Regarding the audiobook -
So, I didn't know I was requesting a audiobook when I requested for this book on Netgalley. I thought it was like a normal ebook, I usually only do non-fiction audiobooks because I cannot follow a story in audiobook form. That said I really liked the narrator of this book, like I could really hear the different personalities with the voice changes she did with the different characters.

Regarding the story -
This is the story of Opal who just won the lottery and bought a flower farm without even looking at it. When she finally gets to the farm, she founds Pepper who's been living and working in the farm since she was 17 with her late grandmother. The book had a grumpy-sunshine scenario which I usually don't like but I think hearing Pepper's inner monologue and how she processes things as an autistic person made it much more realistic. I really liked Opal's chapters but that just might be I relate to her whole heartedly. In the end, I thought this was a really cute book and would definitely recommend it.

A cozy romance full of emotion and healing - loved it and can't wait to read what Mazey Eddings writes next!

3.75/5 stars rounded up.

This book was nothing groundbreaking, but super cute nonetheless.

I loved the flower farm setting and the neurodivergence representation through both our main characters. The romance was also super wholesome and made me awwww out loud on multiple occasions.

Overall, an adorable read perfect for this time of the year.

🩷On Wednesdays We Post Pink 🩷

@mazeyeddings is one of my autobuy authors. Swipe to see me and my bestie!

She writes the perfect combination of funny banter, spicy romance and neurodivergent rep. Late Bloomer is no exception.

Tender hearted Opal wins the lotto and buys a failing flower farm in North Carolina. When she gets there she finds a grumpy yet gorgeous Pepper who thinks she is the rightful owner of the farm. You see where this is going!

I love how sweet and kind Opal is even though it leads to those closest to her taking advantage. It warm my heart to see how Pepper warmed up to Opal. Grumpy sunshine is my jam. If you’re looking for a sexy, sapphic, opposites-attract romance be sure to check out Late Bloomer!

Thank you @macmillan.audio and @stmartinspress for the ALC!

3.5 rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s press for the eARC and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this title in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to me for pre-ordering the book to get a beautiful art inlay (*soon*).

Favorite line: My love for you exists because you exist.

NGL. My heart skipped a beat when I heard that line while listening to the audiobook.

Late Bloomer is a sapphic romance featuring two neurodiverse leads. Opal gets the chance of a lifetime when she wins the lottery. Due to her chaotic nature, it’s no surprise that she impulsively spends it by buying a flower farm in Asheville, NC off of Facebook Marketplace.

When she arrives at the Thistle and Bloom, she is met by a feral flower farmer - who happens to be the recently deceased owner’s pseudo-grandchild, Pepper. And also the perfect grump to Opal’s sunshine.

In an unlikely forced proximity situation, they work together toward a common goal but also end up finding themselves in each other.

Mazey Eddings is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors. Her characters are always charming and endearing, her banter is fresh and funny, and the spicy is always just enough.

This book checked all of the boxes for me, but somehow didn’t capture me the way I would have expected. It took me a really long time to finish reading/listening. The audiobook was well done, which is probably what kept me engaged enough to finish it. The narrator was able to give each character a distinct voice, and I was impressed.

It could also just have been the time of year I read this. I’m end of year teacher dead inside, and maybe I needed something that didn’t feel raw or vulnerable.

TW: parental abandonment, gaslighting by friends and lovers, death of a loved one off page

3.5/5 stars

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!

SYNOPSIS -- Opal is thrilled to quit her minimum wage job after unexpectedly winning the lottery, but she soon finds out that wealth isn't all it's cracked up to be. Opal has always struggled to say, and having a new stack of cash is making the "takers" in her life pop up tenfold. After deciding she needs to protect herself, she decides this includes starting fresh, and buys a failing flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina. There, she plans to work on her art and give herself the chance at independence she's always wanted. Unfortunately, her plans go instantly awry when she shows up to the farm to find Pepper Boden standing strong on her OWN ownership rights of the farm. In an attempt to solve both of their problems, they agree to co-habitat at the farm until they find a better solution. What they don't know, however, is that this farm is growing more chemistry than it is flowers...

Okay, this book was super cute! It started out super strong and hooked me from the very start! While I lost a little bit of interest towards the middle, it picked back up towards the end as character arcs were completed and the characters continued to grow. The spice was really fun and definitely NOT closed door, so don't read if you prefer that. The emotional connection was really nicely woven into the physical throughout the book, making Pepper and Opal's predicament even more interesting. Speaking of, Pepper and Opal were great main characters. Aspects of this felt a little bit forced to me, though... It kind of felt like they were checking off all of the "representation" boxes in a way that felt slightly disingenuous. However, props to Mazey Eddings for her continued efforts at representing all types of people. I would absolutely rather have semi-forced rep than none at all, and others may feel differently from me on this regard!

Overall, this was a cute book with some great spice and unique and fun main characters. I think the plot could have been a little bit more interesting, but I still enjoyed it!

