Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT GOING AGAINST TYPE BY @Authorsharonb #SundayBlogShare

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Rosie Amber

Today’s team review is from Sterna, she blogs at https://sternakruger.wordpress.com/category/book-reviews/

Sterna has been reading Going Against Type by Sharon Black

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Review

Going Against Type – by Sharon Black

I love Charlie, a sports journalist kicking but in a ‘mans-world’, from the first page. The Author does a great job of connecting her with the reader – and it doesn’t hurt that she has a killer sense of humor.

After putting a disastrous relationship behind her, Charlie focuses on the one thing she knows she’s good at – sports writing. So when she’s given the chance to write a brand new column, Side Swipe, she jumps with both feet in … landing right in the middle of well-known columnist, The Squire’s, radar. And its war from the get go! Much to the delight of the media and social sites

… love is the absolute last thing either of the sparring journo’s hope to find.

Derry, a gorgeous straight fashion journalist, who has decided to hide his broken heart behind an endless string of ‘brainless’ woman, is absolutely not Charlie’s type. But the two ‘seemingly opposites’ are drawn to each other from their first ‘foot-stomp-by-panama-hat’ encounter, and as the war between their alter ego’s continue, a relationship develops between Charlie and Derry, surprising the unlikely pair.

When the media insists that The Squire and Side Swipe have it out over national radio, their alter egos are revealed for the first time … right after a night spent together!! … and it all comes crashing down! – in the funniest and most heart-warming of ways.

The story is well paced and conversation driven, with witty one liners and a great show of knowledge by the author. No frilly romance scenes here, only funny, modern relationships portrayed in punchy and real circumstances, that keeps you turning the page.

Helen and Andrew’s back story was just as intriguing, and Charlie and Helen’s friendship had me craving pasta and coffee with my besties more than once.

A fun, light read perfect for any beach day.

Congrats Mrs. Black – I’ll definitely be reading more from you.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT GOING AGAINST TYPE by Sharon Black @AuthorSharonB #Romance #Comedy

Posted on February 27, 2016 by Rosie Amber

Today’s second tem review is from Olga, she blogs at http://www.authortranslatorolga.com

Olga has been reading Going Against Type by Sharon Black

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Going Against Type by Sharon Black. A quirky romance that turns expectations on their heads

I am reviewing this novel as part of Rosie’s Book Review Team and I thank her and the author for providing me with a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Going Against Type is a romantic comedy that turns many conventions and expectations on their heads. The female protagonist, Charlotte, who goes by Charlie, is a sports journalist who’s always been mad about sport and wanted to be a footballer when she was younger. She still exercises regularly and loves watching and talking about sports more than anything. She’s just out of a traumatic relationship where she sacrificed her sense of self and personality for a man who never appreciated it, and she’s not keen on repeating the same mistake again. Derry, the male protagonist, is also a journalist, but he’s an expert on clothes, fashion, the arts and celebrities in general. They work for rival newspapers and somehow end up writing anonymous features where they take opposing points of views about everything. Their columns and their bickering on the page become popular, but what neither expects is the fact that opposites attract and despite their personal baggage and their different approaches to life they fall for each other, without knowing they are journalistic rivals.

The story is told in the third person, mostly from Charlie’s point of view. She is younger and less confident, still trying to establish herself as a serious sports journalist. Not only her interest in sports, but also her lack of self-awareness, dislike of fashion and shopping, and concentration in her career marks her as different to most female protagonist of what has been called chick-lit. She’s insecure, and her relationship with her friends is strong, but she’s also family-oriented, focused on her work and refuses to drop everything when a handsome man just happens to turn up. Derry is also not your usual eye-candy. Although in appearance he is a Don Juan who goes out with as many models and flashy women as he can, we later discover he’s also had bad experiences, and he’s mostly straight in his dealings with Charlie (apart from keeping from her his writing identity). Despite his reputation, if anything Derry seems a bit too good to be true (and reminded me of some comments about men in romantic novels written by women being a female fantasy rather than real men. Although that’s part of the appeal).

Not being a big sports fan in general, I was more interested in Derry’s line of work than in Charlie’s (apart from fashion, that is not my thing either), and I empathised with her doubts as to what they had in common. On the surface at least, it seems a case of opposites attract, although we do realise later in the novel that they share similar emotional experiences. Perhaps a more detailed account of their dates and time spent with each other would give the readers a better sense of their relationship and where the attraction between the two comes from. They are both likeable characters, the content of their columns —that is shared in the novel— is funny and witty, and some of their exchanges (on paper more than live) remind one of the good old classic comedies, like Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy’s films (although to my mind not quite as sharp). They do go to watch one of their movies at some point in the novel, that I thought it was a nice touch.

If you want a very light romantic read, set in gorgeous Dublin, with a background in the world of journalism, quick-witted and fun, with no erotica or daring sex scenes, I recommend you this novel. It’s perfect to pick up anybody’s spirit.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Guest Author Sharon Black

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Rosie Amber

Please welcome Sharon Black to the blog today as she tells us about her debut novel “Going Against Type”

1) Where is your home town?

I live in Dublin. I was born here and I now live in Sandymount, which is right by the sea.
2) How long have you been writing?

I’m one of those people who literally started writing as a child. I was always writing stories, filling copybooks, later on starting books which I never finished. After I got my degree, I trained as a journalist and I worked for national newspapers here in Ireland. I’ve also had some short stories published and I won a national short story competition a few years ago.
3) What was the one idea which sparked off “Going Against Type”?

When I was growing up, I adored the old Hollywood movies of the 1930s and 1940s on TV. My favourite romantic pair on screen, were Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracey. In the film Woman of the Year, he plays a sports writer and she plays a high brow pundit. So I thought I’d see what would happen if the roles were reversed a bit. My heroine is a sports writer and my hero is a fashion writer who knows very little about sport. I actually make a reference to Woman of the Year in my book!

4) Where is your book set?

Going Against Type is set in Dublin.

5) Introduce us to Charlie.

Charlie is a single, Dublin born woman in her late twenties. She lives for sport, and actually tried to pursue a professional career in sport, until she was injured. She loves her job and she is great fun. She’s very feisty and doesn’t pull any punches. She’s also a bit vulnerable. She hasn’t had a lot of luck with men.

6) Please tell us all about Derry.

Derry is very good looking, droll and at ease with himself. He dates a lot of women but hasn’t had a serious relationship in a while. He has quite a high position in his paper, but he doesn’t talk about it. He’s originally from Cork and still has a very faint, lilting accent. He is attracted to Charlie because she’s very pretty, but also because she’s very different to the type of woman he usually dates. He finds her refreshing and challenging.

7) What type of things does Charlie write about in her new column?

As the only woman on staff in the sports department, Charlie knows she has to make her mark, or Side Swipe will be handed to one of the men. She is a bit of a purist when it comes to sport, so she just tells it how she sees it. For example, in one column she attacks highly paid soccer stars for wasting their time promoting underwear or writing their autobiographies. In another, she pokes fun at the women who make Ladies’ Day at the races, all about the designer clothes.

8) How does she come into conflict with a rival columnist?

As well as being a fashion writer, Derry writes a column called The Squire for a rival paper. He reads Charlie’s first column and decides to take Side Swipe down a peg or two. He actually thinks it’s written by a young guy, trying to make a name for himself. Both columns are written anonymously.

9) Where and when do Charlie and Derry meet face to face?

Charlie and Derry first bump in to each other at the Galway Races. Literally! By that stage, they have already had a few weeks of attacking each other through their columns. The attraction is instant but it’s not how they first get together!

10) Tell us where readers can find out more about you and your books.