A sweet story! A heartwarming romance with a knight in shining armor, twists of fate, and incredible coincidences.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Absolutely wonderful! Solid 4 stars. I really enjoyed Lia Louis' first book, Dear Emmie Blue and her new one was just as well done. I loved the romance between Sam and Noelle. It happened organically and that is sometimes hard to do with these type of "serendipity" type of storylines. I totally believed in their relationship. It wasn't fast and furious, but a slow build of friendship and these weird "happenstances."

My only critique is there were a few moments in the book where the writing felt a bit scattered and disjointed. And the ending dragged on a bit. Otherwise, a very nicely done second novel!

I was so lucky to receive an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review and opinions. Lia Louis does it again with another fantastic book! Not sure how she topped Dear Emmie Blue but she sure did. This is truly a heart warming story that will keep you up late into the night reading. Can't wait for her next release.....

In a sudden twist of fate, the unexpected arrival of a blizzard to Noelle's class reunion leaves her frustrated and dispirited. The reunion was set to include the opening of a time capsule however the inclement weather has made that impossible. After leaving the party, Noelle finds herself alone and stranded in a car on an ice-slicked and treacherous highway. With her cell phone dead, Noelle has no way to contact friends or family. Lucky for her the undeniably handsome and helpful Sam Attwood is in a car nearby and immediately sets out to help. The pair spend an idyllic eight hours together sharing stories and laughs before rescue crews can clear the roads. While the pair go their separate ways soon after, it's not long before their paths cross again, and again. However in order to move forward to their future together, the pair will have to let go of the past.

In much the same way as last year's breakout hit Dear Emmie Blue, Eight Perfect Hours was a case of right feel good book at the right time. Full of sweet heartwarming romance, family and self discovery, Eight Perfect Hours is sure to pull at the heartstrings and leave readers longing for the cold snowy December holidays. Beautifully executed with a unique progression through many chance encounters and missed opportunities, Eight Perfect Hours is sure to leave a lasting impression. With equal parts romance and coming of age story that expertly navigates love, grief, and letting go without ever losing the whimsical, feel good tone, Eight Perfect Hours is the perfect read to get readers through the long, cold winter months.

When Noelle gets stuck in a traffic jam and just so happens to meet her soulmate stuck in the car next to her, Eight Perfect Hours spirals to a predictable, but fun, end. I found Noelle to be quite realistic with some relatable issues complicating her life. There's the obligatory jerk boyfriend and the too good to be true new guy, and Noelle's best friends, Charlie and Theo. It's a fun read with engaging characters, well written dialogue, and a couple of interesting subplots. Anyone who has ever been a caregiver for an elderly parent will "get" the pulls on both Noelle and Sam's lives.
Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Lia Louis is one of my favorite authors of late. She is an amazing storyteller and writer. I must warn you , you will not be able to get anything else done when you start reading any of her books. And Eight Perfect Hours is no different. I had to pace myself because I didn't want the Story of Noelle to end.
Noelle is stretched thin between her family and work she rarely has any free time. The one night she makes the time to attend a time capsule opening at her old college, she gets stuck on the highway during the worst blizzard. No one is going anywhere, her cell is almost dead, and her mom is home alone. As luck has it, she meets a friendly Samaritan that lets her charge her phone in his car and passes time, making conversation. As though fate has a roll in Noelle's life, Sam keeps turning up everywhere. But Sam has a girlfriend and Ed, her college love, has dropped back into her life. Why does Sam keep appearing everywhere and why can't she forget him.
Eight Perfect Hours is a fun, sad, romantic tale of love and fate. How much does fate play in our everyday lives? Ioved this story so much!! I adored Dear Emmie Blue and I loved this book just as much! If you haven't checked out and read Lia Louis, you cannot go wrong! She will make you cheer on the loveable characters and make you believe in love again. Special thanks to NetGalley, Lia Louis, and Atria/ Emily Bestler books for the advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion. 5 stars for me!!

This was a really cute book. It did have a bit of a slow start, but it sure does have a gorgeously hopeful ending if you hang in there. Much like the authors' previous work (Dear Emmie Blue), this book focuses on chance encounters and being open to whimsy in your everyday life. I thought it was hopeful and the lead characters were quite believable. This isn't a steamy romance by any means, but it is a kind and feel-good book that I think you will really enjoy. Pick it up!

