Not Like the Movies by Kerry Winfrey Series: Waiting for Tom Hanks #2
Published by Penguin Random House on July 7 2020
Genres: Romance, Adult
What happens when your life is a rom-com...but you don't even believe in true love?
Chloe Sanderson is an optimist, and not because her life is easy. As the sole caregiver for her father, who has early onset Alzheimer's, she's pretty much responsible for everything. She has no time—or interest—in getting swept up in some dazzling romance. Not like her best friend Annie, who literally wrote a rom-com that's about to premiere in theaters across America...and happens to be inspired by Chloe and Nick Velez, Chloe's cute but no-nonsense boss.
As the buzz for the movie grows, Chloe reads one too many listicles about why Nick is the perfect man, and now she can't see him as anything but Reason #2: The Scruffy-Bearded Hunk Who's Always There When You Need Him. But unlike the romance Annie has written for them, Chloe isn't so sure her own story will end in a Happily Ever After.
I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher. This does not influence my thoughts on the book or this review.
I was highly anticipating this one and my expectations were definitely met! I loved Waiting for Tom Hanks so I had to read the sequel and I’m so glad I did, despite putting it off for a while.
Chloe is an optimist, because she can’t afford not to be. She is the sole caregiver for her father and she has no time for romance, especially none with her boss Nick. Nick and Chloe have been friends for years but there’s nothing between them, or so Chloe swears. But ever since her best friend wrote a successful rom-com movie based on Chloe, Chloe can’t help but see Nick in a slightly different light.
I liked the dynamic between Chloe and Nick in the first book in this series so I was quite excited to read their story. I really liked the two of them and I definitely thought their love story was sweet. Some other reviews have criticized Chloe for her selfishness at times and while I can see that, I do think that she does show growth by the end of the book. Yes, Chloe is not an easy character to relate to, at least not for me, but I definitely understood her actions and I could see where she was coming from.
My only issue with the novel is that I felt the characters were a bit flat. I think that the characters had their flaws and felt real but still not quite there. The characters technically were diverse, as in their identities were mentioned, but they were never described beyond a few sentences here and there. Their identities didn’t factor into the way they saw the world so it felt more like just a descriptor to have one, if that makes sense. I could be wrong and I definitely will keep my eye out for some more opinions. Despite that, I liked the plot & this was a satisfying sequel if you like seeing characters from the first book re-appear.
Overall, this was a fun romance with characters that I liked reading about. I definitely think that if you liked Chloe and Nick’s dynamic in the first book, then it’s worth picking up this one!
