Well nothing like a blizzard, and a palpable immediate chemistry in a car together for 8 hours to make a beautiful connection with a stranger. A lot of deep topics in this one including mental health and death/loss. It was emotional and a wonderful read. I did think it was going to be a “holiday” book but it definitely wasn’t. I would recommend Lia’s writing to anyone though!! Great read!!

Thank you Lia, Netgalley and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. All words and opinions are my own.

Loved this idea of fated soul mates. How they keep meeting at different stages of life. The friendship they develop after the eight hours stuck in a broken down car.

Fantastic read

I received an e-copy from NetGalley for an honest opinion.

This was such a cute book.
Starts off with Noelle being trapped in her car during a winter storm on the highway. When figuring out her cellphone battery is running low and asked Sam (from the car near her) if she can charge her cell and they get to talking.
After hours of great conversations they go on their separate ways.
While figuring out her future, Noelle keeps running into Sam.

This cover is very deceiving because I thought it was a cute holiday book. But in my opinion it could of taken place anytime during the year. Noelle was an okay character, I did love her personal development throughout the book. But the romance didn’t do anything for me.

I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

I’m a sucker for romance and Christmas stories so this book really brought extra joy to the holiday season for me. I enjoyed the character development and how the author set the scenes for major events in the book. Thank you for the access to this title, NetGalley.

I was hoping for a little sizzle but this one mostly fizzled. Where's the chemistry? Where's the witty banter? I didn't find either here. I'd be hard pressed to call this a rom-com. The romance is barely there and I don't think I laughed once, if I did, it wasn't memorable. There were a lot of characters, and not one of them really gripped me. Plenty of side stories that I couldn't have cared less about and I didn't exactly feel like added to the storyline. All in all, not exactly my cup of tea, but I know some people who have loved it!

If I’m going to use one word to describe this one, it would be CUTE.
During a freak spring snow storm, Noelle gets stuck on the motorway with dozens of others. She starts to panic when her phone dies and she isn’t able to reach her mom. That is until the handsome car neighbour offers her the opportunity to charge her phone in his car. Is that weird? Or just she just go with it. Well she goes for it, and guess what, spends 8 perfect hours with this stranger that she’ll never see again. Or will she? Kidding, she totally sees him again, and again, and again. What are you trying tell her universe??
I found the book a bit slow going, but the overall story I liked. I’m glad that things happened they way they did. The supporting characters were all perfect, but I’ve said it before that I like my romancy books to have steam, this one had nothing, not even closed door. There’s also a few trigger warnings, death of friend, anxiety, sick parent, postpartum depression, so be warned.
Have you read this one? What did you think?

Lia Louis’s novel Dear Emmie Blue completely blew me away in 2020 so I was very much looking forward to her 2021 release, Eight Perfect Hours. It took me awhile to get to it – only reading it earlier this year – but I quite enjoyed it. Perhaps not as much as the earlier novel but it was still a good story in its own right.

Here’s the book’s description:
On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear.
The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence.

First things first. This one was, for some reason, somewhat marketed as a Christmas/holiday novel. I don’t know if that was the intention of the publisher or if it wasn’t even them marketing it, it was early readers deciding that a book released in the late fall with a cute, wintery cover MUST be a Christmas book. It’s so not. The story opens in March. *checks calendar* Yeah, nowhere near Christmas. It’s not even really a wintery novel. Noelle and Sam get meet each other because of a freak snowstorm and the rest of the novel takes place over the following months. So, basically, you could read this one at any time of year and be delighted.

You really have to believe – or allow yourself to believe for the length of the novel – in the concept of fate to be able to fully enjoy this story. It was a sweet idea and something I had fun thinking about while reading. It was a nice little escape from *waves arms at world* The little coincidences that were revealed throughout the story were sometimes completely unexpected and kept things from getting too predictable.

Noelle’s ex-boyfriend was a complete asshat. She’s the caregiver to her mother, who had had a stroke a few years prior and really struggled with going out because she knew she wasn’t the person she used to be. So things fell to Noelle. All the things, basically. Earning money, paying bills, and so on. Her ex couldn’t understand why she kept looking after her mother and didn’t go after what she really wanted in life (to be a floral designer). No one can fully understand someone else’s life but he was such a…well, kind of a gaslighting jerk about it. She deserved so much better and I hated reading as she got sucked back into his orbit. I might be a bit harsh but I had such a “yuck” feeling when reading the scenes with him that that feeling has stuck with me way more than some of the other things about this book.

Sam, on the other hand, was lovely. That said, I don’t feel like I really got to know either character enough over the course of the story which may have kept me from enjoying it as much as I expected. I cared about them both, most definitely. I wanted to read their Happily Ever After. But there just seemed to be a little something missing from their development.

All in all, Eight Perfect Hours was a lovely read. It wasn’t, unfortunately, perfect but if you want a sweet, reflective read, Lia Louis’s latest might be the one for you.

Some content warnings: death of a friend/family member years prior, depression (including postpartum), suicide.

My review of Dear Emmie Blue

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

What if you met that one person who you could really see yourself with but then he has a girlfriend already? Or would you go back to the other one who is toxic for you? I loved this gem of a ride. Let yourself go and find who you should really be with in the end even if it is not the way you pictured your life.

