The ceremony took place on Monday (20th May) at the Leonardo Royal Hotel in London. Sharon Ibbotson, the RNA awards co-ordinator, said: “Our reader-judges have once again selected beautifully written love stories as their favourites of the year, and their authors are worthy of their praise.” Sara-Jade Virtue, brand development director for fiction at Simon & Schuster UK, presented the Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers and Anton Du Beke, author and “Strictly Come Dancing” judge presented the rest of the awards.
The Fantasy Romantic Novel Award
Girl, Goddess, Queen by Bea Fitzgerald (book and ebook available)
Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying. The real story is much more interesting. Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her. Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld’s annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core. But consequences can be deadly, especially when you’re already in hell.
The Jackie Collins Award for Romantic Thrillers
The Dance Teacher of Paris by Suzanne Fortin (ebook available)
During the dark days of Nazi occupation, Adele Basset continues to teach in her dance studio, providing a beacon of light and hope amongst so much terror and suffering. When the Germans demand the names of her Jewish students, Adele realises they are in terrible danger. Only she can save them.
The Debut Romantic Novel Award
Be More Octopus by Suzanne Lissaman
When Em discovers that her fiancé’s having an affair, she leaves her stressful call centre job, packs up her paints and easel and moves to the coast to build a better life on her own. But her new life becomes more complicated when a charming professor, Jack Carver, arrives for a holiday. Who’s he avoiding? And what do Jack and Em have in common?
The Christmas/Festive Holiday Romantic Novel Award
Only for Christmas by Tracy Corbett (book and ebook available) 
One month to pretend – or one month to fall in love? How do I turn down an overly keen colleague I have zero interest in dating? Should I: Stammer and bluster my way through every excuse in the book, accept, and then immediately turn in my resignation letter? Or maybe change my number and leave the country? Or even allow my hot, new, doctor neighbour to step in and pretend to be my boyfriend? The answer: there are no right answers. But option three is happening and I’m fake dating Lucas just to survive my work Christmas party without any further unwanted advances.
The Shorter Romantic Novel Award
Cinderella’s Deal with the Colonel by Jenni Fletcher (ebook available)
When a marquess’s scheme leads to the debt and demise of Abigail’s father she wants retribution! Only her plans of confronting the scoundrel go awry when his handsome younger brother Colonel Theodore Marshall offers her a job as his secretary. Theo’s deal helps Abigail rescue her family from financial ruin, but working so closely with him isn’t as easy as she expected. Especially when each encounter sparks with tension!
The Romantic Saga Award
A New Start at the Beach Hotel 
by Francesca Capaldi (book and ebook available)
June 1914. Edie Moore is a Governess for Lord and Lady Moreland, living in comfort at the grand Downland House in Sussex. But, wanting more from life, she flees in secret to Littlehampton, the place where she spent many idyllic childhood holidays. Desperate for work, Edie begins working as a chambermaid at the prestigious Beach Hotel, even if the menial tasks are a far cry from her previous job. While the days are long and gruelling, Edie works hard and soon is in favour with Helen Bygrove, the manager’s wife, who sees that Edie is destined for bigger things – which leads to tension with some of the other chambermaids. But as she navigates her new life and finds friendship with fellow maid Lili Probert, she also grows closer to charming, cheerful porter, Charlie Cobbett, and finally finds the happiness she has been searching for.
The Romantic Comedy Award
You’ve Got this by Maxine Morrey (ebook available)
Fleur French does not have the best of luck when it comes to life and love, and her current boyfriend Jasper is yet another person who only seems to like Fleur when she moulds herself into his idea of the perfect partner. So, when she finds herself single, jobless and homeless, Fleur has to decide if she’s ready to finally be herself – if only she knew who that was.Matt Morgan saw things he’ll never forget when he was deployed in the military, but now back home in Wales, the recuperative powers of the stunning countryside are working their magic. And when Fleur takes a job at his mother’s hotel, Matt senses she could benefit from that same magic – if only Fleur realised it too. It’s hard to be yourself, when you’ve never felt you quite fitted in. But with new days come new opportunities, and as Fleur begins to flourish and find out who she really is, her luck in love might be about to change too.
The Historical Romantic Novel Award
The Night She Met the Duke by Sarah Mallory (ebook available)
Hearing herself described as ‘a lady as dull as her name’ is the final straw in Prudence Clifford’s disastrous Season, so she decides to stay with her aunt in Bath. But Pru’s new life is anything but dull when one night she finds an uninvited, devastatingly handsome duke at her kitchen table! Pru knows she will never forget the emotional connection they shared. But it’s their unexpected reunion three months later which will prove truly unforgettable…
The Contemporary Romantic Novel Award
Evergreens by Liam Brown (book and ebook available)
What if you could stay young forever? What if you never had to grow old? Ben has no qualms about signing up for the Evergreens project, a controversial new trial. But are the promises of life without ageing too good to be true? Sophie has no doubt that they are. And sixty-five years down the line, she gets the chance to find out. With Ben in hospital, unresponsive and ageing rapidly before her very eyes, can Sophie uncover the dark secret at the heart of the Evergreens project – and save Ben’s life in the process?
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