I received a copy of this book as an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. Slow Dance is told in a way that mimics a slow dance, meandering back and forth between the past when the main characters (Shiloh and Cary) are 16-20 years old and in the "present" (2006) when they are 33. Shiloh is an interesting main female character in that her eyebrows are a little to thick, she's not perfectly thin nor exactly fat, her dark hair is very thick and long (usually) and she has strong opinions which may be uninformed. She was raised by a single mother who works in an airport bar in Omaha. She is described as "too much", "incessant", and quite frankly half the time I found her unlikeable and unnecessarily miserable, yet I still rooted for her. Instead of manic pixie dream girl, I think she was more manic super-tall chaos agent. But by the end of the book I was fond of her.

Cary is a stoic, serious, handsome guy who's hair smells of apples when he is young. He joins the Navy immediately out of high school as a way to earn a living and get away from his fractured home life (he finds out the woman he thought was his mom is actually his biological grandmother, and his "sister" is really his mom).

Cary, Mikey, and Shiloh are inseparable best friends when they are younger and this story shows them falling in and out of love, navigating life sometimes together and other times apart, and drives home the fact you can't make new old friends. There is a lot of untraditional home life depicted in this story and the characters are very well developed. I don't want to give too much away because I think the story developing and unfolding is what makes it shine.

Somewhat YA, somewhat women's lit, somewhat romance, this book has elements that I think will allow it to be appreciated by a wide audience. Definitely light enough to be a beach read but deep enough to keep you interested.

Oh my god I loved this! I love a sweeping, torturously slow burn friends-to-lovers romance that takes place over years and years. Rowell's prose is sparse but specific and cutting. It's clever, but never silly. Shiloh and Cary felt 100% like real people, just so perfectly drawn, perfect for each other but in imperfect circumstances that requires a lot of growth on each of their parts. I loved the title and the conceit, I loved how the narrative took us out of order between years and perspectives. It's a character study for sure without a fast-moving plot, but if you love Normal People or even Emily Henry I think you'll love this as much as I did. Just gorgeous.

Thank you to William Morrow and Net Galley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’ve read other books by Rainbow Rowell and I always find them entertaining and worth a read and Slow Dance was no different. I enjoyed the pace of this book and the short chapters. It was a quick, cute, and loving story. I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t my favorite Rainbow Rowell book.

A heartfelt and intimate second chance love story with layered characters and an engaging plot, this was quintessential Rainbow Rowell. A fantastic contemporary romance that I will definitely be rereading time and time again. Would definitely recommend!

I read this book through NetGalley.

I really don’t have much to say other than this was okay. I didn’t connect with the characters and some of the chapters were short and choppy. It was cute. But just okay.

I loved getting to read this ARC. Slow Dance was one of those books that as soon as I started I could not put it down until I finished it. I was immediately sucked into Shiloh and Cary's world and I just wanted to keep reading to learn more about them. I don't typically like books that do flashbacks or time jumps this frequently, but in this case I did like getting to see glimmers of their relationship then compared to now. The last 10-15% of the book did go by really fast details wise compared to the others and I would have loved more detail but I do think it added to the slow burn feeling that once things were out in the open between them it just sped right up.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6467548104
StoryGraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/9d20518a-30d0-4b5a-a68e-e072ea55d4e2

This was a relatable story with characters that felt like they were in real situations. The book did drag a little with the repetitive nature of the meet ups and flashbacks. Overall, library patrons should enjoy this story.

Oh, this story tugged so much at my heartstrings. After a close childhood friendship and some rocky college events, estranged friends Shiloh and Cary reconnect as adults at a close friend's wedding 14 years later. Shiloh is now a divorced mother of two young children, and Cary is a Naval officer who is posted on a ship for six months at a time 2000 miles away from where Shiloh still lives in their hometown. Over the course of this wonderful story, prickly Shiloh comes to understand that Cary is her person, something that quiet Cary has always known about Shiloh. And Cary comes to understand that Shiloh is worth fighting for and being honest with. I guess you'd call this a second chance romance, and honestly it has my favorite trope which is childhood friends-to-lovers. Also, I originally thought maybe grumpy/sunshine, but really it's grumpy/grumpy (which I also love). They seemed opposites attract at first: Shiloh was a little too much when she was younger, in that way that energetic and intelligent girls are who don't fit with their surroundings but can't leave; and Cary was her calmer counter-part. But as we watch them get older they seemed more like two sides of the same coin, wounded by their families and life and looking for acceptance and love and friendship while dealing with their own demons. When you know people through the stages of your life, it can be tricky for both of you to be at the same emotional place at the same time. Throughout the course of the book, we see this to be true for both Cary and Shiloh, although they realize this at different times. I liked that their reactions to each other were realistic, and I liked that they didn't have all the answers but still saw the value in trying.

I really enjoyed this poignant and at times bittersweet story, and I loved watching the journey they went on. Hopefully it's not a spoiler to say they finally got their HEA, thank goodness. Just a warning that the POV kept changing, which was a little confusing at times but I'm very glad we got to see both perspectives. I liked the use of flashbacks to fill out pieces in their backstory and to further inform why Shiloh and Cary were drawn together as children and then back together as adults. I have read this author in the past and enjoyed her immensely (I highly recommend "Attachments"), and this newest book did not disappoint. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book, this is my honest and objective review.

I was absolutely overjoyed when I saw that Rainbow Rowell had a new adult fiction novel coming out and even more so when my request to read and review an early copy was granted!

Slow Dance is an absolute slow burn of a romance with a non chronological timeline showing the beginning of Shiloh and Cary's friendship and how it developed, or stagnated over time. Shiloh is a recently divorced mom of two who has recently moved back to her hometown to live with her mother. When her high school best friend Mikey invites her to his second wedding she cautiously accepts because well, she loves Mikey and this one is close to home, but also because she is hoping to see her other best friend, the third part of their higschool trio, Cary.

One slow dance at their best friend's wedding unlocks both of their lives to the possibility of second chance romance and the ability to make up for and learn from all of their past mistakes. Both Shiloh and Cary felt like very real, fleshed out people to me and I was yelling at them and fighting for them up until the very end.

I am so happy that Rainbow is back with adult fiction for us <3

I devoured this book. I love this trope and everything about it. The writing was done so well and kept the story moving through multiple timelines and characters. It was heartbreaking, tender, frustrating, enlightening and beautiful. The book had strong themes of growing up, learning how to communicate and accepting what makes you most happy even if it isn’t the easiest path. I thought the relationship was beautiful and I just wanted more of it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are mine alone.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of <i>Slow Dance</i> by Rainbow Rowell.

<i>Slow Dance</i> by Rainbow Rowell was an incredibly sweet read that brought a lot of high school nostalgia and angst. I loved the back and forth of the time lines of "before" and then current day to show the growth of the characters bond and love for one another. It was clear the main characters were very much in each others corners from the get go and would do anything for one another. I was slightly disappointed with how quickly the ending seemed to pass. It felt like all the previous chapters had some length to them and then all of a sudden, the chapters at the end were just a page or two and then bam, it was all over. This was an overall enjoyable read that seemed to go by too quickly and I am sad it ended and I had to say goodbye to this lovely story.

Slow Dance… so aptly named, is like a slow dance. I’ve always enjoyed Rainbow Rowell and this one did not disappoint.

Shiloh and Cary grew up together and drifted apart. This book explores what happens when they are together again and pursue the “what might have been.”

I loved this book and its quirky characters. It took me a little while to get a grasp on who Shiloh is but once I understood her, I couldn’t help but love her. I highly recommend this one!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this free digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review!

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.