I don't know why I expected a fun, light-hearted contemporary from Nicola Yoon of all people, but this book punched me right in the gut when I least expected it. I love contemporaries with a magical twist, and this was no exception. I thought it was such a cute and fun story that pulls right on your heartstrings in all the right places. One thing that rubbed me the wrong way were that there were a few odd lines interspersed throughout the book that were a little too sexualizing of the love interest for my liking, especially one that came from an adult, however, I'm not the target audience of this book so I don't know that it will bother anyone else. I'm sure when this book comes out, it will be an instant best-seller!

I read this book during yet another bout of insomnia, and I'm so so glad I did. You risk a bad ending ruining your ability to sleep, but this book, it didn't really even feel like it ended, even though I know how it'll end, because our main character sees her near future! The dancing component really wasn't a big focus, but as a non-dancer that worked for me. The complicated and messy relationships Evie has, especially with her dad and her dad's new partner, felt so real and filled out. Nicola Yoon knows how to write a book, I still can't get "The Sun Is Also a Star" out of my head and now those memories have a new buddy with scenes from "Instructions For Dancing" for me to keep it company! Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for a chance to read it early, wow was I not disappointed!

Evie Thomas is pretty certain she doesn't believe in love anymore- not after seeing her parents split because her father had cheated on her mother. If that wasn't enough, she suddenly begins to see the future of a couple's relationship after seeing them kiss- and all she sees is heartbreak after heartbreak.

When the world seems to lead her to La Brea Dance Studio, it seems like a good way to take her mind off of all the things that have been bothering her. But when she meets X there, her determination to avoid romance may be tested sooner than she imagined.

This is another lovely story by Nicola Yoon. This one feels a little more light-hearted than its predecessors but still takes the reader on an emotional journey with Evie as she is forced to decide if she will forgive her father or shut him out, as she witnesses heartbreak, and fears her own heartaches. The little bit of magic in the story gives a fun twist on resistence to romance.

I received an E-ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Make sure to check out Instructions For Dancing on June 1st, 2021!


When I heard about Instructions For Dancing, I was ecstatic. I am obsessed with Nicola Yoon’s first two books and trust me, this one did not disappoint. The book surrounds a high school senior named Evie, whose parents recently divorced after her dad cheated on her mom. Because of this, Evie, who used to love reading contemporary romance books, no longer believes in love. After coming into the ownership of a book called Instructions For Dancing, Evie begins to have visions whenever she sees a couple kiss- visions of the couple’s entire history from meet-cute to break up. From the book, she is led to a dance studio where she begins training for a ballroom dancing competition with X as her partner. X is very different from Evie; he’s a daring musician whose philosophy is to just say yes to everything. Similarly to Everything, Everything, Instructions For Dancing contemplates whether love is worth all of its risks or not, even if we can see how it will end.

I adored this book, everything about it. I read it in three days and was genuinely sad when I had to be a real, productive human instead of reading it. I thought the romance was natural; Evie and X had great chemistry. Although Evie is such a fantastic protagonist and narrator, X has to be my favorite character. The fact that he is in a band had me sold, but as we discover more about him and why he behaves the way he does, you just want to give him a big hug.

Of course, this book mainly revolves around Evie and X’s dance rehearsals with their teacher Fifi. Fifi is such a mood. She’s always super sassy and makes learning about dance a fun experience for the characters and the readers. Initially, I thought that the dance parts might be flat because, as Fifi said, you can’t learn to dance from a book, but those were the most vibrant scenes; Yoon does an exemplary job at detailing the movements and emotions that come with ballroom dancing. Yoon’s writing is always poetic and detailed. I admired how she wrote the scenes where Evie was getting her visions; they didn’t feel out of place or random. Every vision was essential and contributed to the lessons Evie learns about love.

The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the ending, but as it was similar to the conclusions of Everything, Everything, and The Sun is Also a Star where it leaves you on a bit of a cliffhanger. But this coincides with the lesson; it’s not the beginning that matters the most or the way it ends. What matters is the experiences you gain along the way, which is a little cheesy at first glance but is essentially a fundamental and meaningful lesson. I’m giving this book 5/5 stars because of how dreamy, romantic, and down to Earth it is. Instructions For Dancing is easily the perfect summer read. Go pre-order this book. You will not regret it!

