This was a cute and tender YA romance. I grew up doing competitive dance like jazz and such, but was not exposed to ballroom. I loved learning about the different dances. The chemistry was amazing between the two main characters and I enjoyed watching their love grow. The end did break my heart a bit, but I liked the story.

I have so many thoughts!!! Nicola needs to do a masterclass because her writing is so heartfelt and heart wrenching at the same time. What's the quote about it's better to love and lost than to not have loved at all? If I was writing a high school essay about the themes of this book that would be the quote I'd start with. This book is a love story. 100%. But through Evie's power that lets her see others heartbreak and her struggle with her parents recent divorce, we're also shown that love isn't always forever. Sometimes it ends, in a lot of different ways. Still, Nicola expertly demonstrates that there's still joy in that. The ending isn't the most important part. It's the middle. That's what this book is about. And obviously I loved it.

Romance books have lost their magic for Evie after her father cheats on her mother and the two separate. When talking with her sister, Danica, Evie suddenly has a vision about Danica and her boyfriend's imminent breakup, which comes true later that evening. Evie realizes that any time she sees a couple kiss, she sees their past, present, and future.

This is a perfect book for readers! Evie talks about her favorite tropes, top qualities in a love interest, little free libraries, and the magic of falling in love. I loved Evie's growth throughout the novel as she grapples with some difficult things, as well as the idea that growing and changing is a natural part of life. Fair warning that the ending is a bit bittersweet, which I'll fully admit hurt my heart a little!

I don't know what I expected but the ending completely destroyed me!
AND THAT'S COMMON KNOWLEDGE FOR ANYONE WHO HAS EVER READ A BOOK BY NICOLA YOON!
Safe to say though that this book was amazing - there were so many moments of love and loss and the fear of both that I felt like I was learning life lessons with Evie.
I loved that this book played out all the tropes - love scorned, meet-cute, shipwrecked, meant-to-be, with Evie narrating how each of these tropes, why they work, and why these moments with X are not like that at all. *wink, wink*
What I love most about Nicola Yoon though, is that she allows her characters to feel angry. Oftentimes her characters are put in impossible situations and it's so amazing to see them fight against it. How many times are we put into situations where we just need to complain a little bit before we do it?
Evie loves so fiercely and it was a treat to see how that love plays out even when she swears off it.
This is a hurt/comfort read - It will destroy you but you will hold your bloody beating heart in your hands and say thank you.
Is that dramatic? Yes, but it's how I feel.

A sweet heart warming book about a girl learning to love again after watching her parents divorce. She starts having visions of how relationships end and is determined not be hurt.

I read this book in one day. And although my first reaction to it was a total delight, I finished it with my heart a little broken. This story is cute and tender, but it will also leave you in tears.
It's a beautiful YA romance that delves into the question of if love is worth it if you know it will end - does the happiness outweigh the pain when it's over?

I was swept away by INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING, which I sped through in two sittings. Nicola Yoon has such a knack for writing compelling characters, believable and beautiful love, and stories that feel real and complex and genuine. This was no exception- I loved this story of Evie and X, loved seeing Evie grow and learn about love and loss and herself.

I kindly received an ARC from Delacorte Press and Netgalley exchange for my honest review.

Oh Nicola Yoon, you sure do know how to write a book that absolutely wrecks me. From the very beginning this book caught my interest and was heartbreaking and poignant while still being funny and sweet. There is also a bit of magic realism in this book, which isn't usually my cup, but it worked really well. This book will sit with me for a long time.

Delightful teen romance with an ending to give the story great depth. Evie, senior year is dealing with divorced parents (well used theme lately) and can't understand how one can be in love and then out of love. Basically given up on hope on love until a book leads her to a dance studio where X becomes her dance partner and boyfriend. Evie has a great support from her small group of friends, all well developed characters. Evie does a lot of growing up to understand to live in the moment and also to take love when it comes, not dwell on the future

Evie is an 18-year-old high school senior struggling to come to terms with her parents’ divorce. She is angry and heartbroken. She wants little to do with love or hope. In distancing herself from these vulnerable emotions, she decides to donate all the romance novels she used to love. A chance encounter with a stranger while donating the books leaves her with a special gift. When she sees a couple kiss, she gets a vision of their relationship - how it begins...and how it ends. When her mysterious encounter leads her to La Brea Dance Studio, Evie has no idea how her life is about to change. As she finds herself getting closer to her dance partner, X, Evie has to decide if love is worth the risk.

An adorable quick read, I really enjoyed this book. So many young adults are coping with divorce and the resulting change in their parental relationships. Yoon makes Evie so relatable and even encouraging to any teenagers finding themselves in a similar situation. Sure, stuff sucks right now, but it gets better. Take the chance. Live and love while you can.

I really enjoyed the way the book ended. The twist was not expected, but worked perfectly and made the novel a much deeper read than I had anticipated. Heads up, I needed tissues.

This one comes out in June. Personally, I think it would make a great addition to graduation gift baskets, as it’s perfect for teenagers and young adults.

Huge thanks to Nicola Yoon, Delacorte Press, and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

more of a 3.5!! i really loved the characters and how well thought out they were, but i kinda felt like the plot was a little too convenient and easy, the ending was really sweet though!

