Special Collections

RITA Awards (Romance)

Description: Bookshare is pleased to present RITA award winning romance since 2010. The annual RITA Award is the most prominent award given throughout the genre of romance fiction. #award #adults


Showing 26 through 50 of 105 results
 
 

The Soldier's Secret Daughter

by Cindy Dees

Dashing spy Jagger Holtz lived in a world of danger. Not even a sweet brown-eyed siren alone on New Year's Eve could be trusted, especially when he had to bring down her employer. Somehow Emily Grainger broke through his defenses--and set him up for two years of torturous captivity. Or so he thought.Emily hadn't expected a cryptic message to lead her to rescue the man who'd disappeared after their night of passion. Nor had she known that he'd been held prisoner all that time and believed that she was responsible. Despite the suspicion, they must work together to stop the threat against them...and protect their precious daughter.

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2010

Category: Contemporary Series-Suspense/Adventure

The Fixer

by Helenkay Dimon

He’s known only as Wren. A wealthy, dangerously secretive man, he specializes in making problems disappear. A professional fixer, Wren hides a dark past, but his privacy is shattered when Emery Finn seeks him out—and what she wants from him is very personal.

Some people disappear against their will. Emery’s job is to find them and bring closure. Wren is the only person who can help solve Emery’s own personal mystery: the long-ago disappearance of her cousin. Just tracking down the sexy, brooding Wren is difficult enough. Resisting her body’s response to him will prove completely impossible.

Anonymity is essential to Wren’s success, yet drawn by Emery’s loyalty and sensuality, he’s pulled out of the shadows. But her digging is getting noticed by the wrong people. And as the clues start to point to someone terrifyingly close, Wren will have to put his haunted past aside to protect the woman he loves.

Date Added: 07/20/2018


Year: 2018

Category: Romantic Suspense

The Sweet Spot

by Laura Drake

A Love as Big as Texas . . . Charla Rae Denny was the perfect wife with a perfect life, content to keep the home fires burning while her husband, JB, competed as a champion bull rider. Then their son died in a tragic accident-and everything fell apart. Divorced and saddled with a hill of bills and a failing ranch, Charla must now cowboy up to put her life back together.James "JB" Denny doesn't stay where he isn't welcome. So when Charla shut him out of her grieving heart-and their home-a year ago, he took comfort where he could find it. Now after seeing beautiful Charla again, he wants it all back. She can't work the ranch alone, and deep in his heart he knows he can be the man she needs. But after so much history and heartbreak, can JB convince Charla to take a risk and give their love a second chance?

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2014

Category: Best First Book

Forget Tomorrow

by Pintip Dunn

Now a New York Times bestseller!

Imagine a world where your destiny has already been decided...by your future self.

It's Callie's seventeenth birthday and, like everyone else, she's eagerly awaiting her vision―a memory sent back in time to sculpt each citizen into the person they're meant to be. A world-class swimmer. A renowned scientist.

Or in Callie's case, a criminal.

In her vision, she sees herself murdering her gifted younger sister. Before she can process what it means, Callie is arrested and placed in prison. The only person who can help is her childhood crush, Logan, a boy she hasn't spoken to in five years.

Logan breaks her free, but can she trust him? He’s almost the same boy she remembers, but now he’s a whole lot hotter. And he’s got his own past to deal with. Callie’s falling for him, fast, but she soon learns he has secrets of his own. Secrets that mean they can never be together.

Now, Callie's on the run not only from the government, but also from her fate. If she wants any hope of a future with Logan, she must first find a way to protect her sister from the biggest threat of all―herself.

The Forget Tomorrow Series continues:

Remember Yesterday
Seize Today - 2017

Date Added: 09/19/2017


Year: 2016

Category: Best First Book

Fool Me Twice

by Meredith Duran

In the vein of Sarah MacLean, a sexy and evocative Regency romance between a vengeful duke and a fiery redhead from an author who is a veritable tour de force in the genre. &“Readers need to make room on their keeper shelf for Meredith Duran&” (Fresh Fiction).A lady with a secret.Running for her life, exhausted and out of options, Olivia Holladay wants nothing more than the chance to make a home for herself. So when she realizes that the infamous Duke of Marwick might hold the key to her freedom, she boldly disguises herself as the newest and bravest in a long line of the duke&’s notoriously temperamental housekeepers. Little does she know that the wickedly handsome Alastair de Grey has very different plans for her.A man with a passion—for vengeance.As his new employee, Olivia is a fearless upstart. As a woman, the daring redhead is just what Alastair needs to rouse him from darkness to the siren call of revenge. He has suffered a betrayal so deep that he will use whatever means necessary to destroy his enemies—even his brazen and beautiful domestic. But his vengeful plan fails to account for his single weakness: an irresistible and growing passion for the enigmatic Olivia.

