The Romantic
Novelists' Association announces shortlists for
The RoNAs (Romantic
Novel Awards) 2015
The Romantic Novel of
the Year 2015
Barbara Taylor
Bradford to present the awards on 16th March
£5000 prize for winner
of Romantic Novel of the Year
The contenders are announced
today for the RoNAs (Romantic Novel Awards) 2015 and the overall, most
prestigious, award – The Romantic Novel of the Year 2015.
The awards
comprise six categories – Contemporary Romantic Novel, Epic Romantic Novel,
Historical Romantic Novel, Romantic Comedy Novel, Young Adult Romantic Novel and
the RoNA Rose Novel (for shorter and category romance) – with six authors
shortlisted for each one.
Barbara
Taylor Bradford, herself the author of thirty novels, will present the Romantic
Novelists' Association (RNA) Awards for 2015 during a glittering ceremony in
the Gladstone Library, One Whitehall Place, London SW1 on 16th March.
Once
the category winners have been announced, and elegant star-shaped crystal
trophies presented to mark their success, the winner of each category will go
forward to compete for the overall prize of The Romantic Novel of the Year Award. Barbara Taylor Bradford will reveal
the author whose book has won the RNA's most prestigious and coveted award.
In
addition to a special glass trophy, which is passed on from the previous year’s
recipient, the winner of the Romantic Novel of the Year will also receive a
cheque for £5000 (five thousand pounds).
There were a
record number of entries this year and 2015 also sees three male authors
amongst those contesting the awards. Novels submitted cover a wide spectrum of
topics and subjects. Readers can expect anything from ditzy romantic comedies,
and hot steamy contemporary romance to intrigue, suspense and bold, fearless
heroes in highly charged dramatic or historical situations.
Each
book was read by a panel of three independent readers drawn from an ever-growing
list of over 100 volunteers. The readers, who are not members of the RNA, come
from a variety of backgrounds and range in age from 18 to 85. All have one
thing in common: they are passionate about romantic novels.
Since
its inception in 1960 the RNA has promoted excellence in romantic fiction and
its Chairman, Pia Fenton, commented, “The shortlists show that romantic fiction covers an amazing array of
different sub-genres, all equal as far as we are concerned. I love the diversity of the shortlisted books
and authors, and I am thrilled that we had such a high number of entries this
year, showing the popularity of this type of fiction. We are very grateful to
all the publishers who supported these awards by sending us their entries. Huge congratulations to all the authors who
are shortlisted this year, it’s a great achievement!”
In previous years winners have included such
well known and much loved names as
Joanna Trollope, Freya North, Rosie Thomas, JoJo Moyes and Rosamunde
Pilcher.
The 2015
RNA Awards will be announced and presented by Barbara Taylor Bradford on 16th
March in the Gladstone Library, One Whitehall Place, 2 Whitehall Court, London
SW1A 2EJ. The event starts at 6.00 pm
and the awards presentation will start at 6.45 pm and will take approximately
45 minutes.
The Category Shortlists
Listed
in alphabetical order
The Contemporary Romantic Novel
category is for mainstream romantic novels set post-1960 and includes genres
such as chick lit, paranormal and romantic suspense.
Julie Cohen, Where Love Lies, Bantam Press
Jenny Colgan, Christmas at Rosie Hopkins’ Sweet Shop, Sphere
(Little, Brown)
Lucy Dillon, A Hundred Pieces of Me, Hodder & Stoughton
Ciara Geraghty, Now That I’ve Found You, Hodder &
Stoughton
Jill Mansell, The Unpredictable Consequences of Love, Headline
Review
Katy Regan, The Story of You, Harper Fiction
The Epic Romantic Novel category contains serious
issues or themes, including gritty, multi-generational stories.
