RITA Reads: Part II

Tomorrow night the 2012 RITA and Golden Heart winners will be announced. I plan to be online, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winners.

Contemporary Single Title, and Novel with Strong Romantic Elements are the second two of the four categories that most of my RITA reads from among the 2012 finalists fall into, and I have the same ambivalence about choosing a single book to champion that I have with the books in the Historical and Regency Historical categories.

This is another strong field with a group of books that would be splendid additions to keeper shelves. These are the finalists:

At Hidden Falls by Barbara Freethy (Pocket Books)
Black Ties and Lullabies by Jane Graves (Grand Central Publishing Forever)
Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe (Carina Press)

Heartstrings and Diamond Rings by Jane Graves (Grand Central Publishing Forever)

Silver Sparks by Starr Ambrose (Pocket Books)
Slow Dancing on Price’s Pier by Lisa Dale (Berkley Publishing Group)
Summer at Seaside Cove by Jacquie D’Alessandro (Berkley Publishing Group)
The Welcome Home Garden Club by Lori Wilde (Avon Books)

I’ve read seven of the eight finalists in the Contemporary Single Title category. I read the seventh one this week as I was preparing this post. I checked it out, liked the summary, bought it, and was ready to read it five minutes later. I love my ereader.

• At Hidden Falls shows the same mix of light paranormal elements and romance that made her RITA-winning debut novel, Daniel’s Gift (1996), such a success, and it adds the small-town setting that is so popular now.
• Jane Graves, who is among the best I know at combining humor and heart, competes against herself with two books in this category. I’d give Black Ties and Lullabies the edge because I’ve wanted to see Jeremy Bridges hit hard by love since I read Hot Wheels and High Heels (2007). I love Graves’s titles too.
• Boomerang Bride by Fiona Lowe is the one I just read. Both author and book were new to me when I read the lists of finalists, but I’ll definitely be looking for more single-titles from Lowe. Boomerang Bride is funny and sweet with a great secondary romance, and the small town is in Wisconsin. How rare is that?
• Slow Dancing on Price’s Pier combines a woman’s journey to self-discovery with a compelling love story. It was my first book by Lisa Dale; I’ve read three more since reading it.
• Summer at Seaside Cove is a fun read with characters that are easy to like. It’s a book that had it been published anonymously would have inspired me to say this is the kind of book Jacquie D’Alessandro would write.
• The success of The Welcome Home Garden Club offers more evidence that a writer can take tired elements—estranged, illegitimate son, bad-boy/good-girl romance, secret baby (with a twist)—and with skill create a story that makes readers fall in love with the characters and believe in their story.

My ballot is marked, and I reiterate that like my political ballots, it will remain private. But all of these books are deserving of recognition. If I were selecting the finalist, I’d add Angel’s Rest by Emily March. I adored Gabriel Callahan, a man who lost two lives but gets a shot at a third after love and Eternity Springs work their healing miracle.

Novel with Strong Romantic Elements is one of my favorite categories because I love what I call hybrid books, those that combine romance with women’s fiction, mystery, science fiction, or some other genre. Look at these finalists.

The Dark Enquiry by Deanna Raybourn (Harlequin MIRA)
Death Magic by Eileen Wilks (Berkley Publishing Group Sensation)
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (St. Martin’s Press)
Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros (Gallery Books)
How to Bake a Perfect Life by Barbara O’Neal (Ballantine Bantam Dell)
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley (Sourcebooks Landmark)
Shadow Walker by Allyson James (Berkley Publishing Group Sensation)
Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray (Berkley Publishing Group)
Spider’s Revenge by Jennifer Estep (Pocket Books)

I’ve read six of this year’s eight finalists, a bit on the low side for me in this category.

