Eight Perfect Hours
Author, Lia Louis
Pub date: 9.28.21

Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the e- arc of this book! I am so grateful.

While not exactly a holiday book, this novel does begin during a blizzard one evening in January that sets the stage for Noelle and Sam.

Noelle is on her way home from a college reunion that ended early when the roads close down due to the severity of the winter storm. So, Noelle finds herself stranded on the highway without a phone charger.

In the middle of an emotional moment, she gets a knock on her window from Sam, who says hello and offers her his phone charger. The two strangers spend 'eight perfect hours' together and then when the roads clear and are safe to drive again, they say goodbye without exchanging numbers.

Serendipitously, the two keep running into each other...

An intricately woven romantic story about fate and second chances.

Eight Perfect Hours was a fast- paced and quick seasonal read that I thoroughly welcomed and loved. I absolutely recommend!

Noelle Butterby is returning home from her school reunion when she faces stand still traffic in blizzard conditions. Alone in the cold with her phone losing power and a broken charger, panic sets in. A knock at the window both surprises and startles her. The handsome American named Sam offers her assistance with both her phone and her anxiety. Grateful for the company but nervous with this very handsome stranger, the next eight hours quickly pass. Noelle is genuinely disappointed when they must finally part. Sam returning to the airport and his journey back to Portland and she must get home to her mother who is not well and completely dependent on Noelle’s care. Repeatedly meeting Sam again and again over the next few months cannot be an accident. Their chemistry is unmistakable. Noelle decides fate must be sending this sexy, kind man into her life for a reason and she is determined to follow her heart no matter the consequences. Two strangers and one unexpected evening can change the course of everyones lives … if you let it. Sweet, romantic comedy with quirky lovable characters. Dragged a tiny bit for me but enjoyed as one of my snowy holiday reads.

Have you ever read a book expecting one thing, but coming out with something different? That’s sort of how I felt after finishing Eight Perfect Hours.

If I’m being honest, part of the problem is me. See, I rarely read a book synopsis in its entirety. I just don’t like when a synopsis gives too much away. I’m the same with movie trailers, (although at one time I was obsessed with them). At any rate, I’m saying this now because going in, I thought this was a Christmas book, but it’s really not. However, it is a good holiday-ish read in the same warm and fuzzy vein a Hallmark Christmas movie might give you.

In this story, Noelle and Sam meet one snowy March while stuck in a traffic jam due to a storm. Nicole has a dying phone and an ailing mother. Sam has a comfortable car and a working charger. The two strike up a conversation and a connection, but part ways without keeping in touch.

But as the months pass, Noelle and Sam keep running into each other. Noelle wonders if it’s fate, but Sam seems content with keeping her at arm’s length since he’s in a relationship of sorts. At the same time, Noelle reconnects with her old flame, Ed. Despite all of this, Noelle and Sam keep serendipitously (I love this word) finding their way back to each other. This begs the question- are some things really just meant to be?

Even though this isn’t technically a holiday read, this is a great book to give you all the feels that love to be stirred up around the holiday season. However, it was a bit slow for me in parts and I didn’t think the title was particularly fitting. Yes, I know Eight Perfect Hours references their initial perfect meeting, I just felt that the book was so much more than that and yet somehow also less, all at the same time.

This cozy, slow burn romance was just the right remedy for a cold, stressful December. I don't believe in kismet, but in every really good love story there seems to be at least some serendipity, and this one was chock-full. I enjoyed the fleshed out characters who were dealing with grief and mental health and yet chose to grow.

“‘That sounds super tough. Always having to be . . . the shoulders.’ Yes. The shoulders. I’ve never heard it put like that before.” 👏🏻 For all of my strong peeps that carry a heavy load within their families…this is for us. ❣️

It all starts with a time capsule and a blizzard. This is a super sweet story of a lost young woman trying to do what is right for her debilitated mother while also creating a life for herself. Pulled between what she has always thought she wanted and what is staring her right in the face, Noelle struggles to find balance. She let Ed, the love of her life, go in favor of caring for her mother. Fast forward a few years and Ed is back and a full fledged doctor. He is everything she has always wanted…right?

But then there is Sam, the man who gave her a charger when her phone died in a blizzard and then spent one perfect evening with her. The man that seems to just be everywhere Noelle is. He sees her, both literally and figuratively. Fate seems to be placing them in each other’s paths with almost alarming frequency.

