Nicola Yoon loves to make me cry. I’m serious. I have cried with all of her books.

This one was no exception.

Nicola is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! She has such a beautiful way with words.

Instructions for Dancing is an adorable YA romance novel with a twist of magic! I’m loving books lately that sprinkle some magic into the story.

In this story we meet Evie, a teenage girl who is done with love after seeing her dad cheat on her mom. Evie meets a mysterious woman who gives her book that allows her to see the love story of couples when they kiss.

I found this to be such an interesting story!
It is a must read just like all of her other novels! The characters are so relatable, I think teens will relate with this story.
I loved the dance aspect of the story too, definitely made me wanna go sign up myself!

Go buy this book ASAP!

I also listened to the audiobook thanks to PRHA.
I loved the narrator, her voice was clear and not robotic at all.

fantastic writing. exceptionally well developed characters. splendid romance. I'd purchase this book for myself and recommend it to others.

YES. Nicola Yoon did it again. An amazing, fun, and unique book! She has such a talent for tugging at the heartstrings but also feeling hope and believing in love all at the same time. I've loved every one of her books and this one is no different. Such a great read!

Nicola Yoon's books are amazing and always give me all the feels. Instructions for Dancing will make you invest in the characters and the story. It will make you laugh, make you cry and it will remind you of why it is so important to say yes to your life and to believe in love. Evie and X will remain with you long after you finish the book. A compelling, thought-provoking and poignant read!

Loved this interesting story based around Evie's love story involving a book with magical powers. I love Yoon's storytelling style and this plot is something I haven't read before.

Yoon’s latest YA contemporary is a sweet romance with whimsical magical realism that looks at how heartbreak not only impacts the people in a relationship but the others around them. I enjoyed the dancing bits and especially Evie’s friend Martin’s fashion sense.

I love the way Nicola Yoon makes her characters real and relatable. We experience their struggle and growth as if it's our own. There's something very special about that.

This story has everything...heartbreak, joy, anger, all the feels...with a little bit of magic thrown in for good measure.

Grab a tissue, you're going to need it.

Evie Thomas is bitter about love after her parents split, and especially after something curious starts to happen. Whenever she sees a couple in love kiss, the "life" of their relationship flashes before her eyes, and she can see what ultimately breaks them up. Super-bummer!

This also happens to coincide with her finding a book, "Instructions for Dancing," which leads her to a dance studio. There, she somehow gets roped into learning to dance in order to enter a ballroom dance competition with a cute and cheerful guy named X who says yes to everything.

After "Everything, Everything" and "The Sun Is Also a Star," fans of Nicola Yoon's young love stories will immediately get pulled in with this unique premise. Built into that, however, is an inherent bittersweetness. All of her books have challenging topics, but this might be the most. I feel some people will end up loving it or hating it.

I was in between. I think it was beautifully sketched out, and there was work put into each of the characters. And yet ... I felt a bit removed from the events, as if I were watching it take place in silhouette behind a curtain.

Maybe it was because I was tired when reading it. I did appreciate that this was an utterly ambitious and original story that will stick with young readers. Yoon writes an afterword that I think offers some insight into what I thought was why I felt a bit detached. It might be one of those stories to revisit at a later date to see how I feel about it.

Review based on an ARC by Netgalley

Evie and X are opposites, but can their dancing and the hope for love being them together? But is love something really worth hoping for, dreaming for or working for when we know it usually ends in heartache? Yoon’s novel is bittersweet and not quite a love story, I don’t want to give too much away except that reading the afterword is a MUST.

Nicola Yoon is a master at creating characters, and that is evident in Instructions for Dancing. Evie and X are wonderfully complicated. Their relationship was fun and flirty and a delight to read. The best part of the book is Evie's journey from grief to acceptance. Yoon's writing shines as she delves into Evie's pain to find her happiness. The book is a fast-paced, fun read, and fans of Yoon's will not be disappointed.

