I received an e-arc of Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis from Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.

It would be too simplistic to say that Eight Perfect Hours is just a contemporary romance. Yes, it definitely has all the elements. A meet-cute in the form of being stranded in a snowstorm. Chance encounters. Signs of meant to be and fate. But at the same time, Eight Perfect Hours is also a story about mental health and family and what we are willing to give to our loved ones in their time of need. If you’re looking for an easy romance read with a touch of important issues, then Eight Perfect Hours may be just right for you.

I received this eARC through NetGalley thanks to Simon & Schuster Canada. While it was gifted to me, my review is fully my own thoughts.

Eight Perfect Hours really was just that, eight perfect hours of reading, well if we're being honest more like 24, but overall it genuinely was a very quick read. The novel follows Noelle Butterby, a 30 something from the UK just trying to get by. On the fateful night of her college reunion she ends up stranded on the motorway due to a freak snowstorm, all alone and with her phone dead, the man in the car next to hers becomes good company. Noelle assumes she'll never see the man again, an American on his way to the airport, but fate has a funny way of making us expect the least expected.

If you're a fan of Sophie Kinsella or chance encounters than this book is for you. From the first moment I picked up the novel all I could think about was how it compared to the Sophie Kinsella's I had read, and honestly it compared better. I found myself really like Noelle and taking her side on most things in the book, she's a caring and compassionate person who's seen tragedy and is just trying to help everyone around her. This novel while being a romance is also really for me about self-discovery, self-doubt and working on our ability to put ourselves first.

While there are those aspects this is a romance, so let's talk about it! This romance is slow burn but what you get before is so amazing, a genuine slow growing of a friendship before any love is had. You get more than one relationship, messy relationships. This book felt so realistic in it's depiction of love and dating, how falling into old habits is easier than pushing for new things. Overall the romance really was like verging on a 10/10 for me.

In terms of things I didn't like, there wasn't much. The three star review is probably more like a 3.5 and that's just because I've seen this before, there really wasn't anything too super unique until the end, oh my god please get to the end, it's amazing! I feel like a 4 star would have been given if the characters had felt a little more fleshed out, especially Sam, from the very start and even description you know he's going to be the love interest and while you learn about his life I feel like you really don't learn about the real him too much, don't really see his personality on page.

Despite the above negativities, this novel really was a good cozy read. If you're looking for something with the same air and writing voice as Sophie Kinsella then I highly suggest picking this up, it has a cute romance, chance encounters and learning to put oneself ahead of other, overall very good and would recommend!

Eight Perfect Hours kept me engrossed the entire time I was reading it. And if life didn’t get in the way, I may have read it in one sitting and I’m not even a fast reader at all.

Although it’s not a holiday book as I initially thought it would be, this emotional page-turner was not disappointing. This story made me tear up, smile and gave me all the “feels”; resulting in me having a bad case of a book hangover.

Noelle’s inner conflicting feelings of wanting to branch out and experience new things, but also feeling obligated in assisting her mother as she was struggling with mental health issues was heartbreaking. It’s easy to say she was holding herself back but I completely understand how she wanted to be there to take care of the person who took care of her when she was going through her own troubles.

The flashbacks blended so well with the present day story and I loved that Louis included Charlie’s story, which, to me, enhanced the book. Charlie and Theo were such a wonderfully imperfect couple and it was a joy to read about them.

Overall, this was a beautiful story that will have me remembering it for a long time.

Happy to include this charming rom-com in the September instalment of Novel Encounters, my column highlighting the month's top fiction for Zed, Zoomer magazine’s reading and books section.
Full review feature at link.

Thank Goodness for Eight Perfect Hours!
For lovers of Dear Emmie Blue, you’re in for a treat with Lia Louis’ newest novel. By the end, you’ll fall in love with this charming story that's rich with comfort and warmth.
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Noelle Butterby has a lot going on emotionally: she’s still devastated over the breakup of her boyfriend, she seems to be her mother’s only reliable caregiver, and she mourns for her best friend who tragically died 15 years before. She has a lot of stuff weighing her down. And now after an very draining day, there happens to be a freak snowstorm in March and she is stuck on the highway with no heat in her car, no charge on her cell phone, and no food - and she really needs to call her Mum to ensure she is properly looked after.
Lucky for Noelle, Sam (the tall and handsome guy who car is stuck next to hers) offers the warmth of his car, while she charges her phone.
What starts off as a stressful situation, turns into an evening with comforting conversations (and a bit of a meltdown). But sadly, after eight hours on a frozen highway, the storm clears up and they part ways never to be seen again…

…um, well that’s until she sees him by chance again and then again, in the most unexpected places – at the hospital, at the home of one of her clients, at a wedding, etc. Yes, there was always a mutual attraction. Yes, he always offered support, comfort, and patience. Yes, they conveniently found themselves in the right place at the right time, BUT due to a few deceptions and secrets they could never really be together. But fate had a different plan.

