Reviews with content warning for Toxic relationship - Late Bloomer

I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed Mazey’s work, when this book was announced and I saw that it was a sapphic read, I instantly pre-ordered it. This book was so sweet and adorable.

This book has two points of view. The first is Opal Devlin. She has just won the lottery. And it has ruined her life. She is quitting her dead-end job where she’d earned minimum wage and even less respect, she is bombarded by people knocking at her door for a handout the second they found out her bank account was overflowing with cash, and Opal can’t seem to stop saying yes. With her heart thoroughly abused, Opal decided to protect herself by any means necessary, which to her translates to putting almost all her money to buying a failing flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina to let the flowers live out their plant destiny while she uses the cabin on the property to start her painting business. There is just one flaw in her plan, Pepper Smith isn’t aware that her farm has been sold to this stranger. Pepper is the second point of view, and she states she’s the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom Farms and isn’t moving out. The unlikely pair strike up an agreement of co-habitation and they are butting heads at every turn. Can these opposites both live out their dreams and plant roots? Or will their combustible arguing and growing attraction burn the whole place down?

I will forever love dual POV in romance books and I liked the depiction of grief and autism within this book. I love Pepper’s growth and I just wanted to hug her throughout the book. I love how the relationship grew between Pepper and Opal. I love the Opal’s sister and the friends that Pepper has and how protective they are over Pepper. Unlike some of Mazey’s previous work, this book did have some form of miscommunication, but it was the way it described Pepper’s autism and Opal’s overthinking. I liked that they were both feeling the same thing, but they were both struggling to tell each other. I loved the cameo from Lizzie’s bakery and how they are always getting the vulgar cakes each year for Pepper’s birthday.

There were a few times during the book where even though we knew whose chapter it was from their point of view; they were both similar and the writing was the book that it got confusing at time. It wasn’t like two distinctive voices, it just kind of blended into one during the middle of the book.

I would love another book with Opal’s sisters find their own love stories and to see how Opal and Pepper are doing in a few years and where Pepper went to college and what courses she did and if they ever entered the competition again and if they win.

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kylosten's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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callie_castle's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I was given an ARC of this book and wow, it was such a beautiful, heartwarming book that made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me think, and most importantly…I felt seen.

Pepper is an autistic woman who is hyperfixated on her late Grandma Lou’s flower farm, adorably named Thistle and Bloom. She wants her quiet routine, and she wants to live on her farm in peace…if only she could find Lou’s will.

Opal is an artsy girl who is working a dead end job and feels like she has no future. She has severe ADHD and I understood all of her decisions, I understood why she acted the way she did.

When Opal accidentally wins the lottery and buys the farm Pepper lives on, sapphic chaos ensues. I appreciate that the author played with the useless lesbian trope but they aren’t actually useless lesbians. They’re two neurodivergent girls who communicate and interact with the world in VASTLY different ways.

I very much enjoyed the twist of the U-Haul Lesbian as well. Opal moves in before she’s even met Pepper! It also was a nice way to really highlight just how different neurodivergent people are, and how despite having similar issues, can struggle with communication on a immense level that has severe consequences they can’t stop running into.

I loved seeing myself in these two characters. I loved seeing queer neurodivergent characters that use words like autism and ADHD, and the real implications of not learning ways to work with your abilities instead of against them can cause you a million problems such as Opal’s brush with drugs and struggle with not becoming an alcoholic.

The book is realistic, but it’s still a joyful read. It’s a gay romcom with neurodivergent disaster gays. This book was basically written for me. If you’re a gay/queer neurodivergent who’s been searching for a romcom that features you, you’ve come to the right place.