Elizabeth Buchan, I Can’t Begin to Tell You, Penguin
Michael Joseph
Barbara Erskine, The Darkest Hour,
Harper Fiction
Emma Fraser, We Shall Remember, Sphere (Little Brown)
Ella Harper, Pieces of You, Avon
Rosanna Ley, Return to Mandalay, Quercus
Alison McQueen, Under the Jewelled Sky, Orion Fiction
The Historical Romantic Novel category
is for novels set in a period before 1960.
Charlotte Betts, The Spice Merchant’s Wife, Piatkus, (Little, Brown)
Stephen Burke, The Good Italian, Hodder & Stoughton
Marina Fiorato, Beatrice and Benedick, Hodder &
Stoughton
Hazel Gaynor, The Girl Who Came Home, William Morrow,
(Harper Collins)
Susan Lanigan, White Feathers, Brandon (O’Brien Press)
Isabel Wolff, Ghostwritten, Harper Fiction
The Romantic Comedy Novel is for consistently
humorous or amusing novels.
David Atkinson, Love Byte, Buried River Press
Jane Costello, The Time of Our Lives, Simon & Schuster
Lucy-Anne Holmes, Just a Girl, Standing in Front of a Boy, Sphere
(Little, Brown)
Milly Johnson, The Teashop on the Corner, Simon & Schuster
Mhairi McFarlane, It’s Not Me, It’s You, Harper Fiction
Laura Tait and Jimmy
Rice, The Best Thing That Never Happened
To Me, Corgi
The Young Adult Romantic Novel features
protagonists who are teenagers or young adults.
Cat Clarke, A Kiss in the Dark, Quercus
Keren David, Salvage, Atom, (Little, Brown)
Imogen Howson, Unravel, Quercus
Sarra Manning, The Worst Girlfriend in the World, Atom, (Little, Brown)
Joss Stirling, Misty Falls, Oxford University Press
Joss Stirling, Struck, Oxford University Press
The RoNA Rose Award recognises the best in
category/series and shorter romance that focus on developing a love affair
between the hero and heroine.
Louise Allen, Scandal’s Virgin, Harlequin Mills &
Boon Historical
Caroline Anderson,
Risk of a Lifetime, Mills & Boon
Medical Romance
Fiona Harper, Taming Her Italian
Boss, Harlequin Romance/Mills & Boon Cherish
Margaret McPhee, The Gentleman Rogue, Harlequin Mills
& Boon Historical
Carol Townend, Unveiling Lady Clare, Harlequin Mills
& Boon Historical
Scarlet Wilson, The Heir of the Castle, Harlequin
Romance/Mills & Boon Cherish
The RNA has been
giving out awards for excellence in romantic fiction since the organisation was
started in 1960. For a list of past
winners please see our website.
Here
follows a brief description of each novel in category order:
Contemporary Romantic Novel
Julie Cohen, Where Love Lies, Bantam Press
Felicity believes she’s happily
married, until she starts to experience a strange phantom scent, closely
followed by the overwhelming feeling of being in love—with a man who’s not her
husband. The feeling is so strong and urgent that she begins doing things that
no one can understand.
Jenny Colgan, Christmas at Rosie Hopkin’s Sweet Shop, Sphere (Little Brown)
Rosie
Hopkins is looking forward to Christmas in the little Derbyshire village of
Lipton, buried under a thick blanket of snow. Her sweetshop is festooned with
striped candy canes, large tempting piles of Turkish Delight, crinkling
selection boxes and happy, sticky children. But when a tragedy strikes at the
heart of their little community, all of Rosie's plans for the future seem to be
blown apart. Can she build a life in Lipton? And is what's best for the
sweetshop also what's best for Rosie?
Lucy Dillon, A Hundred Pieces of Me, Hodder & Stoughton
Gina’s sorting out her life so
she can make a fresh start; only the hundred possessions that mean the most can
stay. Each item holds a memory, and letting go is hard, but what comes into the
space Gina creates in her house – and fragile heart – changes her world
forever.
