I received an advance copy of, Eight Perfect Hours, by Lia Louis. I really wanted to like this book, but I could not. I did not like the characters or the swearing. Not my cup of tea, but it is someone else's.

Modern day fairy tale. Noelle and Sam’s encounters make you wonder small world, or fate? A nice easy read to escape the world’s troubles right now.

'Eight Perfect Hours' is a straightforward, solid book with an emotionally satisfying conclusion, even if some of its conflicts are resolved quite easily. I found it easy to root for Noelle and her character arc, but I was disappointed by how boring Sam is (and subsequently also their romance) -- and even though I like the idea of fate making Noelle and Sam continually bump into each other, I'm not sure if fate would put so much effort into bringing together such a dull couple.

Honestly I was nervous to read this book. My expectations were so ridiculously high. Because I adore Lia Louis and I LOVED Dear Emmie Blue.

Well I can sleep at night now because I read this one in a matter of hours and it was another 5 star read for me.

You will instantly fall in love with this quirky and endearing cast of characters. Charlie, Theo, Sam,Noelle, Ian and Noelle’s mum…even Daisy who we only get to know in flashbacks. They are all instantaneously huggable.

Louis is such a witty author, her sense of humor had me cackling.

This is just a tender, sweet, story of fate and hope. I was cheering for Noelle the entire way through.

5 stars.

I received this book as a gift from Atria Books. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Atria Books for a gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

If you decide to pick up this book, I hope you are a firm believer in fate/soul mates! I loved the way Lia Louis orchestrated the encounters between Noelle and Sam. While there is romance involved, I think this book is more about Noelle finding herself and overcoming her grief. There are other hard topics introduced here in the supporting casts (e.g. agoraphobia, death of a loved one, postpartum depression, panic attacks), I think Louis handled the topics with care.

Overall, it was a heartwarming story and great for a holiday read!

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

It's 102° outside right now and I really needed this book as a nice cool down perfect for any season. Love and romance is in the air.

Eight Perfect Hours is a cute, enjoyable read that makes you cheer for its protagonists, Noelle and Sam, from the minute (or eight hours, as it were) they meet. It's the kind of book you read sort of aspirationally, wishing that sort of fate awaits us all, or that we may, in times of heartache or backed up traffic, run into our soulmate in the same way these two keep bumping into one another. However, I did find it difficult to drop into the story as there are just *so* many coincidences and it really does require you to suspend your disbelief and accept the idea of 'fate'. For me, I think the story would've been more successful if the main characters had met in a strange and unlikely twist, in the traffic, and then, in yet another unlikely event, reconnected later, only to find more strange 'coincidences' that led them to each other, and to their shared history. But that's not what happens here... Or, rather, it is, but the journey is padded with so many instances where they happen to bump into one another, <i>again and again and again,</i> exhausting my ability to continue just going with it. I think it started out strong and ended strong, but somewhere in the middle, it's just too heavy-handed.
All of that being said, I did quite enjoy this little book and would recommend it to fans of the genre.

I enjoyed Eight Perfect Hours so much that I read it in one sitting. This is a lighthearted contemporary romance novel that made me laugh out loud on several occasions. I really appreciated the pop culture references that the author drew into the story. This novel revolves around a 30 something year old woman named Noelle. She cleans houses for a living while also taking care of her mother who had a stroke. Noelle gets stuck in a terrible snow storm on the highway while leaving from a school reunion. While stuck in the storm, she meets an American man named Sam in the car next to her. They end up spending most of the night together and once the night is over, Sam leaves for a flight back to the US. Noelle and Sam never exchanged numbers, so Noelle finds herself thinking about Sam a lot. Eventually, Noelle and Sam cross paths again....and again. I loved watching Noelle's character develop throughout the story and I truly cared about what was going to happen. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me with an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you don’t believe in simple twists of fate or never having any belief in soul mates, or if you are skeptic about any romantic cliches and any kind of meant to be conclusions: stop reading this and start to run away: this book is not for skeptics, enemies of great romcoms or pessimist, moody, grumpy souls who cannot differentiate something heartfelt, unique, extraordinary from regular reads!

