*Special thanks to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!*

This book was absolutely spectacular! I devoured it in under 48 hours because I simply could not put it down. Every time I picked it up, it would suck me in and then spit me back out an hour and a half later. I love Nicola Yoon's writing style; it's so beautiful and heartfelt, lyrical with the occasional adorably witty line. Honestly, the emotions this book evoked in me, too. I very rarely cry while reading, but multiple scenes in Instructions for Dancing had me sniffling and teary-eyed. This book also rendered my heart feeling vaguely broken by the end. I'm still a bit distraught over one element of the story.

​I generally liked Evie Thomas as a protagonist. There were some times when I felt mildly annoyed with her, but overall I enjoyed living in her head for 304 pages. Sometimes she came off as a little too stubborn in regard to her "love never lasts" belief, but I do understand why she had that opinion. It was interesting to watch her stance on love evolve over the course of the book. This evolution had an impact on every aspect of her life, so we also got to see her relationships with family and friends change, which I found both heartwarming and inspiring.

Okay, let's talk about X. X. Ugh, I love him so much. This probably should have been prefaced with a book boyfriend alert!!! because I am absolutely head-over-heels for him. I mean, he's insanely attractive and has an amazing personality, plus he plays the guitar and dances. How can you possibly get any better than that?! His character was deep and genuine, and I adored how adorably quirky he was sometimes, especially with his "always say yes" philosophy. I'm pretty sure he was called or described as sexy 20+ times throughout the book, which, I mean, there are synonyms for "sexy," but it also was an accurate way of describing him and it added a bit of humor, too.

Evie and X's relationship was so cute. I loved how they weren't afraid to be truthful and brought out the best in each other. Their dates were fun and creative, and I also liked how X got along so well with Evie's friends--it always makes me happy when the protagonist's friends get along with their romantic interest. It was also enjoyable to watch Evie's relationship with her family change throughout the book; I especially liked seeing her grow closer to her sister. I appreciated how Evie's family was authentically complicated in a way that didn't feel forced. It was enlightening to see Evie come to better understand her parents, their reasoning, and their love.

I really liked how, despite the this book's romantic elements, it was truly a journey of growth and development for Evie herself. She had a beautiful character arc and gained many valuable insights throughout this book. Never once did she fail to feel like a genuine, real person, which really enhanced my reading experience. This book was absolutely stunning and I cannot recommend it enough! Fans of Nicola Yoon will not be disappointed by this one.

This is my first book by Nicola Yoon and it will not be my last. This book was so much more than I was expecting.

This story is beautifully written and it made my heart happy and break simultaneously. I loved Evie as a main character and watching her learn what the real point of love is.

I definitely recommend this book to any and everybody and make sure you pick up your copy on June 1st.

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕.”

I knew going into this that Nicola Yoon has a history of tugging at my heartstrings, and this was no different. I absolutely loved and devoured this arc from Netgalley and Random House. This is more than a cute love story, it is a life lesson of not just seeing one part, not just the destination. This was beautifully written and quick. I loved the short chapters and the bookish nature that is introduced right of the bat. Our characters are real in a way that you can relate to, but they also show a good progression throughout. It left me asking if I could see the ending of something, would I still find the journey with the risk?

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review. “Instructions for Dancing” will be released on 6/1/2021.

This is such a sweet YA romance. The main character of Evie is awesome- a great friend and a complicated daughter, all while being brave and open to new experiences. I loved the setting of LA, with Evie riding around on her bike, hanging out with her diverse group of friends, having bonfires in the beach, going to rock shows, and learning ballroom dancing.

There’s an element of magic in this book, which I always love in a plot. In this case, Evie can see the future of a relationship just by witnessing a kiss. It’s charming and heart-wrenching at the same time.

Fans of YA and modern romances will enjoy this book!

This was an incredibly easy read. It only took me about two hours to finish. And while the “moral” of the story was beautiful, the book was slightly underwhelming. The dancing element felt like a subplot until the climax, and it just overall fell flat for me in every aspect except emotional. I didn’t feel compelled to read because I wanted to know what happened but rather because I just wanted to be finished. I can definitely see other people enjoying it, though, especially if the theme is something you can relate to more than I could, and that’s why I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 3. It’s a wonderful depiction of overcoming a fear of love rather than solely falling IN love. (the mc READS, which was definitely a draw for me. she references romance novels often which I thought was just the cutest thing). As a whole, I enjoyed instructions for dancing; it just didn’t impact me as much as I expected it to.

I've loved all of Nicola Yoon's books and this one was no exception! The story was enchanting. Evie and X were delightful characters and their love story was so sweet. I loved Evie's character development and how she learned that love was about more than just endings. The ballroom dance element added fun and excitement along the way. This book was more than just romance and happy feelings, though. As Nicola Yoon always does, she made readers delve into philosophical questions and consider whether falling in love is worth any potential pain.

