This is such a sweet book! Noelle and Sam meet in the most unlikely place, stuck on the road during a snowstorm. After they part ways they find themselves reuniting over time and connecting more with each twist of fate. This was a lovely romance and story about believing in oneself. I loved Noelle and Sam equally so it was easy to root for their relationship. The story also includes some great supporting characters and touches on heavier topics like death, mourning, and depression. I resisted reading this one until later in the year because the cover looked wintery. However, the plot lends itself to any season so anytime of year is perfect for this read. If you enjoy this book I also highly recommend “Dear Emmie Blue”, also by Lia Louis.

Thank you to Lia Louis, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Eight Perfect Hours is a very sweet and heartfelt rom-com, perfect for fans of Serendipity. Noelle is stuck in her hometown, cleaning houses and caring for her mom. Then a snowstorm causes her to get stuck on the side of the road, and she spends eight perfect hours with a stranger named Sam. Throughout the novel, their paths continue to intersect time and time again, despite circumstances that threaten to keep them apart.

I loved Lia Louis's Dear Emmie Blue, and I loved this book too. She creates really well-rounded characters, and romances that you can't help rooting for. I loved Noelle's journey and I think others will too!

I read and listened to Eight Perfect Hours on audiobook. I enjoyed it but do not believe that I will dwell on it for long. It is a fun, nicely paced rom-com that begins when Noelle, a young English woman who is working and caring for her Mum, gets caught in an unexpected snow storm. She tries to get home to take care of her mum and she is stuck on the roadway without any remaining charge in her mobile phone. Next to her is an American man who taps on her window and offers to let her charge her phone in his car. She initially says no and then decides that there isn’t really a big risk and she desperately needs the phone changed in order to call home, so she gets in his car. They spend the entire night together in the vehicle. As they get ready to head out, she is hoping that he will ask for her number and he does not. She is disappointed but lets it go. Then, she randomly runs into him again, and again, and again. She becomes convinced that it is destiny.
At first, I was worried that it was going to be straight instalove but it is more complicated than that, in a good way. It is a sweet story about relationships, both love interests, family, exes, and friends. Fun, palate cleanser!
For anyone who is debating audio or physical copy, the audiobook is read by a terrific narrator who really draws you into the story.
Recommend!

#EightPerfectHours #Netgalley #AtriaBooks #EmilyBestlerBooks

Sometimes all the concentric circles tighten perfectly, overlap and send ripples out to touch hearts and minds. Even better when you want to read something that will give you a warm fuzzy feeling - and bam - this book delivers on all counts. Empty your mind, put your preconceptions and skepticism aside and let the magic and happenstance enfold you. This is a simple yet really good story about when the stars align in the best possible way. Funny, sweet, sometimes slightly “out there” but it all works.

Noelle Butterby sacrifices much for a beloved but very needy mother. Noelle has great and quirky friends in Charlie and Theo who live in “their totally unapologetic, hippy - and admittedly, sometimes bizarre - little world”. Noelle has a brother who is her mother’s sun despite being a total self-centric screwup with as much familial commitment as a snail. Then there is Ed, her former love interest with his own issues that help Noelle not at all. But it is all about Noelle and Sam and a winter storm and those concentric circles.

A very quick, enjoyable read that is all about an invisible red thread that may become twisted and tangled but never breaks. Thank you NetGalley and Emily Bestler Books / Atria for a copy.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started Eight Perfect Hours. The cover made me think holiday romance, and the synopsis reminded me of This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens. I ended up getting a little of both, along with all kinds of emotions I wasn’t expecting!

The Chinese proverb of the Red Thread is one I’ve known about for a long time, and I’ve always loved its sentiment.

I definitely wouldn’t call this book a rom-com. The underlying story of grief and loss experienced by both characters was too serious for this book to be considered comedic. Noelle’s life is kind of depressing, and while Sam provides her with an escape, it isn’t in a humorous way. Usually the hallmarks of rom-coms are scenes of banter and chemistry between the love interests, and there wasn’t really any of that either. There was no steam or even closed-door sex scenes in this book.