Imagine yourself becoming stranded on the side of the road during a frightening blizzard, when your phone is out of juice, feeling abandoned, all by yourself in the middle of nowhere. The sobs come out from your throat are quiet realistic expression of your emotional turmoil. But don’t worry: your knight in shiny armor is about to reach your destination to save you for 8 precious, memorable, amazing hours!

That’s what happened to Noelle Butterby’s path crosses with charming, sweet Sam: possibly her soul mate.

Of course her heart broke and she got a little disappointed because after their 8 meaningful hours long connection: he left her to fly to the states without asking her contact information and he didn’t act like he has been affected by their intimacy only a little bit.

But don’t worry: a few weeks later: they bump into each other and this happens again and again: I know you start furrowing your brows but don’t do that! This book’s magical and fairytal-ish tone can fit with the entire coincidental premise!

This is not only a soft, sweet, heartwarming, Hallmark movies kind of romance novel. I know the cover gives you that impression but it’s tricky! This book is so much more than that! When Dear Emmie Blue’s author is on the team, it’s easy to expect seeing fireworks, all those vivid emotions burst out from the pages.

As Noelle believes in soul mates, coincidence, faith’s intervention to bring people together, Sam acts more realistic guy questioning everything.

The supporting characters were portrayed so genuinely and the dialogues were so entertaining, smart, well constructed.

This book is not only about finding love of your life, it is about finding yourself, your life purpose and by recognizing your true potential pursuing your dreams.

I think each time you purchase Lia Louis’ books, you also buy yourself a pocketful of sunshine which you may carry it in your shirt pocket next to your heart and anytime you feel blue, depressed, moody, that pocket starts warming your heart as the sun keeps shining to destroy your inner darkness till that ugly mood completely dissipates. Some authors have power of using words to heal people’s souls. She’s truly one of them!

Overall: this is another book made me love it at first chapter! I loved the story’s development! I enjoyed reading the character dialogues. ( I only disliked Ed! He was the only black sheep of this amazing story! ) Ending was semi satisfying but it was still good! Definitely one of most heartwarming, well written realistic fiction/ romance I highly recommend to you!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this amazing reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

Thank you Lia Louis for writing this remarkable story!

I didn’t know what to expect going into this book, but I was definitely thinking it was going to be like a Hallmark movie. But, it was so much more!

This one will string you along until the very end, flipping pages rapidly, trying to see how it all comes together. I was trying to guess and make my own theories as the story progressed, but I really enjoyed the way this story ended.

This has a romance element, but I really do feel like it is so much more than your typical romance. It’s about pursuing your dreams, discovering who you are, and being true to yourself.

There were heavier topics discussed, but they were really handled with care. And they weren’t thrown in for a shock effect, they genuinely had a purpose in the story, which is something that I always appreciate.

CW: PPD, suicide, depression, anxiety, cheating, stroke, death of a friend/family member

Eight Perfect Hours was absolute perfection. A wonderfully charming tale of family, friendship, and love.

Noelle Butterby is a leading lady you just can't help but fall in love with, be it her unwavering love for family and friends, or her absolutely adorable personality. When she finds herself stranded on the side of the road in a snow storm, phone battery completely dead, and her charging port on the fritz, her already wavering emotions give way to wracking sobs as she totally melts down in her car. Enter her knight in shining armor...

Now Noelle can't stop thinking about Sam, Sam who flew back to America. Sam who never asked to trade numbers or emails or gave any indication he also just had the most amazing eight hours of his life.

When she randomly runs into him weeks later, and then again and again, she's sure it must mean something. Why do they keep crossing paths? What twist of fate could continue to bring these two people together, time and again?

This was a greatly woven tale of love, and of finding yourself again, of coming back after tragedy and heartache. I devoured this in two sittings, and only because I had to pull myself away midway through to feed my family!

