Mazey Eddings is a writer that I’ve been following for a little while now. Though I didn’t read her entire “A Brush with Love” series, Late Bloomer will be the third book of hers that I read. I couldn’t connect with Lizzie Blake’s Best Mistake, but I really liked Lizzie’s friend Indira, so I read her story, The Plus One, which I liked much better. Opal and Pepper aren’t in Lizzie and Indira’s group of friends, so this is a new chapter, so to speak, but I expect it to feel in the same world—and I’m perfectly okay with that.

Winning the lottery has ruined Opal Devlin’s life. After quitting her dead-end job where she’d earned minimum wage and even less respect, she’s 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 tender heart thoroughly abused, Opal decides to protect herself by any means necessary, which to her translates to putting almost all her new 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.

But her plans for isolation and self-preservation go hopelessly awry when an angry (albeit gorgeous) Pepper Smith is waiting for her at her new farm. Pepper 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 butt-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?

Though I’m giving Late Bloomer four stars, it is definitely my favourite of the three Mazey Eddings books I’ve read. They seem to keep getting better as they are published! This is a dual POV, which I always enjoy, though I will admit that Opal and Pepper were written so similarly that sometimes I had to flip back to remember who was narrating the chapter. But despite that, this is a steamy, sapphic, close-proximity, enemies-to-lovers story that I recommend! (Oh, and there’s a mention of Lizzie’s bakery for any Lizzie Blake fans!)

What didn’t work for me

The thin plot: I really did like this book—a lot. This is why it might be confusing when I say that I felt that the plot was really…lacking. Other than cutting flowers and having lots of sex—with some family/friend dynamics thrown in—not much happens. Time passed quickly (sometimes weeks at a time) and I just felt that there was another event or something that needed to happen. I’m not quite sure. Opal also had these friends at the beginning that come back near the end of the book, but I could have done either without them entirely or for them to be a little more involved.

The lottery: I will say that Eddings doesn’t dwell on the whole lottery thing, but I just think that winning the lottery is such a far-fetched thing to happen that it makes me suspend my disbelief too much. I almost would have preferred if Opal inherited money somehow or just came about it a different way. Their repayment plan for the farm also never made sense—so I kind of just chose to ignore it.

What I liked

The neurodiversity: When I was reviewing Lizzie Blake, I couldn’t relate to her ADHD and I felt like the plot focused a little bit too much on it. A few more books under Edding’s belt, and I think she nails the neurodiversity angle. We definitely don’t forget that Pepper is autistic by the way her POV is written or by the way she reacts, but it isn’t a major point that is constantly driven home, nor is it the only interesting thing about her.

The sex: I don’t think I’ve ever read a sapphic story with this much detail in the steamy scenes. Eddings has always written intimacy well—and that’s no different here. These characters have a lot of good sex, and, quite frankly, there are a lot of pages dedicated to their sex life, but it is well-written and realistic.

Opal’s sisters and Pepper’s friends: Oh how I wish we had more of these people in the book. Opal’s sisters are hilarious and blunt and pretty much exactly how I would imagine two older sisters would be like and Pepper’s friends (especially Dikta) were so much fun to spend time with. One of my favourite scenes was Pepper’s birthday—it should have lasted a whole weekend!

4 STARS

“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.” —Mazey Eddings, Late Bloomer

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advanced book copy in exchange for my honest review.