RITA Awards
Founded in 1980, Romance Writers of America (RWA) is a national nonprofit genre writers' association – the largest of its kind in the world. The RITA awards are presented in a variety of categories within the Romance genre and have been announced every year since 1982. For more information on RWA and the RITA Awards, please go to www.rwanational.org.
Best Contemporary Single Title:
2007 – Mommy Quest by Lori Handelan
Life has never been easy for Tim. Abandoned and left to fend for himself, he's finally found a home with Dean Luchetti. But something's missing. Tim's convinced that what he needs is a mother and what Dean needs is a wife. And he thinks he's got the perfect candidate in Stella O'Connell, his school's principal. The last person Stella expects to encounter at her new school is Dean Luchetti, the man who broke her heart as a teenager. Dean and Stella may have a difficult past, but they feel the same strong attraction they always did – and if they're not careful, history could repeat itself. Breaking each other's hearts is one thing, but breaking Tim's is an altogether different matter.
(Harlequin Super Romance #1334 – Note: this title does not have its own record in our catalog)
2006 – Lakeside Cottage by Susan Wiggs
2005 – Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
2004 – Birthright by Nora Roberts
2003 – No Place Like Home by Barbara Samuel
Best Historical Romance:
2007 – On the Way to the Wedding by Julie Quinn
Gregory Bridgerton's six siblings have all fallen prey to love, so he figures he need only sit back and wait for "the one" to waltz into his life. Then he meets Hermione Watson. The "breathtakingly perfect curve of her neck" convinces Gregory that she's destined to be his, but Hermione's practical, plainspoken friend Lucy Abernathy throws cold water on his aspirations when she informs him that Hermione's heart belongs to another.
2006 – The Devil to Pay by Liz Carlyle
2005 – Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale
2004 – The Destiny by Kathleen Givens
2003 – Stealing Heaven by Madeline Hunter
Best Romantic Suspense:
2007 – Blackout by Annie Solomon
Margo Scott, owner of a small Washington, D.C., bookstore, awakens to find she can't remember the last month of her life. Worse, that same day she's questioned in the murder of Frank Temple, the deputy director of Washington's elite Terrorism Control Force, a man she swears she's never met. Soon Margo realizes she has no evidence of the normal life she knows, no photos, no contacts in her PDA, while evidence of a life she has no recollection of piles up, including her expert combat skills and a government tail named Jack Wise.
2006 – Survivor In Death by J.D. Robb
2005 – I'm Watching You by Karen Rose
2004 – Remember When by Nora Roberts
2003 – Three Fates by Nora Roberts
Best Paranormal Romance
2007 – A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole
Seeking revenge for years of torture from the vampire horde, Laclain MacRieve, leader of the Lykae Clan of werewolves, abducts the ethereal Emmaline, a young woman who is half Valkyrie and half vampire, and finds himself falling in love with his captive, unaware that only she holds the key to bringing peace to three rival clans.
2006 – Gabriel's Ghost by Linnea Sinclair *
2005 – Blue Moon by Lori Handeland
2004 – Shades of Midnight by Linda Fallon *
2003 – Contact by Susan Grant *
Best Inspirational Romance
2007 – Revealed by Tamera Alexander *
After her husband dies, Annabelle Grayson advertises for a trail guide to accompany her to land waiting for her in Idaho – and a most unlikely candidate applies for the job. Matthew Taylor is a man on the run, with consequences of past mistakes pursuing him at every turn. Meeting Annabelle the first time was unpleasant enough, but when she crosses his path again, her presence in his life – and what she reveals – is devastating. If given a single wish, Matthew would turn back time and right a grievous wrong.
2006 – Heavens To Betsy by Beth Pattillo *
2005 – Grounds to Believe by Shelley Bates *
2004 – Autumn Dreams by Gayle Roper
2003 – Never Say Goodbye by Irene Hannon *
Best First Book
2007 – The Husband Trap by Tracy Anne Warren *
Violet Brantford has always longed for the passionate embrace of Adrian Winter, the wealthy Duke of Raeburn. Problem is, he's set to marry Violet's vivacious, more socially polished, look-alike twin sister, Jeannette. But when Jeannette refuses to go through with the ceremony mere minutes before it is to begin, soft-spoken Violet finds herself walking down the aisle and taking vows in her sister's place. Soon, shy Violet is a high-society wife, trying to keep her real identity a secret while living out the fantasies of her wildest dreams.
2006 – Show Her The Money by Stephanie Feagan *
2005 – Time Off for Good Behavior by Lani Rich
2004 – Back Roads by Susan Crandall *
2003 – Shades of Honor by Wendy Lindstrom *
* = Wake County Public Libraries do not currently own this title.