This is my third Nicola Yoon book, and I will say she sure knows how to hit you where it hurts. The story felt pretty disorganized for me leading up the ending and it felt like a lot of the plot was really rushed. The magical element fell short for me and felt mostly unnecessary. However, the last quarter drew me in and made me feel all the things. It had all the elements I loved about the other Yoon books I’ve read, they just didn’t come until the very end.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my gosh...this book. You have heard it said before already, but this book wrecked my heart. I loved both of Nicola Yoon's previous books and I loved this one too. Instructions for Dancing is not at all like her previous books in feel, but the writing is still captivating and beautifully done. The characters (most all of them, I'm still iffy about one) are likable, and let me tell you, it will pull at the heart strings. I recommend you read this book.

This book was a very quick read for me and it was really a cute romance. There was a lot of chemistry between the two main characters and also between the friends in this book. I like that the main character grows as a person, not because of her superpower, but because of the environment shaping her opinions. The ending was very brief, but I think that was the point because the ending is never the most important part....that will make more sense if you read the book :).

My cold cynical heart loved this book and tugged my heart strings in all the right ways. This book was a 5 star read for me! I adored all the characters and how the main character grows. I really loved the writing style and this was a very tender read. Overall, highly recommend picking this one up if you are a Nicola Yoon fan!

I read Instructions for Dancing a few days ago and this was a read full of emotions. It's a YA contemporary mixed with magical realism where love is the main focus of the story but at the same time it's not a love story. 4.5⭐

It follows Evie who becomes cynical and stops believing in love after her dad cheated and left her mom for another woman.

It's such a sweet, extremely emotional, magical, and thought provoking read that pulled at my heartstrings. The writing flows beautifully, it's descriptive and captivating, and the characters are so vivid and loveable. Reading this book gave me a feeling like I was watching a movie, and I think this book would be perfect for an adaptation.

It's all about love in this book, about falling in and out of love. About taking risks in love, being bold and loving people even though you aren't sure how the future will turn out. It's a bittersweet story that made me tear up at the end, especially after reading the author's note and the way she took her own pain, pour it into words, creating a beautiful story. Highly recommend!

Nicola Yoon never disappoints and this was another beautiful book from her!

First of all, it was totally not what I was expecting! The "powers" that the MC had was something that took me by surprise but it was so well done and I loved it so much. This is my new favorite Nicola Yoon book for sure!

The journey that the MC goes on, to discover what love is again and believe in it. It broke my heart and healed it. It's such a beautiful way of telling this story.

This book also hit super close to home with me, the situation with the dad was so similar to mine and it made me so emotional. This book makes you a believer in love by the end, it's everything I didn't know I needed in a book and I want all of my friends to read it.

I hope that we get a movie adaptation of this Nicola Yoon hit as well!

INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING is an engaging YA contemporary about romance, family, and coming of age. Evie stopped believing in love when her parents' marriage ended with an affair. Now, she wants nothing to do with her father, and she has no interest in love for herself, her friends, or her family. This includes the romance books that used to be her favorites, and she is taking some of them to a little free library to pass along. A mysterious woman comes up and chats with her about them, insisting she must also take a book, as those are the rules of LFLs. The only book that is not hers to take is "Instructions for Dancing."

Not long after, she sees her sister kissing her current boyfriend, and suddenly, she is watching a movie of their romance from the start to present to the future when they breakup. When what she saw later comes to pass, Evie knows she has a new, witchy skill around romance, something she has no interest in. When she discusses with her BFF, Martin, he suggests that she needs to go with the flow and check out the studio in the book she was told to take by the mysterious woman.

As she does, she enters the world of ballroom dancing and continues to see snapshots of everyone's romances when they kiss. What Evie notices most is the way they all end, and she is not ready to take a chance on her handsome and talented dance partner.

What I loved: This book was completely riveting - the storyline really kept me hooked, between the magic, ballroom dancing, and romances. The touch of magic was really interesting, and I loved watching the relationship snapshots that Evie sees. It's passive (she cannot change anything), but they show so many different types of beginnings and endings that I really loved it. Add that to the tidbits about Evie's favorite romance novels, and this was a really great showcase of love. Also, as a romance reader, I found a lot of the lists and discussions around romance novels to be particularly entertaining.

