
We’re thrilled to be a part of the RITA Award Finalist Spotlight Blog Tour! There’s so many incredible books on this list. Some we’ve read and loved, some we’re looking forward to checking out. But here they are, without further ado. The Finalists spotlight for Contemporary Romance: Mid-Length
(follow along on the tour bit.ly/RITA17BlogTour.
OFF THE HOOK by Laura Drewry
Penguin Random House, Loveswept
Junessa Viloria, editor![]()

Major league pitcher Liam O’Donnell knows his best days are probably behind him, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to retire and become a fishing guide. Still, after all the time he’s spent chasing his dreams, he owes it to his brothers to pull his weight around the lodge. The Buoys is their father’s legacy, and they can’t let some developer take it from them. The one snag Liam isn’t counting on is a blast from the past: his ex-wife.
The moment Kate Hadley steps out of the seaplane, she knows this assignment is going to be trickier than she thought. She has to persuade the owners to sell—and one of them is Liam O’Donnell. Ten years ago, she made the biggest mistake of her life when she married Liam during a fling in Vegas. Now he’s her only lifeline in the middle of nowhere. Kate’s trying to keep things cool, but Liam reminds her of the scorching few nights they spent together—and tempts her to make new memories that are just as steamy as the old.

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USA Today bestselling author LAURA DREWRY started out writing poetry – unbelievably bad poetry which hopefully will never again see the light of day. With that behind her, she now writes contemporary and historical romance novels with characters who aren’t perfect and who tend to be a little (or a lot) on the sarcastic side.
Born and raised in British Columbia, Laura spent eight years in the Canadian north where she learned important things like how to get your bananas from the grocery store to your car without them freezing and turning black in the -40 temperatures. She now lives back home in southwestern BC with her husband, three sons, a turtle, two crazy dogs, a handful of chickens, and about thirty thousand bees. She loves old tattered books, movies, music, the New York Yankees, and cheesecake. Lots of cheesecake.
ONCE AND FOR ALL by Cheryl Etchison
Avon, Impulse
Priyanka Krishnan and Rebecca Lucash, editors![]()

The Rangers of the 1st/75th fight hard, train hard and play hard. They are physically strong and mentally tough, disciplined and courageous. But all their military training hasn’t prepared them for falling in love.
Rule #1: Military and matrimony don’t mix.
But if there’s one person Staff Sergeant Danny MacGregor would break all his rules for, it’s Bree—his first friend, first love, first everything. Maybe he likes playing the hero. Maybe he’s trying to ease ten years of guilt. Either way, he’ll do whatever he can to help her.
Wish #1: A little bit of normal.
Bree Dunbar has battled cancer, twice. What she wants most is a fresh start in a place where she can find a new job, and where people aren’t constantly treating her like she’s sick. By some miracle her wish is granted, but it comes with one major string attached—the man who broke her heart ten years before.
The rules for this marriage of convenience are simple: when she’s ready to stand on her own two feet, she’ll walk away and he’ll let her go. Only, as they both know all too well, things don’t always go according to plan . . .

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Cheryl Etchison graduated from the University of Oklahoma’s School of Journalism and began her career as an oil and gas reporter. Bored to tears and broke as hell, it wasn’t long before she headed for the promise land of public relations. But that was nearly a lifetime ago and she’s since traded in reporting the facts for making it all up. Currently, she lives in Austin, Texas with her husband and three daughters.
TELL ME HOW THIS ENDS by Victoria De La O
St. Martin’s Press, Swerve
Eileen Rothschild, editor![]()

Brothers Jude and Ryan McAllister are inseparable. When Jude stepped in to raise Ryan after the death of their mother, it became the two of them against the world. But the scars it left were bone-deep. Then Lizzie Price comes along.
Lizzie hopes Ryan’s kindness can help heal her wounds from a toxic relationship. But when she meets Jude, their powerful attraction makes him difficult to resist. The problem is, Lizzie doesn’t realize Jude and Ryan are brothers, and they don’t know they’re falling for the same girl.
By the time the truth comes out, everyone is in too deep. Ryan is in love, Jude is in denial, and Lizzie wants both brothers. All of them agree that no one deserves to get hurt. But love and desire have a way of testing even the strongest bonds.