That said, if you go into this book expecting a “rom-dram”, you’re sure to love it. I really enjoyed reading about Noelle’s struggle to balance caring for her family with having a fulfilling personal life. I loved her friendship with Charlie and especially with Charlie’s husband Theo. (I actually think Theo was my favorite character, despite him having a relatively small role.)

I’m definitely interested in checking out Dear Emmie Blue after how much I enjoyed this novel.

A woman discovers the meaning of fate when she runs into the same person over and over again. As she questions whether she deserves true love, she finds herself rethinking everything she thought she knew about herself. Author Lia Louis examines the concept of destiny in the slightly meandering but ultimately sweet novel Eight Perfect Hours.

It’s late March in a small English town, and Noelle Butterby knows she’s in a fix. After an emotional event at her old college, she’s driving home when it starts to snow. Before she knows it, the snow stops traffic and now she’s sitting with a dead cell phone and no way of knowing what time she’ll get home.

She’s left her mother, Belinda, in the care of a dear family friend, but she promised her mother she’d be back by a certain time. For the last several years, Noelle has taken care of Belinda who gets anxious when Noelle stays out too late. Now it looks like that’s exactly what’s going to happen, making Noelle’s own anxiety sky rocket.

American Sam Attwood is in the car next to hers and offers to help. Noelle notices right away how good looking Sam is, and his easy manner makes her think he probably isn’t a serial killer. Plus, she needs his phone charger, which Sam is more than happy to provide. He invites her to sit in his own car, which is warm.

What follows is eight hours on the highway as Sam and Noelle wait for the snow to get cleared. They receive the kindness of other strangers and spend the majority of their time together talking about everything. Noelle even tells Sam about her ex-fiance, Ed.

Noelle and Ed were supposed to build a life together. But when Ed got offered a job out of the country, Noelle didn’t go with him. She couldn’t leave her mom; after all, Belinda was there for her when Noelle went through a terrible time after losing a close friend in a car accident. How was Noelle supposed to walk away after her mom had a stroke?

Sam is in total agreement with Noelle’s decision, and Noelle can’t believe it’s this easy to talk to a stranger. She wishes Sam could stay, that they could explore a possible relationship, but Sam was on his way to the airport when the snow hit and returns to the States. Noelle chalks up their night together to a wonderful experience and leaves it at that.

Until Sam returns. Through a series of circumstances, Noelle starts to run into Sam around what feels like every corner. Every time she sees him, she feels a frisson of excitement. Yet the unexpected happens: Ed also comes back into Noelle’s life. Now she has to make a choice: go with the life she’d planned or the one that’ll make her happy?

Author Lia Louis hits all the right notes in this novel for the push and pull of relationship questions. Noelle’s uncertainty about Ed and whether Sam is the right person for her both ring true. She waffles, like anyone would, between the familiar and the new. After spending years planning a future with Ed it’s not easy to let go of those feelings, and Louis builds a realistic profile for Noelle’s conundrum.

The book suffers from a sagging middle, however. Noelle spends almost too much time inside her head as she wavers between the two men and what choosing one of them will mean. The pacing suffers as a result; occasionally important scenes take place off the page, and Noelle reports the results later in dialogue or narration.

Ed’s near intolerance of Noelle’s loyalty to her mother comes off as a bit extreme at times. Also, Noelle’s brother, Dilly, isn’t nearly as well developed as the other characters. Noelle wants to depend on him to help with their mother, but he doesn’t feel like a solid enough presence to make a difference.

The coincidences that keep bringing Sam and Noelle together feel a touch far-fetched at times, but the emotions they induce are real. Readers who like a fuzzy, sweet romance will enjoy this one.

