I have always loved Rainbow Rowell's books and have recommended them countless times. But I got impatient with this book. The title is appropriate - Slow Dance - because it is very slow going. Their relationship went back and forth so many times and by the end I found myself not caring very much. I did give it 3 stars on Goodreads - my first not-5 star Rainbow Rowell book I believe! Those who love dwelling on the ins and outs of relationships will enjoy this book; but this reader, not so much.

I absolutely devoured this book. I didn’t realize how attached I was to the characters until I felt bittersweet about reaching the end. The characters felt incredibly real, and I loved how Shiloh was always trying to do her best for herself and her kids. Her struggles, triumphs, and moments of vulnerability were beautifully portrayed, making her a character I deeply cared about.

Honestly, I wish the book were longer, as there was so much more potential to delve deeper into the characters’ lives. The story hinted at rich backstories and complex relationships that could have been explored further. More pages would have allowed for a deeper dive into the characters' thoughts, motivations, and growth.

One aspect that stood out to me was the portrayal of Shiloh’s kids. I would have loved to see more of them in the story. At times, the book felt primarily like a romance where Shiloh just happened to have kids, rather than a fully integrated family narrative. It seemed that Cary decided to be with Shiloh but only tolerated the kids, which made it feel like he jumped into the relationship without fully embracing the father figure role. I wish we could have seen more of him interacting with the kids to show a deeper connection and his growth into a parental role. Moments of Cary bonding with the children, understanding their needs, and forming a genuine relationship with them would have added an essential layer to the story.

Additionally, Cary’s character often came across as very stone-faced. While his stoic demeanor added an interesting dynamic, I wished we could have seen a more vulnerable side to him. Moments where Cary was genuinely happy or emotionally open would have added depth to his character and made his relationship with Shiloh more compelling. Seeing him break down his walls and share his true feelings would have provided a richer, more relatable portrayal.

Despite these points, the book was incredibly well written and had Rainbow’s signature charm that makes it impossible to put down. Her ability to create relatable, engaging characters and heartwarming, realistic scenarios is unparalleled. This book, like her others, was a captivating read that left me wanting more.

I like it, but I was also so frustrated by it. Communication people. Come on.
It was a long slow build - a slow dance if you will - but then an absolute dash to the end.
Not my favorite Rowell, but still she can craft a heck of a character.

I am obsessed with Rainbow Rowell's writing. This is my first new read of hers in a few years ('new' because Fangirl is pretty much an annual reread), but I've been in love with her books since I first read Eleanor & Park over a decade ago. She always writes characters that feel so damn real, and this one was no exception. I loved learning about Shiloh and Cary and their relationship - both in the past and in the present, where they'd changed in realistic ways.

I fully recommend this to fans of dual-timeline, second chance romances with compelling characters that face adversity both alone and as they build a relationship. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and all along you'll be wholeheartedly rooting for the characters. Also, definitely a good one for people who will enjoy lots of 90s references!

The Goodreads description calls this "a power ballad of a novel about a love," and that feels so apt to me. I've never used "power ballad" about a romance novel before, but that's just perfect for this newest adult romance by Rowell. In high school, Cary and Shiloh were best friends that everyone thought would end up together. Fourteen years later, Shiloh is a divorced mom of two, Cary is a Navy officer, and the two haven't spoken in all that time. When they reconnect at a wedding, they slowly and haltingly start finding their way back to each other. I loved Shiloh and Cary, they felt so real to me, and their heartwarming love story was so sweet to read. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for a digital review copy.

I have missed Rainbow Rowell in adult fiction so much. Her writing is so grounded and real. Cary and Shiloh feel like kids you went to high school with. I did find that Shiloh's self-sabotaging could be grating in the later chapters when Cary had already expressed feelings for her, but I still loved following this very relatable second-chance romance that felt very homegrown.

I’ve loved every Rainbow Rowell book I’ve read, and I’m pleased that I feel the same about Slow Dance. The story of Shiloh and Cary just felt so dreamy and I flew through the pages. Sure there were some plot holes, sure there were some plot resolutions that were a touch unbelievable, but I don’t care. It was Shiloh and Cary’s decades long fairy tale and I was just glad to be along for the ride. I liked the alternating timelines that helped fill in the gaps and explain more about the twists and turns to get to their present. It’s also nice that Rowell didn’t flinch at depicting harder subjects like ongoing financial issues, painful family dynamics and even neurodivergent lust. What a treat to read this early!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing an arc in exchange for my honest review.

Admittedly, Rainbow Rowell's books can be pretty hit or miss for me, but the synopsis for Slow Dance intrigued me, so I was excited to receive an ARC!

Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me in a number of ways.

First and foremost, I struggled with almost every character in this book. And if you've read my reviews, you know that I like an unlikable character, but even unlikable characters need some quality about them that makes you root for them, and that was severely lacking here. Shiloh and Cary seemed in desperate need of therapy to work through their issues.