St. Martin’s Press | AMAZON | B&N | GOOGLE PLAY | iBOOKS | KOBO

Victoria De La O is the award-winning and RITA®-nominated author of the Tell Me romance trilogy. She is a California native who loves to hang out with her family, argue about films, and practice Wonder Woman spins. Get exclusive stories and news via her newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bm7WeT
THE TURNING POINT by Marie Meyer
Grand Central Publishing, Forever Yours
Megha Parekh, editor![]()

For as long as I could remember, I was the girl with the plan. Good college, good medical school, good career. I would save lives instead of standing by helplessly, watching while they slipped away.
That was before my father called for the first time in fifteen years to tell me about the terminal illness stealing his life-an illness that might be stealing mine, too. It was before he gave me the name of a doctor and a plane ticket to Italy. Before I flew across an ocean. Before I realized how brilliantly bright life could be. Before I met Lucas.
He’s everything I’ve always wanted, and the timing couldn’t be worse. I can’t do this to him-he deserves so much better. My head tells me I can’t afford to fall in love with Lucas, but my heart won’t listen. Lucas is fearless about the future, while I’m not even sure I have one. There’s only one way to know what’s ahead and it’s waiting for me at home inside a plain, white envelope.
All I have to do, is open it . . .

Forever Romance | AMAZON | B&N | GOOGLE PLAY | iBOOKS | INDIEBOUND | KOBO

Marie Meyer is a teacher who spends her days in the classroom and her nights writing heartfelt romances. She is a proud mommy and enjoys helping her oldest daughter train for the Special Olympics, making up silly stories with her youngest daughter, and bingeing on weeks of DVR’d television with her husband.
WANDERLUST by Roni Loren
Penguin Random House, Berkley
Kate Seaver, editor![]()

Restaurant critic Aubrey Bordelon is never at a loss for words to describe her meals in the fancy restaurants of New Orleans. But after her magazine’s high-profile music reporter falls ill, she finds herself out of her element and in a sea of screaming fans awaiting Wanderlust’s lead singer, Lex Logan. The sound of his voice gives her goosebumps, and the stage presence of the hard-bodied rock star takes her breath away. So when he pulls her onstage for a sexy stunt, she knows she’s in real trouble.
Lex doesn’t want to pretend that the sparks on stage between him and Aubrey never happened, but it certainly makes the fact that she’s writing a story on his band all the more dangerous. The last thing he needs is some nosy reporter revealing their problems to the world. But the sexy Southern belle doesn’t give up easily, and soon he’s wondering if the best way to chase her off the story is to coax her into his bed…

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Roni wrote her first romance novel at age fifteen when she discovered writing about boys was way easier than actually talking to them. Since then, her flirting skills haven’t improved, but she likes to think her storytelling ability has. After earning a master’s degree in social work from LSU, she worked in a mental health hospital, counseled birthmothers as an adoption coordinator, and did management recruiting in her PJs. But she always returned to writing.
Though she’ll forever be a New Orleans girl at heart, she now lives in Dallas with her husband and son. If she’s not working on her latest sexy story, you can find her cooking, watching reality television, or picking up another hobby she doesn’t need–in other words, procrastinating like a boss. She is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author and a winner of the prestigious RITA Award.
For a full list of RITA finalists, go to: https://www.rwa.org/page/
King of Code, an all-new intriguing and sexy standalone from CD Reiss is coming September 18th!
KING OF CODE
CD Reiss is a New York Times bestseller. She still has to chop wood and carry water, which was buried in the fine print. Her lawyer is working it out with God but in the meantime, if you call and she doesn’t pick up she’s at the well hauling buckets.


