the chemistry didn’t come across really well for me. I just needed more between them.

3.5 stars

<i>Late Bloomer</i> is a romance set on a flower farm. After Opal wins the lottery, she buys the farm from a lady. Unbeknownst to her, Pepper lives on said farm and wasn't aware of the sale. They strike up a deal and something more...

This book was enjoyable. I was really into it at the beginning, but the ending fell flat. I thought Opal was a bit of a caricature of the quirky heroine (she paints shoes for a living lmao). On the other hand, I felt like Pepper had more depth as a character. She had issues outside of her relationship with Opal that were explored throughout the whole novel, which I liked. There was definitively sexual tension between the leads, but I did not fully believe the romance was there, which made part of the ending a bit egregious to me. Despite the pretty lengthy romance book, I just wish we got more time of the leads spending time together, maybe outside of the farm.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this author's work and might check out some of her backlog. I would not mind having this on my bookshelf. Long live sapphics!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins's Press for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

NetGalley ARC Educator 550974


A slow building does to lovers story. With the beautiful Asheville, NC as the backdrop and a lottery winner with a big heart, what can go wrong? Opal and Pepper have to learn to work together or lose the farm. A sweet read for a dreary day.

Themes: LGBTQ, neurodivergence and autism.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for providing me this Digital Advanced Readers Copy of the book!