Reviewing Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis
Eight Perfect Hours kept me engrossed the entire time I was reading it. And if life didn’t get in the way, I may have read it in one sitting and I’m not even a fast reader at all.
Although it’s not a holiday book as I initially thought it would be, this emotional page-turner was not disappointing. This story made me tear up, smile and gave me all the “feels”; resulting in me having a bad case of a book hangover.
Noelle’s inner conflicting feelings of wanting to branch out and experience new things, but also feeling obligated in assisting her mother as she was struggling with mental health issues was heartbreaking. It’s easy to say she was holding herself back but I completely understand how she wanted to be there to take care of the person who took care of her when she was going through her own troubles.
The flashbacks blended so well with the present day story and I loved that Louis included Charlie’s story, which, to me, enhanced the book. Charlie and Theo were such a wonderfully imperfect couple and it was a joy to read about them.
Overall, this was a beautiful story that will have me remembering it for a long time.
Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for the advanced reading copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Book Description
On a snowy evening in March, 30-something Noelle Butterby is on her way back from an event at her old college when disaster strikes. With a blizzard closing off roads, she finds herself stranded, alone in her car, without food, drink, or a working charger for her phone. All seems lost until Sam Attwood, a handsome American stranger also trapped in a nearby car, knocks on her window and offers assistance. What follows is eight perfect hours together, until morning arrives and the roads finally clear.
The two strangers part, positive they’ll never see each other again, but fate, it seems, has a different plan. As the two keep serendipitously bumping into one another, they begin to realize that perhaps there truly is no such thing as coincidence. With plenty of charming twists and turns and Lia Louis’s “bold, standout voice” (Gillian McAllister, author of The Good Sister), Eight Perfect Hours is a gorgeously crafted novel that will make you believe in the power of fate.