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.

I’ve not read an adult novel by Rainbow Rowell before, but I enjoyed this quite a bit! It’s a romance novel with characters and conversations that felt incredibly real and relatable, and I enjoyed the way their backstory unfolded over the flashback sections. The writing was a bit simplistic for this to be an absolute favorite, which is why I knocked it down a star. Thanks to William Morrow/Netgalley for the early copy — Slow Dance comes out in July!

I LOVE a Rainbow Rowell love story, so I was excited to read an advanced copy of this one. This one was just delightful - It's definitely a slow burn, but it works. It's the story of Shiloh and Cary, friends and first loves, who also haven't ever had their timing just right. It's a mix of what happened before and what brought them to their time reconnecting in the present. It was a lot of feels, but in the best way. I also liked that they were older (in other words, nearer to my age) and how all the "stuff" along the way was a part of the story, too. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this July 2024 release!

Yes, I tore through this, and deeply appreciated the lovers-with-history, slow burn nature of the story, but I also didn't feel like I ever quite understood the two protags.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
ARC BOOK REVIEW
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Slow Dance was a slow burn of brilliance.
Bouncing between the present and the past, the book tells the story of Shiloh and Cary. Friends in high school, they reconnect 15 years after they're last time together at their mutual friend Mikey's wedding. Shiloh, now divorced with 2 young kids and Cary, with 5 more years of Navy enlistment, spend the book reconnecting and learning to trust (themselves and each other).
Cary is, for lack of a better word, a dream boat. He is so cataclysmicly in love with Shiloh from day one that you can't help rooting for him. Shiloh (who is coded as both asexual and autistic) struggles to name her feelings, but it's obvious to the reader that her love for Cary is a guiding force.
I tore through this incredibly rich, friends-to-lovers cozy slow burn. Rainbow Rowell has a way of describing that always sucks me in.

I received this digital ARC from @netgalley and publisher in @harpercollins in exchange for an honest review.

Slow Burn will be released July 23, 2024

4.5 stars
If Rainbow Rowell writes something, I’m reading it. Shiloh and Cary were childhood best friends, secretly in love with each other with neither having the language or ability to talk about their feelings and the future. It leads to a severing of the friendship, until their other best friend from high school gets married and they reconnect at the wedding. Do things go any better for them this time around? Let’s just say these two struggled. And I normally would have wanted nothing to do with this kind of plot from another writer but RR can *write* uncomfortable characters saying and doing uncomfortable things. I never feel like highlighting sentences from books but I paused so many times while reading this book to reflect on something one character said to another as they navigated mistakes from the past to hurdle challenges in the present.

Whenever I start to get discouraged about the state of contemporary fiction/romance, a book like this will come into my life. I can’t underscore the importance of the writing/writer. Even if there were elements in this book that would have seen me wanting to rage quit from another author, RR gives us fully fleshed characters and addresses all of those moments head on. I loved Shiloh and Cary. I stayed up all night long reading this book because I was immersed in their world and RR’s words!

Shiloh and Cary are best friends. They have been best friends since the seventh grade. On a superficial level, they are a mismatched pair: Cary is the serious and strait-laced ROTC student who plans to join the Navy after graduation, while Shiloh is the artistic, unconventional, and anxious newspaper editor and drama kid. But, as their mutual friend Mikey will one day say, “You guys look different on the outside. Different packaging. But you’re a lot alike on the inside.” They are both intelligent, strong-willed, and steadfast, and they also share a sense of quiet unease and hesitancy likely borne from their untraditional and sometimes unstable childhoods in working-class Omaha.

Rainbow Rowell’s 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 tells the story of their friendship and eventual romance in a non-linear way, moving among different points in their close school years, estrangement in early adulthood, and reunion and reacquaintance in their 30s. I should warn you that this is definitely a slow burn kind of book and the pacing of the narrative and personalities of the lead characters can be very frustrating at times. Both Shiloh and Cary are poor communicators and have a lot of maturing to do, on top of the life obstacles and interrupted opportunities they must overcome. But eventually, the characters gel into flawed yet endearing characters who show growth and promise. Rowell manages to hold the readers’ attention through the course of this with engaging storytelling, sharp dialogue, and some truly beautiful prose.

4.5 stars rounded up. I recommend this novel to those who are fans of friends-to-lovers stories and second-chance romances in the vein of Emily Henry’s 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘞𝘦 𝘔𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘝𝘢𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, Christina Lauren’s 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴, and David Nicholls’ 𝘖𝘯𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘺. Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a fantastic, romantic, human story! Great characters, with quirks that feel authentic, and dialogue that sparkles. Can't say enough good things.

This was like a 2.5⭐️

This was like a big will they or won’t they? I didn’t hate this but I didn’t like it either but I really didn’t hate it and I was so invested if these two would get together. Shiloh and Cary gave me a headache but literally I kinda liked them. They’ve been friends forever and it’s so much miscommunication and Will we or won’t we? Like, I don’t know how I feel. Sometimes the dialogue felt wonky but I feel like it worked for them and the descriptions never lasted too long so that’s why I was little off put. It was lots of dialogue and back and forth feelings not feelings. Though when Cary does /that/ thing I literally sat up a little straighter and couldn’t believe my eyes.

I liked them. I think.


Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a early copy in exchange for an honest review!