I went in with high expectations because of the praises I have heard about this author. The writing itself was fantastic but unfortunately, the plot just didn’t work for me.

I landed on three stars. Amazing writing, but the story choices pulled me out too many times for it to be a higher rating.

I found Nell absolutely insufferable but yet somehow I still enjoyed this. I was annoyed by her and then I found myself looking forward to reading. Noah’s morals definitely seemed a bit hazy, especially since he was a doctor. But I was rooting for him way more than her.

Let me start by saying this: the tension in the flashback scenes is absolutely iconic and done so, so well. It unfortunately made the present day scenes feel a little lackluster because the flashbacks were SO good. This is setup to be a second chance, enemies-to-lovers story but often felt too opaque in the present day because Nellie was unwilling to even internally dialogue about why she hated Noah so much. It made it really difficult to go alongside her big feelings when there was no explanation for why she felt that way so intensely. I did enjoy this story, and I liked Noah a lot!

In this charming second chance romance, current enemies Noah and Nellie are faced with the prospect of being roommates at a Sonoma wedding. They were together years ago, and no one aside from the two of them, knows what really happened and why things ended. Nellie harbors a lot of anger and resentment toward Noah, and she isn't happy to see him, but can't deny that she has unresolved feelings for him. Noah doesn't enjoy being lashed out at but can't seem to stay away. The weeklong festivities continue to draw the two closer together, and force them both to relive what happened when they were teenagers and what might be unraveling in the present.

Nora Dahlia is such a talented writer that I was immediately drawn in. I loved how she continued to toggle between past and present, and kept me interested in both storylines, demanding to know, "What did Noah DO?" The setting of Sonoma was perfectly romantic and a great place to imagine them rekindling their romance. Most members of the friend group served as lovely found family, but of course, there are two who serve as villains and they do their job well. I did enjoy the other characters though. Even though I tremendously enjoyed the writing and the story and even the characters, I wasn't able to step outside the reality of the situation and forgive Noah myself. I personally found his actions unforgiveable and was disappointed once his true character was revealed. I know he was young, but it was not just a single error, and they were large, insurmountable errors and red flags, in my opinion. However, a good book does open up discussion, and this book certainly will do that. I think it provides value to the topic of forgiveness and youth and mistakes and what is and isn't forgivable in the context of a relationship. Regardless, I really enjoyed the book and look forward to whatever Nora Dahlia writes next. She is clearly very talented!

Thank you to Nora Dahlia and Gallery books for the arc and opportunity to be an early reader and reviewer.

I had a feeling I was going to love this one & I am so glad I was right. This is such an interesting second-chance romance done with great flashbacks told in the third person, where present timeline is done in dual first. This is my first Nora Dahlia book, but definitely not my last - her writing captured the complexities of these characters, two first loves who broke up nearly two decades ago & are now forced to confront their teenage past.

Nellie & Noah were high school sweethearts, but more than that, they had this connection that they never were able to replicate in their adult lives. Now, being forced together for a week, Nellie tries to remain in her hurt by Noah, but slowly he breaks down her walls & it's this incredible, banter-filled spectrum of emotions that jump off the page. Both Noah & Nellie still have such strong feelings towards each other after two decades, but also different feelings about their split. This has that sort of high school reunion movie playing out with flashbacks to when they were younger & when it's finally revealed what happened all those years ago, as a reader, I was so torn. I think that's what makes this such a great story - truly being able to feel the emotions of these characters & just wanting to see what not only happened in the past, but happens to them going forward. Literally could not put this book down - read it in a night.

There are a bunch of great situations that happen along the way that have Nellie & Noah stuck together. They share a suite (no one bed here), get stuck on a road trip, end up in a hot tub together - and all these fun scenarios have them reminiscing, and their chemistry ignites in that slow-burning type of way. Their high school friends play a large role here - including the backstabbing ones (we all had them growing up). There's some interesting drama that plays out that just adds to that high school dynamic, even if they are all approaching 40. This might be a bit silly, but as someone who loves high school reunion movies & those types of drama-edies, this one fit the bill for me.

💕 Second Chance
🏡 Forced Proximity
💋 First Loves
❤️‍🔥 Enemies to Lovers
⏰ Dual Timeline
✌🏻 Dual POV

When I first started reading this book, I was excited. The book opens with a flashback to our main characters as teens in the 90s, and I thought... finally, a romance with 40-somethings as the main characters. How refreshing and relatable!

But that was where the excitement ended, because there was NOTHING about the main characters in this book thar suggested they were teens two-plus decades ago. The MMC and FMC, Noah and Nellie, were bad enough, but their friends were so immature--it was impossible to believe they were supposed to be in their early 40s.

I also couldn't help comparing this book to Jessica Joyce's "The Ex Vows" as their were many similarilies--exes reconnecting at a mutual friend's wedding in Sonoma--and Joyce's book was better in every way.

