Instructions for Dancing is fabulous. A very subtle kind of read, Nicola Yoon got me right in the feels as the pages flew by effortlessly. The premise is both simple and complicated as Evie Thomas gets put on a path she didn't choose, finding she has the ability to somewhat see into the future but only when it comes to the world of love. Dealing with her own heartbreak of her beloved parents' divorce, this new Evie is a bit of a cynic when it comes to matters of the heart, especially losing hers when she least expects it.

I just loved every word. The use of ballroom dancing as a vehicle of sorts for Evie to find her true rhythm in life was brilliant. The friends she has in her 18-year-old life are charming and witty and give her the balance when it's needed the most. The surprise she finds in the engaging X changes her world forever even as her 'visions' set her off balance more than once. Combined with the grueling practices with the stoic Fifi as this unexpected pairing for Evie and X in the world of dance competition turns their lives upside down, this book kept me on my toes in a quiet and calm manner.

This story is eye-opening and at times harsh as Evie navigates a whole new existence trying her hardest to come to grips with the whys of falling in love when at some point in time, it may have to end. Learning lessons that only life can teach are both hurtful and beautiful and it got me thinking more about what we are destined to experience. When that can happen while devouring a book like this one is beyond exceptional.

Despite it being a quicker kind of read, the power of love was never more evident than within the pages of this book. It comes in many different forms as Evie tries to come to grips with how her life continues to change almost daily, and yet it is worth every ounce of hesitance, regret since hope never is really that far from her thoughts.

Instructions for Dancing will undoubtedly make you look at the world a bit differently with the remarkable Evie by your side. It is a game-changer and will most definitely make you smile.

5 huge stars!

(I will be featuring this book and a truncated review that fits in the caption and is non-spoilery and more complimentary on my Instagram, on MOnday 5/31 and sharing about the book in my stories on release day 6/1)

What I've loved about other books by Yoon, specifically the Sun is Also a Star is how well she does broad stories and brief snapshots. I remember reading the Sun is Also a Star and spending the next week or so just feeling like I was in a completely different world or like my world was bigger than it used to be. And she has done it yet again in instructions for dancing. Thank you to the publisher for granting me early access to this.
Summary: Evie Thomas has given up on love after her parents split and her world falls apart. Then things take a turn for the strange when one day she develops a very unusual ability: when she sees a couple kiss she then sees their whole romantic history- how they met, where they are now and how things end. Evie already feels like love isn’t real and these visions only seem to reinforce that it always ends badly. Along the way she ends up taking dance lessons and entering a ballroom dancing competition with the passionate and spontaneous X. Instructions for Dancing is unconventional and really takes a deeper look at whether the destination is as important as the moment and the journey as well as other insightful looks at love.

I did enjoy this book, of course, I did, Nicola Yoon continues to wondrously craft such unique and moving stories full of a tableau of fascinating characters and situations. I, unfortunately, can’t give this book a five-star but it’s less to do with the book which I’ll get into more in a minute.

Everything, after this, isn’t an outright spoiler but it comes close enough so read no further if you want to remain unspoiled!





Okay, so the problem I had mostly comes down to taste and preference in that technically speaking, the ending is about finding joy in the middle and while you have it and all that comes with it and I do think that that is an important and powerful message, especially for young people. Yoon also delivers it so artfully and well but the implied ending of the epilogue just didn't feel like any kind of happiness to me. I'm just not one of those people who can walk away after an ending like that and be like “oh, how beautiful. The important thing is she learned to live in the moment". Does this mean I missed the point of the book? very possibly. But I like reading books for happy endings. I like reading books where no matter what difficult things you go through, things work out. I am extremely and excruciatingly aware that that’s not how life works but it’s precisely because of the fact that that I prefer books with happy endings. It’s important for younger audiences to read books like this and learn to cope but I’m 30 and I’ve been through it and I just want my fictional characters to get the happiness I and people I love don’t. So even though Evie goes on this beautiful journey and learns to hold on to everything in the moment, I can’t separate the bitter from the sweet of X apparently dying shortly later. It’s not uncommon for me to cry when finishing books I love but to then spend 30 minutes ugly crying isn’t really fun for me and just gave me a headache. I read books to escape misery. So the ending for me took some of the joy out of the rest of the book. I do fully recognize that that's a me problem though. It was a beautiful book and was a beautiful journey and Yoon weaves just as wonderful a book as ever with compelling characters and an even more interesting twist this time around. I was just very personally affected by the ending and I recognize it's not to my taste. There are plenty of people who enjoy books who make them cry and bittersweet endings but it’s just not me but that’s not Yoon’s fault. A lot of people who aren’t me will probably really love Instructions for Dancing, just, ya know, bring the tissues.