Eight Perfect Hours
By Lia Louis

Oh this was the perfect feel good book for me. I Loved Dear Emmie Blue and Eight perfect Hours did not disappoint. I do believe in these serendipitous meant to be type of situations as that is how my husband and I met. We had actually known each other when we were just kids - and just happen to live in the same small town, oh so long ago.

Eight Perfect Hours was all about fate, in a sweet story about a thirty something woman Noelle Butterby, whose life, career and relationship have been put on hold to care for her mother who had suffered a stroke. One night in a blizzard where everything stood solid, and stuck in her car with an empty batt cell phone, a kind stranger Sam Attwood, offered to help as she was having a melt down in her car. She ends up spending eight perfect hours with him before the road was thawed and the blizzard cleared. They parted ways without sharing their numbers or emails.

What comes next is a series of wonderful happenstance and just how they were meant to be with each other.

I treasured every time they spent time together and just like Noelle - I felt all the little flutters and swoon.

Eight Perfect hours is the perfect feel good book I just needed. I highly recommend this book.

4 1/2 solid stars.

This was a very sweet and gentle and kind book, which makes it sound boring, but it was far from boring. I loved Nellie and Sam and despised Ed and wanted to hug Charlie and Theo, and oh my, a baby named Petal? YES!

This was a wonderful story that takes place over 15 years, all boiled down to eight hours? No, that's a terrible description.

Just read it. You won't be disappointed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was such a great and heartwarming story. I fell in love with this book immediately and both wanted to rush to the end and read slowly to savor it. I will definitely read more from Lia Louis.

This would have been rated a 4 if it hadn't been marked as "romantic". This one ran along the line of a Bridget Jones type story. It is really about Noelle and how her life is going. To me the romance was in the background. Noelle's growth was the main focus for me. Did it have some romantic parts? Yes, but her journey of her family life stuck out more.

Eight Perfect Hours
by: Lia Louis
Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books

This book begins with two strangers meeting while stranded on a snowy highway in England. An offer by Sam to let Noelle charge her phone so she can check on her mom leads to conversation and then future meetings. Louis' writing is poignant, warm and full of surprises. She not only gives readers a romantic tale, but also covers heavier life topics and circumstances that lead to a richly woven book.
Thank you to Net Galley and Atria Books, Atria/Emily Bestler Books for the advance reader's copy and opportunity to provide my unbiased review.
#NetGalley #EightPerfectHours

Noelle and Sam are so sweet and swoony together.

I really loved Noelle. She was a wonderfully complex character. Even as the reader sees her making mistakes and wants to steer her away from the decisions she's making, we also can see just why she's making those choices. Such great writing!

And Sam is so wonderful. He really SEES Noelle in a way that is wildly romantic. The chemistry between these two is electric, even though this book has a low steam level.

This story is very much a Fated Love story and that's not my favorite trope, to be honest. And EIGHT PERFECT HOURS really leans into that. Sometimes to it's detriment. I found myself getting more and more leery of the repeated twists of fate intertwining these two. A few is great, but too many requires a total suspension of reality.

EIGHT PERFECT HOURS does an excellent job of exploring grief, complex family relationship, and complex romantic relationships. And it does this in such a skilled way that no one is required to be "all bad" or "all good". Great mentions of Therapy as well.

Readers who like all the feels, fated love, and low steam will LOVE this book!

Eight Perfect Hours follows Noelle who meets a stranger while stranded on a road during a blizzard. They spend one perfect evening together talking in his car getting know each other. She learns his name is Sam Attwood, and for of them, something just “clicks.” The next morning, they part ways both thinking they will never see each other again. Both Sam and Noelle continue on with their lives and their own relationships, but when they start running into each other over and over again, they start to wonder where they destined to meet in that blizzard? And why?

