I am OBSESSED with Rainbow Rowell and her books. They just pull me in and take me to a magical place (sometimes “real” and sometimes just a few drops of magic in them). I saw myself in Shiloh and Cary. I wished I had friends like that from school. I just wanted to be in this world and didn’t want to say goodbye when it was over. Please oh please read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this arc. I loved this story so much! It was a really cute romance

4.5 stars

I was drawn into Slow Dance right away and felt so many emotions while reading. Rainbow Rowell captured the confusion, joy, stupidity, purity, and heartbreak of first love so well. I'm not going to lie. There were times the angst was too high for my poor heart and I had to step away for a bit. Shiloh and Cary kept calling to me though and I loved how their story unfolded. The book has both present and past chapters that weave together to reveal how things were, how they fell apart, and how they came together again. There are some pretty heavy topics along the way (please check CW's), but I thought the story was balanced well.

This is very much a "right person, wrong time" love story, so expect some heartache before the swoon. Shiloh and Cary are two perfectly imperfect people who are doing the best they can given their circumstances and place in life. They don't always make the right decisions and aren't always that likeable. They're trying though - to do their best, to care for the ones they love, and to find their way. I appreciated that they took the time to nurture their friendship as adults and that there was no third act break up (though there is a lot of drama externally). The ending had me smiling so wide and Rainbow Rowell truly is such a gifted storyteller.

CW: parental abandonment (past), financial insecurity, emphysema, complicated family relationships, care of older ailing loved one (on page fall/hospitalization), death of parent (past), repeated infidelity/cheating ex, emotional cheating (past), divorce, abusive step parent (past), anxiety, panic attacks, mentions and discussions about the military (Navy)

OW/OM notes: Both the MMC & FMC date, get engaged/marry OW/OM during separation. FMC goes on 1 date/kisses an OW after divorce, but it doesn't go further. In high school, the MMC emotionally cheats on his girlfriend.

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*

My high expectations of Slow Dance, Rainbow Rowell's first adult novel in ten years, were mostly met despite (or because of?) a meandering plot and somewhat confusing non-chronological flashback chapters. Shiloh is a divorced mom of two young kids who lives with her own mother. Cary joined the Navy immediately after high school and is currently stationed for months at a time on a warship. Set in Rowell's native Omaha, the first third of the book deals with these formerly inseparable besties meeting for the first time in 14 years and finally addressing the missed opportunities and miscommunications that kept them apart after one ill-fated college visit. At peace with the past, they reluctantly part...

...Only to be reunited when Cary's mom (who is really his grandma) suffers a fall, and Cary calls Shiloh to ask for help. For a while the novel focuses on dysfunctional family dynamics that have roots in alcoholism, abuse, and neglect. Immediate crisis averted, we then shift to a largely epistolary section in which Shiloh and Cary grow even closer while he is at sea, and then a rousing finale in which a unique HEA is nailed down. Oh and somewhere along the way Shiloh realizes she might be bisexual.

Neither Shiloh nor Cary are standard romance novel characters, and I give Rowell props for creating two flawed, struggling people who nevertheless fit together. I'm not a huge fan of kids clogging up my love stories, but Junie and Gus are realistically moody and annoying, demonstrating to Cary that his relationship with Shiloh will never be completely smooth sailing. Rowell's writing style, which includes multiple parenthetical clauses (my English teachers told me to never do this)(also to never split infinitives, which I just did) can be an acquired taste, but it's a quirk I can tolerate.

I'm glad Rowell returned to the adult novel world, after spending ten years writing YA fantasy and comic books. I squee'd over her first few novels back in the day, but in hindsight there were some problematic aspects that #OwnVoices and #MeToo brought to light (including questionable Asian representation in "Eleanor & Park" and blatant stalking in "Attachments)". There will be some potential Slow Dance readers who are turned off by Cary's being in the Navy, and Shiloh's disavowal of her previous anti-military stance as adolescent naivete. Nevertheless, I hope this book's reception is positive enough to convince Rowell to stay with this genre for a while.

ARC received from Net Galley in exchange for objective review.

Thank you net galley for an arc of this book. I have loved Rainbow Rowell’s books in the past and wanted to love this one too. This book, however, just kind of fell flat for me. It felt like instead of reading about this romance building up I was just being told it was happening. There never really felt like there was chemistry between Cary and Shiloh. I will definitely read more by Rainbow Rowell in the future but for me this book was just fine.

