2016 RITA® Winners & Finalists

Contemporary Romance: Long

Winner: Brokedown Cowboy - Maisey Yates

• Finalists:

Fire Me Up - Kimberly Kincaid

Love Me Sweet - Tracy Brogan

Love Somebody Like You - Susan Fox

Once Kissed - Cecy Robson

Ransom Canyon - Jodi Thomas

Redemption Bay - RaeAnne Thayne

Searching For Beautiful - Jennifer Probst

Second Chance Summer - Jill Shalvis

The Secret Sister - Brenda Novak

Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length

Winner: Him - Sarina Bowen, Elle Kennedy

• Finalists:

A Cold Creek Christmas Story - RaeAnne Thayne

Dances Under The Harvest Moon - Joanne Rock

Falling For Mister Wrong - Lizzie Shane

Just Say Yes - Elizabeth Hayley

Love After All - Jaci Burton

The Marriage Contract - Katee Robert

Not A Fairy Tale - Romy Sommer

Once Pure - Cecy Robson

Romancing Miss Right - Lizzie Shane

Contemporary Romance: Short

Winner: The Nanny Plan - Sarah M. Anderson

• Finalists:

A Bramble House Christmas - C. J. Carmichael

Carter Bravo's Christmas Bride - Christine Rimmer

Chance Of A Lifetime - Marissa Clarke

Heated Moments - Phyllis Bourne

His Lost-and-Found Bride - Scarlet Wilson

One Night With Her Bachelor - Kat Latham

The Prince She Never Forgot - Scarlet Wilson

Tempting The Knight - Heidi Rice

Three Nights Before Christmas - Kat Latham

Erotic Romance

Winner: For Real: A Spires Story - Alexis Hall

• Finalists:

Break Me Down - Roni Loren

Say My Name - J. Kenner

Sugar - Seressia Glass

Three Little Mistakes - Nikki Sloane

First Book

Winner: Forget Tomorrow - Pintip Dunn

• Finalists:

Altered - Marnee Blake

Night Hush - Leslie Jones

No Better Man - Sara Richardson

A Noble Masquerade - Kristi Ann Hunter

Pairing Off - Elizabeth Harmon

The Strongest Steel - Scarlett Cole

Viking Warrior Rising - Asa Maria Bradley

Historical Romance: Long

Winner: Tiffany Girl - Deeanne Gist

• Finalists:

Bella And The Beast - Olivia Drake

Earls Just Want to Have Fun - Shana Galen

If The Viscount Falls - Sabrina Jeffries

Tremaine's True Love - Grace Burrowes

Historical Romance: Short

Winner: It Started With A Scandal - Julie Anne Long

• Finalists:

Falling Into Bed With A Duke - Lorraine Heath

Say Yes To The Marquess - Tessa Dare

Secrets Of A Scandalous Heiress - Theresa Romain

The Secrets Of Sir Richard Kenworthy - Julia Quinn

Sweetest Scoundrel - Elizabeth Hoyt

Inspirational Romance

Winner: A Noble Masquerade - Kristi Ann Hunter

• Finalists:

A Love Like Ours - Becky Wade

Mistletoe Justice - Carol J. Post

The Mountain Midwife - Laurie Alice Eakes

The Rescued - Marta Perry

Paranormal Romance

Winner: Must Love Chainmail - Angela Quarles

• Finalists:

Midnight's Kiss - Thea Harrison

Possessed By A Wolf - Sharon Ashwood

The Shattered Court - M. J. Scott

Soulbound - Kristen Callihan

Stars Of Fortune - Nora Roberts

Viking Warrior Rising - Asa Maria Bradley

Romance Novella

Winner: Nice Girls Don't Ride - Roni Loren

• Finalists:

All's Fair In Love And Scandal - Caroline Linden

Blue Streak (aka Hookup Master) - Jules Barnard

"Desert Heat" in Course Of Action: Crossfire - Merline Lovelace

"Her Secret Prince" in Royal Holiday - Madeline Ash

"Let It Shine" in The Brightest Day, A Juneteenth Historical Anthology - Alyssa Cole

One Little Kiss - Robin Covington

"The Resurrection Of Sam Sloan" in Dark And Damaged - Erin Quinn

Toward The Sunrise - Elizabeth Camden

Romantic Suspense

Winner: Flash Fire - Dana Marton

• Finalists:

Barefoot With A Bodyguard - Roxanne St. Claire

Barefoot With A Stranger - Roxanne St. Claire

Facing Fire - HelenKay Dimon

Fatal Frenzy - Marie Force

In The Waning Light - Loreth Anne White

She Can Kill - Melinda Leigh

The Strongest Steel - Scarlett Cole

Target Engaged - M. L. Buchman

Young Adult Romance

Winner: The Anatomical Shape Of A Heart - Jenn Bennett

• Finalists:

Followed By Frost - Charlie N. Holmberg

Rikki - Abigail Strom

Unspoken - C.C. Hunter