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.

When I saw that Nicola Yoon had a new upcoming book, I could not wait to read it - and I was not disappointed. I stayed up until 3am reading this! I simply could not put it down! Instructions for Dancing felt like it was written just for me and resonated with me greatly. I can't wait to put this in customers' hands!

Magical Realism is usually not a style of fiction that I enjoy, however, Instructions for Dancing has just the right dose! The ability to see (in a moment) a couple's love and how it began and how it will end is a unique concept. I immediately connected with Evie and the way her parents' divorce tainted her love of romance books and relationships in general. When the storyline started involving dancing, I was hooked for sure! This is a fast-paced romance that will make you ponder how much you want to know about the future and what it costs to enjoy life in the moment.
Can't wait to recommend this new book from a favorite author. <3

Instructions For Dancing was an creative look at the nature of love and all of its ups and downs. Love isn't easy ever. Whether you are a teen or an adult, you will always face ups and downs, ebbs and flows when it comes to love and that is okay. The characters were endearing and relatable as is to be expected from the Goddess of Romance herself, Nicola Yoon. The setting was serene and romantic and conducive to such a fall into love. I thoroughly enjoyed this passionate story and would recommend it to my students.

A love story for a character who doesn’t want one.
💃🏾
Evie Thomas is over love after catching her father cheating on her mother. One afternoon she comes across a woman who is there one minute and gone the next. Suddenly Evie is struck with the power to see the future of every couple she observes kissing. It only reinforces her ideas that love ends as she sees relationship after relationship come to its conclusion. In an effort to get rid of her new power, she heads to a dance company to return the book the woman gave her. Instead she’s thrust into an amateur dancing competition with a cute guy named X. As much as Evie fights against it, she feels herself warming up to X with his smile and trusting ways. Evie must decide: is love worth the heartbreak that might come from it?
🕺🏾
This is Nicola Yoon’s third novel and if you read the Author’s Note it will break your heart as to why she took a lot of time to write it. It is, however, my favorite book of hers and I already am a HUGE fan of Everything Everything and The Sun is Also a Star. This YA romance was devastatingly beautiful. I hadn’t planned on crying all night reading it, but that’s what this story will do to even the most cynical readers. I sincerely hope it gets turned into a movie like her other books have. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Thank you @netgalley for an ARC of this gorgeous story with an even more breathtaking cover. Grab your copy June 1 and read it immediately.

I received a complimentary copy of Instructions for Dancing from NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Uplifting and subtly motivational! Instructions for Dancing expresses a great theme to live by: Enjoy the present and live life to the fullest. This story of a young girl’s crippling devastation caused by the trauma of her parents’ divorce (and subsequent coping mechanisms) touched me in such a way that I believe it will stick with me for a while. What a great reminder to love while we still can!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I loved this book!

Like Nicola Yoon's other two books, Instructions for Dancing did not disappoint and gets a solid 4 1/2 star rating. Evie is a young lady on a journey to find herself. Due to her parents' recent divorce, Evie has sworn off love until she meets X at a dance studio where there's an immediate spark between the two. Will Evie give in to love or continue to fight against it? I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to find out if Evie and X live happily ever after. I was a little skeptical about the small magical realism element in the book, but it worked due to Yoon's incredible writing.

While this is a young adult book, it is best geared toward a more mature reader as it does contain some swear words and sexual situations that younger readers may find offensive.

This book hits you in the feels just as you'd expect with a Nicola Yoon book.

I loved that throughout she makes fun of romance tropes while playing out said trope.

I laughed so much in the first 2/3 of this book. Even though there was sad themes, divorce and infidelity etc Evie and her friends had a dry sense f humour that I loved! Then I cried real snotty tears because love is rea and snotty and nicola Yoon writes it so well!

Did they love happy every after? Probably not... But they loved. Happily! 🥰

4 stars

The gripping cover misleads here; the suggestion is that readers are opening up a lighthearted YA romance with some sort of dance-related motif happening. Only some of that is true as this is a more complex read than meets the eye.

Evie, the m.c., is struggling with her parents' divorce, some related insider info she has on her dad, and her general feelings that love isn't worth the trouble, since every relationship ends in heartbreak anyway. This situation gets worse when early in the novel, she happens upon a fun moment of fantasy: encountering a mentor archetype, getting the book _Instructions for Dancing_, and gaining the sudden power or curse to see people's romantic futures under very specific circumstances. The narrative continues with Evie meeting X, dancing, and navigating her family and friend-related issues. She also learns some important lessons.

This is a quick read, and I was struck - really upon completing the novel - by how powerful the messaging and symbolism are here. I've enjoyed Yoon's previous novels - and even taught one of them - but this one still surprised me. I recommend this in general but especially for those looking for something a little deeper than expected.

Kay this book was SO cute and I devoured it. I love the characters and I love the lesson learned by the main character. I did find the main character's cynicism annoying at times but also understandable given what she had gone through with her dad and then her sudden "power" probably only made it worse. I loved the growth we see in her and while the end was a tad bit sad, I also loved it and will love to see more from this author.

I am feeling so many things about this book right now. There were happy parts where things were fun and sweet and sad parts where I bawled my eyes out and wanted to throw my phone. I will say, be prepared for an emotional roller coaster with this one.

Evie doesn't believe in love, not after she discovered her dad was cheating on her mom and their family broke apart. She's ready to shut romance out for good when she's granted the ability to see couple's relationship history and future. All Evie sees are future breakups, which reinforces her theory that love doesn't last, but then she falls for her dance partner and she questions everything.

I really liked Evie and Xavier's relationship. They were adorable together and he was a great guy. X made Evie smile and treated her well and I was rooting for them early on. It was fun watching their dancing skills progress and how it brought them even closer.

Evie's relationship with her dad was very relatable and I completely understood her reluctance to let him back in her life. It was nice to see them have father daughter moments and I didn't want Evie to hate him forever, but the decisions she made regarding him and whether to go to his wedding weren't what I wanted and I was kind of disappointed that it went in that direction.

The visions of relationships weren't what I thought they would be. I was hoping they'd be helpful in another way and with the way the ending played out, I was a bit disappointed. Still, it was hopeful and I was happy for Evie that she experienced love and is a more positive person.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and Delacorte Press for the copy.