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thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship
mischievous_monkey's review
4.0
The second read of this book was even more enjoyable than the first.
Having finished Donna Jay's catalog of available books I found myself picking this book up again. When I first read it in 2017, I found a couple of things made me uncomfortable and while one still does (a particular kink) I find that the others are less noticeable and don't detract from the story for me at all now.
This particular story really benefits from the alternating third person point of view and was a good narrative choice by the author. It gave me much needed insight into the characters thought process and motivations that deepened my sympathies for them.
I am a big fan of the "you do you and I'll do me but let's also do our thing together" type of relationship this story revolves around. It doesn't hurt that there is some pretty steamy sexy times as well. :)
Having finished Donna Jay's catalog of available books I found myself picking this book up again. When I first read it in 2017, I found a couple of things made me uncomfortable and while one still does (a particular kink) I find that the others are less noticeable and don't detract from the story for me at all now.
This particular story really benefits from the alternating third person point of view and was a good narrative choice by the author. It gave me much needed insight into the characters thought process and motivations that deepened my sympathies for them.
I am a big fan of the "you do you and I'll do me but let's also do our thing together" type of relationship this story revolves around. It doesn't hurt that there is some pretty steamy sexy times as well. :)
mxsallybend's review
5.0
A sweet and sexy erotic romance, Finding Love Down Under is a story that soars on the strength of its characters and the sincerity of their relationship. Claire and Zoe are such a wonderful couple - real women with pasts and personalities. They both come into the story with some serious trust issues from their last relationships, and that pain is dealt with honestly and openly. As much as we want them to open their eyes, see what's before them, and dive headlong into love, Donna Jay knows that would be a recipe for disaster.
While the two strangers quickly become fast friends, those trust issues make it difficult for them to admit their feelings for one another, especially when neither is sure the other is even a lesbian. It makes for a slow, sweet tale, but it is one that's a joy to read. Watching these two women get to know one another, come out of their respective shells, and settle into a life together is just wonderful. By the time they are ready to test the waters of love, it is already clear they are meant to be together, and even then they take it slow. Trust issues mean patience and safewords, and both women respect that.
As for those safewords, the story does start out on an exceptionally hot note, with a scene that starts kinky, but which quickly goes dark. In it, we are introduced to Claire and her fiancée, two women who seem to be very much in love, with some kinky ageplay and BDSM tying them together. Claire likes to play mommy to her brat, tying her up, spanking her, and verbally dominating her. Amy has a secret, however, and the only thing more painful than Claire's discovery of that secret is Amy's nonchalant disregard of her concerns, and her refusal to acknowledge the betrayal. While we don't find out her story until later, Zoe's own kinky, BDSM-fueled relationship was torn apart by a similar betrayal of trust, with an arrogant, possessive lover who refused to see acknowledge how deeply she wounded her submissive.
Love of any kind requires trust, but the love between a dominant and her submissive requires absolute trust. It does not come easily, as is tested by interference by past lovers, but that just makes their happily-ever-after that much sweeter. The sex, when it does come, is hot and kinky, but also tasteful and lusciously detailed. By keeping the characters at the forefront, Donna Jay does femdom erotica just as well as she does lesbian romance. Even if you're just bi-curious or an erotic voyeur, you will come out of Finding Love Down Under wanting what Claire and Zoe have.
As reviewed by Sally at Bending the Bookshelf
While the two strangers quickly become fast friends, those trust issues make it difficult for them to admit their feelings for one another, especially when neither is sure the other is even a lesbian. It makes for a slow, sweet tale, but it is one that's a joy to read. Watching these two women get to know one another, come out of their respective shells, and settle into a life together is just wonderful. By the time they are ready to test the waters of love, it is already clear they are meant to be together, and even then they take it slow. Trust issues mean patience and safewords, and both women respect that.
As for those safewords, the story does start out on an exceptionally hot note, with a scene that starts kinky, but which quickly goes dark. In it, we are introduced to Claire and her fiancée, two women who seem to be very much in love, with some kinky ageplay and BDSM tying them together. Claire likes to play mommy to her brat, tying her up, spanking her, and verbally dominating her. Amy has a secret, however, and the only thing more painful than Claire's discovery of that secret is Amy's nonchalant disregard of her concerns, and her refusal to acknowledge the betrayal. While we don't find out her story until later, Zoe's own kinky, BDSM-fueled relationship was torn apart by a similar betrayal of trust, with an arrogant, possessive lover who refused to see acknowledge how deeply she wounded her submissive.
Love of any kind requires trust, but the love between a dominant and her submissive requires absolute trust. It does not come easily, as is tested by interference by past lovers, but that just makes their happily-ever-after that much sweeter. The sex, when it does come, is hot and kinky, but also tasteful and lusciously detailed. By keeping the characters at the forefront, Donna Jay does femdom erotica just as well as she does lesbian romance. Even if you're just bi-curious or an erotic voyeur, you will come out of Finding Love Down Under wanting what Claire and Zoe have.
As reviewed by Sally at Bending the Bookshelf
misthios_pat's review
4.0
It was a pleasant reading and I'm happy they could find their happy ways after going through such woes in their short life. It was relaxing after the first chapters and I liked that although there was attraction, they didn't act on it right out of the bat, giving them time to connect and to trust after what they went through. Insta-lust is cool and all, but a more 'realistic' approach do some wonders too IMHO, even in more.
