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Please note: I am not generally a romance fan, so that definitely impacts my feelings on this book! This was cute and fun, but just not for me. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it; several parts gave me a laugh, and I found the ending satisfying both in terms of the romance and individual character growth. The steamy parts were not at all cringey, though some of the banter and humor was. I had a hard time suspending disbelief over Opal's sweetness and finally just decided to roll with it. There was pretty much instant attraction between Opal and Pepper, so bear that in mind if you have other preferences for romance. Originally my other issue was the power dynamics between the main characters, particularly in terms of money, but this does eventually get addressed. I greatly appreciated the representation of autism and neurodivergence and recognized some of myself/loved ones in the characters. A good choice if you are in the mood for something sweet with a healthy dose of silliness and emotional exploration.

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Mazey Eddings has become an auto-buy author for me. I love the way she writes neurodivergent characters and the way they feel so real. This book is no exception.

I thought the premise was very fun and quirky while also hitting on some big feelings such as grief and imposter syndrome.

Opal and Pepper both shined on their own as main characters, but really brought out the best in each other when they were together.

My only complaint is that I feel like the ending was a bit rushed. A lot happens in the last 10-15% and seeing as how the book isn't super long to begin with I just felt like maybe a little more could have been added.

Overall, I would highly recommend this one and I really hope that it will become a new series with each of Opal's sisters also getting their HEA.

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Late Bloomer was an enjoyable sapphic romance following Opal and Pepper. This was a lighthearted book set on a flower farm. Overall, I liked this book and rated it 3.5 stars.

I enjoyed the grumpy/sunshine trope. The setting was so beautiful - flowers! There was a sweet author note at the end of this book, discussing what each flower represented in the story. A really lovely touch!

Although this book bordered on a little <i>too</i> sweet and clichรฉ, I still enjoyed this book for what it was: a sweet, flowery romance. I wish there was a bit more tension between Opal and Pepper, but I still enjoyed the spice/romance.

The audiobook was well done. It was an easy listen, which I enjoyed while taking walks. I recommend this book to someone who needs a palate cleanser or a low-conflict romance. There was a little depth, such as discussions around setting boundaries and grief which did help drive the story. There was also autism and ADHD representation.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an audio-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

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Edited 3/6 as I received the audio ALC for this book (Thank you NetGalley!) and here this portion of the review is for the audio only.

Originally I was bummed to see that this book which is dual POV only had one narrator but I couldn't have been more wrong. Ellie Gossage does a masterful job switching between the two POVs and the voices are so perfect you believe completely that it's two people. So well done.

I read this book on a e-ARC back in January and I couldn't stop myself from requesting the audio ALC. I'm so glad I did. It was absolutely perfect, just like this book. <3

Original Review:

"๐…*๐œ๐ค ๐š๐ง๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š๐ง๐ ๐š๐ง๐ฒ๐จ๐ง๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฆ๐š๐๐ž ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐š๐ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž. ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ž ๐š ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž๐Ÿ๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ญ ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ž๐ฅ๐ฌ ๐๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐œ๐ข๐จ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐›๐จ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ . ๐€ ๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ง๐ง๐ฒ ๐๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ญ๐ข๐ฆ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ€™๐ซ๐ž ๐ฏ๐š๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ž๐ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐ฒ. ๐˜๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ž ๐ข๐ญ ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ.โ€

This is my second book by Mazey Eddings (I read Tilly in Technicolor first - also loved) and I think she's quickly becoming an auto buy author for me. And now we have Sapphic love on a flower farm!! Sign me up.

Opal has ADHD and she's everything! She's impulsive and loud and bright and funny and creative and all self deprocating. She's plagued by being a full blown people pleaser who lets others walk all over her and never stands up for herself. She finds herself winning the lottery when a fair weather friend randomly gives her a scratch off for her birthday.

With the money she decides to buy a flower farm, and there she plans to start a new life, make a business out of her art, and have a happy life.

๐€๐ง๐ ๐ˆ ๐ฐ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐›๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐จ ๐š ๐ ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ค๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ. ๐ˆโ€™๐ฆ ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ž๐Ÿ๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐ฆ๐ฒ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฅ๐Ÿ, ๐ญ๐จ ๐Ÿ๐ข๐ญ ๐ง๐ข๐œ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ง๐ž๐š๐ญ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐›๐จ๐ฑ๐ž๐ฌ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ฌ ๐ˆ ๐š๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ฆ๐ฉ๐ญ ๐ญ๐จ ๐จ๐œ๐œ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฒ. ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ˆโ€™๐ฏ๐ž ๐ž๐ฏ๐ž๐ซ ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐š๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐š๐ฌ ๐›๐ž๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐ . ๐’๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž. ๐€๐ง๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž.

