
Member Reviews

RR never ceases to entertain me. I loved the character and the story line - five stars to the banter, sassiness, and humor - I was smiling and crying sometimes at the same time! Taking me back to the 90s and 2000s was also a hit for me, as someone who was a teen and young adult in those decades.
Overall this book warmed my heart, and gave me renewed appreciation for the second chance romance genre.

With wit and profound emotional insight, Rainbow Rowell crafts an exquisite, melody-rich exploration of enduring love and connection in her latest novel "Slow Dance." Centered on the beautifully rendered bond between lifelong friends Shiloh and Cary, the book deftly captures the inexplicable tethers that sustain us through life's detours and the sacrifices we make for those sacred relationships.
Rowell masterfully guides Shiloh and Cary's sweeping journey from inseparable teens to disconnected adults grappling with unfulfilled dreams. When they reunite years later, long-suppressed feelings reignite, forcing them to confront the love they've been denying. Balancing humor and pathos, Rowell imbues her vibrant characters with incredible authenticity as they navigate life's complexities.
An exquisite melody of hard truths about resilience missed chances, and the profundity of unconditional bonds, "Slow Dance" is a resonant, rhythm-rich masterpiece. For anyone who has felt the soul-stirring depths of a transcendent connection, this book will leave you awash in new appreciation for love's enduring cadences. Rowell's latest is a rhapsodic must-read.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced ARC of this title.
Rainbow Rowell has been a favorite of mine since the release of 'Park & Eleanor'.
What I love about Rainbow's writing, is ability to make her characters so real. Her characters are flawed. They are imperfect with blemishes and crooked teeth. In the age of photoshop and filters, this is so refreshing. She has only written a few adult romances, and knew immediately this would be a must read for me.
This book is the story of a divorcee, Shiloh. It is about her finding a new normal and finding herself while managing her household, ex-husband, and children. Her last sense of comfort and safety is none other than her best friend and the one who she never had a chance to love fully.
After years apart, they meet at a mutual friends wedding and enjoy a slow dance that is so intimate and perfect, you will have butterflies.
The story did get a little redundant in the middle as the two go back and forth and in the same pattern that keeps them apart.
Will they be able to move from their past mistakes and find a future together?
This is a lovely second chance romance, childhood friend to lover with some miscommunication mixed in. I would highly recommend

I'm always on board for Rainbow Rowell and was very excited for her newest adult title. Realistic characters living realistic, messy lives and maneuvering the pitfalls of adult romance with kids. Thank you NetGalley for the advance ecopy.

I knew the moment I read the first line that this was going to be something special, at least to me. RR is one of my favorites so of course without hesitation I had to jump in immediately, with both feet and my whole heart. Shiloh and Carey were very relatable. They weren’t your typical romance mc’s as they had flaws and issues but I loved them. I felt their heartbreaks, I celebrated their victories. This was funny and beautiful, wrapped in a pretty cover!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Rainbow Rowell knows how to make you feel all the feels. I felt Shiloh's awkwardness so much. And her just being overwhelmed with the sensations of living. And it was sweet how long it took both Shiloh and Cary to come to terms with their relationship.

I adore Rainbow Rowell and Fangirl will forever be one of my top 5 favorite books of all time, but since her short story collection I've been really unimpressed with the characters and the writing. This story felt really repetitive and boring, and maybe because I was reading it on my phone it almost felt like I was reading a fanfiction, which I used to do to pass time in high school rather than for the literary quality of the works. I didn't find the characters all that likeable or the story very compelling. I hope I enjoy her next one more than the last two, but I may have just grown out of her writing.

This is a solid Rainbow Rowell read for romance fans, but lacking in the magic of some of her other romance titles, literal and figurative. It took me too long to invest in Shiloh and Cary, in their relationship and the miscommunication, misinterpretation, and disruptions that keep them apart. The action begins at a wedding that enables the reset of the relationship but is awkward for our characters and a snooze for the reader. Even the first few flashbacks to high school and college didn’t convince me that this was a relationship that I wanted to root for. Things get interesting when things awkward in a funny, this-would-be-terrible-if-it-were-anyone-else overstuffed car trip sing-a-long with Cary’s Grandma toting an oxygen tank with Shiloh’s precocious daughter and tantruming son. Here is where Rowell finds her stride and we are at last set free from the weight of the set up and able to fall in love with characters falling in love.
Thanks to William Morrow & NetGalley for providing a copy for review!