Ciara Geraghty, Now That I’ve Found You, Hodder & Stoughton
Vinnie is a single father, struggling to raise
his children on his own. One day, Vinnie has a panic attack while driving Ellen – a weekly taxi fare – to her physiotherapy session. Ellen
reluctantly drives Vinnie to the hospital. It’s the first time she has driven a car since an
accident a year before. The pair embark on a cautious friendship.
Jill Mansell, The Unpredictable Consequences of Love, Headline Review
Set in a stunning seaside town in Cornwall, this
is the story of photographer Sophie, a secret she has harboured for years, and
hotelier Josh and a small dog he can't control. When they meet, a series of
events is triggered and lives will be changed ... forever!
Katy Regan, The Story of You, Harper Fiction
The summer Robyn King and Joe
Sawyer were sixteen, things happened that changed their lives forever. When
their lives collide again, fourteen years later, it feels like it’s all
happening again. Can they get over the traumatic events of their past to have a
future together?
Epic Romantic Novel
Elizabeth Buchan, I Can’t Begin to Tell You, Penguin Michael Joseph
In 1942 Denmark has been invaded
by the Germans and Kay Eberstern, a British woman married to a Dane, has to
decide which side she is on. In London, the undercover organisation, SOE, is
working hard to get the Danish resistance up and running – work that engages
coders, listeners and the agents in desperately secret and dangerous work. Will
Kay join them and risk destroying her family, her marriage and her life?
Barbara
Erskine, The Darkest Hour, Harper
Fiction
Sussex 1940. The Battle of
Britain has begun. Spitfire pilot Tony and would-be war artist Evie meet. She
resents him; she loves him; she paints his portrait. 70 years later art
historian Lucy tries to find out what happened to this enigmatic couple in a
story of secrets, lies and restless ghosts.
Emma Fraser, We Shall Remember, Sphere (Little Brown)
Moving between occupied Poland in
the Second World War and 1989, We Shall
Remember is the gripping, poignant and honest story of the choices a young
medical student is forced to make while under fire, and the repercussions of
her decisions for future generations.
Ella Harper, Pieces of You, Avon
Lucy was always sure of one thing
– life with soulmate Luke. But after eight heartbreaking years craving a baby,
that future is crumbling. With Luke in a coma Lucy is forced to reassess
everything. Especially when she meets Stella. Because Stella has a secret that
will change Lucy’s world forever ...
Rosanna Ley, Return to Mandalay, Quercus
Set
in Burma, land of scorching heat and monsoons, green paddy fields and golden
temples, Eva Gatsby searches for the truth of her grandfather’s past. Caught
between love, loyalty and integrity, Eva finds herself in the centre of a
conspiracy dating from the final Burmese dynasty ...
Alison McQueen, Under the Jewelled Sky, Orion Fiction
London 1957. In a bid to erase her past, Sophie
Schofield weds an ambitious diplomat, but nothing is quite what it seems. Under The Jewelled Sky unravels the
fragile construct of a dysfunctional British family’s disintegration in the
wake of World War II, India’s shocking partition, and a scandal with
devastating consequences.
Historical Romantic Novel
Charlotte Betts, The Spice Merchant’s Wife, Piatkus, (Little Brown)
Kate Finche’s spice merchant
husband drowns after the Great Fire of London destroys their livelihood.
Destitute, she seeks refuge in The House of Perfume, where blind perfumer
Gabriel Harte awakens Kate's senses to a new world. But as she flees from
forbidden love, her husband's murderer comes looking for her …
Stephen Burke, The Good Italian, Hodder & Stoughton
Enzo Secchi, harbourmaster for
Massawa, Eritrea’s main port, is a loyal Italian civil servant. His only
problem is that he is lonely. When Mussolini decides to invade neighbouring
Ethiopia, a new law is introduced, prohibiting relationships between Italian
men and local women – for Enzo, both events will have far-reaching
consequences.
Marina Fiorato, Beatrice and Benedick, Hodder & Stoughton
Hidden in the language of
Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
are several clues to an intriguing tale.
