How much did I adore this book.
I wasn't 100% sure it was going to be for me, I have started reading more and more ya and romance does get mixed in but this was just beautiful. Beautifully written, I felt every bit of what Evie was going through. I have been where Evie is, thinking love doesn't exist and it all ends in disaster but we should all believe in fate and love. Enjoy and cherish each moment. Its heartfelt, beautiful, has some life lessons in there too but put delicately that at times it takes you a second to realise. The perfect YA for summer reading this summer.

This lovely novel is endearing and highlights that perspective is key when it comes to love, that love can be full of heartache but more than anything it is glorious.

Evie’s views on love have become disenchanted ever since her dad walked out on her mum for another woman, leaving Evie and her sister Dani behind. Evie is struggling so much with the idea of love being forever and true that she’s given all her once beloved romance novels away. Dani however is much more settled and is always forever in love with someone.

When Evie donates her books she is given an old tattered, worn out book titled Instructions for Dancing where a note inside leads her to an almost run down dance studio. But that’s not the only thing she has been given. When Evie see’s a couple kiss in front of her a vision of their relationship plays out from those sweet beginnings to the bitter end, the moment they break-up. That confirms to Evie that love doesn’t last. It didn’t with her parents, it hasn’t with this couple so what is the point of love? As the visions continue Evie is certain love is not worth the effort or struggle, especially as it always ends in heart ache.

At the dance studio Evie is cajoled into participating in an amateur competition, Evie is partnered with X, – attractive, tall, dark – and together they learn to dance. X’s positive outlook on life and love piques Evie’s interest, but can X really break the spell she is under?

What I loved about this novel is the way it’s laid out in short chapters alongside shorter bursts depicting a single paragraph, or a mobile text conversation. These conveyed the emotions of Evie, X and her friends perfectly and added to the rollercoaster of emotions that love brings. It is simply delightful to read and although there are moments that tug at your heart this novel offers up the subject matter in a way that makes you feel that love is actually worth holding onto.

This book destroyed me and I mean full-on blubbering tears kind of destroyed. As always with Nicola Yoon's books, it had an irresistible love story at it's heart - one that will make every single partner you meet pale in comparison because they will never live up to the Xavier standard. But it was also heart breaking and had me in tears at 8:30am in the morning just before I started work.

Evie is reeling from her dad's betrayal of their family and her faith in love has been destroyed. As her sister, blissfully unaware of his infidelity, finds boyfriend after boyfriend, Evie begins her new life as a cynic and gives all her romance books away. But when dropping them off at the local post box library, she meets a mysterious woman who gives her the power to see a couple's future every time she witnesses a kiss. On her journey to attempt to be rid of this curse she learns how to dance, falls in love with a rock god and has her heart smashed to pieces. But Evie starts to learn the age old lesson - it is better to have loved and lost then never have loved at all.

Now excuse me while I go and try to emotionally recover from this book...

I loved this book! I’m not new to Nicola Yoon so I knew I was going to enjoy this book, I just didn’t know how much I would love it.

Instructions For Dancing is a beautiful read, with lyrical writing, I was couldn’t put it down. Each chapter getting more and more engaging, and interesting. I loved it! I loved the plot premise, dancing and being able to see the future. I felt like I was there myself, going through what the characters were.

I loved the characters. Written so well, both the main and the side characters, to a point I was heavily invested in each one of them. I quite liked Evie’s and X’s relationship, a friend to lovers story that had me swooning and smiling all through.

“It’s funny how a day can start out just like any other and end up so different.”

There are so many things that happen in this book and one thing I liked is how Nicola Yoon writes the family drama. It felt real and not just a filler, and I love how she dealt with it in the story.

Instructions For Dancing is a funny, heart wrenching book. I laughed, I (almost) cried and I fell in love.

THIS. BOOK. OMG. I cry reading just about every book, but the ending of this one…SOBBING, head between the knees, and trying to stay quiet so I didn’t wake anyone up with my crying. I won’t give away the ending, but just…bring your tissues.

Ok, let’s talk main characters

Evie is my favorite character of the while book. I loved her when she was blocking herself off from love (because I totally get that) and I loved her when she was fully open to love and was ready to be in a relationship with X.