Spontaneous combustion does exist. Because that’s exactly what happened while reading this book. Oh man oh man oh man. The business man and the security guard GET…IT….AWWN!!!! It’s impossible for Tessa to NOT write dirty words.
Renner is THE BOSS!!! Of my libido! Give. Him. To. Me. He is the man in the suit, always in charge. We meet Renner in the previous book, Worked Up, and I was freaked the fuck out when I found out Tessa was writing her first M/M. And she did NOT disappoint. Renner and Milo were made for each other. Renner has been dating men for a long time, and at the beginning of this book, he believes Milo to be 100% heterosexual. But he is in for a pleasant surprise.
Oh god. The manly banter between these two. I could just listen to Renner and Milo talk to each other and
TWO IS A LIE



The vibrating silhouette of my past paces a few feet away, staring at me like an ethereal presence.
Have you ever read a book with a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach? A book that kept you equal parts riveted to the pages and utterly terrified of what will come next? A book that gave you so much anxiety you felt like you may need therapy after it? A book that you can’t stop thinking about days after you finished reading? A book that gave you indigestion, heartburn, anxiety, and a case of the day drinking? Hmmm? HAVE YOU? Because I just did and I want my mommy!
I was sucked in with
But I digress as usual. So let’s bring it back to the subject at hand. This book. GAH!
Now let me tell you, if this book won’t drive you to drink, I don’t know what will. For serious. But if there’s one thing it will do, is make you feel. Too much so.
When the secrets that Trace and Cole are keeping from Danni begin to unravel, no one is safe, especially not my sanity. Because Oh My GOD!!! That freaking ending. I don’t think I’ll survive the end of this trilogy. I’m not even sure I’ll survive the wait for book three. So in the interim, I’ll be that pathetic looking thing rocking herself in a dark corner, clutching her wine and quietly sobbing.



New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author, Pam Godwin, lives in the Midwest with her husband, their two children, and a foulmouthed parrot. When she ran away, she traveled fourteen countries across five continents, attended three universities, and married the vocalist of her favorite rock band.
HEART OF THE STEAL




This book was nothing like I normally gravitate to. It has zero angst. It’s not twisty and unpredictable. And it also doesn’t have hot man abs on the cover. What? Don’t you judge me. Like you haven’t made those ill fated purchases because man abs lure you on. God. Judgy much? As a matter of fact, if I let my inner cover wh*re do the picking, she’d merrily click right past this book. And what a shame that would be. Because this is a classic case of not judging a book by the cover.
Roan Parrish lives in Philadelphia where she is gradually attempting to write love stories in every genre.
Avon Gale wrote her first story at the age of seven, about a “Space Hat” hanging on a rack and waiting for that special person to come along and purchase it — even if it was a bit weirder than the other, more normal hats. Like all of Avon’s characters, the space hat did get its happily ever after — though she’s pretty sure it was with a unicorn. She likes to think her vocabulary has improved since then, but the theme of quirky people waiting for their perfect match is still one of her favorites.
WICKED INTENTIONS




Who’s ready for another amazing release week! This week brings a bunch of goodies and two of my top reads this year!!! Two Is A Lie by Pam Godwin & The Darkest Sunrise by Aly Martinez are books that I simply can’t recommend enough!



























DAMAGED LIKE US


So….confession time…
The more time they spend together, the more difficult it becomes to deny the overbearing sexual tension that brews between them. Admittedly, that delicious tension was one of my favorite parts about the book. Every time these two so much as had a conversation, you could feel the chemistry crackle and burn. And their first kiss? Holy mother of god! It was hotter than any sex scene. Swear.
THE KING


Well…holy hell. I mean, damn, people. When Skye Warren first intrigued me with Damon and Penny back in 

RELEASING SEPTEMBER 19
SHATTERED KING



First of all, don’t let my rating fool you, because I enjoyed this book. Quite a bit. And while there were a few things that happened that ultimately brought my rating down, I’m hooked on this series and have discovered a new to me author that I’m eager for more books from.
The second half is where the story began to fizzle a bit for me. While the sex was hot, it began to feel a bit more like filler. The story began to drag a bit and my interest began to wane. And while there is a lot that happens in the second half, I felt like most of it wasn’t really necessary to drive the plot forward.
















