Evie used to love romance books. That was before she stopped believing in love; ever since she caught her Dad cheating on her Mum, things haven't been the same. On a bike ride one day, she finds a book in a Free Little Library and follows its instructions to a dance studio downtown. Not only does she unwittingly enter into a dance competition with the boy who tried to steal her bike, she realises she has special powers: the ability to see how a relationship starts and ends, whenever a couple kisses. This cute but bittersweet novel tells the story of opening up to love, and seeing life for what it truly is. Evie is a relatable character, getting too in her head about the negativities of life; why should we even try to fall in love if we always get hurt and lose people? With the help of her friends and family, Evie opens her heart up again to love and loss, getting hurt along the way but learning the important lesson that it doesn't make the love you felt anyway less real, or worth it. Such a cute and sweet story (that will probably make you cry!)

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...

Instructions for Dancing is the must read YA summer book that is fun, romantic and truly captures the essence and vulnerability that comes with falling in love for the first time. I have to admit I didn’t mind Everything Everything but I wouldn’t say I loved it either, so Instructions for Dancing really feels like a breath of fresh air and it’s so exciting to see Nicola Yoon create such a relevant and exciting new YA story. The story premise is super fun and that That’s So Raven psychic vibes throughout are so intriguing! The short chapters are also so addictive and make the story fly so fast even if you don’t want it to end. Evie was a great lead and so realistic; her worries about loosing love and being vulnerable are so relatable and this is a great narrative to showcase to readers. I also love how the story engages with the romantic genre itself, offering both an inside and outside perspective. The breaking of the fourth wall was fun and allowed for the story to poke fun at cliché tropes which was entertaining to read. I also really applaud the exploration of family trauma and divorce which can be overlooked in YA but was explored carefully and accurately which again is so important for younger readers. I couldn’t put this book down and I guarantee you won’t be able to either!

Extraordinarily beautiful and absolutely heart wrenching, this YA romance will lead you on an emotional rollercoaster that will resonate long after it’s finished. Evie used to love romance novels but her opinions on love have changed since her dad left them for another woman. In deciding to throw out her entire romance collection,she is given a book called Instructions for Dancing, which leads her to a rundown dance studio and her discovery of a new ‘gift’. Evie, after seeing a couple kiss realises she can see the entirety of a relationship—from the moment they meet to its eventual end. Thus reaffirming her beliefs in love- mostly that it doesn’t last. At the dance studio Evie meets X and and they begin dance lessons, in hopes of entering a competition. Will X be able to change her mind about love, or is heartbreak really as inevitable as Evie Believes? I absolutely loved this, Nicola Yoon’s writing is phenomenal and had me hooked from the very first page. Don’t be fooled by its beautifully colourful and gorgeous cover- this book will hit you in the feels, I was literally sobbing by the end of it. The writing is really beautiful,almost lyrical at times and the meta references on the romance genre and its tropes and plot lines was (for a YA romance fan) pretty fun. The concept of Evie’s ‘super power’ was also really unique and I really enjoyed watching how she dealt with it, I personally don’t think I’d have been able to cope half as well as she did. As a character Evie is incredibly relatable and it’s easy to sympathise with her frustration and cynicism, her chemistry with X (aka Xavier) was great, I sped through the book,eagerly awaiting the development of their relationship- which I was not disappointed by. Fifi was also very much a firecracker of a dance instructor- loved her! I’d definitely recommend to any and all YA Contemporary Romance lovers and fans of Nicola Yoons’ other books (The Sun Is Also A Star and Everything,Everything) but it’s very a emotional story so be prepared to cry. I also just want to Thank Penguin Random House Children’s Uk and Net Galley for the e-ARC.

This is a beautiful book written by a talented author, Nicola Yoon. I have read both of her previous books: Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also A Star. Nicola Yoon has this admirable ability to engage the reader from the very first page. I read her other books when I was a teenager myself and this one at 22. I truly feel that I would read her books whatever my age. This is a love story but also a young lady’s observations on what love is, what it can become and what life is when you don’t believe in it. Compared to her other books, Instructions for Dancing is more creative. The narrative of the main character’s ability to see stranger’s lives was wonderfully imaginative. The ending hurt my heart. Yoon’s previous books have been made into major motion pictures and I have no reason for why this one shouldn’t be. I received this book through Netgalley for review consideration. I enjoyed it as much as I thought I would. I’m glad to have discovered it! Thank you @NetgalleyUKons-for-dancing-the-number-one,nicola-yoon-9780241516911?term=instructions+for+danc#