Late Bloomer was such a cute, fun, sapphic romance that I absolutely adored. The front cover if gorgeous *heart eyes*
The two protagonists of this novel, Opal and Pepper, find themselves in a forced proximity situation, an opposites attract romance that keeps things cheesy and wholesome in the best kinda way.
Honestly such a feel-good read and I'm always on the look out for a good sapphic/ queer romance story!

thank you to Headline via NetGalley for a digital arc

I can’t quite pin down why but I just didn’t love this. I found their relationship a little rushed, maybe more tell than show on their connection and I ended up just a little bored. I think the characters were good and you could see their individual growth. It felt like a book I could’ve loved but ultimately it just fell a little flat for me.

I did not finish this book.

The plot felt really forced and unnatural, but not in a fun way. I also found both main characters infuriating - neither were ever reasonable at any point.

I haven't posted this review as I feel others might enjoy. It was just not for me

I read Brush With Love, but this boo I enjoyed so much more. I loved the plot how Opal bought the flower farm which Pepper was living on and they both had to make the best out of a terrible situation.

This one is for the plant and flower girlies which I’m not because allergies. I found the characters, Opal and Pepper, to be super endearing and sweet and I loved how their neurodivergence was portrayed. The romance was super cute although maybe a little too quick but I liked it nonetheless. 3.75⭐️

3.75⭐️

This was a lovely and cosy read that has been on my tbr for a while and definitely didn’t disappoint! This is a sapphic romance with an interesting forced proximity trope. When Opal wins the lottery, she buys a farm on facebook, only to turn up and find out the farm already has a resident, Pepper, who is unaware of the sale. The two come to an agreement to live together for the next year and slowly fall in love. The neurodivergent rep was great and so was the character development of both Opal and Pepper. It is sometimes a little difficult to figure out/remember whose pov you’re reading but not too much of an issue. This was a fun, cosy queer romcom that was the right amount of steamy and charming, definitely worth the read!

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Thank you to Netgalley and Mazzy Eddings for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley UK and the publisher for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for a review.

4 ⭐

I think ME's storytelling is only improving. I have really enjoyed each of the books she has released in the past few years and Pepper and Opal's story was no different. I always really enjoy this author's approach to writing neurodivergent characters because it's always been really clear that it's authentic and well thought out, which makes it wonderfully relatable as a nd reader.

A wonderful part of the love story is how Pepper and Opal finally find people who understand them. Pepper has Grandma Lou and Diksha, and Opal is welcomed into that and is eventually able to reject the shitty friends who have been stringing her along.

It was fun, flirty and a really enjoyable read.

Late Bloomer succeeds in its writing with good neurodivergent representation and its use the sunshine versus grumpy trope. The vibes were cute and cosy, and the story was light and simple, which made for an easy read, allowing me to finish it in one day.
What stopped me from rating this higher was the fact that the jump from a no-strings-attached arrangement to declarations of love was slightly rushed and the characterisation of Opal did not feel consistent between the POVs.
I would recommend Late Bloomer to anyone who is looking for a low-stakes, cosy, wholesome, Sapphic romance and to someone who doesn't mind a few Taylor Swift references sprinkled throughout.

This is a cutesy girly lighthearted romance. Unfortunately it wasn’t for me. The writing was trying too hard considering it’s just a light romance. Long winded flowery descriptions. The romance was cute but that was it. I guess if you want a light quick read you might enjoy it but wasn’t for me.

Opal buys a flower farm, sight unseen, and when she gets there, she finds Pepper, who has been working on the farm for years, but Pepper’s mother has sold it without her knowing.

This story is wonderful and so very Mazey Eddings, but the beginning was really hard to read. Opal is a people pleaser - her vulnerability and gullibility made me really uncomfortable and I had to make myself read on. Persevere, people, because things quickly fall into place and it’s those trusting aspects of Opal’s character that enable her to try and give the flower farm a go and make space for Pepper.

It’s low angst, forced proximity, steamy and fun. There’s neurodiversity, bisexual representation, inexperience, communication and consent, and it all fits together so beautifully.

I’ve loved all of Mazey’s books, especially The Plus One. This has a different feel, but once again it’s an immersive world with such likeable and believable characters. Opal’s sisters are brilliant, they know her so well and there’s no major villain, although Pepper’s mother is a piece of work and Pepper is carrying some past trauma. There’s growth for both of them as they navigate a future on the farm and I was so invested in them getting together and making it work.

This book is aesthetically gorgeous. The cover, the flowers, the imagery, even the tenderness between Opal and Pepper feel so very lush. There’s few hard edges, hardly any masculinity - toxic or otherwise - and this feminine energy washes through the whole delicious romance. Great fun!

Thank you so much NetGalley, Headline and Mazey Eddings for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

This was a really cute and sweet sapphic small town romance and I really adore the cover!