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2015

Category: Long Historical Romance

Fearless

by Elizabeth Dyer

A broken man. A desperate woman. And a love that could save them both. William Bennett lost everything to a Special Forces operation gone wrong. A year of captivity and torture has stripped him of his strength and decency. At the edge of losing all hope, the one woman he's never forgotten storms back into his life, giving him more than just his freedom. All Will wants now is to put the agony and violence behind him . . . but he won't go home until she can, too.

Cooper Reed has been a lot of things--soldier, sniper, spy--but she never thought traitor would be one of them. Now she can't stop running. Not from the partner sent to kill her, or from the CIA who used her to cover up a dangerous experiment. Cooper needs help, she just never expected to find it in the one man with every reason to hate her--even if he doesn't know it yet.

As Will and Cooper race to stay one step ahead of those who want them dead, they'll each have to decide what lines they're willing to cross and what price they're willing to pay . . . and if love really is worth dying for.

Author Note: Fearless is a stand-alone novel in the Somerton Security series, complete with a damaged hero, a take-no-prisoners heroine and an HEA.

Date Added: 08/30/2019


Year: 2019

Category: Romantic Suspense

Perfect Chemistry

by Simone Elkeles

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers. When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2010

Category: Young Adult Romance

Once and For All

by Cheryl Etchison

The Rangers of the 1st/75th fight hard, train hard and play hard. They are physically strong and mentally tough, disciplined and courageous. But all their military training hasn't prepared them for falling in love.Rule #1: Military and matrimony don't mix.But if there's one person Staff Sergeant Danny MacGregor would break all his rules for, it's Bree--his first friend, first love, first everything. Maybe he likes playing the hero. Maybe he's trying to ease ten years of guilt. Either way, he'll do whatever he can to help her. Wish #1: A little bit of normal.Bree Dunbar has battled cancer, twice. What she wants most is a fresh start in a place where she can find a new job, and where people aren't constantly treating her like she's sick. By some miracle her wish is granted, but it comes with one major string attached--the man who broke her heart ten years before.The rules for this marriage of convenience are simple: when she's ready to stand on her own two feet, she'll walk away and he'll let her go. Only, as they both know all too well, things don't always go according to plan . . .An Avon Romance

Date Added: 07/28/2017


Year: 2017

Category: Best First Book

The Way Back Home

by Barbara Freethy

In the small California town of River Rock, the river is always there--sometimes unpredictable and wild, sometimes a source of comfort, always a part of life. Bestselling author Barbara Freethy will capture your heart with an emotional story about love, family . . . and fighting for what matters most. Ex-Marine Gabe Ryder is fulfilling the last request of his best friend, Rob, who was killed in a firefight during their final days of service. He promised to help Rob's family-- especially Rob's twin sister, Alicia--with their struggling river rafting business. Gabe has a hidden past with Alicia, though. She's the woman who taught him that love might exist, yet he walked away from her. Alicia has more than enough on her plate with her brother's death, her father's injury from a tragic rafting accident, the entire town turning against them, and a series of dangerous attacks on her business. She doesn't need this rugged loner who broke her heart. But passion flares between them, and this time, they can't walk away. Alicia can't help wondering: did Rob really send Gabe to watch over her--or did he want her to show Gabe the way home?

