Rainbow Rowell is back in a new adult novel and she doesn't disappoint. Reading Rowell is like coming home - her expertise with incredible, realistic dialogue and real-world challenges always make her stories stand out. Slow Dance is about a second chance romance between Shiloh and Cary. Their story is told in chunks alternating between Shiloh and Cary's high school and college days to present (2006) when they meet for the first time in over a decade at their mutual friend's wedding in their early 30s. I loved seeing the evolution in their relationship and how the time they missed was crucial to their growth. They both learned a lot of lessons that led to them finally getting it right. I also really liked reading about Shiloh as a single mother who has to navigate her responsibilities to her children and her children's father. When you're a mother, your relationships aren't just between you and your partner anymore. Rowell did a great job of writing a realistic way their lives could fold in together. I wish there was a bit more romance, but that's just the reality of a romance with two adults and one who has kids. Rowell also shines in the back and forth Cary and Shiloh have when they write to each other over email in 2006 - no checking your smart phone! You have to open your computer and wait for a response. I loved that. It felt very reminiscent of her debut novel Attachments.

Overall, highly recommend this fun, second chance romance with heart. Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an e-galley of this title in exchange for my honest thoughts.

A beautiful slow dance of a love story about friendship and teenage crushes blossoming into true love. This was a character driven novel about how lives can be going in one direction and how teenage memories can pull you towards the one that got away.

Shiloh and Cary are high school friends who both have secret crushes on the other. When Shiloh goes away to college and Cary joins the military, their lives drift apart. Fifteen years later, they both attend the same wedding and their relationship re-ignites. Shiloh and Cary are each living very different lives, but come together to help each other through hardships that arise.

Some chapters are written in the present, and other chapters tell of Shiloh and Cary’s past lives that brought them to where they are today.

I enjoyed this book until about 75% into the story, there was a chapter or two that made no sense with the rest of the story and was very unnecessary. If the author would have left that out, I would have rated this book higher. Other than that, this was an enjoyable book. #SlowDance #NetGalley

This book was true to its title. The main characters have a "slow dance" of a love story that spans many, many years. There were moments in their story that made me laugh, and a few that made me tear up. I read this story in 2 sittings, and I was happy that it ended with a nice, tidy conclusion.

I don’t typically enjoy books that have really drawn-out, up and down, happy and sad, back and forth, angsty romance. But Ms. Rowell has a way of leading you by the hand through the story and you don’t want to let go. I read this in one day. It was all of the things I mentioned at the beginning and I enjoyed it and was content with the ending.
As always, her character development was top notch.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this read. All opinions are my own.
Incredibly sweet, slow burn of a romance set in middle America. After spending years apart, Shiloh and Cary are reunited at a friend's wedding. Depending on who you asked they were best friends, childhood sweethearts, or maybe even "the one that got away". Shiloh seems poised on the brink of discovering who she truly is. Her path through life has left her with 2 children and 1 ex=husband. Cary's reappearance is both a comfort and a disruption. Flashbacks take us through their high school and college years. I enjoyed seeing the glimpses of who they were, compared with who they are now. One of my favorite things about the author's writing is how much I feel like I get to know her characters. One of the things I enjoyed most was the development of their relationship. Both Shiloh and Cary were encumbered by their jobs, families, and ties to their past selves. But somehow, they managed to push past that and find a deep connection together.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I like Rainbow Rowell's writing style, but this one didn't have me hooked like I was hoping for. I felt like it was a slow read and then it kind of just ended. I did enjoy the book, just not as much as I could.

Rainbow Rowell is just masterful.
Eleanor and Park will forever be one of my favorite books of all time.
This book was lovely. Angsty, heartbreaking. With the glow and disillusionment of young love, and the depth of the really nitty gritty love that you chose to stick with.

My main complaints with this book was the ending. I did not get how quickly the ending wrapped up. I feel like the slow build was painstaking lovely, but the ending and wrap up came to quick. It almost felt as if the story was building toward a second breakup or tragedy and then nothing happened. Just left me feeling…. huh?

Prefacing this with: I'm truly convinced Corrine was written by Rowell, especially after the stylistic similarities between this and that; I've not read any of her other adult romances apart from Corrine.

I don't know what it is about Rowell's ability to write addictive romances about unlikeable, self described white Midwest trash, but it fucking works for me. Rowell has a specific style that makes for quick reading, even if it's not objectively the best writing in the world. But something about it sinks in and sticks, making it incredibly difficult to close the book. Rowell loves writing about ugly people, in an ugly way that makes it hard to stomach because you want the polished fantasy of romance. Her writing is so ODD, with weirdly specific and sometimes gross details....but it works.