Flowers are always great, and a romance involving flowers? What's not to love? I think the story was really cute, the narrator was great, and the plot was fluent and not rushed and the two MCs were flawed and real.

“You deserve a life so peaceful it feels deliciously boring.”

Mazey’s ability to capture the beauty and struggles of neurodiversity is unfounded.

From the whimsical nature that is Opal to the guarded walls surrounding Pepper, these two shouldn’t work, but thankfully for us—they do!

I honestly loved how at different points in the story, both Opal and Pepper felt lost—as though their entire lives were being uprooted without their permission. But together they were able to find a new normal, make new goals, and come together in a way that strengthened not only each other, but one another’s dreams.

Hearing about the experience Mazey has had since announcing this book has chilled me to my core. I’m grateful she’s writing books that show every day people. People with daily struggles, neurospicy struggles. People who aren’t always the easiest to get along with if we aren’t willing to hear them out or get to know them. I love that she writes about all forms of sexuality as though it’s NORMAL, because it is and deserves to be included in beautiful stories without it having to be nit-picked or highlighted as anything outside of the norm.

If you haven’t picked up a Mazey book yet, do yourself a favor and get them all. She has adult romcoms, new adult romance, and even a young adult story that’s easily one of my favorites. I promise it’s worth it to grab them all.

Also, the narrators did a phenomenal job with LATE BLOOMER. I was sucked into this flower-filled world right alongside Opal and Pepper, and I didn't want to be anywhere else.

Tropes:
- Sapphic romance
- Bi representation
- Forced proximity
- Opposites attract
- Grumpy/sunshine
- Autism representation
- Neurodiverse representation
- Grief + healing
- Found family

I absolutely adore everything Mazey Eddings and this book was no exception - I loved it! Opal and Pepper, opposites attract.. c'mon! LOVE. The narrator did a fabulous job differentiating between the two characters. If you're looking for a small town, enemies to lovers, sapphic, neurospicy, with a heartwarming, unique story..this one is for you!

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ALC!

Ok lots of thoughts here. This is overall a really cute and sweet story! I love that they live/work on a flower farm! It’s such a beautiful visual! I also like the idea behind Opal and Pepper’s romance and how they each get the opportunity to stand up for each other! It was so satisfying!

I have a few complaints though… Opal is kinda the worst 😅 she knows that Pepper is neurodivergent but gets consistently upset when Pepper gets overstimulated or takes a bit to adjust to situations. She’s just so inconsiderate of Pepper. And honestly these two had HORRIBLE communication. They didn’t ever resolve their conflicts, just kinda move past it. Major side eye there.

Opal should honestly be bald for how often she bleaches and dyes her hair (and don’t be fooled by the cover, she looks like that for like 2.6 seconds)

This whole book also reminded me of those house hunters memes “I paint shoes for a living and I own a flower farm and our budget is a gazillion dollars” 🤣 and then we find out that Pepper’s middle name is Ann? Like all the 90s kids are now triggered 💀

One thing I will say tho, is that the author wrote Pepper’s grief SO WELL. The way Pepper remembered her grandma’s smell and how it took time before she could go into her room was so accurate and relatable.

Overall, this was okay. Nothing to rave about, and I didn’t dislike the story itself. The narrator did a great job!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance listener copy!

I really wanted to like this book, all the ingredients were there but in the end it fell a little flat for me. It started very abruptly with little to no set up of Opal's character and situation, I thought I had accidentally started on chapter 2 for a few minutes. From there the character development got a little better and we got some backstory and perspective but I still felt a little like I was reading the second book in a series.

I would read more books from this author but for me this one was pretty forgettable in terms of plot and characters. While I do appreciate that the ADHD and autism rep in this book is jot something that was written for me in particular as I am no autistic, many of the commentary and descriptions of this became repetitive as the book progressed.

Thank you NetGalley + the publisher for this arc! I was initially very excited to read a sweet little sapphic romcom and to be fair, this technically has all of the best elements. We've got forced proximity, sapphic yearning, etc, but something was just...missing? For me. While I absolutely did not hate this book, it was just very much *okay* - for me, at least! Would be willing to try other works by the author, but this one just wasn't my fave.

You’ll fall in love with Opal and Pepper as they come together in the most unconventional way with an equally unconventional love story. Opposites attract is taken to a new level in this beautiful blooming romance.
At each turn and new obstacle, Opal and Pepper are there for each other in unexpected ways. This one stuck with me for weeks after, and still comes to mind whenever I see beautiful florals.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, especially in the audiobook format. This narrator did a great job distinguishing between the characters using her vocal inflection and tone, and added a lot of emotion to the character's voices. The plot itself was interesting and well-thought out, and I enjoyed Pepper and all of the side characters immensely. My biggest issue with the book was probably the main character, Opal, came off as slightly shrill and irritating in the first few chapters. Once the secondary characters and main setting were introduced however, I was totally on board. This is a lovely story about love blossoming in unexpected places!

