What do you think?
Rate this book
Ritual of Proof
Dara Joy makes her hardcover debut with an extraordinary new novel, one that reexamines the very nature of love and tests the boundaries of romantic fiction. Countless readers have already flocked to her unique, page-turning tales, making Joy a nationally bestselling author. Now, this spectacular writer reaches for even greater heights in Ritual of Proof.
Joy gives us a different look at ourselves, our society, and our expectations in relationships. Ritual of Proof creates a vivid new world; it's a book you will remember long after you've reached its riveting conclusion. This is a dazzling tale of sensual intrigue and power, set in a world where women have all the control...and desirable men fetch staggering bed prices. An elite upper class dictates society's mores, while the vices of its rich, influential She-Lords are politely overlooked.
Set against a sweeping canvas of political conspiracies, the Marquelle Green Tamryn decides to marry...making an alliance with an influential family and consolidating her position among her peers. So she fastens a defiant Jorlan Reynard to her house and to her bed. And so the Ritual of Proof begins...for both of them.
But there are forces conspiring against Green, especially from Claudine D'anbere, her sworn enemy -- a woman who would do anything to destroy her. Soon, Green must summon all of her considerable influence to fight, and in doing so, she does what society deems close to unthinkable -- and turns to Jorlan for help. She is both surprised and overwhelmed by his masterful abilities as both ally and husband, but when the validity of their union is called into question and a series of disasters befalls them, they realize that there is more than their place in society in danger...it's their very lives that are threatened.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2001
75 people are currently reading
845 people want to read
About the author
Dara Joy
30 books304 followersBlazing new trails in experimental fiction is a top priority for Dara Joy. Her novels break all the rules and have captured a huge audience. Her unique works have gone on to receive numerous awards.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews
February 13, 2012
OH. MY. GOD. I just lost a gigantic review that I had written for this book. *sobs*
I will attempt to replicate it, but man alive...I feel like I just got betch-slapped by that shitty girl in the rocking chair. ARRARRRGH!
ANYWAY...my review...
Basically, this book is enjoyable enough and the sexytimes are hawt, but otherwise, it was both farking weirrrrrd and a little yawn-inducing at the same time.
The story and the world, generally.
Set in a matriarchal society on a moon called Forus, this book is basically a Regency-style book, but with gender role reversals. Our virginal hero, Jorlan, is a bluestocking with radical notions of "equal rights for men" and who's almost on the shelf at the ripe old age of 25. Our rakish heroine, Green, is a woman-about-town, a respected stateswoman, and a skilled lover who keeps a pleasurer on the Rue de la Nuit. She's a youthful 34- or 35-years-old, and she's well known for her stance on not settling down with a "name-bearer" any time soon.
However, when she meets Jorlan again after many years, she's dazzled by his wit and drawn to his amazingly firm buttocks (seriously!). She intends to woo him away from his bluestocking notions of spinsterhood. Unfortunately, she comes to hear of a plot that would put Jorlan's future in jeopardy, and so she and Jorlan's grandmother maneuver the moving pieces so that Green and Jorlan enter into a "fastening" (a.k.a. marriage) of convenience before she can even begin wooing him to her side. A majority of the story shows their getting to know each other within this marriage, his introduction to physical pleasures, her learning to be a little more flexible in terms of her expectations from her name-bearer, and their working to rout the efforts of a She-Count (whose name I conveniently kept reading as "She-Cunt" heh heh) who is Green's nemesis and who had previously had designs on having Jorlan for herself.
The Regency aspect and the farking weirrrrrrrrrrrrd/*yawn*-worthy stuff.
So, earlier I mentioned this is a Regency-style book and that's because it basically is. Setting aside the gender role reversals, the world is basically Regency mannerisms and social expectations. The heroine, Green, is a Marquelle (a.k.a. Marquess). There's also a Duchene (a.k.a. Duchess), they socialize in the "Top Slice" (a.k.a. the haut ton), the male virgins are called "come-outs" (a.k.a. debutantes), and so on. You get the picture. Once I caught on to the Regency parallelism, the world didn't seem all that weird, unique, or novel, to be honest. I was just like "yawn...okay, what comes next?"
What came next, though, were some weirrrrrrrrrrrrd things.
Like the fact that there's a male hymen.
Yup, a male hymen.
One thing about the weird stuff, though, is that sometimes I felt like the author just wasn't even trying to write a story. For example, there's an indigenous animal on Forus that is called "tasteslikerooster." I shit you not. That's its name. When I read that, I sort of scoffed/cringed in a baffled "please let that be a joke" way.
Basically, the world is Regency-like and also has weird fauna and flora. It got to the point that there was so much weird-but-not-really-that-weird stuff that I grew a little bored with it all.
The characters, briefly.
I liked the characters in this book. Green was strong and confident, and so was Jorlan, despite his sheltered and protected upbringing. Jorlan, with his bluestocking notions of equality for men, was a bit of a rebel in a matriarchal society. As such, he was suitably alpha enough to be a romance novel hero, regardless of his virginal and untried state. I liked that Green had the confidence to let Jorlan speak his mind and didn't try to break his spirit. They were a good, strong, sexy pairing.
The romance and the sexytimes.
I wish there had been a little more romance to show their interactions and bonding outside of the bedroom. That said, it's possible that, what with Jorlan's unique sensory capabilities, their physical interactions in the bedroom would be the sensible place to show their bonding and falling in love with each other. I can't say more without giving away spoilers. However, suffice to say that the sexytimes in this book are smoooooookin' hawt. Hott hott hotttt. Don't let the fact that Jorlan is a virgin make you think he doesn't have some moves. He's got those moooooOOOoOOOoooooves likeJagger Jorlan. ;) Too good - or bad? - of an opportunity to resist that reference.
Oh, one more thing about the male hymen and the wedding night. It's not SUPER spoilery, but I'll hide it anyway...
Overall...
Entertaining enough, but the Dara Joy crazies didn't quite take it to the level I'd expected. The closing scene of the book seemed to come out of nowhere, too, so that ended it on a kinda weird note. That said, I enjoyed it well enough, and the sexytimes were gratifyingly pervy for my exacting tastes. ;)
I will attempt to replicate it, but man alive...I feel like I just got betch-slapped by that shitty girl in the rocking chair. ARRARRRGH!
