I LOVE SAPPHIC ROMANCES AND MAZEY EDDINGS CAN HAVE ALL MY MONEY FOR THEIR FUTURE RELEASES. The chemistry, the romance, the plot everything was amazing. It has been a while since I have loved a romance this much. i would recommend it to everyone who is looking for something exciting which is filled with love

3.5 ⭐️ DNF

I got most of the way through this and read the majority in one-sitting, but since I put it down I’ve had no desire to pick it back up. Sadly, I was loving the vibes & the characters were fun, but I just got a bit bored.

This reader stands with #SpeakUpSMP Review will be published once St. Martin Press meets the demands of the boycott. #FreePalestine

This was an absolute dream to read. Opal is probably one of my favourite characters in a romance novel I've read in a long time. She is the quintessential golden retriever character. She's funny, sweet and I loved the spicy side of her. Pepper was a little harder for me to get on board with, she wasn't my favourite at parts, but I adored the dynamic between the two. The setting of the flower farm was genius, my imagination ran wild whilst envisioning the house. Overall a beautiful read

Opal is stuck in a rut, she keeps going back to her toxic ex and her so called best friend uses her every chance she gets. That stops now, she quite literally won the lottery. She put that money to good use getting a dreamy flower farm where she plans on starting up her business. Maybe the deal was too good to be true, once she gets there she meets Pepper who claims to be the rightful owner of the property. Eventually they strike up an agreement to temporarily cohabitate but that won’t be easy as the pair keeps butting heads and argue at every turn.

An absolutely gorgeous setting, representation, extremely likable characters, and a compelling plot what’s not to love. I’m obsessed!!

There is so much representation built into the story. The main characters are obviously part of the LGBTQ+ community and so are a lot of the side characters as well. You’ve got to love that! Mental health, autism as well as dealing with the loss of a loved one is also brought up. Two young women making their way in the world after a rough patch, that’s empowering and inspiring to read about.

There’s something for everyone emotional scenes, moments to lighten the mood and also quite a lot of spice. To make it even better there’s a dual pov, an amazing friend group, the opposites attract trope and so much more. I also have to mention the cover it’s absolutely gorgeous, easily one of my new favorites.

Can’t recommend it enough, this is a must read I my opinion!

was it a little cringe? yes. was the couple cute? yep! did i enjoy the book? not really.
don’t get me wrong: i’m sure this book will be a hit with lots of people! unfortunately it didn’t work for me and i wasn’t really invested in the main characters to really enjoy the reading experience :(
but it does what it promises: a lighthearted romcom with some spice and cute girls.

a big thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing this arc!

📚 r e v i e w 📚
late bloomer - mazey eddings

you know when you finally found the exact book you’ve been looking for? i found it with late bloomer!
if you’re on the hunt for a sweet, sapphic romance this spring this has to be on your radar. was it a little cliched? was it a little cheesy? yes. but that is just part of its charm!
meet opal, the bookish equivalent of a golden retriever and pepper… the bookish equivalent of one of those pups that look perpetually grumpy but are actually super soft. if the grumpy/sunshine wasn’t enough, we also get forced proximity in the form
of a flower farm opal accidentally buys not realising it’s pepper’s home. what transpires is super sweet, occasionally heart breaking, full of banter and relatable moments. all that and more substance than you would normally expect from a romance - plus it has neurodiversity rep!

if you pick up one romance this spring make it this delightful story! late bloomer is out 16th april. thank you @netgalley for the
early copy!
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#bookworm #bookblogging #bookblogger #fiction #readerlife #readersofinstagram #bibliophile #bibliophilelife #bookstagram #reading #bookstagrammer #booklover #booksbooksbooks #bookreview

‘Late Bloomer’ by Mazey Eddings is a gorgeous romance novel which follows Opal and Pepper as their relationship blooms from a rocky start (I love a good enemies-to-lovers tale and I read in the author’s note that the book was almost called ‘Anemones to Lovers’ which made me giggle!)

At the start of the book, Opal is stuck in a dead-end job which requires her to don a waffle costume, an unfulfilling on-off relationship with selfish Miles, and an unequal friendship with user-extraordinaire Laney. Though she has two amazing sisters who care, she feels lonely and directionless until she wins half a million dollars on a scratchcard and decides to plant the seeds of a new life. Unfortunately when she arrives to move in toaa Thistle and Bloom flower farm with the newly purchased deeds in hand, she meets a woman who is already living there: a stunningly beautiful, totally closed-off woman called Pepper who might just destroy her fresh start… or break her heart.

