Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell ~ 400 pages ~ to be published on July 30, 2024 by William Morrow
Goodreads Synopsis:
Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together . . . everybody but Shiloh and Cary.
They were just friends. Best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha—Shiloh would go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change.
Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed.
Now Shiloh’s thirty-three, and it’s been fourteen years since she talked to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.
When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is whether Cary will be there—and whether she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything?
The answer is yes. And yes. And yes.
Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.
It’s the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start.
What I Thought:
*All of my reviews are spoiler-free!*
*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC!*
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I have been a big fan of Rainbow Rowell’s books for years. I have loved all of her YA novels, so I was exited to pick up this newest adult novel. It ended up not being quite what I was expecting.
I did really enjoy the overarching story. I liked the second chance romance aspect of this book. An opportunity for two friends to explore a romantic relationship that they both always wanted, but didn’t realize was mutual. I liked the military romance, as I have not read many books where someone was in the Navy. And, I really liked that they had so much history, and yet they continued to discover new things about each other.
I have to be honest though, I didn’t really like Shiloh. I found her to be kind of grating and I had a hard time empathizing with her. I enjoyed the relationship between her and Cary, but I also had a bit of a hard time seeing the attraction on his part. I felt like her side made sense, so maybe Cary’s side just got kind of lost.
Also, I usually like books that go back and forth between past and present, but it wasn’t my favorite in this. The timing felt disjointed to me, and I kept feeling like I was ripped out of the timeline when I was finally starting to enjoy it.
So, overall, the book was well written and had really great storytelling. I liked the plot and idea behind the story. I just didn’t like the execution as much as some of Rowell’s previous works. This might be the perfect book for you, but it was just okay for me. I gave it an extra half star because I did think it was very well written. It just wasn’t for me.
My Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2
I gave Slow Dance 3.5 Stars!
Are you interested in learning more about this book? Check out the links below!
Do you enjoy friends to lovers romance? Single parent romance? Second-chance romance? What is your favorite Rainbow Rowell book? Let’s chat in the comments!
Love and happy reading,
Whitney
Whit Reads Lit 
I agree that Shiloh is a frustrating character, I found myself super annoyed with her ruining moments
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