3.75 stars. I was absolutely thrilled to get the chance to read an eARC copy of Rainbow Rowell's new book, as I was such a fan of this author's work growing up. She mentions in her blog that she thinks of this as the older sibling to Eleanor & Park. While I loved Eleanor & Park as a teen, Slow Dance didn't give me the same amazing feelings I remember from my youth (though I haven't reread it since, so I might feel differently now). The last half/third of the book really picked up speed and had me hooked, and saved the book for me. I found the FMC Shiloh to be...irritating and hard to identify with. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I was also a divorced single mom, but even the teen flashbacks had me shirking of secondhand embarrassment. We really do see Shiloh grow though throughout the years (...slowly), and that's the beauty of this book. Rainbow Rowell has a talent for writing about REAL people; she always has, and that's what makes her writing so special and so loved by so many readers. If you're a fan of Rowell's past work, I would encourage you to pick up this one too, especially to readers who love a second-chance romance/rekindling story. A big thank you to William Morrow publishing and NetGalley for the eARC, and for the opportunity to leave an honest, voluntary review.

This “Slow Dance” was unfortunately too slow for me. It just felt cumbersome, and I couldn’t get into it. I love so many of the author’s other books, but this one wasn’t for me. DNF.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

This book is such a huge departure from some of her work I’ve read recently, specifically her book ‘Attachments.’
Rowell always has a “sunshine” MC or Love Interest, and Shiloh and Cary both dump water on that trend and entrench themselves in clouds of teenage angst and communication barriers.
One peeve of mine was that Shiloh‘s constant derision of Cary’s decision to join the Navy, while understandable from a high school perspective,can really be overly repetitive and make her seem more petulant and harder to relate to that I think Rowell might have intended.
Both Shiloh and Carrie are much easier to hang out with in the present day chapters and I think that Rowell does a great job of showing the growth they’ve had to endure as a result of their circumstances. However, I think one of my issues is that especially for Shiloh all the changes that she’s gone through have been forced upon her and haven’t been part of a journey that she’s consciously undertaken making her seem like someone who maybe hasn’t changed that much at heart.
My favorite character throughout the book is Mikey. He abuse every scene with so much energy and I wish he had been more of a presence throughout the book because his contrast to Shiloh and Cary provides a lot of context and balance whereas when it’s just Shiloh and Cary together on a page, their mutual irritability can sometimes overwhelmed you.
Where this book really kicks into high gear is in the emails that they sent to each other while Cary is deployed. Rowell shines when she gets to transform her novels into letters and emails and it’s what I loved the most about her book “attachments.”

My Grade: D ⭐️⭐️

Overall Impression: I am a huge fan of the authors YA Lit, but this book just wasn't for me. The miscommunication trope was so overdone that it became uncomfortable to read. Combined with a very unlikeable FMC, I unfortunately cannot recommend this book.

What I Loved:
~The character of Mikey was wonderful and a much needed stability in the chaos.
~Childhood friends to lovers and second chance are two of my favorite tropes.
~Military (Navy) representation.

What I Didn't Love:
~The FMC Shiloh was incredibly off putting and I just could not connect with her. Was she just quirky or was there some unaddressed mental issue happening?
~The dynamic between her and Cary made zero sense, and the constant arguing and miscommunication became impossible to read. This is one situation that I didn't want a HEA.
~Repetitive flashbacks.
~Really awkward sex scenes. How many times can he mention that he wants to 'fuck her crooked teeth'?
-The dialog coming from Shiloh's children was really weird and unrealistic.

Well that was wonderful. Rainbow Rowell has such an amazing way of breathing life into her characters. They feel real and flawed and tragic but are still lovable and interesting. I always find myself rooting for the characters in her books.

Shiloh and Cary and Mikey were in school about the same time I was and a lot of this book felt very familiar to me. I spent a lot of time in drama and yearbook classrooms while I was a teen. I want to be friends with them.

I am so happy that Cary and Shiloh found their way back to each other. I’m also happy that it felt like a real relationship. It didn’t seem too easy and that’s what made it genuine and authentic.

Thank you to NetGalley & HarperCollins for the advanced copy.

Rainbow Rowell's writing just hits . I was immediately drawn in and totally engrossed.

As the title would suggest, this is a slow burn. This is a slow and steady romance about missed opportunities, second chances, and finding the right timing. Shiloh and Cary's journey is messy and poignant and bittersweet, and I loved reading it.

As much as I loved it, the plot did drag a tiny bit towards the middle. The writing switches back and forth between timelines and perspectives and in the middle it felt like we were just rehashing some of the same angst from just a slightly different angle. Some people might love that, but it got a little repetitive for me.

I binged this in a day!!! 4.5 - 4.75 ⭐️

A beautiful story about two best friends who fell in love before they even truly understood what love meant. Rowell does a great job at balancing the past and present chapters. A will they won’t they vibe that keeps the edge of your seat.. I COULD NOT PUT THIS ONE DOWN. I love the past chapters took place in the 90s and present chapters in the early 2000s it felt so nostalgic. Not a perfect love story, but a breathtakingly beautiful one! Fans of Before We Were Strangers WILL EAT THIS UP!!

For my Taylor swift fans: The entire time I was reading this all I kept thinking was that this book was SO “Peter + I Look at People’s Windows” coded!!!!😭🫶🏼

Rainbow Rowell does it again! Slow Dance is the cute tale of two high school best friends who don’t realize they are in love, allow themselves to drift apart after graduation, miss their second chance connection, and then finally come back together at a high school friends’s wedding many years later.

The characters Rowell writes are just regular people with their own issues and quirks, making them feel very genuine. The two main characters in this book had rough upbringings but find happiness and love despite it all. You can’t help but root for them even throughout multiple miscommunications and missed connections.

I’ve enjoyed many of Rainbow Rowell’s rom coms and I hope there are more to come!

THANK YOU to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Grab your copy on July 23rd!

2.75 ⭐️

I don’t think this was a bad book, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I think fans of ‘alone with you in the ether’ and ‘normal people’ might like this a lot actually. A lot of repetitive words, short sentences, periods and exclamation points! Perhaps that’s just the style of writing the author chose to go with but it wasn’t my favorite.

These characters felt so real, although I didn’t really like them. I liked that they weren’t “perfect” physically. They had normal things like body hair, crooked teeth, scars, etc.

I found Shiloh really annoying, her “don’t tell me what to do” attitude, especially in the before chapters made her difficult to like. The way she was constantly poking/grabbing/touching Cary and wanting to ruin his clothes, bite him, and literally set him on fire.. like what?? Both of them were extremely reticent which caused so much miscommunication and misunderstanding and it just kept on repeating. I didn’t really care for them to even be together.

This was my first read from Rainbow Rowell but I’ve heard great things about her YA novels so I’m open to trying those in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the arc

A bit of a slow start for me, but overall going to give this a 4 out of 5. Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC.

The title of Slow Dance is one of the most accurate book titles I have seen, because boy oh boy is this a slow burn. A friend-for-decades-to-maybe-sorta-lovers-then-not-then-yes story. This story is very character driven and Rainbow Rowell is a master of writing human emotions and internal conflicts.

Each chapter switches between perspectives and timelines, which at first can be a bit confusing but obviously things come together the longer you go through. Shiloh reminds me a lot of myself, so there was a degree of secondhand embarrassment I experienced while reading this, because I saw so much of myself in the thoughts and decisions Shiloh would make. In the middle of the story it got really stagnant, because you just went around in a cycle of non-development of their relationship which made it tricky to get through, but it resolves itself in the end.

Overall a cute read.

Slow Dance is one of those books that is less a story that you're reading and more of a journey you are going on with the characters. Cary and Shiloh have been the best of friends (along with Mikey) since high school, though they had hidden feelings for each other then, and went their separate ways after graduation.

The story is told in vignettes, flashing back and forward in the timeline and between Cary's and Shiloh's perspectives, letting the reader know just how into each other Shiloh and Cary really are (which somehow the two of them don't realize, even though everyone else seems to know).

