This is an okay book in this genre. the idea is good but needed editing down as it is very long in some areas that do not work as well. The mystery element is not well played out and only really is covered in any detail near to the end so the premise of why was Pippa in the car and what happened is really underplayed - yet this could have been referred to right the way through the book to keep that mystery flowing.
I enjoyed the book but felt that if it had been shorter by editing down and the theme of why was more central it would have been a lot better.

I love a big, soaring, life-affirming book and that’s exactly what I was expecting from this one. I was delighted to be accepted for it on NetGalley and I can certainly say that these characters will be with me for a while.

Pippa Gallagher is in an induced coma, following a severe car accident. Scenes from her life flash through her unconscious mind as her beloved husband Steve anxiously waits for his wife to wake up. Steve has no idea where Pippa was going when the accident happened and he’s devastated that he wasn’t there when she needed him the most. All he knows is that Pippa is his world and that he needs her to pull through. He will spend the next 12 hours telling her why he loves her because everything else is now out of his hands.

One thing that struck me was the beauty of Pippa and Steve’s relationship. They have the kind of gorgeous, crazy love where they know every little detail of each other’s bodies because they’ve spent time studying each other. There is something so intimate and heartwarming about watching Steve take in every little part of Pippa’s face, as if he’s simply willing some sign of life into it. My heart both broke and swelled in the same sentence!

Pippa is undeniably, madly in love with Steve too and I loved being able to track it through her memories. Throughout the book, we join the two of them as they meet each other’s families, go on adventures with their friends and the development of their relationship. Seeing them constantly be there for each other, work through their tensions and emerge stronger was lovely to witness and so romantic.

It is also wonderfully funny at points and I laughed out loud at the hilarious scrapes that both Pippa and Steve get themselves into. They’re both a little awkward at the beginning and it’s so cute watching them try to impress each other. This is exactly the kind of romance that I love and I couldn’t help but become enamoured with both of them.

There are trigger warnings for miscarriage and fertility struggles and my heart broke when Pippa describes how it feels to be a childless woman (unwillingly) in her late 30s. I know that so many women will be able to relate to her story and see themselves in her pain. My heart broke in these chapters and this heartache only worsened as the book raced towards its end.

12 Hours To Say I Love You is both a heartbreaking and heartwarming novel. Pippa and Steve are a couple who deserve the world and walking with them through such raw, dark emotions completely destroyed me. Celebrating the beauty and imperfections of true love, 12 Hours To Say I Love You is a funny, romantic book that you’ll need the tissues for.

I liked this. It was sweet but did feel the timeline was a bit disjointed. And was disappointed at the ending. Will still read more from them.

Thanks goes to net galley and the publishers for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A good read, lots of time hopping that you have to get used to - took a while to get into as well. A well written book but not my most favourite recent read.

I would like to thank the authors, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book, I enjoyed it, it was quite different to what I was expecting.

Such a heartwarming, emotional book. Really enjoyed it. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A lovely book which is so sad but uplifting at the same time. It tells the love story and how the same thing can be so different for the people involved. You are rooting for her to come round and be with the man who loves her and she loves.

Oh my gosh, this book nearly broke me. It was so romantic and funny and real and relatable. I love that it is written by both a male and female author. I was able to read this in two sittings as I wanted to know where the story of Pippa and Steve was headed. This was such an emotional read and I loved every page, there was such humor, poignancy and depth...but most of all there was love...the friendship kind, the family type and the couple variety.

This was such a nice surprise because I wanted to read this book based on the cover and blurb alone. That ending was amazing and I do hope it means there will be a book two, if not I will let my imagination decide what happens next. If you love a great romance story that is really so much more than that I highly recommend this read.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Whilst I initially found this difficult to get into, as I got further into the book, I became invested in the story of the two main characters. It was emotive and heartwarming.

Pippa is involved in a car crash and lies in a medically induced coma in an ICU. Steve stays by her bedside.

This is the story of Steve and Pippa, told from both their perspectives moving backwards and forwards in time. It’s their story of their friendship, burgeoning love, their marriage with its trials and tribulations.

This was an absolute joy to read. A book for anyone who is in love, has loved or been loved.

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Headline publishers for the ARC.

12 Hours To Say I Love You, Olivia Poulet & Laurence Dobiesz

Pippa lies in a coma after a traffic accident, fragments of her life in her mind. Steve sits by her bedside and recounts all the reasons he loves her, but is it too late?