• The Dark Enquiry, the fifth book in Raybourn’s Lady Julia Grey series, is the third in the series to be named a RITA finalist. The first one, Silent in the Grave won in 2008. The Dark Enquiry is filled with more of Lady Julia’s adventures, more of the enigmatic Nicholas Brisbane who is now her husband, and more of Raybourn’s superb writing. I love the series! 
• I read First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones, which is outside my usual reading range, because of conference swag. I have great friends, and every year for the past several years, one or more of them has sent a me, the perennial stay-at-home, a conference goodie box from Nationals. Last year my gift package from Romance Dish PJ included a terrific notebook with the cover of Darynda Jones’s second novel on it. Now the cover said not-your-kind-of-book, but I loved the notebook. It was a perfect size for writing scenes, it was the good kind of spiral-bound that folds over easily, it had thick paper that my preferred gel pen flowed over in a way that made me feel super productive. And every time I used it I saw the cover and the author’s name. When I saw First Grave on the Right as I was browsing in a bookstore one day, I felt honor bound to buy it because I had enjoyed that notebook so much. I did, I read it, I thought Charley was a wonderful character, and I’ve continued to read the series. It just goes to show that swag can win a reader.
• Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros has its critics, but I enjoyed it. I also admire authors who take chances, and Medeiros definitely moved away from the subgenre that’s made her famous with this one. She’s an eight-time RITA finalist, and I’d certainly cheer happily to see her win one of the golden ladies.  
• Barbara O’Neal writes books that I read and ruminate on and rave about to anyone who will listen. How to Bake a Perfect Life is vintage O’Neal/Samuel with language that delights the mind and the senses, characters that are so real I can almost grasp their hands, and an emotional punch that leaves me dizzy with its power. She’s won six RITAs and been a finalist an additional seven times. A win this year in this category would place her in the RWA Hall of Fame, an overdue honor.
• I’m not a fan of time-travel books generally, including some that are high favorites of most romance readers, but The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley is a beautifully written book with a rich, evocative sense of place that is also a time-travel story within a book that defies easy classification.
• I’m a big fan of historical fiction that gives voices to women silenced by history. Song of the Nile, the second book of a trilogy based on the life of Cleopatra’s and Mark Anthony’s daughter, Selene, is such a book. The characterization is complex, and the story is compelling.

I’m impressed by the variety among the group. Taken together, they show how romantic elements can be woven effectively into almost any kind of story. What’s missing? I’d cast an enthusiastic vote for The Beach Trees by Karen White, one of my top reads of 2011.

Congratulations and best wishes to all the finalists in all the categories.

So how many of these have you read? What favorites didn’t make the finalists this year? Will I see you on Twitter tomorrow?

RITA Reads: Part I

A week from tomorrow, the 2012 RITA and Golden Heart winners will be announced. It’s been four months since Facebook and Twitter were buzzing with news of who this year’s finalists were. I spent a lot of time online that day, reading posts and cheering when a favorite author or book was recognized, muttering imprecations when another was overlooked. I plan to be online again next Saturday, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winners.

I already have my ballot prepared with my choices highlighted. I am a flag-waving partisan when I feel a personal connection. For me, the most exciting moments will be the Golden Heart winners in two categories. “Meant to Be” by Terri Osburn is a finalist in the Contemporary Single Title category and “The Suspicions of Cairo Jones” by Mary Danielson is a finalist in the Young Adult category. My support for these two is undiluted and totally biased. I don’t know the other finalists, and while I wish them all well, I am an unabashed fan of these two friends in whose talent and merit I believe without reservations.

Even though I’ve read a respectable forty of the ninety-five finalists (a much better percentage than I had with the Oscar-nominated films I had seen), twenty-seven of them are in four categories: Historical, Regency Historical, Contemporary Single Title, and Novel with Strong Romantic Elements. I’ve read no paranormal finalists and from one to four books in the other seven categories. What this means is that my interest is mild and non-partisan in more than half the categories.  In Romantic Suspense I’ve read a single book, but it’s by a long-time favorite author. I’ll be delighted if Secrets of Bella Terra by Christina Dodd wins in that category and La Dodd takes home her second Rita. Candle in the Wind won in 1992 for Best First Novel. She’s was also a Golden Heart Winner in 1990.

I had a hard time selecting a winner in the four categories in which I’ve read most of the books. I continue to be ambivalent because so many of my favorite books of 2011 and my favorite authors are represented. Look at the finalists for Best Historical.

Always a Temptress by Eileen Dreyer (Grand Central Publishing Forever)

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne (Berkley Publishing Group)
The Danger of Desire by Elizabeth Essex (Kensington Brava)
Heartbreak Creek by Kaki Warner (Berkley Publishing Group Sensation)
The Many Sins of Lord Cameron by Jennifer Ashley (Berkley Publishing Group Sensation)
Scandalous Desires by Elizabeth Hoyt (Grand Central Publishing)
Silk Is for Seduction by Loretta Chase (Avon Books)
Unveiled by Courtney Milan (HQN Books)

I’ve read seven of the eight nominated books, and I thought all seven were winners.