Slow Dance defied my expectations in the best way possible. As an avid reader of Rainbow Rowell, I'm accustomed to her authentic characters and unique storytelling, and Slow Dance did not disappoint. Breaking away from the typical romance formula, it offered a refreshing and authentic narrative. Instead, it embraced oddity and clumsiness, which only added to its charm.
Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the eARC!

Rainbow Rowell’s characters just never disappoint. This time we follow Shiloh and Cary in Omaha who were best friends in Highschool but now haven’t talked to each other in 14 years. What follows is a bumpy ride fuelled by a mutual longing for reconnecting.
Rainbow has a unique style that creates a very soulful atmosphere and you won’t find any stereotypical characters here, Shiloh and Cary are so real it hurts sometimes.
I highly enjoyed and recommend this book!

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the earc!

A huge thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for this eARC, which from the first pages I could tell would be one of my favorite books of the year. Rainbow Rowell’s book Attachments has been a favorite of mine and a go to recommendation for years, and this book captured so much of that same charm while also breaking my heart and putting it back together. This is the kind of book that is a DELIGHT to savor. Shiloh and Cary were SO real to me- sometimes I loved them and sometimes I was so frustrated, but I was rooting for them all the while. Thank you for another fantastic novel, Rainbow Rowell.

4.5 stars (rounded up for Goodreads)

I was so excited to read this book! Rainbow Rowell has been one of my favorite authors from the first time I picked up Eleanor & Park. I love her writing style and character development and she just hooks me in from the very beginning. Slow Dance was the same and I devoured this book in a single day.

Slow Dance is the story of childhood friends, Shiloh and Cary, who have drifted apart as adults and now find themselves reconnecting at a mutual friend's wedding. From the start I was hooked in to see where this story would take us. The characters are messy and real in a way that is so relatable and even when I was frustrated with them I was still rooting for them. I laughed, I cried, I was frustrated, I was heartbroken, I was relieved and I feel like it all paid off in the end. I like that the characters are both flawed people who are dealing with real life (divorce, kids, jobs).

I really enjoyed the cast of side characters. Mikey is indeed a bright ray of sunshine. The messy family members are, fortunately and unfortunately, very relatable as well.

The book did lose some steam towards the end. I was ready to barrel into the happy part and I think it got a little too bogged down in the real life mess, so that's why it loses half a star.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is such a sweet story about the friendship and relationship between Shiloh and Cary. The ending gave me chills! It started as a friendship in school. They were the best of friends. After high school, Shiloh went to college and Cary joined the Navy. Years later, both reconnect at a wedding.

Shiloh has been married and divorced with two kids. Cary never fell out of love with Shiloh. Now as two adults, the story begins again. The love is this; Shiloh had on a hat and the wind blew it off her head. It went rolling down the sidewalk and flying in the air. Cary took off after it. Nobody believed he would catch it. Cary was gone for a bit, Shiloh sees him walking up the hill of a parking lot. He was panting. He was holding her hat. He was always her man!

Romance, Mismatched Pair, and a Sweet Love Story! 4 stars!

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy! This book will be released 7/23/24.

This was a DNF for me. I tried, but kept picking it up and could not get into it! I think it was purely me — others may love it and I’ve loved other books by Rainbow Rowell! I could not connect with the main characters. Give it a try if you love other books by this author!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

4/5 ⭐️
What a beautiful story! It is just so funny and fresh and relatable. The Main Characters are not taken out of a fairy tale, they are normal people living normal lives and yet they make the cutest couple ever.

I really recommend this book, such a quick read too. This book comes out on July 23, 2024
Thank you NetGalley for sharing this amazing ARC with me.

4/5 ⭐️

My thoughts on the book:

I really enjoyed this one!

It was a slowww burn & Normally I wouldn’t have liked how long of a slow burn it was, however for this book it felt right and I wouldn’t have changed a thing about it.
I couldn’t stop rooting for the characters the whole time, I loved seeing their connection to each other and the chemistry they had. It was also so nice having the present POV & the past POV with their history from high school & college.
Mikey was the perfect side character! I adored how he was still in their lives even as adults in their 30s.

It was easy to read and will make you not want to put it down 💖 the ending was 10/10

The MMC & FMC are very relatable.
Especially if you’re a mom/single mom or a military wife. 🫶

At times I did get slightly frustrated with the MC’s throughout the book for their miscommunication, but it was never enough for me not to love the book or even the characters.

Read if you like:

💚 Single mom X Navel Officer 💕
💚 Childhood best friends to lovers
💚 Slow burn

Now I can safely say that I’ll be reading more of her books very soon! 🫶

~

Huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. 🩷

Rainbow Rowell's "Slow Dance" is a heartfelt exploration of love and friendship. Shiloh and Cary, childhood friends from north Omaha, reconnect after fourteen years apart. Shiloh, now a divorced mother of two, and Cary, a Navy man, find themselves drawn to each other once again, but their past and present circumstances complicate their feelings.

