Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

 

Paperback version

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.

***

Title : Slow Dance

Author : Rainbow Rowell

Published year : 2024

Pages : 400

Genre : Romance, Adult Romance

Language : English

Age Recommendation : 21 Years + (Explicit content, LGBT)

Luckily, I got this book from a Periplus discount a couple of months ago. It’s been a long time since I read any Rainbow Rowell book—I don’t know why I haven’t seen many of her books on bookstore aisles anymore. I thought she went on hiatus several years back.

When I saw the author’s name, I knew what to expect: a ticklish romance, funny banter between the main protagonists, and of course, a happy ending. It’s almost 100% guaranteed. And did Slow Dance deliver that? Yes, but with a “but”.

The story opens with Shiloh, a woman in her mid-30s with two kids. She moves back to her hometown to live with her mother after a failed marriage. One day, one of her high school friends invites her to his wedding. Always the type to avoid reunions, Shiloh forces herself to attend the wedding with a glimmer of hope that she’ll meet her long-lost best friend, Cary.

Of course, Cary is there, being the best man because it’s their close friend’s wedding. The last time Shiloh met him was fourteen years ago, during her college days. But her feelings somehow remain the same. She sees what every other woman sees in Cary: a handsome and tall bachelor who seems trustworthy.

They talk—carefully—and flirt occasionally. Shiloh invites Cary to take her home. Everything seems to be going well, but then Cary abruptly leaves.

Told in a shifting second-person point of view, moving back and forth between Shiloh and Cary’s perspectives, Slow Dance reveals their past, emotions, and the uncertain future of their relationship. Cary is in the Navy, which means he can only stay for a few days before returning to sea. Meanwhile, Shiloh has a job and two children to take care of. Romanticizing their long-lost feelings seems a bit too much.

I have mixed feelings about Shiloh. The author keeps describing her as someone who hates everyone, yet she comes across as sweet, funny, and helpful—contradicting the narration. She’s arrogant (as Mikey says) and strong-willed, yet she often chooses the easiest way out to avoid getting hurt. It’s like she’s afraid of being happy. She’s timid and unique, someone who doesn’t share the same opinions as others—or maybe she just wants to feel special by doing the opposite of what everyone else does.

Meanwhile, Cary is like a rock—steady, trustworthy, and keeping his feelings tightly contained. I wonder if that’s the very reason he manages to put up with Shiloh’s bubbly, mood-swing tendencies. I dislike how Shiloh treated Cary (especially in their high school days) when she kept touching and teasing him. I mean… girl, what’s wrong with you?

Anyway, adult Shiloh still has mood swings but not as bad as her teenage self. And the middle part of the book turns hilarious and genuinely entertaining.

The final 50 pages felt anticlimactic and rushed. I kept hoping for a twist that never came.

Other than that, it’s refreshing to read a story where the author writes a middle-aged woman as the protagonist—may I say, a proper second-chance romance. Maybe she knows her audience is getting older and their taste in romance is slightly changing.

Still, overall it’s a solid 3.5-star read—enjoyable and worth the time. Yes, in Rainbow Rowell we trust, for a genuinely entertaining adult romance.