Pepper, Opal's polar opporiste, is autistic and pessimistic and quiet and reserved and orderly and is living in said flower farm when Opal arrives. The farm she grew up in. The farm that should be hers. The farm that is no longer profitable and falling apart.

Opal, never the one to ruffle feathers, agrees to let Pepper stay while they work things out.

Together they enter into a fragile arrangement, and when one of Pepper's friends suggest they enter this flower art competition for money to save the farm Opal jumps at the chance to use her talents and help.

I was struck with how these two opposites learn to work together, and live together, and eventually fall into each other. Opal is our pusher. She craves people's approval, so she works overtime to make Pepper like her. Pepper is used to her quiet life, and having Opal is like inviting a hurricane into her life and she's drawn to her anyway.

This book is equal parts learning how to navigate a world and communicate with someone completely different than you as well as a book on grief and moving on. It's tender and compassionate and beautiful and sexy and reading about these characters that just truly needed each other to be their whole selves was so perfect.

๐€๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญโ€”๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ž๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐›๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ก, ๐ฆ๐ฒ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ ๐Ÿ๐ฅ๐จ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐œ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฎ๐๐ฌ, ๐ก๐ž๐ซ ๐ก๐ž๐š๐ซ๐ญ ๐›๐ž๐š๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐š๐ ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐žโ€”๐ˆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ค ๐ญ๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฒ๐›๐ž, ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐š๐ฒ๐›๐ž, ๐Ž๐ฉ๐š๐ฅโ€™๐ฌ ๐ซ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ. ๐‡๐จ๐ฉ๐ž ๐๐จ๐ž๐ฌ๐งโ€™๐ญ ๐ก๐š๐ฏ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ.

All the stars. I can't wait until this one comes out.

I received this ARC from NetGalley to read and review. All of the statements above are mine.

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This started off pretty rough as I found Opal almost unbearable, but once we got into things on the farm it really grew on me (no pun intended). I found the dynamic between Opal and Pepper very charming and they had great chemistry. Ultimately, this book needs more conflict and angst to elevate it, but it was a quick and fluffy read.

I received and eARC of this audiobook from NetGalley and Macmillan Audio in exchange for my honest review.

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Initial Thoughts
This was good but not my favorite from this author. Pepper and Opal were both very interesting characters and I wanted to see good thing happen in their life. The situation that brought them together was a little odd but I decided to just go with it. I enjoyed watching these two find themselves and each other. I listened to the audiobook and thought that the narrator did a great job with the story.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Full review to be posted soon.

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I loved this book! Obviously, the cover is beautiful, but the read itself is absolutely wonderful! It's a slow burn romance book, with Opal and Pepper being the main characters and I oved them! It's definitely sunshine vs grumpy, with Opal being such a breath of fresh air and Pepper being.. the opposite. But opposites attract in this book! I enjoyed watching their relationship blossom into something beautiful, especially given how they started off with this awkward kind of forced roommates living situation. I appreciate the author adding in queer representation, as well as autistic representation and neurodiversity. Great read, with such a beautiful ending!

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with another wonderful read!

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I need to stop picking up romance books when I know theyโ€™re not for me (I love a sapphic relationship, but I need some more plot/worldbuilding/physical movement that the romance genre simply doesnโ€™t give me).

I would burn down the world for Pepper. She felt very familiar and had such a beautiful vulnerability to her. I loved her conversations around grief, around expectations, and especially around her Autism. I liked that she struggled to put words together and would opt for silence or action over saying the wrong thing.

Opal on the other hand didnโ€™t really stick in my head. I didnโ€™t like her views on money (but I guess any 24 year old who wins the lottery would be kinda the same?) and she was just generally harder for me to follow and understand - in a way that made her feel inconsistent, like she was being warped to fuel Pepperโ€™s story.

I also wish we saw more of the ensemble cast, since they really only have one key scene as a group and a handful of paragraphs individually. It makes both Opal and Pepper seem very isolated.

The audiobook narrator also does a fantastic job of really differentiating between the two characters

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Thank you MacMillan for the audio copy of Late Bloomer from Mazey Eddings. I am a big fan of this author, I love their writing, focus on diverse experiences with neurodivergence (and making neurodivergence part of someone's identity, what makes them special versus a disorder!), and here a strong focus on inclusive queer relationships. Eddings' books always sing with joy even as they dive into the challenges of neurodiversity and mental health struggles; the characters feel real and their experiences capture real world experiences with identity, family, and growing into one's identity.

