3.5 🌟 for this slow burn romance. Eight Perfect Hours would be the ideal book to read on a cozy snowy day.
Noelle and Sam find themselves caught in a traffic jam during a winter storm passing the hours away getting to know each other. Noelle believes they have a connection, but they never exchange numbers. What follows is several chance encounters that frustratingly never seem to go anywhere. This was a cute story, but fell short of the authors previous novel, Dear Emmie Blue. If you are looking for charm I highly suggest that sweet story.

I just completed the most lovely, heartwarming, cozy of a read that I can’t wait to recommend as 2022’s Winter Read. With the impending winter snowstorm that is forecasted for most of us this week, EIGHT PERFECT HOURS by Lia Louis is the book that you will want to curl up with. The story is as beautifully darling as the book’s cover design and as an added treat for those who love audiobooks , I highly recommend it’s version read by the incomparable Emma Powell. This book could be easily slotted into the rom com category, however, it has so much more depth than what that label sometimes implies. It is a love story, but Lia Louis also tackles issues of complicated family dynamics, grief due to the loss of a loved one, and mental health. She also infuses the book with great British humor and a lovable cast of supporting characters. I could easily see this being made into an adored feel-good movie - a movie with the feel of ME BEFORE YOU with the humor of BRIDGET JONES DIARY and the couple dynamics of NOTTING HILL.

The book begins with ancient Chinese proverb: “An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break.”
And so forms the foundation of the novel, as the reader follows along with American Sam and British Noelle as it is revealed all the ‘near misses’ and ‘almost happened’ instances of them meeting over 15 years, until they keep getting pulled tighter and tighter together by the red thread that connects them. Yet, even then the path is not easy or clear; tangled with other past relationships, long distance, self-doubts, and thwarted dreams. However, love from family and love from friends can help illuminate the path and unravel the knots to bring Sam and Noelle together across the divide.

Dear Emmie Blue came out of nowhere last year and knocked my socks off, this follow up did not quite have the same effect. I felt that the plot was a bit contrived and the mother really bothered me, however, it was still a sweet and easy read.

This was a charming story about fate. The romance was a slow burn and I enjoyed the slowness of it. I turned the pages waiting to see how fate would throw Sam and Noelle together again.

3.5
This one was okay for me. It was cute but not super memorable.
Pros:
-Mental health representation.
-The connection between the protagonist characters.
-Themes of motherhood.
Cons:
-There were so many issues/topics covered in this book (grief, mental health, etc) that the combination of them was almost too chaotic, and as a result none delved too deeply.
-Things worked out for the main character and the ending wrapped up way too quickly and conveniently that it was super unrealistic.

<em>Eight Perfect Hours</em> is a romantic comedy about a girl who meets a handsome stranger in the middle of a snowstorm crisis and then... never gets his number. Fast forward weeks later and behold! He shows up in her life and maybe it's fate pushing them together?

I really wanted to like <em>Eight Perfect Hours</em> more than I did. The first part of the book went really quickly and was filled with cute romance and special connections between Noelle and Sam who meet stuck on a highway that is shut down due to a snowstorm. She needs a phone charger and sits in his car and gets to talking with him. Sparks fly. But of course Noelle doesn't get his number and he doesn't offer it (hmmm, red flag?) and she goes back to her sleepy life and he disappears. Were they cute together? Absolutely. Was there chemistry? Yes! Situational cuteness is also at an all-time high in this part as they share food and drink out of a nearby food truck, Sam runs to someone's rescue and Noelle is a cute and mysterious mess when they meet.

So what happened?

Honestly, I think it was Noelle. And this is more of a problem I have with heroines of this type. They're a friggin mess. Noelle is cute but is living her life for someone else. She feels (and makes herself) trapped beyond her circumstance, never standing up for herself, letting her brother walk all over her. Her ex doctor boyfriend is back in town, shows up and she just believes everything he tells her even though historically he has been a big dick. And I think that's actually the real problem I have with <em>Eight Perfect Hours</em>. I didn't like the heroine. I am not a fan of women being too much their own problem and then even by the end of the book, while she did finally grow as a character, it still seemed like she was too weak to stand on her own.

I dunno. The plot is easy to follow and the writing is easy to read. It's a good beach book, something you take on vacation to relax and get lost in someone else's problems.

Sam is slightly problematic as well. Turns out there is a reason he doesn't give her his number and it's a very good one. Noelle of course is obsessed with him, acting more like a teenager than a real adult. And Sam is oh-torn! between his obligations and his attraction to her.

Sorry, I'm overall disappointed.

I did finish the book and I'm glad I did because I was interested in knowing how it was going to resolve itself. And I think people who like romantic comedies where the woman is a little hot-mess-can't-stand-up-forherself-but-will-eventually will enjoy this one. I just couldn't really get behind these two characters and their romance.