This is a wonderful feel good book that has two main characters meeting in a chance encounter, trapped on the highway for 8 hours. This then leads further chance encounters. I read this book in one sitting and loved it from start to finish. Sam the ever kind gentleman, Noelle the unsure on the verge of big life decisions. You will fall in love with them both. This is a great read!

This book! I just love Lia Louis's writing. This book is about fate and being in the right place at the right time and meeting the right person.

Noelle leaves her class reunion in a bad mood because an unexpected blizzard derailed some of the festivities. She's stuck in her car on a snowy road and her cell phone is dead. The guy in the next car helps her out and they spend 8 perfect hours together. But then what?

This was a beautiful, heartwarming story for anyone who believes in fate!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of EIGHT PERFECT HOURS by Lia Louis. This wasn't a very typical love story—it deviated slightly from the typical arc. Not a lot, but it threw me some curves. I enjoyed watching the main character, Noelle, progress as a person through the story. I enjoyed watching the different people in her life figure out their problems on their own. It was interesting, because I think often when someone has Noelle's problem in media, someone yells at them to stop giving up their lives for other people and then they up and drop everything and then it's all better. But Noelle didn't change that aspect of herself, and the person who yelled at her for it was her jerk ex-boyfriend. She kept giving herself to the people she loved and those people loved her enough back to eventually give her space to do more. She started doing more for herself and they encouraged her, and she didn't have to stop being a loving and helpful person. It was a delicate balance, but I like this different angle on it.
The main plot line was her fated love with Sam, who she keeps running into. I don't think I believe anything works out like that in real life, but it was nice to read in a book. I did love the chemistry and bond she had with Sam and was very eager for them to get together. That pulled me through the book, wanting to see when their next fated connection would come. It was a sweet read and I enjoyed it.

In last year’s breakout hit, “Dear Emmie Blue”, Emmie releases a balloon into the sky, containing her biggest secret.

This year, the secret may be on a photograph still on a camera, which has been buried in a time capsule, at her old college. The photographer was Noelle Butterby’s best friend, Daisy, who died the night the camera was buried.

Noelle is returning from the class reunion that she attended despite the weather advisories which implored that you stay at home, because she was desperate to retrieve the camera and the letter that accompanied it. Although she was given the letter, it turns out that the camera remained buried for now-the earth still too solid for digging-due to the blizzard like conditions!

To make matters worse, those conditions close the motorway, on her way home, and traffic is at a standstill. Her phone has no charge left, and she has no way of calling home, until the stranger in the car “parked” beside her offers assistance. Sam Attwood is everything you would want in your “hero” and the two end up spending eight hours together in his car-but they did not exchange contact details, and drive off in separate directions, presumably to never see each other again.

But, author Lia Louis writes charming stories about SERENDIPITY and SOULMATES, so fate WILL end up bringing these two together-AGAIN and AGAIN and AGAIN!

This one didn’t quite have the same emotional punch for me, as DEAR EMMIE BLUE, maybe because I didn’t feel as much spark (it could be rated G) or maybe because much of the book takes place while the characters are apart, but the author does a fantastic job of coming full circle and returning to the secret held within the camera, much as she did, with the secret associated with the balloon in the last book.

Find out what was in the photograph on September 28th, 2021.

I would like to thank Atria/Emily Bestler books for inviting me to read an early copy, provided through NetGalley.
It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Noelle and Sam meet while stranded on a highway during a blizzard and spend the most perfect 8 hours together and then they move on. Noelle figures she will never see him again but he keeps showing up.COuld fate being trying to tell them something?

Delightful story!

I had high expectations of this book after reading “Dear Emmie Blue”, but this was just so good. I love the way she writes her characters- flawed and beautiful and real. I loved Noelle and Sam, and didn’t want this one to end!

I think Lia Louis has become an auto buy for me after this book. I absolutely devoured Emmie Blue and the same thing happened with this one. I read it in an entire sitting and then went back after the end to reread my favorite parts and seeing where everything came together for the end. I wish I could spend more time with these characters.

I was so excited to read this one after I absolutely devoured Dear Emmie Blue and it did not disappoint. I think that what I love so much about Lia Louis's writing is that she manages to find this great combination of funny rom-com, heart beating out of your chest romance, and a little bit of angst. I think if she took it any further than she did with the angst and the twists of fate, it would be a little too Nicholas Sparks or JoJo Moyes for my taste (nothing wrong with those writers, just not my cup of tea). But she manages to keep it this side of emotionally manipulative and instead keeps the stories hopeful and uplifting and so beautiful. The "British-ness" of her writing is also super delightful and gives her books something unique from American rom-coms.

