Book Review: Kicks Like a Girl

After reading three non-fiction books in a row in the middle of February, I was good and ready for a frolicking fun novel.  How serendipitous for me that Melissa Westemeier’s second book, Kicks Like a Girl, was published at the end of February. 

I loved the characters in this novel – they are young, vibrant, and likable.  The plot has romance, menacing danger, and secrets from the past.  Gretchen, the main character, is a small business owner who decides to enroll in a karate class.  That’s just part of the larger plot, but the personalities and interactions in the class were fascinating to me, a non-sportive type.  To balance out the karate action, there is also a bakery, which means that cupcakes are occasionally featured.

Almost every chapter begins with a Truth About Life that applies to the characters’ lives and beyond into real life.  It’s rather like the opening line of Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen).  It feels as if the narrator and the reader are pausing to bow to each other in respect before moving on to deal with life.

A friend asks Gretchen if her karate class is like kickboxing.  In my favorite line in the book, Gretchen explains that no, karate is not like kickboxing:

“…I really kick people.”  She took a sip of her tea.

I do love a book that has tea drinkers in it!

(Full Disclosure:  I was not paid or recompensed in any way for my review. I bought the book myself from Amazon and I recommend it to you.)