This is not the book to read for steamy sex - there's one scene at the very end; it's not the greatest and feels like a letdown/tease after all of the pent up longing between the two. BUT if you love a slow burn star crossed romance that is held back by mishaps and communication where two people talk past each other and don't connect until the last half, this book is for you. Shiloh is obnoxious - I would not want to be her friend, which is fine, she hates new friends, she is too cool for normie things, even at 33 - but I somehow still felt invested in her and wanted her to work through her problems to achieve a better life. It's ugly but nice to read about people who grew up poor, in bad neighborhoods, with questionable or unknown parentage, who work at airport bars and can't make their mortgage. Who, despite all that, are doing the best with the hand they were dealt (Grandma Lois ftw!) And their best is realistic and unpolished, they're not successfully rich lawyers, editors, or nepo babies.

I have a LOT of questions about Shiloh - is she autistic?? traumatized?? asexual?? There's a line in the beginning that alludes to something dark in her past and I'd assumed sexual assault but it never, ever pops up again. Shiloh is overwhelmed at eye contact, she hates group socializing and making new friends, dissociates from her body during sex, and has a style of stim built on poking/pulling at Cary like a 14 yr old teen. But it's left unlabeled and unexplored, which is my one issue with this book. To break from her dissociative state, she bites Cary and suddenly that puts her back in her body (I'm SO confused at how that worked.) And then the issue doesn't arise again after she spent the whole book hinting at her struggles. I'm just. So confused. And wanted it explained. I'm very tired of writing that codes autism or other disabilities but never names it. If Shiloh is not autistic or neurodiverse, which is what I spent most of the book reading her as, then she's much more immature and I have much less patience with her shenanigans and unlikeable character.

Recommended for Corrine fans as well as Every Summer After / Love and Other Words. Also probably Colleen Hoover, from what I understand of her simplistic/repetitive writing style.

Loved this book its was so cute anything by this author I will read and I know I will love. The characters were well thought out and I liked the story line I’m so excited to buy this book when it comes out.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book. I always enjoy Rainbow Rowell's writing and this one was no different. I was especially impressed because this wasn't a story that I would normally read. Had it been by another author I don't think I would have given it a second thought.

The story and writing style felt like a mix of Attachments and Landline. It had the email communications that Attachments did (slightly differently) and the story being told out of chronological order, like Landline. The writing, the characters, and the heartfelt humor were all wonderful. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Rowell's books in the past, especially her adult fiction.

I enjoyed the book. It’s a second chance romance. Cary and Shiloh were best friends since childhood, however due to insecurities and poor communication they don’t really get together the first time.
This time around they are both mature, they reconnect at wedding and renew their friendship. A lot has changed in 15 years, Shiloh is a mom , Cary is in the navy and stationed on a ship for months together. They learn to adjust and adapt, and finally get their happy ending

This, ladies and gentlemen, is how you write literary romance.
I've enjoyed Rowell's writing in the past, with her quirky, hyper-alternative YA characters, but I have to admit, I grossly underestimated her abilities. Not many writers can move so effortlessly between colloquial YA/contemporary fiction and more highbrow literary fare. Although as I wrote that, I cringed at the pretentiousness and realized that her strength has always lay in crafting nuanced characters, and it is certainly what makes Slow Dance sing. But I guess my point is that this doesn't feel like a YA writer who has chosen to tell the same story, but this time with adult characters. It is mature, plodding in its pacing, but still captivating. The more I think about it, the more I backtrack on my original sentiments, because I think what is so special about this book is that it pinpoints exact emotions we've all felt in relationships, and even mirrors universal experiences. With very little real action, Rowell expertly creates an overwhelming sense of longing between the imperfect protagonists that is so pervasive throughout it sort of replaces the need for a plot.

TLDR: This book is better than Normal People, better than One Day, and on par with one of my absolute favorites, The Light We Lost, by Jill Santopolo. If any of those are books that resonate with you, this is a *must read*.

Thank you for the ARC! I was so happy to get approved for a Rainbow Rowell book. She has so much talent for writing genuine, relatable, and down to earth characters. Cary and Shiloh’s journey from high school friends to reconnecting as adults was a sweet slow burn. They had such great chemistry and connection.
The story was so well rounded and included interesting family dynamics for both of them. What a great read! Thank you!

Rainbow Rowell has a specific talent of writing very genuine and relatable characters, and this book really showcased that. I am not her target audience for her YA books, but this book definitely spoke to the nostalgia of the 90's and 2000's, and I definitely appreciated that a lot. There is a lot of jumping back and forth between the past and present, but I personally appreciated it. Definitely would recommend.

I have waited so long for another book by Rainbow Rowell that was made for adults. She did not disappoint. This tells the story of old high school friends who are now grown-ups and are trying to figure out who they are to each other. We go back-and-forth from their high school days to the current day as we get to know these characters. While I didn’t always love the younger versions, I do think they were a good reflection of those teenager years. Perhaps I didn’t like them because it felt too familiar? But I loved how everything came togetherg and the way the story was told. I will miss these characters, which is always a sign a good book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced copy.

High school best friends, Shiloh and Cary, loose touch after a one-off romantic encounter while the two were 19 and Cary was on leave after bootcamp. Fourteen years later Shiloh is divorced with two kids and Cary is still in the Navy and the two reconnect at a wedding. They slowly find their way back to each other.

