I have aired for a contemporary love story from Rainbow Rowell ever since Eleanor and Park. While that one was a YA book, this was an adult contemporary fiction novel that warmed my heart so much. Shiloh and Cary were everything you want in a book in this genre. I felt every emotion they were feeling. They are two characters you root for and who stay with you. This book gave me all the feels.

As kids, Shiloh and Cary were inseparable. Just when it looked like they might become something more than friends, everything fell apart. Now, it’s been 14 years since they’d spoken, and Shiloh is living with her mom and two kids after her divorce. Running into Cary at an old friend’s wedding brings up all the memories she thought she’d gotten past.

For over a decade, Rainbow Rowell has gifted us with the most heartbreakingly believable and flawed characters, and she’s done it again with this book. This is the story of two best friends trying to navigate feelings larger than they understand and two adults trying to hold onto what’s important to them when it feels like things are falling apart.

Rainbow Rowell writes characters so unflinchingly honest that she makes you feel exposed by seeing your own secrets thoughts on her pages. I loved this story, and I think you will, too. Huge thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Ms. Rowell for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

This one was not for me. I have really enjoyed some of Ms. Rowell’s other work but Slow Dance didn’t hit for me. I do like a second chance romance, usually, and the premise was intriguing: Cary went off to the Navy, while Shiloh married, had two kids and then divorced. That’s a major second chance right there, and I was so sure that Ms. Rowell would make it sing. But.

The super short chapters, coupled with the flashbacks and the overall stiltedness of the dialogue and interactions, made the flow very choppy. It was a little hard to follow but not insurmountable. What was insurmountable for me was Shiloh. I really really disliked her. I could NOT understand what her draw was for Cary. From the beginning her eccentricities veered into behavior I just could not understand. The senior prom chapter was particularly painful. But she did that kind of stuff ALL the time, like she was just too good for that place, for those people. Why oh why did Cary gravitate towards her?! Their inability to hold a conversation or actually honestly communicate effectively whatsoever got really frustrating too. I foresee some real struggles for them as a couple living together and trying to do life with Shiloh’s “plethora” (to borrow her favorite word) of issues.

I did enjoy the setting. I don’t know much about Omaha but it seemed realistic. I loved that the characters don’t have much money, and their lives and struggles felt authentic. The rawness of being teenagers with all those emotions and awkwardness felt very real too. And Shiloh’s kids seemed pretty cute which, considering kids in a romance novel is a tough sell for me, was a big win.

Overall though Shiloh brought the whole book down for me, right from the start, and it never really got better. I wanted so much to love this but I just… did not.
⭐️⭐️

Shiloh, Cary, and Mikey have been best friends forever. Although everyone thinks Shiloh and Cary are a couple, they're really just best friends. This is a slow-build romance, taking place over 25 years or so. I loved the way Rowell started the book - we just jumped right into Shiloh and Cary's lives, and it was interesting from page one. But then the story slowed down and became a game of "will they/won't they," and that grew tiresome. Neither Shiloh nor Cary were any good at communicating, so a lot of their problems sprang from them not talking to each other in a straightforward manner. . Shiloh had a weird habit of touching and poking and prodding Cary constantly that got on his nerves - and mine. I skimmed some of the middle section of the book - nothing much happened but there was a lot of angst. There were also too many unnecessary sex scenes. Thank-you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Ms. Rowell for the ARC of this title.

I wanted to like this book, especially since I love reading about flawed main characters and second chances. However, I found Shiloh to be absolutely infuriating (the only part of her that I actually liked was when she would be with her kids). This book was extremely well-written with very lifelike characters and a great writing style, but because I didn't like Shiloh and I wasn't rooting for her and Cary to end up together, it was hard for me to get through this book. The part about 75% of the way through almost made me DNF just because I couldn't stand the way either of them went about any of it, and then I almost DNF-ed again at 85% (and I never DNF books, definitely not that far into them). I feel conflicted, because I liked the writing and the timeline and the atmosphere, but I just couldn't root for these two characters.

I sort of abandoned this one after a few chapters. It was a bit slow and not easy to get into. The teenage angst of the before chapters combined with the social anxiety of the current (or rather circa 2006) Shiloh was too much for me. When I returned to the book a few weeks later, it pulled me right in.
It is a very good love story about two people who don't always know how to communicate at all, let alone well. There is an undercurrent of mental health issues, not really articulated out in the open but with manifestations described in detail.
Rowell did a great job building Shiloh and Cary's world and giving time and space to their families and friends to stand alive from the page. The book has a good pace, all the little details make sense, and it is easy (and enjoyable) to root for the characters.
I loved it, honestly.

Thank you, NetGalley, Rainbow Rowell, and William Morrow, for the advanced reader's copy given in exchange for my honest review.

