Review: Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Hey all, Dani here.

Welcome to my final review post of 2019. I can’t wait to see all the reviews I am able to post in 2020; I’m hoping it will also be a year of primarily great reads. Also, I sat down last night and made a list of books I’ve read but haven’t reviewed, so I have a nice bank of backlist reviews to take with me into the new year, but that’s okay. I will get myself caught up eventually, even if it means doing a couple mini-review posts with 4 or so books in each one.

Anyway, I can’t believe that I didn’t already write a review up for this one, so I’m getting it up now. Am I doing this because this book also appears on my post later today? Absolutely. It was the only one on the list that I didn’t have a review posted for already, so here we go.

Summary

Can a romcom-obssessed romantic finally experience the meet-cute she always dreamed of or will reality never compare to fiction, in this charming debut adult novel from Kerry Winfrey.

Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, rewatching Sleepless in Seattle, and waiting for her movie-perfect meet-cute. If she could just find her own Tom Hanks—a man who’s sweet, sensitive, and possibly owns a houseboat—her problems would disappear and her life would be perfect. But Tom Hanks is nowhere in sight.

When a movie starts filming in her neighborhood and Annie gets a job on set, it seems like a sign. Then Annie meets the lead actor, Drew Danforth, a cocky prankster who couldn’t be less like Tom Hanks if he tried. Their meet-cute is more of a meet-fail, but soon Annie finds herself sharing some classic rom-com moments with Drew. Her Tom Hanks can’t be an actor who’s leaving town in a matter of days…can he?

My Thoughts

Rating: 4.5 stars

First off, this book is set in Columbus, OH, and while I don’t live in the city myself, I go to it on a somewhat regular basis, so the setting felt quite familiar to me. Add in the fact that Annie goes to one of my favorite independent bookstores–The Book Loft–and this book just felt homey to me. On a side note, if you can make a day trip or something to Columbus, and get the chance to go to The Book Loft, please do. They have 32 rooms full of books, and there’s a map you can pick up to help find your way through the narrow twisting tunnels and the maze of rooms, or you can just wander around and find your way out eventually. It is a very cool experience.

Yes, I have a tote from The Book Loft and I absolutely could not resist taking this photo. I’ll probably update it when the next book in this series releases, which is totally fine with me.

I related to Annie’s character so much as well. Granted, she’s more into screenplays and movies, while I’m more novels and books, but still. The ideals are really similar. Is this another one of those books that makes me think that it time for me to buckle down and get serious about my writing again? Yes, it is, and I’m glad for books like this. Especially when there is a line in the book that just spoke to me.

Okay, so Annie’s uncle has a Dungeons & Dragons group and this is Annie talking about a couple of the members. What is really funny is that I whole-heartedly agree that meeting through D&D is a great meet-cute; after all, it is how Damian and I met. A D&D contemporary romance is what I’m working on writing too, so thank you Kerry Winfrey for this little nerd moment. Since we are both Ohio based writers, I sincerely hope that we can meet at some point, because that would be cool.

However, back to talking about this book, I do agree with other characters who tell Annie that she is so hooked on rom-coms and dreaming of having her own rom-com that she could be missing out on some great romance opportunities searching for the elusive guy who reminds her of so many Tom Hanks roles from classic romance comedies.

Basically this was a fun and quick read with a lot of pop culture references, and some cool characters, most of whom I’m hoping to see in the sequel/companion novel coming next year.

Where to Get a Copy

You can get your own copy of this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore.

You can also check with your local library.