Noelle and sam are destined to be together or are they?
There is the chance meeting in a snow storm on the M4 that brings Noelle and Sam together for a short time. Noelle is concerned about caring for her mom which limits her choices in doing what she would love to do. Over the next few months, there are co-incidental meetings of Noelle and Sam, or are they? Is it destiny?
Read this contemporary novel.

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis is the most perfectly sweet romance I’ve read in a really long time. It’s kind of like a Cinderella story in that our heroine, Noelle Butterby cleans homes and offices for a living because she has to in order support her ailing Mum while Noelle dreams of flowers. She arranges flowers gorgeously and posts her pics on Instagram where she has thousands of followers. Noelle supports her Mum because she remembers when she was ailing that her Mum was there for her constantly. How can she not be there for her Mum?

On a March night, Noelle is stranded on a motorway when she meets Sam. They spend an entire night of talking and laughing and then they part ways. Except. They meet again and again until they both laugh at the utter strangeness of it all. But, it’s fate. And maybe they are fate. And, as you read on, you discover they have been tied together for a long time. Yet, does that mean anything? What about the person you’ve been with and whom you owe another chance to be with?

This is a definite heart book. When you grow tired of reading shallow books, this is the kind of book that you want to pick up and fall in love with. The characters feels real even if the serendipity doesn’t. The serendipity works on its own level, magic, and that’s what makes Eight Perfect Hours so enchanting.

The reader feels for Noelle and wants her to succeed. She’s so real and kind, even when she’s not always treated that way.

I loved reading this book. This is a true feel-good book plus romance.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

I was really excited to read this book since I absolutely loved Dear Emmie Blue. I can’t quite figure out why but this book was ok for me. I felt it kinda dragged on and I just couldn’t connect to the characters. It had its charm and I’m usually all for the fate/destiny theme but I just couldn’t get into it as I had hoped.

Exactly the type of cheerful and charming read I needed. Add in the top-tier mental health representation and I was swooning myself. Don't go in expecting just any rom-com, go in expecting so much more.

Noelle just hasn’t been the same since Daisy died. She can give lots of reasons for putting the needs of other people first, but is she still hesitating from moving on without Daisy?

While the amount of coincidence in this book is truly staggering, suspension of disbelief is worth it for the abundance of warm fuzzies that go along with just believing. Daisy is gone, and Noelle struggles to keep her life and her mother’s life on an even keel. They do what they do each day, without much fanfare. Noelle cleans houses on a schedule that lets her be home to help her mom, and her mom is so appreciative, even if her dependence isn’t understandable to others in Noelle’s life.

Noelle’s charming best friends Charlie and Theo are super-strong believers in fate and true love. As Noelle thinks back to her night spent with the American stranger, Charlie is sure that every coincidence after that is another sign that they’re meant to be. Is she right? Or is rekindling things with her ex the best safe plan for Noelle?

This was such a charming book and reminiscent of the emotionally evocative writing from Lia Louis in her previous novel, Dear Emmie Blue. I’d give this one 5 out of 5 stars. It’s a great contemporary story of families, love, loss, and trusting your heart.

I initially thought this was going to be a fluffy love story but it was so much more. It's really more of a coming of age story where our main character is searching to find herself and is faced with problems in all aspects of her life, romantic, home life, family and even her friends - everything is in a bit of turmoil for her. Eight perfect hours also doesn't shy away from any topics that a lot of 25-35 year olds might be dealing with, aging parents, family pressure, work problems, friends with postpartum depression. There's a lot of heavier topics covered in here. I think I was hoping for a bit more romance but I did quite enjoy how the universe kept pushing Sam into Noelle's life, leaving us pining for them to get together!

Eight Perfect Hours is a light-hearted romance that begins when Noelle Butterby is stranded on the freeway with a dead cell phone. She asks the guy in the next car over, Sam Attwood, if she can charge up her phone and the two spend eight hours getting to know each other. Eight perfect hours! But then the traffic opens up without exchanging numbers or anything to ever get in touch again. Perhaps it was its impermanence that made it so perfect.