This book is beautiful and perfect, and had me cheering all the way through – You Got This, Noelle, You Got This!!!

I hope who ever reads Eight Perfect Hours enjoys it as much as I did. A big thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.

On a snowy evening driving back from an out-of-town event, Noelle Butterby is stuck on a highway suddenly closed due to a blizzard.  With no phone charger and no food or drink and the snow coming down heavier than ever, it looks like Noelle is in for a long wait.  When Sam Attwood, an American in town for business, raps on her window and offers her the use of his charger, she desperately accepts.  The two spend the next eight hours in his car-sharing about their lives believing that they will never see each other again.

The road opens and the two carry on with their lives.  But fate has other plans for this couple, as serendipity throws them together again and again.  Perhaps there is something more in play here besides mere coincidence?

Book Review

I loved this book.  The story is filled with many twists and turns which leave the reader only guessing what will happen next.  It is emotional, heartfelt and beautifully written and the story kept me engaged throughout.  It is the detail of character development, however, that makes this book truly shine.

Noelle’s character is such a loving, unselfish, giving woman. She is deeply connected to her family and feels deeply appreciative to those that have cared for her - always remembering a time she needed them most. She has altered her life’s plan to take on responsibility for others and make the best of it.  Others see her as simply unable to let go of her past, but there is much more to Noelle’s story than what first meets the eye.

Sam’s character has experienced tragedy which has impacted his dreams as well. Even moving to the U.S. has not lifted the burden he feels.  Noelle has inspired Sam and has a connection to him that started long before that snowy night.

What I Liked About Eight Perfect Hours:

- The extremely well-developed characters
- The individual stories of Noelle and Sam
- The twists and turns throughout the book making the story unpredictable.

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster Canada, and Lia Louis for a gifted e-copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book so much! It is the sweetest and slowest burning love story, but it carries such heart and soul and was a real page turner for me! Lia Louis really knows how to draw the reader in and create a space where they can lose themselves for an hour or a day haha. I fell so easily into and for this story, it was another winner for me!

For anyone who loves fate and destiny, this one is for you! It is apparent from the start that Noelle and Sam have something special, even if it isn’t obvious to them! So many fun situations arise that throw them together and, like me, you may finding yourself giving the characters a talking to about getting it together!!!Noelle is such a great female lead, and is someone who does what she has to do. She is strong, she is smart, she is easy to like.

I recommend giving this one a shot!!

3.5 STARS - Eight Perfect Hours is a story about chance meetings between a couple who initially find themselves stranded during a blizzard and spend eight hours together in a car. When the storm ends, they go their separate ways only to find that fate has different plans for them.

This is a charming story with characters readers will root for and several serendipitous situations and emotional obstacles for the couple to overcome. I loved the 'two strangers forced into a unique situation' plot as well as the idea of soul mates making their way to each other again and again. It has a sweet premise, but it didn't quite have the emotional fortitude of Louis' previous book Dear Emmie Blue. I found being stuck in Noelle's head, with her indecision and extreme passivity, a bit much a times and with the couple not spending a lot of time together, I felt their connect wasn't as strong as I was expecting. That said, I enjoyed how the story wraps up giving readers more clarity about the coincidences which leads up to a satisfying ending.

Overall, I found Eight Perfect Hours to be a bit predictable and not quite the ooey-gooey romance I was expecting, but ultimately, I enjoyed this lighter story about sweet coincidences, destiny and finding your soul mate.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books for my advanced copy of this book given in exchange for my honest review.

⌛️𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 ⏳⁣
𝘉𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘢 𝘓𝘰𝘶𝘪𝘴⁣
𝘗𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝘈𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘢/𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 (𝘚𝘦𝘱𝘵 𝟸𝟾.𝟸𝟶𝟸𝟷) ⁣
⁣
Dear Emmie Blue was in some of my favourites list last year so I knew I would be requesting whatever Lia put out into the world next. ⁣
⁣
𝐃𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐞? 𝐈𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭? ⁣
𝘖𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨….⁣
⁣
A blizzard traps Noelle in her car for 8 hours. Her phone is dying. Her life feels like it’s stalemate. And she’s just in a rut. Enter handsome, American, Sam who happens to he stuck in the same storm. He’s the door that she taps on. ⁣
⁣
What happens over the next 8 hours in the car amounts to those flutters of attraction for them both; but also the closeness of being able to share themselves with the thought that they’ll never see each other again. ⁣
⁣
𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘥𝘰. 𝘖𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯. 𝘙𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘭𝘺. 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺. ⁣
⁣
It’s a book about love but it’s also about choosing oneself. Noelle was a character that frustrated me with her ‘hiding in the background of her life’ but perhaps that is because I saw pieces of me in her. Whilst somewhat predictable, I still enjoyed the journey. ⁣
⁣
𝘗𝘴. 𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘌𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 🎈 𝘪𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘢’𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦

The cover of Eight Perfect Hours is what drew me in. I read this in one sitting!