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

I don’t think Rainbow Rowell is capable of writing a bad book. She’s so good at making you feel emotionally attached to her characters. I really liked the non-linear story telling and the way that she told you the story from all different directions. I’m not typically one who will read a book with a main character in the military but I dealt with it for this book.
Actually getting together felt kind of sudden but the characters were at least aware of that.

4.5 stars, rounded up

I have loved every Rainbow Rowell book I've read and Slow Dance was no exception. It's a quiet book full of Rowell's trademark quirk and whimsy. I had no idea it was such a long book because I basically tore through it, completely vested in Cary and Shiloh's friends-to-lovers love story. However, I'm unsure when the book was supposed to have taken place. They were in high school in the early 90s which would have made them late 40s at the youngest if this was set in present day. Yet, they were written to be closer to early-mid 30s so I was very confused. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the read!

This is a tough book for me to review. On one hand, I really appreciate the authenticity of the incredibly flawed main characters. It was interesting to see a book about two heroes who have grown up in poverty and even as adults don't have their lives fully together yet. I think there was potential for a great story, but much like the title, the book was way too slow for me to enjoy. I felt like there wasn't much of a plot, but the idea of their entire relationship being a Slow Dance makes for a pretty genius title.

Rowell is such a master at capturing the small, ordinary moments in relationships beyond the big romantic gestures (though she also does those very well). There is a slice of life quality to her books that I appreciate.
The format felt very different from a traditional romance novel, which honestly worked for me because it meant skipping a third act break up full of forced misunderstanding. These characters had enough relationship hindrances to work through without adding unnecessary drama. A bulk of the misunderstands and hurt feelings came up early on in the plot, and from there it just felt like a slow, warm rebuilding of their former friendship. The book felt unhurried in one sense, but never boring. And there were times where I could sense the characters’ desire to make up for lost time. I thought it was a great balance. There was some angst and sadness but it felt natural considering the characters’ histories and their many regrets. It never felt like manufactured angst. The book as a whole didn’t feel sad because it was so apparent that after reconnecting these characters were determined to remain part of each other’s lives, no matter what that looked like.

Adult fiction can sometimes feel so heavy and serious. I usually end up needing to take a break from it and that's when you will find me in a YA or fantasy phase, just as a little palate cleanser. Slow Dance is everything I want in an adult fiction novel. It was just so pure and wholesome and I loved every single thing about it. It felt so hopeful even while each character is dealing with difficult and less than ideal family situations. Shiloh and Cary's friendship that eventually turns to more just genuinely made me happy to read about it.

I also really enjoyed Eleanor & Park (the 80s music and the references are so killer) and Attachments (so many misunderstandings about how the internet worked in the 90s), but Slow Dance has taken the top spot as my favorite Rainbow Rowell novel.

I have only ever read a few of Rainbow Rowell’s books, but I liked them; so I was excited to pick this one up. Who doesn’t love a good friends-to-lovers slow burn? Unfortunately, I am not sure this one was for me. The premise is good- obviously, it had me hooked. I also liked how we navigated timelines and main leads, though I would have loved more of Cary. It just…. dragged for me.

While frustrating at times, Shiloh and Cary were both interesting, relatable characters. I liked Cary, his love and frustration with his family, his care with the kids. He was very structured, as opposed to Shiloh who was basically chaotic good. I think my issue was that it both dragged, and rushed things. The arc of their past and present dragged, and yet we see Cary trying to put a ring on it less than a month after officially dating. I get it, they have been in love forever… but it struck me as discordant with the flow of the rest of the book- which was the slowest of slow burns. For me, it was just too slow. I would give it two stars.

⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
As far as adult content, there is language, light sexual content and verbal/ emotional abuse (familial, and slight). I would say this one is geared toward adults, but appropriate for young adults as well.


I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and William Morrow publishing in exchange for an honest review. My thanks!

Shiloh and Cary became friends in seventh grade. This book follows the ups and downs of their relationship. From being a trio of best friends with their friend Mikey. To fourteen years of not talking, to finally seeing each other again at Mikey's wedding. With past and present chapters, we follow the evolution of their relationship in discovering what the future will hold for them.

The alternating timelines between teenagers to adults was crafted quite brilliantly. The more I read, the more I ached for Shiloh and Carey to be together. There was something so special about them being best friends. A deep connection that felt like it was meant to last a lifetime. I absolutely loved their quick witted dialogue. There was a pull between them and I loved feeling it even back when they were in high school. Seeing each other all those years later gave me "the one who got away" vibes.

Both Shiloh and Cary had obstacles that had me constantly wondering if they would ever be together. They had to work past insecurities and miscommunication to finally be able to vocalize what they felt and wanted. I loved being on this journey with them.

4.5 stars

I’m usually a big fan of Rainbow Rowell and her writing, but while there was a lot I enjoyed here, this wasn’t my favorite from her.