Now, the whole book was good all right! But I just couldn't let go off me those first chapters, I was expecting some old classical cheating or any other usual shady behind the back thing, not what Claire found and that got me enraged! Then the Zoe thing too, awful doesn't even start describing it. What's wrong with these women and the break of trust? Humpf
Can you imagine being for so long with someone, engaged even, and be backstabbed like that? Or in Zoe's place, my gods! both situations got me itching ngl. I don't think I'd recover without plenty of therapy and I still think that wouldn't be enough.
Now, the whole book was good all right! But I just couldn't let go off me those first chapters, I was expecting some old classical cheating or any other usual shady behind the back thing, not what Claire found and that got me enraged! Then the Zoe thing too, awful doesn't even start describing it. What's wrong with these women and the break of trust? Humpf
Spoiler
I can't get past the Claire thing hahaha, you can delete stuff all you want, anyone can download and reupload shit online, ffs! Then that sort of revenge fuck made me feel like a cat on hot bricks, until it didn't when that bitch opened her mouth. Well, my sympathies that weren't that much already, just vanished. And the cow had the ovaries to come back later? And why did she? Just to get a kick of spoiling Claire's life all over again? I wish the coppers were involved, but then again IRL would I involve them? Would you try to get someone to jail and get even more attention to something you can't never get completely rid of? Quite the conundrum. Zoe's situation is so shit too, isn't that considered a form of assault? Some sort of r***? having your body touched without consent/knowledge... I can only imagine how hard it would be to deal with and the difficulty to prove it, especially in a foreign country, without knowing the legal system.Can you imagine being for so long with someone, engaged even, and be backstabbed like that? Or in Zoe's place, my gods! both situations got me itching ngl. I don't think I'd recover without plenty of therapy and I still think that wouldn't be enough.
kieranl's review
fast-paced
3.0
I didn’t feel like the characters had any depth, but still gotta love Donna Jay.
ink_soul's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
judeinthestars's review
4.0
3.5* – I had liked the interaction between Claire and Zoe so much in A Special Gift, the bonus short story in [b:F is for Five Sapphic Tales|53187300|F is for Five Sapphic Tales|Donna Jay|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1587021738l/53187300._SY75_.jpg|80175784], that I wanted to go back to their origin story, discover how they met and why that blindfold was such a big deal.
Reading an established author’s debut novel after you’ve read some of their later work is often fascinating, as you get to see how their writing has evolved, or not.
Finding Love Down Under is Donna Jay’s first full-length novel, and it starts with a bang. Claire finds out her girlfriend has been filming their sexual encounters and making money from posting the videos on porn sites, taking care of hiding her own face under masks but leaving Claire easily recognizable. Instead of crumbling under the weight of the betrayal, Claire picks herself up and moves on. A year later, she’s the owner of a vineyard. She meets Zoe by chance and, realising the young Canadian needs a job and a place to stay, she takes her under her wing. Both women soon find out they’re attracted to each other and are both into kink. They also both have trust issues to work out.
One of the reasons I love reading so much is that I get to travel. I love that not all anglophone lesfic is written in American English and that sometimes idioms find their way into the dialogue. I love that sense of discovering something new, of shifting a little to the side, not always being on firm ground surrounded by landscapes and people I know. Donna Jay does a great job of keeping the language true to her characters while still making it understandable to those not familiar with New Zealand.
Donna Jay’s writing has definitely evolved since she wrote this novel, which at times feels a little choppy, but her trademarks are already here. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a lot more plot than I expected. It’s complete instalust/instalove, as is often the case in erotic romances. The characters are complex, Zoe is a sweetheart and Claire is kind and careful, there’s mild BDSM and power play, and the recurring themes are trust, communication and, most important to me, always, consent. There’s also a very real romantic element, which makes this story both hot and sweet.
Reading an established author’s debut novel after you’ve read some of their later work is often fascinating, as you get to see how their writing has evolved, or not.
Finding Love Down Under is Donna Jay’s first full-length novel, and it starts with a bang. Claire finds out her girlfriend has been filming their sexual encounters and making money from posting the videos on porn sites, taking care of hiding her own face under masks but leaving Claire easily recognizable. Instead of crumbling under the weight of the betrayal, Claire picks herself up and moves on. A year later, she’s the owner of a vineyard. She meets Zoe by chance and, realising the young Canadian needs a job and a place to stay, she takes her under her wing. Both women soon find out they’re attracted to each other and are both into kink. They also both have trust issues to work out.
One of the reasons I love reading so much is that I get to travel. I love that not all anglophone lesfic is written in American English and that sometimes idioms find their way into the dialogue. I love that sense of discovering something new, of shifting a little to the side, not always being on firm ground surrounded by landscapes and people I know. Donna Jay does a great job of keeping the language true to her characters while still making it understandable to those not familiar with New Zealand.
Donna Jay’s writing has definitely evolved since she wrote this novel, which at times feels a little choppy, but her trademarks are already here. I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a lot more plot than I expected. It’s complete instalust/instalove, as is often the case in erotic romances. The characters are complex, Zoe is a sweetheart and Claire is kind and careful, there’s mild BDSM and power play, and the recurring themes are trust, communication and, most important to me, always, consent. There’s also a very real romantic element, which makes this story both hot and sweet.
elvang's review
3.0
A quick read with an interesting couple coming to terms with past relationships and learning to trust one another. The writing improves as the story unfolds and I found myself turning pages wanting to know if Claire and Zoe would find their HEA.
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