2017 RITA® Winners & Finalists

Contemporary Romance: Long

Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan

Always a Bridesmaid by Lizzie Shane - Self-published - Kristan Andrews

Hot in Hellcat Canyon by Julie Anne Long - HarperCollins, Avon - May Chen

Make Me Sin by J. T. Geissinger - Amazon, Montlake - Maria Gomez

Pansies by Alexis Hall - Riptide - Sarah Lyons

Snowfall on Haven Point by RaeAnne Thayne - HarperCollins, Harlequin, HQN - Gail Chasan

Tender Is the Night by Barbara Freethy - Hyde Street Press

Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length

Carolina Dreaming by Virginia Kantra

Back in the Saddle by Karen Templeton - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Special Edition - Gail Chasan

Barefoot at Midnight by Roxanne St. Claire - Self-published - Kristi Yanta

Fast Connection by Megan Erickson & Santino Hassell - Self-published

Lone Heart Pass by Jodi Thomas - HarperCollins, Harlequin, HQN - Brittany Lawery & Susan Swinwood

Off the Hook by Laura Drewry - PRH/Random House, Bantam, Loveswept - Junessa Viloria

Once and for All: An American Valor Novel by Cheryl Etchison - HarperCollins, Avon, Impulse - Priyanka Krishnan & Rebecca Lucash

Tell Me How This Ends by Victoria De La O - Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, Swerve - Eileen Rothschild

The Turning Point by Marie Meyer - Hachette, Grand Central, Forever Yours - Megha Parekh

Wanderlust by Roni Loren - PRH/Penguin, Berkley - Kate Seaver

Contemporary Romance: Short

Christmas on Crimson Mountain by Michelle Major

APB: Baby by Julie Miller - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Intrigue - Allison Lyons

Breaking Good by Madeline Ash - Tule, Holiday - Sinclaire Sawhney

Falling for the Rancher by Tanya Michaels - HarperCollins, Harlequin, American - Johanna Raisanen

Far from Home by Lorelie Brown - Riptide - Gwen Hayes & Sarah Lyons

His Stolen Bride by Barbara Dunlop - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Desire - Kathryn Lye

A Malibu Kind of Romance by Synithia Williams - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Kimani - Shannon Criss

Overwhelming Force by Janie Crouch - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Intrigue - Allison Lyons

Searching for Disaster by Jennifer Probst - Simon & Schuster, Pocket Star - Lauren McKenna

Two Doctors and a Baby by Brenda Harlen - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Special Edition - Susan Litman

Erotic Romance

Off the Clock by Roni Loren

The Dirty Secret by Kira A. Gold - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Carina Press - Libby Murphy

The Master by Tara Sue Me - PRH/Penguin, Berkley - Claire Zion

Ravenous by M. S. Force - HTJB - Linda Ingmanson

Three Sweet Nothings by Nikki Sloane - Self-published - Lori Whitwam

First Book

Once and for All: An American Valor Novel by Cheryl Etchison

Alterations by Stephanie Scott - Bloomsbury, Spark - Meredith Rich

Close to You by Kara Isaac - Simon & Schuster, Howard - Beth Adams

The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt - HarperCollins, HarperTeen - Annie Berger

Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods - PRH/Crown BFYR - Emily Easton

Historical Romance: Long

No Mistress of Mine by Laura Lee Guhrke

Dukes Prefer Blondes by Loretta Chase - HarperCollins, Avon - May Chen

How I Married a Marquess by Anna Harrington - Hachette, Grand Central, Forever - Michele Bidelspach

Susana and the Scot by Sabrina York - Macmillan, St. Martin's Press - Monique Patterson

Historical Romance: Short

A Duke to Remember by Kelly Bowen

Do You Want to Start a Scandal? by Tessa Dare - HarperCollins, Avon - Tessa Woodward

Duke of Sin by Elizabeth Hoyt - Hachette, Grand Central - Amy Pierpont

Left at the Altar by Margaret Brownley - Sourcebooks, Casablanca - Mary Altman

Study of Seduction by Sabrina Jeffries - Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books - Micki Nuding

Taming the Highlander by May McGoldrick - Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, Swerve - Elizabeth Poteet

Mainstream Fiction with a Central Romance

The Moon in the Palace by Weina Dai Randel

The Color of a Promise by Julianne MacLean - Self-published - Pat Thomas

The Depth of Beauty by A. B. Michaels - Red Trumpet - Rachel Daven Skinner

Now That It's You by Tawna Fenske - Amazon, Montlake - Krista Stroever & Christopher Werner

Paranormal Romance

The Pages of the Mind by Jeffe Kennedy

Bayou Shadow Hunter by Debbie Herbert - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Nocturne - Ann Leslie Tuttle

The Beast by J. R. Ward - PRH/Penguin, Berkley - Kara Welsh

The Champion of Baresh (aka Star Champion) by Susan Grant - Self-published - Mary Moran, editor

Enchanted Warrior by Sharon Ashwood - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Nocturne - Ann Leslie Tuttle

Ghost Gifts by Laura Lee Spinella - Amazon, Montlake - Alison Dasho

The Leopard King by Ann Aguirre - Self-published - Sasha Knight

Where the Wild Things Bite by Molly Harper - Simon & Schuster, Pocket Books - Abby Zidle

Romance Novella

Her Every Wish by Courtney Milan

"The Husband Maneuver" in With This Ring by Karen Witemeyer - Baker, Bethany House - Charlene Patterson

Let It Snow by Jeanette Grey - Hachette, Grand Central, Forever Yours - Megha Parekh & Lexi Smail

"Let Us Dream" in Daughter of a Nation by Alyssa Cole - Self-published - Nina S. Gooden

Searching for Mine by Jennifer Probst - Evil Eye Concepts - Liz Berry & M. J. Rose

Tycoon by Joanna Shupe - Kensington - Peter Senftleben

Wild in Rio by Lyssa Kay Adams - Self-published - Elaine Kulhanek

Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements

My Hope Next Door by Tammy L. Gray

Close to You by Kara Isaac - Simon & Schuster, Howard - Beth Adams

Keeper of the Stars by Robin Lee Hatcher - Thomas Nelson - Ami McConnell & Leslie Peterson

Trust My Heart by Carol J. Post - Amazon, Waterfall - Erin Calligan Mooney

Romantic Suspense

Repressed by Elisabeth Naughton

All the Dead Girls by Rita Herron - Amazon, Montlake - Alison Dasho

Atone by Beth Yarnall - PRH/Random House, Bantam, Loveswept - Sue Grimshaw

Field of Graves by J. T. Ellison - HarperCollins, Harlequin, MIRA Books - Nicole Brebner

Killer Countdown by Amelia Autin - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Romantic Suspense - Carly Silver

Mr. and Mr. Smith by HelenKay Dimon - PRH/Random House, Bantam, Loveswept - Shauna Summers

One Minute to Midnight by Nico Rosso - HarperCollins, Harlequin, Carina Press - Rhonda Stapleton

Tall, Dark and Damaged by Sarah Andre - Self-published - Anya Kagan, Touchstone Editing

Young Adult Romance

The Problem with Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Affective Needs by Rebecca Taylor - Ophelia House - Maya Packard

The Distance from A to Z by Natalie Blitt - HarperCollins, HarperTeen - Annie Berger

Summer of Supernovas by Darcy Woods - PRH/Crown BFYR - Emily Easton