ANYWAY...my review...
Basically, this book is enjoyable enough and the sexytimes are hawt, but otherwise, it was both farking weirrrrrd and a little yawn-inducing at the same time.
The story and the world, generally.
Set in a matriarchal society on a moon called Forus, this book is basically a Regency-style book, but with gender role reversals. Our virginal hero, Jorlan, is a bluestocking with radical notions of "equal rights for men" and who's almost on the shelf at the ripe old age of 25. Our rakish heroine, Green, is a woman-about-town, a respected stateswoman, and a skilled lover who keeps a pleasurer on the Rue de la Nuit. She's a youthful 34- or 35-years-old, and she's well known for her stance on not settling down with a "name-bearer" any time soon.
However, when she meets Jorlan again after many years, she's dazzled by his wit and drawn to his amazingly firm buttocks (seriously!). She intends to woo him away from his bluestocking notions of spinsterhood. Unfortunately, she comes to hear of a plot that would put Jorlan's future in jeopardy, and so she and Jorlan's grandmother maneuver the moving pieces so that Green and Jorlan enter into a "fastening" (a.k.a. marriage) of convenience before she can even begin wooing him to her side. A majority of the story shows their getting to know each other within this marriage, his introduction to physical pleasures, her learning to be a little more flexible in terms of her expectations from her name-bearer, and their working to rout the efforts of a She-Count (whose name I conveniently kept reading as "She-Cunt" heh heh) who is Green's nemesis and who had previously had designs on having Jorlan for herself.
The Regency aspect and the farking weirrrrrrrrrrrrd/*yawn*-worthy stuff.
So, earlier I mentioned this is a Regency-style book and that's because it basically is. Setting aside the gender role reversals, the world is basically Regency mannerisms and social expectations. The heroine, Green, is a Marquelle (a.k.a. Marquess). There's also a Duchene (a.k.a. Duchess), they socialize in the "Top Slice" (a.k.a. the haut ton), the male virgins are called "come-outs" (a.k.a. debutantes), and so on. You get the picture. Once I caught on to the Regency parallelism, the world didn't seem all that weird, unique, or novel, to be honest. I was just like "yawn...okay, what comes next?"
What came next, though, were some weirrrrrrrrrrrrd things.
Like the fact that there's a male hymen.
Yup, a male hymen.
One thing about the weird stuff, though, is that sometimes I felt like the author just wasn't even trying to write a story. For example, there's an indigenous animal on Forus that is called "tasteslikerooster." I shit you not. That's its name. When I read that, I sort of scoffed/cringed in a baffled "please let that be a joke" way.
Basically, the world is Regency-like and also has weird fauna and flora. It got to the point that there was so much weird-but-not-really-that-weird stuff that I grew a little bored with it all.
The characters, briefly.
I liked the characters in this book. Green was strong and confident, and so was Jorlan, despite his sheltered and protected upbringing. Jorlan, with his bluestocking notions of equality for men, was a bit of a rebel in a matriarchal society. As such, he was suitably alpha enough to be a romance novel hero, regardless of his virginal and untried state. I liked that Green had the confidence to let Jorlan speak his mind and didn't try to break his spirit. They were a good, strong, sexy pairing.
The romance and the sexytimes.
I wish there had been a little more romance to show their interactions and bonding outside of the bedroom. That said, it's possible that, what with Jorlan's unique sensory capabilities, their physical interactions in the bedroom would be the sensible place to show their bonding and falling in love with each other. I can't say more without giving away spoilers. However, suffice to say that the sexytimes in this book are smoooooookin' hawt. Hott hott hotttt. Don't let the fact that Jorlan is a virgin make you think he doesn't have some moves. He's got those moooooOOOoOOOoooooves like
Oh, one more thing about the male hymen and the wedding night. It's not SUPER spoilery, but I'll hide it anyway...
Overall...
Entertaining enough, but the Dara Joy crazies didn't quite take it to the level I'd expected. The closing scene of the book seemed to come out of nowhere, too, so that ended it on a kinda weird note. That said, I enjoyed it well enough, and the sexytimes were gratifyingly pervy for my exacting tastes. ;)
September 3, 2022
✨God is a woman. A very Hot woman.✨
The concept of this book is like a fantasy regency world where women are the title holders, landowners, name givers etc. The men are the virgin debutantes participating in the season. I really just need a moment to think because there were so many iconic lines I’m forever changed. It felt real good to read this in 2022.
In this world the men have hymen situations called veils and the ritual of proof is them proving they’re still veiled before marriage. They’re delicate and sheltered and have pretty much no rights. The hero is not okay with anything about this (like a bluestocking in a regular historical romance). The social commentary was just so interesting and especially relevant since I’m a regular historical romance reader. There were random fantasy elements that were odd, but it basically read like a regency.
Jorlan was also like genetically disposed to be a fantastic lover so a legit sex god. The sex scenes were just…absolutely absurd in the best way. At one point he was flat on his back eating Green out when she was also on her back on top of him??? and then he like slithered up her entire body underneath her—idk that planet made him a sneaky lil snek. He was also tied to the bed for his unveiling bc it would hurt so much and missionary was barely acceptable in the society. Which means there was face sitting! And a lot of creativity.
I really thought there would be a sequel to this??? Claudine’s daughter had potential and so did River like WUT???? I need answers y’all. I really liked how the ending with Claudine was just kinda done. I was expecting way more drama but we just got a nice slice of vengeance.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶🌶🌶.75/5
CW: There is a scene where she goes off of birth control and tries to trick him into impregnating her. She ultimately gives him the choice of pulling out but it was still in bad faith.
The concept of this book is like a fantasy regency world where women are the title holders, landowners, name givers etc. The men are the virgin debutantes participating in the season. I really just need a moment to think because there were so many iconic lines I’m forever changed. It felt real good to read this in 2022.
In this world the men have hymen situations called veils and the ritual of proof is them proving they’re still veiled before marriage. They’re delicate and sheltered and have pretty much no rights. The hero is not okay with anything about this (like a bluestocking in a regular historical romance). The social commentary was just so interesting and especially relevant since I’m a regular historical romance reader. There were random fantasy elements that were odd, but it basically read like a regency.