Date Added: 01/15/2019


Year: 2013

Category: Contemporary Single Title

Tiffany Girl

by Deeanne Gist

From the bestselling author of It Happened at the Fair and Fair Play comes a compelling historical novel about a progressive “New Woman”—the girl behind Tiffany’s chapel—and the love that threatens it all.As preparations for the 1893 World’s Fair set Chicago and the nation on fire, Louis Tiffany—heir to the exclusive Fifth Avenue jewelry empire—seizes the opportunity to unveil his state-of-the-art, stained glass, mosaic chapel, the likes of which the world has never seen. But when Louis’s dream is threatened by a glassworkers’ strike months before the Fair opens, he turns to an unforeseen source for help: the female students at the Art Students League of New York. Eager for adventure, the young women pick up their skirts, move to boarding houses, take up steel cutters, and assume new identities as the “Tiffany Girls.” Tiffany Girl is the heartwarming story of the impetuous Flossie Jayne, a beautiful, budding artist who is handpicked by Louis to help complete the Tiffany chapel. Though excited to live in a boarding house when most women stayed home, she quickly finds the world is less welcoming than anticipated. From a Casanova male, to an unconventional married couple, and a condescending singing master, she takes on a colorful cast of characters to transform the boarding house into a home while racing to complete the Tiffany chapel and make a name for herself in the art world. As challenges mount, her ambitions become threatened from an unexpected quarter: her own heart. Who will claim victory? Her dreams or the captivating boarder next door?

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2016

Category: Long Historical Romance

Baby, It's You

by Jane Graves

"Irresistible. Jane Graves writes with charm, wit and heart!" --Carly Phillips, New York Times bestselling authorWith only the wedding dress on her back and her honeymoon luggage in the car, Kari Worthington is running away. Determined to put her controlling father, her rigidly structured life, and the uptight groom she left at the altar in her rearview mirror, she escapes to the Texas Hill country . . . and lands on a tall, dark, and gorgeous winery owner's doorstep. All she needs is a job and a place to live until she can get back on her feet. So why is she fantasizing about losing herself in his powerful arms?For Marc Cordero, freedom is so close he can taste it. He's devoted his life to managing the family business and being a single dad. Now with his daughter away at college and his brother taking over the winery, Marc is ready to hop on his Harley for parts unknown-until a runaway bride bursts onto the scene. Free-spirited and tantalizingly sexy, Kari excites him like no other woman has before. But when irresistible passion turns into something more, will Marc give up his future to take a chance on love?(90,000 words)

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2015

Category: Long Contemporary Romance

My Hope Next Door

by Tammy L. Gray

RITA Award winner, Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements.

Former bad girl Katie Stone can feel the weight of her reputation settle over her as she drives home for the first time in years. Feeling deeply guilty about her past mistakes, Katie wants to do the right thing for once. But the small town where she grew up is not nearly as forgiving as she'd hoped. Despite it all, she's determined to help her parents cope with her mother's recent illness, and Katie finds a surprise ally in the man next door.

Asher Powell never minded being the son of a small-town pastor until a recent breakup leaves him wounded by lifelong members of his church. He remembers his new neighbor as a mean-spirited high school troublemaker, but he senses that her newfound faith and desire for forgiveness are sincere.

Through an unexpected friendship, two people from different worlds find peace, hope, and a second chance they never dreamed was possible.

Date Added: 09/20/2017


Year: 2017

Category: Inspirational Romance

Scorched

by Laura Griffin

Kelsey Quinn set out to trace a murder victim. Now she may become one. The dead don't speak, but Kelsey knows their secrets. As a forensic anthropologist at the Delphi Center crime lab, Kelsey makes it her mission to identify bodies using no more than shards of bone, and her find at a remote Philippines dig hints at a sinister story. When Kelsey's search for answers puts her at the scene of her exfiancé's murder, only one man can help her. The same man who broke her heart just months before, and who is also a prime suspect. Faced with an ultimatum-- Kelsey or his job--Gage Brewer did the only thing a Navy SEAL could . . . but that doesn't mean he stopped wanting Kelsey. Now Kelsey is running for her life and Gage is her last line of defense. As the threats escalate, Kelsey realizes this conspiracy goes deeper and higher than they could have guessed. With the clock ticking down on a madman's plot, the slightest misstep will have unthinkable consequences. . . .becomes clear that the enemy they're fighting is more lethal than anyone ever imagined. And their most dangerous mission is only beginning.

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2013

Category: Romantic Suspense

Whisper of Warning

by Laura Griffin

WILL HE HELP PROVE HER INNOCENCE... OR LEAD A KILLER TO HER DOOR? Courtney Glass has been in trouble all her life, but nothing tops being an up-close witness to a brutal murder. Until she's accused of the crime. Every scrap of evidence points to her guilt, and only Courtney knows what really happened. Now she must prove that she's not a murderer...but is one of the killer's intended victims. As police investigators hammer her for answers, Courtney knows she has two choices: run, or trust the brooding, sexy detective who's made it clear she's his prime suspect. Will Hodges doesn't need Special Forces training to know that, despite Courtney's killer looks and razor-sharp tongue, her tough-girl act hides a vulnerable woman with a deadly secret. As the body count rises, Will realizes that a lethal enemy has Courtney in his crosshairs. The killer is waiting, watching her every move -- and he won't stop until her fear has grown from a whisper to a scream....