I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of fate vs. destiny, and fate vs. coincidence. I could talk with friends for hours over these topics, and this book would be perfect for a book club looking to talk about this theme. I don’t personally believe in soulmates, but I can still see how people who don’t believe in “soulmates” or fate will still fall in love with the idea of this idea. There are a few moments where is feels like it might be a little over the top, but I found myself smiling every time the two characters were brought together over and over again. (And when you find out they each lost someone they loved in the car crash, it will give you goosebumps!) Their story of how they came together was truly adorable. I loved knowing every time they went their separate ways that I would get to look forward to the next time they would “bump” into each other.

This book is marked as a romance, and I would say it’s more of a contemporary fiction story. Of course, there is a romance in the plot, but due to the number of heavy topics this book addresses, it didn’t feel like most romance books I’ve read before. It hits on topics such as: suicide, panic attacks, grief, depression, and postpartum depression, and the author tackles all of these perfectly. I personally like a romance plot to have well developed characters with some emotional themes, so this one worked for me!

Just like in the author’s “Dear Emmie Blue” novel, there were parts that made me tense while reading and made me think to myself for a brief moment, “Am I going to love this book?” With her last novel, I was so worried that it was going to be a story about a girl trying to break up her best friend’s wedding because she was in love with him, but once the story started to settle, I was able to relax a little more and ended up loving the book. There were moments in this book that had a similar affect. It was bizarre. I know we weren’t meant to like the ex-boyfriend, but I felt the same way reading this book as I did “Dear Emmie Blue.” I was uncomfortable every time he entered the book, (felt tight in the neck and cringy) and the part that surprised me the most, was that he was in at least half the book. Usually, a romance story will follow the male and female…they meet, they share witty banter, fall in love, they have a quarrel, and they get back together. This book had just as many moments with the ex-boyfriend as it did with Sam, which made it feel more real, but it also didn’t have the typical romance feel. I kind of wish there were more romantic scenes between Noelle and Sam so I could believe their relationship a bit more.

I think Lia Louis writes very relatable characters; even the side characters were so well written and thought out. I felt connected to the main characters, and I felt for both Noelle and Sam for the losses they shared, and the last 15% of this book was phenomenal! Seeing how everything came together was absolutely stunning! I think I liked “Dear Emmie Blue” a bit more only because there were moments in this book that made me wonder why Sam and Noelle were just settling with their other relationships, and I didn’t quite believe the romantic connection between Sam and Noelle due to the few moments they did have together were the ‘happenstance’ part of the story instead of the romance in the story. But I went into this thinking it was going to be a romance, and it was more about Noelle’s journey through grief, so that could be part of the disconnect I had with their romance. I went in thinking it would be a cute romance based on the cover, and I ended up getting a great contemporary novel.

I am a fan of Lia Louis and I can’t wait for more of her books to come out. I would suggest this book to all my friends, but I would want them to know that is less about the romance, and more about the protagonist’s journey.

Noelle has been to her school reunion to open a time capsule buried fifteen years ago and on her way home is stuck in a blizzard. In March. In England. She's ran into her ex-boyfriend, Ed, who didn't acknowledge her, and her car phone charging port does not work. Thinking no one can see her as she sits in the traffic jam on the M4 she has a meltdown. Only, Sam, an American on his way to the airport, did see her and offers his assistance. Noelle finally agrees and spends eight hours getting to know him. The traffic clears and they go their separate ways. Only it's not the last time they see each other. Sam keeps popping up and Noelle begins to wonder if the universe is trying to tell them something.

I loved this story. At first I didn't understand why Noelle was so enthralled with Sam. I think a little more time with them in the car would have helped the reader. But I think the author did a nice job of showing Sam's reluctance about starting a relationship. And how both Noelle and Sam were grieving and making them hold onto relationships they had outgrown. The many coincidences could be too much for some readers, but I thought they were well timed and cute. Definitely a feel good book. Lia Louis is becoming my favorite author for a feel good story.

If you enjoyed Dear Emmie Blue or One Day In December then check this one out! Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC!

