Ali's Bookshelf: Review: Waiting For Tom Hanks

I recieved this book from the publishers for free in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are my own and mine alone.

Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
Published: June 11th 2019
Publisher: Berkley
Format: Paperback/E-ARC
Pages: 274 Pages
Challenges: Goodreads

Goodreads * Amazon *

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 is twenty-seven years old, single, and obsessed with romantic comedies (she and her mother watched them religiously, before her mom died). Her dating life is limited by the expectations she’s formed from these movies. She is not as open to new experiences as she might be, because she’s waiting for her Tom Hanks–i.e., a guy she’ll find in the perfect, meet-cute romantic comedy way. When Annie does finally meet her perfect match, it’s not quite in the way she expected, and she’s forced to reckon with the walls she’s built around herself over the years.

First off, I want to thank the amazing publishing company for sending me a finished copy of this amazing book and for asking me to review. I will also say again, just because they sent me this book doesn't make me feel like I have to give this book a good review. I'm always honest here on the blog and the same goes for when a publisher gives me the book for review. I will say this book didn't disappoint. This book was a fun read and I super excited to share my thoughts with you all.

Anyway, let's get to it. Like I said above I loved Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey. There were so many great things in this book and I totally gushed over all of them. First, look at this cover! Yep, I'm cover obsessed when it comes to this one. I'm loving how the little guy on the front actually does look like Tom Hanks. Also when I first saw this cover and title it made me wonder if they had to ask him to use his name on the cover? Still don't know the answer to that, but hopefully one day I'll find out.

Now let's talk about the actual story/plot, shall we? If you enjoy a great romcom then you will LOVE this book. I mainly say that because all throughout this whole book they are mentioned everywhere! At first, I was a little annoyed with this, but I ended up loving that part of the book. I went in not knowing too much about this one. Lately, that's the way I've liked reading. Makes it more exciting to read for me.

I'm pretty sure you've guessed by now that the main character loves the older type RomComs and of course, the ones that actor Tom Hanks is in like You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seatle. Well, it's not that she just likes these movies, no she wants to find a guy just like the characters Tom Hanks plays. Then she meets Drew, I loved Drew's character, let me say that right now! I'm not going to give too much away but he is an actor!

I will also say that this book is a little predictable, but what Rom-Com isn't right? This is mainly the reason I'm giving it a 4 Puppy rating and not a 5.

I really enjoyed how thought out this book was, the characters and to the whole plot in general. I must also say that it's obvious this author loves her some Rom-Coms. If you didn't already figure that out. If you're looking for a fun and fast contemporary read, pick up a copy of Waiting For Tom Hanks, you won't be disappointed. This book is being released tomorrow, so make sure you preorder your copy today!

I blink a few times, staring straight into Drew Danforth’s face. It’s like when you’re a kid and there’s a solar eclipse, and all the teachers are like, “Don’t look directly into the sun! You’ll destroy your retinas!” but there’s always that one kid (Johnny Berger, in our class) who can’t stop staring.

In this situation, I’m Johnny Berger. And I guess Drew Danforth is the sun.

“Are you okay?” he asks again, enunciating his words even more as if me understanding him is the problem. His brown eyes, I notice, are flecked with tiny bits of gold, which is something you can’t see when you watch him on TV. His hair is just as voluminous as it seems in pictures, but in person, I have the almost overwhelming urge to touch it, to reach out and pull on that one lock of hair that hangs over his forehead.

“She’s not responding.” He turns to Chloe. “Is something wrong?”

“She’s French,” Chloe says without missing a beat. “She only speaks French.”

“I’m not French,” I say, breaking my silence. Chloe and Drew’s heads swivel to look at me.

“I’m sorry about your coat,” I whisper, then I run toward Nick’s.

Chloe bursts in the door behind me, the bell jingling in her wake. “I’m not French?” she screeches. “Those are the first words you spoke to Drew Danforth? Really?”

“Well then, why did you tell him I was French?” I shout, ignoring the curious stares of everyone working on their laptops and the calming melody of whatever Nick put on to replace the Doobies.

“I don’t know!” She throws her hands in the air. “You weren’t talking, so I thought I’d give you an interesting backstory!”

I put my hands over my face. “This is ridiculous.”

“No,” Chloe says, grabbing me by the shoulders. “This is your meet-cute, and now you need to go back out there and find him and say something that isn’t a negation of your Frenchness or an apology for destroying his probably very expensive coat.”

“Meet what?”

Nick stares at us from behind the counter, a dishtowel in his hand.

“A meet-cute,” Chloe stands up straight, shoulders back, as if she’s delivering a Romantic Comedy 101 lecture to Nick and his patrons, “is the quirky, adorable, cute way the hero and heroine of a romantic comedy meet.”

Everyone stares at her blankly.

“Or hero and hero. Or heroine and heroine. Not to be heteronormative,” she clarifies.

“Like how me and Martha met at her wedding,” Gary says.

Chloe thinks about it. “I don’t know that I would necessarily call that one a meet-cute, but sure, Gary.”

“Did you just make that up?” Nick asks, arms crossed.

I shake my head. “No. It’s a thing.”

“Watch a romantic comedy, dude,” Tobin says.

Nick rolls his eyes.

“Anyway,” Chloe continues, “Annie straight up ran into Drew Danforth and spilled a cup of coffee all over his coat, which is, like, the cutest of meets.”

“That doesn’t sound very cute,” Nick says skeptically, rubbing the scruff on his chin. “Was it still hot?”

“Scalding,” I say, sinking into my chair and resting my head on the table.

“Sounds like a meet painful,” says Gary, and a few people laugh.

“Thanks,” I mutter. “I’m so glad you all find my embarrassment entertaining.”

“Annie!” Chloe sits down across from me as a customer walks in and the rest of the shop stops paying attention to us. “This isn’t embarrassing. This is merely a story I’ll tell in my toast at your wedding to Drew.”

I lift my head to look at her. “I hate to break this to you, but I don’t think he’s my Tom Hanks. I think he’s just a famous guy with a possible third-degree burn on his chest. And now my first day on set is going to be super awkward because I accidentally assaulted the lead actor with a beverage.”

Chloe’s about to say something, but then a song starts and she closes her mouth, looking up toward the speakers. “I swear to God, I told Nick not to play any more Bon Iver. It makes people look up their exes on Instagram, not buy coffee. I’m gonna go put on some Hall and Oates.”

As she walks away, I rest my head on the table again. As if it wasn’t embarrassing enough to have my uncle get me a job on set, now I have to deal with this.