I liked how the story was structured with various timelines (past and present) different POVs and some correspondence. I liked the 2000s setting, including references to the fashion and technology of that era. I spent a lot of my teenage years in Omaha during that time in many of the areas mentioned in the book so that was fun to read. Also, there was some heart-wrenching longing that I could really feel and that was done quite well.

On the downside, the military elements of the story were completely uninteresting to me, but that is just my opinion, others may thoroughly enjoy reading about being deployed in a romance. I also found Shiloh’s character exceedingly difficult to connect with for most of the story.

Overall, this is not a bad book, it’s just I’ve come to expect so much more from Rainbow Rowell. It’s partly my fault, as well, because I went into this expecting Eleanor & Park, Part 2. This was not that.


Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Rainbow Rowell writes some of the best YA novels I've read. She did not miss the mark on the first adult novel of hers I've read. Her books, whether YA or adult, are written so deeply. The relationships are so real. I have never NOT loved an RR novel and this one was no exception.

It has been eleven years since Eleanor and Park rocketed onto the YA scene as the It Book. Rainbow Rowell has written several books since then, but this one is the same spirit animal as Eleanor and Park, and I am here for it.

Shiloh and Cary were two of a three best friend trio in Omaha. Fifteen years later they have all gone their own ways and lost touch. Cary and Shiloh reconnect at Mikey's wedding and slowly become important in each other's lives again. Shiloh is a single mom, trying to make ends meet and not talk bad about her ex-husband with whom she shares joint custody of her young children. Cary went off to the Navy and is often moved and deployed to sea for lengths of time. His family is still in Omaha, and he is trying to care for them from a distance.

This book felt like Eleanor and Park grown up. There was still the angst, but it was more adult and mature. This is a slow burn novel about two people who are important to each other and are constantly redefining that. The writing is excellent and even though it is a slower paced book, you just want to be with Shiloh and Cary along the way. This is more literary fiction than rom com but it's not so serious and is just a finely written book about people doing the best they can.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

Thank you so much @harpercollinsca for the free book for an honest review.

I have loved Rainbow Rowell since I was a teenager and I was eager to read her new adult novel.

This book was phenomenal. I loved every second of it.

The dialogue was funny, unique and strongly heartbreaking.

I fell in love with Cary and Shiloh. Their love story was really like a slow dance. They fell in love when they were teenagers and best friends.

But life and timing weren't on their side.

I loved how the author played with time and flashback. It was so well done. We can see them grow in maturity and we fully understand each choice they make.

It was perfectly paced and I know I'll be reading this again and again.

If you love :

✨ Friends to Lovers ;
✨ Dual POV ;
✨ Flawed relatable characters ;
✨ Single Mother ;
✨ Navy MMC ;
✨ Romance.

I've been a fan of Rainbow Rowell for YEARS - ever since reading Eleanor & Park. Slow Dance not only reminded me of why I love her writing so much, but was also just what I needed right now. Shiloh and Cary are clearly meant to be together, but yet, they aren't. Since high school, they've been happy being friends. That's just who they are. However, after 14 years, a marriage (and divorce), and multiple deployments in the Navy, Shiloh and Cary have finally reconnected - and something is different. There's tension between the two and Shiloh does not know what to think about the situation. She is not ready to let someone be *that* close to her again. Even after all these years, the universe is still pushing them to be together. Will they try to mess with fate or will they finally realize the person they were truly in love with has been in front of them all along?

I LOVED this story. The only reason why it didn't get a 5 was because the ending felt rushed and left me wanting more. However, the story was SO cute and reminded me a lot of my husband and I. I instantly connected to Shiloh and was rooting for her happiness throughout the book - whether she ended up with Cary or not. Rainbow Rowell captured what its like to be an adult finding their way back to their true love - and how sometimes life has other plans. I highly recommend this to anyone who loved Rainbow Rowell's work as a teen/young adult or who has had similar experiences to Shiloh and Cary.

This was a veeerrryyy slow dance til the end, but I really enjoyed the flashbacks to the 90s and 2000s. Great characters, just wish the pacing was a little quicker.

Happy Pub Day to one of my favorites of the year!

I have been a long time @rainbowrowell fan. Fangril, Elanor & Park, and Attachments have always been on any list of books I tell others to read and now Slow Dance is definitely on that list!

Rowell can do no wrong in my eyes. Her characters are always so flushed out, her writing is always so descriptive of emotions and feelings that I often and so emotional (in a good way) when I am reading, and I always love her endings.

This story had short chapters that really worked for me. I also was so invested in Cary and Shiloh’s story and dynamic. Also Shiloh’s kids, especially Juniper, really had my heart. Love that name for a kid.

I did another immersive read with this one and really enjoyed the narration by Rebecca Lowman. She had more of a dry delivery which is exactly how I pictured Shiloh’s character.

If you’re a fan of slower moving character driven stories with heart and deeply vulnerable characters, grab this one