I'll be honest, I was hesitant to pick Instructions for Dancing up. My history with Nicola Yoon is typically that I'm so enamored by her writing that I will rate the book high and then drop the rating after I think about the story longer. However, it has been about a week since I've completed Instructions for Dancing and I am still just as much in love with it as when I completed the magical story.

Instructions for Dancing revolves around high school senior Evie Thomas who has completely given up on the idea of love after witnessing the her father cheating on her mother. However, after trying to get rid of all of her romance books, she discovers that she has the ability to watch the story of a couples relationship when they kiss. Fueled by a desire to end this ability, she is led to La Brea Dance Studio and handsomely charming X.

Staying in her same easy to read and quick paced style, Yoon creates some of the most down to earth characters she's yet to write. It was very easy to sit down and become invested in their personal lives. Yoon also isn't afraid to depict real life in all of its complexity and earnestness.

The one issue I do have with this book was the abruptness in which 1/4th of this book happens at. A major plot twist ushers us into new themes that bring up some interesting conversations that Evie is grabbling with, but less care is given to the last 10 pages of the book than the rest.

Overall, this book hit me in all the right places, making me laugh, think, and even get emotional. While probably closer to a 4.5 than a 5, I still deeply enjoyed Evie's journey from start to finish.

“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.”

This is my third Nicola Yoon book and I’ve loved every one of them. You will need to keep the tissues handy for this one. Yoon explores topics of love and loss and all the feelings that come with it. I felt like I was having a conversation with an aunt or a wise loved one about love and that even though it hurts sometimes it is worth it.

I ate this book up in only a few sittings with the majority being one sitting. I was very emotional throughout the book at Evie grew as a character and learned more about love and the loss of love.

I loved all the characters - even the ones we only meet briefly. This is a new favorite book of mine.

I am a big fan of Everything, Everything and even more crazy about The Sun is also a star. So seeing Nicola Yoon was writing something new I immediately jumped at the chance to read it. Instructions for dancing was truly a unique yet kind of sad read. Evie witnesses her father's infidelity which led to her parents divorce. She then begins to stop believing in love. And after giving her romance books to a strange woman she meets on a corner; the lady gives her a book titled Instructions for Dancing. She discovers she has a newly formed curse (or power) where she can see the beginning of someone's love story and the end when they kiss. Her philosophy begins to change when she meets X. X is passionate, free and happily wants to dance with Evie at a dance competition. But can Evie take a risk on becoming closer to X even though she continues witness heartbreaks, will her philosophy change in believing love is not being real? Or will she learn that even if something doesn't last, doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. I found Evie's character arc really well crafted. Even though I wouldn't say this book has a happy ending which I prefer when it comes to any romance.) I still really appreciated reading this book and continue to be impressed with the intriguing stories Nicola Yoon continue to put out.

Since Evie saw her dad kiss someone else that's definitely not her mom, Evie no longer believes in love. Her romance novels are left untouched on her bookshelf and she's giving them away when another woman exchanges all her books for one that says Instructions for Dancing on the cover.

All of a sudden, whenever Evie sees a couple kiss, she can see how they met, how they fell in love, and sadly, how they break up. This only adds to her belief that all love eventually ends up broken.

A mysterious address in the book sends Evie to a dance studio where she enrolls in dance lessons with X (Xavier), the owners' grandson. Although she tries to not fall for him, knowing how love ends, fate has another path for her.

Another great book by Nicola Yoon! I loved all the characters in the book and their journey along the way of growing themselves. They each have their own struggles but it's what makes them unique and so much fun to read about.

Overall, Instructions for Dancing is a must-read for those that love a good YA romance and contemporary novel as well as an emotional one. The book, especially the ending, broke my heart and I hope to see it adapted into a film soon.

Review will be posted closer to publication date

I loved this book! It tackles complex family issues as well as the value of love as a journey, rather than a forever destination. I will definitely be purchasing a copy for my classroom as I think students will enjoy it!

I loved The Sun Is Also A Star, so I had high hopes for Nicola Yoon's third book. Instructions for Dancing is amazing, heartbreaking, emotional, and hopeful.

What I love most about Nicola Yoon's books is that they're about love in many forms. In Instructions for Dancing, Evie is struggling with finding out that her father is in love with another woman, so she decides to get rid of all of her romance books. She meets a mysterious person, and after, she starts to see every part of people's relationships anytime they kiss. With this newfound ability, Evie goes through a journey of learning what love is all about.

During this journey, Evie starts taking dance lessons. Her teacher partners her with Xavier, known as X, for a dancing competition. I greatly enjoyed seeing Evie and X fall in love. One of the running themes of this novel is that dancing and music can bring people together in ways you don't expect.

Nicola Yoon is amazing at writing about life, and how the big moments and "little" moments all impact us as people. Instructions for Dancing asks us to confront the power of love in our own lives. Overall, I left this novel feeling like love is one of the most special journeys we can make.

Nicola Yoon has a special way of breaking your heart while still giving you hope. Evie is a cynic. She doesn't believe in love or happy endings. And she has good reason not to. But then she's given a gift...or a curse: to see how the entire course of a relationship. How can she fall in love when she knows that it's going to end with her heartbroken? How can she let her friends fall in love? Her family? Throw in ballroom dancing and X, her dancing partner, and now Evie really must learn how to fall in love. Will she let herself?

I could not put this down. I devoured it. I was at 15% then I blinked and was nearly done. This was a cute, YA romance. I loved Evie and X so much. I loved their personalities, their banter, and their connection. And the whole concept of meeting your significant other while ballroom dancing and doing it together? Swoon. That is my DREAM in another life.