But fate or happenstance keeps throwing them together. They run into each other repeatedly. Noelle even takes on a new house cleaning job working for Sam’s father. Meanwhile, the two of them are trying to repair fractured past relationships instead of doing the obvious, pursuing each other.

Eight Perfect Hours was a disappointment for me, especially since I so loved Dear Emmie Blue. There are similarities, though. Both featured people who would let life and love pass them by rather than upset other people’s apple carts. These are romances for people who think the meek will inherit the earth because there is a kind of passivity in her characters that was charming in one book and irritating in another. I really came to dislike Noelle, the martyr to her family. She is no slacker, but she won’t speak up for herself. She is the sort of martyr to the family that plucks every nerve I have. Other readers, I am sure, will appreciate her compassion and devotion and wish her the best.

I received an e-galley of Eight Perfect Hours from the publisher through NetGalley

Eight Perfect Hours at Atria Books | Simon & Schuster
Lia Louis author on Twitter.
Dear Emmie Blue which I loved

Noelle is stranded on the highway. Her phone is dead and her mother is alone. She is completely stressing! Until a handsome American, Sam, knocks on her window to check on her. This leads to 8 hours together…stuck…these are the best 8 hours of Noelle’s sad life. When Sam and Noelle part the next morning, they know they will never see each other again. But, fate has a way of intervening.

Noelle is a person who tries to be the best for everyone. She is the full time caretaker of her mother and it is completely derailing her life. She is giving up so much to be everything to everyone.

Sam is an adventurer. He is strong and smart. As these two slowly realize they are meant to be together, it brings out their strengths. Especially Noelle!

This looks like a Christmas romance, but it is not. It is winter tale about two random people who keep randomly running into each other! It is adorable and perfect for a cold winter night! I laughed out loud in several places…especially with Noelle’s brother. You need to read this to find out!

Need a sweet romance with fabulous characters…this is it! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review. I had previously read and enjoyed "Dear Emmie Blue." This book was equally enjoyable and a good, comforting Fall read.

Very fun book about fate and serendipity. If you like that movie, Serendipity, you will love this book. Predictable, but that's why you pick a book like this. Still some coincidences I didn't see coming, but a lovely love story and a fun plot!

I absolutely loved Dear Emmie Blue and was so excited for the newest release by Lia Louis! It definitely felt odd reading about a blizzard when the weather has been very hot here in NC, but wow I’m excited for some cooler weather now! These two stories are very different, and Emmie Blue still reigns supreme for me, but Eight Perfect Hours made me laugh and cry and I loved Noelle and these characters!! It took some time for the characters to grow on me, but by the end I didn’t want the book to end. This story dove into some heavy topics of depression, anxiety, and death of loved ones, so definitely be aware of those things before starting.

This book was not for me. I had the impression this was going to be a rom-com, but rom-coms should not be this angsty and depressing. Every character struggles with some kind of anxiety, depression, medical issue, or they are just plain unlikeable (I’m talking to you Dilly with the stupid name).

This book is supposed to be the romance of Noelle and Sam, but hard to get invested in that when 90% of the book they are both involved/messing around with others. And the concept that fate meant for them to be together might have felt less contrived if wrapped into a lighter, happier story, but considering every possible coincidence that could possible be thought of was used in this story…maybe not.

This may be the perfect book for some people, but it wasn’t for me.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

I absolutely loved this book. I was convinced to read it not just by the plot summary, but by the glowing review by famed author Jodi Picoult on the front cover. I love her books, and I trust whatever she recommends.

Some rom coms are predictable in a bad way, and they're boring and generally a waste of reading time. But this one was predictable in the way that it all hinged on hope. Even though I was pretty sure I knew what the end page would bring, I was so invested in the characters and their intertwining lives that I couldn't help but root for them from one page to the next.

This is a story about fate and pre-destiny, but never once is it saccharine or overly convenient. It simply mirrors the amazing events that happen in our real lives that make us shake our heads and say, "Wow, what a small world we live in."

I highly recommend this book.

This was a heavier book than I was expecting, the blurb makes it seem like a holiday romance but was instead an angstier women's fiction with a bit of a romance.

