Ritual of Proof

Rating:
Summary: Thru a Mirror
Review: This book is just amazing! I was initially sorry that this wasn't Traed's story in her other series,BUT, then I read it. It takes place on another planet (seem to be earth decendents tho) in a time not unlike Regency England. However the Women are in charge and it's the men who are sold off into marriage and must be virgins. The story is wonderful. The world it is set in amazingly complex and complete. The charachters are fun and new. Actually the whole book has you looking at so very much in a new way. I highly recommend it for its uniqueness, fun, style, but for those who have never read any Dara Joy before it is erotic as are her others but in a lovely way that is actually a part of the plot/story and not just plunked here and there just because it will help sell the book. Enjoy- a guilty pleasure

Rating:
Summary: She's Back!
Review: After getting burned by High Intensity (I really didn't like that book), I was a bit hesitant about Ritual of Proof. But then I remembered how wonderul all of her other books were and decided to bite the bullet. I am so GLAD I did. This book was good from start to finish. The role reversal aspect was wonderful. It was nice seeing men subjugated for a change *smile*. However, the book also made it clear that subjugation is wrong no matter who it happens too. Although women were in charge of that society, they made the same unfair decisions towards men that our own male-dominated society makes toward us females even now. This was a very good point.

I'd recommend reading the book for that point alone, but there is so much more. The chemistry between Green and Jorlan was wonderful (and Jorlan is absolutely to die for!). The love scenes were steamy, and the story was interesting. Dara Joy is definitely back on stride.

Rating:
Summary: Vile . . .so utterly vile . . .
Review: Do I have to give it even one star? Where do I start with how bad this book was? Okay, first the weird language was definitely offputting, the characters were stereotypes, and instead of any kind of feminist vision, in creating her role reversal the author relied on the same old formulaic gender cliches that oppress everyone.

Do not waste your time. Life is too short to read bad books. If you are new to Dara Joy, read the Matrix books instead--they are great fun and much more representative of the author's skills. I can't claim that they offer any kind of feminist world view, but then neither does Ritual of Proof.

Rating:
Summary: I was entranced from start to finish!
Review: What a unique, clever book she has written! I picked it up with no prior expectations. I hadn't read this author before but she was reccommended to me by a few friends of mine. I'm not a big romance reader, read mostly sf/fantasy. This is a smart book. Loads of clever, underlying sugestions. The story was crisp enough to keep me turning pages long after I should have been asleep. The characters/role reversal grabbed me and kept me throughout. The sex scenes were no chopped liver either. The best thing about this novel, for me, were the satirical elements. Ms. Joy invites us to smile along with her as she takes a jab at Regency romance. I'd compare her most favourably with my favorite fantasy writers, Anne McCaffrey and Stephen R. Donaldson. She's a very good writer. Anyone who can come up with a popular dish called "tasteslikerooster" (in a female dominated society!) certainly gets my buck! Great sense of humor. I'll be checking for her books from now on.

Rating:
Summary: I loved this book, I love this author!
Review: Dara, you've done it again. I love your work. I only wish you could write faster or I could read slower. I read your books as soon as I get them. I even stay up all night and then suffer the next day at work!

I was hoping that this book would be Traed's story or possibly another book about Rejar, but when i got into this book I wasn't too disapointed that it wasn't. I am hoping that this book will also have several sequels, hint, hint!

This is a sci-fi romance that has a major twist to it. The planet is ruled by women! Yes I said women. I loved it. The women are the strong sex and the men the weaker sex. The women are the leaders, the soliders, the landowners, etc. The men are expected to stay virgins until the wedding and they are the ones who take care of the kids and deal with the household duties. I was a bit odd to see such a powerful hero, Jorlan, being submissive and acting like a virgin, but it made the book exciting and thrilling. Green, the heroine is a powerful leader who decides to claim Jorlan. Jorlan tries to resist this because he has dreams where men are equal to women, boy does that sound familiar? Hummmm. Anyway after he realizes what passion he feels for Green and that she only wants his best interest at heart he becomes more comfortable with his life with Green.

During all this Green has a enemy who is trying to take Jorlan away from her and will do anything in her power to hurt Green and her people. Claudine tries to break them apart or at least break Green. Green and Jorlan must learn to trust each other and depend upon each other in order to defeat their common enemy.

The love scenes in this book are so beautifully written that they do not overpower the story at all but add to it. There is a lot of Dara's trademark sense of humor and she has developed a truly unique new language. I especially liked the word" rut-bid" Now I can say what it means and no one will be the wiser.

The secondary characters bring the story together and make it gel. I believe there are many new stories that Dara can get out of them.

Get this book and every other Dara Joy book you can find. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Great Satire!
Review: As a romantic science fiction novel, this book is terrible. Why would any intellegent beings want to base their society on Regency England?! Regency England was a time and place of dangerous social unrest. The 10,000 or so "Haves" did alright while the millions of "Have Nots" were barely surviving. The rest of the so called science was laughable and the romance was tepid at best.

However, as a satire of Regency Romance novels, "Ritual of Proof" excells. By taking the plot of a typical, rather boring Regency Romance and switching the genders Ms. Joy has done a fantastic job of showing how absurd these romances are. Looking at the book as a satire, I had two (major) problems with it. 1) The book should have been a short story. After the first 100 pages or so, the book got very, very boring. It was like one of those Saturday Night Live skits that go on and on and on - it was a great idea but once the idea is presented it should end quickly. 2)Ms Joy is making fun of Regency Romances and their readers, but the problem is that the only people who will understand the satire are the ones she is making fun of (people like myself who enjoy reading Regencys). It seems very mean spirited of Ms. Joy to make fun of the very people who support her. She's free to write what she wants but I will no longer buy it (and I recommend that you don't either.)

