DNF at 55%. I could not get into this story for some reason! I think it was mainly because I found the main character irritating. I was irritated with the pacing as well. Sad that this one didn't work for me since I loved the authors last book.

This is a sweet book about a chance encounter that turns into love. The H&H meet when their cars are stranded in a snowstorm, and then seem to keep finding each other in other unexpected circumstances. There is a reason, of course, but I won’t be telling!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a sweet, charming, heartwarming story. ⁣
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When I first picked this up, I thought it was going to be a holiday book; but it’s not, and I’m okay with that. ⁣
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Noelle is stuck in the now, not moving forward, but has so many dreams that she’s pushed to the side after her mum had a stroke. She’s so kind hearted and carries the world on her shoulders.⁣
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Sam is running away from life, taking adventures and never settling down. He’s also so kind and patient.⁣
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These two keep crossing paths at the wrong times but the times they need someone most. They are each other’s perfect opposites.⁣
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If you’re looking for a sweet, heartwarming read this is for you.⁣ This was the perfect, charming serendipitous romance.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Eight Perfect Hours is filled with fate, coincidences, family and love. It is a quick read. The characters are developed well and we get to know them as they grow and discover themselves and each other.

This is the second book I have read by Lia Louis, and I think she is brilliant. Dear Emmie Blue was one of my favorite reads of 2020 and after reading her latest book I think this puts her in one of my top spots for favorite authors.
Eight Perfect Hours centers around Noelle and Sam who meet one night when they are snowed in, stranded in their cars during a blizzard. Sam who is parked next to Noelle invites her in his car to charge her phone and the two end up spending the next 8 hours together. Upon parting the next morning, the two do not think they will ever see each other again. Low and behold, the two keep running in to each other.
What I loved about this book was the character development. The author has a way of writing characters in which you feel their pain and struggles. Every single ounce of it. I also loved the depiction of first love and how those relationships can linger in the background. Mental health and loss of a loved one also play a big part in this book, and I thoroughly enjoyed how those topics were handled.
My one complaint is that this cover is a bit misleading. The book takes a much darker tone throughout than what the cover displays. When I first saw this cover, I thought it would be a solid cute holiday romance but 90% of the book was not that.
A big thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for allowing me to read an early copy of this book and putting this amazing author in to my hands!

Lia Louis has delivered another feel good, utterly charming British romance featuring Noelle, a young woman who lost her college friend tragically in a car accident. When the story opens she's returning to her old college to open a time capsule that she helped bury with her friend 15 years ago. The camera she's looking for doesn't turn up though and she goes home disappointed only to end up stranded in traffic during a snow storm. While there Sam, also stuck in the stand still, offers to let her warm up and charge her phone in his car. The two spend eight blissful hours together and then part never expecting to meet again. Fate, however, has other plans.

What follows is a series of run-ins that see Noelle and Sam falling for one another and increasingly wondering if there's a reason fate seems to keep throwing them together. I was HERE for this story! It is so well written, full of grief, love, friendship and bravery. Noelle has put her life on hold to care for her ailing mother but she really wants to be a florist and open her own store. When she's given a chance to fill in at a wedding she takes it, coming to terms with what she really wants out of life and love.

If you loved Dear Emmie Blue, the author's last book, this one is even better in my opinion. Also, even with the adorable holiday themed cover, the story is not at all a 'holiday' romance. It takes place over the course of several months, seeing these characters really grow. Also the mental health rep in so strong and well done! I love seeing books that really address the ways that people are not always okay and that is OKAY!

I binge read this the day it came out and it's going to be one of my favorite love stories of the year without doubt. Excellent on audio too, I switched back and forth between print and audio. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy.

CW: suicide, death by car accident, self-harm, depression, anxiety, mental illness, post-partum depression

LOVED! Such a beautiful story and the theme of events/people being “meant to be” in your life. Sad but beautiful and loved how it wrapped up. I got chills

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis was such a sweet and heartwarming read. Noelle is feeling sad and down when she finds herself stranded during a snowstorm. Sam to the rescue and so begins this delightful story. They spend eight hours together and think they will never see each other again. Yet they somehow continue to bump into each other. What does it mean? Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and found it a charming read.

Happy reading!

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis is a romance novel following Noelle, a woman who finds herself stranded in a snowstorm, desperately needing a phone and a ride home. Soon, Sam comes across Noelle and helps her as he is also stranded. Quickly the two hit it off until the next morning when the roads clear and they return to their separate lives. However fate keeps bringing the two back together in unexpected ways that make the pair consider whether they should listen to fate for once.

