I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING by Nicola Yoon Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my review and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About the Book:
Title: INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING
Author: Nicola Yoon
Pub. Date: June 1, 2021
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook
Pages: 304
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, Audible, B&N
Exclusive Signed Edition, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org
#1 New York Times bestselling author
of Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star Nicola Yoon is back with her eagerly anticipated third novel. With all the heart and hope of her last two books, this is an utterly unique romance.
Evie Thomas doesn’t believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest
thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and
is overcome with a vision of how their romance began . . . and how it will end.
After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.
As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea
Dance studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is
everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is
to say yes to everything–including entering a ballroom dance competition with
a girl he’s only just met.
Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of
heartbreak have taught her anything, it’s that no one escapes love unscathed.
But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question
all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the
risk?
Praise for INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING:
A Junior Library Guild selection
★ “An endearing, affecting exploration of the journey of love. Everything Yoon touches turns to gold and this cinematic supernatural romance will be no exception.”—Booklist, starred review
★ “A remarkable, irresistible love story that will linger long after readers turn the final page.”—Kirkus, starred review
★ “Yoon delivers a story of love’s unpredictability and the importance of perspective that unfolds with ease and heart.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “A sweet, genuine love story sure to pull on the heartstrings.”—School Library Journal, starred review
★ “Yoon delivers this captivating story of first love with beautiful prose, clever dialogue that
swings between laugh-out-loud funny and wildly insightful, clear respect for the complexity and nuance of her teen characters’ perspectives and emotions—and just enough magic to make it all truly unforgettable.”—BookPage, starred review
My Review:
I’ve read Nicola Yoon’s previous books, and I have to say, this is by far her best book yet! I am a fan for life. Her writing is so easy to digest and made me feel oh so happy. I could have read this in one sitting if I had the time, that’s how enjoyable this story was!
While this book is called “Instructions for Dancing” and does include a dancing competition, it’s more focused on the characters rather than the dancing – and how the act of dancing brings them together. It also had a magical realism element which I didn’t expect – in a good way. I enjoyed this aspect of the story and did not see it coming.
Evie’s parents are getting divorced, and while was used to be a huge fan of romance novels, she no longer believes in love. If the two people who were most in love in her life fell out of love, what hope is there for anyone else? It all starts when she’s donating her romance novels to a Little Free Library (hello, LFL rep, love to see it!) and an older woman is also at the library – telling Evie to make sure she also takes a book. The only book in there is one called “Instructions for Dancing” – I love this is how the story begins. This is a love story involving someone who doesn’t believe in love anymore.
Evie feels betrayed by her dad for the divorce, they used to be close but now she doesn’t feel like she can trust him. This story does focus on divorce of parents and how it affects the family unit, including the kids, which I don’t often see touch upon in YA books.
Evie does have a wonderful support group in her three friends, who have all been friends since middle school. It’s their final semester of senior year of high school, and the feeling of those last months had me nostalgic and reminiscing on my own days. Time moves so quickly when you’re about to leave high school and go onto college or whatever else life holds next for you. This is great for teens who are in the same situation and might be feeling the same way.
Evie meets X at the dance studio, where she’s trying to return the Instructions for Dancing book – it had an address in it, she felt it was only right to return it! I love their chemistry right from the beginning, its easy going, casual, and they have some great banter going. One thing leads to another, and the two are partnered up for a dancing competition! Something Evie has never done before, but is up for the challenge. X is a “say yes” to everything kind of guy, a free spirit willing to try anything once. He’s a great character and well developed as Evie spends more time with him.
As per Nicola Yoon writing rules, this book has a plot twist, its its one that pulls at your heartstrings – something Nicola is fantastic at. Instructions for Dancing made me feel all the feels and I loved every second of it. Highly recommend this one!
About Nicola Yoon:
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.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon
Giveaway Details:
3 winners will receive a finished copy of INSTRUCTIONS FOR DANCING, US Only.
Click here to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway!
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
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6/1/2021 |
Excerpt |
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6/2/2021 |
Excerpt |
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6/3/2021 |
Excerpt |
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6/4/2021 |
Review |
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6/5/2021 |
Review |
Week Two:
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6/6/2021 |
Review |
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6/7/2021 |
Review |
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6/8/2021 |
Review |
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6/9/2021 |
Review |
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6/10/2021 |
Review |
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6/11/2021 |
Review |
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6/12/2021 |
Review |
Week Three:
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6/13/2021 |
Review |
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6/14/2021 |
Review |
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6/15/2021 |
Review |
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6/16/2021 |
Review |
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6/17/2021 |
Review |
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6/18/2021 |
Review |
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6/19/2021 |
Review |
Week Four:
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6/20/2021 |
Review |
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6/21/2021 |
Review |
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6/22/2021 |
Review |
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6/23/2021 |
Review |
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6/24/2021 |
Review |
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6/25/2021 |
Review |
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6/26/2021 |
Review |
Week Five:
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6/27/2021 |
Review |
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6/28/2021 |
Review |
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6/29/2021 |
Review |
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6/30/2021 |
Review |
Frayed Books 
i can’t wait to read this one!
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Yay, I hope you enjoy it!! 😀
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