After witnessing her Dad in the midst of an affair with one of his co-workers, Evie, the 17 year old protagonist, has decided that love is trash. Now that she is no longer a believer, she has decided to donate her entire romance collection to the little free library down the street. While at the local library box, she meets a mysterious woman who recommends a book entitled Instructions For Dancing. The aforementioned title leads her to the La Brea Dance Studio where she decides to take lessons, and meets a really cute boy. Although Xavier is attractive, Evie knows that falling in love with him is NOT an option because love is the ABSOLUTE WORST. Additionally, ever since she ran into that creepy lady at the neighborhood book box, she has been seeing visions of the unraveling of everyone else's love life; this obviously only enhances her dire disdain of all things having to do with love or happiness.
I usually don't go for books with that Hallmark Channel-esque vibe; but, I was HEAD OVER HEELS in LOVE with this Romance Novel. The author, Nicola Yoon, somehow managed to balance all that adorableness with a tall order of authenticity. This book is a remarkably cute story that tackles the age old question: Is love worth all the heartache and pain that inevitably comes with it?

I have a soft spot for YA literature. Not dystopian, end of the world, alternate reality, but YA love stories. This was a perfect read it in 1-2 sittings. What I loved most was how real the protagonist was. She had flaws and a heart. She knows how to love and have fun and has experienced loss. This book is about dance, but it about so much more. Thank you to Netgalley for my eARC.

Evie’s life at home crumbles when her parents divorce. She no longer believes in love. In a moment of desperation, she finds herself at a local dance studio and is convinced to learn numerous dances with a young man to compete on behalf of the studio. She also realizes that when she sees a couple kiss, she can see the entire history of their love… from home to start to how it ends. As she dances with her partner X, what will she learn about life and love?
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As with any of Nicola Yoon’s books, I very nearly consumed this one in a single sitting. I loved that Evie was such a stubborn, strong-willed young woman. She was really holding true to herself, trying to protect her little sister and take her mom’s side. As the outsider, it was a beautiful journey watching Evie evolve through challenges and how many lessons she learns through dancing with a partner.
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If you are looking for a fast read with life, love, dancing and a young woman trying to navigate parental divorce, I strongly recommend Instructions for Dancing.

This is a fantastic YA Romance with a little sparkle of magical realism pulled in. The main character, Evie, doesn’t believe in love anymore since her parent’s divorce, but this belief goes even deeper when she starts having visions of how all of the relationships around her will end. When she meets X, despite herself, she starts falling for him. The two get roped into a dance competition and their relationship development is heartwarming and adorable. The book made me want to get my dancing shoes out, for sure. The descriptions of all the different dance numbers sounded fun and exciting. Plus, I really wanted the costumes, too!

Evie has hit rock bottom. She has caught her dad cheating on her mom and thus is over every romantic comedy setup. Giving up on love, she decides to deposit her books at a Little Free library and meets a magical stranger. Now, Evie can see couples futures with just one look at their kiss.
Bewildered, Evie dives into an adventure to discover where this power came from. Happening upon a dance studio, she meets X, a man who believes in saying yes to everything.
With Evie still devastated, will she agree with X's philosophy? Will love come back to her? These questions and more will be answered through Instructions for Dancing.
Nicola Yoon writers another stellar that I will be sure to have on my classroom shelf. The background characters make you root for Evie and X! The setting is realistic and the book is the perfect length.

*I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

This was such a delightful story! As with all of Yoon's books, I could see exactly how it would play out as a movie. The chemistry between Evie and X was very palpable from the start. Evie's grief over her parents' separation made this all the more realistic. Even though I shed a few tears at the ending, I still feel like the overall takeaway from this book is to have hope and live life in the moment. Another stellar work from Nicola Yoon!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy of this one in exchange for an honest review.

Evie is a teen who is cynical about love after dealing with her parent's separation. She used to love reading romance but not she is swearing off the genre. Through a random series of events, she ends up taking dancing lessons. In these lessons she meets X, a charismatic young man who becomes her partner.

Nicola Yoon does it again with a book describing people falling for each other. The characters feel real and I loved this story. I had a really hard time putting it down. A 5 star read for me!

It’s hard to even list all the different emotions that Nicola Yoon made me feel while reading her upcoming novel, Instructions for Dancing (out June 1st). I’m not as familiar with Yoon’s writing as I would like, but I was blown away by how much she made me feel in what was relatively a short book.

