Backslide, Nora Dahlia
Backslide, Nora Dahlia
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

Backslide

Author: Nora Dahlia

Narrator: Gilli Messer, Teddy Hamilton

Unabridged: 10 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/21/2025

Categories: Fiction, Friendship


Synopsis

The author of the “sexy, smart, and sweetly satisfying” (Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times bestselling author) Pick-Up returns with a second chance romance perfect for fans of Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez! Exes are thrown together at their best friends’ wine country un-wedding and forced to reckon with their past...and lingering sparks.

Nellie Hurwitz doesn’t have a first love. She has a first hate: Noah-who-may-not-be-named. And she has refused to talk about what imploded their relationship since it ended abruptly near the end of high school.

For two decades, Nellie and Noah have managed to avoid seeing each other—but the gig is up when their respective best friends, Ben and Cara, plan an intimate vow renewal at a vineyard compound in Sonoma, California.

Nellie is determined to keep ancient history from ruining the trip Cara has worked so hard to plan—but dangerously close quarters bring up feelings both Nellie and Noah have carefully locked away for years. Even amidst the eye rolls, snipes and awkwardness of their forced proximity, the two can’t shake the heady attraction they’ve always shared.

Written in alternating timelines, teenage Nellie and Noah fall together and apart in 1990s New York, while, in the present day, they grapple with whether—despite the baggage of the past—there is still something real and unfinished brewing between them.

Ultimately, can they find a way to move forward? Or will they backslide and blow things up for good?

About Nora Dahlia

Nora Dahlia is a lifestyle writer whose work has appeared in The New York TimesElleThe Wall Street JournalVanity Fair, among others. Nora is also a branded content expert, book doctor, ghostwriter, collaborator, and writing coach. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two kids. She is the author of Backslide and Pick-Up.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Nilufer on June 16, 2025

As someone who fell head over heels for Nora Dahlia's Pick Up, I practically squealed when I got my hands on Backslide. Enemies-to-lovers? Second chance romance? Forced proximity at a gorgeous vineyard? Sign me up! While there were moments that made my romance-loving heart flutter, I found myself wr......more

Goodreads review by Adi on October 26, 2025

Rounding up to 4 stars, this was such a lovely read! I loved how this was both a romance and a love letter to both New York City and the West Coast. It felt nostalgic and dreamy at the same time. I looooved the flashbacks (especially as a 90s baby) and it added more emotional depth and believability......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on October 20, 2025

An emotional second chance romance between two people who seemed destined to fall in love in college only to have things drastically fall apart when life plans go awry. Forced back together for their friends Northern California vow renewal ceremony, Noah and Nellie have to learn to put past grievanc......more

Goodreads review by Marcia reading past dark on October 25, 2025

Backslide by Nora Dahlia is a touching second chance romance. Nellie and Noah, high school sweethearts, are surprised to meet each other again at the renewal of vows for their best friends. This charming romcom is told in alternating timelines, revealing their emotion-charged teen relationship and a......more

Goodreads review by Kerri on March 22, 2025

Read this in pretty much one sitting when I couldn’t sleep. I really enjoyed the authors last book Pick Up and I liked this even more. Fast paced writing, shortish chapters and I love that the characters are in their late 30’s......more


Quotes

"Gilli Messer and Teddy Hamilton, both of whom performed Dahlia’s previous audiobook, return to narrate this enemies-to-lovers romance. Twenty years ago, Nellie and Noah were high school sweethearts. When their relationship imploded, Nellie told no one why, not wanting their secret to ruin Noah’s relationships with their friends. Decades later, at their friends’ un-wedding weekend, the two are forced to spend time together and confront the reason their relationship ended. Messer’s ability to capture the pair’s voices is stellar. Most notably, she’s fully believable as she switches between their youthful and present-day dialogue. Hamilton’s performance works well in scenes of high emotion and helps to bring Noah to life. Both narrators will keep listeners engaged as the former sweethearts confront their past."