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2010

Category: Romantic Suspense

No Mistress of Mine

by Laura Lee Guhrke

A reformed rogue finds his tarnished honor tested by the only woman who ever broke his heart in this “spellbinding, sizzling” Victorian romance (Kirkus, starred review).Once one of the wildest rakes among the ton, Lord Denys Somerton is now devoted to putting his past behind him. He is determined to fulfill his duties, find a suitable wife, and start a family. But that plan changes when Lola Valentine—the red-haired temptress from his past—returns to London, sparking the same irresistible desires that almost ruined his life once before.As an American girl from the wrong side of the tracks—let alone the wrong side of the Atlantic—Lola has no romantic illusions. She knew that she can never be the wife of a British lord. For Denys’s sake, she walked away. But when an unexpected inheritance brings her back to London, Lola discovers the passion between them is as dangerously hot as ever. A RITA® Award Winner for Historical Romance Long!

Date Added: 07/28/2017


Year: 2017

Category: Long Historical Romance

For Real (A Spires Story)

by Alexis Hall

Laurence Dalziel, a thirty-seven year old trauma surgeon, is worn down and washed up. And for him the BDSM scene especially is all played out. He’s tired of pantomiming submission, and he’s long since given up looking for more than hollow release.

Then he meets Toby Finch. Nineteen years old. Fearless, fierce, and vulnerable. Everything Laurie can’t remember being.

Toby doesn’t know who he wants to be or what he wants to do. He doesn’t know how he ended up where he is or where he’s meant to be going. But he knows, with all the terrible certainty of youth, that he wants Laurie.

He wants Laurie on his knees. He wants to make him hurt, he wants to make him beg, he wants to make him fall in love. But while Laurie will surrender his body to Toby’s desires, he won’t surrender his heart. Because whatever they have, however right it feels, he knows it can’t last. Toby has to live his own life, and Laurie has to let him.

It can’t be for real.

Date Added: 09/20/2017


Year: 2016

Category: Erotic Romance

In Harm's Way

by Irene Hannon

FBI special agent Nick Bradley has seen his share of kooks during his fifteen years with the Bureau. But Rachel Sutton is an enigma. She seems normal when she shows up at the FBI office in St. Louis--until she produces a tattered Raggedy Ann doll she found and tells him she thinks something is wrong because of a strange feeling of terror it gives her when she touches it. Nick dismisses her, only to stumble across a link between the doll and an abducted child, setting in motion a chain of events that uncovers startling connections--and puts Rachel's life on the line.

Filled with palpable suspense and a touch of romance, In Harm's Way is the final installment of the thrilling HEROES OF QUANTICO series.

Praise for Irene Hannon:
"Extraordinary writing, vivid scenes, and a surprise ending come together for a not-to-be-missed reading experience."--Romantic Times
"I found someone who writes romantic suspense better than I do."--Dee Henderson

Date Added: 09/20/2017


Year: 2011

Category: Inspirational Romance

Now That You Mention It

by Kristan Higgins

New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins welcomes you home in this witty, emotionally charged novel about the complications of life, love and family

One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying?

Two major steps back. Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There’s only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn’t necessarily want her.

At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.

With a tough islander mother who’s always been distant, a wild-child sister in jail and a withdrawn teenage niece as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was, Nora has her work cut out for her if she’s going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.

Balancing loss and opportunity, dark events from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise…and the chance to begin again.

Date Added: 07/20/2018


Year: 2018

Category: Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance

Too Good to Be True

by Kristan Higgins

How far would you go to get over a guy?When Grace Emerson's ex-fiancé starts dating her younger sister, extreme measures are called for. To keep everyone from obsessing about her love life, Grace announces that she's seeing someone. Someone wonderful. Someone handsome. Someone completely made up. Who is this Mr. Right? Someone...exactly unlike her renegade neighbor Callahan O'Shea. Well, someone with his looks, maybe. His hot body. His knife-sharp sense of humor. His smarts and big heart.Whoa. No. Callahan O'Shea is not her perfect man! Not with his unsavory past. So why does Mr. Wrong feel so...right?