Rating:
Summary: loved, loved, loved it!
Review: In all of my 37 years of reading romance, I have never read anything like this. I applaud Dara Joy for writing it. It's about time we had a story like this. I have read the reviews on here it and it seems that there are people like me who are raving about this book and others who didn't seem to want to give it a chance. I think that is a real shame. Some people reviewed it solely on the basis that it was not a Matrix book! Unbelievable. Never mind the brilliant work she did here or the incredible creativity involved. One person claimed she had to keep checking the glossary just because it was there and it interrupted her reading! Give me a break. The words were fun and snappy. They really added to the texture of the world. Believe me, they didn't need looking up unless you wanted to as they were so easy to understand. When someone calls a person a "dim bit", c'mon, like you can't figure that out? From what I've read on other boards, most of us want something, anything different. This was a fantastic book with wonderful characters and a do not put down til your finished storyline. I would give it six stars if I could. Even if you don't like it as much as I did, it's worth the price just to see how she did it.

Rating:
Summary: My only regret is Dara Joy can't write as fast as I can read
Review: I am a giant Dara Joy fan. I bought her first book shortly after it was published and was totally captivated. I wait eagerly for each new publication. All I need is to see her name on the cover and I know I will love what's inside. So, I ordered Ritual of Proof long before it was even published and waited impatiently for it. I was hoping this book was Traed's story, so at first I was a tad disappointed. Then I started reading and couldn't stop.

Green is a strong woman in a female dominated society, but her strength is such that she can bend without breaking. I really liked this character because of that fact. She showed the best of what I feel are true female characteristics; strength of will, unwavering loyalty, and the ability to handle every crisis that comes her way. She puts on a show of following society's dictates in the treatment of her name-bearer, but she secretly prizes his strong spirit that urges him to break with the strict rules of how he is supposed to behave. Jorlan is the perfect mate for Green, innocent of the ways of the world, but eager to learn and determined to become more than just a pretty plaything. He wants to be a full partner to his name-giver instead of just the good little "wife" who raises the children and attends parties and other frivolous pursuits that society deems "proper" behavior for males. As the females in Regency and Historical novels, Jorlan comes to his fastening bed a virgin, but quickly learns to explore and revel in his sensuality. An utterly perfect rendition of role reversal in my opinion.

Dara Joy has done it once again. She has to be the most creative writer I have ever read. She has created a world and society that is completely unique with characters that are utterly out of the norm. A story where gender roles are completely reversed? I don't know of any other writer who could do it so creatively and without making it seem the idea is too outrageous to be believable. She does not write the same old tired stories over and over again. Read several books by some of the other popular writers one right after the other sometime and you will see that they seem to only change the names of the characters as they write the same plot over again and again. Dara Joy leads you into her fascinating new world and society slowly until you are so enthralled you can't seem to get enough. Her worlds are like deep and unknown waters. You don't just dive in headfirst. You wade in slowly, testing the waters and getting the feel for the terrain.

I have read the other reviews with complaints of unfinished plots and unanswered questions. If you have read all of Dara Joy's books, you will notice that is a pattern with her. Instead of overwhelming (and possibly boring) you with page after page of tedious explanations, she intrigues you with hints and innuendo and keeps you reading and using your imagination to fill in the details. This is one of the reasons I prize my collection of Dara Joy books so much. Each book is capable of standing on its own, but they also intertwine perfectly together, deepening the characters and society with each new book. Just look at the Matrix of Destiny series everyone is praising so highly. In Knight of a Trillion Stars, I was left asking so many questions about the relationships between the lead characters, the secondary characters, and how they fit into the plot, and the customs of the unique worlds. These questions are gradually being answered, book by book. I'm hoping it will be the same with Ritual of Proof. I see hints of many characters to be developed and deepened (River needs a story to explain the depth of his character that was hinted at, and maybe even one about Claudine's daughter to help us understand the rivalry between Green and the She-Lord, or how about a prequel about Jorlan's parents to explain how and why he is a sensitive). I can't wait for the sequel(s)!

Rating:
Summary: Unusual Storyline; Intriguing
Review: From the reviews, you can tell this is a book you either love or hate - for many reason. I usually read Historical or Regency novels so this fantasy was outside my normal realm of experience. I loved the storyline - it was so different and intriguing. Even if you appreciate Alpha males, this was not a let down. Jorlan Reynard had enough spirit that sometimes he took the lead, even against [his] society's conventions. And Green was a wonderfully honorable woman. Both main characters had many superb qualities that I enjoyed discovering. The love scenes were sensual.

In an effort not to spoil the story for you, I will just say Dara Joy paints an amazing portrait of a different world and different way of life. It was topsy-turvy from the way life is today, but did not portray the women as "Amazon" which is the way many fantasy novels portray matriarchal societies.

The "special language" was not hard to follow but it was annoying in some instances. Sometimes I lost the trail of the story with all the nature/meaning of life references but all in all this was a wonderful journey of love. I enjoyed taking the journey and highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: If you prefer alpha males do not bother
Review: I did not enjoy this book as I truly prefer alpha males. Even though the man in this book is trying to become more dominant there just wasn't enough testosterone in this book for me. I much prefer Dara Joy's other books.