Slow Dance is a second chance adult contemporary story following two friends as they become something more and then fall apart. Years later they meet again at a friend's wedding they begin to wonder if maybe they can try again. If maybe the last time just wasn't the right time.

I am honestly struggling to read this book.

It's a slow burn but the chapters are quick to devour. The side characters engage the reader and draw you in...but I struggle with the main couple. I felt their struggle but the personalities didn't always mesh.

There is a movement between the past and present through the chapters that helped us better understand the years of history the characters have but it could be disorienting at times.

Overall, I enjoyed moments of this book but the times in between meant I often would set this book down and forget about it. I just don't think it was my cup of tea.

Thank you William Morrow for this arc. I truly appreciate it!

Lifelong platonic relationships are cool!

I felt like this lacked the actual romantic chemistry that I needed. As a second chance, childhood friends to lovers romance I was really missing the angst.

That being said, I always love Rowell's writing and this did give me a little bit of grown up Eleanor & Park vibes. I would pitch this as an adult novel for YA lovers.

I enjoyed this, but it was way too much of a slow burn and I understand that the title is slow dance, but sometimes I’m like you just wrote a general fiction book that had some romance in it

Shiloh and Cary haven't seen each other in 14 years when they reconnect at their mutual best friend Mikey's wedding. Shiloh is divorced with two kids and Cary has made a career in the navy. Told in the present (2006) and before (1991), this isn't a normal romance. These characters have history both shared and separate and lives that are complicated. I've always loved Rainbow Rowell's writing and this is no exception. It did move a little too slow for me (although the title made it pretty clear it would lol), but I still really enjoyed this. It is so easy to get invested in their lives and hope they can work it out.

Title: Slow Dance
Author: Rainbow Powell
Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
Publisher: HarperAudio
Length: Approximately 11 hours and 31 minutes
Source: Audiobook Purchased from Audible

Do you like to dance? My husband and I enjoy dancing, although we don’t get to do it too often with our busy kids’ schedules.
Shiloh and Cary were best friends in high school and everyone around them expected them to get together. Life did not work out that way and Shiloh went off to college while Cary shipped off to the Navy. Over the years, the two keep passing back into each other’s life. Is there a good time for a second chance at romance?

My thoughts on this novel:
• This was the February pick for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the meeting due to work commitments.

• I had a really hard time with this book. The plot move very slowly, and I had a hard time connecting with the characters or even liking them as people.

• I read about 100 pages of the novel and then I switched to the audiobook version which worked better for me.

• This novel had lots and lots and lots of flashbacks. I am usually a fan of flashbacks, but there were just too many through too many time periods in this one to keep me enjoying the story.

• This was a second chance romance which is one of my favorite tropes. I did like that it showed a different type of couple with a divorced mother of two living with her mother and a single military man trying to take care of his mother and family as well.

• This was a steamy romance, although most of the steam was the end of the novel.

Overall, Slow Dance by Rainbow Powell was too slow of a dance of a novel for me. I read it through to the end, but really didn’t enjoy the characters or story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell! This really showed how skilled she is as a writer, while not my favorite romance, I appreciate the vantage point she took in an adult relationship!

Rainbow Rowell has had my heart for over a decade now. I had a lot of fun with this book, It was slow in the right way. I felt like I was transported into the lives of the characters. I was with them and spent my days with them.

I was rooting for the live story the entire book. How much the characters changed and it being so realistic to me and other people. Shiloh and Cary have my heart and I appreciate them so much.

I’m pretty sure Rainbow Rowell sprinkles a little bit of magic in her books.

Slow Dance transported me back to my final days of college when I read her entire catalog (up until that point) and thought, This is what being an adult will be like. Reminiscing. Yearning. Changing but staying the same.

I can’t stop thinking about it.

I am normally a huge lover of Rainbow Rowell and this was a highly anticipated read for me! Unfortunately, I feel like it fell a bit flat. The characters felt two dimensional, the movement of the narrative was too slow and I often thought "What am I even reading right now?"
There are a lot of people who will love this slower-paced more introspective story from Rowell, but it unfortunately just wasn't for me.

As a long time reader of Rainbow Rowell's books, this was definitely ony my list. As per usual, her books never miss. Having read her books for over a decade, I've been able to see myself in her characters, both young and (forgive me, because 30s isn't old) older. Her writing has a way of immersing you in the story, where you can truly see others and even yourself within the story, making it a truly immersive read.