Noelle and Sam are a great couple, with amazing chemistry - the kind that makes your heart literally hurt as you read because you just feel how deeply both of them feel and you reallllly want them to work things out and be together. I personally am not a huge believer in the soulmates/fate idea that plays a lot into this book, as well as Dear Emmie Blue, but it does give a whimsical touch to the story.

Just read this book! And don't let the cover fool you, it is *not* a Christmas book. The first 15-20% happens during a snowstorm but the rest unfolds over the year to come.

(PUB date 9.28) Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the early copy.

I'm not if believe in fate, but I'm a sucker for serendipity and 𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒 was dripping in it. It's a tender story with humor, kinship and kismet. It was exactly the boost my heart needed.

𝗪𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄𝐃: (Pretty much all of it)
Strangers stranded in a snowstorm (swoon)
A time capsule
Stellar secondary characters
Characters navigating grief and growth
Captivating, emotional writing.
Depth: Agoraphobia, death of a friend/relative, postpartum depression, panic attacks.

But most of all I loved how Noelle and Sam's multiple missed connections kept them moving in parallel lives until the moment when their timing finally clicked. I would love to see this story play out on screen.

𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄:
-I'd consider this title '𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵'.
-Don't let the cover fool you- this can be read during any season.
-I read (more than once) and loved DEAR EMMIE BLUE by the same author.

Eight Perfect Hours is just the hopeful novel you've been waiting for. Noelle meets Sam in a snowy traffic jam and they spend eight wonderfully perfect hours getting to know each other in the bubble of intimacy that a warm cocoon of a car provides.

Lia Louis has a knack for being able to express the angst and turmoil that takes place in the mind of women everywhere. The twists and turns of this novel have me looking for that invisible red thread and believing that it's out there.

Fabulous characters.
Fabulous dialogue.
Fabulous story.
Lia Louis does it again.

Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for the free ebook!

Dear Lia Louis - Thank you for, once again, writing a book that feels like a hug when I most needed one.

Dear Emmie Blue was maybe my favorite book last year. I’ve already read it twice and *almost* picked it up for a third read in a single year, but resisted and picked this up instead.

I absolutely adored this sweet story about soul mates and fate. I loved Noelle (and not just because she’s also passionate about flowers) and her journey. She is stuck in life and has spent the last few years prioritizing everyone but herself. Sam is a total babe and this book has wonderful secondary characters that I was cheering for. It was the perfect read to get sucked into when I was having a very difficult week.

My only complaint is that now I have to wait for the next Lia Louis book, but… at least I can reread this one in the meantime (I absolutely have a finished copy pre-ordered) or Dear Emmie Blue again!

P.S. For my seasonal readers - don’t let the wintry cover deter you from picking it up sooner than later. The snowy scenes are only at the beginning of the book.

TW below...



TW/CW: Postpartum depression, mention of suicide, anxiety, car accident.

Super enjoyable rom-com about fate. Noelle and Sam meet cute and then keep meeting in unexpected circumstances. Both are dealing with a difficult loss and the potential end of long-term relationships. Noelle is also stuck because of her mom. I really liked that this didn’t end when I thought it would.

Thank you to Orion and NetGalley for the ARC.

When I got a notification for this new novel I freaked out! I absolutely LOVED Dear Emmie Blue, it became one of my favorite books.
But this is about a new novel, Eight Perfect Hours.
I can say without a doubt that this author has become a favorite of mine.
Her writing fills me with hope and giddiness. She makes me believe in fate with just her words. I can see a theme happening with her stories, and it is a theme that is written with joy. Eight Perfect Hours is about Noelle, who gets stuck in the middle of the highway on a snowy evening, and ends up meeting a handsome stranger. They end up having eight perfect hours as they wait for the roads to clear.

This is the type of book that will take you on a ride full of friendship, unexpected meetings, and lots of flowers.. I was smiling, tearing up, and rooting for love! I look forward to the next novel of this great writer.

I'd recommend it if someone is in the mood for something fun, romantic, and wholesome.


Thank your NetGalley and Atria Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.