As a local to Omaha, I’ve always loved Rainbow Rowell’s books. She’s from here, always sets her stories in Omaha, and has countless nods to Omaha places in her books. I have been waaaaaaiting forever for her to write another adult book!

I always love Rainbow’s characters. She always writes these beautifully imperfect and human characters with excellent character development. Slow Dance was no different. You will connect with Shiloh and Cary, feel their feels and root for them. And each MC had a messy family and complicated history that shaped them as adults. I want to be clear - this is not a bright and shiny rom-com. This read felt cozy, nostalgic, real, and sad. And with Rainbow’s writing, I can always *see* each scene. I love how descriptive she is, but never feel like she’s belaboring the point.

The story was told alternating between the present and before, the present told chronologically and the before not. I enjoyed the peeks into the past, which gave us a lot of the whys behind the messiness and difficulty Cary and Shiloh had figuring out how each other fit into their perspective lives this far down the line. Again, I want to emphasize that this isn’t a fuzzy feelings friends-to-lovers romance story, this focuses more on the day to day of a relationship and the processing through the hows together.

You’ll enjoy this book if you like raw and flawed characters, books set in Omaha, second chance romances, slow burn, first loves, and books with epistolary elements.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts. I’m looking forward to the release this summer and am hoping to finally meet Rainbow!

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC! I’ll just start by saying that I read this book in four hours- four!! I have always loved Rainbow Rowell’s writing style, and “Slow Dance” was no exception.

The book follows old friends Shiloh and Cary, who reconnect in their hometown at a friend’s wedding after 15 years apart. The story goes back and forth through time, comparing and contrasting the characters and their relationship from high school to present day. I will say the story starts off a little bit slowly, but I was hooked within a couple of chapters.

I love the way Rowell writes about insecurity and anxiety, especially in the context of romantic relationships. There’s something achingly earnest about her characters and the way they see each other, the way they want each other, even while their assumptions about themselves and each other sometimes get in the way of their desires. They feel very normal and relatable. I love the journey these characters took, both together and apart, and the bittersweet moments between them sometimes took my breath away.

All that’s to say 5 stars for Slow Dance!

3.5 stars for me, rounded up. Now let me explain.

This is my first book by Rainbow Rowell. I had zero expectations starting this book and I began with a pristine, clean slate.

I have not read a contemporary romance where the fmc is divorced with two kids. Imagine my surprise when whoosh here comes our second chance, handsome romance. I was excited even. This I can relate to, the messy, complicated existence of life with children. I also loved the Before Cary and Shiloh, they had so much chemistry and the will they, won't they thing and it was darling.

I was obsessed with everything happening. I read this novel like a madwomwn. You could not tell me this was not going to be a five star read and that you betcha I am reading the entire catalog of Rainbow Rowell, back to back, my reading agenda next month be damned. Then, enter the last 25%. I felt like I had been abandoned on the side of the road without my cell phone.

The Current Cary and Shiloh (post wedding of Mike) made me mad. I understand the point to some extent that we need to see growth and wisdom, but this Cary was pretty unlikeable for me. It was all about him, and Shiloh feeding him and watching him eat and Shiloh making decisions to make Cary happy. Where did the Shiloh I was obsessed with go? The Before Cary was a brooding, introverted adorable kitten. The Before Shiloh was an opinionated, larger than life person. I do not understand.

I did not like any of the interactions between Cary and Shiloh's kids. There was a lot of emphasis placed on the daily mundane details, which work to really make novels come alive, but also really dragged things down. I know every meal that Shiloh cooked for Cary (down to the number of pieces of toast) and every cake that she shipped to him on his boat or whatever. I know how often her children take baths. I sighed heavily as the last few chapters kept coming, like let's wrap this up already. I think it would be a difficult task to end this book well and unfortunately it just didn't happen for me. I kind of feel like giving this the notebook treatment and turning it off before the two main characters die. (This book is not like the notebook, it's just a dramatic example that unfortunately comes to mind here).

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Another lovely, wonderful book by Rainbow Rowell. The author's writing knows how to put a lump in my throat, then finds a way to make me laugh, which then makes me want to cry more, which are my favorite kinds of books to read. The tension, angst, connection, complexity, and believability was all there in the story, allowing me to be engaged throughout the entire reading. This dual pop friends-to-lovers felt so pure and raw.

I enjoyed Shiloh and Cary's dynamic and the ways in which they were both similar and yet different. Despite having feelings for each other in high school whether they were aware of them or not, fourteen years go by after graduation and finally they must be honest with themselves and each other. However, it's not an easy path for them to be together if they want as Shiloh is divorced with two kids and Cary is in the Navy who moves from station to station. But sometimes the feelings don't allow them to choose whether they want to take a risk and be together and fate decides for them. So happy I got to experience Shiloh and Cary's story!!

Much gratitude to William Morrow and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

Second book I've read by Rainbow Rowell, the story is very sweet and romantic, it's the first romance I've read by the author, the other book was a young adult. I have to admit that I found it a bit slow at times, and a bit confusing, due to the flashbacks, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for this e-copy, in exchange for an honest review.
#SlowDance