Late Bloomer
ARC Review
Synopsis
Opal wins the lottery and chooses to leave her home town, buying Thistle and Bloom, a flower farm in the Appalachian mountains. However, she arrives to find Pepper lives on the farm and is the caretaker for the flowers. Opal isn’t one to push and the farm is big enough for two people, suggesting they both live on the farm. Pepper can care for the flowers and Opal can focus on her art.
Pepper is Neurodivergent, hates change and has been through a lot. She is the daughter of a scam artist and the granddaughter of late grandma Lou, her mentor and founder of Thistle and Bloom. Opal, on the other hand, is our sunshine with pink hair. She can be a pushover and is down for anything.
While the two are very different, they both have a secret crush on each other.
My Opinion
This was a slow-burn, Sapphic love story that made me giggle and even cry at times. I enjoyed the lessons the characters learned along the way. There were a few times when the book felt a bit slow and felt “wordy,” but I loved the ending.
Perfect amount of spice, slow burn, grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract, small town love.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin for the opportunity to read and review this book for an honest review.
Rating
4.5 Stars; Very good book, shelf-worthy. I have already recommended this book to my book friends.
3 spicy pepper emojis; semi-descriptive sex scenes.