I have been a longtime fan of Rainbow Rowell, and I was so excited to get the opportunity to read her new book, Slow Dance. The best way I can describe this book- it was perfectly imperfect. Shiloh and Cary are close high school friends who drift apart after a brief romantic encounter in college goes awry. Fourteen years later, they reconnect and find that the spark is still there, but it's complicated by their baggage- her kids, his career in the Navy, their messy history together. What unfolds is truly a slow dance of them building their relationship back up, trying to figure out if it could ever really work between them.
I read a lot of romance/women's fiction, but I can undoubtedly say I have never read a main character like Shiloh before. The way Rainbow Rowell wrote both the main characters made them feel like REAL people- flawed, complicated, messy, endearing. This is not a pretty story that makes you feel warm and fuzzy and predictably wraps up neatly with a bow. I think the setting and the themes of poverty added a lot to the story, and it was so interesting to read how their backgrounds shaped them as adults.
I will say, it threw me off a little bit at first that the flashbacks to 'before' were not chronological- but in the end I do think this structure added to the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I found it unique and thought provoking- the type of book I know will stick with me. Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing this ARC for my review!

Are you looking for your next slow burn romance? Look no further!
✨ Best friends to lovers
✨ Slow burn
✨ Single mom/Navy
✨ Family drama
✨ Past/Present POV
Shiloh, Cary, and Mikey are the three best friends that anyone could have. In high school they were connected at the hip, but there was always something special between Cary and Shiloh that had everyone guessing "when will they admit they love each other?"
Fast forward 15 years and they all meet up again at Mikeys wedding. Shiloh and Cary slow dance all night and remember what it felt like to be together all those years ago. But with her kids and his career and family, how would that even work?
This book was SO CUTE! I am used to Rainbow's YA series, but this one really knocked it out of Omaha. There was the sweetest romance, Neurodivergent rep, theatre love, hilarious banter, and
I just couldn't put it down.
Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for letting me read this early! I cannot wait to get my shelf trophy when it releases in July!

I loved this adult romance by Rainbow Rowell - so grateful for the opportunity to read it. I thought the timing shifts may be confusing because the time in the past wasn't linear, but all was clear and the "before" chapters have so much insight into Shiloh and Cary's history and relationship. I also appreciated the realistic picture of a single mom with a less than perfect relationship with her ex-husband and kids not immediately wanting a happily ever after for their mom. So happy for their well deserved and long awaited happiness!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I'm on the fence with this one. It's both a quick and slow read, while also being captivating and somewhat boring. The book bounces between timelines and sometimes between points of view. I found the POV confusing at times and would have liked for the chapter to have started with the name of the character just like some started with "before" so we knew where we were. Some of time bouncing also seemed random although I know it was intentional. I would have liked to have seen more chemistry between the two main characters. So much miscommunication that felt unnecessary, and I couldn't really feel the angst or the spark.
Definitely a different approach with a love story, and it's probably 50/50 on whether you'll like it. It certainly has a niche audience.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell is absolute perfection. Once I picked it up, I couldn’t stop reading. I literally stayed up until 1am, because I was IN it with Shiloh and Cary. I’m a huge fan of Rainbow Rowell, so I knew Slow Dance wouldn’t disappoint, however I was not quite expecting how thoroughly my heart would be destroyed and then resuscitated. I cried, I laughed, I exclaimed with joy, and frustration. Quite honestly, all the feelings. Did my husband end up asking me what was wrong? Yes, yes, he did.
Shiloh and Cary are high school best friends who are no longer in contact (14 years later) for reasons you’ll go on a journey of discovery with both Shiloh and Cary. We do switch to the past and present, and I quite enjoyed the 3rd person POV while also getting to see both Shiloh and Cary’s perspective. Slow Dance does have the miscommunication trope, but I would also say it’s more-so also our main characters just not communicating their feelings, which they have a lot of. Even though they know each other very well, you see from both the past and present how and why they end up where they do. I loved seeing every step of the way of them find their way back to each other. I LOVE their banter/dialogue. They do have a unique (to me) way of communicating. Mikey also is a true best friend in their trio, and it’s fantastic to see how Shiloh, Carey and Mikey kind of reignite their high school friendship. Their friendship is definitely one of those where they can go months without seeing each other and pick up where they left off, and as adults in their 30’s, I think it’s easy to lose that balance of friendship, so it’s good to see how the “hang outs” are done.
As a mom, I also loved seeing the dynamic between Shiloh and her kids. While I, fortunately did not marry a Ryan, it is difficult being a parent, let alone a single parent dealing with someone like that. The representation of handling kids and relationships (even friendships) was very well done. Also, the potty training struggles with Gus is so real.
I will 100% be thinking about this book and its characters for the next month and longer.
Special thanks to HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I have loved Rainbow Rowell for so long, I still actively think about the books Eleanor and Park and Landline. I am happy to report this book does not disappoint. About two childhood best friends who find their way back to each other and fall in love later in life, it is funny and sweet, and has this author’s perfect touches. I devoured it in a day.