Jorlan was also like genetically disposed to be a fantastic lover so a legit sex god. The sex scenes were just…absolutely absurd in the best way. At one point he was flat on his back eating Green out when she was also on her back on top of him??? and then he like slithered up her entire body underneath her—idk that planet made him a sneaky lil snek. He was also tied to the bed for his unveiling bc it would hurt so much and missionary was barely acceptable in the society. Which means there was face sitting! And a lot of creativity.
I really thought there would be a sequel to this??? Claudine’s daughter had potential and so did River like WUT???? I need answers y’all. I really liked how the ending with Claudine was just kinda done. I was expecting way more drama but we just got a nice slice of vengeance.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶🌶🌶.75/5
CW: There is a scene where she goes off of birth control and tries to trick him into impregnating her. She ultimately gives him the choice of pulling out but it was still in bad faith.
August 16, 2016
++Spoilers++
3.5 stars
A role reversal regency/sci-fi/fantasy.
In this world, women rule, own land, hold titles and determine laws while men have virtually no rights, are bidded upon like chattle, and take the woman's name upon marriage.
I thought I would like this more than I did, especially since in this world, women have "pleasurers" and the men remain chaste until given to a "name-giver" but I suppose I just dislike the idea of inequality as a whole, and found this less satisfying then expected.
The story was well written, although the beginning was a bit flowery for my liking, so I'm glad that this style seemed to dwindle away rapidly as the story progressed.
I loved the loving scenes which were nicely detailed and different from the usual cookie cutter style in most romances I've read. They were unique, spicy without being distasteful, tender and sweet.
The first loving scene was kinda rapey and a bit of a turn off to me even though the hero did have feelings for the h. Yes the heroine sort of rapes the hero. It is difficult to explain, but it is not like the hero did not want to make love to the heroine, it was more like he did not want to be "married" to her, and the "rape" was part of the ritual where she is to take his maiden head so to speak, which is painful for men, so painful that the men get violent, so they are tied down for the inital process to protect the woman. When the pain subsides, the h releases him and they continue to make love, both consentually). .....He does fight the marriage thing and does not want to consummate it in the beginning.. so this is where the rapey thing is..
Yes men have a sort of maidenhead.. called a "veil." A thin layer of skin which covers their penis and is "broken" only during sex, where a chemical from the woman's body dissolves this membrane. (They even have the "virgin blood" after their first time lol).
The heroine is an experienced lover and had a pleasurer (the equivalent to a mistress) but stopped seeing him when she met the hero.
The romance itself was not my cup of tea, for I am one who likes the ILY's earlier on and I prefer that the H & h fall in love together. I didn't like that the hero was forced into marriage, having no choice, even though he did have feelings for the h, he didn't want to be "owned" by anyone. The h had to bid on him, to get him, and she did so not only because she wanted him, but more for his own protection. She didn't want this, she wanted him to come to her on his own free will but her hand was forced due to circumstances.
There were some goofy words (their language terms) that made the story a bit Willy Wonka-ish.. and I would have preferred that more creativity be used to chose foreign terms, but it is what it is.
Anyway, the story was pretty good, interesting, unique and had a steady pace. It was just not what I look for in a romance.
I am glad I read it.
Safety:
Hero-Virgin
Heroine-Very experienced
Cheating-No
OM/OW- See abut about h's pleasurer
Violence-Yes- a tad above mild
Rape-Yes-a bit rapey see above
Adultery-No
Cursing-No
Sex-Yes-very nicely done, multiple times
HEA/ILY's - Yes to both
Marriage/Baby-Yes to both
3.5 stars
A role reversal regency/sci-fi/fantasy.
In this world, women rule, own land, hold titles and determine laws while men have virtually no rights, are bidded upon like chattle, and take the woman's name upon marriage.
I thought I would like this more than I did, especially since in this world, women have "pleasurers" and the men remain chaste until given to a "name-giver" but I suppose I just dislike the idea of inequality as a whole, and found this less satisfying then expected.
The story was well written, although the beginning was a bit flowery for my liking, so I'm glad that this style seemed to dwindle away rapidly as the story progressed.
I loved the loving scenes which were nicely detailed and different from the usual cookie cutter style in most romances I've read. They were unique, spicy without being distasteful, tender and sweet.
The first loving scene was kinda rapey and a bit of a turn off to me even though the hero did have feelings for the h. Yes the heroine sort of rapes the hero. It is difficult to explain, but it is not like the hero did not want to make love to the heroine, it was more like he did not want to be "married" to her, and the "rape" was part of the ritual where she is to take his maiden head so to speak, which is painful for men, so painful that the men get violent, so they are tied down for the inital process to protect the woman. When the pain subsides, the h releases him and they continue to make love, both consentually). .....He does fight the marriage thing and does not want to consummate it in the beginning.. so this is where the rapey thing is..
Yes men have a sort of maidenhead.. called a "veil." A thin layer of skin which covers their penis and is "broken" only during sex, where a chemical from the woman's body dissolves this membrane. (They even have the "virgin blood" after their first time lol).
The heroine is an experienced lover and had a pleasurer (the equivalent to a mistress) but stopped seeing him when she met the hero.
The romance itself was not my cup of tea, for I am one who likes the ILY's earlier on and I prefer that the H & h fall in love together. I didn't like that the hero was forced into marriage, having no choice, even though he did have feelings for the h, he didn't want to be "owned" by anyone. The h had to bid on him, to get him, and she did so not only because she wanted him, but more for his own protection. She didn't want this, she wanted him to come to her on his own free will but her hand was forced due to circumstances.
There were some goofy words (their language terms) that made the story a bit Willy Wonka-ish.. and I would have preferred that more creativity be used to chose foreign terms, but it is what it is.
Anyway, the story was pretty good, interesting, unique and had a steady pace. It was just not what I look for in a romance.
I am glad I read it.
Safety:
Hero-Virgin
Heroine-Very experienced
Cheating-No
OM/OW- See abut about h's pleasurer
Violence-Yes- a tad above mild
Rape-Yes-a bit rapey see above
Adultery-No
Cursing-No
Sex-Yes-very nicely done, multiple times
HEA/ILY's - Yes to both
Marriage/Baby-Yes to both
dnf-too-early-to-mark-it-read
March 22, 2025Too much gibberish
Alternate universe HR where women have titles and men are paraded around like pretty ornaments? Older experience woman-rake rumored to be a fantastic lover and virgin hero that refuses to be used for his looks or reproductive capabilities?
