"#1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star Nicola Yoon is back with a new and utterly unique romance.
Evie is disillusioned about love ever since her dad left her mum for another woman - she's even throwing out her beloved romance novel collection.
When she's given a copy of a book called Instructions for Dancing, and follows a note inside to a dilapidated 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 of their break-up.
For Evie, it 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 Evie's mind about love?"
Pages: 304
I received Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon for free in exchange for an honest review as part of a blog tour organised by The Write Reads and Penguin Platform. Thank you so much for having me on the tour, I've been so excited to read this!
In Instructions for Dancing, our protagonist Evie has given up on love. After a strange encounter when giving away all of her romance books she is left with a copy of the book Instructions for Dancing and the ability to be able to see a couple's entire relationship from start to end whenever they kiss. Will this be an opportunity to set her on a journey to rediscover love or will it be a curse that reinforces how she already feels about love?
This book has such a cool concept, I knew immediately that I was going to love it! I love dancing and I've always wanted to learn (especially ballroom!) but unfortunately I have two left feet and no sense of rhythm! I am in awe of people who can dance and watching Evie & X learn together was so sweet and magical. The story is instantly engaging and I couldn't put it down. I literally finished it in one sitting!
Plus the characters were so amazing! I loved the parallel of Evie being the 'cynical, not sure about trying new things' type and X having the 'say yes to trying everything' philosophy. They complemented each other so nicely and I loved how supportive they were of each other. Their chemistry was so electric, it lifted off the page and I was swept up in their romance.
Every single element of this book is beautiful from the cover to the characters, the plot and to the lyrical writing - I can't get enough! I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars because it completely deserves it. I loved every single thing about it and it has become a firm personal favourite!
Instructions for Dancing made me laugh, made me sob and most importantly it made me fall in love. It's the book of the summer that you don't want to miss out on! Thank you so much for having me on this tour and make sure to check out all of the other amazing bloggers also reviewing!
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Nicola Yoon is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Instructions for Dancing, Everything, Everything and The Sun Is Also a Star. She is a National Book Award finalist, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book recipient and a Coretta Scott King New Talent Award winner.
Two of her novels have been made into major motion pictures. She’s also co-publisher of Joy Revolution, a Random House young adult imprint dedicated to love stories starring people of color. She grew up in Jamaica and Brooklyn, and lives in Los Angeles with her husband, the novelist David Yoon, and their daughter.
Praise for Nicola Yoon:
'Gorgeous and lyrical' New York Times
'Powerful, lovely, heart-wrenching' Jennifer Niven
'This extraordinary first novel about love so strong it might kill us is too good to feel like a debut' Jodi Picoult