Snowed in together on a highway in a snowstorm, Sam and Noelle have a great night together all things considered. From there they go their separate ways and Noelle assumes she’ll never see Sam again. However their paths keep crossing and eventually everything comes together.

I loved Sam and liked the relationship development between him and Noelle. I loved the way the author tied up all the 'chance encounters' and made it all make sense at the end. I actually didn't see the ending coming and really enjoyed it.

I loved Noelle’s relationship with her friend Charlie and how she was there for her when she was struggling. Charlie’s husband was super supportive as well and that was nice to see. I felt the aspects of mental health issues were really well done.

I wasn’t however a huge fan of Noelle at times. It got a bit frustrating after a while of her always being in her head and always looking out for others and never doing what was best for her. Her brother was especially annoying and I just wanted Noelle to call him out on his crap.

Overall this was a super cute read that I'd recommend!

Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada/Atria and NetGalley for sharing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I won’t lie, I’ve always loved the red string theory, and the idea of serendipity. Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis was full of both!

▪️Noelle was a vulnerable protagonist who has been through some traumatic experiences and now after one involving her mother, puts everyone else ahead of herself.

▪️There we’re so many coincidences throwing Noelle and Sam in each other’s paths. I don’t know if it was realistic, but I liked it.

▪️Ed is the wooooorst. And I just wanted to slap both him and his mama near the end of the book.

▪️I loved how she took care of her Mom, but I also could have slapped her brother Dilly.

▪️Charlie and Theo were the best friends who believed in Noelle no matter what, but didn’t pressure her into doing anything she wasn’t ready for.

▪️The portrayal of Charlie’s experience as a new mom was so relatable, and I loved how supportive Noelle was.

▪️Overall, I really enjoyed this sweet and emotional book!

Despite buying Lia Louis’s Dear Emmie Blue last year, I still haven’t read it, but when I had the opportunity to read an advance copy of Eight Perfect Hours, I jumped at it, and I’m so glad I did. What an absolutely beautiful book this is. I’m sitting here smiling and tearing up just thinking about it.

This book featured so many of the things I love most in contemporaries: great character development and growth, friendship, complicated family dynamics, a swoony romance. I absolutely loved the themes of serendipity and chance, pursuing your dreams, the idea of certain people and things being meant for you, and the difficult and painful lesson that sometimes the things you thought were meant for you really aren’t. I also appreciated the way grief and mental health struggles were portrayed, and I saw myself in Noelle in many different ways.

Eight Perfect Hours had the perfect blend of humour, romance, heartfelt (and heartbreaking) moments, and tension. There was so much packed into these pages without it ever feeling like too much, and I simultaneously wanted to race through the pages to see what would happen while also savouring every moment because it was just so beautiful. There were several parts where I was grinning so hard and for so long my face actually hurt, and then other times when my heart was aching and I shed a few tears. I loved this book so, so much, and I know Noelle and Sam and their story will stick with me for a long time to come.

This book gave me all the feels. There were so many quotes I'd like to share from it but that would take forever. Although this was a little predictable and everything works out okay in the end it was exactly what I needed at the moment...a feel good romance. BUT! Don't let that fool you, there are some heavy topics tackled in this book but Lia Louis handles them with care. I liked this enough to want to read her other book, that was a hit last year, Dear Emmie Blue, because I spent five perfect hours enjoying this one. Oh, and I LOVE the cover.

A brilliant treatise on fate and serendipity as rendered by Louis whose pen eases through with the wisdom of casual philosophy and a deep comprehension of all forms of love. Vulnerable and heart-wrenching, fans of Louis' previous novels will identify some of the hallmarks of her work: a woman torn between chasing dreams and the safety of living in the box life has built for her; the slow and careful seep of colour --here through flowers and random occurrences that toss her in the path of a wonderful hero who is like her in vulnerability, passion, humour and dreams.

And, of course, a deep sense of loss only fulfilled by the heroine finally stepping into the sunlight, opening her arms and accepting that which she deserves.

This is a book that tugs tightly and weaves your heartstrings into a knot as each careful revelation builds to a satisfying end to fate's mystery and will have you flipping back through the pages again to see exactly how clever Louis is. A most anticipated read for me by an autobuy author.


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Noelle Butterby and Sam Attwood find themselves stranded on the M4 where snow flurries and sparks fly! They spend eight perfect hours together.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣After the all is cleared the next day Noelle and Sam go their separate ways thinking they’ll never see each other again. However life or “fate” happens. They find themselves questioning if there is something meant to be. But so simple right? Not exactly when other relationships, work, family are involved. ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣This book really struck me in many ways. All of the glorious fate and romance for sure, but I like how mental health, anxiety, self doubt, grief and caregiving are brought to life. Definitely worth the read and I can’t wait to read her next! If you want something light and uplifting in these times Eight Perfect Hours is for you!

I really enjoyed this book! I laughed and cried.

I will definitely read more from this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Simon & Schuster Canada through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you, Simon & Schuster Canada.