YES NOW 💳💥
It was going pretty well at the beginning, except a few icks here and there.
(Words like She-Lords and She-host struck me as unnecessary when words like "Lady" and "hostess" exist.)
I was liking this exchange the hero has with a male friend
(👆 this feels so real right now...)
But right after this the author starts to infodump her world lore and it was... weird. And hard to follow. I'll leave the paragraph here, but after reading that I was left so confused and a lot of the appeal of the beginning kinda went away...
I felt like I was being forced to read a scientific paper about a subject I have zero interest in...
Alternate universe HR where women have titles and men are paraded around like pretty ornaments? Older experience woman-rake rumored to be a fantastic lover and virgin hero that refuses to be used for his looks or reproductive capabilities?
YES NOW 💳💥
It was going pretty well at the beginning, except a few icks here and there.
(Words like She-Lords and She-host struck me as unnecessary when words like "Lady" and "hostess" exist.)
I was liking this exchange the hero has with a male friend
He had even fantasized that men would have a say in how the society itself was run.
“It is a man's duty to fasten and produce heirs. Such is his ordained place.”
[...]
“Face it, Jorlan, we are the lesser sex. That is why our name- givers take care of us. Left alone, we would fall to ruin. We are intellectually inferior. Left unmonitored, our innate male aggression would destroy this world.”
(👆 this feels so real right now...)
But right after this the author starts to infodump her world lore and it was... weird. And hard to follow. I'll leave the paragraph here, but after reading that I was left so confused and a lot of the appeal of the beginning kinda went away...
Green made a mental note to see who was responsible for his progenitor line. By his look, she would say Santorini. No one had ever been able to match Santorini's work in over a thousand Forus years. The methodologist had a master hand and was considered one of the finest genetic artisans of all time. With one hundred and twenty thousand genes in her palette, her genius had been in taking the naturally occurring propensities, or “gifts,” within a specific code and embellishing them, thus allowing the individual to then expound upon this talent as he so desired. All he had to do was bring it into focus. Choice and directional pathways augmented the optimum outcome. Talent, according to how Santorini defined it, was a drawing of desire extracted from the broth of genetic and environmental conditions. The unique picture that resulted formed her art. Santorini introduced to Forus the science she called Sensitive genetical environment or selective gen- en.
I felt like I was being forced to read a scientific paper about a subject I have zero interest in...
January 7, 2010
This is my favorite Dara Joy romace. It is a satire of a traditional romace with a sy/fy "what if" twist. What if in the far future a group of women left earth to found a colony ruled by women. What if they based their new society on the few pages of a regency romance they found among the possessions of one of the women. What kind of society would that be? What role would the men play? Intrigued? If you are, read the book. If you like a little sy/fy and satire with your romace, you'll like this book.
Want to read
September 20, 2019Kindle unlimited
January 14, 2008
I have never read a Dara Joy book before but I saw this one in the bookstore and picked it up because the cover was very pretty (c'mon, you know you've done that too...) I also liked the cover blurb. It seemed different and interesting. So I was very excited to read it. I am very disappointed to say that this book wasn't as original or interesting as I thought it would be. As I was reading it, I kept thinking to myself, hmmm " Ms. Joy has written a regency romance, reversed the gender roles so that women are the powerful ones and men are subservient, and then added some funky made-up words so that it seems sciency-fictiony." I found myself skipping whole passages because I expected to drawn into a whole new place and was instead revisiting a familiar place that was simply wearing a mask. I can't recommend this book. If you are truly interested in a science-fiction/fantasy/romance book that flips gender roles, I suggest Guy Gavriel Kay's "A Song for Arbonne" or Sharon Shinn's "Heart of Gold.
January 28, 2023
Truly what did I just read
CW: Sexual content, sexual assault, violence, oppression
CW: Sexual content, sexual assault, violence, oppression
August 14, 2020
TW/CW:
oppression, slavery. gender politics, strict binary future, dub-con, "s*vage" as slur, pregnancy.
Well this was...weird. It was enjoyable, and I'm not sure if I should take it serious or as a joke, but hey, it's readable. While men being oppressed seems far-fetched, the most unrealistic part of this book is not that. No, the most unrealistic part of the book is a future in which there is no mention or imagining of trans and non-binary people.
oppression, slavery. gender politics, strict binary future, dub-con, "s*vage" as slur, pregnancy.
Well this was...weird. It was enjoyable, and I'm not sure if I should take it serious or as a joke, but hey, it's readable. While men being oppressed seems far-fetched, the most unrealistic part of this book is not that. No, the most unrealistic part of the book is a future in which there is no mention or imagining of trans and non-binary people.
October 6, 2024
Ritual of Proof is a book I’ve had on my used bookstore wishlist for years, thanks in part to its place on several role-reversal and FLR book lists, and to the opening lines of its cover blurb:
I knew, given that Jorlan was described as impossibly willful and brash, that this was somehow going to subvert the relationship expectations, but I’d hoped for enough background and supporting characters for me to be able to enjoy the world around him. Sadly, that was not to be the case.
I made it a little more than a third into this, far enough to read about the titular Ritual of Proof (which involves a male hymen that is painfully dissolved by a woman’s sexual fluids), and randomly skimmed through the rest to see if it got better, but the whole book feels like an awkward satire at best, or a deliberate cheat at worst. We’re told that the world was deliberately set up like that of a gender-swapped Regency romance (yes, there’s a sci-fi colonization element to this), and we see a lot of the women in charge, but aside from references to the Marquelle’s pleasure boy, there’s not another male to be seen. We’re expected to just accept the gender dynamic because we’re told it exists, but the only one we get to experience is desperately straining to be that of a traditional romance.
Now, I get the satirical element of it, I really do. Making Jorlan a bluestocking who believes in equal rights for men seems silly because it’s so far from our own experience, but it also forces the reader to confront the fact that women having to fight for equality is just as silly. Similarly, genetically engineering a male hymen to prove virginity is just as silly, but it forces us to think about women being so casually violated to prove their virginity from a different perspective. Where the satire falls short is that, to my mind, the book does a good job of explaining why the society was established that way, and why gender roles were reversed, and nothing about the story seems to challenge that.
