I love when Rowell sticks with pure realistic fiction. Slow Dance has characters who were misfits/quirky in high school who are now in their 30's. I was fully invested in the story line and it brought back memories of some of the things I did in high school.

A lot of times when I'm in the middle of reading a book, I try to figure out the meaning of the title. Sometimes I find that the title NEVER actually fits the story. This title definitely fits! This is a love story about Casey and Shiloh who started out as best friends who are too young to realize what love is. They reconnect 14 years later and realize that they have both always had more than platonic feelings for one another. They "slow dance" their way back into each other's lives and fall in love.

After high school, Shiloh went to college for theater, met her future husband and then came home to Omaha, Nebraska. She is divorced with two children and living with her mother when she reconnects with Carey at their other best friend Mikey's wedding. Carey went into the Navy right after high school and becomes career military advancing in the ranks. He's never been married and appears to be a confirmed bachelor. He's got his own issues as he tries to help his ailing mother and deal with his other family members. They've both got a lot of baggage and issues with relationships but that's what gives the story substance. Mikey and Shiloh's mother and her kids and Carey's mother were my favorite characters because Casey and Shiloh were actually both a little annoying at times. All Shiloh's poking and prodding and pinching of Carey was super annoying and, in my opinion, verged on being abusive. Carey's obsession with Shiloh's lower teeth was just plain weird! However, I couldn't help rooting for them to end up together which is ultimately what makes for a good romance.

Many thanks to William Morrow, Rainbow Rowell and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. The publication date is set for July 23, 2024. Happy reading!

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell is a beautiful, nostalgic journey through time, love, and second chances. From the moment I read the first page, I was hooked by the poignant, relatable story of Shiloh and Cary. Their journey from high school best friends to estranged adults and, finally, to reunited souls is both heart-wrenching and heartwarming. Rainbow Rowell has once again captured the essence of young love that never really fades, even when life takes unexpected turns. The novel's pacing mirrors the title—it's a slow, deliberate build-up that allows readers to savor every moment, every flashback, and every rekindled emotion. The chemistry between Shiloh and Cary is palpable, making their reconnection all the more satisfying.

One of the strengths of Slow Dance is its realistic portrayal of life’s messiness. Shiloh’s journey as a single mother returning to her childhood home, and Cary’s life in the Navy, illustrate how dreams evolve and how people grow. The obstacles they face, both separately and together, feel genuine and relatable, making their eventual reunion feel earned and deeply moving. The novel’s structure, alternating between past and present, enriches the narrative, giving readers a full picture of Shiloh and Cary’s history and the depth of their bond. The flashbacks are a treasure trove of memories, each one adding layers to their characters and their relationship. However, some might find the slow burn a bit too slow at times, longing for quicker resolutions. But for those who enjoy a gradual, well-developed love story, Slow Dance delivers in spades. It’s a testament to the idea that true love is worth waiting for, and sometimes, life’s timing, no matter how imperfect, is exactly what’s needed for a perfect story.

Overall, Slow Dance is a delightful read that will resonate with anyone who has ever wondered about the one who got away. It’s a story of friendship, love, and the unyielding hope that it’s never too late to find your way back to the start.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for granting me access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell--this new book releases on July 23. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance digital copy. Shiloh and Cary were high school best friends. The kind of best friends that caused everyone to think they were dating. Then they graduated, drifted apart, and eventually reconnected at another friend's wedding. This is a romance novel about 2 people who fell in love when they were too young and scared to know it or admit it to themselves. It is about 2 adults finding their way back to each other in spite of circumstances and fears. It felt realistic to me where many romance novels do not.

*Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC and to LibroFM for the gifted ALC*

It's in the title - this book is SLOW. You get the slowest of burns as Shiloh and Cary yo-yo between friendship, love, and complete isolation. It was interesting seeing the flashbacks, especially since they have such chemistry in the present. While not exactly a romance by modern standards, it is definitely a love story. This is one of those kinds of love that transcends time and space, where you can truly press pause on your feelings for 10 years and then be right back in the thick of it. Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors of this type of story.

This is a friends to lovers saga that really makes you wait for it again and again, but it's so worthwhile at the end. I ship it, I ship it so hard.