The text suggests that the lovers Beatrice and Benedick had a previous,
youthful affair that ended bitterly. But how did the two meet, why did they
part, and what brought them together again?
Hazel Gaynor, The Girl Who Came Home, William Morrow, (Harper Collins)
Inspired by true events, this New York Times bestseller
is the poignant story of a young Irish woman, those she travels with aboard RMS
Titanic, and the
sweetheart she leaves behind. This story is a seamless blend of
fact and fiction that explores the tragedy's impact and its lasting
repercussions on survivors and descendants.
Susan Lanigan, White Feathers, Brandon (O’Brien Press)
In 1913, Eva Downey is awarded a
legacy to attend a finishing school in Kent. Escaping her suffocating family,
she finds kinship and love. But when war breaks out and her fiancé refuses to
enlist, Eva’s family force her to make an impossible choice, one with
devastating consequences.
Isabel Wolff, Ghostwritten,
Harper Fiction
Jenni, a ghost writer, is asked to pen the
memoirs of Klara, who, as a child, was imprisoned on Java during the Japanese
occupation of World War II. But the
harrowing details compel Jenni to confront her own devastating memories, and a
secret she’s spent a lifetime burying.
Romantic Comedy Novel
David Atkinson, Love Byte, Buried River Press
If your dead wife emailed offering to find you
a new girlfriend, what would you do? Andy Hunter receives delayed emails from
his late wife, leading to all sorts of trouble. This funny, heart-warming and
moving romantic comedy is a bitter-sweet tale of second chances and
self-discovery.
Jane Costello, The Time of Our Lives, Simon & Schuster
When Imogen, Meredith and Nicola
win a VIP holiday at Barcelona’s hippest new hotel, they plan to switch off in
unapologetic luxury. But between a robbery, a run-in with hotel security staff
and an encounter on a nudist beach, the friends stumble from one disaster to
the next.
Lucy-Anne Holmes, Just a Girl, Standing in Front of a Boy, Sphere (Little, Brown)
Jenny Taylor is rollicking along
in life, with a steady job, great friends and her handsome, driven fiancé,
Matt. But suddenly she falls in love at first sight with Joe King, her mother
comes to stay in order ‘to bond’ and she’s forced to face a past she’d rather
forget.
Milly Johnson, The Teashop on the Corner, Simon & Schuster
A motley band of misfits, all
craving companionship, find a haven of conversation, cake and literary-themed goods
at lovely Leni Merryman’s ‘Teashop on the Corner’. As their hearts are slowly mended by Leni,
will they return the favour when she needs it most?
Mhairi McFarlane, It’s Not Me, It’s You, Harper Fiction
Life seems pretty good for Delia Moss, Newcastle
City Council press officer. She lives in her home city with her long term
partner, publican Paul. But when she proposes, and shortly after receives a
panicked text message from Paul meant for The Other Woman, her world as she
knows it falls apart. A strange and exciting odyssey of self discovery follows,
where Delia must learn to say: it's not me, it's you.
Laura Tait and Jimmy Rice, The Best Thing That Never Happened To Me, Corgi
A brilliantly funny, feel-good
story of first love, second chances and everything in between, written in
alternative chapters by Laura Tait (who writes as Holly) and Jimmy Rice (as Alex).
Young Adult Romantic Novel
Cat Clarke, A Kiss in the Dark, Quercus
When Alex meets Kate, the attraction is instant. Alex
is funny, good-looking, and a little shy – everything that Kate wants in a boyfriend. Alex
can't help falling for Kate, who is pretty, charming and maybe just a little naïve
... But one of them is hiding a secret, and as their love blossoms, it
threatens to ruin not just their relationship, but their lives.
Keren David, Salvage, Atom, (Little,
Brown)
Siblings Aidan and Cass were
separated twelve years ago, when Cass was adopted by a wealthy family. Now her
picture is on the front page of the newspapers, and Aidan tracks her down via
Facebook. But will their reunion bring joy – or uncover old secrets which
threaten both their lives?
