I adore everything I’ve read by this author, and Slow Dance, like Rowell’s other short stories and novels, is also compulsively readable. She’s so adept at throwing an arm around the reader and filling them in on everything—setting, characters, backstory—with a direct narration coupled with an intimate inner dialogue that’s hard to believe isn’t in the first person. While the characters in this particular book didn’t resonate with me as much as those in some of her other writing, they are still endearing and quirky and frustrating and complex and I enjoyed getting to know them.

I love Rainbow Rowell and the way she wrote Shiloh was so lovely. I appreciated how much the characters grew and I love the sippets into their past to see how they have evolved. This was a dream to read.

Shiloh and Cary were best friends in high school. The kind of will they won’t they kind of friends that makes it hard to find someone as an adult. 14 years 2 children and a Navy career later they run into each other and the feels are still there. This is a slow burn that switches back a forth between the teenage timeline and the adult in a way that lays out the relationship. Sweet vintage Rainbow Rowell.

✔️ Childhood friends to lovers
✔️ Second Chance
✔️ Then and Now
✔️ Epistolary

This book packed a punch. I was not ready for how it would break my heart and then propel me to stratospheric swoon.

It's told in a non-linear fashion and was cleverly done as even the past was not chronological. Parts are unveiled to most effectively support (or devastate) the present storyline.

This book felt so real; the ways where Cary and Shiloh inadvertently hurt each other and (mostly incorrectly) interpret and react to each other's actions was so painful but also those moments held so much truth.

You know I love domestic scenes and those were among my fave here - all the moments where Shiloh and Cary took care of each other both in past and present. I especially loved their emails back and forth and it made me remember emails between me and my husband back in the day.

Definitely pick this one up! 5⭐️

Steam 🔥
Banter 🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️🗣️
Swoon 💕💕💕💕💕

This book was terribly lukewarm.

I struggled to get through this, on multiple occasions only reading a chapter at a time before I would put it down. I hated the short chapters, most of the background scenes didn’t add to the story at all, and the main characters might be my least favorite of the whole year.

I enjoyed some of the angst but we would get it for maybe two seconds before they would just pretend like it never happened. I felt like the main characters didn’t like each other for the first half and then switched with no warning into being in love?

The Simon snow books are some of my favorite of all time but this was just not for me and I’m my opinion not very well written.

I admire Rainbow Rowell’s ability to write in several genres, but I only read her adult novels so it’s been years since I read something by her. Slow Dance is set in Omaha, the city where Ms. Rowell and I live, so I highly anticipated reading it. Rebecca Lowman did a fine job of narrating the audiobook.

While in high school, Shiloh, Cary, and Mikey were close platonic friends. Shiloh and Cary were inseparable and many assumed their relationship was more than friendship. They made big plans for their futures and vowed to keep in touch, but as often happens, plans change and relationships fade. Fourteen years after high school graduation, Shiloh and Cary both attend Mikey’s wedding. Shiloh’s divorced and has two young children. Cary lives around the world as a Naval officer. Can they renew their friendship? Could it become more?

Told in dual timeline, the past (high school and post-high school years) segments are shared in non-chronological order which was sometimes a bit confusing. I wouldn’t have enjoyed a book with only the ‘past’ segments, but they were interesting to provide more context to the characters in ‘current’ time.

The story felt deeply rooted in its time and place, especially since I loved the Omaha references throughout. I related to Cary’s challenges with his mom and family members and also enjoyed the antics of Shiloh’s son and daughter. Shiloh isn’t the most likeable character, and there’s so much angst between her and Cary, but I wished good things for both of them by the novel’s end.

Thank you to William Morrow and HarperAudio for the review copies of this novel which could provide many topics for book clubs to discuss.

