Review: Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

Slow Dance

by Rainbow Rowell

Pub: July 23, 2024

Source: William Morrow and NetGalley

Genre(s): adult fiction, contemporary, romance

4.25 stars

GOODREADS

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.

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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.

PHOTO CREDIT: WILLIAM MORROW