Noelle is such a sweet character. I am sure we can all relate to having to choose what we want vs what is right at some point in our lives. And then when fate slides in and makes us question everything we thought we knew? Sometimes, we just have to trust that what is meant to be will be. 💞

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eight Perfect Hours was not as much the holiday read that I assumed it would be, but more about some very heavy serious issues. Noelle gets stuck on the highway during the storm of the century and meets Sam who is in the car next to her. They spend the next 8 hours together only to be separated when the highway opens back up again. The story follows the two of them as their paths collide over and over again. The beginning of the book had me confused as characters were thrown around with not a lot of explanation of who they were. The addition of suicide, depression and multiple deaths negated the lighthearted holiday feeling of the book. It was good, but not exactly what I had hoped for. 3.5 stars. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.

Eight Perfect Hours is about Noelle, who is stuck with a kind stranger named Sam for hours during a storm that completely shuts down traffic. Afterwards, she can’t stop thinking of him.
This book is also about Noelle and her mother’s separate mental health struggles, pursuing your dreams, and coming into who you want to be…all while processing grief.
I ended up caring a lot about Noelle, but personally didn’t find the initial eight hours together to be filled with any lasting chemistry.
I grew to really like the characters the story developed.

This book was not for me. I think its the trope of fate/serendipity that I dislike. For whatever reason I just don't buy into it and I felt the author relied on that instead of chemistry between the two characters. For me, it not liking this was just a matter of personal preference!

This book while a romance, definitely deals with some heavy issues: suicide, Post Pardum Depression, depression and feeling lost. Noelle has always been the good girl, the stable kid but she’s put her life on hold for everyone else. Sam is stuck too but in a different way, so when their lives collide it sets them both on different paths.

I really enjoyed this even though it was a little day different than I thought.

Two strangers, a blizzard, an undeniable connection and serendipitous twists of fate that can’t be ignored. ⁣
⁣
𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 was definitely low on the holiday feel/vibe but overall, I enjoyed this tale of serendipity, fate and love. There are a lot of emotional elements touched on in this book including death/loss, mental health, suicide and problematic familial relationships. It certainly was not a feel good read but Lia Louis always writes with compassion and heart and that definitely comes through in her books. ⁣
⁣
I listened to this one and the narration was well done. It was heartfelt, emotional, filled with kismet and impossible not to be touched by this story.

THIS BOOK😭 it has a slight catfish of a cover since it is not at ALL a Christmas book 😂 but it’s ok because the story is amazing. I love the red thread theory and that there are people out there that we’re connected to and no matter how many twists and turns the thread won’t break and will always bring each other back to one another.

This story was so well thought out and intricate and the end 😭 the plot twist ugh 😭 so good!

And just like that Lia Louis has become an auto-buy author for me. I absolutely adored Dear Emmie Blue and this one was a joy to read too.

Things I loved:
-the themes of fate and “meant to be” - I thought this was so well done and really made me think
-exploring grief and the way that people grieve differently
-I just found the entire plot just so unique
-Sam and Noelle were such great realistic, but flawed characters - my favourite kind!

My favorite romance novel of 2020 was Dear Emmie Blue, so of course, I wanted to read Eight Perfect Hours.

The book starts with our heroine, Noelle Butterby, feeling down after attending her class reunion where the items of the time capsule were retrieved. She was able to get her friend Daisy's letter but not the camera/film. She also saw her ex-boyfriend, Ed who tried to avoid contact with her. Now, she is stuck in the motorway with hundreds of cars and a blizzard is upon them. She has a dead cell phone and she knows her mother is probably freaking out.

Then, someone knocks on her window. The stranger, Sam Atwood, has been watching her and he is asking if she needs help. Noelle after some hesitance agrees to move to his car to charge her cellphone. After spending eight perfect hours together, they each go their own way without exchanging their contact info.

Noelle feels like her life is at a standstill. She would like to be a florist but she cleans houses instead. After the passing of her good friend, she went into a depression and after her mother suffered a stroke, her mother developed agoraphobia and doesn't like to be alone, so Noelle has to stay with her and can't make any plans. She does have a brother but he is an aspiring artist and he is never home. She does have the emotional support of her good friend, although she feels like her friend is hiding something. Then Ed is back in town. It would be so easy to get back together but she keeps on meeting Sam in the most unexpected ways!!

I blame Sam for me not loving this book. After their initial encounter, Sam didn't give me the vibe, he was head over heels for Noelle. He was for the most part trying to avoid her. He didn't want to believe in fate. I felt bad for Noelle who seemed to have fallen hard.

Overall, Eight Perfect Hours was a pleasant experience. I just wished I had connected with Sam better.

Would I read Lia Louis's next book? You better believe it!!