Date Added: 01/15/2019


Year: 2010

Category: Contemporary Single Title

A Noble Masquerade (Hawthorne House)

by Kristi Ann Hunter

Sparkling Regency Romance from a Captivating New Voice Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Entering her fourth Season and approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother's old school friend, a duke--with no intention of ever sending these private thoughts to a man she's heard stories about but never met. Meanwhile, she also finds herself intrigued by Marlow, her brother's new valet, and although she may wish to break free of the strictures that bind her, falling in love with a servant is more of a rebellion than she planned. When Marlow accidentally discovers and mails one of the letters to her unwitting confidant, Miranda is beyond mortified. And even more shocked when the duke returns her note with one of his own that initiates a courtship-by-mail. Insecurity about her lack of suitors shifts into confusion at her growing feelings for two men--one she's never met but whose words deeply resonate with her heart, and one she has come to depend on but whose behavior is more and more suspicious. When it becomes apparent state secrets are at risk and Marlow is right in the thick of the conflict, one thing is certain: Miranda's heart is far from all that's at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.

Date Added: 09/18/2017


Year: 2016

Category: Inspirational Romance

Seduced by a Pirate

by Eloisa James

In Eloisa James's companion story to The Ugly Duchess, Sir Griffin Barry, captain of the infamous pirate ship The Poppy, is back in England to claim the wife he hasn't seen since their wedding day . . . but this is one treasure that will not be so easy to capture.

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2013

Category: Romance Novella

First Grave On The Right

by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right is the smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Charley sees dead people. That's right, she sees dead people. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light. " But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i. e. , murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life. . . and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. This is a thrilling debut novel from Darynda Jones, an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense. First Grave on the Right is the winner of the 2012 Rita Award for Best First Book.

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2012

Category: Best First Book

The Iron King

by Julie Kagawa

MEGHAN CHASE HAS A SECRET DESTINY-ONE SHE COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED... Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school...or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth. For Meghan is the daughter of a mythical faery king...and a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face...and find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.Don't miss the first book in Julie Kagawa's highly anticipated new series, TALON, AVAILABLE OCTOBER 28, 2014

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2011

Category: Young Adult Romance

Carolina Dreaming

by Virginia Kantra

When it comes to love, anything can happen on Dare Island--especially in this latest novel from New York Times bestselling author Virginia Kantra. After escaping a disastrous marriage, bakery owner Jane Clark has convinced herself that she has everything she needs--her precious son, a thriving business, and a roof over her head. But the arrival of a handsome stranger on the island shows her exactly what she's been missing... The only home Gabe Murphy ever had was the Marine Corps. He's working hard to rebuild his life. It will take a special place, and a special woman, to make him want to stay. Now Gabe is determined to prove that he's worthy of Jane's trust--and her love. But when her past reappears, that trust will be tested, and Jane and Gabe will have to fight hard to hold onto their love and make their dreams a reality...

Date Added: 07/28/2017


Year: 2017

Category: Mid-Length Contemporary Romance

The Firebird

by Susanna Kearsley

New York Times Bestseller Two Women. One Mysterious Relic. Separated By Centuries. Nicola Marter was born with a gift so rare and dangerous, she kept it buried deep. When she encounters a desperate woman trying to sell a small wooden carving called "The Firebird," claiming it belonged to Russia's Empress Catherine, it's a problem. There's no proof. But Nicola's held the object. She knows the woman is telling the truth. Beloved by readers as varied and adventurous as her novels, you will never forget spending time in New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Susanna Kearsley's world. Reviewers love Susanna Kearsley Winner of RT Book Reviews Historical Fiction and Historical Fantasy/Paranormal Awards "A creative tour de aforce...Brilliant!"-New York Journal of Books "Romantic, passionate, and bittersweet, this intelligent, tension-laden story will sweep you away."-Historical Novel Review "An imaginatively captivating trip through time."-Fresh Fiction "Kearsley makes the impossible seem real...and makes history come alive."-Booklist Readers love The Firebird "If you closed your eyes and opened them again, you would be there, right in the story." "This is now my very favorite Kearsley novel...which is saying a lot." "Every scene leaves me wanting more." "Deeply romantic and filled with rich, fascinating history." "Expertly weaves two tales into one vastly entertaining read."

Date Added: 05/29/2017


Year: 2014

Category: Paranormal Romance


Showing 26 through 50 of 105 results