Since her first novel, Everything, Everything, which I devoured in one sitting, Nicola Yoon has been an auto-buy author for me. I was therefore thrilled to get an early peek at her upcoming release Instructions for Dancing, which met my (very) high expectations.

The book opens with Evie Thomas’s broken heart. Her parents’ marriage has ended, eradicating her idealistic view that some love is forever. She takes steps to remove all forms of her former foolishness from her life, including getting rid of all of the romance novels, which used to anchor her avid reading. She wants no reminders of the depths of her disappointment.

While she’s donating her books to a Little Free Library, she meets a mysterious woman who gives her a book called Instructions for Dancing. She returns home, feeling lighter without the romance books, but Evie soon discovers a strange new ability: she sees—randomly, it seems—the entire course of couples’ relationships, including their inevitable endings. While she doesn’t understand exactly what magic is happening, these endings of beautiful love stories, one right after another, reinforce her disbelief in love.

One of Evie’s best friends encourages her to do something to figure out what’s happening: he identifies the LFL lady as the source for Evie’s new power and advises her to go to the dance studio, La Brea Dance, where Instructions for Dancing originated. It’s there that Evie meets X, the grandson of the studio owners, and gets swept up in his grandparents’ efforts to save the studio through an amateur ballroom dancing competition. So, Evie and X are learning to dance—together—and getting to know one another.

Oh, I loved this book so much. Evie is just a fabulously layered character, one whose fears and fragility about love are understandable. X also knows loss, which has affected his own outlook on life and on risk taking in a different way from Evie. As they come to understand what has made the other feel the way they do, their closeness shapes the way they move forward together.

This book made me laugh, and it made me ugly cry; I love a dancing competition, so I was a sucker for watching Evie and X’s journey toward being a couple both on the dance floor and off. The secondary characters—Evie’s family, their ballroom dance teacher Maggie, Evie and X’s friends—are richly drawn, and the way they both support and challenge Evie and X is just brilliant. Instructions for Dancing moved Nicola Yoon even higher on my list of auto-buy authors.

Instructions for Dancing is the first Nicola Yoon book that I've read. I've heard that her writing is amazing and emotional and heartbreaking, and that is all absolutely correct. I really loved the writing style: it was easy to read and full of the banter that I enjoy in contemporary YA. This book is all about love. All of the excitement, wonder, difficulty, and sometimes heartbreak that comes from it. In the afterword, Nicola Yoon mentions that she was writing this book during a really difficult time, and I could really feel that through this book. She reminds us to live in the moment and cherish love as the best and most important part of life.

This was my first Nicola Yoon book, and I have to admit that I was drawn to the book because of the cover. Can you blame me?! The cover is breathtaking...

...and the actual story is even better.

It's a story about the importance of love and friendship. It's about understanding that those relationships are impactful and worthwhile, even if they don't last forever. It shows us that a happy ending may not be what you expect...and it may not actually be an ending, after all.

A sweet and charming YA coming of age romance.  Elements of magical realism sets this story apart. A heart warming romance that isn’t a love story until… it is.  The novel will appeal to cynics and romantics alike- told in beautiful prose, the narrative shifts seamlessly between laugh out loud moments and endearing insightful ones.  Overall an enjoyable read.

This was my first Nicola Yoon book, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I loved the magical realism element throughout the book, and the way Evie's visions helped her reach acceptance for multiple, but I don't think I was expecting such a bittersweet ending. That's just personal preference, of course, but the bittersweet ending did kind of color my entire experience with this book.

I loved a lot, though, including the dance subplot. It felt rushed, particularly at the end, but those bits with Evie and X learning how to dance, and the dance lessons serving as a jumping off point for their relationship to grow were really lovely to read. I also loved all of the details pertaining to Evie's (former) love of romance novels. It helped ground the character and make her feel familiar, like she was "one of us."

I feel like this isn’t the best book I’ve read from Nicola Yoon. I think it just didn’t feel realistic enough and it just didn’t flow for me.

I really like Nicola Yoon's books. This one was no exception. While being a semi love story it was also a beautifully heart bending book. I like that every thing was not all frills and butterflies. I like the message of the story and the characters are well written and relatable. Glad I got to read it in advance it'll be great for reader's advisory ♡

I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was sweet and smart and heartfelt and had more depth that I originally thought. I loved all the family relationships and especially the friendships of the main character.

Evie has given up on love. How can it exist when people such as her parents love ends? And since it is not forever why even fall in love? Then one afternoon when Evie decides to take all her romance novels to a neighborhood lending library she picks up a book called Instructions for Dancing. All of the sudden she can see peoples love stories. On her journey to figure out why she has been burdened with such an ability Evie meets X at a local dance studio. Will Evie be able to find love with X? Does true love exist? Is it worth risking falling in love at all? I love how the title of this book is a metaphor. It is such a beautiful book about love and how while sometimes it only lasts for a moment that moment in time is worth living, looking to the future makes you miss how many amazing things are going on in the present. Dancing is all about being in the moment, nothing else matters. We should all dance through life if we want to live to our fullest. Just a beautiful message and such a fun book.

