Karen Brichoux

Coffee and Kung Fu is the chick lit book to which I compare all other chick lit. Funny, engaging, light reading - but featuring a protagonist I didn't cringe about identifying with. As Nicci navigates work and romance, she turns for guidance, not to martinis with the girls, but to the wisdom of the kung fu masters in the movies she loves. That's right: she's quietly a geek. The supporting characters are also delightfully quirky; her grandfather in particular stands out, with his ability to tell everything he needs to know by the shoes a man wears.

But what I most appreciate is that the protagonist ultimately must decide between accepting those things young women are expected to want or taking a risk on something better suited for her own happiness. It's a refreshing dilemma compared the cookie cutter desires of many chick lit heroines.… (meer)