First of all thank you so much Netgalley and Harper Collins for letting me read this!!!
I can always count on Rainbow Rowell, she is a long time favorite of mine, Slow Dance most definitely met my high expectations. I found myself at the edge of my seat this entire book begging these characters to get together, and when they finally did, it felt earned and I felt damn accomplished lol.
Rainbow’s characters are always so rich and complex and complicated and have so many shades to them, I see myself in the good and the bad of them. This book made me sob. I loved Cary, I loved Shiloh, I loved their moms, I loved their kids, I was rooting for this family. Special shout out to Mikey, every time he was on the page I was laughing.

This was such a sweet book about two high school friends who reunite in adulthood.

Shiloh and Cary are best friends in high school. Everyone assumes they are together, but they’re just very close. They both plan to leave Nebraska, but only Cary ends up getting out.

They reunite at the wedding of a high school friend. And they fall back into a friendship and move towards more. They understand they’ve always been in love and want to be together. They must figure out how to make things work and get past some history.

I liked how this book bounced between the present and the past. We get to see Shiloh and Cary during high school and how they built their relationship. We then see how they are in the present and all they work together to address.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the characters and their story and the way they progressed with the relationship. It felt very cozy.

🪩 Slow Dance 🪩

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: July 23, 2024

Rating: I liked it!

I loved Rainbow Rowell’s previous books (Attachments & Fangirl) so when I saw she had an adult romance coming out, I was so excited!

I love that her writing is easy to follow plus she fleshed out her characters so well! This was the kind of story that makes you want to reach in and give Shiloh and Cary a hug. The only thing that felt repetitive was the miscommunication between the two of them. I know Rainbow was trying to show us imperfect characters but personally, miscommunication (or trouble communicating) isn’t one of my favorites.

For fans of:
🪩 Third person
📼 Dual timeline
🪩 Childhood friends
📼 Friends to lovers
🪩 Second chance
📼 Miscommunication
🪩 Right person Wrong time
📼 90s/2000’s vibes
🪩 Nostalgic vibes

I was so excited to read Rainbow's latest adult book, but kids ruin everything. Just when I thought I was on board with this relationship, the kids would show up and the romance would come to a screeching halt. I understand that 30 something women recently divorced with children exist and deserve their happy ending, but it is not the romance that I like to read. But the chemistry and relationships are still there and wonderfully written. TL;DR not for me, but still love Rainbow's books.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!
This was my first Rainbow Rowell book, as I tend to prefer adult romance to more YA which seems to be where Rowell’s books skew.
I really liked it! I enjoy Rowell’s character development and making an ordinary story feel special.

This was such a nice story! Friends forever, Shiloh and Cary lost touch until they reunited at the wedding of the third member of their high school trio. Despite always having feelings for one another they just couldn't find a way to make it work. Despite that, they would do anything for each other no matter what. This time, Cary will not let Shiloh go - not having been speaking to one another for 14 years was way too long. This is their story, about their lives before and after the wedding and what they did with them.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I didn't really care for this book and I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I've only read from Rainbow Rowell her Simon Snow series. I also don't particularly like contemporary romcoms.

There was something sweet about the second chance storyline and I did like how much into character development it went. But I missed the action, I missed the magic, and most of all, I really missed the queerness.

The placing and flashbacks also just didn't hit for me. I kept expecting something more that wasn't going to come. So I won't rate this book on the public reviews. I don't think it was bad, just not what I love about Rainbow's work.

I have read many Rainbow Rowell books, and this is one of her few adult novels, though it has many flashbacks to high school and college.
Shiloh, Cary and Mickey were best friends in high school, but they have not really seen each other in 14 years. I found this a very sad story, as unrequited love is sad. How were Shiloh and Cary ever going to realize their love for each other?
Taking place in Omaha in the past and the present, Shiloh is now a divorced mother of 2 living with her mother. She has never been a friendly person and feels that she is a mess.
Cary has been in the Navy since high school graduation, so they have not seen each other until Mickey's wedding.
This book is about ordinary lives and ordinary people, how a lack of communication can allow friendships to die.
It is finally up to Cary to convince Shiloh to take a chance. It is a pleasure to read how he finally succeeds.
This book enthralled me and I read it in one sitting. I was so afraid something awful would happen that I had to keep reading.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the EARC. This is my honest review.
I highly recommend it.

It took me a second to get into this book, mostly because I didn't like Shiloh very much at first. Then she and Cary shared a dance at the wedding and I was all in. This story is about finding love after not really knowing what it felt like to begin with. About how love between friends can be more, and about how time doesn't have to change much. Shiloh definitely grew on me with time, and I loved Cary from the start. They both did the growing they needed to and after (too) much time had rhe conversations they needed to. Overall a powerful story and quite the jump into adult books.

“Shiloh was a light in the distance. She was an ache he’d been feeling since he was thirteen. An itch. She was a finger hooked into every torn seam, tugging–and Cary was made of torn seams. Just a poorly stitched human being. He’d only known how to want Shiloh, never how to have her.”

Everyone that knows me knows that I am a sucker for a man who has it down bad for his girl, and Cary is no exception. This man was so loyal and devoted not just to Shiloh but to the memory of what they had in the past.

I loved the flashbacks and how we gradually got to know both Shiloh and Cary through
them as well as through the present timeline.

“Cary should know that Shiloh could never be normal about him. He was always going to be her favorite. She was always going to want his attention.”