At first, when she gains this new power of seeing how people fall in love and how they break up, she sees it as a curse because she sees all these sad, heartbreaking moments. She doesn’t quite get why anyone would fall in love or take a chance on it when it’s going to end and you’ll be heartbroken.

But the more she sees, the more she feels for X, and the more her relationship with her father develops for the better, her feelings about love start to change. Nothing quick. But slowly, her thoughts about love begin to change.

That is…until she sees the end of her relationship with X. How is she supposed to be with him, love him, be vulnerable when she knows the ending? When she knows there isn’t a happy ending?

As someone who also wonders this about love, I was very much on this journey with Evie and perhaps that’s why I had such a strong emotional response to the ending. I could completely relate to her throughout the book and to see her getting less than her happily ever after hurt like hell.

And because of how much she loved X, I loved him too. He really opens her up to a different world or a different way of seeing things. How can he not when he sees her like no one else does? Also, he’s a musician! How could Evie resist?!

Supporting Characters

Can we talk about his grandparents??? Maggie and Archibald?!! OMG I love their love! And their love for dance! I love their encouragement of Evie and X’s relationship. They are just so wonderful and I want to hug them.

And we can’t end this review without talking about Fifi. I love her more than life. You can hear her accent when you’re reading because of how her dialogue is written and it’s perfect. She’s perfect.

She’s a bit of a taskmaster, but she loves dance and she wants Evie and X to win the competition. Her whole personality is just delightful. Maybe it’s my Russian ancestors calling out to me in her, but any time she showed up, I was happy!

Parents!!

I also really loved Evie’s mom and dad. They are so complex and as the adults in the story, they needed to be. I also liked their different relationships with Evie and how those relationships changed and developed as the story went on. YA parents can be one-note sometimes (good or bad) but these two weren’t at all and I really enjoyed seeing how Evie’s view of them changed the more she opened herself to love.

Final Thoughts

Instructions for Dancing was definitely an emotional ride for me (I literally have a lump in my throat writing this review), but like Evie learns in the book, just because the ending is utterly heart-destroying, doesn’t mean the happy moments that came before didn’t happen or don’t count.

I highly recommend Instructions for Dancing, but….PREPARE YOURSELF!

So Instructions for Dancing was EVERYWHERE, this month. Light contemporary YA romance, bit of dancing, real cute romance vibes. I was sold.

You got your boy, young, wild, and free… and the girl with no time for dancing who is afraid of falling in love.
Evie Thomas can see a couple kiss and will be overwhelmed with a vision, seeing how their romance began… and how it will end. As Evie tries to understand what is going on, X waltzes into her life (yes, a pun!) with the philosophy of ‘say yes to everything’…. including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he's only just met.

When I say I loved this book, I mean I loved it. I read it in one go during a powercut (couldn’t do any real work then, could I!?) and it was a gorgeous tale of love and trust – both of yourself and others. It was stunning. And when the excellent Nicola Yoon asks ‘is love worth the risk?’ you can know what the answer will be.

Probably my favourite book so far this year. Can I give it 11/5 stars?

I loved this book. Instructions For Dancing is a beautiful tale, and entirely addicting. The characters are so relatable, especially Evie. She is down to earth, sweet and everything I love in a main character. The balance between Evie and X is written in a way that just makes you fall in love with them together, and apart. They bring out the best in each other and it was special to read about.

I definitely found it easy to read, and finished it in two sittings. This is one of those books which I'd recommend to everyone who needs a comfort read. But it's also one of those which made me tear up, it includes highs and lows which made me sit on the edge of my seat.

Instructions For Dancing made me laugh, nearly cry and have a heart attack at the same time. It's a beautifully written book with an emotional edge.

I received an e-copy of this book for The Write Reads tour (and I bought a copy after finishing it because it’s such an amazing story).

A few disclaimers before starting this review:

I am not a contemporary romance person, in fact, I am no romantic at all, so this was way out of my comfort zone.
This was my first novel by Nicola Yoon (and the main reason why I decided to join this tour).
Having said that I can’t believe how much I loved this story.

