#book: late bloomer

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

[oidheadh-con-culainn]

romance novels love to tell you a character is a late bloomer because they don't meet the love of their life until they're twenty-four

[chloemokthequeen]

The book is finally out!

Here's a line:

Amidst her chant, she mumbles under her breath some noises that sound like self-directed arguments where she can find no answers to as she spirals into a dark pit of trepidation and angst. Her anxieties have never been clinically diagnosed but are plain to see. Her chronic compulsions have blistered her palms and fingers; they are almost always wrinkly from endless washing. In thirty minutes, her chore is complete and she meticulously hangs her clothes piece by piece, flatly on a rack to dry under the sun.

Read it here: https://online.fliphtml5.com/edwlz/fqkb/

[catis15]

My Opinions/Reviews on Saphic Books:

- Bright Falls Trilogy

- All of them are cute and heartwarming and giggle worthy and shit

- It's cool seeing each of the friend groups POVs and they're all pretty relatable in my opinion

- Pretty good representation of various family relationships especially with mothers

- the various relationships are actually really well written but the stories are still very much focused on the romance, they're not sidelined persey but they're not the main focus of that's what your looking for it's very much about the couple

- I like the variety in body types through the series, there's different heights, weights, yada yada and it's nice to see and they're all appreciated

- There aren't any POC MCs but there are side characters, also lots of gender and lgbtqia+ identity representation NB characters, ace characters, lots of queer couples, I think there may be a polycule mentioned but I'm not entirely sure

- Smut? Yes there is, how much varies between book but I'd argue there's more every book with Iris's book having the most; Id also argue it gets intenser as the series continues but it's all pretty mid (not in the it's bad writing way in the I've read far worse but I've also read some relatively pg 13)

DELILAH GREEN

- I love Delilah sm she can fucking step on me and Id ask her to do it again

- It's a sorta an asshole to everyone but you between her and Claire but not in the typical way? Like it's there but it's not written the way a lot of that trope usually is, idk I just really like how these books are written I think the author does a fantastic job

- Delilah seeing Claire for who she is and like just how much emotion she has is just yes, and also Claire seeing Delilah as like a sweet person and not just an asshole is nice too

- Because I know it bothers some people, Claire is a mother and the kid is talked about, I don't mind parent tropes but ik some people just don't enjoy reading them, I thought Ruby was sweet though and Claire seeing how Delilah interacts with her is also really cute

- Delilah also providing that safe and comforting space for artwork for Ruby is also really sweet and seeing Delilah kinda give Ruby what she herself didn't have is wholesome ASF and Claire just appreciates it and shit idk it's cute

- Hating On The Straight White Man TM (because he is gross to Astrid)

- Delilah is a photographer and Claire runs a bookstore

ASTRID PARKER

- It's cool getting to see Astrid's POV compared to how Delilah (her sister) views her

- Mommy Issues TM and in my opinion it catches some of the subtleties of growing up with a toxic parent really well

- Jordans ex comes along so warning for that, ok some people don't really like that

- Also handles like not missing your ex but feeling like YOU failed because the relationship failed

- again the subtleties of so much is just so well written

- Jordan is very stereotypical lesbian and I'm here for it

- her truck is named adora, her cat is named catra (if I'm remembering correctly), she wears random button ups, got that half saved short hair going (funnily enough I myself had both Astrid and Jordans haircuts at various points in my life lmao), she's a carpenter sorta, she's got an attitude, is into taro, like I love her sm 😂 she's so me fr 😭

- enemies to lovers

- Astrid's a bitch and Jordan pretends not to be into it

- they fuck in a pantry

- it's funny

IRIS KELLY

- iris doesn't do kids and marriages and her more or less traditional family is giving her shit for it

- Stevie has anxiety and handles it the same way I handle mine so that was relatable

- handles the shit that goes along with having anxiety really well so props to the author once again

- fake dating tm

- They're basically giving each other 'classes' because they think they're bad at things; but in reality it's just them being comfortable with stuff they're actually pretty good at; Stevie helps Iris be more comfortable with everyday romance and Iris helps Stevie be more comfortable with adult fun time intimacy outside of committed long term relationships

- but at the same time in queer Shakespeare and it's beautiful

- Home Field Advantage

- will add later

- The Song of the Huntress

- Just bought it and haven't read it yet

- The Priory of the Orange Tree

- Just bought it haven't read it

- Late Bloomer

- a few chapters in

- th author notes are funny and enjoyable

- good representation of things like people pleasing, autism, trust issues due to family trauma, bad relationships that you stay in for the comfort, toxic friends

- They're some pretty heavy themes but their handled in an easy to swallow way

- while these are very present themes the main focus is still the romance, but they're handled a bit more in depth than say the Bright Falls Trilogy

[homerjacksons]

- Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

[remindmetoreed]

for one of the book clubs im in, this is our next read and im so excited! shoutout to the library for coming in clutch because i really didn't want to drop $20 on a new book this week

[just-a-girl-who-likes-sharks]

June 2024 books 🩷

I couldn’t read as much this month because of all my many assignments and exams, but since I passed all of my classes, I can spend the whole summer reading when I get home from work!

