Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

“I think that when two people are slow-dancing to ‘Hey Ya!,’ everyone leaves them alone.”

Shiloh and Cary were best friends. They spent their North Omaha summers together throughout high school, along with their friend Mikey. School days were spent driving together, participating in clubs with each other, and supporting each other through their tough home situations. They were both determined to leave Omaha but remain best friends despite following their own paths. After graduation, Shiloh left for college and Cary joined the Navy. They grew up and grew apart. Fourteen years later, Shiloh has been married, divorced, and has two children. She is living with her mother in her childhood home and is invited to Mikey’s wedding. When she accepts, she wonders if Cary will be there…and if she wants him to be there…and what she will do if he is there.

This story travels back and forth in time between Cary and Shiloh in the past and present as we learn how they got to where they are and what they are feeling now that they are back in the same place. This romance is character driven and I loved (and was exasperated by) these characters as they examined their thoughts and feelings and where they want to go. Never having read Rainbow Rowell before, the slower pace and more cerebral romance was different than most romances I read, but I found it to be more realistic because of the characters and story pace. I also liked that Shiloh’s kids are realistically depicted; unlike many romances, they don’t just conveniently disappear when it’s ideal for the story. While it was a slower burn romance, it was a compelling read, and I highly recommend it!

Check out Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell for yourself from the Library (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…).