Instructions for Dancing is told from Evie’s perspective. Evie is going through a rough patch, her parents just got divorced, she had to move houses and all these changes are creating a massive emotional distance from her father who used to be her best friend. Also, Evie realises that all her favourite rom-com books are just the portrait of a big lie. Love is not forever. She decides to give them away to a small free library when she comes across a book – Instructions from Dancing. While trying to bring this book back to the owner, her life takes a new unexpected turn.

Unexpected was also the plot of this story. Evie’s story is combined with an element of magic realism, which made it more intriguing and successfully managed to provide a realistic portrait of love. I think, in the end, this was a love story, not just romantic ones, but also for family and friends. In such a tiny book, the writer explores both the love story between Evie and X, but also the turmoiled relationship between Evie and her dad, and her friends.

Evie is such a fun character to read, she can be so funny but also so deep. I loved her character growth and I also loved the bookish part of her and her lists. All the characters are so well developed, but the best one is absolutely Fifi – she is hilarious, she really made me laugh out loud.

I was massively concerned I wouldn’t enjoy this one, and I’m glad I was wrong. I completely realise that I am not the target audience for this story, but this book left me with so many feelings and thoughts about life and love in general. It is a great reflection about caring for loved ones and how to cherish those moments together.

I cannot recommend it enough, and I recommend having tissues ready while reading this one. Overall the book is a fast read, but it will also break your heart, so be prepared.

This was such a cute novel! I loved Nicola’s previous books so much and this was no exception

The dance setting was amazing and Evie’s relationships with her family were so wonderfully real

I also really enjoyed the magical element! Whilst not what I expected, it added a whole new dimension to the novel which I adored

4.5 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Penguin Randomhouse for sharing this ARC copy with me!

Review will be up on my bookstagram page sometime in the next week or so (link below)

Evie doesn't believe in love, not since her perfectly partnered parents divorced. When she discovers a strange new ability, it only hardens her belief. Being able to see how relationships end shows her that most of them end in heartache. So she doesn't plan to fall for anyone, ever. But then she didn't plan for being shanghaied into a dancing contest, with steps she barely knows, partnered with the most beautiful boy ever. But it doesn't matter. Evie knows there's heartache at the end of every relationship and she has no intention of letting herself be hurt.



I signed up for this blogtour not too sure what I was going to think of the book. I've flicked through other Nicola Yoons, but never read one properly. The mildly fantasy/mostly contemporary vibe of this one appealed to me, and I decided to give it a try.

I'm so glad I did. There are amazing lessons here, buried under a fabulous story. I was right there with Evie (for most of it...see my note further down) feeling her feelings, following her story. This is an amazing read.

Here's my note further down; near the end of the story, Evie makes a decision I didn't agree with at all. I can't honestly say what I would have done in the same circumstances, but I was begging her to change her mind as I read. (A good sign when I care about a story this much!)

I loved reading this. I'm going to try to keep its lessons with me. And I'll be waiting when Nicola releases a new book.

Thanks for letting me read it.

When I first started this book, I thought it was just going to a fun YA romcom, and it was that, but it was also so much more. And to be honest, I cried so much when reading this one, and I don’t often do that while reading. But this book was just so good!

I really liked the characters. Both Evie and X were so relatable. Fifi was hilarious, and Martin was an awesome best friend! I also loved the ballroom dancing element – I love watching Dancing with the Stars, and so of course I enjoyed reading about a ballroom dancing competition.

The plot of the story is both gripping and heart-warming. It really captures the spirit of what it’s like to be eighteen and just discovering both the beautiful parts of love as well as the ugly, heart-breaking bits. But you don’t have to be eighteen to enjoy this book. I think anyone who loves romcom books, ballroom dancing, and learning to love life will enjoy this book. If you’ve enjoyed any of Nicola Yoon’s other books, you’ll enjoy this one, and fans of Kasie West and Taylor Jenkins Reid will also like this one.

This is my type of contemporary in the sense that it is not too sweet, not too happy, and yet has many cute and funny scenes. It’s also very life-affirming and shows you that it all is worth it. Even if it doesn’t seem that way.
For my personal taste, it is a bit too direct in conveying this message though, but that is definitely my thing where I like everything to be vague.

