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mari1532's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Brief Summary: Opal has had a turn of luck and will finally pull the pieces of her life together and pursue her dream of being an artist. While doing some late-night internet surfing, Opal decides that the Thistle and Bloom flower farm is the perfect destination to make all her hopes come to life. Pepper, the current resident of the farm however has other ideas—many, many ideas in fact, but none of them involve Opal. Forced to work together Opal and Pepper begin to learn a great deal about themselves and each other and what they find might be 1000 yellow daiseys worth of joy.
Thoughts: Eddings is an excellent writer. The way that she can elicit such emotion from her characters makes them jump off the page. While I loved both Opal and Pepper, I felt I identified a bit more with Opal. The chaotic way she approaches things and the way she releases stress by changing her hair were both so relatable and articulated feelings that I often experience in a way that makes me feel incredibly seen.
I do wish that there had been a bit more integration of Opal's sisters into the later part of the book. They seem to be a central part of Opal's world and they seem to have drifted off at the end. I'm not sure if it is because of the distance between the farm and where they live in the city or what. Am I hoping that there will be spin-off books for both of them, yes. But I am selfish.
The very last chapters of the book felt a little chaotic. I completely agree with Pepper that some of the villains in the book were exhibiting some serious stalker behaviour. Also, I'm not entirely sure how much time has passed in this book and it seems wild to me that someone hasn't talked to you in months and you think it's cool to just show up out of the blue.
I enjoyed the dynamics between Pepper and her friend group and like Opal's sisters I wished they had more time on the page. Especially since they seemed very invested in Pepper at the start of the book and then seemed to make no real appearances later on.
Overall, I found this an endearing love story between two agents of chaos and it truly shows Eddings for the mastermind that she is. If you enjoy sapphic romances this one will make you swoon.
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
stacy837's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Drug use
arlaubscher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cursing and Emotional abuse
skyfluff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gaslighting
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, and Cursing
trussell12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
fuzzywilson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
vailtoset10's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail