I'm a big fan of Rainbow Rowell, so I was excited when I learned she had a new adult romance coming out ... and absolutely thrilled to be able to read it early.

Slow Dance alternates perspectives between Shiloh, a 33-year-old single mom going through a messy divorce, and her high school best friend Cary, who she hasn't seen since he joined the Navy 14 years ago. The two reunite at the wedding of a mutual friend, which is where the story begins. While it takes place over the next year, there are also flashbacks to various pivotal points of their relationship as teenagers. The flashbacks aren't chronological, which was a little jarring at first, but it soon becomes clear why they are revealed in the order they are, and I appreciate the decision.

This is a heartwarming story of two broken adults who find their way back to each other after years of heartbreak, traumas, misunderstandings, and miscommunications. Shiloh and Cary are well-written, complex characters with rich backstories and visible growth and development. It took me a little while to like Shiloh and care about her and her happiness, but Rowell got me there and eventually, I couldn't put Slow Dance down because I had to find out what happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was an interesting book, because it takes multiple popular tropes (rekindled romance, second chance at love, and also friends to lovers) and mixes them into a singular novel with multiple timelines. Sounds like it would be a total hodgepodge, but it somehow works! My singular complaint would be that it dragged on a little much with the back and forth between the main characters but it was overall a nice work of romantic fiction and also somewhat of a women's fiction novel.

Shiloh and Cary were best friends growing up in Omaha. Mikey was also part of the threesome and they spent a lot of time together growing up.
The story is about Shiloh and Cary finally getting together after years apart. Cary is in ROTC and has plans to join the Navy after high school. Shiloh heads off to college and eventually marries Ryan and has two children. The meet back up after fourteen years at Mikey's wedding. Cary has always loved Shiloh and she pushed him away while she was in college. This story is a Shiloh living back at her mother's house with her two kids and Cary coming home for Mikey's wedding with 5 years left until he can retire from the Navy. We learn about their younger years by the author as before and after meeting up again. I can say for me the book just went back and forth in timeframes way too much and Shiloh defiantly didn't have her act together at all. Cary was way too nice to her.

A perfect fit for readers who adore heartfelt, emotional, and hopeful stories about second chances at love, friendship, and self-discovery, with a strong focus on the complexities of relationships and the power of nostalgia.

I have not read a Rainbow Rowell book since reading Elenor and Park in high school and I had forgetten how I enjoy their books. Slow Dance was very sweet and brought out of the nostalgia of Rowells books. But I think I may have out grown their books now that I am a fully grown adult. The writing is still very good and characters well developed but I found myself not caring for the story as much and lost interest half way through which is why it took me longer than usual to get through this book.

A new Rainbow Rowell book is a banner occasion - I should have waited, I should have taken more time to savor this one, because I know it will be a while until I have another book from Rainbow. But I'm not perfect, and so I gulped this down in 24 hours, neglecting some things I needed to do in favor of spending time in Omaha with Shiloh and Cary, two of Rainbow's most perfect imperfect characters.

Rainbow Rowell has long been a favorite author and I was so excited to have the opportunity to read Slow Dance early. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital review copy.

Slow Dance was everything that I've come to expect from Rainbow Rowell and more. I love her use of dialogue. This is one not to be missed.

It has been a while since I’ve read a Rainbow Rowell novel! It took me a while to get in to this one, but once I was hooked I flew through it!

she ate AGAIN!!! rainbow rowell always gets me in that second half!!! her books are full of angst nostalgia and gentle heroes who are nothing but an entity of yearning.

as someone who grew up loving rainbow rowell, being able to read her work as an adult tugged at a special little heartstring of mine. this story is a classic romance of the ages that follows the lives of Cary and Shiloh - two best friends… just friends. as the two grow up, they learn how to grow apart and then grow together.

this story is sweet, simple, funny, and all-around a feel-good story about love, family, and making moments count. rainbow rowell has a way of writing that feels so genuine - no conversation between the characters felt forced and the events and emotions are almost too relatable

my only criticism is that this story sometimes felt slow, but it was just so realistic and sometimes life isn’t crazy things and drama - sometimes it’s cooking in the kitchen and having heart-to-hearts on the couch. I found Shiloh and Cary’s story to be so real and raw. the push and pull between the two of them had me flipping each page wanting more and more. this book is the perfect light romance or easy summer read!

