150 Award Genres
Children
- Children - Action
- Children - Adventure
- Children - Animals
- Children - Audiobook
- Children - Christian
- Children - Coming of Age
- Children - Concept
- Children - Educational
- Children - Fable
- Children - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Children - General
- Children - Grade 4th-6th
- Children - Grade K-3rd
- Children - Mystery
- Children - Mythology/Fairy Tale
- Children - Non-Fiction
- Children - Picture Book
- Children - Preschool
- Children - Preteen
- Children - Religious Theme
- Children - Social Issues
Christian
- Christian - Amish
- Christian - Biblical Counseling
- Christian - Devotion/Study
- Christian - Fantasy/Sci-Fi
- Christian - Fiction
- Christian - General
- Christian - Historical Fiction
- Christian - Living
- Christian - Non-Fiction
- Christian - Romance - Contemporary
- Christian - Romance - General
- Christian - Romance - Historical
- Christian - Thriller
Fiction
- Fiction - Action
- Fiction - Adventure
- Fiction - Animals
- Fiction - Anthology
- Fiction - Audiobook
- Fiction - Chick Lit
- Fiction - Crime
- Fiction - Cultural
- Fiction - Drama
- Fiction - Dystopia
- Fiction - Fantasy - Epic
- Fiction - Fantasy - General
- Fiction - Fantasy - Urban
- Fiction - General
- Fiction - Graphic Novel/Comic
- Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
- Fiction - Historical - Personage
- Fiction - Holiday
- Fiction - Horror
- Fiction - Humor/Comedy
- Fiction - Inspirational
- Fiction - Intrigue
- Fiction - LGBTQ
- Fiction - Literary
- Fiction - Magic/Wizardry
- Fiction - Military
- Fiction - Mystery - General
- Fiction - Mystery - Historical
- Fiction - Mystery - Legal
- Fiction - Mystery - Murder
- Fiction - Mystery - Sleuth
- Fiction - Mythology
- Fiction - New Adult
- Fiction - Paranormal
- Fiction - Realistic
- Fiction - Religious Theme
- Fiction - Science Fiction
- Fiction - Short Story/Novela
- Fiction - Social Issues
- Fiction - Southern
- Fiction - Sports
- Fiction - Supernatural
- Fiction - Suspense
- Fiction - Tall Tale
- Fiction - Thriller - Conspiracy
- Fiction - Thriller - Environmental
- Fiction - Thriller - Espionage
- Fiction - Thriller - General
- Fiction - Thriller - Legal
- Fiction - Thriller - Medical
- Fiction - Thriller - Political
- Fiction - Thriller - Psychological
- Fiction - Thriller - Terrorist
- Fiction - Time Travel
- Fiction - Urban
- Fiction - Visionary
- Fiction - Western
- Fiction - Womens
Non-Fiction
- Non-Fiction - Adventure
- Non-Fiction - Animals
- Non-Fiction - Anthology
- Non-Fiction - Art/Photography
- Non-Fiction - Audiobook
- Non-Fiction - Autobiography
- Non-Fiction - Biography
- Non-Fiction - Business/Finance
- Non-Fiction - Cooking/Food
- Non-Fiction - Cultural
- Non-Fiction - Drama
- Non-Fiction - Education
- Non-Fiction - Environment
- Non-Fiction - Genealogy
- Non-Fiction - General
- Non-Fiction - Gov/Politics
- Non-Fiction - Grief/Hardship
- Non-Fiction - Health - Fitness
- Non-Fiction - Health - Medical
- Non-Fiction - Historical
- Non-Fiction - Hobby
- Non-Fiction - Home/Crafts
- Non-Fiction - Humor/Comedy
- Non-Fiction - Inspirational
- Non-Fiction - LGBTQ
- Non-Fiction - Marketing
- Non-Fiction - Memoir
- Non-Fiction - Military
- Non-Fiction - Motivational
- Non-Fiction - Music/Entertainment
- Non-Fiction - New Age
- Non-Fiction - Occupational
- Non-Fiction - Parenting
- Non-Fiction - Relationships
- Non-Fiction - Religion/Philosophy
- Non-Fiction - Retirement
- Non-Fiction - Self Help
- Non-Fiction - Short Story/Novela
- Non-Fiction - Social Issues
- Non-Fiction - Spiritual/Supernatural
- Non-Fiction - Sports
- Non-Fiction - Travel
- Non-Fiction - True Crime
- Non-Fiction - Womens
- Non-Fiction - Writing/Publishing
Poetry
Romance
Young Adult
- Young Adult - Action
- Young Adult - Adventure
- Young Adult - Coming of Age
- Young Adult - Fantasy - Epic
- Young Adult - Fantasy - General
- Young Adult - Fantasy - Urban
- Young Adult - General
- Young Adult - Horror
- Young Adult - Mystery
- Young Adult - Mythology/Fairy Tale
- Young Adult - Non-Fiction
- Young Adult - Paranormal
- Young Adult - Religious Theme
- Young Adult - Romance
- Young Adult - Sci-Fi
- Young Adult - Social Issues
- Young Adult - Thriller
Illustration Award
Recommend this book:
Crazy in Love
Annabelle Costa
2017 Honorable Mention
244 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
Crazy in Love is the story of Anna Flint and Matt Harper, two programmers who spend years sharing a cubicle wall and trying very hard not to crush on each other. Anna is a mess, but she is also completely wonderful. She collects can, as in food cans, and she can’t stand for anyone to touch her. They call her ‘Crazy Anna’ and it bothers her only marginally. She likes being alone, at least until Matt. He is kind and nice and it doesn’t seem to matter that she’s Crazy Anna. Annabelle Costa has done something pretty wonderful with this story as she takes us on a six-year journey of crushes, friendship and, ultimately, love.