This book has a perfect, sweet cover for Christmas and made me so excited to see what was inside! The book started off with a unique premise with Noelle and Sam meeting during a traffic jam due to a snow storm. That is the last place I would expect a romance! I loved to see their connection and how they hit it off so seamlessly in an unexpected situation. I loved seeing how these two characters kept being pulled back to each other in random ways even when they thought they would never cross paths again after their chance encounter. I liked how these situations also helped give the characters clarity about their decisions and whether to pursue certain relationships in their lives.

The writing was fantastic and really kept the reader engaged. I truly cared for these characters and wanted them to figure things out in their lives and with the developing feelings they had for each other. This book also handles difficult situations well such as postpartum depression, death of a loved one, deteriorating health and more. However even with these tough topics I didn't feel like the book was too much. The romance between the two characters also helped make the book feel more balanced as well and had some truly heartwarming scenes.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book for those looking for a cozy, complicated, heartwarming romance!

Many thanks to the publisher Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Eight Perfect Hours is such a fun and delightful read! It is quite different and I loved it! It’s like a fairy tale that you can’t put down, feeling eager to find out if they will end up together happily ever after. I was hooked right from the beginning. The tone, writing style, content, and characters were just expertly crafted and portrayed. I got the biggest kick out of everything that happened when being stranded on the highway during the snowstorm. Noelle is so fun and spontaneous, yet still innocent and naive. She is easy to relate to - she has real issues and problems, and makes mistakes and poor choices just like anyone else, yet she is also so funny and quirky, especially when talking and arguing with herself and trying to maneuver through situation after situation. This was simply just a wonderful and charming read, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

4.5 stars

I really debated on how to classify this story. While I absolutely believe it is a romance (it has an HEA, I promise), I felt it really fell more into the contemporary fiction category. Romance is a very important theme, and it’s almost – but not quite – the central theme. In my opinion, the central theme is Noelle finding herself. With or without romance, Noelle has to find her happiness for this story to work.

Although it’s been quite a few years, I’ve always been a big fan of the movie Serendipity. There is a big taste of that here, these two characters crossing paths over and over. Noelle believes it’s a sign, or even fate. Sam doesn’t believe in such stuff, or at least claims that he doesn’t. Even when the coincidences of their current meetings ramp up in frequency. No matter what you or they believe, every time Sam and Noelle bump into one another there is chemistry. Sometimes they fight it and it becomes awkward, sometimes they just go with the flow and enjoy their time together. Those, of course, are the best times. But there are always, every time they are together, obstacles to them ever taking things from friends and even flirting to something more.

As well as adoring Noelle and Sam, Noelle has some amazing friends. There are some heavy themes that play out in those friendships, but they are handled with care and really add so much depth to this world. And as much as I wanted to rant and rave at Noelle’s mom and brother for how they tie her in knots without realizing the damage they’re doing, they are also wonderful characters who care deeply for her.

There are some despicable characters in this story, too. But they’re supposed to be despicable and the author does a great job at portraying them just right. This book gave me all the feels. From laughter and tears, anger and happiness, sadness and joy. I would be very interested in reading more from her.

This is a sweet, sentimental story about fate and destiny. The narrative seamlessly weaves in topics like mental health, grief, and fear of missing out. It's all wrapped up with a perfectly heartwarming ending.

I just didn't find the story as charming as advertised. It was a bit too predictable, and I felt like the title and cover were a bit misleading.

Recommended for fans of You Were There Too or In Five Years.

This is a cute love story that has a few twists and turns along the way but never fully surprised me. It would be a cute Hallmark movie or something like that. I would definitely read other books by this author now that I know what to expect - not too deep, but hits a soft spot. Like a beach read, only this took place over the course of a year. 3 1/2 stars.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

Happy Tuesday y’all! And happy release day to Eight Perfect Hours! Thank you so much to Atria/Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley for letting me read an eARC of this book. Definitely go out and grab this book (as soon as y’all have read my review)!

Eight Perfect Hours 4/5 Stars

Summary from Goodreads:

In this romantic and heartwarming novel, two strangers meet in chance circumstances during a blizzard and spend one perfect evening together, thinking they’ll never see each other again. But fate seems to have different plans.

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. With plenty of charming twists and turns and Lia Louis’s “bold, standout voice” (Gillian McAllister, author of The Good Sister), Eight Perfect Hours is a gorgeously crafted novel that will make you believe in the power of fate.