I recently finished Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis. It was a cute charming read, not necessarily a holiday read but there is a snowstorm, so a perfect winter read to cozy up with on a cold day with a hot cup of tea. A wonderful story about two people growing into who they are meant to be.

Don't let the cute cover fool you this book also deals with tough subjects that pull at your emotions including depression, grief, and failed relationships.

Okay, I really liked this one! I definitely expected it to be more Christmassy than it was, but it was still jam packed with all the holiday-ish cuteness! If you ask me, it was a perfect read to ease into the holiday romcoms and snowy season ❄

❄ Synopsis ❄
Two strangers (Noelle and Sam) find themselves trapped together in a snow storm and quickly find themselves comfortably chatting the night away before parting ways when the storm subsides. Turns out fate had big plans in store for these two as the continue to cross paths and inevitably wonder if there really is such a thing as coincidence.

❄ What I loved:
• the layers of fate
• Noelle's character - I especially loved the excerpts of her thoughts and cheeky humour, they always had me smiling
• just the right amount of cheese and sap
• the twists weren't wildly predictable!
• the eloquent way @lialouisauthor tackles the subjects of loss and grief
• Noelle's family dynamic, the relatability & the way she handles everything with grace

❄ What I didn't love:
• Ed (but honestly, I didn't even fully dislike him, just didn't like him for one person in particular... iykyk)

I was a little confused about the plot twist, and the editor in me tended to get peeved about some of the things still requiring edits, but I know it is the arc version of the book so I try to keep that in mind while considering the rating. Overall, this books just wasn’t entirely my thing. The romance was too light and it took much too long for the characters to build real connection, in my opinion. It’s a cheesy and plain romance compared to what I usually like for romance.

This was a real feel good book. I loved the concept on how Noelle and Sam met on the road and it made for a wonderful story. There are some parts that are humorous, heartfelt, romantic and unfortunately some tension. But it made for a fun read that I think everyone should add to their TBR.

Noelle finds herself stuck in a blizzard while driving on the M4 and befriends the driver of another vehicle with whom she rides out the storm with. They don’t ever expect to see each other again, but, of course, the universe has other plans.

This contemporary romance explores the role that fate plays in our lives and whether a coincidence is just that or something more. Lovely is the first word that springs to mind when I think of this book, it was such a lovely book. I adored the main characters and found the story itself, while admittedly rather predictable, to be engaging and I was completely rooting for Noelle.

What I didn’t like was the fact this seemed to be being marketed as a Christmas/winter title so I was expecting it to be more “warm and fluffy” and while it was definitely a charming and warm hearted read it also covered some important topics; grief, suicide, family relationships, postpartum depression and infidelity, which made me feel like the cover and synopsis sort of undersold this one.

I also felt the title was a little confusing as although the “eight perfect hours” are an important part of the story, they are also only one part and so I’m not sure why this aspect of the story was pulled upon for the title. I had (wrongly) assumed prior to reading that the majority of the book would focus on those eight hours but that was not the case.

Despite these points I did really enjoy this one and would definitely recommend it.

When returning from a reunion type event at her college one wintry day, Noelle Butterby is trapped on the highway. A winter storm has closed the roads. Noelle’s phone charger is broken. She is anxious to get in touch with her mother to reassure her that she will be home as soon as possible. The handsome stranger in the next car comes to her rescue. Sam, an American offers to let Noelle use his charger and from there the two spend the next eight hours together talking and just waiting out the storm. The chemistry is apparent but with Sam due to return to the US, Noelle accepts this was a one time encounter. However fate intervenes and Sam and Noelle keep meeting in unusual places. Both are in their thirties so both have attachments to past relationships.
EIGHT PERFECT HOURS is your typical romance and it is perfect escape reading.
The characters are engaging and there are just the right amount of road blocks to keep the story interesting. Great recommendation for romance readers.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada and NetGalley for allowing me access to an advanced digital edition of EIGHT PERFECT HOURS.

This is a beautifully crafted story about grief and of finding true love. The story also references survival guilt and mental illness. This is a heartbreaking story filled with hope - and a reminder to trust one's instincts. I loved this book and will certainly reread it.

Eight Perfect Hours • Lia Louis
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I will start off with saying I definitely judged this book by the cover. I thought it was going to be a Holiday romance but boy was I wrong! Which I think may have thrown me off a bit reading and slightly affected my review.
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Overall I liked the premise of the book and the red string theory and loved how it all fit together! Unfortunately I thought overall it was slow paced and sometimes found it a struggle to sit through (but that could have been due to thinking it was a holiday romance). I always try and finish books but around the 85% mark is when I actually started getting into the book 🤷🏻‍♀️
Maybe if I had known more going in I would have enjoyed it more.

And just like that Lia Louis has become an auto-buy author for me. I absolutely adored Dear Emmie Blue and this one was a joy to read too.

Things I loved:
-the themes of fate and “meant to be” - I thought this was so well done and really made me think
-exploring grief and the way that people grieve differently
-I just found the entire plot just so unique
-Sam and Noelle were such great realistic, but flawed characters - my favourite kind!

Lia Louis is officially on my auto-buy list! I absolutely loved this book. I was very much invested in the main characters lives and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I loved that this love story was complex and raw while also putting an emphasis on fate. The writing was phenomenal and the book unfolded perfectly. Highly recommend this one.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.