I cannot say enough good things about Crazy in Love and especially Anna. She is strong, smart, and for the most part she is completely happy with her life as it is. Isolated and lonely. When Matt needs her, she comes through for him, not right away though because Annabelle Costa is a masterful storyteller. We watch Anna gradually getting better in fits and starts, doing things even her own family couldn’t convince her to do. For him. And Matt is totally swoon-worthy, he has a giant crush on her even before his world is flipped upside down, and his affection only grows. What I loved most about Crazy in Love is that there were times I felt exasperated with Anna and disgusted with Matt because they were being exactly who they are. They weren’t perfect people with a perfect love, but they were the perfect couple for this story. Typically I avoid stories written in the first person, but I’m glad I kept going because this book was totally worth it!
Recommend this book:
Broken Wide Open
A Sand and Sunset Novel Stand-Alone Romance
Susan Griscom
2017 Honorable Mention
208 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
When we first meet Grace, she is a happy bride, but that quickly ends and, in her heartbroken state of mind, she decides to go on her planned honeymoon to Bora Bora alone. Leo is in Bora Bora on a work assignment in the room next door to Grace. Leo sees the pain that Grace is in and takes it upon himself to be there for her. They spend the week together, enjoying each other’s company, hiking, snorkeling and talking. At the end of the vacation, they say their goodbyes and though each has felt a great attraction toward the other, no last names or phone numbers are exchanged. At home both can’t get the other out of their thoughts, but they know they will never meet again; or will they? Grace restarts her life with a new job, in a new town, which just happens to be where Leo lives. The two face many roadblocks, distractions and concerns, but slowly allow their feelings to win over. When Grace finds an old article that has shocking news, the roller coaster takes another huge dip and she runs as quickly as she can away from Leo. I am leaving out a lot of the story because you simply must read it for yourself and find out the conclusion to each of their lives.
Broken Wide Open is a roller coaster ride of emotions. Grace and Leo tell their story sharing the uphill, downhill and screaming drops in a way that kept me glued to the book from beginning to end. I found Broken Wide Open to be everything I enjoy in a good book. Author Susan Griscom has created characters that are impossible not to like and a plot that never falters. I highly recommend Broken Wide Open to every romantic genre reader – it is a definite winner.
Recommend this book:
High Hopes
Sue Lilley
2017 Finalist
270 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
High Hopes by Sue Lilley is a romantic drama centering around the life and loves of the main protagonists, Sam, Grace, and Dixie. Sam and Dixie have been married for a long time and the three go back a long way as friends. However, Grace carries a secret from a long time ago when she and Sam had a brief fling that resulted in a pregnancy. However, Grace had decided to give up the baby for adoption, knowing that Sam and Dixie were getting married and she would never wreck that or be able to be a single mother successfully. Now, several years later, Grace hears from her daughter who wants to know about her biological father. This sets in motion a series of events as Grace faces the choice of telling her secret after all these years, and how it will affect all of their lives and relationships forever, as well as form new ones in the process.
High Hopes by Sue Lilley is a fictional novel, but the characters and setting are portrayed in an authentic and realistic way. This is a book filled with suspense, romance, love, heartbreak, and pain. There are a number of supporting characters that round off this story and complement the central protagonists well. This book teaches us that sometimes there are just no easy answers and that life and relationships are complicated. That being said, the plot and the writing still make this a hopeful and inspiring read, and convey the idea that as long as there is life and love, there is hope. A good, enjoyable read that I would recommend!