It was the right level of lighthearted and dramatic and the characters felt believable. I much preferred Peppee to Opal,I think I’d find Opal annoying in real life but they worked well together.

Would recommend, it’s not setting the world on fire but it is a solid romance,

Oh my students are going to love this! Two string female leads, who support and challenge each other but are also comfortable being vulnerable too. Add in this swoon-worthy rom com setting and you have a truly enjoyable read.

This is officially my favourite Mazey Eddings book! What an amazing story - I’m obsessed!

I loved Opal and Pepper so much!! The way they were so open and vulnerable with each other was adorable.

I genuinely can’t recommend it enough! This is such a cute, fluffy read; conflict is minimal and when it did happen, Opal and Pepper tried her best to talk things through, which I really appreciate.

** Slight Spoiler Warnings**

I have mixed feelings about this one! I liked the set-up and the flower farm as a setting and it made for a unique forced cohabitation set-up. The romance was cute and the sex scenes were well written but my favourite part had to be the way both women's neurodivergence was represented. Eddings did a pretty good job of representing two different shades of a similar neurodivergence and the way those differences caused both synergy and friction in the relationship. Pepper and Opal were a very sweet couple but I'm just not sure I connected with them AS much as I could've and I think this comes down to the number one weakness of this book. The cringe. Particularly in the beginning, Opal was just.... a bit too cringe for me in the beginning, which kind of soured my entry into this story (though this does improve throughout the book).

It's kind of hard to review because I can acknowledge that Opal's naivety and impulsiveness could be put down to her (undiagnosed or treated) neurodivergence... but at the same time, it feels infantilising to assume that her dumbass behaviour is due solely due to this? and like if it IS the cause of her behaviour then like... it's a pretty good sign she probably does need to seek an actual diagnosis and some kind of treatment, since it's definitely not healthy adult behaviour to drop 300k on a FARM sight unseen. That level of impulsivity is dangerous yet this isn't reflected upon (which I wouldn't expect from a stock standard romance) but this book makes a point of being very focused on their mental health so like..... why not reflect more on this? ESPECIALLY when Opal admits that while the idea of her being ADHD or Autistic was floated by a councillor in high school, she never got an actual diagnosis because of how expensive the testing is. But like, she now has 100k left of her winnings that she could use a small chunk of to GET that diagnosis and some help. We see that Pepper has some great strategies to help her regulate so it would've been cool for Opal to see that and be positively influenced by it and seek some assistance. I am NOT saying she needed medicating but even just seeing her learning coping strategies so that she can live a less chaotic life would have been nice.

Especially since I think it would have been really powerful commentary about how the world is pretty much set up to disadvantage neurodivergent people and that proper help requires HUGE amounts of money which makes it inaccessible to most - particularly in the US. Opal's self-worth is shattered due to a lifetime of thinking she ruins everything and no one likes her etc all because she's trying to win a game that's rigged against her.

So yeah while I did love the way the neurodivergence was represented and wound through the story, I do think there was a bit of a missed opportunity here.

But all in all, this is a cute, heartfelt romance that has a lot of originality and I think it's a really fantastic example of the richness and freshness that can be injected into a genre when we uplift diverse stories. This makes for a nice change in a genre like romance which is currently overflowing with TikTok books telling the same three stories over and over again.

Thank you to Netgally and Headline Eternal for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Late Bloomer is a cute romance, there's a lot I liked about it. The cover is beautiful, the autistic and neurodivergent representation was wonderfully done and I liked how the writer explored the grief plotline.

I think it needed more plot and more depth overall though, the plot meanders around and doesn't have a clear direction. Even after finishing the book I still don't know <i>why</i> Pepper and Opal liked each other. They just sort of fall together by circumstance and are attracted to each other, I don't feel like they got to know each other and I don't really know them either.

I recieved an eARC in echange for my honest opinion. Thank you Netgalley,
Headline Eternal and Mazey Eddings for this oportunity. All opinions are my own.

Basic data:
- Contemporary FF romance
- Double POV. First person. Single timeline.
- Standalone (At lest at the moment I read it)

Tropes/Hooks:
- Sapphic romance
- Forced proximity
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Opposites attract
- Neurodivergence representation
- Grief representation

My opinion:
- Generally speaking I enjoyed the book, but I didn't feel obsessed with the story or the characters. The book is well written and reads fast.
- I loved the flower farm setting of this book, I don't think I read anything like that before. I especially love flower glossary at the end.
- The book was pretty much character driven and not much had happened plotwise, even though there were some subplots related to family relations and flower farm managment. Generally speaking this book is on a slow pace side.
- It's a low angst, low conflict, feel good read, so if this is something you are looking for this one is for you.
- The premise of how Opal came into owenship of the farm and that Pepper just kept staying there seems kind of unreal, but since it's a book I am willing to overlook it.
- I loved both Opal and Pepper, their relahionship and the spice was definetly spicing. It's very heartwarming how Opal and Pepper were protective of each other and were helping each other. I also loved secondary characters like Opal's sisters and Pepper's frineds. It's true that for the majority of the book it's just Opal and Pepper, but when secondary characters appear they do it in the best way possible.
- In my personal opnion (without me being an expert on the topic) the representation of grieve and neurodivergency was well done.
- Opal starts as a people pleaser and it's nice to see how she starts to love and value herself. Pepper's jouney to overcome the grief is also an interesting one to follow.

