Slow Dance: A Reese's Book Club Pick, Perfect for Fans of Lost Love Stories and Second Chance Romance
A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Rainbow Rowell comes Slow Dance—her smartest, funniest, most powerful novel yet
“If you, like me, think thirty-somethings methodically working through their issues is very hot, Slow Dance is the book for you. The people in it feel like people you know or maybe even people you’ve been. Slow Dance is sexy, sweet, wise, and nostalgic—Jane Austen’s Persuasion for our times.”
— Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Shiloh Butler was supposed to get out of north Omaha.
She used to sit out on the front porch with her best friend, Cary, and plot their escape. Shiloh was going to be an actress – she had a scholarship to a good school – and Cary was laser-focused on the Navy. Sharp, stoic, golden-eyed Cary . . . thin as a stick of gum and poor as dirt. He was probably the most decent person Shiloh has ever known. She hasn’t spoken to him in fourteen years.
When Shiloh gets an invitation to a high school friend’s wedding, Cary is the first and only thing on her mind.
She desperately wants to see him again, but she doesn’t know if she can bear being seen by him. What would Cary think of Shiloh at thirty-three? A divorced mom living in the same house she grew up in. Someone who works behind a desk, not onstage.
Would Cary even want to see Shiloh after all this time? After everything?
The answer, it turns out, is yes.
In her triumphant return to adult fiction, Rainbow Rowell has written a love story so honest and human – so cathartic – you’ll feel it in your bones. Slow Dance is a power ballad of a book, brimming with Rowell’s signature compassion and wit. It’s deeply affecting and profoundly romantic.
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✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *Slow Dance* is a nostalgic, heartfelt second-chance romance with a unique dual-timeline structure that many find compelling. Cary is wide...
Reading Slow Dance reminded me how good Rowell is at creating complicated humans, how she excels at telling a story, and how realistic her characters become. If you were a fan of Attachments, you should enjoy this one, too.
I have seen some mixed reviews for this one and that’s probably because it’s being promoted as a Romance with a capital ‘R’, but it’s more about two best friends who have lost touch trying to heal from life’s traumas while also finding their way back to one another. Their lives are messy and lonely, it takes time to heal, and Rowell warns you in the title: it’s a slow dance to the end. Settle in and enjoy the waltz.
I saw some reviewers who said they couldn’t stand the miscommunication—AND it is my least favorite trope—but I never even registered this one as containing miscommunication. For me, it was more that they were young, unable to understand what they were feeling in the past, and scared to admit it in the present. They couldn’t discuss feelings they didn’t understand yet. It took time for them to process and accept. I relished the angst and slow-burn of it all.
Rowell is a blunt writer, which I know not everyone appreciates, but I prefer her less descriptive style. Every word is chosen carefully and means something. Some chapters are short and some are longer, but it’s always enough to give the reader what they need. The chapters also alternated between the past and present but not in a specific order, just as the story unfolded. And it’s told in third person, mostly from Shiloh’s point of view with a few chapters from Cary’s point of view, as well.
Slow Dance is a quiet book that gave me big feelings. Nostalgic. Romantic. Humorous. Healing. It’s real life, which I found hopeful and refreshing.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
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I really thought I was going to love this book, but Shiloh, her son, and both of the mothers annoyed me to no end so I just couldn't connect with their stories.
Cory was a likable character for me; selfless and responsible with a devotion to Shiloh I found endearing. Because of the connection I felt with him, I was able to push this book to a 3-star rating.
I have enjoyed the author's YA titles, but this adult contemporary romance was a bit of a miss for me.
I received a signed copy from the author at PLA this year but opted for the audiobook due to time constraints. Thanks to William Morrow of HarperCollins and the author for the signed copy, and thanks to the Libro.fm Librarian ALC program and HarperAudio for this complimentary Audiobook Listening Copy.
This was a beautiful story of childhood friends to lovers to nothing to second chance romance. I could not connect to Shiloh in the book's first half, but I grew to love her in the second half. Cary is book boyfriend GOALS!!
The story is told in dual timelines which I love.
I will definitely look at Rainbow Rowell's backlist of books. I adored this one!!
I haven't read a book by Rainbow Rowell since I was in high school, but this was wonderful. Apparently my new ideal romance main character is a mid/late thirties single mom. I loved the non-linear story telling. Despite the fatct that Shiloh is super annoying, I still gave this 5 stars. That's saying something. I will now proceed to read all Rainbow Rowell's adult works (and maybe some of her old YA books too).
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