Dara Joy - Ritual of proof

A stand alone novel, published in 2001. I keep hoping she will write more books in this world.



In a world in which women are all-powerful, the influential Marquelle Green Tamryn selects Jorlan Raynard, the heir to a vast fortune, as her husband, but when her life is threatened by an unknown enemy, she discovers the true power of love.


I totally enjoyed this book. Dara Joy creates a world where women rule, and the men are kept protected, and cuddled and spoiled. They are only good as name-bearers and the creators of heirs to the woman, or as pleasurers. They have to stay pure till the wedding, and it is the man who feels the pain of the first time, the man who has "the veil" to proof he is still pure.
But one male does not like those rules, he wants freedom for himself, to choose as he wants, to live as he wants.
And the spirited Marquelle Green Tamryn wants Jorlan Reynard as her name-bearer, the father of her heirs. But she wants him to come to her of his own free will, so she sets out to seduce him. Only she doesn't have much time before she will have to act against Jorlan's wishes, because the evil She-Count Claudine d'Anberre also wants Jorlan for his beauty and the pleasure to tame him. She has already had three name-bearers, who died suspiciously, and Green wants to save Jorlan from that fate.

I loved this book. As soon as I read the backcover, I wanted to read it. First for the humor of the opposite world, where women rule, and men are nothing, just like the 1800's we love to read about. This time it is a man who rebels, and wants to be equal to females. But she creates a lovely world, with strange animals and plants, and a strange language, full of wordjokes. And a woman is only pregnant for three months, wouldn't you like that girls?
I really like Green for allowing Jorlan to be himself, to explore his strange nature for he is a rare sensitive, to give him the freedom he so much craves, and not to force him to obey society's rules. And in the end, you discover she knew more then she let you believe, and Jorlan learns her how he sees the world. There are lovely erotic scenes, how she introduces him to bedsport, and how fast he learns and takes over control, which is very unheard of in their society. I also liked the interaction with the servants, and the animals.

Even reading it for the second time was fun. 7 stars.