The problem – for me, at least – is that I wanted to immerse myself in that gender-flipped world and experience what it’s like to be a pampered, submissive male whose only job is to look good for his wife and take care of her estates. I knew we’d never get a sincere exploration of that in a twenty-year-old mass market paperback, but I hoped we at least see something of that world. I kept holding out hope for a character who would contrast Jorlan, maybe friends or even forced friends whose behavior would highlight what a rebellious bluestocking he is, but sadly none of that is to be found.
As a satire, Ritual of Proof is a bit too deliberate, with a singular focus that doesn’t allow for any nuances, lacking the context we need to appreciate it. As an FLR romance, it’s a complete failure, unless you like bratty subs, dubcon intimacy, and topping from the bottom. Maybe I just had my hopes up, but this was not for me.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2024/...
In a world where women hold all the power, a titled man can do little but accept his fate — that his sole purpose is to secure a good match — and hope his “bed price” is high enough.
I knew, given that Jorlan was described as impossibly willful and brash, that this was somehow going to subvert the relationship expectations, but I’d hoped for enough background and supporting characters for me to be able to enjoy the world around him. Sadly, that was not to be the case.
I made it a little more than a third into this, far enough to read about the titular Ritual of Proof (which involves a male hymen that is painfully dissolved by a woman’s sexual fluids), and randomly skimmed through the rest to see if it got better, but the whole book feels like an awkward satire at best, or a deliberate cheat at worst. We’re told that the world was deliberately set up like that of a gender-swapped Regency romance (yes, there’s a sci-fi colonization element to this), and we see a lot of the women in charge, but aside from references to the Marquelle’s pleasure boy, there’s not another male to be seen. We’re expected to just accept the gender dynamic because we’re told it exists, but the only one we get to experience is desperately straining to be that of a traditional romance.
Now, I get the satirical element of it, I really do. Making Jorlan a bluestocking who believes in equal rights for men seems silly because it’s so far from our own experience, but it also forces the reader to confront the fact that women having to fight for equality is just as silly. Similarly, genetically engineering a male hymen to prove virginity is just as silly, but it forces us to think about women being so casually violated to prove their virginity from a different perspective. Where the satire falls short is that, to my mind, the book does a good job of explaining why the society was established that way, and why gender roles were reversed, and nothing about the story seems to challenge that.
The problem – for me, at least – is that I wanted to immerse myself in that gender-flipped world and experience what it’s like to be a pampered, submissive male whose only job is to look good for his wife and take care of her estates. I knew we’d never get a sincere exploration of that in a twenty-year-old mass market paperback, but I hoped we at least see something of that world. I kept holding out hope for a character who would contrast Jorlan, maybe friends or even forced friends whose behavior would highlight what a rebellious bluestocking he is, but sadly none of that is to be found.
As a satire, Ritual of Proof is a bit too deliberate, with a singular focus that doesn’t allow for any nuances, lacking the context we need to appreciate it. As an FLR romance, it’s a complete failure, unless you like bratty subs, dubcon intimacy, and topping from the bottom. Maybe I just had my hopes up, but this was not for me.
https://sallybend.wordpress.com/2024/...
October 1, 2016
I am honestly conflicted about how to rate this book. I kept reading because I couldn't put it down, but at the same time I was rolling my eyes and feeling like I was angry at myself for this compulsion.
Ritual of Proof is set in a sci-fi world that has developed social mores of a gender-flipped Regency. Like many fictional hardcore matriarchal societies, it does a decent job of illustrating the fucked-up-ness of the gender power imbalance. Unlike many of them, it specifically uses constructed male virginity the same way actual Regency novels use female virginity, down to men having somehow been genetically engineered to have a hymen that is ruptured by intercourse, which is naturally painful. I sort of get what the author was going for, but at the same time, it is really bizarre to have male virginity prized so highly relative to procreation, because. Look. The whole reason virginity was A Thing was because men wanted to be sure that their children who would inherit their titles and properties were actually genetically theirs. Having one's wife be a virgin on the wedding night theoretically indicated that at least the first one would be such. It's gross and sexist, but has an actual basis in reality. In this case, the title of the book itself refers to a literal physical examination of men preparing to get married to attest that he is a virgin, which. In a matriarchal society where children inherit from their mother, this is utterly nonsensical. I was so caught up in this total logic non-sequitur that I honestly could not get over it.
Other stuff that I found troublesome: Jorlan is just So Perfect and has all these Special Things about him and I'm all for cool heroes and awesome heroines, but I felt like in many ways he just overshadowed Green, which. Come on. If I read a genderflipped Regency I really want it to be about how fucking awesome the ladies are, not about how This One Dude manages to be more special than all of them. (Also, negative points for making Jorlan's Thing That Defines Him being Railing Against Gender Roles In This Society like, yes, very clever, you couldn't come up with anything better? Really?)
I also felt like there was a little too much….I don't want to say worldbuilding, because in point of fact I feel like I know relatively little about the actual world of Forus, but more "weird terms applied liberally to make it really obvious that We Are Not On Earth." (Side note: I think that one of the places where ebooks really fall down, relative to paper books, is when there's a glossary and you'd really like to be able to check it without losing your place which just conceptually is easier when I'm flipping physical pages.) In fairness, the weird terms were used with enough context that the glossary wasn't strictly necessary for me to get the gist of what was going on, but I just….it felt like Trying Too Hard.
It may well be that I'm judging this book pretty aggressively by a modern standard when Google tells me it's 15 years old, but I just. I dunno. Meh.
Ritual of Proof is set in a sci-fi world that has developed social mores of a gender-flipped Regency. Like many fictional hardcore matriarchal societies, it does a decent job of illustrating the fucked-up-ness of the gender power imbalance. Unlike many of them, it specifically uses constructed male virginity the same way actual Regency novels use female virginity, down to men having somehow been genetically engineered to have a hymen that is ruptured by intercourse, which is naturally painful. I sort of get what the author was going for, but at the same time, it is really bizarre to have male virginity prized so highly relative to procreation, because. Look. The whole reason virginity was A Thing was because men wanted to be sure that their children who would inherit their titles and properties were actually genetically theirs. Having one's wife be a virgin on the wedding night theoretically indicated that at least the first one would be such. It's gross and sexist, but has an actual basis in reality. In this case, the title of the book itself refers to a literal physical examination of men preparing to get married to attest that he is a virgin, which. In a matriarchal society where children inherit from their mother, this is utterly nonsensical. I was so caught up in this total logic non-sequitur that I honestly could not get over it.