I love how the book starts. Immediately we see how down Evie feels. Her books have lost their magic for her, especially the contemporary romances don’t move her anymore, don’t evoke the same feelings of swooning she had while reading them previously. This is such a cool way of introducing a character's state of mind! (Also, relatable! When I feel down, I usually notice that my reading habits change a lot). We see it in the small changes of her favorite tropes as well (like thinking that second chance romances are the most unrealistic ones).


Instructions for Dancing is written in first person pov which is the perfect choice for this story which is very much about Evie and her coming to terms with the changes in her life and her disillusionment with the world, love, and her idea of who her Dad is.

And after a fateful encounter with a woman at a tiny library (where she donates all her romance books too), she has a new gift, although Evie may disagree with that interpretation. She can suddenly see all the most important moments in a couple's story, present, past, and future! Understandably that throws her off a bit. Luckily she has one of the most open-minded friend. Martin, who listens and analyzes this with her and encourages her to just go with it and see where it leads her.

And where it leads her is a ballroom dancing school. I loved the scene where Evie and X meet for the first time. It was so funny, especially with Evie’s internal commentary.
Another highlight for me personally was Fifi. She is amazing and I love her very much! I would love to have her as my dancing instructor (although I would die if she’d made me dance in front of tourists, so maybe not). Her criticism was on point and funny and just … I love her!


Another plus point is the writing style which brings levity into the reading experience to contrast some of the heavier themes like grief.
Evie’s bitterness comes out through snark which makes for some intriguing interactions with X. I really love the way this is written, with the short chapters, the Lists in between that feature bookish tropes and characteristics of classic love interests and such things and Evie relates everything happening to her back to romance book tropes like banter and what she calls shipwrecked couples. It’s such a cool way to break up the flow and staying in the story at the same time.

I flew through the pages! If you are currently suffering through a reading slump, this is exactly the book that could pull you out of it. Fun and light but also with some deeper themes.

All in all, this was a really fun read with themes like grief and disillusionment that I really appreciated and were very well done. I personally felt a little bit of disconnect towards the end, which is why I gave it four stars, but it also made me shed some tears so definitely a recommendation from me!


Would recommend to:

Everyone in a reading slump! Also, everyone who likes stories that ask questions about whether or not loving someone is worth it.

My thoughts: This book was everything I was hoping it would be and more, a seemingly anti romance with a bit of magical realism thrown in.

Evie was a big reader, romance being her favourite genre, any kind of romance, but then her dad shattered any illusion of a happy ever after when he cheated on her mum, Evie gave away all her books and now doesn’t believe in love!

One day she meets an old lady whe she finds a little library on the street, the old lady reminds her that if she’s leaving books then she needs to take one, the only other one there is a book about dancing, so she takes it.

But when she turns round to say thank you the lady is gone!

Ever since the day she took the book whenever she sees people kissing she sees the past present and future of their relationship, the only problem is.. they all seem to be splitting up, further solidifying her belief that love doesn’t exist!

Seeing an address inside the book she goes their to return the book and is thrown into entering a dance competition, but has no partner – in comes X.

Does X have what it takes to show Evie that love does exist if you’re looking in the right place?

Obviously there is a lot more that happens in this story, but if I told you it all then you wouldn’t get the joy of reading it 😂 so if you trust my judgment at all, just go and pick it up, I promise you won’t be disappointed!

🐧❤️

Headlines:
Ropes you in
Cute, fun, engaging
Then that happened

Wow. I am a little lost for words, hyperventilating somewhat and pretty disappointed with that outcome. Instructions for Dancing was a cute, fun and hugely engaging story. It had MCs and side characters to love and get lost in. It was low on angst, all until....

The story had a side slice of clever magic (literally) that was the premise both for how the female MC Evie navigated the story and made changes in her life. It was also ultimately the vehicle for my disappointment. The male MC X (Xavier) was pretty delightful in all the ways. I was cheering these two on.

I'm going to keep this short. I'm crushed, surprised and some trust in Yoon's storytelling has melted away, which is sad because three quarters of the journey was delightful.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Children's for the early review copy.