Sometimes when it's the right person, the wrong time, you have to make it the right time despite all odds. This is a story about Shiloh and Cary and how they've always loved each other, but there have always been obstacles. After reconnecting in their 30s, they finally decide to fight the challenges and be together. Watching these two characters realize that while there are hurdles, they aren't insurmountable was very sweet. Their lives are messy and realistic and it feels like watching two friends realize that life will never have the perfect time to do something, you have to be willing to take the leap and make it perfect yourself.

This book was kind of depressing? I think it was supposed to be depressing, but while I felt a connection to the characters to some extent, I never really cared what happened to any of them.

Rowell's latest harnesses the power of nostalgia as Shiloh and Cary find each other again after 14 years. The characters are deftly written and Omaha serves a lovingly crafted backdrop to this exploration of learning who someone is again after you last knew them in your youth. A must-read for fans of Rowell's work and those who have seen time pass for themselves as well.

Slow Dance is a childhood friends-to-lovers, second chance love story, which is usually my vibe, but I just couldn’t get into it as I had hoped. There were several issues I had with the book. Part of the problem was that Rowell chose to constantly switch timelines, in no particular chronological order, which was made worse by the fact that she didn’t date the chapters, but rather used the word “before” for anytime prior to the present (which was randomly set in 2006). So, it could be when Shiloh and Cary were pre-teens or high schoolers or young adults or even just a month or so earlier than the previous chapter. Another problem was when they’d email each other, there was no clear indication (using different fonts or their names) whose words were whose. There were also a number of short, random chapters that gave some insight into their childhoods or the lives during the fourteen years they were apart, but they disrupted the flow of the narrative. I also didn’t feel there was much chemistry between Shiloh and Cary. I got the sense she is demisexual, and never had an interest in the act with her ex-husband but did with Cary. Even so, the intimate scenes were awkward to read.

On the plus side, I did enjoy their friendship and Shiloh’s precocious children. It was also interesting to read a romance where the main characters weren’t gorgeous human specimens. Shiloh is a hirsute Amazon and Cary, although he grew into his looks, is covered in moles and suffers with eczema. Overall, this is a romance that’s very realistic and not the kind that sweeps you away with swoon-worthy characters, steamy scenes, and grand gestures. It was enough to keep my attention but not a book I’d read again.

I have always been a Rainbow Rowell girl. I grew up reading (and rereading) 'Fangirl' like my life depended on it. I connected with 'Eleanor and Park' on a molecular level, I will never not love Rainbow Rowell. But it has been YEARS since I have read one of her stories. I am so grateful to have found my way back.

There is something about this story that has me reminiscent for a life I've never lived, missing people I have never met (and who do not exist). This story is beautiful and perfect and everything I needed it to be.

After 14 years a part, high school best friends Cary and Shiloh are reunited during the wedding of the third part of their high school 'spit sworn' trio, Mikey. This story follows the two of them (and Mikey) while they navigate getting to re-know each other after 14 long years of not speaking.

If you need a happy ending this story is for you. I spent the entire book waiting for something bad to happen, for the boot to drop and something monumental happen, but spoiler - this story has a happy ending. I truly feel like I know Shiloh and and Cary (and Juniper and Gus and Mikey), like I was there with them, growing up along side them.

I cannot recommend this story enough, this book has shot its way to the top of my 'favorite books' shelf and will remain there until the end of time.

Tropes Include but are not limited to: second chance romance, friends to lovers, single mother, Military man (Navy).

As someone who loved Fangirl when I was in college, I was really looking forward to reading this new adult release from Rowell. Unfortunately, the experience fell a bit flat for me.

The main characters felt so flat to me and, throughout most of their conversations, the way they talked to one another seemed forced. It really took me out of the concept that they were supposed to have romantic feelings toward one another.

Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Slow by Rainbow Rowell. Oops, I mean Slow Dance. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Let me start by telling you how much I adore Rainbow Rowell. I’ve LOVED so many of her books that I jumped for joy when I got this arc. Like I still think about Eleanor and Park and their mixed tapes and the time travel phone calls in Landline. Its pub day is 7/30 so I was super exited to read it and shout it out. Then I read it.

Something’s missing. It didn’t work. The premise was cute; Shiloh and Cary were best friends throughout high school, went separate ways, reunite, then awkwardly figure out if they can be more than friends. But they were both poor communicators and that trope got boring. Flipping back in time between the early 90s and 2006 Rowell missed all opportunities for sprinkling in nostalgia and the chapters just became windows to view how Cary always had feelings for Shiloh.