Opal and Pepper were both layered and loveable characters and I enjoyed the dual POV structure of this book. I appreciated how Pepper’s autism impacted her without defining her and related to Opal’s feelings of not being enough for anyone. Once they opened up to each other, I adored their witty banter and their affirmative, lyrical and sensual dialogue in their intimate scenes.

I also loved:
- Opal’s sisters - the beautifully named Olivia and Ophelia - were unconditionally there for Opal in a truly heartwarming way
- Pepper’s friends - they were supportive superstars and represented what friendship should look like
- All the references to flowers which formed a bright and wonderful collage in my mind
- I want a pair of Opal’s painted shoes!!!

I’m never a huge fan of a third-act break-up and I think the last 15% of the book felt a little rushed, but giving this a solid four stars

I received an advance Digital Review Copy of this book from the publisher Headline Eternal via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Such a cute, queer romance. Opal wins the lottery and uses the opportunity to follow her dreams and spend her money on a failing flower farm in North Carolina. She likes to paint and hopes that she can start her painting business here. Her planned isolation is soon interrupted by the previous owner of the farm, Pepper, and she isnt taking this sale lying down! They cohabitate and what starts as dislike and arguing soon turns to a blooming (!) romance between the two.

Loved the sizzle and fire of this couple. Well done Mazey!

3.25 stars

I've read Mazey's other books and while this one was nice, it wasn't a new favourite. I really loved the flower farm setting, and I liked Pepper and Opal (and their emotional journeys) but I think I needed more scenes of them hanging out, just being friends and doing fun things together (more like the birthday party-esque scenes), to really love the book.

I think you could really love this if you love the books in the Delilah Green/Astrid Parker series.

Thanks so much to Netgalley for an arc to review!

Thank you NetGalley for the E-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute, funny and spicy sapphic read! I loved the neurodivergence representation with Opal and Pepper. I loved the way the author wrote the grief that Pepper experienced throughout this book. I really liked the speed of the romance between Opal and Pepper was going, it took a while for them to realise that they were attracted to each other and then to act on it, that really made me invested in them throughout the story

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Late Bloomer' by Mazey Eddings.

I've read a book written by Mazey Eddings before so when I recieved this ARC I was so excited. Sadly this fell flat for me and I honestly can't work out why. Eddings has such a cool writing style and I really did enjoy the beginning and end of this novel but the middle just kept losing my interest so I can't rate it higher than a 3 due to that.

Queer, neurodivergent women falling in love on a flower farm. I think this book might have been specifically designed just for me.
I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of ‘Late Bloomer’ by Mazey Eddings, one of my most anticipated books of the year by one of my favourite authors. It is a tender, hopeful story that is full of hilarity whilst remaining soft and sentimental. And there is sex in a greenhouse!

The sub-plots about the farm, Pepper’s grief, and Opal’s growing confidence create a complete and absorbing world whilst allowing the romance story to shine. Eddings’s writing is so emotionally strong; I always feel wrapped up in the feelings of each character. On a personal level, I was incredibly moved by Pepper in whom I saw both some of the most difficult and best parts of myself.

The writing is accessible, making the book easy to read, and still absolutely beautiful. I think that some of the references and language will date quite quickly, although I actually really liked how rooted in the 2020s it felt. There is some miscommunication between the protagonists Opal and Pepper - the perfect amount to create tension without being frustrating and leading to utterly exquisite pining that Iadored basking in.

I love the way Mazey Eddings writes neurodivergent characters. Pepper and Opal’s neurodivergences make them at times difficult and annoying but Eddings is clear that they are no less loveable for this. I tend to be quite sceptical and picky about disability representation in romance but ‘Late Bloomer’ portrays the characters’ disabilities as actually disabling them, without making the book About Disability.

It probably goes without saying by this point, but I cannot recommend ‘Late Bloomer’ enough.

I loved the relationship between Opal and Pepper, this made the book so easy and delightful to read overall. Definitely recommended.

3 stars - a cute grumpy/sunshine contemporary romance with Hallmark movie energy.

