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We’re excited to participate in the RITA Award Finalist Spotlight Blog Tour. In case you don’t already know, the RITA Award is “the highest award of distinction in romance fiction, [recognizing] excellence in published romance novels and novellas.” Winners will be announced at the end of July at the RWA Annual Conference. We’d like to wish a heartfelt congratulations to all of the RITA finalists, which you can check out right here!
Today we’re featuring three 2017 RITA Award Finalists in the Novella Category. Be sure to let us know if you’ve read these and which one is your favorite!
***Searching for Mine by Jennifer Probst***
Searching for Mine by Jennifer Probst
Editors: Liz Berry and M.J. Rose
Series:Searching For #4.5
Published by Evil Eye Concepts on February 9th 2016
Pages: 130
Goodreads Buy the Book
Connor Dunkle knows what he wants in a woman, and it’s the three B’s. Beauty. Body. Boobs. Other women need not apply. With his good looks and easygoing charm, he’s used to getting what he wants—and who. Until he comes face to face with the one woman who’s slowly making his life hell…and enjoying every moment…
Ella Blake is a single mom and a professor at the local Verily college who’s climbed up the ranks the hard way. Her ten-year-old son is a constant challenge, and her students are driving her crazy—namely Connor Dunkle, who’s failing her class and trying to charm his way into a better grade. Fuming at his chauvinistic tendencies, Ella teaches him the ultimate lesson by giving him a special project to help his grade. When sparks fly, neither of them are ready to face their true feelings, but will love teach them the ultimate lesson of all?
***About Jennifer Probst***
Jennifer Probst wrote her first book at twelve years old. She bound it in a folder, read it to her classmates, and hasn’t stopped writing since. She took a short hiatus to get married, get pregnant, buy a house, get pregnant again, pursue a master’s in English Literature, and rescue two shelter dogs. Now she is writing again.
She makes her home in Upstate New York with the whole crew. Her sons keep her active, stressed, joyous, and sad her house will never be truly clean.
She is the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of sexy and erotic contemporary romance. She was thrilled her book, The Marriage Bargain, was ranked #6 on Amazon’s Best Books for 2012, and spent 26 weeks on the New York Times. Her work has been translated in over a dozen countries, sold over a million copies, and was dubbed a “romance phenom” by Kirkus Reviews. She is also a proud RITA finalist.
She loves hearing from readers.
***Tycoon by Joanna Shupe***
Tycoon by Joanna Shupe
Editor: Peter Senftleben
Series: The Knickerbocker Club #0.5
Published by Kensington Publishing Corp. on February 23, 2016
Pages: 80
Goodreads Buy the Book
Standing on the platform at Grand Central Station, Ted Harper is surprised by a fiery kiss from an undeniably gorgeous damsel in distress. He’s certain she’s a swindler who’s only after his money, but he’s never met a woman so passionate and sure of herself. Disarmed, he invites her to spend the journey to St. Louis in his private car—perhaps against his better judgment . . .
Clara Dawson has long known how to take care of herself, but the savvy shop girl is at a loss when she witnesses—and becomes entangled in—a terrible crime. Desperation propels her into a stranger’s arms at the train station, but she hadn’t expected Ted to offer her the protection she so badly needs—nor did she expect their chemistry to develop more steam than the engine of the train. He’s everything she never thought she could have, and she’s everything he didn’t know he wanted. But as her secrets begin to unfurl, their fledgling romance could be in danger of derailing before they arrive at the next station…
***About Joanna Shupe***
Joanna Shupe has always loved history, ever since she saw her first Schoolhouse Rock cartoon. While in college, Joanna read every romance she could get her hands on and soon started crafting her own racy historical novels. In 2013, she won Romance Writers of America’s prestigious Golden Heart® Award for Best Historical. She now lives in New Jersey with her two spirited daughters and dashing husband.
***Wild in Rio by Lyssa Kay Adams***
Wild in Rio by Lyssa Kay Adams
Editor: Elaine Kulhanek
Series: Love at the Games
Published by Self-Published on July 28, 2016
Pages: 152
Goodreads Buy the Book
Ever Beckinsale is as competitive as any other athlete in Rio, but the American equestrian has at least one more reason than most for pursuing gold. If she can win, she’ll finally have the leverage she needs to live her life on her own terms and escape the stifling expectations of being the daughter of one of America’s richest families. But she’ll still have one last unfulfilled dream—finding the mysterious stranger who showed her an unexpected kindness two years ago.
Irish boxer Padraig O’Callahan prides himself on being able to size people up in a glance, so it shakes him to the core when he discovers that the mystery woman who stole his heart two years ago in Ireland is not only an athlete in Rio, she’s also a bona fide heiress. That makes her one hundred percent off-limits in his book. The last thing he needs distracting him from winning the gold is a spoiled little rich girl who apparently conned him into believing she needed his help. But as soon as he pushes Ever away, he realizes his mistake. There’s more to her than meets the eye, and he wants her body and soul.
When an unexpected encounter turns into an unforgettable night, can Padraig convince the skittish Ever to take a chance on him? Or will winning the gold mean losing a chance at one wild love?
***About Lyssa Kay Adams***
Lyssa Kay Adams is an award-winning journalist who gave up the world of true stories to pen emotional romances featuring sexy baseball heroes. A diehard Detroit Tigers fan, she will occasionally cheer for the Red Sox because her husband is from Boston. Lyssa lives in Michigan with her family and an anxiety-ridden Maltese who steals food and buries it around the house and who will undoubtedly be a character in a future book.
Did your favorite novella make the list? Let us know if we’re missing out and which of these is your favorite. And don’t forget to check out the RITA Award Finalist Spotlight Blog Tour!
