Blog Tour: Instructions for Dancing – Nicola Yoon

Evie is disillusioned by love ever since her dad left her mum for another woman – she’s even throwing out her beloved romance novel collection.

When she is given a copy of a book called Instructions for Dancing, Evie follows a note inside to a local dance studio, she discovers she has a strange and unwelcome gift. When a couple kisses in front of her, she can see their whole relationship play out – from the moment they first catch each other’s eye to the last bitter moments that they break up.

For Evie, this confirms everything she thinks she knows about love – that it doesn’t last.

But at the dance studio she meets X – tall, dreadlocked, fascinating – and they start to learn to dance, together. Can X help break the spell that Evie is under? Can he change her mind about love?

My thoughts

I am so grateful for Penguin for sending me a digital copy of Instructions for Dancing in return for an honest review.

I read a lot of romance. And I mean a LOT. But it has been a long time since I have read a book categorised as a Young Adult romance. I usually prefer an adult romance because of the themes and the maturity. However, this one is absolutely an exception.

I loved the characters in this novel so so much. Evie was entirely relatable and as a teen I was absolutely as cynical as Evie so I could completely relate to her feelings and some of her family experiences. However, I don’t feel that you would need to relate to Evie to absolutely fall in love with her. X was such a great character and so full of life that he was the perfect contradiction and balance against Evie’s character.

There is so much that I would love to say about the plot but I feel like I could also say too much about it and spoil the whole novel. So the only explanation I will provide is the summary above. Please just know that the plot is excellently paced and at no point did I see myself getting bored. Just when I thought I knew where it was going, I definitely didn’t.

I read this book within two days and it was absolutely what I needed to read at the moment. It was such an easy writing style and an accessible read.

I would recommend this book without a doubt. It is a beautiful story that fills you with so many emotions. I won’t say quite which emotions because I don’t want to spoil this book for anyone! As an adult I was sceptical about whether I would enjoy this YA novel, but I shouldn’t have worried because I absolutely loved it.

I implore you to try this novel, as I really feel like it will be enjoyed by all. If anyone has read it please let me know because I would love to talk about it!