Slow Dance is NOT the title just because Shiloh is self conscious and hates to dance. It has to be a reference to the story itself. Rainbow Rowell takes such care with her characters, and their journey through their own lives and to each other is the best kind of slow (burn) dance. Cary and Shiloh are just so REAL. Reading their story is like reading the HEA of friend that you grew up with that didn't have the easiest life, but finally ended up with happiness, while you were cheering them on the whole while as they changed, grew, and finally actualized into their happy, adult selves.

I just loved it. I finished it before bed last night, and was still thinking about it when I woke up this morning. I am so much of a character driven reader, and Rowell's are just SO dimensional. Slow Dance is a lovingly written and hopeful tale, different from the average romance, and I'm 100% here for it.

Thank you to Netgally and William Morrow for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My 15 year old self is screaming - a new Rainbow Rowell romance, especially a contemporary adult one? While I haven't kept up with the Simon Snow series, I always remember being charmed by Rainbow Rowell's books. Naturally, I was super excited to pick this one up.

Slow Dance is about Shiloh, an educational director at a local children's theater, and Cary, a sailor fifteen years into his career in the Navy. After not speaking for fourteen years, Cary and Shiloh meet at a friend's wedding. After that night, the fourteen years of silence feel both insurmountable and senseless - how different are they, and who are they to each other now? Told through dual-timeline and split-POV, we follow Shiloh and Cary's relationship from high school to thirty-three. Can they find each other again, as life seems to slip from the fingers? Can they heal from their past to save their relationship?

I really liked Slow Dance. It felt much more like a contemporary fiction book with romance as a central plot point. Because this doesn't follow the same three act structure as most popular romance novels, we are able to explore the flaws and conflicts beneath the chemistry. I love that even though they fall toward their romance impractically, the main conflicts are so practical - Shiloh has kids, Cary lives on a boat wherever the Navy takes him. Neither of them can admit their feelings at the right time, and communication is shaky at best.

While I enjoyed this immensely and liked the flawed nature of their relationship, I couldn't help but get annoyed at the extent of their miscommunication. It wasn't just that certain feelings or memories were left out of their conversations, but rather that one character did not consult the other in some big life decisions, and assumed that everyone else would be on board. That stressed me out because I saw not just an inability to explain feelings but a blatant disregard for the other character's autonomy. Maybe I just have certain feelings about proposals, but that plot point stressed me out!

Read this if you like stories about lifelong connections and complicated family history, a la Seven Days in June.

I have loved Rainbow Rowell’s books since the first (and second, and third) time I sat down to read Fangirl. While it took me a minute to get into her style again, I was drawn in by the characters who were so real and flawed, it made it hard not to be invested. Shiloh and Cary may not be perfect, but they are perfect for each other. Their story was written so tenderly and with so much care there were times there were tears coming to my eyes. Though there were moments where I just wanted to shake them and tell them they belong together, they walked their own path and got there just in time.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and to rainbow for the advanced reader copy of rowell. i have been in love with rainbow rowell's writing ever since i read her novel "fangirl" in seventh grade. i audibly squealed when i was scrolling through netgalley and saw that she had another book coming out, "slow dance". this novel takes place in a small midwest town, and is honestly just so heartwarming. what i loved about shiloh and cary's story is that it was not just a love story; rather, it was a coming-of-age tale that explored young love, societal and familial expectations, and rites of passage. something i really enjoy about rowell's writing is that she captures the intimacy and connection of relationships SO well and so authentically, and that is no different in "slow dance". this absolutely would have been a five star for me, but the pacing was a bit too slow for my tastes in certain areas.

Rainbow Rowell is so great at writing super-realistic characters. Her characters are flawed but in the absolute best way.

In this story, Shiloh, Cary and Mikey are best friends in high school. They're quirky, complex, and maybe slightly codependent on each other; well, that's more the case for Shiloh and Cary. 

These two are so close, yet... they aren't together. And there's no clear indication as of why other than they don't want to ruin their close friendship.

Slow Dance is exactly as its name suggests; a slow dance between Shiloh and Cary. This story spans over a decade as they navigate college, the military, marriages, children, and finally coming back to each other. 


