Rainbow Rowell's writing is so moving and beautiful no matter what genre she writes. Second chance love is the theme as two former best friends reconnect. Their timing has never been quite right and life has taken them in different directions but now they're in their thirties and cross paths again. They're scared, they've got baggage, it takes time to get to know each other again - will it work out for them this time? Rainbow Rowell writes such REAL characters with flaws and problems. A hugely engaging read.

I was lucky enough to receive an early copy of Slow Dance and WOW I could not put it down. I’ve loved Rainbow for years and her newest novel is totally unmissable. I felt utterly immersed in the story of Cary and Shiloh - every detail, every line, felt spun with gold and made my heart ache in the best way! You will be routing for them from the start and fall in love with them through every layer you uncover of their story. Rainbow Rowell’s characters feel impossibly human and I wish I could follow the lives of Cary and Shiloh forever! 350 ish pages is not enough! When the world gets their hands on Slow Dance, everyone’s lives will be significantly improved. Tell people you love them before it’s fourteen years too late. I know I will always devour anything that she writes, but Rainbow Rowell holds an extra special place in my heart. I will be recommending Slow Dance to everyone!

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell is one of top ten all time favourite books. And that is a tough list to get into! I don’t really do ‘favourite’ books because who knows what could be great around the corner? So I’ve been longing for her to do another adult book for ages! And what a treat this book turned out to be! A lovely, realistic, heartwarming romance between Shiloh and Cary, who’ve known each other since they were kids and despite it always being clear that they’re meant for each other, they’ve never quite managed it. There’s so much I enjoyed about this book that I can’t decide where to start! The characters are fully rounded, realistic people who leap off the page. Shiloh, a woman afflicted by shyness, anxiety and awkwardness is so nuanced she feels real, whilst Cary who can’t express his feelings and doesn’t understand how people can misread him is as careful a construct. I have such a vivid picture of them both in my head. We hear the story from both sides which really works - it starts with Shiloh and I was like, I want to know Cary’s thoughts! And of course, RR doesn’t let us down. It’s wonderful to see the relationship from his point of view. A man who is so in love with this woman but really has no idea how to communicate it to her. The plot is structured so cleverly as well with both chapters set in the current time (2006) and the past (1991 mostly) that you really feel their relationship and how it develops and why they react the way they do. Their love and the way it grows and changes was just so lovely and wonderful. A truly great love story, such a bittersweet nostalgia because who do you love more intensely than your teenage crush? And to finally have them is so amazing. I just felt she really got to the heart of all these very intense and beautiful emotions and allowed us as readers to wallow in them. What a special talent. The twist towards the end caught me by surprise but also in total delight! I literally would have hugged the book if I’d had a physical copy! Another thing the author does so well is the setting. This is set in 2006 and she layers it with subtle hints that anyone who’s lived through that time would know. The dress over jeans trend that I adopted too, the different (unsmart) phones and just a nod to a world that felt less crazy than ours does now. I just want to snuggle up in this book, want to wonder about my first love and enjoy the memories and dreams of adolescence. I will be recommending it to everyone I meet and oh, Ms Rowell, I’m hanging out for another of your adult romances…

Gahhh- I loved this! This really took me back to when I read One Day for the first time. An epic, slow-burn romance that follow two friends navigating the trials and tribulations of life whilst trying to figure out what they really are to each other. I’ve been a fan of Rainbow Rowell since reading Eleanor and Park and this had the charm and realness that made me fall in love with her writing in the first place. If I had one criticism, it would be that I found Shiloh a difficult character to engage with sometimes and felt frustrated but on the flip-side, I love that Rainbow isn’t afraid to make her characters complex and imperfect. I truly didn’t want this to end and haven’t rooted for a couple this much in a book for a long time!

God I’ve been die hard Rainbow since I was a teenager and when I heard she was releasing a new contemporary romance, I could have cried with joy. And you know what, she HAS DELIVERED WITH THIS. I’m not a fan of a slow burn. Ever. But this was written so beautiful. I was impatient for them to get to the point of defining what they were. I wanted to see it play out and it did so organically. The yearning between Cary and Shiloh was delicate and precious and stunning and Rainbow showed her writing skills at their best when she was writing their relationship. I loved the before and after aspect of the plot. Seeing them as teenagers and figuring out life and that they’re literally doing the same thing as adults. It was just a pure story of love and devotion and second chances. Rowell will always be one of my top five authors and this book is the reason why. I want to shout about it from the rooftops and I can’t wait for others to read it and witness this blessing of a story.