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Slow Dance

Slow Dance

Summary

Cosy up with this emotional love story this Christmas


'Sexy, sweet, wise and nostalgic – Jane Austen’s Persuasion for our times’ Gabrielle Zevin

‘A gorgeous book . . . a beautiful, believable love story between two slightly broken people. So sweet, but never sentimental. I yearned for them to be happy and I miss it now it's over’ Marian Keyes

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Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together . . . everybody but Shiloh and Cary.

They were just friends. Best friends. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. Shiloh was going to become an actress, and Cary was going to join the Navy. And nothing was ever going to change between them – Shiloh made him promise.

Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. But, somehow, everything changed.

Now it’s been fourteen years since Shiloh last spoke to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back in north Omaha living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.

When Shiloh gets invited to an old friend’s wedding, all she can think about is whether Cary will be there – and whether she hopes he will be.

Slow Dance is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. And what will happen when they try to make their way back to each other.

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'Deeply human, profoundly romantic. Rowell will break your heart and you’ll thank her for it' Leigh Bardugo


‘Who can deny the absolute, dizzy pleasure of loving a novel so much . . . I loved every page of Slow Dance, a book that is romantic to its core, and as funny and smart as its wonderful characters' Emma Straub


'If you adored One Day, make this your next read' Fabulous Magazine (The Sun)

'Rainbow Rowell returns with a gorgeous, slow-burn second-chance love story . . . Raw, real and romantic, this got me right in the feels' Red

'A beautiful 'will they, won't they' love story . . . I loved these characters and the realness of their story' Prima


'I couldn't be more excited to dive in . . . Rainbow Rowell has an incredible ability to hide an emotional wallop in the middle of a light and romantic story ' Cosmopolitan

'Rowell's signature warmth and authenticity shine through, with its heartfelt narrative and relatable characters . . . brimming with hope' Glamour, Best New Books August

'I loved this for its realism and flawed complicated characters' Good Housekeeping


Reeses' Book Club
Pick, August 2024

Reviews

  • If you, like me, think thirty-somethings methodically working through their issues is very hot, Slow Dance is the book for you. The people in it feel like people you know or maybe even people you’ve been. Slow Dance is sexy, sweet, wise, and nostalgic—Jane Austen’s Persuasion for our times
    Gabrielle Zevin

About the author

Rainbow Rowell

The New York Times once called Rainbow Rowell 'talented enough to be uncategorizable.' She writes novels, comics, short stories . . . She’s a #1 New York Times bestseller several times over, wrote an Indies Choice Book of the Year, and is a three-time Goodreads Choice Award winner. The thread that runs through all Rowell’s work is her sunlit, knife-sharp empathy and unflagging sense of humor. She writes about life – and usually love – in a way that feels painfully, wonderfully real. Visit rainbowrowell.com to learn more.
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