Rainbow Rowell never misses and this is one is such a treat - a very romantic, will-they-wont-they second chance romance that's filled with yearning. This has been my go-to this year for anyone asking for romance that pulls on the heart strings or who wants a truly satisfying slow burn. She depicts that 'romantic friendship' between teenage Shiloh and Cary so well and I was rooting through them the whole way through.

Been a huge fan of Rainbow Rowell since reading Fangirl year ago but haven’t read any of her adult stuff before and I’m not usually a fan of adult romances but I thought I’d give this a whirl. I absolutely bloody loved it. She just writes the most wonderfully complex, flawed, relatable characters and I was fully invested in this quirky love story.

What a fabulous book! It has all the charm I have come to expect from a Rainbow Rowell novel and it was impossible not to root for the characters who were extremely well rounded.

This book was such a searing, bittersweet journey across time, towards a second chance at love.

I really adored the layers of time, and the exploration of Shiloh and Carey's relationship across the years. Rowell perfectly captures the angst of young, unrecognised love - and creates a beautiful path for the couple to find their way back into each other's lives.

I really also enjoyed the grit, and the stark realities that they both face - and how they overcome the challenges thrown their way through their adult lives.

Reading this book totally pulled on my heart strings and I would highly recommend it!

A big thank you to Rainbow Rowell, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my review.

Personally, I found this book slow to start and put it down a couple of times to read something else. However, when I stuck at it and started to understand the switches from yesteryear to present it got better.

Slow Dance is a very sweet novel full of both heart and angst. A believable story of what might have been between two friends who failed to appreciate what life as a couple might have been like. Shiloh and Cary, held back by personal trauma and misplaced feelings of 'unworthiness', gradually in middle age allow themselves to experience acceptance and letting go.

What could be a routine romance is dealt with deftly by Rowell as she builds believable neurotic characters too afraid to be vulnerable, but too attached to let go. A perfect hug of a book.

Headlines:
Angsty slow burn
Relationship baggage
Friendship foundations

I didn't expect to get as swept up into this story as I did. At first, I wasn't sure I would like these messy characters but I really came to love the chaos that was Shiloh and the steadfastness that was Cary.

This story was told over decades, mostly in the present but with some chapters that went to the 'before' across the previous timeline. All the pieces slowly fit together about how this close friendship went astray, how they connected romantically at times and how they met again in the present. This couple had 'meant to be' stamped all over them but it was an angsty ride. What I did appreciate about the angst was that as we got over that in the last quarter, there was plenty of time to enjoy them without that sense of stress.

Both Shiloh and Cary had family baggage. How Shiloh navigated the world as a single mother but also giving herself a chance to love again was admirable. Her kids were a quirky and a fun part of this read. Cary showed his good guy card when it came to her family. That said, Cary had a shed-load of family baggage too.

This was a story of messy relationships that found their neater end...and I loved the ride.

Thank you to the publisher for the eARC through netgalley.

I’m so sorry but my goodness they weren’t joking when they said slow! Nothing overly exciting and rather generic. I struggled to finish this one as it didn’t grip my interest. It’ll be someone’s cup of tea absolutely but it just didn’t hit for me 😔 always feel super guilty for not loving a book 💜

Given the comparison with One Day, I had high hopes for this story. Sadly, however, I was completely unable to engage with the characters of Cary and Shiloh and their chronic inability to communicate with one another for the whole length of the book. This was a rare DNF for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this story.

I’m so sorry but my goodness they weren’t joking when they said slow! Nothing overly exciting and rather generic. I struggled to finish this one as it didn’t grip my interest. It’ll be someone’s cup of tea absolutely but it just didn’t hit for me 😔 always feel super guilty for not loving a book 💜

Shiloh and Cary are best friends and to those around them they are destined to be together. However, life keeps getting in the way!

We follow the couple as they are drawn close and then pulled apart, as opportunities are missed and they become more distant.

A beautiful and often frustrating love story! I really liked the main characters and was willing them along all the way. A real rollercoaster of emotions!

This book may be entitled 'Slow dance' but to me it was more like 'slow death'! It was very inevitable what was going to happen and sometimes getting to the end can be enjoyable but this time it wasn't and I found myself very much skipping through large chunks of the book to see if it would get better.

I absolutely love Rainbow Rowell’s books – she delivers real-people romances filled with plenty of angst, witty conversations and a nostalgia for earlier decades.
Shiloh, Cary and Mike are a best-friends trio at high school in Omaha in the 1990s, a friendship that’s a lifeline for all three as they try to keep their heads above water and dream of their futures. Shiloh and Cary have a special connection and everyone assumes they are dating or will end up together, even Mike, but it doesn’t quite work out that way. Cary has a lot he’s trying to cope with in his family and Shiloh has her reasons for being rather prickly.
The story moves between different timelines, starting with the present where Shiloh is a divorced young mom dreading the thought of seeing Cary again at Mike’s wedding and moving to various points in the past as the pair get closer and move apart.
There are times when the obstacles keeping them apart feel a bit forced but Rowell writes so engagingly and has created such lovely characters that it’s easy to forgive.
This is not a romance filled with fireworks, it’s exactly as the title says, it’s a slow dance as Shiloh and Cary figure out what they mean to each other and if they are ready for a second chance. An absolute delight, especially if you remember the 1990s.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Not usually a fan of this genre but I loved Eleanor and Park so thought I would give this a go.

Very easy to read, and thought the narrative voice was quite interesting and fresh. I’ve always liked how Rowell’s characters feel like real people: completely imperfect, flawed, not always likeable, but *so* realistic. I was super invested in their relationship: I enjoyed the will-they-won’t-they teasing from Rowell and was rooting for Shiloh and Cary! Read this within a couple of days so it would be a great holiday, easy read.

Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A charming exploration of friendships, love and second chances.
We are shown the past and present lives of Shiloh and Cary, which is told in flashbacks and helps you understand why they’re not together yet.
A very nostalgic read
It’s about missed opportunities and shows that the road to love isn’t always easy - it’s a slow dance
Had all the vibes of Normal People or One Day
Thanks @rainbowrowell, @michaeljbooks & @netgalley for the nostalgic read

A good slow burn read - actually better than most of her other books! Sweetly romantic and heart-warming.

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell is moving, compelling and the "what if". Hopes and dreams, what if we did get together? A beautiful love story that is sensitive and sweet on multipl levels. Gorgeous

Thank you to NetGalley, Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House | Michael Joseph and Rainbow Rowell for this beautiful ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

Friends to lovers is my favourite romance trope, and I really enjoyed Slow Dance! This is my second Rainbow Rowell book and I really like her writing and her way of describing the characters. This features a lot of miscommunication, which I know is a red flag for some people, but personally I think it felt convincing in the context of the characters, their ages and their experience. I would definitely recommend!

Obviously a writer that many enjoy, but I am not one of them. I started the book got a few pages in and then left it to read something that I enjoyed, returned and couldn’t remember anything, left it to read another book, went back to it and read probably about 50% then skipped to the end….and still didn’t enjoy the reading experience.
Sorry to author, publisher and Netgalley but thank you anyway for the ARC,

I found this a difficult book to finish, as at times the main characters made me so frustrated that I had to keep putting it aside. The only thing that kept me returning was the quality of the writing as I’ve loved previous books by Rowell. The writing is as strong as you expect but the personalties of Shiloh & Cary were grating and instead of being lured in by their past encounters, I became disaffected by their trials & tribulations. Due to my lack of connection with Shiloh or Cary, I didn’t believe in the relationship that they had.

Unfortunately, this made the wrong impact on me but I look forward to future books by Rowell.