Late Bloomer is spicy sapphic romance but it's also a story of creativity and identity, of finding out what passions are and how to pursue them, and a story of love and grief and family/found family. I loved Opal's spirit, her openness to taking risks and to making her life and dreams her own; Pepper's journey to process her grief, her past relationship with her mother, and her love for Thistle and Bloom were written with an authentic caring voice. The secondary characters with Opal's loving sisters and Pepper's genuine friends were really well developed too, adding a richness to themes on family and found family that added depth to the story. I have to admit as well that I loved the setting, a flower farm as a business but also a place of creativity and artistry, I really wanted to be there on the farm with Opal's painting and help Pepper care for her blooms.

And a cheer for the excellent voice narration that made the book come to life, I am glad that Opal and Pepper had their own performances to add that depth to the audiobook.

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I wanted to love this book. Sadly, I DNFed it at 47%. I thought it was cheesy, cliche and a bit boring. The writing seemed a touch too YA for my tastes. I'm rating it three stars because, while it wasn't the book for me, it could be the perfect book for someone else.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the E-ARC. And to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

All thoughts and opinions are honest and my own.

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Late Bloomer is a fun romance novel in which you get to watch two people's journey of finding themselves and finding a connection that works for them. By themselves, both Opal and Pepper are very strong women. However, as you peel back the layers you see the reason why they have so many walls up and become who the are. They approach life very differently and learn to adapt to the other person. I love how the author grew these characters. The discovery of their lust for each other didnโ€™t feel forced and I found myself rooting for them the whole book. I like the attention to detail the author did with the flower. Easy to miss if youโ€™re not good at flowers, but fun easter eggs if you know a thing or two about them. I enjoyed this book and would happily put this on my recommendation list for friends.

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Opal, my dear, you probably should have spent some of that money on therapy!!!!

Overall: very cute, sweet romance, fairly realistic neurodivergent rep, likeable but messy main characters. A fun read. Definitely good to shut off any part of your brain with financial literacy while reading.

Grateful to NetGalley and McMillan Audio for early access. The audiobook was read by Ellie Gossage, whose reading I found delightful.

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Iโ€™ve LOVED everything Mazey has ever writtenโ€ฆuntil this one๐Ÿฅฒ which makes me SAD! But also not everything can be a win? This might even be a 2.5โญ๏ธ

I loove the neurodivergent representation she always has (autism, ADHD in this one), I love that she branched out to write a bi/sapphic romance! But unfortunately thatโ€™s where the loves endedโ€ฆ

I often felt bored, the characters were cliched, I couldnโ€™t tell Opal and Pepperโ€™s POVs apart, and I never really cared what was going on so I spaced out a lot๐Ÿซฃ Iโ€™m sorry!! I tried!!

I will still shout my loves for the Brush With Love Series till Iโ€™m blue in the face though!!!

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Mazey Eddings has been an autoread author for me for a long while now - they way she writes neurodivergence has really healed something deep within my brain. I was so so excited to see that this book is sapphic and it lived up to everything I've come to expect from Mazey's writing!

Opal and Pepper's relationship isn't perfect - it's the story of two neurodivergent people getting to know each other and figuring out how to communicate and how to show up for the other person. Their relationship felt incredibly realistic which honestly is something I love to see in books. Just because it isn't immediately easy, doesn't mean that the relationship is any less valid or swoony. There are so many quotes and sections that I highlighted because they are just SO GOOD

I found myself relating so much to Opal - her ADHD, willingness to do anything for her friends (even when they aren't very good friends), crassness, really just all of her! I loved Pepper too but wasn't relating to her much until she talked about her queerness and labels, which felt very similar to my own experience/feelings.

Read this for:
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Neurodivergence (ADHD & Autism)
- Opposites attract
- "Let's bang it out to get it out of our systems"
- Truly lovely and supportive friend group
- unapologetic queerness

I really liked the audiobook and the narration by Ellie Gossage was excellent.

Also this book has easter eggs for both Tilly in Technicolor and Lizzie Blake's Best Mistake! I also feel like the Princess Bride reference in this book is just for me (it's definitely not).

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily

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Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for this audio arc!

Late Bloomer follows two very different girls as their whole lives are turned upside down.
Opal is really down on her luck, until she wins the lottery. Desperate to escape her circumstances, she ends up buying a flower farm. This is going to be the perfect new start! However, when she shows up Pepper is there.