I didn't love Noelle, she was an enabler and I wish she had more of a backbone, but I did absolutely love Sam. He was definitely the best part of the book! I didn't love that they were not actually together most of the book.

Super cute winter-y romance! It reminded me a lot of One Day in December with the main characters finding each other at different points in their lives. A great feel good book and I loved Noelle and Sam!

Dear Emmie Blue was one of my top reads from 2020 so when I saw Louis had a new book coming out, I had to get my hands on it. 

Eight Perfect Hours is about Noelle and Sam. They meet on a winter night, stuck on the highway and spend the entire eight hours together. They have this instant connection and when the night is over, Noelle is feeling very hopeful. Unfortunately they do not exchange numbers so Noelle feels like Sam is lost forever...until she bumps into him again at the hospital, and then again at a job interview...these two just can't seem to stay apart.

This one is similar to Emmie Blue in many ways. It is about love and loss. It is about destiny and fate. It is about recognizing the importance of people in your life and why they are there. I really enjoyed Noelle. She is struggling with the loss of her best friend and can't seem to find her own way. She has a lot on her plate but every time she sees Sam, he makes her world a little better. Sam is going through loss of his own and is trying to balance his growing feelings for Noelle with the rest of his world. This was a very sweet story but more sad than anything else. I was rooting for Noelle and Sam- together or apart, I wanted them to be happy.

The cover makes this seem like a cheery winter romance but it is really more emotional and in depth than that. It is more about loss and healing.

Lia Louis was an absolute mastermind when it came to writing this story of two people who were destined to be together! I wanted to branch out my reading tastes as I have gotten a little bit older and I am so glad that I had chosen this as one of the books to take a chance on. Lia's writing was absolutely beautiful and the storyline of our main characters broke my heart and I felt like I was with them the entire way through the book. It was definitely a page turner that will warm your heart. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a heartwarming story that will keep you wondering what happens next.

Eight Perfect Hours is a charming and heartwarming story about the power of fate and about living your life to the fullest. This was my first time reading a novel by Lia Louis and it was just delightful from start to finish.

The story follows Noelle Butterby, a young woman who is headed home from an event at her former college when she finds herself trapped on the interstate because a blizzard has closed the roads. Noelle has no food, no water, her phone is dead and so is her phone charger. She desperately needs to phone her very anxious mother and let her know that she’ll be later getting home than expected, but has no options. That is, until a handsome stranger named Sam knocks on her car window and offers to lend her his charger. Noelle is hesitant to agree since he’s a stranger but her desperation finally gets the better of her and she takes him up on his offer. Sam and Noelle end up chatting and bonding for the next eight hours until the roads finally open up. They part ways without exchanging numbers, never expecting to see each other again since Sam lives in America, while Noelle is in the UK.

Fate apparently has other ideas though and Sam and Noelle keep bumping into each other in the most random of places. Noelle is a romantic so she starts to feel like this is fate’s way of telling her Sam is the one. I thought both Noelle and Sam were adorable together so I of course was rooting for fate to keep on pushing them together so that something could happen between them. It’s a slow burn romance though. Both Sam and Noelle are dealing with a lot of things personally, including parents who are getting older and starting to struggle physically and mentally, so in a lot of ways, a romantic relationship is just in the way. Fate doesn’t care though and through every twist and turn of their lives, somehow Sam and Noelle keep finding each other. I swear it was so cute every time it happened. They got to the point where they would just grin and shake their heads, and I would just find myself sitting there grinning right along with them.

There are definitely some more serious moments, especially as Noelle is still working through some painful memories that the school event had returned to the forefront of her mind. Overall though, Eight Perfect Hours is just the sweetest and most heartwarming story and I highly recommend it to all of the romantics out there!

Eight perfect hours, is just that.. a story of eight perfect hours between two people that are brought together by a blizzard.
This novel is a perfect blend of romance, family matters and friendship.
A little.. a lot serendipitous :) Makes it a perfect read for the holidays, for many years to come.

Eight Perfect Hours, by Lia Louis is a sweet, heartfelt story about two strangers, meeting by chance, trying to make their way towards each other while navigating many other complicated relationships in their lives. Encouraging, uplifting and lovely. Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the copy for review. All opinions are my own.