• I thought Dreyer’s Kate was one of the best historical heroines of the year, smart and courageous and fiercely loyal.
• Bourne’s The Black Hawk was tied for my #1 read of the year; it has everything—fascinating characters, adventure, complexity, historical richness, and one of the most memorable love scenes in romance fiction.
• Kaki Warner made me fall in love again with Westerns, and I found this one with its post-Civil War background especially compelling.
• Ashley’s Cameron MacKenzie is a wounded hero par excellence, and Ainsley Douglas is wise enough and strong enough to save him from himself. Gotta love that storyline plus Ashley is due. I still think it was a shame that The Madness of Lord Ian MacKenzie didn’t final in 2010.
• Hoyt is an amazing writer, writing darkness shot through with light, teaming the puritanical and the uninhibited, and crafting sizzling love scenes that serve plot and character. Charming Mickey won a lot of readers’ hearts.
• Every book Chase writes is a textbook in how to create characters that come alive and etch themselves into the reader’s memory. The first of her Noirot books is no exception. The description of the clothing is a visual delight, and there’s another unforgettable child.
• I have a weakness for intelligent romances, and Milan is superb in creating them. Unveiled is both romance and bromance, and it’s exceptional on both levels.

I haven’t read the Essex book, but the strength of the field leads me to think it too is a worth book. My ballot is marked, and like my political ballots, it will remain private. But truthfully, I’d be pleased to see any of those I’ve read receive the RITA. I do think there’s a book missing from the list: A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran, one of the best books of the year from one of the best writers in the genre.

The only category in which I’ve read all the nominated books is the Regency Historical.

The Devil in Disguise by Stefanie Sloane (Ballantine Bantam Dell)
Heiress in Love by Christina Brooke (St. Martin’s Press)
How to Marry a Duke by Vicky Dreiling (Grand Central Publishing Forever)
How to Seduce a Scoundrel by Vicky Dreiling (Grand Central Publishing Forever)
Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish by Grace Burrowes (Sourcebooks Casablanca)
A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare (Avon Books)
To Seduce an Angel by Kate Moore (Berkley Publishing Group Sensation)
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James (Avon Books)

This is another list of winners.

• Stefanie Sloane’s debut hooked me for the series even though it was another spy book. It has wit and charm and engaging characters.
• Brooke gives her readers a central relationship that develops gradually and credibly, and the Ministry of Marriage is an interesting twist.
• Dreiling is another debut author to watch, as her triple-threat finalists in these awards suggest. Despite a gimmick I found unappealing, I was won over by HTMAD’s engaging characters who actually (gasp!) talk to one another.
• I think How to Seduce a Scoundrel is even better than Dreiling’s first book.  I loved the Quinnish flavor of the dialogue, and Aunt Hester alone would have made the book a winner for me.
• I love Burrowes’s Windhams, I love Christmas books, I love cabin romances, I even love babies in books. Lady Sophie’s Christmas Wish has all of these. It’s irresistible. 
• The premise of Tessa Dare’s Spindle Cove, a place where the women who don’t fit into society for a variety of reasons go to be themselves, is wonderful. Sunny Susanna and stern Bram, equally strong-minded, are deftly drawn, delightfully engaging characters.
• Every Kate Moore book I read makes me wonder why she’s not among the bestsellers in romance fiction. She’s an extraordinary writer, and the cast of memorable characters in To Seduce an Angel, the conclusion to her trilogy show why.
• In When Beauty Tamed the Beast, her second fairytale-based romance novel, Eloisa James combines elements of the traditional story with subtle subversions of it to weave a tale rich with humor, high in sizzle factor, and substantive in its portrayal of love as a healing, transforming power.

This is a stellar field representing the most popular subgenre in historical romance. It’s an exciting mix of new authors and veterans who have earned many stars. Whoever wins, there are sure to be thousands of fans rejoicing. I will admit that my rejoicing will be more exuberant with one particular writer as winner, but I will be pleased for whoever wins. Anyone missing? Oh, yes, I couldn’t believe that What I Did for a Duke by Julie Anne Long was not a contender. It was at the top of my Best of 2011 list, a choice that was repeated on a number of lists.

Congratulations and best wishes to all the finalists. I’ll be back next Friday to talk about the finalists for Contemporary Single Title and Novel with Strong Romantic Elements.

How many of the finalists in these two categories have you read? Do you have favorites? What books do you think are missing from the lists?

If you’d like to create your own ballot to check your vote or predictions against the RWA winners, you can copy and paste easily from the list on Barbara Vey’s March 27 Beyond Her Book blog.