The characters were really compelling as well. Evie has a lot to work through with the way her parents' marriage ended and her views on relationships. She is grieving the life she lost and the disillusionment of those changes. During the book, Evie really starts to realize more about the people who are important to her and forgiveness. There is a lot of character growth, particularly towards the end of the book that was really beautiful. The other characters, particularly those at the studio, were also really fantastic. I fell in love with all of them.

The romance was really lovely. Evie and X (Xavier) were both dealing with their own grief and reactions to it, and together, they are able to support each other and grow so much apart and together. I was definitely cheering for them all the way through, and I cried at one particular scene that I won't share to avoid spoilers. This was all the feels.

Final verdict: So much more than a love story, INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING is a beautiful YA contemporary about romance, family, and character growth with a touch of magic. Highly recommend for fans of INSTANT KARMA, THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END, and DON'T DATE ROSA SANTOS.

Please note that I received a review copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

“Happiness is tricky. Sometimes you have to fight for it. Sometimes, though—the best times—it sneaks up behind you, wraps an arm around your waist and pulls you close.”


Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon just released on June 1st, and it’s the YA book your heart needs! As always, I did a combo of reading and audiobook! Thank you to Delacorte Press, Get underlined, PRHAudio, and Rockstar book tours for the gifted copies!


Evie’s perfect family is shattered when her parents announce they’re separating. Not only that, Evie discovers her dad was having an affair. With a newly pessimistic attitude towards relationships and love, Evie starts to have visions. Anytime a couple kisses, she sees a vision of their entire relationship, how their romance began, how it progresses, and ultimately, how it will end.


Trying to figure out how and why these visions are happening, she’s led to a dance studio where she meets X, a young musician who’s her polar opposite. Before she knows it, Evie is signing up for a ballroom dance competition with X, and they are getting to know each other. But will Evie open her heart up enough while she learns to dance with X? Will he be enough to make her believe in love again?

Instructions for Dancing was my second book by Nicola Yoon and WOW! This one will give you all the feels. It was everything with its funny puns, great conversations and interactions, an excellent cast of supporting characters, and young love. I highly recommend you check out this one!

Evie wants no part in anybody's love story, least of all one of her own. Her family's shown her enough of how so-called "love" turns out that she can live without it. This makes it all the more disconcerting when she begins having visions of how the love stories of other couples will end whenever she sees them kissing. Love is overrated, but at least Evie can make time for herself and dance, so she begins to move to the beat and trot the fox at La Brea Dance Studio. Her partner, Xavier, is so different from her, and why is he always so agreeable, and willing to dance with her at the upcoming ballroom dance competition? As they continue circling each other, eyes locking, palms meeting, Evie has to wonder to herself about what matters. Is love defined by the end of the story, or the journey as it unfolds, and is it worth risking heartbreak for?

What a beautiful, meaningful story, about love and what it means, and the many paths it can take. The magical realism Evie experiences helped to elevate her feelings and experiences, allowing glimpses of other people's experiences, and letting Evie reflect on what that meant to her. She's definitely a bit cynical, but I think she has a right to feel that way. Many people feel love, and want to be loved, only to see it slip through their fingers like traitorous beach sand. Yet Xavier jumpstarts her heart in a way that surprises her, and she starts to feel something she's not sure of. I felt like a lot of the author's feelings poured onto the page, as what happens to Evie is both beautiful, and bittersweet.

The feeling of love in its many forms is an exquisite experience, one that I believe Nicola Yoon captures well here. Instructions for Dancing is a story about a girl who doesn't trust love, but finds that maybe it's worth seeing for yourself before dismissing it. Recommended for readers who enjoy stories about what love means, stories about dancing, and stories about reaching for what your heart needs now, while allowing the future to write its own ending.

I've always been a fan of everything Nicola Yoon has written and this is no different! The romance in this book was super sweet but also was definitely insta-love (or at least it felt like that). The author always does such an amazing job making the characters feel real.