Recommend this book:
Your Soul Was Made for Mine
C. L. Hunter
2016 Finalist
334 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
Your Soul Was Made for Mine by C.L. Hunter is a sizzling romance that combines romance with different elements of fantasy and history to create a well-balanced story. Billionaire Nolan O'Neil is surprised by the tragic death of his friend, attorney Thomas Stone. Nolan makes a deathbed promise to Thomas to look out his wife, Emmalyn. When Nolan and Emmalyn meet in Ireland, their lives careen onto a different path. Suddenly, their lives are changed forever as they start to uncover amazing secrets. Intense dangers appear from Nolan's past. When an angel begins to guide the pair, the story leads to discoveries that neither character could have imagined. All the while, they are hopelessly attracted to one another in a very hot and steamy way that will leave the reader breathless.
Your Soul Was Made for Mine is a steamy romance with very well written characters, especially the main characters, Nolan and Emmalyn. I loved the attraction between the two and thought the heat on the pages was very well done! Hunter did a nice job of creating passion in a story that involved a widow and the husband's best friend. I thought that relationship was explained well. I also enjoyed the rest of the story, so that this wasn't just a flat romance but it had some body and depth. The setting in Ireland was beautifully described and made me want to travel there immediately! I always appreciate a story that is written well enough to transport me to a new place.
Recommend this book:
The Lonely Hearts Club
Southern Charmers Book 2
Sandra Edwards
2016 Honorable Mention
141 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
Cypress Falls is a sleepy little town in Louisiana that gave rise to three sisters; twins Georgia and Ginger, and their older sister, Risa. At one time, Georgia and Risa sang together in a local band, but that is all water under the bridge and food for a longtime grudge that is probably being held against the wrong person. Georgia and Ginger now live in LA, and are coming home for Risa's only daughter's wedding. With sibling rivalry, old boyfriends, and lost loves, it is bound to be an eventful weekend. The Lonely Hearts Club is the story of three sisters, each lonely in their own way and for very different reasons. Author Sandra Edwards weaves together an old-fashioned tale of younger sister making it big and older sister feeling slighted with exes and might-have-beens to form a heart-warming tale of second chances.
The Lonely Hearts Club is the second book in the Southern Charmers series, and who doesn't love a story about some good ole southern men, with looks and charm. As the story develops, we learn that the longtime grudge between Georgia and Risa is really only one sided, and it is being fueled by someone who uses it to their advantage. Old feelings are rekindled and new romances bloom in the garden and backyard of the south. Author Sandra Edwards does an amazing job making you feel for each character and see their side of things. I found myself wanting to smack certain self-involved characters that were using the sisters for themselves, and just waiting, impatiently, for the truth to come out and the sisters to find their place together again. This is a wonderful book, nothing you wouldn't want your teen to read. Great for all ages of readers!
Recommend this book:
Forever Grace
Ever After Book 2
Linda Poitevin
2016 Honorable Mention
280 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
Forever Grace: Ever After Book 2 by Linda Poitevin follows Grace, a woman in her thirties, living with four children deep in the woods. Lonely and scared, her main priority is protecting these little kids who are mature beyond their years. With the threat of danger always in their heads, there is nothing that can change her focus from them to anything else. She had no idea what a handsome stranger with his leg in plaster can do.
Sean is a cop, he is a protector and he loves his peace. When he came to his cabin to recuperate from a bad leg after a shooting incident, he had no idea that he would find a family that he will love and cherish beyond anything else. The four children are special and so is their aunt. There is an undeniable chemistry between them, but there is something else. They are hiding, but from what and who? Is this a disaster waiting to happen or he is finally finding kids he can actually call his own?
Forever Grace: Ever After Book 2 by Linda Poitevin is one of those rare romance novels that is not just good, but leaves an imprint on your mind and so you remember it forever. This novel made me so happy. Clean, beautiful and a perfect romance novel that will make you sigh. From the moment I started reading this novel, I knew it was special and I would just simply love it. This beautiful novel is now my all time favorite. I love every single thing about this novel. I love Annabelle, Joshua, that brave little boy. That Annabelly chant was really cute. And gosh the end, it was intense, sweet, and so very romantic. Sean and Grace are now my favorite characters! Five stars through and through.
Recommend this book:
Love on the Rocks
Love on Tour Book 1
Kay Harris
2016 Bronze Medal
222 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
Love on the Rocks is the first book in the Love on Tour series by Kay Harris. After a hitchhiking misadventure during a two-week break from her park ranger job, Dani Roberts finds herself sitting at the next table, early one morning, from rock stars Henry (Hank) Tolk and Sean Rush in a small town diner in Nevada. Before she knows it, Dani is on her way to Phoenix on their tour bus and is taken under Sean’s protective wing, much to the dismay of his female fans. When one of the roadies makes a move on Dani at the intermission of one of their concerts, she instinctively reacts with a kick, but not half as violently as Sean reacts when the spiteful, jealous female groupies decide to play a practical joke on Dani, putting her life in danger. As soon as Dani realizes that she has fallen hard for a man whose life is the polar opposite to her own, the time comes when she has to make a choice which will change her life forever.