In the first half of the book, Shiloh and Cary have the same argument repeatedly, rehashing arguments dating back to their youth and somehow never making progress in communicating. But then, in the second half, everything seems to fall into place for them almost magically, and there's no real conflict--or, I hate to say it, plot of any kind--for the rest of the book. There wasn't even a third-act breakup, which I expected, given how tumultuous and precarious their relationship was.

There were also a few loose ends that never seemed to be tied up. Shiloh's ex, the father of her children, has an issue with boundaries and pushing into Shiloh's life, and it seemed like it was actually going to make for an interesting conflict. But once Shiloh and Cary get closer, we never see or hear from the ex again; it's like he falls off the face of the earth. It was really bizarre.

On top of it all, I couldn't buy the relationship between Shiloh and Cary because they didn't have any chemistry. Even now, I'm not sure what it was that attracted them to each other, and the pacing of the ending felt like a sprint to try and get to a resolution quickly, rather than wrapping things up in a way that made sense.

Also, since Shiloh is a mother, and Cary is interested in becoming their stepfather, I expected to see more of Shiloh's kids, but they felt more like afterthoughts. Don't get me wrong--Shiloh's character goes beyond her role as a mother, but it struck me as odd that Cary, who had such horrible experiences with stepfathers in his childhood, didn't really take any time to get to know these kids. Even when he proposed, he barely knew either child and was somehow okay signing up with being a stepfather. As someone with the childhood that he had, I would've expected him to put more thought into that decision, and more time into his relationship with the kids he'll be partially responsible for.

I also didn't enjoy the alternating chapters between past and present. It was never clear, in the "past chapters," where exactly we were in these characters' lives, and it just made the story more confusing for me.

While Fangirl remains one of my favorite books of all time, unfortunately, Slow Dance was a miss for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This unfortunately just came down to not being a story for my personal tastes. I read the description and I think I hoped it would read more like the friends-to-lovers trope than the second chance trope, it felt very second chance-y. And while that’s certainly not a problem, it’s just not something I personally enjoy.

I really like Rainbow Rowell’s writing, and have absolutely nothing but good things to say about the writing. I’m giving this a 3 star because I just could not get into the actual story, and while I do believe that’s because it just wasn’t for me, I don’t know if I can rate a book higher than that when it didn’t pull me in or make me want to keep reading.

I know so many people are going to love this book, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it because this writing is so good, and I know it’s going to be to others people’s tastes.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book! I voluntarily read this book, and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A beautiful romance by one of my most favourite authors!

Slow dance is a great mix of both litfic and romance, with characters from realistic backgrounds/ backstories and strong, well rounded personalities. While Rowell has often been rightfully praised over her understanding of teenagers and how they think and act, her talent for character creation doesn't any age groups.

I liked the romance, but most importantly I liked the characters even on their own just personality wise. Their conversations felt natural and the plot moved in a great pace with the exception of the beginning which I admittedly found harder to get into.

Overall a stellar book I'd absolutely recommend

Every time I thought this book was starting to get boring, it would pull me back in, until finally the last third felt like pure comfort (that was when all the teenage miscommunication flashbacks finally let up).

Such a beautiful romance. Both characters were equally frustrating and their story from friendship to love was as well, but it was impossible not to root for Cary and Shiloh. The author paints a beautiful portrait of Omaha - a place I called home for a long time. Rowell does a brilliant job from characters, to setting, to plot.

Shiloh and Cary were best friends in high school supporting each other and their friend Mikey through the trials and anxieties of adolescence. They all promised to keep their friendship alive, but as life took them in different directions - they grew apart.

14 years later, Shiloh and Cary are attending Mikey's wedding and she reconnects with Cary. After a marriage, divorce, two kids, and living back in her childhood home with her mother, and how their relationship disconnection, Shiloh wonders if Cary will even want to talk with her. Cary is in the Navy and trying to still navigate complicated family dynamics from afar.

As Cary and Shiloh grapple with the challenges of adulthood, will they be able to reconnect and find a way forward in their new realities?

I could NOT put this book down and read it 3 days it was SO GOOD! Thank you netgalley for providing me an advance copy of the ebook - it was a delight to read.

Sweet novel about a misfit who runs into her high school best friend. Shiloah and Carey are obviously meant for each other but they definitely take the long road to get there.

While I wanted to love this, and did in fact like Slow Dance, it just failed to hit the mark on a couple of levels for me. First off it was a slow dance, a very long and slow dance. You knew that Cary and Shiloh would probably figure things out between them but man it took a long time. It was painful at times. The writing style was very simplistic. So much so, that I stopped reading and double checked that it was not a YA book. It is not. The love scenes were a little too steamy and graphic for me. There was this weird fascination with crooked bottom teeth that borderline grossed me out. I would give this a solid 3.5.
Thank you for allowing me to read the ARC of Slow Dance in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis in a sentence (or two):
Usually, I try to summarize the Goodreads synopsis in my own words, but in this case, the book cover does it perfectly.

“Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.”

Pacing/Storyline:
Slow Dance starts with a snapshot of a nervous, humble MC named Shiloh. She’s finished getting ready for her friend’s wedding and waiting for her ex to pick up the kids so she can go. Rowell quickly allows the reader to connect with the very loveable main character through this simple setup. Like so many others in the book, this moment made me feel as if I was privy to a life that perhaps I wasn’t supposed to see.

