And the winner is …

The winner of the 2021 Romance Category of Book Excellence Awards is CADENZA !!!

CADENZA (Rockliffe Book 6) already has a B.R.A.G. Medallion and was the 2019 Readers’ Favourite Historical Romance Gold Medallist.

Huzzah for Julian and Arabella!

Author: Stella Riley

Author

24 thoughts on “And the winner is …”

  1. I’m catching up on favourite writer blogs and just saw this news. Congratulations! Cadenza is close to my heart and the win is well deserved.

  2. Congratulations! But Elizabeth and Ralph are also contributing factors! Julian and Arabella and the chidren are delightful, but Ralph’s redemption was a definite plus for me. A real point of difference.

  3. Congratulations on “Cadenza” winning the 2021 Romance Category of Book Excellence Award! It was a well-deserved win.

    I read the comment strings above and find it so very hard to believe that “Under a Dark Moon” is not doing well. It was a very well-paced, historically accurate, depiction of smuggling at the time. I always tell people that you put the Historical in Historical Romance. I felt the spy reveal was a very interesting twist. Your novels are incredible. Keep them coming!

    PS: I must admit that any mention of Romney Marsh brings to mind a ‘Wonderful World of Disney’ show filmed in 1963 called “The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh” (was retitled “Dr. Syn”).

    1. Thank you for your kind comments about Dark Moon, Marianne – I’m so glad you enjoyed it and particularly delighted with your remark about historical accuracy and the spy reveal.
      I knew about the Dr. Syn movie – actually, my husband and I started to watch it on TV (Netflix, I think) but it’s so dated now we only lasted about 15 minutes. However, it did influence me in one way. I kept the bulk of my action in and around New Romney and, aside from Guy’s nights in the pub, mostly stayed away from Dr. Syn’s home town of Dymchurch. Did you know that Dymchurch has a Scarecrpw festival during the summer? Bizarre!

    1. Thank you, Susan. There are so many entries for these Award categories that I thought the best I could hope for was a Finalist medal – so this was a pleasant surprise.

  4. Well deserved!!! I love the whole series but this book is my favorite. Just finished Dark Moon and loved it also.

    1. Thank you, Nikki. So glad you enjoyed Dark Moon and, if you could spare a few moments to post a brief review, I’d be most grateful. Every bit of support I get is hugely appreciated!

    1. Thank you, Amanda – and many, many thanks for your lovely review on Amazon. I’m finding the new regime of folk being able to post a star rating without writing anything decidedly unhelpful. As for what’s happening on Amazon US – I despair. A lot of my regular American reviewers are refusing to read the book and want to wait for the audio instead – something else that isn’t helping, especially as the audio won’t be out before the end of June. So thanks again for your words of encouragement!

      1. Did my first reply get through? It shouted at me about enabling Java Script and then shut down.
        I shall try again!
        What’s happening with Amazon US? I would have thought the book would have been a roaring success in the States. It is just what we need now to take our minds of the wretchedness of life at the moment.
        I do so agree with you about awarding stars with no comments – especially as some people rate the book on the quality of the delivery service.

        1. No, Amanda – the first one didn’t make it. If you look at Dark Moon on Amazon US, you’ll see a scattering of 1 – 4 star ratings with no review. Two positive written reviews (Agnes and GMALR) and two critical ones. The 2 star battering comes from somebody whose other reviews suggest she only ever reviews books she didn’t like. As for OLT … she hasn’t really liked anything I’ve written for years, so the usual 3 star rating was no surprise. But I did rather take exception to the remark about Dark Moon being pretty much the same as all the other smuggling tales she’s read. I thought I’d gone down the realistic road, rather than the jolly, romantic one. However, when all’s said and done, I can’t please everybody.

          1. I can think of two other authors who’ve written smuggling stories based around the Kent coast, Georgette Heyer and Jane Aiken Hodge (a friend of my mother’s) and they both concentrate much more on the romance of the situation, although Hodge’s are a bit earthier.
            What I like about your books is that, whatever the story, they are placed firmly in their historical context and that the plot is worked out so that the actions are both reasonable and realistic – no ‘With one bound, he was free’ – and if people are involved in a fight or have to stay up all night, they hurt and are tired and, sometimes, unreasonably cross.
            Don’t get despondent. People who know your books will buy them and their reputation will spread by word of mouth. I first read The Marigold Chain on a friend’s recommendation, not an Amazon crit.

          2. Thanks, Amanda. I remember reading the two books you mention decades ago – liked them both, particularly The Talisman Ring. But in Dark Moon, I was aiming (as you so rightly say) for realism – the kind of smuggling/espionage story that might actually have happened and one that didn’t ignore the huge difficulties faced by the authorities. I did masses of research and spent time on Romney Marsh, checking out churches and inns etc. I even sat in the pew of St Mary’s where Adam proposed! The book may not be perfect but I worked very hard to make it historically accurate as well as readable. I am, as ever, immensely grateful for your support.

  5. Congratulations! I’m so excited for you. In my experience it’s so rare that a reader (meaning me!) loves every book in a series but this series achieved that goal and this book was a wonderful sort of culmination!! Yay you ?

    1. Thanks, Gail. I entered Cadenza for Book Excellence Awards so long ago I’d forgotten all about it – so this was a surprise. But with Dark Moon slowly drowning on Amazon US, it came at a good time.

  6. The whole series is brilliant ,I have read and listened to them several times, doing the ironing and listening to Alex Wyndham read any of the books is a time well spent. Stella you deserve all the accolades you could win.

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