There's no doubt about it: T.B. Markinson is a terrific writer, with a great sense of humor. I laughed out loud at sentences like "I gave her the drink, being careful not to touch her hand, fearful I might break it--or pet her." Full of strong writing and lots of conflict, Confessions From A Coffee Shop is never dull, not for a second.

I wanted to like the novel more than I did, but I just couldn't...mostly because of main character Cori. She asks in the beginning, "Who am I to judge others?" yet it's all she does. She is quick to label one woman as "dowdy," often forming opinions of others by their appearances rather than who they are as people. Her tendency to think rather highly of her own physique and talents as a writer comes across as arrogant rather than honest self-appraisal. She is the exact opposite of her very kind, if fiscally irresponsible, girlfriend Kat.

Even though Kat spends money like it's water without serious consideration of what can go wrong when you do that, she is rather quite endearing. She is the reason I continued to read long after I wanted to throw some coffee (not scalding, of course!) over Cori and her exasperating ways. Kat may need to curb her shopping habits, but she has such a good heart and truly cares for Cori. Often, solid romances work best when two people are completely different from each other. That's sure the case here!

I don't regret reading Confessions From A Coffee Shop at all, though. T.B. Markinson's previous book Marionette is so outstanding and so gloriously good I guess part of me is still thinking of that and unfairly comparing it to this. Instead, I should focus on how refreshing and wonderful it is that the author never repeats herself when she writes a new book. ( )