Imogen Howson, Unravel, Quercus
Lissa has found her long-lost
twin – and exposed the horrifying reason why the government imprisoned her.
Running for their lives, Lissa and Lin discover more escaped twins, allies at
last. But a terrifying threat waits in the shadows ... Can Lissa protect Lin in
a world that wants to destroy her?
Sarra Manning, The Worst Girlfriend in the World, Atom, (Little, Brown)
Franny
Barker’s best friend, Alice, is the worst girlfriend in the world according to
the many boys of Merrycliffe-on-Sea. She toys with them, and dumps them. But
she’ll never dump fashion obsessed Franny. Nothing and no one can come between.
Not even wannabe rock-god and sultry-eyed manchild, Louis Allen, who Franny’s
been crushing on hard. Until Alice sets her sights on Louis. Suddenly, the
BFFs are bitter rivals. Is winning Louis’s heart worth more than their
friendship? There’s only one way for Franny to find out.
Joss Stirling, Struck, OUP
Behind
the walls of an exclusive boarding school lurks a sinister web of corruption.
Raven Stone doesn’t know where to go for help.
She is drawn to enigmatic Kieran Storm – a fellow student with a killer
intellect. Is he a potential ally or yet more trouble?
Joss Stirling, Misty Falls, OUP
Misty is
a one-girl disaster zone, born with a Savant 'gift' that means she can never
tell a lie. So when she meets Alex, Misty thinks someone so perfect could never
be hers. But a serial killer is stalking young people and soon one of them will
be taken to the edge of death –and beyond.
RoNA Rose Award
Louise Allen, Scandal’s Virgin, Harlequin Mills & Boon
Historical
Lady Laura Campion, the infamous
Scandal’s Virgin, hides heartbreak beneath a brittle mask. Then she discovers
that her lost child is the ward of Avery Falconer, Earl of Wykeham. Laura will
use any weapon against Avery to recover her daughter, even as she falls in love
with her enemy.
Caroline Anderson, Risk of a Lifetime, Mills & Boon Medical Romance
Ed and Annie are doctors with
reasons for staying single. He might have a potentially fatal genetic disorder,
she’s had a messy relationship and twin daughters. Nothing to say they can’t
have a fling – but then things get serious and Ed realises he can’t run away
from the truth forever.
Fiona Harper, Taming Her Italian Boss, Harlequin Romance/Mills & Boon Cherish
Free spirit Ruby Lange is packing
her vintage suitcase and heading for Venice to become Max Martin’s travelling
nanny. But as the city works its magic, Ruby discovers her buttoned-up boss is
masking a huge heart – and that she just might be the woman to help him trust
it again!
Margaret McPhee, The Gentleman Rogue, Harlequin Mills & Boon
Historical
Emma Northcote stares in
amazement. For across the ballroom is Ned Stratham – who once held her heart.
But that was another life in another part of London. Gone forever. For only now
does Ned realise their deeper connection – one that could destroy them both if
Emma ever discovered the truth …
Carol Townend, Unveiling Lady Clare, Harlequin Mills & Boon
Historical
THE SECRETS BEHIND HER EYES …
Sir Arthur Ferrer notices her at the Twelfth Night
joust. Something about her eyes captivates him, but when he goes to find her
she's disappeared! Clare has been running from a dark past, but this handsome
knight seems determined to unveil her secrets. Dare she let him glimpse her
real self?
Scarlet Wilson, The Heir of the Castle, Harlequin Romance/Mills & Boon Cherish
Tycoon Callan McGregor is bereft
when the closest person he has to a father dies, and it's down to him to organise
the inheritance of Annick Castle. And the most suitable candidate seems to be
stunning lawyer Laurie Jenkins. Even though she makes the usually
brooding Callan's pulse race, this is business – he cannot afford a
distraction. But she's a bubbly breath of fresh air who shakes the castle and
Callan to its foundations. This time, he's not going to walk away – from either
his home or from Laurie ...
