Annie Cassidy dreams of being the next Nora Ephron. She spends her days writing screenplays, re-watching 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?

To put it simply, Waiting for Tom Hanks is adorable!  It was like reading one of my favorite romantic-comedies; it was full of romance and fun, quirky characters with their own problematic pasts that they work through.  The book is full of references to old movies and TV shows that had me feeling nostalgic the entire time, but I loved every second of it.

Annie was a very relatable character in different ways, especially her introverted nature and having that perfect image of what a romance should be in her mind.  Her love of film and wanting to be a screenwriter hit close to me as well, as I have had an interest in working behind-the-scenes in film before and, well, I’m also a writer (though unpublished).  Really, all of the characters were relatable on some level and I could see myself interacting with any of them in real life.

While the story had me laughing out loud at times – especially with Annie’s best friend Chloe – there was also some sadness in Annie’s life whenever she remembered her mother, who passed away while Annie was in high school.  The romance between Annie and Drew had a nice build-up and I loved how they immediately got off on the wrong foot so they spent quite some time arguing – I loved their banter!  Then of course we had Nick and Chloe on the side and they were fun to read as well, so I cannot wait for the next book to read Chloe’s story.

Again, the book was full of great characters, banter, and romance that just oozed sweetness!  Waiting for Tom Hanks is definitely one of my favorite reads of the year!

Rating: 5/5 stars