Nicola Yoon’s new novel Instructions for Dancing follows Evie Thomas, a senior in high school, whose world has been rocked because she walked in on her dad cheating on her mother. Her utter disappointment in her dad, coupled with her parents’ divorce, has left Evie feeling like there’s no point in falling in love if it’s just going to end in misery. Evie is so off the whole idea of love at this point, she takes all of her old romance novels to donate to a Little Free Library. An elderly woman there encourages Evie to take a book as well and gives her a book called Instructions for Dancing. Evie doesn’t want to be rude so she takes it and when she sees an address on the back for a local dance studio, she decides to check out the studio and while there, she meets ‘X’ (short for Xavier). They bond immediately as they begin taking dance lessons together and as they grow closer and closer, Evie starts to wonder if she’s wrong about love being a waste of time…

I don’t want to give away any further details about the story, so that teaser about how Evie’s emotional journey begins is all I’m giving you. Her path is a beautiful one, although painful at times. If you have parents who are divorced, you will relate very strongly to where Evie is emotionally. I know I did. As Evie finds, it can be hard to open yourself up to love when you know there’s the possibility you could get hurt. The message of this book though is that it’s not about how that love might end in heartbreak. Instead it’s about the journey of falling in love so deeply that when you do loose them, it crushes you, and the idea that we should all hope to be lucky enough to experience a love that deep. I thought this was such a powerful and important message both for Evie and for all of us and I loved how this beautiful sentiment, which reduced me to tears several times, balances out with some of the lighter and more fun elements of the story.

Oh yes, it’s not all doom and gloom by any stretch. Evie’s group of friends is a lot of fun and so are the people Evie meets at the dance studio. There’s intense training for a dance competition that brings Evie and X even closer together, as well as lots of dates for them as their instructor forces them to get to know each other better so that they have better chemistry on the dance floor.

Instructions for Dancing is a story that will tug at your heartstrings and make you believe that no matter what, love is always worth it. As the old Dr. Seuss quote says, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

DNF @ 30%
I just couldn't. I loved Nicola Yoon's other 2 books but I just could not handle this one. I loved the premise and the idea but the execution just fell short. I couldn't get attached to Evie or X and or her friends and family. I hate that I can see the pairing in the end and I just don't want to read it anymore.

In many ways, this book is exactly what you would expect from Nicola Yoon. A fun storyline, great main characters, and an undertone of sadness woven in. But it is also so much more. I won't spoil it, but if you liked Yoon's other books, this one isn't one to miss. I will say this: in her Author's Note at the end, Yoon talks about grief and pain she was dealing with while writing this and it is evident on the pages.

Evie and X were great main characters. I loved the way the connected even early on in the story, but how their relationship developed over the course of they book. The dancing and vision plotlines were also so fun! I saw someone mention that this would be a great Disney Channel-esque movie and yes, absolutely! And I would love every minute of it. Especially if it was also a musical haha.

The themes and the emotions in this books were particularly well written. The focus on accepting that things don't always turn out how you want them to (and living in the moment despite the fear of the end) is also a great addition.

While I very much enjoyed this book (it was a quick and easy read that held my attention the whole time), it wasn't a perfect 5-star book for me. Aside from Evie and X, I felt like the side characters were a bit weak and while both plotlines were great, there were times when they were sped through or kind of pushed to the side. For instance, the whole dancing thing supposedly takes center stage in this book (you know, the one titled "Instructions for Dancing"), but when the dance competition came up, it was over before I was even invested in it at all. Other things, like Evie's other relationships and her own inner struggles, on the other hand, sometimes felt too drawn out.

Overall, this book was an emotional rollercoaster and you have to be pretty heartless not to tear up just a tiny bit. Okay, I'm kidding. But still, if your easily susceptible to emotions: bring tissues.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

5 stars

CW: Death of a loved one, infidelity

I laughed, I cried, this book was absolutely stunning!

There was a time in my reading journey where I wasn't reading as much YA; this happened to coincide with Nicola Yoon coming onto the scene. I had heard rave reviews of her work so when I saw this ARC, I figured I would give this a shot. I am kicking myself for not picking her books up sooner.

Instructions for Dancing is everything that I love about the YA genre. The dialogue is fun, the characters are an absolute delight, and it does not shy away from showing teenagers going through some really tough times. What I appreciated the most, however, was Yoon's ability to craft a moment or a scene that felt like it had been taken out of my own life. It moved me deeply and I am so thankful that I have finally been introduced to the powerhouse that is Nicola Yoon.

Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!