What an emotional roller-coaster ride! Love on the Rocks shows how different two lives can be, and that love can be found in the most unlikely place. Kay Harris seems to have found the secret ingredient which turns a book into a classic novel, making the reader crave more. There are so many different personality types, yet they all seemed to click perfectly. Dani’s character is so down to earth and sassy, able to keep her cool at all times, and it works in her favor. The arrogance of the roadies and the snobbery of the groupies was enough to put me off fame for a lifetime, but the new elements which came with each chapter kept me enthralled and begging for more. I was extremely excited to learn that Kay Harris has two follow-up books in the Love on Tour series, and I will be happily adding them to my personal book collection. I thoroughly enjoyed Love on the Rocks and I recommend it to readers who enjoy a great cocktail of love, drama, action and humor.
Recommend this book:
The Bloodline
The Friessens Book 2
Lorhainne Eckhart
2016 Bronze Medal
226 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
The Bloodline (The Friessens Book 2) is a powerful family story, with a heartwarming romance between a strong male lead and a woman who he rescued once (and seems to feel needs constant rescuing and protection). Andy married Laura, a former maid at his family's estate, and they moved without a word to Montana. With their children, they carved out a life together, raising cattle and just living. Until hearing of his mother's death, he didn't think twice of the family he walked away from - because they weren't really a family at all. In the end, his current family is challenged by his deceased mother trying to control him from the grave. So what is more important in life? Family? Wealth? Love? Power? These are the temptations facing Andy in The Bloodline (The Friessens Book 2).
Lorhainne Eckhart wrote a beautiful romance that is not just a romance between a man and a woman, rather, it is a romance novel about the love of a family. A man and wife and their children. The beautiful bond between a mother and her baby as she nurses. The unconditional love that a father has for his children as they run to him, having only been away from each other for a day. You feel the strength of the family unit in this novel, and that is a beautiful thing. I would have loved to know more of the back story. What happened before this book? What had the mother done? What happened to the oldest son (an illness is referenced toward the end). But all in all, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Andy, Laura, and their family in The Bloodline.
Recommend this book:
The Wedding Wager
Colorado Billionaires Book 1
Regina Duke
2016 Silver Medal
210 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
Regina Duke has outdone herself in this contemporary romance novel, The Wedding Wager, Colorado Billionaires Book 1. With less than a month until his 25th birthday, Kevin Wake is growing more and more doubtful that he will meet the perfect candidate to present to his mother as his fiancée. If he does not find a candidate in the next couple of weeks, his entire inheritance will be lost and his brother and sister will be at the mercy of his father. With nothing left to lose, he places a 'help wanted' ad in the newspapers. Time has almost run out when a perfect candidate appears, Megan Mully. Only one problem. She seems too good to be true. Can Kevin really trust her or does she have a secret agenda that she's hiding from him? Is she working with his father to keep him from his inheritance?
Regina Duke's The Wedding Wager is a comically sweet romance. Megan and Kevin were adorable, and I loved the wholesome appeal of their story. While this novel fits the genre of contemporary romance, it is not your typical romance in which the male and female leads spend most of the book worried about how quickly they are falling in love, and if their partner loves them back. It offers a nice reprieve from that angle most romance novels take on and gives the reader a different spin on family drama. I give this book kudos for the well written way in which it is presented. The characters have both their flaws and strengths, and the plot has interesting twists and turns.
Recommend this book:
P Town
Howard Reiss
2016 Silver Medal
384 Pages
Check current price
Romance - Contemporary
In a lovely story that combines love, happenstance and the connections that one can make with people brought together by circumstance, P Town by Howard Reiss is an unforgettable read. Follow the stories of a disparate group of characters who all find themselves in Provincetown for the summer. Each of the characters - Mara, Randy, Ernie, Horton and Reed - come from very different backgrounds and are wounded in their own way. The relationships that they form while in the lovely Cape Cod "P Town," as Provincetown is called, are ones that might serve to bring healing to each in their own way, if they are able to accept it.
I so enjoyed P Town. This book grabbed me from the very first page and kept me obsessively reading until the end. Author Howard Reiss has done a beautiful job in creating characters that his readers will connect with, relate to, and care about. If that isn't a hallmark of a great author, I am not sure what is. The author's scene setting is excellently done, and readers will feel as if they can simply slip through the pages to Provincetown while they are reading. Any reader who enjoys romance or simply a great piece of fiction would love this book. I highly recommend P Town. I look forward to reading more from the very talented Howard Reiss, and certainly hope that he is hard at work on his next book!