This book was so interesting. Like there were so many times were I was so annoyed and I really wanted to stop reading because I hated the choices the characters were making, but at the same time, there were just as many times where I was so excited about the plot and where things were going. Noelle and Sam’s chance encounter on the freeway sounds like something straight out of a movie (or a crime podcast or something)- I can’t even imagine being stuck on the freeway for that long in the snow! This felt less like a rom com or a romance in general and more like a coming of age story. I really liked how not only Noelle grew over the whole book but also how her mother grew and was willing to take her health in her own hands. I wish Dilly was able to grow and become a real, responsible adult too, but that’s too much for one book. I liked how much Sam seemed to care for Noelle- he seemed like a good person all around. And I loved Charlie and Theo! Plot wise, it wasn’t my favorite, but it also wasn’t a bad book- it was just a little slower than I would have wanted. Overall, I can definitely see people really enjoying this book as a great coming of age (in your early 30s) and becoming who you’re meant to be book with some romance mixed in!

This was my first story by this author and I can't wait to read more. At first I was unsure where the author would take us but I'm a firm believer in the invisible thread theory and I was super curious. I loved every step in their journey. Sometimes you get what you most hope for and sometimes when you get that you realize that something might just be missing. Sometimes you look back on the littlest moments and realize that they all have meaning in one way or another and you can't dismiss them. If you are meant to be, if you each hold an end of that thread, the universe WILL find a way to bring you together. You only need to listen.

The character development in this is great. This is a book that you want to savor, but can't help devouring. I loved Louis' previous book and had high hopes for this one. This is a cozy read that I'll buy just to reread in the winter. Perfect mix to make it a holiday read and reread.

Super sweet and predictable. You can’t help but enjoy this one. I do feel like it pushed the boundaries of fate a bit. The love interests just had too many moments of kismet for me but this will really work for the right reader and mood.

3.5 Stars!
Noelle Butterby is a thirty something single woman living in England. She's on her way back from an event at her old college when things take a turn for the worst. She's alone at a standstill in her car on a snowy freeway with a dead phone and no food or water. The roads are suddenly closed, and she's starting to panic when a gorgeous American man shows her kindness and offers her assistance in her time of need. Sam Attwood is in town from Oregon visiting family when he meets Elle. Two stranded strangers bond and hit it off instantly. A disaster turns into one perfect evening spent in a car together. They are from two totally different countries, but share an unexpected connection that can't be denied. After eight hours morning arrives and they part ways thinking they'll never see each other again, but fate has other plans. They keep crossing paths and wondering if it's some sort of sign. Is it simply coincidence or destiny?

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis is a charming, sweet, slow burn romance about friendship, family, and a love written in the stars.

Eight Perfect Hours is a poignant, heartwarming novel about serendipity and the invisible red string that tethers two soulmates.

When Noelle Butterby gets stranded on a snowy highway with a dead cell phone and no way of contacting her ailing mother, she thinks all hope is lost. Until a handsome American, Sam Attwood, knocks on her car window and saves the day. The two form a deep connection and spend eight perfect hours together in his car waiting out the blizzard. When morning comes and the roads clear, the two strangers part thinking they will never see each other again. But fate certainly has a different idea.

Okay, okay, okay. This might be my favorite romance of 2021. This story feels like slipping on an old cardigan. It’s soft. It’s warm. It’s comforting. It hugs you perfectly. This story latched on to my heart and has been with me ever since. It’s a beautiful romance that’s not only about fate and serendipity but it’s also self-discovery, grief, and healing. The characters were so relatable and I couldn’t help but get way too invested in their story. And while this is a closed door romance, I still felt the spark and the deep connection that formed between the characters. If you’re looking for a story that will warm your heart to its core, go pick up this beautiful romance.

A huge thank you to Atria for gifting me a copy of this novel.

I loved every bit of this book!

Noelle and Sam meet when they are both stranded on a snowy motorway and Noelle needs to borrow a charger for her phone. They end up spending 8 hours together and pay knowing that's the last time they will see each other. But fate has other plans as they keep running into each other!

Noelle is such a good person. She deals with the heavy loss of her friend. She takes wonderful care of her mom even at the expense of doing what she really wants to do. I love that Noelle gets the chance to start doing her passion and love that get mom for to get the proper care that she needs.

I love Sam too. He's also grieving his cousin's loss long ago. He really sees Noelle and the potential within her. He's more supportive in their short interactions than her off/on ex Ed.