4.5 stars.

I thoroughly enjoyed this galley edition of Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon. It explores the emotional components of love- the risk, joys, losses and gains involved when one loves another. There is a mystical aspect involved as Evie has visions of the trajectory of others' love stories. This is intermingled with her feelings about her parents divorce and her father's remarriage.

A light read, time wise, with some emotional underpinnings that will definitely make you pause and think.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House/Delacourt Press for the free galley edition of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If you loved The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon, you're in for a treat, because I'm positive you're going to love this too.

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 think this is a question a lot of people struggle with, and it's one that's raised for the main character when her dad cheats on her mum and they get divorced. Then she starts seeing the course of people's relationships, including the ending, when she sees them kiss, which leads to a journey of character development that I think was so well crafted. In the end, this is a melancholical but uplifting story.

2.5 stars— I was actually really enjoying this one for the most part! I finished it all in one go because I found the characters to be charming and cute. But I just really wasn’t a fan of the twist. I didn’t come into this expecting to leave a broken mess and though the overall message is nice, it’s not something I particularly enjoyed. But other than the ending it was a good book!

What a remarkable story! Dynamic characters like Evie...I love her character. How would you feel if you could see how a relationship starts and ends? WHAT?! An interesting premise that kept me involved the whole time. My heart went on an emotional rollercoaster the entire time. I highly recommend to this who loves a new, fresh YA novel.

This book is very moving and impactful in a subtle way. I didn't realize how much I cared about the characters until the book was over, they had moved into my heart and I'm very grateful for this story!

This is exactly the kind of hopeful gem we need in 2021! Nicola Yoon writes wonderfully complex female protagonists (I saw some similarities between Evie and Natasha from "The Sun Is Also a Star"), and she handles the pain of divorce and second love with sensitivity and grace. Even the acknowledgments made me tear up!

My mind right now... it’s just so much to take in.

Evie Thomas is still suffering from her parent’s divorce. She doesn’t find the joy she used to in reading romances and she doesn’t believe in love, period.
All of a sudden she’s able to see couples' futures and how their love will end: death, distance, loss of love, etc.
This freaks her out and she goes on a journey of “going with the flow” to get rid of this new power! THIS BRINGS US TO X (we unconditionally love X. He’s perfect in all ways btw).

Guys. . . this story was beautiful. I was definitely gasping for air at 3am whilst crying by the end.

Instructions for Dancing makes you think about choices that, when asked, have a very obvious answer but, when having to live through it, suddenly aren’t so simple anymore.

My brain and heart are still slightly recovering so if you could just give me a minute to heal and go snatch this book on it’s publication date (JUNE 1ST, 2021!!!!!!), thanks.

Obviously I’m a huge fan of Nicola Yoon so I was over the moon to find out that she’s releasing a new book! WHOOP WHOOP!!

Evie Thomas does not believe in love, especially after watch her parents, two people who had a beautiful story, fall out of it.
But one afternoon when she suddenly gets the ability to see someone’s entire love story, she can’t see this new ability as anything but a curse. It opens her eyes to her newfound truth, love HURTS.
By chance, she finds herself in a dance studio and suddenly she’s signed up for a dance competition. Her partner? X- a guy who never says no to what life has to offer to him.
As the two start to get closer and closer to the dance competition, Evie starts to wonder. Is love worth the risk?

Okay, I am going to be completely honest. I wasn’t a huge fan of this book at first.
The main character’s attitude was not my favorite, and her constant mood switches and despair infuriated me.
But then I tried understanding it from her point of view, and I realized how bleak the world can look like when something negative happens in your life.

Evie is the epitome of a broken-hearted teen. The world hurts and life doesn’t seem to look up, you know nothing but misery. And for that, my own carefree outlook wanted to despise her. Yet, I still found her relatable and understood her range of emotions- especially after reading the author’s note at the end.

The relationship in the book is unique. When you combine a thinker and a freedom planner, it’s bound to be interesting.

So if you’re wanting a story that’s like nothing you’ve ever read before, that digs into the highs and lows of relationships and the actual reality of love, then I recommend you check this out!

(Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book in return of an honest review)

My heart is broken and I have all the feelings after finishing this book which I could not put down!
Evie is ripped apart after her parents get divorced, she decided to even give away her beloved romance novels.
Suddenly, Evie has the ability to see couples entire relationships from start to finish, confirming her beliefs love isn’t real.
Evie finds a dancing instruction book in a little free library, the book belongs to a local dance studio that Evie starts attending. She meets X, soon she starts falling for him.
This is definitely my favorite book by Yoon, this story is beautiful and had me in all my emotions.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s for my advanced ebook copy.

"Instructions for Dancing" by Nicola Yoon
Publication Date: 6.1.2021

Evie Thomas, a high school senior, no longer believes in love. It's not real. If love existed, then her parents would still be together. She gives away all of her romance books to the Little Free Library in town. While there, she meets a mysterious woman who tells Evie to read the book "Instructions for Dancing." But then, Evie can foresee a kissing couple's entire relationship, from the beginning to the breakup, and this just reinstates her believe that love isn't real.

Evie is drawn to a local dance studio and begins learning ballroom dancing, her partner, X, a gorgeous high school dropout musician. She notices that she is learning about herself, and she is falling for X! After agreeing to enter a dance contest to help the studio, Evie needs to decide if she can believe in love again.

It's been quite some time that Ms. Yoon published a novel, and this one did not disappoint! Fast-paced read with a simple but powerful message, plus a focus on dancing! I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for my honest opinion.

#bookstagram #bookstagrammer #2021bookreleases #2021yabookreleases #teenbooks #ownvoices #instructionsfordancing #nicolayoon #realisticfiction #ballroomdancing

This was a cute book. There was humor and some teenage rom-com, which I enjoyed. I didn't like the ending though. I know it was a major point of the "why is this happening to me?" but I wish it had ended differently.

5 stars.

"Just because everything is different now doesn’t mean we didn’t love each other once. Maybe we will again."

Not only did this book make me stay up til 2 am to finish it, it also had the audacity to give me a puffy face from all my late night crying the next day. I desperately needed some help from Dr. Danica to get my face back together.

I surely did not expect this level of a pull from a romance book but Nicola is incredible at yanking at the heart strings where you least expect it. I see this in all her books, even the happy endings are twinged with sadness. Even the sad endings have a bit of hope in them. To write a ending where Evie chooses to stay in love even when she knows X will die... there was nothing more beautiful and bittersweet than that.

I liked that there was no "gotcha" moments. Her visions did come true. Her dad did cheat and get remarried. Her friends did break up and the group didn't last. But even in all those cases she is able to see the good side in it. The past and all the beautiful memories they shared. And I think that's the true magic of this book, to show that no matter how painful the end might be, the love in the middle and beginning is worth it.

Disclaimer: I got this ARC in exchange for an honest review from @NetGalley!! All opinions are my own.

AHHH THIS BOOK WAS A HIGHLY ANTICIPATED 2021 read and i'M so happy it lived up to my already high expectations. Full disclaimer: I'm a huge Nicola Yoon fan. Evie doesn't believe in love and X believes in saying yes to everything which includes entering a dance competition with a strange girl he just met. This is an ADORABLE rom-com book!

Evie is a high school senior with a gift (or a curse) - when she sees a couple kissing. she can see the past, present, and future of their relationship. Add that to her father's new life with a new woman and Evie's pretty down on love. But a mysterious encounter at a Little Free Library leads her to the La Brea Dance Studio and entry into a dance competition with partner X. Slowly Evie learns to trust her heart and open herself to the Argentine Tango, and to embracing life!

This is one of those books that starts off moderately fluffy than at some point becomes a little bit more serious. I loved the whole ballroom dancing aspect and I found Fifi hilarious through most of the book but at certain moments things got a bit deeper. The book definitely had a bittersweet ending but it felt like a good conclusion to this particular story.

What a beautiful book this was! Having never really experienced lost loves and grief the way that Evie has in her life, I had a hard time relating to her struggles. Then, I read the note that the author left at the end about what was happening in her life at the time she was trying to write and it all came home. I loved this lovely salute to enjoying life in the moment. Sometimes that's all we can do.