This book isn’t really a romance, it is in some ways but it deals a lot more with heartbreak. Evie doesn’t believe in love, not after her parents get divorced and certainly not after she witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of their romance - from beginning to end. It shows how every romance ends in some sort of heart break, and that’s told over and over again throughout this story. Throughout the book we’re introduced to so many great and interesting characters, I particularly loved Fifi who teaches Evie and the love interest, X, how to dance for an upcoming ballroom competition! This book is full of fun, but also gives you all the emotions that Nicola Yoon loves to slap you in the face with. This was very nearly a cover to cover read for me (it wasn’t because I had to force myself to put it down to do other things!). It’s a total must read in my books, especially if you’re someone like me who doesn’t love magical realism all that much.

Rating - 3.5/5

Instructions For Dancing is a book you can easily read in one sitting. I flew through the pages in one afternoon. I was really excited to read a book about dancing. When I was younger I used to dance as well, so I love seeing characters in books who love to dance as well. I was also pleasantly surprised by the supernatural element to the storyline. It was unexpected and I was unsure about it at first, but by the end it blended fairly well into the plot.

Instructions for Dancing was mostly fast paced which I loved. I do think that there was an imbalance between the dance and vision plot lines and the family and friends tension. Yoon placed a big focus on friendships and familial connections and sometimes the other strands of the story were forgotten or pushed aside to make space for conflict. It sometimes broke the fast pace of the book and I did feel disinterested at times.

I enjoyed reading from Evie’s perspective. She is a complex character who was going through something life-changing. Seeing her struggle with her perception of love and relationships was interesting. Her story was a complicated one with an emotional end. I liked the fact that her journey wasn’t perfect at all times. She struggled and we, as readers, could empathise.

I really liked X as the love interest in Instructions for Dancing. It’s so refreshing to see a male love interest get vulnerable and explore their feelings about friends, family and grief. His relationship with Evie was built on trust through dancing and friendship and it was a delight to read.

I do feel like the rest of the characters in the book fell a bit flat. I wish that the side characters got a little more screen time and a little more depth. A lot of focus was placed on Evie and her feelings which didn’t leave a lot of room to get to know all the other characters a bit better.

Overall, this was a fast yet enjoyable read. It’s not the perfect book but I do think that it packs an emotional punch and explores some important topics. Thank you to The Write Reads for including me on this tour!

Instructions for Dancing is a very unique story, that was beautiful and heartbreaking and utterly compelling!

This is a Contemporary setting with a bit of a magical twist that adds a bit of oomph and intrigue to this story. Evie can see a couples relationship, the beginning and end, which adds more depth to the story. Instead of just Evie’s story and development, we see a bunch of different characters and their love lives in a matter of pages, giving us stories within stories and it is wonderful to see the different kinds of love, with all the good and bad parts. The question is we see so many relationships ending and this reinforces Evie’s idea that love doesn’t last but will we ever find one that doesn’t end?


This conflict of the main characters provides this story not a feel good contemporary but a very real look into processing all these emotions of anger, and frustration with betrayal, a loss of something that one believes in heavily. Evie is a girl who had her world shattered after the divorce of her parents and has little trust in love, or relationships, why should she when most of them end up breaking apart. This is taking a huge look at something that changed her entire outlook in life and realising that maybe you shouldn’t just focus on a possible end of something but enjoy the moments that you have already, to give you that experience, that happiness and just live in the moment because you never know what will happen.


I loved this book and devoured it within two days and it would’ve been quicker had I not needed to sleep, Nicola Yoon is a staple in the YA scene and you won’t be disappointed with this book, just be prepared to bring some tissues because you will be needing them

4.5 stars

The perfect summer read with an excellent life lesson - and I’m not talking about the dancing. With a dash of the supernatural/magical realism this reminds me of films like Freaky Friday and this book would make an awesome film.

Although the love most focused on is romantic, friendship and familial love also plays a role and the other relationship we see Evie struggle with is between her and her dad.

I really felt for Evie and could sense her hurt oozing from the page. X is the quintessential book boyfriend but, like she threw away her favourite romance books, will Evie throw him away too? I’m sure plenty of us would happily be his new dancing partner if she does.

Seeing everyone else’s comments on the tour with talk of needing tissues meant I started reading with some trepidation because expectations!!! I’m not sure if this helped me figure something out but oddly enough for me I didn’t cry. I found it sweet, uplifting and just the right side of saccharine - with one scene reminiscent of Disney’s Up.