Eight Perfect Hours is an ideal book to escape into for any length of time. The story focuses on Noelle Butterby who is in living at home in her early 30's. She is a caregiver to her mom and longs to start her own flower business. Noelle meets Sam Attwood when their cars are stopped on a highway during a blizzard. Any fan of romantic fiction can predict the plot but Louis's writing brings many delightful twists. Reserve time to read this book because it is difficult to put down.

Thank you to Atria Books for my gifted review copy of Eight Perfect Hours.

While I can’t say that Eight Perfect Hours came with a lot of surprises, it totally fiit the bill for a cozy romantic read to cozy up with on the couch. In all fairness, the reading bar was set high with author Lia Louis' previous novel, Dear Emmie Blue, and while I didn't love this one quite as much, this was still a very enjoyable read.

I especially enjoyed the connections these characters continued to make about their intertwined lives, their thoughts on destiny, and the sweetness and simplicity of the read. I think we could all use a book like this in our lives right now!

This was a very sweet story. I really enjoyed the personal growth arc in addition to the lovely romance. The characters and their struggles were very believable and even the side characters were well-developed. Very enjoyable sweet story for those who like less steamy romance and lovely characters.

I'm not sure I could be more excited for this book to be out in the world because it is MAGICAL!! I read this one in less than 24 hours and it pulled me out of a month long reading slump, warming my heart in all the best ways!

Eight Perfect Hours follows Noelle after she gets stuck on the highway in a snow storm and meets Sam, a fellow driver stuck on the road. This is the first of many chance encounters, and despite trying ot focus on other people, Noelle and Sam seem to keep getting pulled back together.

This is such a sweet book, and if you're a hopeless romantic like I am, you'll absolutely fall for the perfect coincidences that pull these two closer and closer together. Like Lia Louis' first book, Dear Emmie Blue, this one is filled with heart and though completely without steam, I could definitely feel the heat between Sam and Noelle and I was rooting for them every step of the way! If you've seen (and also loved!) Serendipity with John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, then you will love this book!

A huge thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

What a sweet, heartwarming story. A tale of fated lovers who cross paths numerous times over their lives until they are finally in the right place for their destiny to bring them together, Eight Perfect Hours was a fun read.

Noelle and Sam first become aware of each other while stuck for the title eight hours on a snowy motorway. Something just feels right immediately. They're so comfortable together and compatible. What is a seeming nightmare is actually a good time despite some serious challenges. As the story progresses we learn more about these two, their sacrifices for family, their longterm but unfulfilling relationships and the many times their paths have crossed. From very early on until now fate has placed these star crossed lover in each other's lives. To include the fateful night when both were changed profoundly. Through it all it’s enjoyable to watch Noelle grow. To learn to take chances no matter how scary because happiness isn't going to jump into her lap. We don't get the insight into Sam that we do with Noelle but he’s processing his own history to allow him to move on too.

Louis gives us realistic characters with realistic problems and touching relationships. The story relies on plot and people rather them explicit sex which was very nice. I really enjoyed getting to a very satisfying HEA.

Thanks to Atria/Emily Beatles Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Sometimes when I finish a book, I struggle to pull my thoughts together. Not this one! I loved it! Here are the five things that went through my head immediately after I finished it:

1. I don’t want it to be over. How is it possible these people only exist in Lia Louis’s head? They feel so real and so much like friends to me.
2. I want to start over at the beginning to read it through the lens of how it ends. Not all books work well on the re-read, but I have a feeling this one will.
3. There are some wonderful parallels to Love and Other Words, which is probably my favorite romance book, but not so many parallels that it feels derivative.
4. This story would work really well as a movie or even a mini series (hello Hulu please hear this).
5. Lia Louis is now firmly cemented as an auto buy author for me.

If you need me I’ll be re-reading Eight Perfect Hours and going through Lia’s backlist!! Happy reading!

Thanks to Atria for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.