Tag: You’ve Got Mail

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Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

Robin’s Reviews 2025

5 Stars

Book cover of Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerry Winfrey

WAITING FOR TOM HANKS by Kerry Winfrey is a 5-star read for me! Is it a literary marvel? No. It’s a 5-star-I-was-thoroughly-entertained romcom. Putting Tom Hanks name in the title was great marketing. After all, that’s what attracted me to check it out. Who doesn’t want a Tom Hanks-type happily ever after?

Photo of Tom Hanks from You've Got MailKerry Winfrey revives the 90s romcom movie format in this novel, including some of the cheesy, yet lovable elements, cliches that just fit, and a predictable yet charming storyline. If you loved those 90s movies and secretly wanted a Tom Hanks-type romance for yourself, you’ll love this book!

Summary

Annie Cassidy often writes at her friend’s coffee shop in Ohio. Her freelance writing pays the bills, but what Annie really wants it to write screenplays. Obsessed with romantic comedies, Annie compares every man she meets to the leading men in her favorite films. She’s waiting for her own perfect meet-cute, just like in the movies. Annie is confident that moment is just around the corner because admitting life isn’t like the movies would mean giving up her fantasy idea of the perfect man.

When Annie is hired to work on a movie filming in her neighborhood, it has to be a sign, right? Could meeting lead actor Drew Danforth be the meet-cute moment she’s waited for? Unfortunately, Drew is far from the Tom Hanks type. Their flubbed first encounter sets up the enemies-to-lovers romance trope.

Photo of Tom Hanks and Meg RyanMy Thoughts

Throughout the story, Annie references some of my favorite movie romcoms – Sleepless in Seattle, You’ve Got Mail, and While You Were Sleeping. (Yes, that last one starred Bill Pullman, not Tom Hanks, but I’m good with that.) WAITING FOR TOM HANKS is a fun, quick read with witty banter and quirky characters. Pick this one up for an enjoyable escape that will life your spirit and make you smile.

Consider buying WAITING FOR TOM HANKS through this link to Bookshop.org. You will be supporting small, indy bookstores with your purchase.

Photo of Author Kerry WinfreyKerry Winfrey, author of romantic comedies, including WAITING FOR TOM HANKS, NOT LIKE THE MOVIES, VERY SINCERELY YOURS, and JUST ANOTHER LOVE SONG, lives in Columbus, Ohio.

If You Like…

If you like WAITING FOR TOM HANKS, check out this past recommendation: One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery.

Drop me a comment below! What are you reading that you’d recommend? Who are your favorite authors?  Ask me a question about books and/or writing. I’d love to hear from you!

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@author.robin.shelley

Netgalley Professional Reader

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The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert

Robin’s Rave Reviews 2022

Recently I won a copy of The Coincidence of Coconut Cake from the Bloom with Tall Poppy Writers Facebook group. (Thank you, Amy E. Reichert!) Amy’s an author I’ve read and reviewed before, so I was excited to read this one. Check out my October 2021 review of the first book I read and loved by Amy, The Kindred Spirits Supper Club.

The Coincidence of Coconut Cake  was different from Kindred Spirits, but still good. If you love the Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks 1998 movie You’ve Got Mail, this romance is for you. Substitute a bookstore for a restaurant and add a bad critic review, and you’ve got a fresh take on this well-loved plot. The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a slow burn romance, a bit too slow burn for me, but I still enjoyed the book.

Al can’t get Lou off his mind after he bumps into her. She’s on her way to her fiancé’s apartment to deliver a coconut cake. Popping in on her fiancé is bad timing (or good timing, depending on your perspective), and her world begins to fall apart.

When Al and Lou meet again, Al, a British transplant in Wisconsin, makes it clear that he isn’t impressed by his new city, viewing this as only a stop along his career path. Lou takes up the challenge to show him the best Milwaukee has to offer – museums, restaurants, ethnic festivals, and so on. On these outings, they agree to leave business behind by not talking about their jobs. When Al finally discovers Lou owns Luella’s restaurant, he may regret a review he wrote as the restaurant critic for the newspaper.

Did you know? You’ve Got Mail was based on Parfumerié, a 1937 Hungarian play by Miklos Laszlo. The story was reimagined, becoming the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner, and then repackaged as You’ve Got Mail in 1998.

Some of my favorite romance movies are You’ve Got Mail, Sleepless in Seattle, Fool’s Gold, Letters to Juliet, and Sweet Home Alabama. What are your favorite romance movies?

Netgalley Professional Reader

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