The story continues with short chapters and a dual timeline that help reveal Shiloh’s current life and adolescent years in a tougher area of Omaha, Nebraska. Shiloh’s best friends, Mikey and Cary, provide stability for each other in their teenage years. In the present timeline, Shiloh is managing her life as a single mother of two young children while beginning to reconnect with Mikey and Cary.

Because this story is so character-focused, it could be considered a slow burn. Still, it’s a story I wanted to pick back up nearly every time I put it down. I found Shiloh’s story of motherhood so engaging. Cary and Shiloh face their own adversities, and I loved watching them overcome these challenges. The plot is heavy on the relationship aspect of the story, so I recommend it to lovers of romance.

Recommended to readers who love:
📚 Dual timelines and character study romances
📚John Green, Gabrielle Zevin, Jenny Han
📚redemption romances

Rating: 4.5

Disclosure:
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the Digital Review Copy of Slow Dance. All opinions are my own.

Reviews will be posted on @inkedupmargins blog and IG closer to publication

I spent a lot of the reading of this book frustrated by all of the almosts and might have beens. I loved the rawness of the characters, no Hallmark romance here. (There is a time and place for Hallmark romance, no judgment). Loved the supporting cast so fervently.

Shiloh and Cary never got together in high school, but everyone figured they did. Then, years later at their high school trio's third member's second wedding, they meet up again...and maybe this time?

I feel like so many people have that one guy (or girl) from high school (or college) they daydreamed about spending their lives with, and this book will make you think about that person a lot while reading it. In a good way, I promise! This book hits all of your nostalgia with a bulls-eye. Cary joined the navy, and Shiloh married her college boyfriend (who apparently wasn't just her boyfriend) and had a couple of kids and ended up back in her hometown living with her mother when she ended up divorced. It was just too easy for these two star crossed lovers to fall out of touch, with Cary all over the world and Shiloh in the last place she figured Cary wanted to be--but then fate steps in with a wedding and a mom who needs a bit more help than Cary's siblings let onto.

I really enjoyed this book--it made me happy, it made me cry, it made me super frustrated at Cary and Shiloh (like any good romance should), and it really made me remember and realize exactly why things would not have worked out with that guy from high school (who also moved far far away). Rainbow Rowell somehow, every time, just gets right into your heart and rips it apart and then painstakingly puts it back together for you.

This was a beautiful, well, slow dance of a book...the years-long yearning of two people as they danced around each other, each believing they had no right to reach out for what they wanted. It was a somewhat tragic story, even in amongst the joy, and at times difficult to watch Cary and Shiloh defeat themselves time and again. But it was achingly realistic, and somewhat nostalgic for me to read, having also come of age in the 90s/2000s. I feel as if pieces of this book will come back to me, bittersweetly, from time to time over the next several years. It's not a story I'll soon forget. The characters who danced alongside the two mains were also unforgettable; you had to just love Mikey. And Tom. And the mothers, both of whom tried to hard to parent to the best of their abilities and yet still made mistakes because, well, parenting! But it was really interesting to see the generational influence as it was passed down, in both Cary's and Shiloh's families. I will definitely recommend this story, with the caveat that it's not a romance as much as it is a story that feels, ultimately, just REAL.

Slow Dance is one that I have been excited to dive into because I am not fully familiar with Rainbow Rowell’s adult works and it did not disappoint. This novel is about two best friends, Shiloh and Carey, who reunite at a mutual friend’s wedding after having been no contact for years. Told between altering timelines, we watch Shiloh and Carey be inseparable in their teen years to rekindling their friendship and love they cannot deny in their adult years.

One thing this novel did incredibly well was the characters. Reading character based novels can be a hit or miss for me, but Rainbow Rowell does it SO WELL. I felt so connected to both of them and the character development was there. Sometimes it can feel so stuck when it is mostly a character driven book, but the flashbacks aided in showcasing how different but the same Carey and Shiloh are. Their dialogue and interactions with one another were just perfect and made me fall more in love with them each time. While some of their choices had me screaming at the book and miscommunication was extremely present, I just loved how honest and raw these characters felt. You could feel all of their emotions and they were just so human and real. They got hot headed, they had empathy, they had priorities, and desires. They were very well developed.

With that said, there were some odd points in the book that were very slow and did not seem to have much importance. Meanwhile, the ending was so incredibly rushed and it was all the bits I wanted to see. I think the end in general was already going by way too fast, but pairing that with how slow the rest of the book is, it is extremely prominent. It truly makes it feel like the author needed to get this book in or didn’t know how to flush out the rest of these characters, which was disappointing. We develop this emotional connection to Shiloh and Carey that is so real and to have it rushed like that makes it feel unfinished.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you love an extreme slow burn, friends to lovers set in 1990s- early 2000s Omaha, and messy and real characters, this one is for you. I truly fell in love slowly with these characters.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for a copy of this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.