Neither was attractive as both were repeatedly described to have moles and awful teeth, and I just didn’t get it. In real life we all have moles and crooked teeth, but if you want to put this out there as romance then the stretch marks, sallow skin, crooked eyes and gangly limbs shouldn’t be repeatedly described. Ad nauseum. I get that she wanted them to be insecure and weird but so were the sex scenes and their lack of chemistry. They are now in their 30s and she wants to poke and bite him and tug his hair like she did when she was 17. Yeah no. Slow Dance was painfully slow and disjointed and will be a book I’ve forgotten about by next week which made me want to cry. Paso Doble right by this when you spot it on the shelves.

Slow Dance is a second chance romance where we follow Shiloh and Cary, two best friends in a high school trio, the third being Mikey, come together for the first time in over a decade at Mikey's second wedding. Shiloh finds herself fresh out of a divorce with two young children and Cary is fifteen years deep into a career in the Navy. What follows is a back and forth through time reviewing Shiloh and Cary's situationship as it progressed throughout high school and college and in the present.

I struggled with this book and did not really understand why Shiloh and Carey even liked each other. The two consistently had terrible communication, which I recognize is a trope that some people really enjoy, but I found very frustrating. Additionally, the jumping back and forth in the timeline was challenging to follow follow without some sort of year indicator because it’s not always clear to me how far back in time you go. Sometimes it was back to high school, sometimes college, sometimes back to the wedding.

I will say, I really enjoyed when Shiloh and Carey started exchanging emails, I love a little epistolary moment and that was very fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced copy.

4.5 stars rounded up
Rainbow Rowell has written a romance for people who want to read about authentic relationships where everything is not perfect, the people are not the most beautiful on earth, and they have hangups and obligations. Slow Dance tells the story of Shiloh and Cary, best and inseparable friends in high school who have not spoken to each other for more than a decade. When they reconnect at their friend's wedding, the friendship rekindles and old feelings emerge.

I loved the dual timeline where the reader gets to see the friendship as it once was, how it fell apart, and also how the feelings are rekindled into more than just a friendship. It made me feel a little nostalgic of the close friendships from high school that we thought would never end. The reality of Shiloh's and Cary's separate family obligations made the story feel very authentic.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow Books for the digital ARC of Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell. The opinions in this review are my own.

I was so excited to get another book release from Rainbow Rowell! I adore Fangirl and Eleanor & Park so I quickly requested Slow Dance.

Overall, I enjoyed the story and how the characters were friends in high school but still had chemistry all these years later. Rowell excels at writing relatable, real characters which is what I love about her writing. On the flip side, this story was very slow and I’m not a big fan of the miscommunication trope.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have been so anxiously awaiting another adult novel from Rainbow Rowell after absolutely falling in love with Landline. This did not disappoint in the slightest. These characters are messy and flawed with family issues and so much love to give. Love love love!

Have you ever seen a meme or heard a song or read a book that made you think, “holy buckets, I thought it was just me! I feel so seen!” Slow Dance was that for me. These are REAL people relatable in a way I’ve rarely encountered in literature before (or probably ever will because Rainbow Rowell is absolute magic).

Shiloh and Cary are both understandably dysfunctional teens who grow up to be slightly less dysfunctional adults who are doing their best at life. The flashbacks are so perfectly woven in in a stream of consciousness.

My absolute favorite part of this book is when Shiloh thinks about how she loves watching her children eat. Later that day my toddler must’ve thought I was crazy because I was tearing up watching him eat a sandwich.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC of Slow Dance! This is my honest review.

The title is very appropriate. What would you do if you met up with your old high school crush and you were both single? This story is about two people who clearly love each other but let life get in the way. Enjoyable romance.

A slow burn romance by Rainbow Rowell is exactly what the reader ordered! I was so excited to see a new novel by Ms. Rowell, I'm a huge fan. This book was achingly sweet and full of hope and promise.

3.5 Stars

The story unfolded at a slower pace, which usually fits my preference for romance. However, themes of second chances and romances later in life didn't quite resonate with me. Despite this, I found the character development intriguing and enjoyed how the story wrapped up.

The story employs a back-and-forth timeline effectively, particularly suited to its narrative. It portrays how Shiloh and Carey rediscover each other after 14 years, still deeply in love and now mature enough to pursue what they truly want. However, their older age brings along complexities such as divorce, communication challenges, and family issues.

This was my first experience with Rainbow Rowell's novels, and despite this one not entirely resonating with me, I'm open to exploring more of her works.