That’s two of Nicola Yoon’s books now I’ve read and enjoyed so I’m going to grab the third one and keep an eye out for any future releases.

I've always found Nichola Yoon's books a bit hit and miss. I hated (and I know hate is a strong word but it has to be used) 'Everything Everything' or at least the film adaptation of it because I didn't even get as far as the book. But I demolished 'The Sun is also a Star' in a few days and every now and again, I still think about that book. So I wasn't so sure about how I was going to feel about 'Instructions for Dancing'. All this and considering I'm not really a dance person (unless watching 'Strictly' once a year counts) and I don't know why but something about this book just whispers 'Children's book' to me.

This book melted my heart. From the very first line, I knew I was in for a treat. It was so easy to get into and I found Evie's character relatable from the get-go. This cynical ex-romance book lover sounded all too familiar. I wasn't too sure about where the book was going with Evie's 'super power' but it all kind of fit in towards the end. On the note of the ending, I didn't expect to feel so sad about it. I can't even put into words how it made me feel but it was heart dropping and also poignant. There were some small moments throughout the book that felt just like that too which is why I think this book is so special. The relationship between Evie and her dad was like a breath of fresh air. It was an extension of the typical divorced (blamed) parent narrative. It just felt a little more authentic and as the reader, you could really understand the conflicted thought process that Evie was going through. As for the Evie and X pairing, I thought it was quite sweet and I actually enjoyed the dance element of the book too.

Overall, I liked 'Instructions for Dancing' a whole lot more than I thought I would. It's a beautifully sweet book about getting out of your comfort zone and any presumptions you have about the world and just surrendering yourself to the present. Because we never truly know what will happen next.

I read this book for a blog tour, so thank you to the blog tour organiser, author and publisher for letting me take part in this tour, and thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Trigger warnings: death (mentioned), grief, alcohol, cheating, breakups, divorce.

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon is a YA contemporary romance in which we meet Evie, who is struggling to cope with changes in her life and no longer believes in true love that lasts forever. Enter Xavier and ballroom dancing and what an adventure!

This book is set in L.A. and most of the book happens either at Evie’s school or at La Brea Dance Studio where she goes for her ballroom dancing lessons. This book was much more character-driven, which was a change for me but one I enjoyed! While I feel like we didn’t get that much of an insight into the setting or the dance studio, I was able to picture them quite easily, so the beautiful writing style really helped me!

Evie is the main character of this story and we meet her at a time when she is really disenchanted by life and because of her parents' divorce. She no longer believes in love and doesn’t even read her beloved romances anymore. I feel like she grew immensely and went on such a journey of discovery and had so many wonderful experiences. I honestly loved her as a character, she knows what she wants but she is also lost with her feelings and this made her feel very real and relatable.

I am not the biggest fan of sports and neither am I the biggest fan of reading about dancing. But there was something about the way the dancing in this book was described that had me hooked. Along with the characters, the overall plot and the feels, I just couldn’t put it down and the dancing scene at the end was really intense but so well written, really beautiful.

I was NOT expecting this to be so sad do be aware that you’ll need tissues!! I am not a crier for books (or only very, very rarely), and this one had me sobbing towards the end. It was beautifully written, but heart-breaking and the author just let me have all the feels.

Overall, as you can tell, I ADORED this book. It was really not what I was expecting and quite out of my comfort zone but I am so glad I decided to read it! I’ve not had many 5-star reads at all this year, but this made it into the list and became the 4th 5-star book of 2021!

I loved the writing style of this book. The author has a beautiful and descriptive writing style that I really enjoyed and the pace flowed in a way that made me not able to put down the book! I thought it was really well-executed, as well as some of the tough topics, they were handled really well. I gave this book 5 stars and I absolutely adored it. It was both fun and sad, but really beautiful and I just had a great time reading it, even though I was in a *state* at the end. I highly recommend this book!

If you like YA contemporary romances that are unique, with ballroom dancing, great friendship groups, complex and relatable characters, a different and surprising plot, funny characters, but also don’t mind grabbing tissues and having a good cry, then this is the book for you!