Its too bad I didn’t find out about this book until Labor Day weekend, because it really was perfect for the CBR11bingo #Summer Read square.
Annie is an aspiring screenwriter who lives with her uncle in Columbus, OH (clearly, the hot spot for screenwriters). Both of her parents died when she was young, leaving her with her childhood home, memories of a perfect love story, and an obsession with Romantic Comedies, particularly those starring Tom Hanks.
Annie hangs out at the local coffee shop, filled with quirky friends and regulars, watches a ton of Netflix, and compares every single date she’s ever had to While You Were Sleeping or You’ve Got Mail. Needless to say, Annie’s romantic life is not thriving.
Neither is her professional life. She writes freelance content for websites (been there!) and works on a Rom Com of her very own. But she doesn’t work very hard on it, because she never plans to leave her house, her uncle, or Columbus.
Suddenly, the town and the coffee shop are all abuzz because a for-real Hollywood Romantic Comedy is going to be filming in their quaint neighborhood. Directed by an award winner WHO JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE HER UNCLES COLLEGE ROOMMATE. Ahem. I feel like that would have come up in conversation before he arrives in town, but whatever. Annie’s uncle makes a few calls and suddenly Annie is the director’s new assistant.
Annie has a meet cute with the super-hot star of the movie, Drew, but she thinks he’s obnoxious and insufferable (for reasons I never quite understood), and she treats him somewhat rudely.
But of course, he eventually shows her how nice and down-to-earth he really is, and she realizes she misjudged him. Meanwhile, she’s being bombarded with requests from paparazzi and gossip columns for dirt on Drew, and she starts to see what his life is really all about and why he acts the way that he does. He’s kind and intelligent and she really, really likes him. But he’s leaving to go back to Hollywood in a few days, so she doesn’t think she should do anything about her growing feelings.
Annie was not particularly likeable. At no point in this book does Annie behave like a reasonable adult. Her obsession with Tom Hanks movies is a major obstacle to her living a normal life. Her friends all tell her she needs to face reality, and she just ignores them and hopes she can meet a man with a houseboat, like Tom Hanks in Sleepless in Seattle.
The entire story was silly, the last 40 pages were ridiculous, everything about it was unbelievable.
But it was just so, so cute, I couldn’t put it down. An easy, feel-good read that I devoured. Looks like there will be a sequel about Annie’s quirky best friend and the owner of the coffee shop, and I’m completely on board.
I would also happily read a companion novel about an obsession with young Hugh Grant. Just saying.