[justbackgroundnoise]

Currently reading Late Bloomer by Mazy Eddings and wow, this passage really cut deep.

[maureen-corpse]

Okay, to be fair, I have never been to Charlotte proper, but I feel like it’s weird for a fictional character who has by all accounts lived in Charlotte all her life and seemingly traveled to other places in the great state of North Carolina to identify a southern accent as particularly notable. What do you mean this person you’re talking to has a southern accent. You’re in North Carolina. What kind of accent do YOU have.

[zombeesknees]

in the cute sapphic romance i'm currently reading, one of the gals cites The Mummy as her Bi Awakening on the very first page. i'm so glad millennials are flooding the romance market.

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

Super Late Bloomer: My Early Days in Transition by Julia Kaye

goodreads

Instead of a traditional written diary, Julia Kaye has always turned to art as a means of self-reflection. So when she began her gender transition in 2016, she decided to use her popular webcomic, Up and Out, to process her journey and help others with similar struggles realize they weren’t alone. Julia’s poignant, relatable comics honestly depict her personal ups and downs while dealing with the various issues involved in transitioning—from struggling with self-acceptance and challenging societal expectations, to moments of self-love and joy. Super Late Bloomer both educates and inspires, as Julia faces her difficulties head-on and commits to being wholly, authentically who she was always meant to be

Mod opinion: I haven't read this graphic novel yet, but I keep seeing the authors work on tumblr and it sounds interesting!

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

[prose-mortem]

Book Review: Late Bloomer

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Late Bloomer was such a cute book! It satisfied all of my cottagecore, sapphic fantasies from the special interest in flowers to the sprawling farm in Asheville. It was an adorable comfort read straight out of Taylor Swift's folklore music album. One of the characters buys the other character greenhouses… What is more classic than that?

I loved Opal and Pepper's story. I deeply enjoyed the character development alongside the romance. For example, I thought (at first) that Opal was going to be a major pick-me with all the people-pleasing tendencies, but I was completely wrong. As the plot progresses, we see what a strong, smart, and loyal person she is to the people she loves. That was a refreshing arc! Both characters are neurodiverse (though Opal isn't sure what label fits her exactly), which was very relatable to an autistic person like me.

If there is a cozy, comforting (sapphic) version of Gilmore Girls, then this is it. Every detail was spot-on from autistic sensory issues to shoe art to niche special interests. (I loved Opal's fleeting special interest in the Victorian era. I felt seen.) The epilogue was so perfect! I wish I lived in Opal's and Pepper's world! If you like sapphic romance, this will pander directly to your most iconic and cottagecore princess fantasies!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers at St. Martin's Griffin for my e-arc! I hope Mazey Eddings keeps writing sapphic romances, because I will most definitely be reading them all.

[count-vashula]

feeling so gay today I bought over five books featuring queer people/women and blue lipstick. it was a good day.

[glittercorvid]

used to drive me crazy when old ladies would grab my face and go 'you're going to be pretty 20 years from now' bc i was a chubby, pimply, frizzy haired 15 year old who wanted to be attractive right then but now that we're a over halfway there i love that i get better looking with age

[emersonfreepress]

something i noticed but Gabe is kinda the Ditto of the Emerson universe huh? IIRC he wouldn't say no if Heidi approached him, or we can set him up with Jessie, or later he can enter a relationship with us AND/or Kile OR Curt. man's got that main character energy and an air of melancholy about him 🤨

You're right about that, Gabe's a chameleon. Either naturally or strategically, depending on the situation!

I feel like all my main cast characters have protagonist energy (across the board, not just for this game). Like, if I couldn't potentially write a whole spin-off about their life, they aren't main enough to be a love interest! But I also feel that way about a few other characters like Father Gilroy or whole families like the Goodnights.

I think something that brings a character an almost natural sense of depth is knowing that there's a lot going on behind the scenes for them, even if you don't have all the details — both to make them who they are and at whatever stage the story is in. Every RO here has main character energy once you get to know them, it's why I love writing them all so much 🥰🥰🥰