In Instructions for Dancing, Yoon succeeds in taking on themes of grief, love, and fate in a book that made me laugh and cry and ultimately leave feeling differently than how I felt when I began.

IFD tells the story of Evie, who begins the book packing up all her romance novels in order to donate them because she is done with love and romance after watching her parent’s marriage implode. Evie meets a mysterious woman who insists she take a book from the donation pile and it begins her journey at a la brea dancing studio where Evie meets X, her new dancing partner with a new life philosophy of saying yes to everything.

As if that wasn’t enough, Evie realizes she has the ability to see how entire relationships begin and end if she witnesses a couple kiss.

Yoon says she wrote this book while dealing with various family health issues and uses this book in order to process her thoughts on grief and love. Would you make the same choices if you knew the ending? Would you go through all the pain even knowing what would happen?

This book will sit with me long after I have finished. A powerful, stunning meditation on grief and love and dancing.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was exactly what I needed. This is a great romance that focuses on Evie, a young 17-year old senior who has lost hope in love and her romance novels after parents divorce. While making a donation to a Little Free Library, she receives a stereotypical rom-com curse that leads her to a dance studio and X. X is her complete opposite with Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dreams, a “Say Yes” philosophy, and his own share of grief and parent issues. Through learning the Argentine Tango, Evie learns more than she thought she would.

This story does an amazing job at illustrating the effects of lost on love. Nicola does a wonderful job at describing both the effects of love lost and the importance of savoring love all while introducing the passion of dancing. I honestly loved this story, and I finished it in one day. This is a great love story that mocks romances while simultaneously making you fall in love with modern romance.

I will say that the title and cover had me thinking it was a sweet young adult romance to cleanse my palette. Nicola fooled me really well because she definitely did an amazing job of weaving in real life problems into this story without making it feel too heavy or forced. Beautiful character development with an amazing story and meaningful ending. I’m also probably in the minority, but I loved the ending as it showed the growth in Evie and honored X’s, Maggie’s, and Archibald’s beliefs.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I thought this book was so original, and really fun to read. Evie Thomas is a teenager who just doesn't believe in love anymore, after her parents get divorced. And she has somehow acquired the ability to see visions of how a couple's relationship will end, if she sees them kissing. So knowing that everything has an inevitable end, she is not at all interested in finding a romance of her own.

Until X walks in. They are partnered together to compete in a junior ballroom dance championship, and they very quickly act on their attraction for each other. But will Evie stick with it, even if she knows that they will most likely break up some day?

A really clever premise with great, nuanced characters. Highly recommend.

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon is a very sweet book that emphasizes finding love and enjoying our relationships every day. The story revolves around Evie, a 17 year old high school senior in Los Angeles. She is a formerly hopeless romantic who has become jaded about love ever since her parent's recent divorce. A strange incident brings her to a dance studio where she begins taking classes. There, she is paired with handsome, adventurous X (Xavier) who helps her open up and start taking risks again. I loved how Evie's character grew and developed and she became more accepting of others and open to new experiences and joy.

Thank you Random House / Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing this ARC.

I loved how this wasn't a straight-up contemporary. If you've read it you know what I'm talking about ;) I loved how this twist came into play quite a lot.

Characters:
Alright, can we talk about how much growth Evie went through? I loved seeing her character development throughout the story. I loved how her dad came into the story.

X was super funny, I could imagine the smile he would give to Evie. I really loved him, he was great for Evie. I love the friend group, their relationship was super fun to read about. All the little quirky things they did were super cute. I also loved how Martin always believed Evie. He never said how crazy she was and I loved that. I know I'm really bad at explaining why I love characters but I really did love the characters! Although I did kinda prefer the plot in this one. I loved Fifi, she was amazing!

Plot:
There were a few things that felt off to me, that's why I gave the book 4 stars. I kind of felt like the romance was a little insta love. But to be fair I read the majority of this in a day. Plus the story was spread out over a few months and my brain didn't compute that., but I did love the romance non -the-less!. I also kinda wished dance was more at the forefront. I felt like there was a small chunk of the book without the dance part, even that's a huge part of the book.

Despite these little issues I absolutely loved this book! If you love contemporary with a little twist, I highly recommend this!! Super fun, super cute, and super quick!
(also there's an lgbtq+ side romance!)
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I received an ARC of Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon thanks to the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review:
Nicola Yoon is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine. She also wrote Everything, Everything, which is an incredible story of someone who is extremely immunocompromised (essentially) and struggle between that and a being a teenager. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend. She also wrote The Sun Is Also A Star, which is just as amazing. This is why I chose to pick up Instructions for Dancing (plus the cover is fantastic and super eye-catching!).