Other stuff that I found troublesome: Jorlan is just So Perfect and has all these Special Things about him and I'm all for cool heroes and awesome heroines, but I felt like in many ways he just overshadowed Green, which. Come on. If I read a genderflipped Regency I really want it to be about how fucking awesome the ladies are, not about how This One Dude manages to be more special than all of them. (Also, negative points for making Jorlan's Thing That Defines Him being Railing Against Gender Roles In This Society like, yes, very clever, you couldn't come up with anything better? Really?)
I also felt like there was a little too much….I don't want to say worldbuilding, because in point of fact I feel like I know relatively little about the actual world of Forus, but more "weird terms applied liberally to make it really obvious that We Are Not On Earth." (Side note: I think that one of the places where ebooks really fall down, relative to paper books, is when there's a glossary and you'd really like to be able to check it without losing your place which just conceptually is easier when I'm flipping physical pages.) In fairness, the weird terms were used with enough context that the glossary wasn't strictly necessary for me to get the gist of what was going on, but I just….it felt like Trying Too Hard.
It may well be that I'm judging this book pretty aggressively by a modern standard when Google tells me it's 15 years old, but I just. I dunno. Meh.
September 10, 2020
The first time I read this book I loved the world where men were the weaker sex and women dominated. At the time I was heavily into historical romances and seeing one turned around was fantastic. However on reading this later on in life all I found was that I was disappointed that in the end the male hero was still stronger and dominated the heroine of the story in the end. While still a good read, I can't help wishing that Joy had of kept Jorlan to his blushing attitude for longer than the first sex scene instead of instantly having him initiate all sexual contact despite the fact that it was almost forbidden in their culture.
May 16, 2020
So... I didn't like this book. At all. I'll try to explain without spoiling anything first, then dive into specific examples of why I didn't like it later.
It was such a shame too because I love reading about matriachal societies. It's interesting to imagine what a flipped world would be like.
1) The writing felt subpar and dragged.
2) So many confusing POV jumps. Sometimes the POV would just change between one paragraph and another, and I'd be like wait? Am I still in Green's head? It would jump between the MCs but also other side characters, so it was difficult to keep track at times.
3) Green (female lead) felt abusive and I didn't feel she had a good arc
4) Dub-con. So much dub-con.
5) The villain was so over the top evil.
6) The word "She-Count". You do know there's a female version of "count", right? This just annoyed me a little. Same with "She-Lords".
7) No communication between characters. Green kept trying to hide shit from Jorlan. She never learnt to really trust him with troublesome information.
It took me over 10 days to finish this because everytime I wanted to sit down and read... I remembered this was what I was currently working on. Then I played computer instead.
So yeah, 1 star for this.
Now! For some concrete examples of why I didn't like the book:
It was such a shame too because I love reading about matriachal societies. It's interesting to imagine what a flipped world would be like.
1) The writing felt subpar and dragged.
2) So many confusing POV jumps. Sometimes the POV would just change between one paragraph and another, and I'd be like wait? Am I still in Green's head? It would jump between the MCs but also other side characters, so it was difficult to keep track at times.
3) Green (female lead) felt abusive and I didn't feel she had a good arc
4) Dub-con. So much dub-con.
5) The villain was so over the top evil.
6) The word "She-Count". You do know there's a female version of "count", right? This just annoyed me a little. Same with "She-Lords".
7) No communication between characters. Green kept trying to hide shit from Jorlan. She never learnt to really trust him with troublesome information.
It took me over 10 days to finish this because everytime I wanted to sit down and read... I remembered this was what I was currently working on. Then I played computer instead.
So yeah, 1 star for this.
Now! For some concrete examples of why I didn't like the book:
February 7, 2012
I see that this book was controversial from looking at reviews & comments on goodreads & amazon. A sci-fi romance with gender role reversal and a dash of old regency era england - I'm in heaven, lol! I liked the unique concept of Ritual of Proof and the virgin hero was such a turn on for me, The sex scenes were so erotic. And Jorlan's psychic affinity to the planet & animals was really interesting to me. I think this was a very ambitious novel from Ms Joy, I think it was ahead of it's time actually.....
Want to read
July 19, 2012This is probably junkilicious good like Dara Joy always was. Cannot finish this right now..it's print, it's a larger hardcover and I cannot abide by the sheer inconvenience of reading a larger hardcover during this time in my life when I need to read in near darkness while putting my baby to sleep and not annoy my husband in bed. So I shall read this when I have quality time with real paper and books...
July 18, 2012
I'm not sure what I think about this book. It was very strange but I kind of liked it.
June 8, 2015
Not relatable in many ways... Intriguing concepts... "What would society be like if über feminists colonized an area?" The answer to that creates this strange tale. Everything is reversed between men and women, leaving men comparable to women of English society centuries ago. There's no equality, and men are looked down upon and treated as property. A bizarre twist is that, somehow, women have lost their first-time pains and given them to men.
Beyond that general theme of society and the obligatory villain, this book does some heavy world-building that takes a while to get into fully. I enjoyed this much more when I got to the second half, and I felt like re-reading parts of the beginning with my newfound insight in place. That said, the most important themes were enigmatic to a distracting degree. I suppose the great unveiling (pardon the pun, which you'd only get if you'd read this book) would have made a larger impact if I cared. It was interesting, but the rhythms of this planet or moon or whatever are a separate story almost, and the whole thing just isn't easy to relate to or be wowed by. Interesting. Different. Maybe even cool... But, it distracted from the story for me in the way it was told, and it took much too long to catch my interest. I put this book aside several times before forcing myself to finish it. I don't hate it, but I'm not in love with it either.
If you like Fantasy and English romances by Jane Austen, then you might like this better than I did. I was just a bit bored despite the unusual nature of the tale.
P.S. I want to add as a very belated afterthought that I loved most of Jane Austen's works. Some were boring to me, but others, like "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice" were wonderful. What I meant to say was that if someone likes Victorian romances that focus heavily on societal niceties (the part that bores me to tears), then that person would enjoy this book more than I. Still, it was a good 3.5 stars for me.
