This weekend, novelist Barbara O’Neal (pictured) won the Best Novel With Strong Romantic Elements award for for The Lost Recipe for Happiness at the Romance Writers of America’s annual convention.
The annual RITA competition celebrated a number of romantic titles. The award for Best Young Adult Romance went to Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles and Best Inspirational Romance went to The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander. All the winners are listed below.
Here’s more about the annual award: “Up to 1,200 romance novels from 12 different categories are entered in the RITA competition each year. A novel may be entered either by the author or by the book’s publisher in one of the 12 categories. After the first round of judging by published romance authors, the competition narrows to approximately 100 finalists.”
Best Romance Novella
“The Christmas Eve Promise” In The Night Before Christmas by Molly O’Keefe
Best Contemporary Series, Romance A Not-So-Perfect Past by Beth Andrews
Best Contemporary Series Romance, Suspense/Adventure
The Soldier’s Secret Daughter by Cindy Dees
Best Historical Romance
Not Quite A Husband by Sherry Thomas
Best Regency Historical Romance
What Happens In London by Julia Quinn
Best Paranormal Romance
Kiss of a Demon King by Kresley Cole
Best Romantic Suspense
Whisper of Warning by Laura Griffin
Best First Book
One Scream Away by Kate Brady
Best Contemporary Single Title Romance
Too Good To Be True by Kristin Higgins