I'm not sure how to share my thoughts on this while also not spoiling it, but I'll try my best. This book made me happy, it made me mad, and it made me sad. Evie made me so upset, why would you waste so much time!? And while the ending wasn't exactly what I expected, it worked and I am content.

Not the light YA novel I was expecting, but instead a tender and philosophical look at love and loss in all its forms. After her parents divorce, Evie acquires the ability to see visions of the future, namely key moments in a given relationship. The age old ‘is it better to have loved and lost..’ or ‘would you make the same choices if you could see how it ends’ aren’t exactly original, but I was touched by Evie’s emotional journey through such a turbulent time and the cast of characters kept the story fun and prevented the platitudes from taking over.

Another delight from Nicola Yoon. There is a bit of a magical element here which I won't give away too much, but it is fun, and helps you to understand the main character's cynicism about love a bit more. I appreciate that while the love story is sweet (I mean, this is Yoon's forte after all), the friendships are also true, funny, and empowering. This one reads faster than her other novels--I found it light and fun--so a perfect weekend or evening getaway.

Another great coming of age story by Yoon. This one focuses on loss and the change that comes from that. How do you forgive a parent who makes a terrible mistake? How do you let go of that anger and learn to trust in love again? Is it true that it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all? All of this and dancing too.

An interesting twist of fate brings two teens together to learn how to ballroom dance so that they can compete in an amateur dance competition. One is the grandchild of the dance studio’s owners. The other recently began to have visions of the life cycle of people’s relationships. When she sees that her own relationship ends in tragedy will she avoid the relationship in its entirety or will she enjoy the time she has with the man she loves? Fans of Sarah Dessen will enjoy this heartfelt YA romance.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book before release. This book took me a while to get into but overall I enjoyed it. For me it seemed to drag at the beginning then wrap everything up too quickly at the end. If you are looking for a lighthearted read this is the book for you.

Instructions for Dancing has all the hallmarks of a great YA romance, but with a few added twists on identity and the risks of love. This feels lighter than Yoon's other novels, but it's a fun read that will appeal widely, and boasts an honest own voices point of view.

DNF: I enjoyed the rep so much and the coming of age story, but I just didn't expect it to be magical realism and wasn't sold on the idea of it. still a great read!! just not what I expected

Creative, lovely, and all the feels! I think this author is so immensely talented and I look forward to even more future stories! Thanks for this ARC!

Actual rating 3.5
**Thank you to the publishers and to net galley for approving me for this e-arc. All opinions are my own**
I'm not the biggest fan of Nicola Yoon but I did enjoy Everything, Everything and liked what I read of The sun is also a star so when I saw this book on net galley, I decided to request it. This book isn't warm and fluffy as the cover will lead you to believe, there are of course warm and fuzzy moments but overall it's pretty dark.
That being said I did enjoy this book. The pacing was a little off for me in some spots, but for the most part it is fast paced. The story is raw and really explores the idea of love and what it means. I will say trigger warnings for cheating, death, and grief as those are pretty heavily explored.
If you like Nicola Yoon's other books though, I think you will love this.
It's out June 1!

"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."

Each time I've picked up a book by Nicola Yoon, I've gotten to about the halfway mark and thought, "this is good. Probably about a 3-4 star read, for sure!" Then, without fail, I reach the final few chapters (or pages) and I'm ugly crying like it's my job. After finishing Instructions for Dancing, I immediately called my mom to ((sob over)) tell her the story for an hour straight.

This story combined several elements that I absolutely adore:
- The protagonist, Evie, is bookish (despite the fact that we find her donating all her romance novels at the beginning) and I love that there's even a dedicated chapter about her favorite romance tropes
- She signs up for ballroom dancing lessons (and a competition), which brings love and joy into her life, along with some fantastic secondary characters like Archibald and Maggie, Fifi, and of course, X.
- There's a huge emphasis on family and friends and the way that those themes play into the rest of the story is really special and comes with several thought-provoking moments. I caught myself highlighting quotes on my Kindle over and over.
- MAGICAL REALISM. I think this may be one of my favorite sub-genres. When done well, it can really make a story spectacular. And Nicola knows how to do it very well!

Evie goes through some really challenging things throughout this story, but they're handled with a lot of grace. I have a huge amount of respect for her mom and the way she cares for her daughters in the trying times. It took some time for her character to grow on me, but by the end, I was giving her a round of applause.

I'm looking forward to coming back to this book again and again. I can definitely see it becoming a comfort read. It's bittersweet and poignant.

[CW: infidelity, divorce, death]

Evie has the ability to see a couple's relationship together, including its end, as she watches them kiss. She considers this a curse more than a blessing. She finds herself at a dance studio, and falling for her partner, X. Filled with mystery and love, Yoon doesn't disappoint!

I finished, nay devoured, Nicola Yoon's latest - "Instructions for Dancing" - in less than 12 hours. And that was with having to oversee virtual kindergarten and 5th grade learning.

When we meet 17 year old Evie she is donating her beloved romance novels - thanks to her parents' divorce, she no longer believes in love. A chance encounter with a mysterious stranger leaves Evie with a mystifying power; all she needs to witness is just one kiss between a couple and she can see their beginning, middle, and end, confirming what she has come to believe - there are no happy endings when it comes to matters of the heart.

But then La Brea Dance Studio and X enter her world and Evie isn't quite sure what to believe anymore.

Yoon is a master of words. She crafts not only beautiful stories, but characters who will burrow into your heart and soul and never leave. I loved every single character in this book and will be thinking about them and their stories for a long, long time.

I have already pre-ordered my copy to add to the bookshelf in my high school classroom. I predict my students are going to be fighting over this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.