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A review by booknerd_life
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
I was so scared for this book because Rainbow Rowell always refers to it as “[redacted] spiritual older sibling” and [redacted] didn’t have a happy ending. I was afraid this book would hurt my heart.
And it did in some ways. But this book was so REAL. I don’t know how Rainbow does it, but she is so GOOD at making her characters feel so realistic. Their love story seems so real, their experiences seem so real. Motherhood, relationships, exes, family drama, sex, everything doesn’t feel like fiction. I do not know how else to describe it, her writing is just magical. It’s like Rainbow just GETS what it’s like to be alive and human. She understands the human experience.
This book was told in different timelines. Past and present and it was interwoven so beautifully. And every single chapter was THEM. Shiloh and Cary. The whole entire book was them. There was no “third act conflict” because the whole book was conflict that ended in resolution. They got together and STAYED together. It make perfect sense.
It’s not a fluffy or spicy romance book. It’s a real, raw, and bittersweet love story. Friends to lovers and second chance romance. I don’t know where Slow Dance ends up in the hierarchy on my favorite Rainbow Rowell novels, but I know Shiloh and Cary’s story will linger in my mind for awhile.
**[redacted] is due to the title of the book I’m referring to being published under St. Martin’s Press. That publishing house is currently under a social media boycott. Take a look at the Instagram page called Readers for Accountability for more information.
And it did in some ways. But this book was so REAL. I don’t know how Rainbow does it, but she is so GOOD at making her characters feel so realistic. Their love story seems so real, their experiences seem so real. Motherhood, relationships, exes, family drama, sex, everything doesn’t feel like fiction. I do not know how else to describe it, her writing is just magical. It’s like Rainbow just GETS what it’s like to be alive and human. She understands the human experience.
This book was told in different timelines. Past and present and it was interwoven so beautifully. And every single chapter was THEM. Shiloh and Cary. The whole entire book was them. There was no “third act conflict” because the whole book was conflict that ended in resolution. They got together and STAYED together. It make perfect sense.
It’s not a fluffy or spicy romance book. It’s a real, raw, and bittersweet love story. Friends to lovers and second chance romance. I don’t know where Slow Dance ends up in the hierarchy on my favorite Rainbow Rowell novels, but I know Shiloh and Cary’s story will linger in my mind for awhile.
**[redacted] is due to the title of the book I’m referring to being published under St. Martin’s Press. That publishing house is currently under a social media boycott. Take a look at the Instagram page called Readers for Accountability for more information.