This was the first book of Rowells that I had read in about a decade and boy I’m glad I did.
This second chance romance was wonderfully written. Told in third person dual POV alternating between the past and the present. We truly get to experience the characters at their best and their worst. We watch them navigate their feelings both past and present all together.
Thank you William Morrow, Rowell, and NetGalley for the ARC. I am truly honored to have read it.

Rainbow Rowell can always crack me wide open and find those parts of me that I forgot existed and put them into her characters' stories.
First loves are always messy and complicated, throw in some anxiety and confusing best friend vibes and Cary and Shiloh never had a chance before graduation. Fast forward 14 years, some kids, and a whole lot of life, and this second chance romance throws you through the wringer. There's something about finding the right person at the wrong time that just gets me in the feels. And Rainbow always writes her complex characters with such depth and love that you can feel.
I don't think I'll ever love a RR character as much as I loved Wren and Elenor, but this one got me in a new way that I didn't expect. Loved the slow-burn and that it was less a story of miscommunication but trying to figure out one's feelings. Working through things and trying to push past the hurt that was just part of growing up.
ARC received through NetGalley and William Morrow Books in exchange for an honest review

This was a great book. The multi pov and timelines were great and I reallly enjoyed it. The writing was also very good.

This is a story of so many things: missed opportunities and regrets, first love and second chances, and being young and thinking you have all the answers, only to grow up and realize you never did (and still actually don’t). It focused on two imperfect people who were complicated yet relatable and flawed yet real. The vibes were reminiscent of the TV show This is Us with the multiple timelines and showcasing of those seemingly insignificant, mundane moments that are actually so much more. “Just one more chapter” turned into twenty, and it was wonderful.
Things I loved:
- Multiple timelines (before - teens and 20s, now - 30s)
- Dual POV - Getting the opportunity to see events that unfolded from both of their perspectives helped me to really understand and appreciate the complexities of their relationship
- Cary - A Sailor who loves an oath, can hold a grudge, and has a very complicated family life. There were so many times I wanted to shake him, but I also couldn’t help wholeheartedly rooting for him anyway.
- Shiloh - A single mother with a busy brain who is not great with eye contact, likes old things and bright colors, and really does not like meeting new people. A little bit of teenage Shiloh went a long way, but the more I learned about her and walked in her shoes, the more I just wanted her to have all the things. She also made me laugh on many occasions.
- Mikey - The supportive, comedic relief friend who speaks the truth and saw it all happen. What a blood brother.
- Junie and Gus - Shiloh’s kids were written so well and added such a beautiful depth to her character and the story as a whole.
This novel leaned more towards beige prose, which was absolutely perfect for the atmosphere of the story. It allowed me to engage with the dialogue and invest in the characters and events. I wasn’t distracted by needing to decipher any complicated descriptions. I felt like I was truly in it. And it was… painful. beautiful. funny. raw. exciting. emotional. I am sad that it’s over, so, so glad that it happened, and am absolutely bummed I won’t be able to read it for the first time again. But, I will most definitely be reading it again.
** Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. **

An amazing return to adult fiction from Rainbow Rowell! I love this book so much, and I can't wait to talk about it with friends. This is the romance novel I always want to read -- it reflects adults dealing with real responsibilities who work hard to make their relationship work. In this book Shiloh and Carey become friends in high school, and reconnect years later at their friend Mikey's wedding. Shiloh is divorced with two children, and Carey has traveled the world through his work in the Navy. Their deep connection and friendship is immediately reignited, and they pick back up talking.
The novel follows them through a non-linear storyline, there's the present where they're adults, and flashbacks at different time points throughout high school and early college. The flashbacks don't go in order, and sometimes we see a scene through Shiloh's point of view and then will see the same one through Carey's. I thought this worked really well, and really appreciated the insight it gave me into these characters. Their romance was believable but still swoon-worthy, and I loved how much you could feel their connection.
Overall cannot rate this highly enough. I thought it was excellent and look forward to the next novel from Rainbow Rowell!

My favorite Rainbow Rowell book of all time is Fangirl. I've read her other works, but nothing else she's ever written has hit me the way Fangirl did...until now. Slow Dance is a beautiful romance filled with unique and interesting characters. I think I might have enjoyed this book so much because it was written in a similar style to Fangirl, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that you should read this book.
I was given this book in exchange for my honest opinion. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.