Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey follows Annie, a die-hard romcom fan and screenplay writer who is desperately waiting for her own real-life meet cute and Tom Hanks. Not Tom Hanks the man himself, but what he represents in all of those beloved 90’s flicks. Romcoms were one thing Annie really enjoyed with her mother before she died and she is determined to hold out for the guy she deserves.
Annie learns a romcom will be filming in her local Ohio town and scores a role as the director’s assistant thanks to her uncle’s connections. Her first day on set begins with her dumping coffee on the film’s star Drew, Hollywood’s current leading man. She’s determined to hate everything he’s about in order to find her Tom Hanks and yet finds herself continually drawn to him. Could Drew be the answer to her own romcom or is she still waiting for Mr. Right?
Overall I did really enjoy the relationship between Annie and Drew. This was a cute light beach read and I finished it in one sitting. There are A LOT of romcom parallels mentioned to the point where I did find myself saying “this isn’t a movie!” While as a reader I was able to understand that Annie’s obsession with romcoms stemmed from her desperation to hang onto a thread that connected her to her mother, it started to get incredibly repetitive throughout the story. It did come off a little unrealistic although again I did identify with what they were supposed to represent. Annie and Drew’s relationship was endearing and I was happy to follow their journey. There is also a blind date with Barry in there that had me CRYING laughing it was so damn funny. I am looking forward to the next one in the series titled Not Like the Movies. The next book follows her friend Chloe who is much more a cynic. I look forward to seeing where these characters go next and for all of you lovers of Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, you’ll enjoy this contemporary nod!
Thanks to Berkley Pub and Berkley Romance for my copy to review! All opinions are my own!
