-`ˏ 5 stars ˎ´˗

Storyline -`ˏ 10/10 ˎ´˗
What's worse than discovering that your parents are getting divorced? Witnessing your daddy's betrayal. This completely breaks down and changes the way Evie sees love, how can you believe in it when the people you admire fall out of it? Still appalled, Evie meets a strange woman who hands her a book. .and the power to see a short timeline of a couple's relationship from the way it started to the way it ends unfortunately when they kiss. Great, more reasons to prove Evie's point that being in a relationship isn’t worthwhile. Frustrated with her new power, Evie needs to figure out a way to get rid of it. The book is the only key and it carries her to the doors of a dance studio.

Characters -`ˏ 9/10 ˎ´˗

Evie was raised in an ideal family setting. Now that her family is unraveling, her emotions are getting scrabbled. Evie meeting X was a nice balance. Both had their own personal battles ahead of them, but their mutual support is absolutely wonderful. The friends and family members were carefully considered and provided great emotional value. I appreciate the individual moments when they have discussions to better understand each other's feelings. Personally, I would never like the father because I’m a strong believer in “ Don’t cheat. Don’t lie. If you’re unhappy and your heart is leading you to someone else. Just leave.”

Atmosphere -`ˏ9/10 ˎ´˗
I might be nitpicking but I would have loved more of the dancing portion of the story. Also I’m glad I paid extra for a waterproof kindle. I don’t know why my eyeballs keep leaking. I should probably call a repairman, it might have something to do with my HEART CONSTANTLY BREAKING!
Trigger warnings: infidelity, grief, and death(mention).

Language -`ˏ 8/10 ˎ´˗
Eloquent and thought-provoking writing. Just a little bit of magic enough to move the story along.

Enjoyment -`ˏ 10/10 ˎ´˗
Is it too late to ask the repairman to bring me a box of tissues? maybe 10? If you're expecting a cutesy & adorable romance, this is not it.

*sidenote: Excuse me, but I think we should all stop accepting random things from strangers without a valid and refundable receipt. . just in case.
**sidenote: Sugar, Spice, and everything nice. These were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect romance novel, But New York Times bestselling author Nicola Yoon accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction - An exceptional male specimen name X (Random powerpuff girls reference-I’m sorry, I’ll see myself out).

WoW! What a book! This book hooked me! The characters were real and raw!
I loved Yoons writing style! Its like beyond amazing! This is my first book read my her and I'm looking for me! That's how much I loved this book!

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Overall, this was a sweet, refreshing read, but I had to get past the immediate connection I had to Evie’s anger at her father in the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. As a 36 year old whose parents only divorced a few years ago, I could still see myself through her struggle to reconcile her feelings about his actions and her disappointment in love as a concept. Yoon did an amazing, honest job of capturing the family dynamics in that thread of the storyline.

The interesting twist of magical realism combined with Evie’s newfound cynicism towards dating, love, and marriage was a great way to flip the typical romcom. Her current relationships with her family and friends made for a nice contrast to the new people who come into her life and go on to change her perspective of the people she’s known for so long.

I loved the dance lessons and wish more of the story and descriptions had focused on the competition.

I can't believe I'm saying this but I just had to DNF this one. I had such high expectations for this book but I couldn't bring myself to finish it and to be honest, I can't pinpoint why.

This book broke me. My heart still hurts just thinking about it! I had to sit down after finishing this book and just process everything. Definitely did not see a lot of things coming.
This story is about Evie and how, after seeing her parents marriage fail, no longer believes in happy endings. One day she starts having visions of couples and how they fall in love, and how it ends. Obviously this does not help the fact that she already stopped believing in love. In her journey to help herself stop having these visions she ends up in a dance studio and meets X, a young man with such a positive out look on life. He comes in and makes her start doubting, so can there be happily ever afters?
This book hooked me all the way from the first page to the end. It never bored me, I just wanted to keep reading to see what happened.
Evie’s and X’s connection also made me want to melt! Those first interactions where they’re actually getting along and trying to get to know each other a little bit better. X was such a sweet, caring character. I loved how he actually tried to get to know Evie’s friends and family and wanted Evie to be a better more forgiving person.
The only thing that would get me a tad bit frustrated was how naive Evie could be about love. Her negativity with love started with her parents divorce, but her belief that every single relationship is destined to fail would be so frustrating at times. However, after realizing that I had not read a YA book in a while, I started taking this with a grain of salt. I realized that as a teenager you kind of do have the right to be naive and get away with it. Were not as opened minded at that age. So it was nice to see her grow out of that by the end of the story.
Overall this was such a cute story! At this point I’ll read anything this author publishes.

Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I did not finish this book, but I would like to share my review of what I did read because I don't think my experience should deter others from reading the book.

Honestly, the first half of the book was amazing and I'm sad that I was unable to finish it. Evie doesn't believe in love and she is granted the ability to see couples love stories -- from the beginning, middle, to the eventual break up. When Evie meets X at a dance studio, her tune changes and she starts to believe love is possible. Evie's ability eventually allows her to see the outcome of her relationship with X. This is where I couldn't continue the book. Ultimately, it triggered something for me.

From what I read (the first half), it is an absolutely beautiful book with a powerful message about believing in love and living life to the fullest. I hope some day I am able to pick up the book and finish it because I do believe Yoon wrote another well written and powerful book.

I am required to rate the book so in order to not influence the book negatively, I am giving it five stars. It probably deserves it.

Nicola Yoon has written some of all time favorite YA contemporaries, and Instructions for Dancing is not an exception! I was so excited for this book, and my expectations have been fulfilled!
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Instructions for Dancing follows Evie, a jaded pessimist when it comes to love after her parents divorce, as she herself finds love through a ballroom dancing class.
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While this book was not perfect, it is an amazing, fluffy, romance that will also tear your heart out. I was not expecting to get hurt! Much like in The Sun Is Also A Star and Everything, Everything the banter is incredible. The chemistry between Evie and X was amazing, and I loved her interactions with her friends and family.
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An unexpected bonus to this book was the touch of magical realism. I enjoyed that aspect a lot, and it added a fun twist to the average romance.
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Overall, I would recommend this to fans of Nicola Yoon’s other works and fans of the To All The Boys trilogy!
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CW- cheating, divorce, grief
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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

After she catches her dad cheating and her parents subsequently divorce, Evie Thomas has no more illusions about love. She thinks that all relationships are bound to end, thus they aren't worth pursuing in the first place. When Evie brings an armful of her unwanted romance books to a Little Free Library, a mysterious woman encourages her to take the book Instructions for Dancing. Soon after, Evie discovers that she now possesses the strange ability to see the course of couple's relationships. When she sees a couple kiss, she sees flashes of their lives together, right up until the inevitable breakup. This new power further enforces Evie's beliefs about love. But when the book Instructions for Dancing leads her to a local dance studio, everything changes. Evie takes a ballroom dancing class and is then paired up with X, the charming and handsome grandson of the studio owners, for a dance competition. As they learn to dance and learn about each other, Evie and X fall hard and Evie starts to wonder if it's worth falling for someone after all.

I've read one of Nicola Yoon's books previously and was a bit unhappy with it so I was hesitant to try another. I got sucked in by the gorgeous cover art of this book and, for the most part, wasn't disappointed. I think Evie and her family are realistic and I enjoyed seeing the dynamics between them. I could even understand Evie's attitude towards love, especially after seeing the relationship between her parents deteriorate. I liked that she and X came together slowly and neither pushed the relationship more than the other wanted. That is something I don't think we see often in YA.

My only issues with this book is that I almost don't think Evie's "super power" was necessary to move the plot forward. She was jaded and pessimistic enough from her parents' divorce, that I don't think the power really changed much else for her. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. Evie and X were very sweet together and I think the message is an important one.

I definitely like the plot of this book and thought it was unique for a YA rom-com. It really shows the depth of the main character and her relationship with her family.

Evie is upset when her dad and mom get a divorce. She decides to give away all her books that deal with romance because love does not last. On her way to the library, she runs into a little old lady and a free-standing box telling people to drop off books and take one. The woman encourages her to take the book on dancing. She goes to the dance studio that is written in the back of the book and finds herself taking dance lessons with the X, the grandson of the owners. If Evie and X can win the amateur title, the dance studio will profit. This is a great story about love regarding both family and friends, and the importance of living life in the moment. Evie begins to look at love and her parents in a new way. Watching Evie and X explore feelings for each other is heartwarming.