Eight Perfect Hours is the fateful tale of Noelle and Sam who meet on a snowy car jam - several chances meetings later, these two must figure out what they are to each other, and what could have been even before their first meeting.

I absolutely loved Lia’s ability to craft a chance meeting between these two characters! It kept me always needing to turn the page to see how they would find each other again! I wasn’t sure how the book would wrap up - and I was utterly surprised by the depth of fate running between Noelle and Sam!

A great snowy read for all!

I really wanted to love this one but it just didn't. It felt like a high school crush and I was a little bored with it. Ended up DNFing at 33%

I saved this book to read this winter because I love reading winter books in the winter. I really liked this book. It started slow for me and I almost gave up on it (I think it was because I was reading another book at the same time and only read a couple pages at a time of this book) but I’m really glad I kept going. The second half of this book was so good and I found it hard to put down!
It’s a story about strangers who keep finding each other by fate. It’s about love and friendship. I really grew to love these characters and I was really rooting for them!
Pick this book up for a great winter rom com.

Thank you #netgalley and #atriabooks for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read Eight Perfect Hours! It wasn't a fit for me at this time but I do think the premise was cute.

Oh my goooooosh I just loved this book!!! I could picture it all so perfectly in my head. A unique story that pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee and a cool, Saturday morning.

Oh the power of fate! This was an utterly charming, witty, and well written story. Food for thought that nothing is coincidental.
Many thanks to Atria and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Star Read!

I loved this one! My favorite holiday read of 2021! All the feels! Great characters and storyline. It's different from other holiday books I've read. I highly recommend you read this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Atria Books for this ARC.

Available Now!

I throughly enjoyed “Eight Perfect Hours” by Lia Louis. I truly loved both characters and their story lines. Based on the cover I was expecting more of a “Christmas-y” plot however, that did not deter me from liking the book.

Thank you NetGalley for this digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

I thought the book was really great. There were a few times that a sentence didn’t make sense to me and probably needed to be re-edited but it could be due to this being a uncorrected proof.

I loved this book. It was so fun and sweet- the perfect holiday read! Lia Louis is one of my favorite romance authors and this did not disappoint after reading Dear Emmie Blue.

This book really grabbed my attention at the beginning. I kept waiting for the two main characters to give it a go. Before I knew it, I was bored, halfway done with the book and didnt care any more about the characters. It wasnt a great read for me. Just took too long to go anywhere.

Eight Perfect Hours is a perfect read. This is a great book that is packed full of emotion, friendship, family and so much more.

Noelle is a thirty something year old who is stagnant in life. She is living with her mom to be able to take care of her, she doesn't enjoy her job and she is still mourning the loss of her long-term boyfriend of twelve years. All that changes when Noelle gets stuck on the freeway in a snowstorm. A fellow traveler, Sam, and Noelle cross paths and continue to do so as the story proceeds.

I had not read any of Lia Louis' works so I was not sure what to expect. I do have one of her previous works on my TBR list and I will definitely now seek it out after reading Eight Perfect Hours. It was so refreshing to have a book not be packed full of sex. Louis did not back away from dealing with some heavy topics like mental health, suicide, and grief.

Possible triggers: Vehicular death and suicide

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Very cute idea for a book. Just a great story of how by chance you can meet a person in such a crazy way. Loved Elle’s friends and her little backstory. Definitely recommend this one. I think Louis is becoming one of my favorite authors.

4.5/5

I've been trying to figure out how to put my love of Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis into words, and honestly, I don't think I know how. This book was the perfect blend of romance, fate, serious topics, and humor, and I loved every dang minute of it. Louis is also the author of Dear Emmie Blue which is a fact I had completely spaced on and seeing as how I loved that book; I shouldn't be surprised that this one hit me the same way. I found myself smiling so many times as I read, but it is also a bit of a tearjerker as well, and there are plenty of emotional moments. There was even something at the end that I wasn't expecting at all and it kinda blew me away. I think this would make an absolutely wonderful movie, and even though it isn't a holiday movie, I could definitely envision it on the Hallmark channel.

I adored the audiobook narrator Emma Powell, and this is such a short read at just over 8 hours on audio. I loved Powell's voice and she did a beautiful job conveying every single emotion of the story. Her pacing was perfect for the book and Noelle's character and every part of her narration added something. There was also a nice touch to the audio with a knocking sound at one point, and it was fun to have a dash of sound effects added. I adored Noelle as a character and loved watching her and Sam bump into each other so many times, all the while wondering what his reason for keeping his distance from her was. I loved the story, plot, and almost every single one of the characters and Louis's writing always makes me happy. By the time I reached the end of Eight Perfect Hours, my heart was full, but I still longed for the story to continue. I highly recommend this one to those of you who love a good wintry read and romcoms with both depth and humor.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.