This whole story was so raw and emotional and I absolutely loved it. I’ve always been a fan of RR’s YA romances, but now I am convinced that she’s one of my all time favorite authors.

“He was going to end up on his knees, crawling to her.”

Things I loved:

♥️ Military man
♥️ Second chance romance
♥️ Childhood friends to lovers
♥️ Email & long distance
♥️ Emotional read

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC! Back in high school Shiloh and Cary were best friends, but everyone always thought they were more. They seemed inseparable. So why is there a tension between them now, 15 years later? The story alternates between the present timeline and the past of Shiloh and Cary depicting all of the love, pain, and misunderstanding with heartwrenching authenticity. Slow Dance is a great read for those looking for an emotional second chance romance with characters that you will be both frustrated by and root for.

I have read and loved almost all of Rainbow Rowell's books so I was excited to get the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Slow Dance (thank you William Morrow and Net Galley!). I really enjoyed getting to know Cary and Shiloh and following along in the ups and downs of their relationship over the span of 15+ years. I also liked the relationships with the other characters - especially both of their moms, Junie, Gus and Mikey.

5 realistic stars!
It’s been forever since I snuggled down with a book that completely captured my attention. When I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about the characters and seeing their struggles. I was hopeful and engrossed by their past. The book was raw and uncomfortable. It had two ordinary flawed people that had a second chance, a redo.
The story was told in present and past dual POV and I thought it was a beautiful, realistic thing. I was drawn in by where they lived and the family drama in their lives.
I just thought it was so good and if you liked Elinor and Park then I think you’re going to love this one.
Thanks William Morrow via NetGalley.

DNF at 35%

I was just so bored. I found the characters unlikeable and quite a bit of the dialogue was a bit problematic? Maybe not given when it was set but I don’t think that’s an excuse given when it’s written and being published.

I’ve loved Rowell’s YA work but I think perhaps her adult stuff is not for me.

I love Rainbow’s way of writing and I’ll read anything she writes. And she sure can write a love story! I enjoyed every minute of it and was sad when it ended - my next book better be a good one!!
Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for the digital ARC!

As much as I really, really liked Slow Dance, I didn't love it quite enough to round a solid 4.5 all the way up to 5 stars.

Full disclosure: I'm already a fan of Rainbow Rowell, and this book did not change that. Shiloh and Cary felt so real that I was thoroughly invested in their relationship, and started missing them as soon as I finished the book. I cannot wait for Rainbow Rowell's next novel!

rainbow rowell’s writing gets me EVERY TIME. how is it so poetic and beautiful yet simple and relatable??? the tone of the writing of this book felt like eleanor and park x landline. because parts of it felt so similar to eleanor and park, i was scared it wouldnt have an hea, but no worries my friends, this book DESERVES its romance designation! i loved how absolutely GONE cary was for shiloh. i just wish he talked a little more about why he liked her, because she was pretty unlikable, but i didnt mind lol. one thing i loved about shiloh was how much she loved to bother him as a way to show love <3 it was so relatable for me specifically. one thing i DIDNT love about shiloh was that she changed her stance about the navy, because the fact that he was in the navy was probably my least favorite thing about cary. the end of this book dragged a little, and i would have enjoyed an epilogue, but it was still a good read!!

I've read Rainbow Rowell's YA books for years, so I was elated to hear she would be releasing an adult novel. Slow Dance did not disappoint. This book reads like a movie; full of flashbacks and present-day obstacles. The characters are loveable, and the storyline is engaging. Slow Dance will leave you rooting for Shiloh & Cary and grow as part of their little friend group.

Uh... pass please.

This is my first book by this author, and I found it almost unbearably meandering. Did anything even happen in this book? It feels like we just wandered through the life of the annoying main characters for 15+ years, where almost nothing happened. Maybe that's the point, and it's intended to just be a quiet study of two very different people, who were sort of together, then separated, then found their way back to each other. But honestly? The path they took and even the resolution was pretty boring and frustrating. The book felt very long - same fights, same scenes, same personality differences over and over. I couldn't wait for them to finally have a real conversation and figure things out so the book could be over! Talk to each other, people! sigh....

My thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC via netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have to readily admit that Rainbow Rowell is one of my favorite authors, I have read nine of her novels, and “Eleanor and Park” is my favorite by far with “Fangirl” as a close second. I was so excited when I heard she was coming out with a new novel set in Ohio again (just like Eleanor and Park). I loved the concept of two high school best friends trying to fight romantic feelings for each other and then addressing those unresolved feelings fourteen years later when they run into each other at a wedding. Most of the book takes place in their ‘current time’ beginning in 2006. Alternatively, there are short chapters identified as “Before” that go back in time, and give the reader insight into their lives and friendships during high school, college, and also Shiloh’s previous marriage. Did I love the characters? Hmm…that is a tough question, they were both flawed in their own ways. I did like seeing how they changed and matured from teenagers to adults, but I do have to admit that they each frustrated me at times. The pace of the book is a bit slow, it is a combination of plot and character driven but I would say it’s mostly character driven. Would I recommend this to a friend? Yes, to those friends that either enjoy a character based novel or really love Rainbow Rowell. While I did enjoy the book, I did not love it. I think my expectations were just too high, I wanted it to be another “Eleanor and Park,” and it just didn’t reach that level for me. I will always be a devoted Rainbow Rowell fan and will always come back for more.