This book was by no means perfect, but it was just what i needed.

We follow Evie as she gains the ability to see a couple’s romance play before her eyes (from their beginning up until their unavoidable end) when they kiss in front of her. Seeing how she’s very cynical about love and relationships, this isn’t something she’s fond of, therefore she sets off to find out why it’s happening and how she can undo it. Obviously, there’s a cute romance and some dancing involved, but there’s a lot more to it. We get deep conversations about dealing with grief from losing a loved one and the confusion that can result from parents divorcing.

I’ve read all of Nicola Yoon’s novels and this was no let down. It reads like what you’d expect from a fluffy YA contemporary romance and paired with the short chapters/easy writing it’s a breeze to get through. I loved how self aware it was about cliche tropes and typical plot points in romance stories, but still incorporated them in her own way.

Something I wish could’ve been developed more was Evie’s friendship group. They’re described as being very close and tight knit, but we don’t really get to see that. Also, I felt that at times the story felt a bit rushed and glazed over events and details without really explaining.

All in all, I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to get my own copy when it releases.

Thank you NetGalley for this book!

I have read one other Nicola Yoon book, The Sun is Also a Star, which I absolutely loved. And I’ve been reading some heavy books as of late. So this little breath of fresh air was the perfect book. Much like Sun, this book is a great combo of light and heavy, love and heartbreak, fun and serious. I flew through this one in just a couple of days because I couldn’t stop reading. I absolutely loved it.

From Goodreads: Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.

As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything–including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he’s only just met.

Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it’s that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the risk?

Evie is such a fun character that I really related to. She has her one group of friends, doesn’t get out much, studies a lot, snarky, and smart. Her struggles are grounded in reality, and you really understand why she feels the way she does. X and Evie’s friends are a great support system, as well. Just kept giggling at this book in the best way. Young love is always so fun to read about when it is genuine and not full of stupid YA tropes. After reading two excellent books by Yoon, I’ll be reading anything else she writes.

What is love? I’m sure all romance books ask this question. In fact, Evie, who used to love romance books, had decided to hate them, as the knows all their tricks, and is bored with them.

So, when she does fall in love, she starts ticking off the things about her new boyfriend that are too cliche. It is sort of fun, and meta, and self aware.

Oh, and she can see the future, when she sees lovers kiss, and it mostly ends in heartbreak, so she decides that love is not worth it, because of this.

This might sound boring, but it is actually, sweet, and tender, and full of jokes, and I gobbled it up in one day, as it is set in Los Angeles, and other than making the jacaranda trees bloom too early, most everything else felt very right.

Yes, there is sadness, and anger and heartbreak, and oh, the tango as well, as Evie and X, her boyfriend are in a dance competition, to help the dance school that X’s grandparents run.

Go out and get it when it comes out in July. And this is coming from someone who usually hates roamances.

<em> Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Did I expect to get my heart broken in multiple pieces when I first started this book? No. Did my expectations matter? No, because this book made me feel so many emotions wether I wanted to feel them or not. But wow, my love for this book certainly took me by surprise!

In Instructions for Dancing, you'll follow Evie after she caught her father cheating on her mom. Fast forward a few months and she still doesn't want to see or speak to him and she basically gave up on love and the idea that her father was perfect. And if her parents didn't last, no one can..right? Well, she'll be proven wrong, eventually. She will learn that even if people end up separated because of a break up or death, it doesn't mean the love that they felt was less real. It happened and existed in the present, in the moment and saying no to all of that might just be wasting the time that she could have with a certain someone. Xavier (or X as he likes to be called) is a hot and talented musician who dreams to be a rockstar. He lives day by day after losing his best friend and always wants to say yes to new adventures. Just like the one where he and Evie will end up competing as amateurs ballroom dancers.