Quality of Writing: 9/10

Pace: 8/10

Plot Development: 7/10

Characters: 9/10

Enjoyability: 9/10

Insightfulness: 6/10

Ease of Reading: 10/10

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of this book.

This book has a lot of coincidences, so if that’s not your thing, stop now.

The jokes in this were funny, witty comments and nicknames that don’t get old. I thought the characters were rich and colorful, except for Ed. I always found him to sit like a cardboard cut out for me. I liked the variety in everyone without it being overstated. Like, how Dilly is gay, but that’s not a hug deal because he’s not even the main character.

I loved watching Noelle follow her passion, but I didn’t feel like the ending was as satisfying as it could have been. It was just okay.

The coincidences were cute and funny at first, but became more unrealistic in my eyes. I know you have to suspend your disbelief for a book like this to work, so I did, but this read as more of a fairy tale than something that could happen in real life.

It’s a very cute, funny read. Perfect for a beach book.

This would have been a great book to read during Snowmageddon 2021. At first I thought this was going to be a holiday story, but that's what I get for being in the south where it rarely snows at all! Whether you read this during the fall, winter, or early spring (or whenever, I'm a mood and seasonal reader and better enjoy books in my current season), it's definitely an engaging love story.

If this wasn't just the best read I've read all month!
I read this in one day, and enjoyed every minute of it!

Thank you NetGalley & Atria Books (who has become one of my go to publishers) they have released some amazing books I've been honored to get to read and review.

Eight Perfect Hours was a divine read!
Sam and Noelle are like the dream characters I simply fell in love with them and rooted for them till the end!
They were so well developed and written.
They story itself was so entertaining. I couldn't put my Kindle down.
The writing was wow..... All I can say about it! I now on the hunt for more of Lia's books!

Overall-- The best romance I've read in June!

I love the idea of real life soul mates, the red thread of fate connecting people who are destined to be together. Eight Perfect Hours does a good job of showing this in chance meetings, near misses and connections that tie the leading lady Noelle to Sam who first become aware of each other when traffic completely shuts down for eight hours. The strangers get to know each other better in those hours and reveal more to each other than they have with people they've know for years. Probably my only nit is that we don't get to see just a bit of these initial eight hours and have to wait for more chance meetings to see that bond solidify.

This is one of those stories that slowly unfolds and despite the way the pair click they aren't quite ready for each other for much of the story. But what makes the relationship work is that they have so much in common, with major losses that have shaped their lives and people who were significant others that pull them off track a bit with the comfort of all of those shared past experiences even though they don't work anymore. When things do finally work out for the pair, it is amazing to see how they really were orbiting each other without even realizing it.

And I really felt for Noelle, because she is really stuck in her life, being there for a mother who has developed anxiety after having a stroke and Noelle not having anyone reliable to help her make sure her mother is supported. So it is hard to see her feel like she's lost herself, but it makes it wonderful when she gets her chance to bloom.

I really enjoyed this.

ARC courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis is an excellent, fun, and sweet contemporary romance that I truly loved and devoured in just one day!

I loved the concept of two people placed into surprising, but realistic, circumstances, finding a common interest and attraction despite the odds, and then finding one another again through destiny and fate.

I loved Noel and Sam. The fact that they continued to cross paths, come across one another, and find something that both were secretly looking for within their lives, after what they thought would be an isolated occurrence was so creative. It felt as if it was almost magic how it all played out. The instant they met one another, I could feel the interest and sparks, and I was rooting for them from that moment on. Despite knowing how the narrative would continue based on the premise, I felt it has plenty of fresh additions, wonderful dialogue, wit, and emotion. It was sweet and heartwarming.

And the ending…sigh…it is just perfect. Seriously. It is perfect.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

I loved the serendipity of the story, even thought it was tinged with sadness. The characters were really enjoyable. I look forward to more books by this author.

This is an adorable romantic read full of heart and heartbreak. I love the way the author explores the idea of soulmates and the connections between people. This is the first book I have read by Lia Louis and now I need to find more! Thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest opinion.