Late Bloomer is a wlw small town romance that is beautifully written and wholesome. The story follows one of the female main characters who wins the lottery and discovers who her real friends are. She takes a big step for herself and becomes involved in another woman's life. Together, they create something beautiful. This book is a feel-good read that everyone should experience. The way the author portrays the characters and their relationships is heartwarming and uplifting. The small town setting adds to the charm of the story, making it a delightful and enjoyable read. Overall, Late Bloomer is a heartwarming and uplifting story that is beautifully written and will leave you feeling good.

Lush, vibrant, and intense, just like the beautiful flowers on Pepper's farm I was pleasantly surprised and refreshed with how authentic and vivid these characters were! This is a charming, steamy tale of two sapphic women finding unbelievable chemistry and then love in a fun strangers-to-lovers setup. I was extra happy to see fantastic autistic lesbian representation, and in the main characters no less! Autistic women so rarely get to be depicted as desirable or sexy, and we are, it's almost never in a believable character like Pepper. This book became and instant classic for me. I can't wait to read more from this author!

This one was so cute!!! I loved everything about it!! i loved Opal and Pepper so much! I thought they where both such complex characters on their own but worked so well together and I loved how they helped each other heal. We have opal who has never felt like enough and always giving her best to everyone even though they don’t give it back just hoping for acceptance and love from someone. (And hello I sooo related to this one especially as a girl in her early 20s!!!!) I found a lot of similarities between my self and opal! That’s when opal wins big off a scratch ticket and finds her self as the owner of a flower farm. But when she gets there she finds it’s not all what she thought it was, and pepper who grown up on the farm with her grandma Lou was there and she was not happy to see opals arrival. Pepper had her issues such as Autism and parental issues and I really enjoyed her journey and character as well, I really felt for her so many times. I loved the tension between the two too, it was done so well!!! The spicy scenes where definitely spicing to!!! I also loved the setting of this one with the flower farm and I want to move there my self and be their 3rd LOL (jk kinda 😅) I listened to the audiobook for this one and I thought the narration was done really well, it was the same person for both characters but I think she did the different voices well if I missed the first of the chapter of them telling me who it was I had no problem telling them apart! Once again Mazey has nailed it out of the park with her new release!

I very much love the level of attention sapphic romances are getting in recent years and this was a perfectly pleasant and enjoyable read/listen. I don’t think this will be one I think about forever which is how I usually judge my feelings on a book but it’s one I enjoyed as I went through it. The characters and plot and writing style were decent just maybe not as memorable as other books I’ve read.

I love me a good sapphic romance, and Eddings creates a sweet story with her neurodivergent MCs, Opal and Pepper.

Opal finally catches some wind of good luck when she wins the lottery - but that good luck doesn't last long when she impulsively buys a flower farm near Asheville, only to find the previous owner's granddaughter, Pepper, already living there! Similarly down-on-her-luck Pepper agrees to cohabitating until she can repay Opal back and, therefore, buy back her beloved flower farm.

I have a lot of mixed emotions about Opal and Pepper's story: I appreciate, as always, neurodivergent representation, but I really just could not see the romance between these two. It seems like the emotional connection came out of nowhere, despite the clunky back and forth dialogue. Overall, however, this was an easy and light-hearted read (if a little cringy at times) that I would recommend for some great spice!

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 15% - 2.5 stars for great writing, lovely narrator, great plot premise, well rounded FMCs who were unique from one another, my favorite tropes - but just executed in a way I had to reshelve this book

Took another look at the page as I was trying to make sure I was understanding the plot correctly (spoilers I was not getting it) and realized that I had requested a SMP audiobook on accident and I am currently taking a break from this publisher.

**SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT**
Regardless, just from how the plot started to progress and the introduction of one of the FMCs, Opal, I could just tell I am not the target audience of this book. Be it because of age or just huge personality difference, I just could not find it in me to care at all what Opal was going through and found myself increasingly annoyed with her as each moment passed- she seems sweet enough, and I understand her struggles with self esteem and I liked the raw moments. But her co-dependency and being super aware but still self harming was very triggering and jarring to read and I wanted the moments to pass by faster.

I liked Pepper a lot actually, and wanted to keep going but I just could not deal with each of their internal immediate pining instead of dealing with the very serious, very complicated dilemma that they were apart of. Like Pepper was mostly realistic and seemed like a great character. Opal, however, is just not it.

Opal's lack of consideration to Pepper and Pepper's personal life/the life on the farm immediately gave me the ick and I couldn't get passed the selfishness. I felt like Opal went from the extreme doormat people pleaser (that willfully ignores what is in front of her even tho she knows she is being used and wants to be used anyways) to then bulldozing right over Pepper and her feelings and life and past. She went from one extreme to the next and it is not in me to find out if she ever becomes accountable and treats Pepper better or not.