Rating: 
Summary: WHAT A SENSUAL BOOK
Review: There has never been and probably will never be such a creative and sensual book than what Ritual of Proof is. This book is written so well, it kept my eyes open till the end in more ways than one, even till 5 am in the morning. After I finished I passed out from exhaustion. This is a must read and will definitely change your insight after you read it.
Rating:
Summary: Dara Joy does it again
Review: I really enjoyed this book. A great premise that women are in control and that men are treated as basically second class citizens. I thought it very interesting to base the society on the premise that women from Earth came to another planet/moon and based their society on Regency England taboos and mores. It is expected that women are sexually experienced and will keep pleasurers much like men kept mistresses. However, when it is time for marriage and carrying on the line, Women are now looking for that sheltered virgin male or "veil". A bed-price is paid and now the woman(name-giver) has taken her name-bearer. But wait there is more....the men must prove their virginity in the Ritual of Proof. I won't say anymore, you will have to read about this ritual. Men are expected to look pretty and take care of the children and home while women run the world. Let me sign up:-) However, as most good romances find it does take two to tango and the heroine Green realizes that her mate Jorlan is more than just a pretty face and is, and should be, her partner and equal. It appears that there will be more stories within this society from Dara and I am looking forward to them.
Rating: 
Summary: This is a train wreck!
Review: Here I was browsing happily along the bookstore shelves when I was so excited to discover that Dara Joy had a new book out. And it was a hardcover. I thought this is going to be good. I assumed because Dara wrote it the book would be worth buying without finding out much about it beforehand. I was wrong!Enter a society where men are submissive and women are dominant. Not your typical romance and while the idea seems interesting when it comes down to it aside from the originality of the storyline it's not all that enjoyable. The characters are poorly developed and I never grew to care about them. Jorlan is interesting in a male victim type of way, Green is another story. She is just as unlikable at the end as she is in the beginning of the story. The sex is great as only Dara can do but the romance is a bust. I never felt that Green was geniunely loved or cared about Jorlan. I never liked or cared about her. I hope that Dara turns her attention to the MOD series or gives us another adventure into the world of Tyber and Zanita. This book left things open for a sequel but it's one that I am going to try and forget. The only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of one is because the sex was good but it doesn't make up for the lack of everything else.
Rating:
Summary: Beneath the surface....
Review: Ritual of Proof, on the surface, creates a complex world where gender roles are switched. Males are "fastened" to the females and in the high society the lead character, Green Tamryn, lives in, the males must be pure to be fastened. Females are the leaders of the society, males are protected. Green Tamryn chooses to fasten Jorlan, against his will. Their meeting, her wooing of Jorlan and the consequent battle of wills has the common Dara Joy sensual threads throughout. But, what will keep me coming back again and again to read this book are the themes that are developed underneath the masks the main characters show to their world. The characters are multi-layered, and the layers are revealed slowly and perfectly throughout the book. ....and the layers themselves are complex and interwoven. This is a book that has depth. Not in her usual manner but incorporating the best romantic, sensual touches of her previous works with a brand new world to explore!
Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended!
Review: DARA JOY, You owe me one sleepless night. I stayed up late reading Ritual of Proof cause once i started reading, i couldn't put it down. I admit i was a bit apprehensive about reading a book where the men are submissive and the women are the aggressive ones but Dara Joy has created another world where the characters come alive and a world you'll want to read about again and again (hint-sequel?). Green Tamryn is the perfect heroine, strong and passionate. Jorlan is everything but submissive. When Green found out that the evil Claudine wanted to fasten Jorlan to her, she knew she had to save him from her. Green and Jorlan ended up with each other and started to have a passionate relationship. But Claudine won't rest until she has Jorlan for herself specially after she found out about Jorlan's secret. I think i better stop here before i divulge too much of the plot. ROP is highly recommended. I guarantee you won't be dissapointed. The love scenes are very sensual and erotic. And who can forget the ending? It will blow you away, who would have guessed that our fearless heroine Green is actually the ..................(sorry, you just have to find out for yourself)!