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drtx_bwt's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

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smleeth93's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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torismazarine's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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heytherekaity's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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battyaboutbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

🦇 Late Bloomer Book Review 🦇

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

❓ #QOTD What's your favorite type of flower? ❓

🦇 Synopsis

💜 Oh. My. (Sappho.) Goddess. You may think you know Mazey Eddings' writing style, but I assure you, you do not. Many of us read The Plus One and/or Tily in Technicolor last year, but let me assure you, Eddings has far exceeded herself with this one. As a neurodiverse author, Eddings' stories often have some element of neurodiversity / mental health, shining a light on the different ways people's brains work while embracing those differences through beautiful, realistic characters. Opal and Pepper are no different, both on the spectrum yet unique in their behaviors and view of the world. These women are not predictable, pre-programmed components of a story; they are ever-blooming, learning how to plant roots alongside one another, share sunlight, and rise despite being different species. Both plants, growing and adapting to different elements, yet very much the same. While Opal and Pepper have always struggled to fit in with the world around them, they manage to cultivate a safe, healthy garden for one another.

💜 This is one of those overwhelming, layered, awe-inspiring sapphic stories that will tug at your heartstrings long after you read it. Eddings' language leaps off the page, making it a little reminiscent of One Last Stop (be still, my little sapphic heart). I've beyond annotated Late Bloomer, when I'm usually selective about choosing quotes. You don't just see love blossom between these two women; you feel it. It made me smile, laugh, get all messy and misty-eyed. As I said, neither woman is predictable. Opal feels directionless at the story's start, allowing her (fake) best friend and (on/off) ex step all over her. I expected her to be the wallflower, especially with the BITE we see from Pepper (pun unintended) in her first chapter, but the two balance each other out. When Pepper feels uncertain or anxious, Opal steps forward, bold and unwavering. When Opal begins to crumble, Pepper holds her up. They support each other, never allowing the other to wilt.

💙 Unfortunately, this book relies heavily on miscommunication. Both women are eager to hide their real feelings at the risk of scaring the other. That lack of communication continues until almost the last chapter,

🦇 Recommended for fans of One Last Stop and Imogen, Obviously. Side note: please, please read the author's note. Good goddess.

✨ The Vibes ✨
🌼 Neurodivergency/Autism Spectrum
🌸 Sapphic Romance
🌷 Grief/Healing
🌹 Forced Proximity
⚡ Spicy/First Time
🪻 Cottage Core Vibes
🪻 One Bed
⚡ Touch Her and You Die
🌹 Dual POV
🌷 Miscommunication
🌸 Flower Competition
🌻 Grumpy/Sunshine

🦇 Major thanks to the author @mazeyeddings and publisher for providing an ARC of this book via Netgalley. 🥰 This does not affect my opinion regarding the book. #LateBloomer

💬 Quotes
❝ I’m constantly trying to define myself, to fit nicely and neatly into the boxes and spaces I attempt to occupy. All I’ve ever really wanted to do was belong. Somewhere. Anywhere. ❞
❝ Slowly, she leans toward me, and my heart pounds so violently in my chest that my head swims. Is she . . . It almost seems like she’s going to press that smile to my mouth. Teach me how it tastes. ❞
❝ I gave up perfection in any other aspect of my life long ago. It’s simply not possible with a brain like mine. But my art is different; it’s the better version of me, the one I wish people could know me by. ❞
❝ Ah. There’s the you I missed. ❞
❝ I used to stress over finding a label that fit me. Lesbian. Bisexual. Pan. Demi . . . I’ve filtered through them all many times over, none ever feeling quite right. Just say queer and move on with your life, Diksha finally told me late one night after what was probably my sixth sexual identity crisis of my early twenties. But what does that mean? I’d wailed, draining more boxed wine into my plastic cup. My brain loves order and labels and concise frameworks to understand things, and not knowing where I fit feels unbearable. It means you’re you, and only you get to decide who you like and when you like them, Tal had said from their chair in the corner. The name of your feelings isn’t anyone’s business but yours. ❞
❝ But instead, she reaches out to me— opening her hand like a flower unfurling its petals to the sun. I stare at it. The ink stains and calluses and chipped nails and bitten cuticles. For a moment, that hand looks like a second chance. ❞
❝ Fuck anything and anyone that made you have to survive instead of live. You deserve a life so peaceful it feels deliciously boring. A life filled with flowers and sunny days and people that show you all the time that you’re valued and worthy. You deserve it all.” ❞
❝ “Her poems spoke softly— as intimately as confessions between lovers—about the terrible, wonderful ache of being in love.” ❞
❝ Messy and radiant and ours. ❞

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