I have been a fan of Rainbow Rowell for years, and I typically devour everything by her. This book was not a wood chipper type of book. For me, it took awhile to get through. I found myself lost or not really enjoying it, just bored, and I would put it down for a bit and then pick it back up. I guess it does speak volumes that I wasn't able to let it go. I really liked the main characters and the story was good, just slow in parts. I will always read anything by this author and hope she keeps writing for some time!

I could not finish this book. I didn't like either main character and I found the book very slow. Shiloh was incredibly annoying and Cary had no backbone. If I was Cary, I would have moved on from Shiloh and continue to not see her.

I’ve been waiting years for a new adult novel by Rainbow Rowell and this was definitely worth the wait! She captured the multiple time frames splendidly and her characters were real and flawed and beautiful. Highly recommend!

Fans of Rainbow Rowell will continue to adore this book, especially if interested in slow-burn, character driven romances. This book is about Cary and Shiloh's lives as much as it is about their romance, their lives as teenagers and their lives now. This is not your whimsical, first time falling in love book. This is a mature book about the reality that they face as they reconnect, from children to finances to self-doubt.

hank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I honestly don’t know where to start. RR’s writing had me so caught up that I felt like I was personally involved in the will-they-won’t-they relationship of Cary and Shiloh (and I’ve been married for years).

Cary and Shiloh are brought back together by their best friend Mike’s wedding. After 14 years apart the two are trying to decide if it is finally time to be more than friends.

This book was so sweet and I loved that we get to see all the different stages of Cary and Shiloh’s relationship which is told through flashbacks, along with a glimpse of their HEA

Not me being so excited for a Rainbow Rowell release only to be left feeling a bit ‘meh.’ This second (okay maybe third or even fourth) chance romance had a lot of potential for me! I have thoroughly enjoyed all of RR’s previous work so this had to be a hit, right? …..right? Well, not exactly.

Let’s start off with the good parts:

1) Junie and Gus. You two are the cutest characters and are so worth everything!!

2) awesome dialogue that flows so well. Very realistic and funny. However, there is an inner dialogue moment at the end involving crooked teeth and a certain endeavor that I thought was so cringy and cheesy.

3) a dual timeline that let’s you see how the past affects mainly Shiloh but also Cary at times. It helped build connections with the characters that I felt was needed.

Not the not so great parts:

1) Shiloh and Cary both kinda sucked. Shiloh was pretentious and Cary was just Navy?

2) the ending was so rushed. I was enjoying the will they won’t they and they just bulldozed to the end after a climatic part of the book

3) some of the writing was juvenile. I know RR does a lot of YA stuff but I felt that writing was reflected in this book and it just took it down a few notches for me.


If you’re a fan of RR, you’ll want to pick this book up. If you have never read RR, I’d skip and read something else of her’s first then maybe comeback to this? Up to you.

Cary and Shiloh have known each other since their school days, and they meet back up at a mutual friend's wedding in 2006. Going back and forth from their high school days to now, Rowell tells us Shiloh and Cary's story, but will they end up together? This book was slow for me in the beginning and I almost gave up on it, but I stuck with it and I'm glad I did.

This story is complicated and imperfect and so very real. Faced with the challenges of adult second chance relationships, I loved watching these two know that the easiest part was choosing each other, and the rest of it was stuff to be figured out.

Bouncing between past and present day, the story of Shiloh and Cary is sweet, complicated, frustrating and redeeming. Two people meant to be, but never allowing themselves to fully love each other. "Slow Dance" is a charming novel of teenage love, loss and changes, coming full circle to a happily ever after decades later.

**Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.**

This was so lovely and tender, and felt very realistic to messy lives and messy relationships. Rowell always does such a great job with dialogue and just has a knack for pulling you into the moment when a relationship goes from friendship to more. It's just the sweetest and I don't know how she always pulls it off. I enjoyed both the inner and outer lives of the main characters, plus a well-drawn cast of supporting characters who realistically impact their lives and ability to forge and maintain close relationships. Overall just beautiful.