Annie Cassidy has so many happy memories of watching romantic comedies with her mother. She grew up on Sleepless in Seattle, While You Were Sleeping, Roman Holiday, When Harry Met Sally, and You’ve Got Mail. So as a single woman looking for a relationship, she’s not just looking for any guy. She waiting for the right guy. She’s waiting for Tom Hanks. Not the actual Tom Hanks, obviously, but the type of guy that Tom Hanks plays in her favorite rom coms.

Until then, Annie is just living her life. She works as a freelance writer of internet stories and crafts screenplays in her free time. She hangs out at her favorite coffee shop, where her best friend Chloe works. Since her parents died, she lives in her childhood home in Columbus, Ohio, with her uncle and dreams of the day she finally gets her meet-cute with the guy of her dreams. She’s far away from Hollywood, at least she is until the day that Hollywood comes to her.

A famous director comes to Columbus to film a romantic comedy that will break out of the usual racial tropes. And since that famous director was the college roommate of Annie’s uncle, she is able to snag a job on set as assistant (aka Coffee Girl).

And then she runs into hunky movie star Drew Danforth. Like, literally runs into him. With a large cup of coffee. He’s covered in hot coffee, and Annie can’t find the words to say anything. Isn’t it just like life to give Annie her great meet-cute moment with the most obnoxious, most grating, most self-important movie star in town?

Reading Kerry Winfrey’s Waiting for Tom Hanks is just like watching a classic romantic comedy, but with the subtitles on. Her characters are just as feisty and smart as you expect, her situations just as fun yet slightly unnatural, her light-hearted banter just as fun as anything Meg Ryan has said on film. I enjoyed this book so much, as it reminded me of all those delightful movies that I have watched and loved with my friends, my mother, and myself.

Highly recommended as an engaging, relaxing, laugh-out-loud book for romantics everywhere!

Galleys for Waiting for Tom Hanks were provided by Berkley through Edelweiss, with many thanks.