Pepper has been living on her grandma's floral farm for years now, and she recently passed. Pepper just assumed that she would get the property. But when pink haired and wild Opal shows up with the deed stating that she owns the property, it becomes apparent that her life is NOT going the way that she expected.

This was one of my most anticipated books for 2024 and it did not disappoint! I wasn't even aware that Mazey Eddings writes Neurodiverse characters. This was sapphic and had ADHD/ASD representation and I loved every single second. I literally laughed out loud and fell in love with both characters. I HIGHLY recommend this book! Plus the cover is STUNNING!

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Late Bloomer has cemented itself as one of my all-time fave sapphic romances. The neurodivergent and Autistic representation made me feel so seen. I related so much to Pepper in every way, which is so rare for me in reading characters who are on the spectrum. And the fact that the story was set in North Carolina, specifically Asheville, was so fun because I felt like I was in on a little secret since I was able to recognize so many of the references and could picture the setting so easily. Opal and Pepper's story was so sweet and lovely, the way they connected had me kicking my feet and giggling -- I love them so much and I need a hundred more books about them. This book will be one I read and reread for years to come.

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The way Mazey Eddings never misses is amazing. As a 40 year old with ADHD, and all the insecurities that come along with that inside friendships and relationships, feeling constantly like youโ€™re โ€œtoo muchโ€ for that personโ€ฆ. Somehow, when I read Mazeyโ€™s books - I feel deeply scene. Usually moving me to tears at least once.

Late Bloomer was no different. Of course the author drew me to this book first, but the cover also immediately captivated me. Itโ€™s truly gorgeous. This delightful sapphic romance about two neurodivergent women was deeply heartwarming. Itโ€™s a must read for all.

My only note on the beautiful audiobook narration is a pronunciation. The few occasions the Appalachian Mountains are mentioned, itโ€™s pronounced โ€œappaLAYshunโ€. But in North Carolina, we say โ€œAppaLATCHunโ€. It might not seem like much - but it gave me pause both times - since Opal is supposed to be a western North Carolinian. Iโ€™m sure itโ€™s much too late to fix it - but just a note for the future. ;)

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After falling in love with Lizzie Blakeโ€™s Best Mistake I put Mazey Eddingโ€™s on my TO WATCH author radar and was soooo excited to see Late Bloomer and its gorgeous cover cross my path.

Opal and Pepperโ€ฆ the cutest!

When Opal comes across a large sum of money she chooses to follow her dreams with her art and on a whim purchases a flower farmโ€ฆ Pepper works on the farm and it wasnโ€™t brought to her attention that her late aunts property has been sold. So when people pleasing Opal turns up to move in Pepper is taken a back and has no family or place to go. She lives and breaths the flower farm and needs it. So what does Opal do but suggest a way for them to both stay. Opal can create her art and Pepper can continue working on the farm with hopes to purchase it back.

I really enjoyed this one. ๐Ÿ’ฏ out there that Opal wouldnโ€™t be like โ€ฆ ugh this is my place now byeโ€ฆ but then we wouldnโ€™t have a book! The characters have a lot of depth to them Pepper grieving and Opal wanting to be that person Pepper can trust to be there. I loved these two and their connection and how it blossomed over time. Very much opposites attract!

My favorite part in romances are the occupations/hobbies/interests and the flower farm and Opals shoe art stole my heart.

Thank you Macmillan Audio ๐ŸŽง
Releases 4/16

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The narrator did a fabulous job bringing the characters to life. I really enjoyed their voice, it fit the story perfectly in my opinion!

Overall the story was cute. I give it 4 stars. It was a sweet romance book. But I did feel some of it was a bit rushed. There was a disconnect between the middle and the ending of the book. All in all it was an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to this ahead of release in exchange for my honest opinion.

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Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martinโ€™s Griffin for the ARC.

๐ŸŒŸ๐ŸŒŸ๐ŸŒŸ๐ŸŒŸ 4/5 stars

Late Bloomer is another quirky, heartwarming romance from Mazey Eddings. The story follows Opal, a naive, lost artist who wins the lottery and canโ€™t handle how it impacts the people around her. She impulsively buys a flower farm, but when she arrives, she meets Pepperโ€ฆthe rightful owner of the farm. The two come to an agreement that involves them living on the farm together. The two couldnโ€™t be more different, but why is there still chemistry between them?

This was a super cute read. It is full of vibes and romance, as well as lovable characters. There is a full cast of fun characters, so I hope Eddings revisits this world. Ellie Gossage does an excellent job with the narration. I highly recommend the audio format.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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