Rating: 
Summary: different but intriguing
Review: Dara Joy has really written a different type of romance. The heroine is 34 and the hero is 24(and a virgin),in a world where the woman rule. A flipflop from the usual romances. I read the book straight through and enjoyed it like I have all her other books. The only reason I rated it a 4 instead of 5 is Dara used so many made up words, expressions, ect, that it detracted from the story. In fact she needed a glossary for them all. When she finally stopped peppering every page with them and got down to the story it was great. I'm hoping she writes some more on this world as she introduced a couple of characters that deserve their own stories and if so I'll buy those as well
Rating:
Summary: THE BEST OF THE BEST
Review: I'll admit it, I'm on a mini-rant here but as a lover of fantasy, paranormal, and sci-fi romance, I need to say this Dara Joy's Ritual of Proof is quite simply a phenomenal read. I can't think of another author out there that gets us so moved (one way or the other) as Ms. Joy and for that I thank her from the bottom of my heart. I am so sick to death of the same stories done again and again -sometimes by the same authors. There are so many subtle nuances to this story that my mind boggled at the complexity and I wondered HOW she had actually written it! Joy is very definetly presenting historical romance to us in a whole new light-there is no doubt that everything she did in this book was very very carefully thought out. Even though the traditional roles are reversed here, the hero Jorlan is NOT submissive as some people who have not yet read the book are surmising-he is a TRUE hero, and as the story goes on, he emerges as a real alpha hero, strong in the way he is able to maintain his fight and his love. I fell head over heels for him. The heroine Green is a wonderful heroine. She rises above the values her own society. I loved her strength and courage. I loved the way she allowed Jorlan to grow. I loved her ability to see past her society's predjudice. This woman does NOT act by our standards, she reacts within the standards of her own society, yet manages to find a different way. I am so glad Joy did not take the easy way out and compromise Green's character or this story to make it more acceptable to formula values. Dara Joy stayed true to her story throughout, and in turn, stayed true to us readers. I salute her for that. Joy did not want us to applaud this world. This is a place based on many things-Regency time period, alien influences, and power run amok with privelege gone mad-take all that and evolve it over a thousand or so years and you get this marvelously intricate society. I've already told all my friends to buy this book. If nothing else as a message to publishers that we do WANT new and different stories and we aren't afraid to buy them. We've been saying we want something different and fresh. One person had the courage to do it. I say we all should run down and show the publishers that we want more than the secret baby cowboy baby seal baby typical book. Only an author of the caliber of Dara Joy would take such a risk with a publisher and with her first hardcover too. She could have played it safe. I say she gave us the chance we've been screaming for for years. I am sure publishers and distributors and stores are looking to see how this book does and if you are like me and a lover of DIFFERENT creative stories now is the time to show your support. Believe me, the chance might not arrive again. ON top of that this is a brilliant work which DESERVES it.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST BUY!
Review: This book is the best I've read in a long, long time. Joy has created a remarkable world and an even more remarkable story. The roles are reversed here, women rule the world and men are expected to stay home and rear the children but if you think this is a simple gender bender-think again. Joy has so many twists and turns in this one, it is impossible to predict what will happen, just as it is impossible to put down. You will find yourself turning 'just one more page' as I did all night long until the very end. The hero is super sexy. The heroine is someone to admire. The story will leave you gasping for more! more! more! I pray she does River's story.
Rating:
Summary: ROP is a MASTERPIECE
Review: Quite simply put, this book was breathtaking in its originality, cleverness, and execution. I was stunned at the way she created this world-so complete to the tiniest of details, that this incredible place could not be overlooked. It drew me in so completely, I did not put the book down until I finished it and then I wanted more. It was obvious to me that she set up this world as a mirror image to a 'man's world' on purpose to illustrate the imbalence in BOTH worlds-ours and thiers. This is not an ordinary romance in any way-it may not even be a romance in the strictest sense, but very clever parody. I believe we are supossed to feel ucomfortable with this world-Dara indicates throughout the book in subtle and not so subtle ways that this is not a commendable society. I hope she has something else in mind with this world-at least I hope so. This was the best book I've read in years and I really think it will stand out in the future as a classic.
Rating:
Summary: RITUAL. OF PROOF is AWESOME
Review: I got the book yesterday, stayed up all night to read it (couldn't put it down) and when I finished the book all I could think was the book was one of the most incredible stories I have ever read. The characters pulled me into this book so much that I felt I knew them as real people. She has been an inspiration to me and I hope that one day I can move people the way her books move me.
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