Romance is rarely my genre but I dabble now and again. 12 Hours To Say I Love You is a story of flickering perspectives on a non-linear timeline. I didn’t love either lead in this, but they were realistic. People with faults, issues and serious levels of selfishness (Pippa i’m looking at you)
My favourite character dropped out halfway through, Oscar. I’d of liked Steve to have had friendships that were as meaningful and developed as Pippa’s.
I think we all knew where the end was leading but not how we were going to get there and a couple of moments in the middle came from nowhere which, in a genre often known for predictability was refreshing.

This was a really enjoyable read in a genre I am really starting to love.

Pippa is involved in a car crash and is currently in an induced coma. Her husband Steve is by her bedside, praying for her recovery and trying to work out how she ended up here.

Her prognosis is not good but the doctor tells Steve to talk to her, tell her why you love her and what she has to live for....so he does.....and over the next 12 hours we are presented with the story of how they met, how they fell in love and the hurdles they had to overcome to get where they are today.

Its a wonderful story and what I loved so much about it is that it wasn't a flashy, Hollywood story. It's a simple yet remarkable story that we can all relate to as we read through it. There are ups and downs, highs and lows, tears and laugh out loud moments but at its heart there are two ordinary people who love each other.

The beauty of the book is in the simplicity of the story and making it something we can all relate to. Its a story that will linger with you for a long time and I would not be surprised if there was a film/Netflix version of this in the future.

Thanks to Headline publishers and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a tender, emotional read. It was romantic as you would expect, yet not schmaltzy or unrealistic. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It showed the ups and downs of falling (and staying) in love. I liked how we heard from both perspectives throughout the book and both voices felt real and convincing. It was obviously heartbreaking reading about Steve watching the love of his life fight to survive, but the flashbacks to how they met and their lives prior to that point had moments of humour.

I found it to be a beautiful and thought-provoking book. I really enjoyed it.

Two people. One love story. Twelve hours to tell it...

Steve doesn't know what Pippa was doing when she got into the traffic accident that led to tonight. As his wife lies unconscious in the hospital, all he can hear is the beeping and clicking of the machines keeping her alive. Sitting by her side, he tells her all the reasons he loves her, all the reasons he needs her to come back and just praying she can hear him.

Pippa might not be able to hear him, but somewhere in her mind, fragments of memories start to play. She remembers meeting a stranger who slowly became her friend, her partner and the love of her life. She remembers getting in her car earlier that night … and that's it.

Can she find her way back to him?



"The past is a foreign land, Pippa. The future is an unknown quantity. All we have is now. This."



A beautiful, moving love story - poignant and so very real. As we trace a path back to the very start of their relationship - from uncertainty to infatuation to true love and everything in between. As we go over highs and lows, 12 hours to say I love you explores the beautiful, messy chaos that is falling in and staying in love.

Told through snapshots, little pockets of time that mark the key points in their story from both perspectives. The connection between them was so real that my heart broke for them with every page, and it felt as thought we've lived through their relationship alongside them.

A truly heartbreakingly stunning story about love and loss, fans of If I Stay will definitely love this story.

A beautifully written romance that had me rooting for the characters throughout. The perfect weekend read.

The story
Pippa and Steve are a married couple, and this beautiful story tells a tale of their love for each other. Pippa has been in a car accident in the middle of the night and is unconscious in ICU. Steve was working at a hotel for a photography job and has no idea why she wasn’t home. Moving backwards and forwards in time, their story is told from both of their perspectives. How they met, were friends, how Pippa eventually realised she loved Steve, their marriage, families and how things started unraveling. The suspense of whether Pippa will make it runs right the way through to the very last page. Shew.

My thoughts
This is a beautifully written story filled with the sure and steady love that Steve has for Pippa and Pippa has for Steve. Their relationship is described as how they just “fit” together and there is very little drama. I loved how they loved each other, through the highs and the lows. This pace is quite slow and at some points I was just hoping that we would find out what would happen to Pippa. It’s an emotional read, just like life can often be ❤️

This is such a beautiful love story. The book starts with Pippa fighting for her life, the doctor tells Steve to keep talking to her and he reminisces from when they first met. It was love at first sight for him. Although it quite heartbreaking as hes watching her from her hospital bed there are quite a lot of funny moments as he looks back. Such a great cast of characters. I was particularly drawn to his flatmate, such a funny guy. Great storyline and quite emotional but throughly entertaining.

Oh my gosh I cant even with this book, it was stunningly beautiful and emotive, I laughed, I cried and I felt totally heartbreaking. A beautiful story that both made me hopeful and emotionally destroyed at the same time. I loved it