I'm happy to report that I am just as satisfied with Instructions for Dancing as I was for Everything, Everything. Nicola Yoon takes a complicated situation and weaves a story around it and coming-of-age. Evie is attempting to cope with her parents' divorce and that overwhelming feeling that love only exists to cause pain. And the glimpses she sees only proves it. Then enters X. X is a go-with-the-flow, always-say-yes person that goes against everything Evie believes. So, of course, she hates him. However, they still need to work together to save the dance studio that Evie was guilted into joining.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and how it progressed. It had really good pacing and development. I loved Evie's character arc and the ending was so good there were tears. I highly recommend reading this if you like cynical teens and bittersweet romances.

***NOT A ROMANCE***

Disillusioned by her parents' divorce, Evie no longer believes in love. Her views are reinforced when she begins having visions of how a couple's love story begins and ends, after seeing them kiss. But when she meets X and practices with him for a dance competition, she can't help losing her heart. Will Evie learn to trust in love again?

The sweet love story between Evie and X filled my heart. It was lovely to see how Evie learned to value love even when it doesn't have a happy ending.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

went into this story not expecting much maybe just a fun ride of a stubborn, been through a lot protagonist learning how to open up to the concept of love again, but i'm stunned as it was a much bigger story than that in terms of meaningfulness. still this book was a very quick read that you can't put down as the short chapters helped that i consumed in about less than 2 hours not including breaks, though my younger self would've definitely loved this a lot more than i do now with most ya romance contemporaries since this was a swift read i didn't connect on a super deep level. yet this story does get a lot of messages across that truly hit home when it comes to dealing with broken families, trust, and love specifically all the pain that it will always come with. this was a solid 3 star for me in terms of just overall fast plot and characters but upped a star with the emotions in made me feel and resonating dialogue during profound conversations between characters. evie and x's relationship and dynamic provided such good contrast to the other with x's careless, free, living in the moment persona giving a new perspective to post parents' divorce evie's self who's cautious of feelings and of pain itself with the future holding many possibilities of hurt. i'll say nicola yoon really knows how to throw in some good plot twists quite literally twisting the knife in readers' hearts. the character growth and realizations especially on living life and all its moments of happiness it will give you if you look past your grudges was well done along with learning to love without overthinking the future of it all. i would highly recommend this to anyone who needs a good brisk read that will take you for a whirlwind of emotions of laughs and tears, you can tell yoon really is good at her genre of rom-contemps that provide situations of reality that can resound with most readers.

I first thought this book would be a cute romance, but honestly I should've expected a lot more since its Nicola Yoon!
This book made me so emotional. It is just packed with such a powerful story and it really isn't just a cute romcom at all.
This is about a girl going through a hard time in her life, and she feels like everyone has moved on except for her. This story shows her growth and I think this might be such a good story for people who may be going through similar issues of families getting a divorce or kids with parent issues, especially younger teens.
Yoon gives this powerful story and then adds the really interesting ballroom dancing plot to it, which I really enjoyed because I used to take ballroom dancing classes so it was fun for me to read this and then in my mind see the dances that they are doing on the page.
The way that this "power" that Evie has is also really interesting and really helps her grow as a person, I think.
I also really liked the love interest, he was a really interesting character and he was such a great person to be there for the main character during her hard times.
I also really enjoyed the sort of open ending that happens, it doesn't really tie everything completely up, it leaves it open to let the reader wonder what really happens and if Evie's vision really does come true or not.
I did think the ending of the ballroom dancing, like the end of the competition could've been explained a little better. The way it was written seemed a bit rushed and wasn't as descriptive as I would have liked it to be, but other than that I thought this was a great book!

Nicola Yoon just writes beautiful works of art and this is no exception. Instructions for Dancing is a story following Evie, who doesn't believe love is forever (based on circumstances in her own life) and receives a book where she's given these visions to see into the future at how a relationship ends. It affects how she falls in love herself, with her dance partner, X. I liked how the story was a mix of Evie's POV, the visions, and cute little chapters in between. It was an emotional story that also was swoon-worthy and I think anyone who likes YA will enjoy this.

4.5. This is less cutesy and fated-mates than Yoon's other books, and I think that's to its benefit. Sure, there's hope in the end, but there's also a lot of cynicism, emotional moments, and darkness in narrator Evie's story as she not only navigates her own family and relationship issues, but also shoulders the burden of seeing entire relationships play out in front of her eyes.

I would recommend not only reading this book, but also the author's note at the end; Yoon was going through the pain of losing family while she wrote, and it's clear that she channeled this pain into Evie's story.