Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this advance reader copy, in exchange for an honest review. Slow Dance is a story about Cary and Shiloh— best friends since high school but, always toeing the line at being something more. Now 14 years later, divorced and two kids later, Shiloh runs into Cary at a wedding and it’s time to wonder if now is their time.

This was such a sweet and heartwarming book! I loved the characters and felt so invested in their story, with high hopes for a happy ending. Something unique about this romance is that it felt simple yet complicated in the best of ways; there was no ridiculous, out of this world drama that got in the character’s way here. But, rather, the two built on their relationship in the present time by fumbling through what next steps might mean for them, through honest conversations, through mature realizations, etc— all components of an actual healthy relationship, which feels like a rarity compared to other romances I’ve read. The flashbacks that brought us back to when Cary and Shiloh first met also felt very real to me— there was the innocence of early love, hallmark miscommunications from being scared to be vulnerable— all very real emotions and experiences.

This was my first book by Rainbow Rowell and I’m definitely eager to pick up more! I breezed through this book and enjoyed every minute of it. I would definitely recommend it!!

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell is a second chance, childhood friends to lovers romance story. It’s told in a dual timeline, flashing back and forth from high school/college to present day.
Shiloh and Cary, despite always loving each other, just never seemed to get the timing right in a relationship.
It did take me time to get into this one, Shiloh was not a very likable character in the beginning but I do think she redeemed herself in the end.
Overall, I adored Cary and Juniper stole my heart. This girl is going places.
3.5 stars
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Thank you to netgalley and William Marrow for the opportunity to read this book!

Three cheers for Rainbow Rowell’s Slow Dance! I feel like such a lucky duck that I was able to read this early, I tried my very best to slowly savor it but I found myself reading the last half in a day. Ha!

Shiloh and Cary are best friends and if they’re honest with themselves they can admit that they’re in love with each other, except Cary plans on joining the navy after graduation and Shiloh has big plans of leaving Omaha. Taking the vulnerable step of admitting their feelings seems impossible and so things get lost in translation or left unsaid. Fast forward 14 years and Cary and Shiloh haven’t stayed in touch, but reunite at a friend’s wedding. Shiloh is an unhappy divorcee mother of 2, Cary did join the Navy but he’s terribly lonely. Again, what they feel and what they want to say ends up coming out all wrong or not at all however, this time they stay connected.
I was intrigued from the start! This story is a dual timeline taking us from the present where the pair reconnect back to the past when Shiloh and Cary attend high school together. Rowell’s writing evokes such nostalgia, even though Shiloh and Cary’s high school experience took place a decade before my own. The characters’ struggles and insecurities feel universal to the high school experience and the awkward task of navigating adolescent relationships. Cary and Shiloh are so beautifully flawed, complex, and at times frustrating. I empathized greatly with both characters but still wanted to yell “just tell the other how you were feeling!” This second chance romance felt realistic and the banter had me laughing out loud. I highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys a friends to lovers story! This book has so much heart, warmth, depth, and acceptance.

A big thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of this digital advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. All thought are my own.

Perfection. Just what I needed. Rowell writes romances about real people and skips over the ridiculous tropes of rom/coms. I wish I could have savored this novel but I read it nearly non-stop. A delight to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the eARC.

There is almost nothing like a second chance romance to pull at the heart strings. I rooted for these characters completely and without hesitation. Really enjoyable.

I loved this book so much! It’s about two characters, Shiloh and Cary, who were best friends in middle school and high school, and re-encounter each other at a wedding of another friend in their 30s. Shiloh is now a divorced mom of two young kids and never left the Omaha neighborhood where they grew up, and Sue’s always felt like she is just too much for anyone to handle. Cary, on the other hand, after his very complicated family situation growing up, left Omaha immediately after high school graduation and joined the navy.

I have read and loved all 8 of Rainbow Rowell’s previous books so I was super-excited for this one, and it did not disappoint! I laughed and I cried and I just did not want to put it down. A typical second chance romance this is not, but it’s absolutely wonderful! In some ways, it reminded me a little of Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy in that it is funny and heartfelt but not a typical rom com, rather a book with its own distinctive voice that also happens to have some romance. Rainbow Rowell has made it on to my top ten of the year lists twice before and based on this book, she just might do it again.

4.5 stars

I am a bit of an emotional mess after finishing Slow Dance. It was incredibly impactful.

First, let’s talk about the title. It is such an intrinsic part of the story and when it clicked for me, I was floored. While it in part references scenes in the book including real “slow dances” it really lends to the bigger picture… our lovely Shiloh and Cary truly weave this slow dance together through their entire lives and it’s tragically beautiful.

This is the epitome of romcom! It’s going to make you laugh, make you cry, pull each and every heart string, give you all the little butterflies… These characters are so perfectly messy in their own lives and together, but it’s so freaking real!

Filled with insecurities, Cary and Shiloh maneuver through their lives always remaining friends, both clearly wanting more but too scared to even let themselves admit it. Through the years, life happens to both of them, but when a friend is getting married, they reunite to support and celebrate him. The flame they spent their whole adolescence trying to keep contained begins to fan. But their lives are so different now.

I loved Shiloh. She is erratic and flaky. She is strong and beautiful inside and out. Cary is a steadfast do-gooder with a fierce sense of duty and incredibly insightful inner dialogue. Together they are incandescent and I absolutely loved every single second of this book!

Maybe a 3.5? I enjoyed it as a whole, but the first half didn’t catch me quite like I’d hoped. The time jumps were a bit hard to follow in audio format for me, and there was a lot of “OH MY GOSH JUST HAVE A REAL CONVERSATION” for my liking. The characters’ chemistry was easy and familiar, and I did find myself rooting for them through every flashback.

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!