I've never read a Mazey Eddings book before but I loved her writing style and will definitely check out her other work! Opal and Pepper were both intriguing characters and I enjoyed seeing their different approaches to life and learning about their ways of thinking. The flower farm was a beautiful setting and definitely added to the story.

Although the book is written from both Opal and Pepper's POVs, they felt very similar and were hard to distinguish when reading. I also found many of the side characters were hardly fleshed out at all and didn't feel like real people. I would have liked the romance to be a little slower as it felt quite sudden, and the main conflict stemmed from communication issues, which I find a little frustrating.

Overall a fun, easy romance read - thank you to NetGalley and Headline for the arc!

"Late Bloomer" is a sapphic romance written by Mazey Eddings.

What a lovely read! Light, fun and effervescent, it made me smile, laugh and freak out repeatedly! Between an adorable small town, a hilarious grumpy x sunshine, a tasty forced proximity, and a mind blowing slow burn, I was completely absorbed! The neurodivergent representation of the two protagonists is beautifully portrayed and in addition there is a touch of angst that moved me in some scenes. The captivating and lively writing, the fast and brisk pace, and the presence of short chapters prompted me to devour it in less than a day, without moments of boredom or heaviness, making it difficult for me to tear myself away from the pages. Seriously, I cannot express anything but compliments!

The setting of Thistle and Bloom Farms is stunning! A farm with fields of beautiful flowers, immersed in the quiet of nature, away from everything and everyone! I was fascinated by the beautiful descriptions of this picturesque landscape, which I found extremely cozy!

Opal and Pepper, the two protagonists with their respective first person povs, won me over! They are two complex people, full of doubts and fears, whom I became very fond of! The development of the romance, with the various tropes I mentioned above, fully convinced me. I rooted for them, for the tentative, uncertain steps they take toward each other. Their interactions are tender and sizzling, the chemistry is mind blowing, and the spicy is really tasty! I loved them so much! In addition I also loved the secondary characters, well defined and likeable!

All in all, "Late Bloomer" is an adorable, fun and cozy romance that I really enjoyed!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for approving my request to read an arc of this book


I’m usually a fairly slow reader, but I devoured this book in one day and I enjoyed it so much! It was so lovely to read a book with two neurodivergent characters and such a wonderful cast of queer characters. I loved the set up for their relationship. One sided enemies and forced proximity to friends to lovers, it wasn’t rushed or dragged out, it was paced just right. I loved how Opal and Pepper’s passions for their special interests translated on to paper, I could feel the excitement and happiness as I read along and it just made me so giddy to read about such a supportive and loving relationship

This was such a gorgeous sapphic small-town romance, I absolutely loved it! Opal and Pepper were a breath of fresh air and I really loved the complexities within both of their lives and how they came together to make a life even better for themselves. They couldn't have fit together more perfectly and the chemistry was off the charts. I have never read any of Mazey's previous work, this is my first, and I can now confidently say it won't be my last. Mazey is such a beautiful writer and has a stunning way with words. I couldn't put the book down because of how beautifully descriptive and enchanting every chapter was. I would highly recommend this sweet and endearing read.

I absolutely adored this one! Late Bloomer is such a feel-good sapphic romance where two people come together in the most unlikely way and slowly learn how to lower their walls.

I really admired Opal’s level of self-awareness as she recognised her tendency to be a pushover and easy to manipulate. It was so important and worthwhile to follow Opal as she better learned how to establish better boundaries and make better choices for herself. Pepper was a breath of fresh air and I thoroughly enjoyed her perspective as we witness both her high and low moments in desperation to hold onto her grandmother’s farm. The chemistry between Opal and Pepper was instantaneous and yet, you really feel that their relationship is worked towards. Neither Opal nor Pepper are perfect, but they done the best that they could to maintain an open level of communication and I overall had such a lovely time with this book. The side characters were endearing, particularly Opal’s sisters, and Late Bloomer is filled with a cast of characters you can’t help but want to know and love.

I definitely recommend picking this one up when you can, and a massive thank you to the publisher for the early copy to review.

This was beautifully written and very sweet. I love the cover so so much! Opal and Pepper, my grumpy/sunshine babes, forced to live together on a flower farm, delicious tension! Such a beautiful depiction of grief, too, as Pepper deals with the loss of her grandmother and her relationship with her mother.

The way these two protect each other and push each other to be the best version of themselves was so special to read. I love them!