I always love everything Rainbow Rowell writes and this book was no exception. I was obsessed during every minute of reading this book. The characters are so perfectly imperfect that you can't help but root for them the whole time. I love how this book displayed the idea that some people need more than one or two tries to get together, some need a TON of tries but that doesn't mean that it's not meant to be. I loved the concept and the characters and the story so much. I don't normally gravitate towards books about parents and their kids but I LOVED watching Shiloh parent in this book, I thought it was such a great addition. I also thought Cary's Navy background was very interesting since I know so little about the Navy. Shiloh reminded me of Jo from Little Women a lot in this book. She gave off that same persona of headstrong to a fault on the outside but still sensitive and caring on the inside. The only part of this book that I truly could not stand was the fashion choices made. I get that it was 2006, and also that all the flashbacks were from when they were in high school, but I truly could have done without the dresses/skirts over jeans trend. That isn't something that I felt the need to remember so vividly. That was literally the only part of the book that I was like "hard no" about, everything else was good or great. I thought it was really cute how the book started with a wedding and ended with a wedding in the same reception hall. I thought that was a really cute touch, felt very full circle. I also loved the moments at the beginning of the book with Shiloh looking for Cary at Mikey's wedding while also trying not to look for him but not really being able to help it. I loved all of the referring back that this book had to moments when they were younger, or at the end of the book referring back to moments at the beginning. It felt very genuine and real throughout. There were so many quotes and lines and moments that I highlighted because I loved it all so much. I can't get over the fact that the characters and their story was so likeably imperfect that the vibe just worked so so well. I hated Ryan so much. I hated him at the beginning and then the more you find out about him the more I hate him as the book progresses. BUT I loved Mikey. I felt like he brought some much needed humor and I loved reading the scenes with him in present day and in the past. I felt like the Before scenes at the beginning of the book felt too heavily weighted, especially because all I cared about in that moment was understanding the dynamic of Cary and Shiloh NOW but I like how the Before scenes kind of trickled out before you know it, they were mostly just helpful for some much needed context. I loved the scene where they were driving around town with Lois and the kids in the car, it was very cute. I also loved all the emails that Cary and Shiloh sent back and forth when he was at sea. Very Attachments of them. I felt like when compared to Rainbow Rowell's other books this book most closely resembled Landline and Attachments, because those are her other adult novels. I really liked this book but I didn't connect with it in the same way that I did Fangirl and Carry On. But it was still a 10/10 read nonetheless.

A friends to lovers romance for Shiloh and Cary. Will now be their chance to be together? A fab read.

Rainbow Rowell is such a reliable author for me - I enjoy her stories, her characters, her settings, pretty much everything about her books. But they each feel unique and special, which was exactly what Slow Dance was. It a (sort of) second chance romance, (sort of) friends to lovers romcom, but it’s also a nostalgic story about high school friendships (those ones that are the middle of the pack types - not the popular kids, not the outcasts, but the ones that were just their weird selves with their friends who saw and loved them).

I usually read romcoms and romances for the quick, lighthearted nature of them, but this was the rare book in the genre that I wanted to linger with. I enjoyed my time with Cary and Shiloh (and Mickey and the rest of the cast of characters) and wanted to see how things would turn out for them. The best part of the book is how beautifully broken and complicated and frustrating these central relationships are while also being full of love and humor and commitment and compassion.

I would recommend this one wholeheartedly!

This is a good book. The two main characters are Shiloh and Cary. They know each other for all their lives. They lived just down the street from each other. They were best friends all through school. Once they graduated they took different paths. Shiloh went to college and Cary joined the Navy. They saw each other when Cary had leave. Shiloh married someone and had 2 kids and got divorced. They finally meet back up when Cary came home on family emergency because his Mom was ill. They meet back up and fell in love.

There were things I loved about this, and some things that didn't ring true for me. There was some extra-quirkiness with the characters that just didn't feel natural at times, but overall I was rooting for Shiloh and Cary the entire book. Be prepared for a lot of quick-witted dialogue, but also some conversations/conflicts that literally lasted the entire book (There were a few times where I was ready to move on to a new discussion). 3.5 stars overall.

