SLOW DANCE – Rainbow Rowell
William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0063380196
July 30, 2024
Contemporary Romance

North Omaha, Nebraska 

It’s 2006 and single mother Shiloh is running late for the wedding of her high school friend, Mikey. Her ex, Ryan, arrived late to pick up their children Junie and Gus. He finally arrives but Shiloh is too late for the wedding, so she heads to the reception, where the celebration is in full swing. She runs into a few old high schoolmates, though she wonders if Cary came. Just as she decides he didn’t show up because he couldn't get away from his job in the Navy, she spots him across the room—just as he does her. Things are awkward at first because so much has changed since they’ve seen each other. But Shiloh can’t forget that she was attracted to Cary all through school, even though he, Mikey, and Shiloh were the best of friends, a trio that did everything together. Will fifteen years later result in a long-ago friendship turning into a romance?

So begins SLOW DANCE, a tale about the reunion of Shiloh and Cary. Both came from families barely able to support themselves and they learned to lean on each other. Mikey was their goofy friend who egged them in the threesomes’ adventures in high school. Shiloh had aspirations to attend college and become an actress, while Cary planned to join the Navy. Well, Shiloh did attend college, but she encountered Ryan and fell in love. She now works at a theater but isn’t acting. They married and had two children, but unfortunately, Ryan cheated on her and they divorced. Cary did indeed join the Navy and has worked his way up in the ranks. At the wedding reception, they reconnect and get caught up on what each other is now doing. 

SLOW DANCE jumps back and forth between 2006 and their past in high school. It does hop and skip some, as readers will see them in their last year of school, then jump back to earlier. The flashbacks give readers a better sense of the relationship between Shiloh and Cary, plus how their lives were shaped growing up. Through it all, they supported each other. Move back to 2006 and we see our couple tentatively start to move forward on staying in touch—and much more. With two young children, Shiloh doesn’t feel she is ready to get involved with someone, while Cary is starting to see the end of his Naval career with retirement and starting a future with the woman he loves—Shiloh. Things don’t always go smoothly, especially when his mother, who is really his grandmother, has a medical emergency. It is Shiloh who steps in and helps Cary out as he is now back in San Diego where he lives. In the meantime, can they keep their romance afloat long distance?

If you love second-chance romances and characters who are facing tough decisions in their life, then you will love SLOW DANCE. As the title suggests, their path to a life together is one big slow dance. Don’t miss this intriguing tale. 

Patti Fischer