Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the ARC of this novel. This romance was definitely the slowest burn I have ever read. Shiloh and Cary definitely got on my nerves in the beginning with their first reunion in 14 years but they did grow on me as the book proceeded. Rowell is always good at her characters' growth and this is no exception. 3 stars.

Shiloh and Cary were best friends through high school who thought their friendship would last forever, but then life got in the way. It’s been 14 years since they spoke and their lives have taken them in different directions. She’s divorced and has two children and he’s single and still in the Navy. After so many years, Shiloh is torn by the prospect of seeing Cary again at a high school friend’s wedding. She’s not sure if she’s scared or delighted.

A weekend tryst during her college years was the only time the two really connected. Since then, they never followed up on their attraction and their lives have followed their own paths. Cary has not waivered in his feelings but Shiloh seems incapable of committing. In fact, her push/pull behavior is annoying. So the chance to reconnect when he’s in town for a wedding may be the jump start they need. She’s more than willing to remain friends and even offers to help his sick mother when he can’t be there himself. But, as the title implies, their relationship is a slow dance.

The characters were interesting but following Shiloh and her wavering emotions was like riding a roller-coaster. Maybe Rowell needed to explore more of her character’s rationale for how she acts and thinks. Fortunately, Cary is a great guy with tremendous patience. Shiloh’s two children are a breath of fresh air. They light up the book when they appear and have a great relationship with their mother. Rowell is a talented writer who generally writes for teens. This is not my favorite book of hers but worth reading and getting to know the likeable Cary and the supporting characters.

I'm a longtime fan of Rainbow, and I was so excited to read this! Unfortunately it was a bit of alert down - the characters were just SO awkward. It reminded me of little kids playing with Barbies, just making them do whatever for the hell of it. 3.5 stars, rounded down.

I know it’s not a crazy popular one, but I love love love a good second chance romance.

The pacing here was interesting. I didn’t hate it, but it gave it a different feel!

I’m not sure it flowed super well overall, but the connection to characters outweighed any of that.

Definitely recommend for a second chance book, and just in general! All the vibes.

I have been waiting for a new adult novel from Rainbow Rowell, and she did not disappoint. So much of Romance is idyllic and rosey, but Slow Dance is devastatingly real. It's sad and honest and messy. I loved the intricacies of Shiloh's sexuality and the deep, complicated, layered love that she and Cary had for each other. I spent the entire book not knowing if there would be a HEA and what it would look like, but rooting for one the whole time.

While I adore Rainbow Rowell, this title was a little bit of a departure for me. I did ultimately enjoy the story, but I ended up having to wait for the audiobook. Not sure if that speaks to where my head is at right now or not, but I kept attempting to read this and setting it down. At first I was not a fan of the MC. I know Rowell rights imperfect characters on purpose and I love her for that, but this time I really had to warm up to her. By the end I did enjoy both of the MCs stories and was happy to see a HEA.

I fell in love with these characters and the first 2/3 of the book sucked me in. It was just a lovely read with lovely characters. They are high school best friends from a rough part of Omaha, but they don't completely understand that what they are feeling for each other is attraction. After graduation, they connect briefly but a miscommunication leaves them estranged for 14 years. With dual timelines, I was dying for them to figure out their past and just be together.

This is my second of Rainbow Rowell's novels and it was as delightful as the first.

Tropes:
•Single Parent
•Friends to Lovers
•Second Chance
•Dual Timeline

🌶️🌶️🌶️ Open Door: At least one intimate scene with the reader present, euphemistic language for act and body parts.

I loved her young adult books and was so excited to read this, but I just couldn’t get into it like I had hoped I would. I’ll try again in the future. Thank you for the opportunity to read it!

Romance isn't really my genre most of the time, especially not M/F romance, but I heard great things about Rainbow Rowell's new book and decided to give it a whirl. I have to admit I got sucked into Shiloh and Cary's decades-long slow burn to finding each other again and again. Rowell writes a well-crafted book full of longing and missed opportunities. The HEA is in spite of the lead characters. They aren't bad, on the contrary they are beautiful souls who just happen to not think they deserve each other. And so the story begins. I got into the groove with the flashbacks and enjoyed the secondary characters. I wish there would have been more of Mikey. As romance goes, it's a decent one. I would definitely recommend to lovers of the genre.