And thanks again to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

I really enjoyed this book! It highlighted what it's like to be lower class without centering the whole story about that. It was a great will-they/won't-they, friends-to-lovers romance, and I really felt like the main characters were meant to be together.

3 5⭐️ - this was very uneven for me. I loved the concept, and parts of the execution. But overall, it just never hooked me like I expected it to. There were a lot of moving moments that kept me from DNFing, but in between those moments, a lot of frustration/boredom.

For the first half of this book Shiloh was literally the worst. She was such a brat to her friends and honestly just mean. That got a little better as the book went on, but Cary deserved better. Maybe didn't though because he put up with her for so many years. Every time I thought I would DNF this, something pulled me back in, so I guess there's that. There was a little redeeming quality towards the end, but overall this would be a recommended skip from me.

Have you ever wondered if risking your relationship and kissing your best friend would be worthwhile? This predicament is at the center of “Slow Dance,” a character driven modern romance with just a little sizzle.
Shiloh and Cary have been best friends since Junior High. Along with their buddy Mikey, the trio was inseparable. After 14 years, Shiloh and Cary reconnect at Mikey’s wedding. How did they all lose touch? Is there a way forward for all of them and are Shiloh and Cary really just friends?
I fell in love with these characters. I could have been the fourth wheel in their high school crew. Rainbow Rowell creates authentic, endearingly flawed characters and her third person omnipotent narrative allows you to see the same scene from different perspectives. The reader will understand the complexities of everyone’s emotions while rooting for a happily ever after.
No doubt this will be one of my favorite books of the year. Last year, “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” was my number one pick and “Slow Dance” has many of the same themes. It’s likely appropriate for ages 16+ there’s some profanity and a little spice (slightly more than PG13). Highly recommend!!

I hate to say this because I was genuinely so excited about this release, but I ended up DNFing this. It's a very character-driven book (which I usually love), but I ended up not liking any of the characters enough to want to read about them for 400 pages. This is likely a case of "it's not you, it's me". I bet a lot of die-hard Rainbow Rowell fans are going to love this though.

This book was unfortunately a disappointment to me. I have been (and still am) a huge fan of Rowell's writing. This book was not for me. I found the main characters annoying and messy. I understand part of the premise is that they are in their thirties and don't have it all figured out ,which I did like, but I found their miscommunication and inability to speak about their feelings frustrating. It felt like they could not find anyone else to date so they dated each-other, I did not even feel chemistry.

Thank you to netgalley for sending me a book in exchange for a review.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advanced copy!

This was a great read! I am a Rainbow Rowell fan, and this was a great one to add to her collection. It had a great romance, but it felt more realistic than it usual in most romance novels today. I loved the characters and the hope for second chances.

I do not know how Ms. Rowell did it, but this book just just sounded, smelled, and tasted the Midwest. Slow Dance does not contain a story of any great importance to the world--just the two main characters, Cary and Shiloh. It is a story told in snippets of time and the present. It is the story of typical atypical families--the reader sees the good parts of the families and the bad parts and how they coped with each other. As the end of the book approached, (spoiler alert)I was so afraid it would have a tragic ending (just a feeling), but am happy to say the author carried out the themes and the tone of the book clear to the end so the reader has a smile the whole time.

Yikes! I thought i would love this because, yes it’s written very well but these two main characters were insufferable. First of all, Shiloh girl, she’s aggravating and I feel like she never grew up. Even though she’s been married and has two kids. She was a bit much at times and I just didn’t care for her.

Cary, had no personality. I couldn’t get a sense of him. Idk if the author toned him down because Shiloh is a lot but it made it hard for me to decipher if he really wanted a romantic relationship from her. And he also was a little douchy at times.

I gave this 3 stars though bc this author knows how to build chemistry, and authentic relationships and dialogue with the characters.