This was such a comfortable read. We are automatically placed into the context of the relationship between FMC, Shiloh and her one-that-got-away, Carey. The two start off as best friends - 2/3 of a trio with their friend Mikey, who's second wedding brings the crew back together 14 years after Carey and Shiloh had last seen each other. The story bounces between the past and the present so we aren't confused. There's no anxiety-inducing will they/won't they, it's more like a "when will they"... Shiloh and Carey give in to their feelings for one another before Carey gets into the throes of his Naval career and Shiloh embarks on her own path to adulthood and motherhood. This is a second-chance romance that doesn't dwell on what could have been had the choice been made sooner and clearer, but explores what it's like for first loves to use old feelings for a new start. Overall, and enjoyable read with very little "drama". I would recommend if you a need a fresh palate cleanser.!

I really used to love Rainbow’s YA books but I am sad this adult one didn’t work for me. I still like her writing style, but it felt a bit disjointed. I didn’t finish it.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell has the heart and charm you’d expect from her writing, but it didn’t fully pull me in the way I’d hoped. The characters are likable, and there are some beautifully written moments, but the story itself felt a little slow (no pun intended) and didn’t have the emotional depth I was expecting.

That said, Rowell’s signature dialogue and warmth are still here, and there’s a cozy, nostalgic feel to the book that makes it an easy read. It’s enjoyable, but not as memorable as some of her other works. If you’re a fan of her writing style, you’ll probably still have a good time with it!

This was my first Rainbow Rowell and I was initially very captivated by her writing and character dynamics. I was all-in on the first third of this book and found myself very invested in the relationship between Shiloh and Cary, both past and present. Unfortunately, the timeline jumps really bogged down the latter part of this book for me. There were several times I had no idea where we were in Shiloh and Cary's lives and couldn't wrap my head around what info they knew, what had already happened, where they were in their relationship and with others in their lives. I also felt like Cary is a bit underdeveloped compared to Shiloh, who I honestly could have used a little bit less of (she's a complex and interesting character, but she is a LOT). Some of the passages were very moving and I'm overall impressed with Rowell's writing. I stand by what I've said before that second chance romance is one of the most difficult tropes to write, and this one gets a lot of the emotions right despite its logistical flaws.

I liked the last part of the book. The first part, when the characters were fumbling with their feelings for each other, was painful, but it was beautiful once they understood that they wanted to be together.

Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors so when I saw the opportunity to read one of her books early I jumped at the opportunity. Rowell is a master when it comes to intellectual romance. Her greatest gift is bringing the readers inside the minds of her characters and making you like them as a person even if the traits the characters have themselves is not ones you like. An enthralling read.

"I want the rest of your life to be a bright gold streak."

Re-found love seems to be a trend for me over the last year and I'm not upset about it! Though this book was not a favorite, it had a whole lot of love inside its pages. A whole lot to find to love about it as well. It's just two kids who fell in love before they knew what that meant, two friends who lose everything along the way and have no idea how to find it again. Two grown ups who just can't seem to grasp what the world is like without the other.

Two people who had to end up together, and somehow... don't?

I love going back to the source and figuring out, "Where do I go from here?" and this book really made that point. Sometimes, you go back. Sometimes, you change everything and go forward.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so sweet and felt so real! I loved how the story was laid out with chapters taking place in the past and alongside chapters in the present as it added so many layers to Shilo and Cary’s love story. I could not wait for them to become a couple and to realize their feeling a for each other. This was such a heartfelt and real romance.

DNF @ 34%

This breaks my heart, being such a huge fan of Rowell's, but I had so many issues with Slow Dance.

1. I could not stand the immaturity of the main character. Her high school POV and her adult POV read exactly the same. There is zero growth, honestly, I'm tempted to say she got worse.
2. Do these two even like each other? I mean seriously, we're supposed to be feeling terrible about all these "missed opportunities" as to why they never got together even though they love each other so much but I never saw it. It should've happened by 34%.
3. I just recently finished Scattered Showers: Stories and I realized within those stories (and now this one) that Rainbow's main characters all read so similar. Too similar.
4. I can't stand the miscommunication trope, and this was absolutely it with a heavy dose of self-sabotaging.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC of Slow Dance! Slow Dance was so incredibly sweet. I still think about Shiloh and Cary months later after reading it. The story was honestly a bit slow...but the sweetness prevailed for me.