I am a fan of Rainbow Rowell's young adult books and was looking forward to reading this adult title. The book unfortunately fell flat for me. The story is told in dual timelines and the reader learns about the past and current relationship of Cary and Shiloh. I found the characters in the present day when they are in their 30's to still seem like teenagers. The pacing of the book was slow, and it just seemed like these two were never going to learn anything or grow up. Sorry, but I think Rainbow Rowell should stick to YA books where she is a queen.

I haven’t had time to read this yet — I’m so sorry. I plan to read it when Libby has the audiobook available.

good romance and loved how they found love and each other. They survived their trials and found their way back to each other. another great romance.

I am a huge fan of Rainbow Rowell and have only a few titles from her backlist that I have not yet read. I have absolutely loved every single one of them, but Slow Dance was ultimately a bit of a letdown for me.

Shiloh and Cary are two very very awkward turtles. Now, Rowell is known for her realistic characters, and I absolutely live for it. Shiloh was just a bit too much and too realistic for the page in that it was very difficult to relate to her because she was so...Shiloh. Cary, God bless him has enough baggage to last at least a few trips around the globe - which he apparently has done being in the Navy since high school graduation. He just hasn't learned to unpack it all. That being said, it is no wonder these two crazy kids never ended up together.

Shiloh has issues including a very weird tactile obsession with Cary. Rowell is very descriptive with every touch of Shiloh's and it honestly became annoying as a reader. I think I literally cringed reading some of the spicier scenes between the two of them and I think this was my main issue with their romance. I didn't exactly sense a long, deep-seated love between them - just a deep-seated need to be in the other's sphere of existence.

The two things I did love about this book is the way Rowell worked past events into chapters, not chronologically, but as events spurred memories, which is what happens in real life. Someone mentions an inside joke and the next chapter explains how that joke came to be. I know a lot of other people were annoyed with the confusing time jumps, but I thought it was executed exceptionally well. I also adored Shiloh's kids, especially her daughter Juniper. Juniper is every precocious child that ever existed and reminded me so much of my own daughter at that age.

Obviously, if you have read any of Rainbow Rowell's other works, you will still want to read this. She captures real characteristics better than any other author I have read and I can see Shiloh and Cary's quirks being charming to someone who has similar neuroses. It's just that for me, out of her entire body of work, this is the only one didn't live up to the romantic hype. Overall, 3.25 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Rainbow Rowell for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

the storyline and character development in this book are perfection. The character banter alone was delightful. I loved the romp through time via character flashbacks, etc.
Some parts of the book felt a little rushed, and the last third was a bit repetitive and dragged. The pacing definitely could be improved. Overall the general story, characters and emotional response I experienced made the book well worth it. I truly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Couldn’t quite get into it. Wish I could because Rainbow is I great writer, but the premise didn’t resonate.

Quite frankly one of the most heart-wrenching books I've ever read! It literally felt like I was intruding on some of Cary and Shiloh's moments because they were so intimate and soft and real. Definitely one of my favorite books of 2024!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an advanced copy of this novel. I highly enjoyed it and will be recommending it.

Such a good second chance romance!! Although this book follows our main characters primarily in the present, I really liked that we got some flashbacks to Shiloh and Cary’s past as well. For me as a reader that’s a recipe for a great romance! With a second chance romance, I feel like having both the past and present timelines together create such a validity to the love story. Shiloh was definitely a tortured heroine and I could see how a lot of readers may struggle reading from her perspective. I personally loved her growth and thought that she was a really realistic character. Cary was also just THE BEST. This was a 5 ⭐️ romance for me and I highly recommend it!

I talk about this one more on episode 167 of the Book Talk Etc podcast.

This was a poetically written story about second chance love in a potentially realistic manner where life is messy, love is messy, and no matter how much we may resist it, we sometimes can't stay away from the love we're meant to have.

With the dual timeline where we get to see these two together as friends earlier in their lives, watch their relationship blossom, and then ultimately witness their drifting apart from one another due to life and an inability to voice what they truly want, we also get their present day connection where they're thankfully thrown back into one another's lives time and again and they eventually get out of their own ways.

This wasn't my favorite Rainbow Rowell book, but it was exceptional nevertheless.

I was really excited by this book at first but overall had a hard time connecting to Shiloh which made it hard to read. While not a book I’d recommend it was still a decent read