Beyond that general theme of society and the obligatory villain, this book does some heavy world-building that takes a while to get into fully. I enjoyed this much more when I got to the second half, and I felt like re-reading parts of the beginning with my newfound insight in place. That said, the most important themes were enigmatic to a distracting degree. I suppose the great unveiling (pardon the pun, which you'd only get if you'd read this book) would have made a larger impact if I cared. It was interesting, but the rhythms of this planet or moon or whatever are a separate story almost, and the whole thing just isn't easy to relate to or be wowed by. Interesting. Different. Maybe even cool... But, it distracted from the story for me in the way it was told, and it took much too long to catch my interest. I put this book aside several times before forcing myself to finish it. I don't hate it, but I'm not in love with it either.
If you like Fantasy and English romances by Jane Austen, then you might like this better than I did. I was just a bit bored despite the unusual nature of the tale.
P.S. I want to add as a very belated afterthought that I loved most of Jane Austen's works. Some were boring to me, but others, like "Sense and Sensibility" and "Pride and Prejudice" were wonderful. What I meant to say was that if someone likes Victorian romances that focus heavily on societal niceties (the part that bores me to tears), then that person would enjoy this book more than I. Still, it was a good 3.5 stars for me.
June 10, 2018
I don't usually review romance novels because of the implied shame I'm supposed to feel for reading them. But this, while not being a fabulously written book, is one of the funniest concepts I've seen. It is a romance novel set in something like regency london, but women and men's roles are switched. Women go to war, control money and sit in the house of she-lords. They take mistresses called pleasurers before marriage, they fight duels over men's honor they inherit land and titles such as she-count and she-baron. Losing their virginity causes them no pain, which is not true for their unlucky counterparts who have a membrane covering the penis which burns off painfully the first time they have sex. Men are also not to leave Almacks (yes the same name!) to go on balconies with women, aren't supposed to read sensational novels, and have little say when it comes to marriage. If this appeals to you or you simply want to see how a the author creates an opposite but still gendered world. I just wanted the chance to discuss the craziness of this book!
January 8, 2021
DNF@46%. Great premise, interesting beginning with the flipped roles and society. But again, I was promised a worldly, sexually experienced seducer for Green and what she did seem... typical? Their conversations weren’t the wittiest or steamiest to me. Also what was up with Jorlan constantly being described as a dichotomy? He’s so innocent but his eyes have seen so much... he’s a cold independent man but has so much hidden passion and probability to become the best lover... I didn’t like being in Green’s head when she said stupid stuff like needing to control her name-bearer and he had to follow all of her orders. I was expecting a role reversal of a sci-fi historical romance but Green was just such a misogynist. And even in regular historical romances treat their female and male characters more equally. If this book looks interesting, definitely try a sample because maybe you’ll enjoy it more than I did.
March 26, 2008
Although this is my least favorite of Dara Joy's books, it's still on my keeper shelf. Ms. Joy turns the tables on the male sex by penning this book of males as the 'weaker' sex. Males in this world are pampered, closeted, and powerless. They remain virgins until marriage and experience pain when losing their virginity!! YOWZA...
Jorlan is considered quite the prize and Marquelle ends up marrying him to "save his name". It's a crazy, mixed-up world and both characters must compromise to save both their relationship and their world.
A truly interesting concept that felt like the beginning to another series. There were several secondary characters whose stories I would like to read. Now that Ms. Joy and her publisher have 'made nice', maybe this is another series we'll see more of!
Jorlan is considered quite the prize and Marquelle ends up marrying him to "save his name". It's a crazy, mixed-up world and both characters must compromise to save both their relationship and their world.
A truly interesting concept that felt like the beginning to another series. There were several secondary characters whose stories I would like to read. Now that Ms. Joy and her publisher have 'made nice', maybe this is another series we'll see more of!
tbr2_read-now_tip-top-pile
October 19, 2013WOW male hymen? Really? Now I gotta read this *chuckles* All just for that thin piece of membrane.
April 22, 2021
This is the romance I didn’t know I needed in my life. It’s sci-fi meets regency in a female dominated society, where men are debutantes with their own special version of a hymen and women are the providers and protectors of the “weak” men. Now normally I prefer my romances to have equality but I got so much enjoyment from this old school crazy sauce I’m not going to question it too much.
Our heroine is a wealthy she-lord (omg this terminology!) and well at the age she should be looking for a name bearer (husband). She comes across our hero, a wild debutant bucking at the constraints of society and knew she had to have him- legally. What transpires is hot but also beautiful in their connection and letting themselves love the other when that goes against how they were raised in their society.
I think Dara Joy is a genius- I need to put that out there, this was a masterpiece. The way she flipped all the historical romance tropes was incredible and seriously made me think. She did a fantastic job of creating characters with depth and also the results of their upbringing as well as the hidden underlying messages about society. I’m definitely going to be reading more from her.
Our heroine is a wealthy she-lord (omg this terminology!) and well at the age she should be looking for a name bearer (husband). She comes across our hero, a wild debutant bucking at the constraints of society and knew she had to have him- legally. What transpires is hot but also beautiful in their connection and letting themselves love the other when that goes against how they were raised in their society.
I think Dara Joy is a genius- I need to put that out there, this was a masterpiece. The way she flipped all the historical romance tropes was incredible and seriously made me think. She did a fantastic job of creating characters with depth and also the results of their upbringing as well as the hidden underlying messages about society. I’m definitely going to be reading more from her.
May 14, 2025
It was honestly less than what I was expecting. It read almost exactly like a Regency, only gender swapped and replace dueling swords with like daggers on ropes. There was an element of futuristicness that was sometimes part of the story, but only when convenient. It seemed like she created a whole world with history and language and customs, but it wasn't explored/explained enough for me. I was surprised that this isn't the first installment in a series, considering the amount of thought she put into her world. Maybe all of her books are set in this unambiguous world?
The plot was tired in my opinion, could have been a lot fuller if there was more discovery around Sensitives involved. But the book is about 25 years old. I would read another Dara Joy if I found one that checked my boxes.
The plot was tired in my opinion, could have been a lot fuller if there was more discovery around Sensitives involved. But the book is about 25 years old. I would read another Dara Joy if I found one that checked my boxes.
March 25, 2021
As crazy as every Dara Joy book. A hilarious, ridiculous gender-swapped regency. Hot and weirdly entertaining. Huge number of typos in the ebook.
