I found the recoil in the Glock 23 to be very ... "snappy." Not hard, not heavy, just.. very sharp and ... well.. snappy. I had trouble with it getting back on target for quick follow-ups. It was so bad for me, that I would find myself adjusting my grip between shots. I'm sure that's indicative of a poor grip to begin with, which I hope I've since corrected. Now having said all this, the Glock 23 is the only pistol I had that impression with. And since it was my first .40, it steered me back to 9mm and .45, where I've stayed ever since.
Since then, I've shot Sigs, Berettas, Taurus... really all kinds of .40s. That impression of snappy recoil hasn't been there. So maybe I gave up on the caliber too quickly.