Overall, I simply loved this book. It was so freaking good. I had never read a book by Nicola Yoon (shocking, yes I know) but I'm so glad I got to read this one in advance. I can't wait to see all of your reactions and reviews once it comes out on June 3rd.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

Instructions for Dancing is a story about a girl named Evie who comes across a neighborhood library and takes home a copy of Instructions for Dancing. Evie discovers the name of a dance studio in the book and begins taking lessons there shortly after. While walking home one day she sees her sister kissing her boyfriend and is immediately rushed through a series of glimpses of their relationship, including their impending breakup. The visions continue to happen and start to affect Evie's own relationships.

The premise behind this story was so interesting but I felt like it fell flat. I wanted to know so much more about her visions. How did they come about and why? Were there others who read that book and had them? What could she have done to help those she saw in her visions? It was such an interesting concept that was sorely underdeveloped. I also felt that nothing much happened for the first half or so of the book and then, right as things were getting really interesting, it ended so abruptly. I felt robbed of more of Evie and X's relationship. They were both interesting young adults with complex backgrounds that we only get to see come full circle in the last chapter of the book. I would've loved to see more of the time they actually got to spend together.

I have loved all of Nicola Yoon's previous books and was bummed that this one didn't match up to those. Overall it was a good sweet story that needed a little more oomph.

Beautiful. It’s a lovely little romance — not the kind that leaves you with unrealistic expectations, but also not the kind that drags you down in gritty reality. I would love to see a movie version of this bringing the dance scenes to life!

The end of this book is going to polarize readers into factions of LOVED it and HATED it, but I happen to fall in the former. This book is beautiful and just what I needed after being sequestered in my house for over a year.

Nicola Yoon does it again with a romance with an interesting twist. For those readers who aren’t teens, it has a bit of a twist like the movie Big with Tom Hanks. Evie Thomas no longer believes in love. Her parents are getting divorced and love never lasts, right?

When she donates all of her romance books to a little free library, a woman makes sure she takes an exchange book, as is the way. It’s Instructions for Dancing. Evie goes to return the book to the dance studio listed and that changes everything. Also, she now has the ability to see the most important parts of a couple’s romance when she first sees them kiss.

Can she ever believe in love again? There’s also a nice focus on friendship. Interesting read. Will recommend.

I think this will be another hit by Nicola Yoon. Avid and reluctant readers alike will be enthralled by the fast-paced plot and the diverse cast of characters. Recommended for school and public libraries!

4.25/5

Instructions for Dancing was shockingly good. I told myself when I got this e-arc on Netgalley that I would read it way later, and was convinced my reading tastes had changed to the point that I might not enjoy a Nicola Yoon book the way that I used to. What I failed to account for is the fact that Nicola Yoon is magic. There is something about her writing that casts a spell on me, and is so utterly compelling. I finished this book in about 24 hours, which is super rare for me. To be honest, this book blew me away.

I very rarely read YA anymore, and when I do, it is typically not contemporary. I loved Yoons first two novels (Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star), which boded well for this novel, but still I had low expectations. I did not expect this book to be so packed full of emotion and power. Not to mention the fact that by the end of this story, I was so genuinely invested in Evie’s story, that I felt nearly as emotional as the characters did (okay, maybe not to that extent, but I was HOOKED).

This story felt very personal, beyond Yoon’s first two works. Evie starts off the story so rattled by the sudden separation of her parents, and is questioning everything about her previous understanding of love, happiness, family, and the future. I connected with her journey a lot, and thought the emotions she experienced were expressed so authentically. Sometimes, especially in YA, I find the characters to be unrealistic emotionally, but I really bought into everything Evie was feeling.

To be critical for a moment, I did find some of the fluff of the story to be a bit cheesy, and also would have liked to see a little bit more interaction between Evie and a few other characters (namely her sister, and the owners of the dance studio). But despite that, this book was excellent. There is a magical realism element that I wasn’t aware of for some reason, going in. I thought it was a really nice addition to the story, and added to the overall effect it had on me.

To wrap it all up, if you liked Yoon’s first two books at all, you are going to want to pick this up. I entered this book skeptically, and ended up being completely drawn in and moved by it. I think you’ll enjoy it, too!

Thank you to Netgalley, Nicola Yoon, and Penguin for an early copy of this book.