I am a bit conflicted, because whilst I loved this book overall, I found both characters so irritating, it was difficult for me fully enjoy it.

Don't get me wrong, both Opal and Pepper grew on me eventually, and I found them endearing - but still so incredibly aggravating.

Opal starts off a total pushover, with no backbone. It's hinted that she's actually selfless and generous, but at what cost? I found it sad, rather than sweet.

Then Opal suddenly turned into this confident sex Goddess, completely out of the blue, giving me whiplash.

What I can't fault is the chemistry and spice, because that was all amazing, with multiple explicit scenes. I loved Opal and Pepper as a couple, with the whole opposites attract vibe.

I didn't like the confusing and pointless arguments coming out of nowhere, but they were always resolved fairly quickly. Just when I was getting very frustrated, things would turn around nicely.

There was also a lot of insight into both character's neurodiversity, but I found the constant inner monologues a little exhausting and a little too much at times.

I absolutely loved the flower farm setting, but the plot was a little weak, because we barely got to see any of the prep for the competition, and it was all over so quickly.

Pepper was also dealing with the loss of her grandma, and overcoming grief, and that was handled beautifully.

Overall, this is definitely a smoking hot queer romance, I just wish the plot was developed a little more, and for some reason I just could not bring myself to fully like these characters.

I can’t even begin to articulate the pure joy I felt reading Pepper and Opal’s story. The sincerity, character depth and setting (I absolutely adored the flower farm) were just a few of my favourite aspects of this story.

This is my first read by Mazey Eddings and I am eager to go back and read her prior stories as well as silently praying for more Sapphic romances from her and for Opal’s sisters to have their own books too.

Read if you enjoy:
🌸 Sapphic Romance
🌺 Grumpy v Sunshine
🌸 Forced Proximity
🌺 Small Town Setting (Flower Farm)

Favourite quotes:

𝑴𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒔𝒕. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔𝒏'𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒊𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒕𝒐.

𝑴𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕; 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒚.

𝑶𝒑𝒂𝒍'𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒚 𝒗𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒔.

Thank you NetGalley and Headline for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.25⭑

Tropes;
- grumpy x sunshine
- roommates with benefits
- small town romance
- sapphic romance
- neurodivergent rep
- dual POV

Late Bloomer follows Opal, who has just won the lottery and decides to quit her boring job and buy a flower farm. Upon arrival at her new farm, she discovers that she has been scammed and someone already owns it. Pepper is the grumpy flower farm resident who worked there with her late gran.

Opal and Pepper decide to try and make things work for the two of them by being roommates and getting on with their own lives. But with meddling friends and a forced proximity they decide to try and get their feelings out of their system with a friends with benefits style arrangement.

This was a very cute book. I loved the setting of the flower farm and the spring vibes. I really liked both main characters and enjoyed reading about the friendships with all of the side characters.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the relationship development between main characters and felt like some things were missing in the story. Opal mentions that she creates shoe art on numerous occasions but we never see her do anything like this? I also thought it was odd that we don’t get to see any sort of investigation or justice at the fact that Opal was scammed 300k!!! I mean if I paid someone 300k and learned it was a scam, you’d bet I would look into getting that money back.

Overall, I still liked the book and have always enjoyed Mazey’s work.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an early copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first Mazey Eddings book (it’s just respectful to start with the gayest one okay) and now all the others are staring at me from the tbr shelves upon which they perch, desperate to be read and loved at some point. And yeah it’s gonna be soon for the rest cause oh my word I loved this!!!

If there is a single bean alive on this earth that doesn’t want to find themselves suddenly thrust into a sapphic romance on a flower farm, are they okay? There is no better scenario I could possibly imagine

Also it’s technically roommates to lovers which I’m unhealthily obsessed with. I mean the whole scenario was perfection - let’s just live together even though we don’t know each other but one of us definitely owns this flower farm so we should both be here to totally not fall for each other!

Basically Pepper and Opal stole my crusty greying heart and returned it to me shiny and actually working. I loved these two.

I loved Opal’s hair disasters, I loved Pepper just being Pepper, I loved every one of Pepper’s friends and Opal’s sisters.
The spicy chapters were outrageously delicious, but it was the many emotional ones that had me wiping away the tears and probably ultimately ruining my kindle which is apparently not waterproof

I could picture the end flower instalment so vividly, and I don’t think I’ve ever not physically seen something before that was so beautiful 🥰

My big sapphic heart is full good day