Rowell crafts deeply human characters, flawed and relatable, navigating life's complexities. Shiloh's journey from dreamer to struggling adult is poignant, while Cary's military life adds depth to his character. Set against the backdrop of north Omaha's socioeconomic challenges, their story is both authentic and compelling.

The novel's non-linear narrative keeps the reader engaged, revealing the characters' past and present in a captivating way. While the romance is a slow burn, it feels genuine and rewarding. "Slow Dance" is a beautiful tale of second chances and the messiness of life, showcasing Rowell's storytelling prowess and leaving a lasting impact.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rainbow Rowell's books just make me happy, and this one did not disappoint. While I don't know if I'll return to it over and over like I do her Simon Snow series, I did not want to put this book down. The friendships felt so special and the romance was a bit predictable, but in a good way. It felt satisfying. So much about the story just felt so relatable and comforting to be reminded that everyone goes through things – complicated family dynamics, growth and change, kids working through their emotions, moving and returning home, miscommunication, etc. It was a slice of life, a peek into the lives of relatively regular people in a regular place doing regular things, and I enjoyed every minute.

I was so excited to get this arc of Rainbow Rowell's new book! Sixteen year old me would be screaming because Eleanor and Park by Rowell was my favorite in high school (and still stands up to this day, might I add)! This book reminded me a lot of Eleanor and Park, but grown up. I loved that it was set in a past time period (the present being 2006 I believe) with flash backs to the 90s when the main characters were growing up. I love that Rowell used this nostalgic time, which gave the whole book a classic feel. I also was pleasantly surprised that the MCs were older than most romance MCs, Shiloh being a divorced mother of 2. I feel like not enough books are written about this age demographic. Like Eleanor and Park, this story felt a bit tragic and heartwrenching as well as beautiful, reflective, and realistic. I am usually a rom-com girly but this one got me in the heart in a good way and really took me back to the realism that Rowell embued into Eleanor and Park. I also loved the slow burn of the story, and I live for the friends to lovers trope, especially childhood friends to lovers! Overall, I would recommend this book because it's beautiful, realistic, and is lead by 2 relatable characters I really enjoyed. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the arc!

I really enjoy Rainbow Rowell's books and was really excited to get an ARC of her newest book.

This is a friends to lovers second chance romance and splits between the past (90's) and present (2006)- tropes that I LOVE!

The story was sweet and I was loudly rooting for the main characters the whole time I was reading this. I actually spent all day reading this book and stayed up way past my bedtime to finish the book.

I loved Cary and Shiloh's friendship and their journey back to each other but I had moments when I just wanted to shake them and tell them they were the only thing standing in the way of their happiness. I could have gone with a little less back and forth about why they couldn't work and more of them getting to know each other as adults, but overall it was a sweet book!

Rainbow Rowell's Attachments has been one of my favorite books for many years and is always a go-to when recommending books to friends. I was so excited to receive the e-arc for Slow Dance, because I just knew I would love it. I was immediately drawn into the character's POVs. Shiloh and Carey are some of the most fleshed out, well written characters I've ever come across in a romance novel. There weren't any gimmicks or flashy tropes, just a simple, real-life, grown-up romance. It was entirely relatable and so easy to root for their relationship. Absolutely loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read for an honest review.
I’ve always been a fan of Rainbow Rowell’s writing and Slow Dance is no exception.
We meet Shiloh and Cary as high school students who are a trio of best friends along with Mikey. They graduate in 1991 and Shiloh goes off to college while Cary joins the Navy. Fast forward 14 years and they are reunited at Mikey’s 2nd wedding. Shiloh is now a divorced mom of two and Cary is unattached and in the Navy. Lots of 90’s nostalgia, that was definitely enjoyable to this 90’s teen!
I loved the way Shiloh and Cary were able to reconnect and learn from their high school years. I couldn’t recommend this book enough. A one day read for me!

I have been a fan of Rainbow Rowell and was excited to see she was writing another stand alone, adult novel. Although I was initially slow to warm up to the book, I'm glad to say that it turned into a book that I couldn't wait to get back to reading.

Shiloh and Cary are childhood friends that reunite 14 years later. Rowell gives us the past and the present as she alternates between their youth and the present as adults with jobs, history, families, etc. The love between these characters is sweet and hesitant and feels real.