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

When I got the notification that I was approved for this title, I was thrilled. I've read Everything, Everything in the past, and absolutely loved it. Instructions for Dancing exceeded my expectations. I read it in about 2.5 hours, and it was one of the most enjoyable things I've done in a while. The premise, with Evie being able to see the past, present, and future of people's relationships is so ingenious. Evie is a girl whose world is flipped around when her parents divorce, and she decides to believe that there is no such long as true love. She bikes around Los Angeles, her massive collection of romance books in tow, and stumbles on a Little Free Library where she meets a mysterious woman who hands her a book called Instructions for Dancing, and includes an address to a little ballroom dance studio near her house. Cue the life changing events.

At the studio, she meets X, who is the grandchild of the studio owners and who has recently moved to LA. Evie refuses to fall in love, or even get to know X because she does not want to get hurt by love. From there, the novel progresses into something so moving and deep and profound. Evie and her friends are in their final weeks of high school, and trying to wrap their heads around the transitions that will be occurring very soon. This period of life is tumultuous (take it from someone about three years out from this) and it is filled with nostalgia and also grief.

Something that I did not expect was the twist towards the end of the novel. It was formulated and executed in the best way, and it provides a learning and growing experience for Evie to believe in love again. This novel tackles grief, growing up, love (but not always the happily ever after kind), and what it means to just say yes to life.

I highly recommend this for teenagers, as well as people who may feel disillusioned by love and/or life.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 4 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!

NIcola Yoon has a way of making divorce, grief, and heartbreak fun and magical in her most recent YA offering.
Evie and X are the quintessential 18 year olds, navigating that emotionally charged and challenging time between childhood and adulthood. Evie is dealing with her parents' recent divorce and the broken trust it has caused between her and her father, whom she previously adored. X enters the scene coming off of his own tragic backstory. But Yoon manages to not make this feel like some tragic John Green novel, but something hopeful and sprinkled with joy and laughter.
This is was a great read!
Thanks for the ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. Nicola Yoon has done it again! I don’t know how she manages to write characters that I absolutely fall in love with every single time. Evie and X were both so lovely and I also loved the idea that the ending of a love story isn’t what really matters. Loved this book and hope it gets made into a movie.

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon was magical and absolutely beautiful. We follow Evie, who used to love contemporary romance books before her parents' separation turned her into a cynic when it comes to love. After a strange experience at a little free library, Evie gains a mysterious power. When she sees a couple kiss, she gets a vision of how they fall in love and also how their love story will end. Through her journey she starts taking classes at a dance studio and gets roped into practicing for a dance competition with a boy named X. We join Evie on a journey to see if she is able to put the risk of heartbreak aside to believe in love again.

I feel like I will never recover from this book. It was a love note to contemporary romances, which of course I adored. This story has so much heart and made me feel so many emotions. I love that we get to experience Evie's relationships with her family, friends, and X and all the complexities that come with them. I also love a good romance with a dancing element. Have I mentioned Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies? This will without a doubt be at the top of my list for young adult reads of 2021!

Nicola Yoon does it again! This newest addition to her collection of young adult romances had me hooked from the very beginning. Even though she includes a “magical” element in the plot line, the story is so relatable! Readers will absolutely fall in love with Evie and X and will experience their rollercoaster of emotions right alongside them in their journey. This story gave me all the feelings!

What a swoonily gorgeous YA romance! And it has that extra something that makes it rise above the quotidian. I’ve not read either of Ms Yoon’s previous novels so you can bet that they are now high up on my TBR list.

Evie does NOT believe in Tennyson’s idea that “'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.” After catching her dad cheating on her mom and the subsequent break-up of her parents’ marriage, Evie doesn’t believe that love is worth the inevitable pain when it ends. This is really brought home to her when a chance encounter with a strange woman gives Evie the power to see the beginning, middle, and end of the relationship of any couple she sees kissing. Why risk your heart when she can see that it only ends in hurt and misery?

But this is a romance, so of course Evie is tested! She and X(avier) meet cute at a ballroom dance school and end up representing the school in a dance competition. OK, I didn’t find it particularly credible that she and X become proficient, let alone potential champions, in bachata, salsa, West Coast swing, hustle AND Argentine tango in just 6 weeks but, hey, it’s a romance so anything can happen.

The author does a wonderful job of showing the peaks of joy and troughs of despair that love brings: the charming support characters, from school, dance, and family, round out the story with a cornucopia of loving relationships, from ones that last only a few days to those that last forever.

X makes a delightful dance partner as well as an amorous one, but it is Evie’s beautifully charted journey from hard-shelled love avoider to vulnerable believer that makes this such a special novel. Highly recommended for romantics and cynics alike.

Thanks to Random House and Netgalley for the digital review cop

I thoroughly enjoyed this book but I’m a huge fan of Nicola Yoon and was so excited for this ARC. This book felt like a realistic view of life and love for a teenager who has lost her faith in relationships. This book couldn’t have come at a better time and was a pleasure to read. I would recommend everyone read this book. It offers a glimpse into what it feels like to struggle with loss and learning to move forward when you have forgotten exactly how.

What a delightful magical realism from Yoon that uses dancing, family heartbreak, and romance to button up the reader's sweeping enjoyment of this YA. Yoon does well to create intricate characters whose inner lives are lived out loud and in vivid detail. But then it has sweetness and sour. There's a book nerd giving away her romance novels to a little free library before receiving the "meta" Instructions for Dancing which sends her life in a different direction when she would rather be angry at her father for cheating on her mother and moving on.

But it's the romance and friendships and ultimately the droplets of magic that make is magical altogether.