Cliffhanger: No

3/5 Fangs

A complimentary copy was provided by Atria/Emily Bestler Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a cute winter read! It’s nice to think that there is someone out there that you are meant to be with. Noelle & Sam keep “accidentally” running into each other. The first time was on a motorway in England when they are both stuck in standstill traffic during an out of ordinary blizzard. They end up spending 8 hours together talking before traffic moves on and they say goodbye without exchanging contact information.

What I really enjoyed though, were the side characters. Noelle’s Mum & brother, Noelle’s best friend & husband, Ian (who’s been crushing on her Mum for years) and Sam’s Dad - Frank.

This book is perfect for anyone who wants a happy, easy read about finding the right person & making personal dreams come true.

Thanks to @Netgalley and @atriabooks for my ebook! All thoughts are my own.

Noelle Butterby is stuck on the highway with other motorists during a huge snowstorm. She finally avails herself upon the kindness of American Sam Attwood and uses his car charger for his phone, since her mum is a stroke survivor and needs to know why Noelle is late. They spend many fun hours together, but part as the storm abates. Fate intervenes and there is another meeting at the hospital, and when Noelle works up the courage to pass on her mobile number, she is crushed when she finds it discarded. Fate continues to set the pace of the story, which is sort of a heavy issue rom com. The characters are well done and I wound up enjoying the story a lot.

I really wanted to like this book, but it ended up being a DNF at about 50% for me. The book started out strong with the two MC's stranded together in a snow storm, but the story began to meander quite a bit and I found myself not caring what happened to any of the characters. I think there was too much going on--too many side-stories that weren't important to the plot--and not enough time spent developing the romance. However, I really loved this author's first book and I would still give her books another shot in the future.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed this sweet, serendipitous, and sexy story, which all started with a snowstorm.

Noelle and Sam spend a night together after their journeys are disrupted by snow. And here starts a connection which we see slowly unfold and turn into a most unexpected source. Whilst the chances that they should meet are really small, I subscribe to the idea that life is stranger than fiction, and this book skirts along the limits in a really clever way.

It is impossible not to want the two of them to find a way to be together, even if they live completely different lives.

A lovely read, thank you, Lia Louis!

This is a sweet book with a fun premise, but for some reason, I had a really tough time getting into it? It's not a Christmas book, so I don't know why it's labeled as such. It does skip around the timeline a bit, and the majority of the story doesn't take place in that snowy landscape that the cover depicts. I also had a hard time seeing into the love interest's character -- he's pretty closed-off, even as I'm being told by the female MC that she feels like she knows him/he knows her better than anyone, ever?? There was a lot of this story that I enjoyed thoroughly (some of the little British quips and small details brought such an element of realism to the characters), and yet there was more that I was left underwhelmed by, or straight-up just didn't buy into it. I liked the twists about "fate" and all that, but it took a long time to get there. The character arc of the MC, Noelle, was well-done, but I would have liked to have maybe seen this story from both her POV as well as the male POV. I think that's what this story lacked for me -- because I just couldn't get to know Sam, and that was a bummer!

Little insights for my fellow Prudies(TM):
-No sex, though there are some super-vague references
-Way more profanity than I expected -- plenty of F-bombs etc.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher of this book for an early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Eight Perfect Hours follows Noelle as she gets trapped in a snowstorm on the highway home from her old college and meets Sam. They share eight perfect hours riding out the storm together and then go their separate ways. Fate, of course, brought them together for a reason, and you'll have to read more to find out what that is!

I thought this was a great book. A good holiday read without being based around the holidays. By that I mean it was in-depth enough to really fall in love with the main characters, while also being a happy feel-good book. It struck a good balance for me. Definitely recommend if you're looking for something happy, but not over the top cheesy this holiday season.

Eight Perfect Hours is Lia Louis' sophomore novel. This contemporary romance novel explores friendship, destiny/fate, second changes, and new beginnings. The author addresses some heavy subjects such as death of a close friend, mental health, infidelity, strained family relationships, and suicide. Overall, I had mixed feelings about this book. Even though it was a nice listen, I still preferred Dear Emmie Blue over Eight Perfect Hours. The storyline was cute, however, it was a bit too cheesy and unbelievable for me. I had a difficult time believing this insta-love and 'great love' between Noelle and Sam when they barely spend time with each other. A few of the supporting characters are highly unlikable which I didn't mind, but I felt that all the characters needed to be fleshed out more. The one aspect I really liked about this novel was how the author discusses the loss of a best friend and strained familial relationships. If you love fate/destiny type romance novels, Eight Perfect Hours may be up your alley.