You know what? I really did like this one! LOL. And I'm not saying that because I expected not to or anything (I enjoyed Dahlia's debut/previous work, PICK-UP last year), just that romcoms lately have been very hit-or-miss for me: I either really love them or find them to be stale. In this case, I quickly found myself really invested in Nellie & Noah's story right from the get, and I appreciated how multi-layered it was AND how the characters were older/in their 30s (as someone who now falls under this bracket haha). It definitely felt more mature tonally while still capturing that giddy feeling and charm we all get when it comes to falling in love. Second Chances is also one of my favorite tropes and I liked how Dahlia executed it here alongside her use of alternative POVs and the sliding-doors (i.e., Then v. Now) mechanism. Overall a fun read and a great addition to the Romcom genre!

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early review copy.

This was sappy and ridiculous, full of trite plot points and ludicrous situations and predictable developments, and <b>I loved every second of it</b>.  When I was forced to set it down to attend to mundane real life things, I was filled with joy at the thought of getting back to this book.  It's just what I wanted!

(Loved it despite the constant sentence fragments.  Like that one.  And this.). I loved Noah and Nell (despite the excessively cutesy alliteration) and their slowly budding teen love in the past timeline, and their prickly, combative, fiery heat in the present. Thoughtful, handsome, sexy Noah was the perfect romantic hero (he would definitely be played by Ryan Gosling).  Gorgeous Nell was powerful and confident and just the right amount of disorganized, enough to be charming but not annoying.   I loved the California wine country setting.  I loved Nell's goofy attachment to John the driver. 

For the first half of the book, all you know is that Nell hates Noah because of something that led to their break up as teenagers; she’s never told her friends what happened.  Second chance romances have to negotiate a delicate balance.  The blow up has to be huge enough to explain ten years of silence and resentment, but not so huge that it can’t be forgiven - not many things can really work here.  But Dahlia pulls off this delicate balance.  When we learn why they broke up, it’s heartbreaking and understandable, and neither one is a monster, but you understand why Nell has left and never looked back. And you also know that an adult conversation between Nell and Noah now, in the present day, can definitely heal those wounds.  

Watching Nell and Noah become vulnerable with each other all over again was amazing, I loved every moment of it!!!  Of course, every romance novel has One Last Inevitable Misunderstanding that the happy couple has to deal with, and I was dreading it in this book, because Nell had been so hurt already, I didn't want to see it again.  When it finally happened, it was difficult to accept, because Noah had to be the biggest idiot in the world to not have seen this problem in time to avoid it.  That did lessen my enjoyment a tiny bit, since I never want to see the heroine end up with an idiot, of course.  At least they had Cheerios to help them recover.

Nell's best friends are Cara and Sabrina, and Cara is the reason that everyone gets back together for a reunion, but I hated Cara.  Cara is the villain of this story.  Oh, sure, the book works hard to convince us to dislike Damien and Lydia, and I did! I disliked them too!  But I hated Cara.
 
Cara KNOWS that Nell hates (HATES) her ex, Noah.  And yet she puts them in the same suite????  What kind of insanely crappy friend does that?  Cara knows Nell has a rotator cuff injury but yet she still excitedly grabs her arms and hips up and down.  And then Cara passive-aggressively lets Nell know how nervous she is and how bad she feels … LOOK, lady, there is no excuse in the world that justifies putting your supposed best friend in the same suite as her ex boyfriend.  You claim to feel bad but you could have made ANY other decision.   I mean, sure, I, as a reader, love enemies-to-lovers and I love second chance romance and I love the “oh no there’s only one bed (or suite)” trope.  But I need a believable reason for the characters to find themselves in the situation.  

<b>But Dahlia is a genius writer</b>, and even Cara is redeemed in this book.  I was so angry at her when I started reading, I complained to everyone I knew.  And yet her story is also so real, so understandable, I forgave her for all of her misdeeds. 

One final thought: I've read several romances in which the heroine does not tell her best friends about a break up, <i>for reasons</i>, and those reasons never make sense.  So I have to wonder: does this ever happen in real life???


<b>Words I looked up:</b>
salumi - cured meats that are sliced and served as an appetizer in an Italian meal.

I loved Dahlia’s previous book Pick-Up so I was incredibly excited for this and all the more disappointed when it let me down. I could not connect with either protagonist and just….didnt care about them. The premise also felt so contrived I couldn’t get behind the believability. Total bummer it didn’t work for me!

I absolutely loved Pick-Up, so I was really excited to read this — but unfortunately, Backslide fell a little flat for me.
I enjoyed the flashback scenes; the romance and tension there felt genuine and believable. But the present-day storyline felt more like an attempt to revive something that just wasn’t there anymore. I didn’t really connect with any of the characters, so I wasn’t too invested in how things turned out.

Pick-Up felt incredibly unique to me, but Backslide just didn’t have that same spark I was hoping for.I’m

Backslide by Nora Dahlia has all the trimmings of a nostalgic, story of love between the past and present. Nell and Noah dated as kids, and their group of friends from the high school years find themselves back together over twenty years later. I welcomed the 90's references and at times felt transported to the scene with vivid details of days gone by. A quick, fun rom-com that checks the boxes. Enjoyed this one!

