Slow Dance: A Novel: A Reese Book Club Pick

Shiloh, Cary and Mikey. They were best friends all through high school and did almost everything together – even as Shiloh and Cary’s bond extended beyond friendship and always felt like more. Post-high school, Mikey went to New York to pursue his art career, Cary joined the Navy, and after college Shiloh returned to Omaha. Fourteen years later Shiloh is divorced, a single mother of two, and back living in her childhood home with her mother. When Mikey returns to Omaha to get married, Shiloh accepts the invitation with one thought in mind: Will Cary be there? What follows is the story of Shiloh and Cary, both then and now, how they got here, and if they can finally get it right.

It's been so long since Rowell released a contemporary novel that I almost forgot why I love her contemporary stories so much. Then I started reading Slow Dance and it was like, oh yeah, this is why. When it comes to snappy, honest, believable dialogue, Rowell just gets it. Her signature funny, clever (without being overly so), realistic banter was in full effect here, right along with deeply flawed characters whose lives were messy and relatable. Shiloh and Cary always had something special, and their reunion showed the spark was still there, but it also proved that their old patterns were alive and well. Cary always gave vague indications of his feelings for Shiloh, while her insecurities ruled her decision-making.

For Cary, Shiloh was always The One. His pining for the girl he’d wanted since they were teenagers was everything. The responsibility he felt for his elderly mother and the ripple effects of trying to improve her living situation was developed so well and I empathized with him deeply. Shiloh was a little trickier with her acerbic personality and I often felt frustrated as she continued to be her own worst enemy. Overall, I just never felt that I understood her.

Slow Dance was a second (or third?) chance romance and it reflected how much more complicated life is at 33 than at 17. There were many obstacles in Shiloh and Cary’s way – some legitimate and some self-created – especially as they both had the tendency to avoid the hard conversations.

It’s worth mentioning that while the present and past chapters allowed for a fuller, richer story, the fact that past chapters were not chronological often threw me off and I frequently had to reorient myself to what time period we were jumping to.

Ultimately, I enjoyed Slow Dance and its tale of missed opportunities, and what happens when you find your person just a little too early in life.

These two lovers are unusual for a modern love story in that they are not particularly attractive, and very old school in their morals. He is described as having small pouch eyes , lots of moles and a thin top lip. She was called “Sasquatch” in high school as she was taller, with broader shoulders and wider hips than most of the boys, and her bottom teeth were a wreck. And yet

If to you Rainbow Rowell is synonymous with brooding wizards or comic book heroines, you may be surprised to learn that she also writes romances that are somehow realistic, extremely beautiful in heartwrenching ways, and also filled with laugh-out-loud banter.

Because she does – so if you’re new to this side of her writing: welcome. You’re in for a treat.

In Slow Dance, Rowell transports us to the early 2000s, where former best friends Shiloh and Cary reconnect at a friend’s wedding after 14 years of silence. Shiloh is now a divorced single mom living in the same home she grew up in, and Cary is a career officer in the Navy – and though they have a complicated history, they’re still drawn to each other.

The story bounces between present day and high school in the ‘90s, detailing the ways Shiloh and Cary have changed, what they’ve experienced together and separately, and the ups and downs of getting to know someone you used to know intimately.

I really enjoyed this – it felt very tonally different from many of the romances I read these days, but in a way that I really appreciated.

The book doesn’t romanticize the harsh realities of life, casting things like having someone over for dinner with your family as chaotic and awkward rather than adorable and heartwarming. In my opinion, that makes the love story here that much more satisfying. It feels real even though it’s fiction, as if you’re hearing the love story of friends who finally figured out how to make it work, despite everything.

And also: if you loved the email format Rainbow Rowell used in Attachments (which is SO GOOD omg read it if you haven’t), the good news is that emails play a delightful and charming role in this book, too!

So if you’re looking for a second-chance romance that is extremely realistic and feels a little more grumpy than sunshine (or, at least, more like an overcast day), definitely give Slow Dance a go.

4.25🌟 1.75🌶️

High school best friends Shiloh and Cary have had a tumultuous relationship since high school, with a handful of “will they, won’t they” moments, followed by years of no communication while Cary served in the Navy. With Cary back around for their friend Mikey’s wedding and Shiloh fully divorced from Ryan, has timing finally worked out for Cary and Shiloh to reconcile their friendship and see if it can blossom into something more?

This was my first Rainbow Rowell book and while I’d definitely give her another chance, this one was not it for me. While the book was an easy read, I also was not super invested until the last 25% or so. I did enjoy reading a book about imperfect people, and people that showed they were imperfect, rather than just saying they felt that way. Junie was definitely the highlight of the book and both of Shiloh’s kids were absolutely precious. The 2006 touches throughout the book was fun, and I overall enjoyed the setting of the novel.

I found both of the main characters so incredibly frustrating, and the book was ripe with miscommunication. The book was very slow-moving and in-depth for the majority of the book and then the end went so quickly and there were conversations that I felt should have been had, but never happened. For example, Shiloh and Ryan’s rules around dating around the children were a major part of the conversation, but then that was suddenly forgotten at the end.