Shiloh is probably one of my favorite characters to read because she is written with little odd intricacies that bring the character to life. I really loved reading about these characters and their journey back to each other. It was unique and refreshing.

Rainbow Rowell has easily become one of my favorite authors. I love her characters and her ability to tell a story!

The perfect will they/ won't they romance? And the answer is it's a bit complicated. Slow Dance= Slow burn romance so if that isn't your thing and you don't like waiting for the characters to get together, this one might not be for you. I don't mind being patient and absolutely loved it!

The beginning was good, the ending was satisfying, but the middle was a frustrating circle of repetition.

Slow Dance is about two high school best friends who are soulmates but drift apart and reunite 14 years later. This is a will they or won’t they second chance romance.

Shiloh and Cary were BFFs in high school. Their relationship became romantic, but circumstances and miscommunication kept them apart. Almost 15 years later, they reunite. Shiloh, now divorced with two kids, is an administrator at a children’s theater, while Cary is an officer in the Navy. They take another stab at getting together, but their inability to communicate keeps pushing them apart (this happens over and over again). It gets old quickly.

Told through Shiloh and Cary’s perspectives, the timeline switches from past to present, sharing bits of their relationship from the past, which explain how they came to be in the present. I liked both of their characters but was frustrated by their inability to speak to one another. I wanted to shake some sense into both of them. If they had actually talked to each other and shared their feelings, they wouldn’t have wasted 14 years apart.

The plot in the middle comes to a standstill as it is nothing more than the repetitive circle of their relationship. This was frustrating to read, as not only was their relationship at a standstill, but so were the events in the novel, making it repetitive, boring, and difficult to read.

Much like the title suggests, their relationship unfolds like a slow dance. There are moments of awkwardness, missteps, and fumbling, but eventually, they find the rhythm together. Unfortunately, my annoyance at both of them detracted from the magic of their relationship.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and William Morrow in exchange for an honest review.

I'm in love. This book.

When an author can seamlessly weave then/now timelines into a very incredibly tension filled and believable connection, it is really special. Rainbow Rowell excels in her latest novel . Shiloh and Carey are best of friends through high school. They don't realize how unique their connection is until Carey joins the Navy and Shiloh goes off to college. They connect again at their mutual friend's wedding after fourteen years apart.

I loved that Shiloh is salty, very easily overwhelmed with change, but a fierce advocate for her children. Watching Carey and Shiloh complete each other in different phases was the biggest pleasure.

This is a classic romance. Slow burn. Don't miss it.

As a fan of multiple Rainbow Rowell books; Fangirl, Attachments, Scattered Showers, and Almost Midnight, this one was a big miss for me. The miscommunication trope and the lack of passion/desire made the romance fall very flat. It was hard to hope for the main characters when they were so unlikable.

Rainbow Rowell is very fortunate to have created such a fanbase and name for herself; because if this were a debut novel she would've been ripped apart. I do not think an honest person would recommend this book to anyone.

Sometimes love isn't easy.
In this new release which falls somewhere between YA and contemporary romance, depending on the timeline, two friends - Shiloh and Cory - struggle with the state of their relationship.

Above and beyond, the two are friends. A friendship forged in their teen years. There is also a mutual attraction between them that they awkwardly act upon on occasion, but both are reluctant to say the one thing that needs to be said, "you matter, and I'll wait for you."

Other than insecurities (mostly Shiloh), Cory has a commitment to the Army, with leaves for long periods of time. Not knowing their true feelings for one another, both "move on". I put that in quotes because it is clear whenever they do reunite, that neither has moved on.

The pacing of the story was a bit slow (maybe the reason for the title?) and repetitive. While this could use some editing, I think the message of the story was relatable. As I said prior, love isn't easy. You have to fight for it, expose yourself to the possibility of heartbreak, and hopefully reap the rewards. For this couple, it was just a matter of time and patience.

Overall, this was a charming story, and while Shiloh did frustrate me at times, I could relate to her insecurities. If you are looking for a slow burn romance, check this out.