Afternoon, my fellow book nerds!
Thanks to many of y’all’s Mid-Year Freak Out Tags, I decided I needed to get my butt in shape and start hyper focusing on arcs, reviews, and getting back to blogging. I’m hoping July is the month that gets me back on track for my GR reading goal and thus by August I’ll be back with a bunch of material for my currently neglected (yet soon to be revived) blog.
So think happy thoughts for me guys! Encouragement and cookies are always accepted!
Goodreads/Amazon/Barnes & Noble
Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
Title & Author: Waiting For Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Release Date: June 11, 2019
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Series Details: Standalone
Page Count: 320 pages
Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
“In most romantic comedies, the first scene establishes why the female lead needs a change in her life.”
Enter 27-year-old Annie Cassidy a freelance writer OBSESSED with romantic comedies…and obviously, Tom Hanks. Annie spends her snow-filled days in Columbus, Ohio trekking between her mortgage-free home (where she lives with her D&D playing uncle Don) and the local coffee shop that employs her best friend, Chloe (read: the story’s MVP), working on her articles and screenplay. And while she seems content with her friend/family life, it’s stated no less than 5 times within the opening pages that Annie is looking for her happily ever after…in the form of Tom Hanks.
“Tom Hanks isn’t a person so much as he is a representation of the kind of man I deserve.”
Thanks to her uncle Don’s somehow secret connection to Oscar-winning director, Tommy Crisante, Annie is able to secure a job as Tommy’s assistant while he’s there in German Village filming his newest romcom. Before filming begins, clumsy Annie literally runs into the film’s leading man, Drew Danforth, spilling freshly-acquired coffee all over him. This incident sparks the beginning of an “enemies-to-lovers” plot line (and I do use that term loosely) that I truly wish had worked for me!
Here’s the thing: I REALLY wanted to love this story. From its adorably charming cover art to the romcom-positive synopsis this should have been the summer contemporary of my dreams. And despite the cute brought forth from our male MC (read: the hair pulling scene 😍), I just couldn’t get behind our female lead.
Annie is a grown-ass adult that claims to be using “Tom Hanks as a symbol,” yet seems to be using his FICTIONAL characters’ quirks as dating gospel. She repeatedly shuns potential dates for lacking traits of a Hanks man and freaks the eff out when they do have a matching trait (i.e. Carter “houseboat” Reid). That frequent romanticizing of fictional strangers just seemed too extreme and unbelievable for an otherwise intelligent person. Plus she literally mentions his name no less than 75 times. And I’m not exaggerating guys! I personally stopped counting once I got to 75. So who knows the real magic number. Throw in how quickly and easily everything fell together and you can understand why I was left waiting for the depth and butterflies I’m used to feeling from this genre.
Ultimately, I think I’m just disappointed that this romance didn’t turn out to be anything like I expected. There were pockets of perfection that clearly demonstrate this could have been the sexual-tension filled slow burn of the summer, but the majority was too cheesy, unrealistic, and convenient to stir up anything but apathy.
If you’ve read this, I’d love to hear whether you agree or disagree with my thoughts. Hit me up, below!
All quotes were taken from an advanced copy and may not match the final release.
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Awesome review Taylor! I also, applaud you for finished this one. Lord knows I was getting an eye twitch every time she compared something to what Tom Hanks would do.
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Thanks, Kayla! The TH references were OUT OF CONTROL! And it like NEVER tapered off, but I’m so bummed since this had potential. And I actually think the male lead had oodles of charm. Oh well…on to the next one…
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Ok. I thought I was crazy! I read about 3-4 chapters into this book and put it right back down. I really didn’t like the main character at all! But all the reviews on Goodreads said such great things about it. Plus, TOM HANKS. I wanted to love this but maybe I will just return it to the library without finishing it. At least I won’t feel bad about it.
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I KNOW!! It had all the makings of something glorious, but unfortunately just didn’t hit the mark with me. As you said a ton of people seem to really love it, but I just couldn’t handle an ADULT lead acting like a high schooler. Plus her whole outrage over the coffeegirl nickname (not sure if you got that far or not) made my blood boil.
If you dp pick it back up, I’d love to hear if it won you over or not.
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Uhg! I do know what you’re talking about with the nickname. So annoying. I ended up packing it to go back to the library and I’m not looking back! Maybe next time!
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