Thank you Gallery Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. Look for Backslide at your local bookshop October 21, 2025.

I unfortunately did not like much about this book. The setting was fun with it being in Wine Country, and I like a forced proximity and second chance plot, however this was not executed well. Both main characters were pretty unpleasant, and with duel timelines, we actually still didn’t see much of their relationship as teens forming, just were told it did. The reasons why they broke up originally were actually really good reasons, and I think they were in a toxic relationship. They both seemed to do better apart. The friends were not great either, the secret keeping was unreal, she really didn’t tell them she wasn’t even engaged anymore? Crazy. Also when they got back together it was all lust and no substance. Also, these are supposed to be people in their thirties but they were just drinking and doing drugs the whole time. A big turn off.

Beautifully messy and emotionally raw, Backslide wrecked me in the best way. Nora Dahlia captures heartbreak and healing so well—it’s tender, sharp, and incredibly real. I couldn’t look away, even when it hurt.

First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read a free copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review of this book.
So, Nell and Noah. I'll admit, I cringed at the beginning of this book (and several times throughout) at the insane amount of entitlement of these obviously wealthy kids/adults. It actually took me out of the story a few times when I had to pause and ask myself how and where are they getting all of the money for this?!? It was difficult to NOT be annoyed with them about it a few times because they have it all and they're still having temper tantrums and acting stupid.
That said, if you look past all of that, it's a very well-written contemporary romance that checks all of the right boxes. It's a fast-paced read, it's steamy, it's dramatic and it's a total comfort read. So if that's what you're looking for then you should totally grab this book.

I adored Nora's debut PICK-UP, but unfortunately, BACKSLIDE fell flat for me in significant ways.

Notably, this book felt soooo similar to me (in plot) to THE EX-VOWS by Jessica Joyce, which I loved in a major way. So this felt like it paled in comparison, and ultimately ended up feeling forgettable.

BACKSLIDE tells the alternating timeline story of Nellie and Noah, who had a falling out in high school but must reunite for their friends' vow renewal. Their past comes back to confront them as they share close quarters and manage pre-renewal tasks. It's a forced proximity, second chance love story with big feelings, but not a big impact.

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Books for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review. BACKSLIDE is out 10/21/25.

Nora Dahlia is an immediate must read for me. This book was fun and funny and spicy and I so enjoyed it!

3.75 stars rounded up for this fun romance from Nora Dahlia! This was a fun & quick enemies-to-lovers & close proximity romance and I definitely had a good time reading!!

Backslide follows Nellie, who is headed to California for her best friends un-wedding. However, she is going to be in the presence of her high school bf who broke her heart over 20 years ago, Noah. There is so much built up tension from the years of their unresolved conflict and in addition, Nellie's friends have never known the entire story as to what happened between them. During the story, you find Nellie and Noah consistently in the same situations and spaces that it's impossible for them not to slowly warm up to each other again. Backslide is told in dual POV and alternating timelines which I really enjoyed, as the reader is able to connect to the characters both in past and present while learning what really happened between the two.

The thing that I enjoyed the most was the building romance - it was done really well and didn't feel rushed or unrealistic. There is a lot of growth in the characters perspectives, especially Nellie which I enjoyed. The main critique I have is that Nellie does seem a bit emotionally immature - she is completely unwilling to even have a conversation despite the conflict happening 20 years ago. It was also frustrating to see how she keeps so much from her closest friends, who she could have relied on vs keeping in the dark.

Overall I had a great time reading this book and will definitely pick up more from Nora Dahlia in the future! Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️

I was so excited to read Back Slide because I loved Pick Up. I really enjoyed this story even though I missed some of the humor that Pick Up had.

The best thing about this book was the structure of the story. Norah Dalia gets an A+ for writing alternating timelines. I also enjoy the dual POV. Character writing was okay even though older Nell was a little hard to take at times.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I liked how the story went back and forth between the present and the past and was told from both MCs POV. The places the characters were at in the story brought me back to my previous travel experiences and were accurately described. I enjoyed reading the growth that both Noah and Nellie had throughout the story. I will definitely be adding the authors other books to my TBR!

Received an electronic ARC from NetGalley and the Gallery Books for my honest thoughts.

Nora Dahlia’s latest novel is a nostalgic and fun enemies to lovers story weaving the high school romance of our two main characters Nellie and Noah, with present day where they meet up again after 20 years apart at their respective best friends’ vow renewal ceremony. The segments in the past were vivid and felt like the best kind of YA novel about first love. The present day was tougher to take and fully understand the characters because it was a mystery why Nellie absolutely HATED Noah, despite him seeming like an extremely likable and good guy. I kept wondering if the reason for their breakup and subsequent 20 years without each other was going to feel legitimate when the mystery was revealed, and was pleased that I did feel like Nellie’s grudge was well worth it. Then my struggle became how I felt about Noah after knowing what he did! But somehow, Dahlia managed to resolve that for me as well and I was rooting for the two of them and their love by the end.

Additional Pluses: Dahlia’s vivid descriptions of Sonoma and the coast, as well as all the friendships she explored through the supporting characters.