September 25, 2018
Not the sort of novel I usually go for but I ended up enjoying this thrilling alternative world.
It starts strongly, depicting the world we all want really, a matriarchy where men are expected to be submissive to female authority. All power is held by women. And unsurprisingly everything is better as a result.
Marquelle is a fun and strong female character but she is at risk of being a little too defined by Jorlan. But as this is a romance fantasy I will let that slide this time.
One fascinating and very thrilling concept was how wedding nights go in this alternative world. Where reluctant males are restrained and are 'raped' (although you can't really rape a man in the exact sense) by their dominant wives. Is this wrong or hard to read? You may think so but they way it is written works well for a female audience. It's more an expression of female empowerment. We, the woman, hold all the power and assert herself on her man, her property. It's both thrilling and empowering. It redefines sex into a female conquest instead of a conquest of a female.
One criticism? For a female-led world, there's a bit too much focus on the male protagonist. Who is very whiny in his reluctance to accept the new way of things. His 'male rights' shtick can be a little killjoy when you're trying to enjoy the reversal of power.
It starts strongly, depicting the world we all want really, a matriarchy where men are expected to be submissive to female authority. All power is held by women. And unsurprisingly everything is better as a result.
Marquelle is a fun and strong female character but she is at risk of being a little too defined by Jorlan. But as this is a romance fantasy I will let that slide this time.
One fascinating and very thrilling concept was how wedding nights go in this alternative world. Where reluctant males are restrained and are 'raped' (although you can't really rape a man in the exact sense) by their dominant wives. Is this wrong or hard to read? You may think so but they way it is written works well for a female audience. It's more an expression of female empowerment. We, the woman, hold all the power and assert herself on her man, her property. It's both thrilling and empowering. It redefines sex into a female conquest instead of a conquest of a female.
One criticism? For a female-led world, there's a bit too much focus on the male protagonist. Who is very whiny in his reluctance to accept the new way of things. His 'male rights' shtick can be a little killjoy when you're trying to enjoy the reversal of power.
February 15, 2021
I see what Joy was trying to do, creating a gender role reversal universe where male virginity is closely guarded and actually provable through a hymen-like membrane on their...member. Women hold all the power in this matrilineal, somewhat somewhat sci-fi universe that is vaguely reminiscent of a medieval or Regency romance. As a matter of fact, there’s a revelation that their cultural morals may have been influenced by regency romance novel from the ship of the original female settlers.
However...
The answer to toxic masculinity and the patriarchal view of society in romance novels is not vengeful misandry or even toxic femininity...which this book is. Instead of featuring and enlightened society where women and men hold equal power and can live in harmony, or even a matriarchal society where women hold the power but still treat men with respect, we instead get a universe where women embody internalized misogyny, objectifying men and male bodies and sex, forcing marriages, tying men down when they say no, and forcing them to get married just because they want to have sex with them (even though they say it’s to protect the man from a dangerous woman, lets be honest here. She wanted to bone him).
Hmm. Sound familiar?
This book could have been great. It could have been unique and ground breaking...instead it made my eyes cross and made me upset.
However...
The answer to toxic masculinity and the patriarchal view of society in romance novels is not vengeful misandry or even toxic femininity...which this book is. Instead of featuring and enlightened society where women and men hold equal power and can live in harmony, or even a matriarchal society where women hold the power but still treat men with respect, we instead get a universe where women embody internalized misogyny, objectifying men and male bodies and sex, forcing marriages, tying men down when they say no, and forcing them to get married just because they want to have sex with them (even though they say it’s to protect the man from a dangerous woman, lets be honest here. She wanted to bone him).
Hmm. Sound familiar?
This book could have been great. It could have been unique and ground breaking...instead it made my eyes cross and made me upset.
June 10, 2022
2.5 stars, this book would have been substantially improved by reducing exotic elements and removing info dumps. I started and finished 28 other books since I started reading it - it's that compelling.
Jorlan, the male protagonist, is a classic Gary Stu with implausible magic powers. He's also an outspoken advocate of male suffrage, which I found quite irritating. The finale is particularly frustrating.
If you want to read about a matriarchy, I would recommend reading A Brother's Price instead. The world structure makes substantially more sense, the writing is better, and the male protagonist is appropriately submissive.
December 11, 2023
Dara Joys Ol G reader
I read this book decades ago. And I’ve been trying to remember this authors name since. This book changed so much of my reading experience. Dara Joy was a pioneer in my reading world.
She is one of the 1st authors who decided to self publish and stop the traditional book publishing route. It’s eventually in my opinion, led to her later works being not up to par as there wasn’t the we know have in the self publishing area. And she was slightly ridiculed for it. All she needed was independent beta reader and help editing her books. Her imagination was amazing.
I like to think that she reinvented herself under another name, and gained success. She deserves it. Her books were so amazing. Her spice was appropriate and hot.
Her novel’s were unique and if you compare her now to 2023 romance book authors, how every story is about males and their dominance… this will make you wish for more in terms of book representation of females.
I’m not eloquent in writing reviews but take my word for it, you will love this.
I read this book decades ago. And I’ve been trying to remember this authors name since. This book changed so much of my reading experience. Dara Joy was a pioneer in my reading world.
She is one of the 1st authors who decided to self publish and stop the traditional book publishing route. It’s eventually in my opinion, led to her later works being not up to par as there wasn’t the we know have in the self publishing area. And she was slightly ridiculed for it. All she needed was independent beta reader and help editing her books. Her imagination was amazing.
I like to think that she reinvented herself under another name, and gained success. She deserves it. Her books were so amazing. Her spice was appropriate and hot.
Her novel’s were unique and if you compare her now to 2023 romance book authors, how every story is about males and their dominance… this will make you wish for more in terms of book representation of females.
I’m not eloquent in writing reviews but take my word for it, you will love this.
January 9, 2011
This was my first and last book with Dara Joy. I'm not sure if this was to be taken seriously or if this was a complete parody. Men with hymens genetically designed by female scientist. O_O A society of women based on historical novels? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? The fact that they use these as their history books and "bible" I snorted so hard it wasn't funny. I had a friend who urged me to read other books by this author. I was going to until I read about her issues with her publisher. Too much drama for me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 95 reviews