Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon- BOOK REVIEW
Synop
Evie Thomas has always been a romantic-at -heart: she reads cheesy romance books, believes in happily ever afters and finding your true love. But after her parents’ sudden divorce, Evie starts wondering whether love ever lasts. After a strange encounter one afternoon, Evie starts getting visions of a couples’ entire love life and how their relationship will end just by witnessing a kiss. It turns her into a bigger cynic than she already was. But then she meets a cute, fascinating and beautiful boy with a love for music at La Brea Dance Academy and soon she starts wondering maybe not love stories end..
⭐️ 4.5 stars ⭐️
Characters
Evie: Though, I didn’t think Evie Thomas was a relatable (I’m too hopelessly romantic for that) but I loved her character! She was smart and great to read about. Yes, she was a flawed character and made mistakes due to her anger, I think it made her a very realistic character. She had gone through so much emotionally so her reactions were expected. In the end, I also really loved seeing how far she had come and witnessing her growth made me love her even more.
X: Xavier was the perfect love interest! He was a really nice guy who was also sweet and easy to like. I also loved X’s general outlook on life.
Evie and X shared their emotions with each other because they had similar experiences but they were still so different from each other emotionally. Their romance was super cute and also meaningful! It was really great seeing how Evie’s journey began at the beginning of the book and how much all the things she experienced throughout the story changed her views and made her start loving again.
There were so many side characters that I really loved: X’s grandparents, Fifi, Martin, Danica! But most of all, I LOVED the dances!! Reading the names of all the dances mentioned made me so excited and I also tried following some of the steps Evie described! It was so much fun! I just wish there was more of it in the book.
‘‘The philosopher-poets say love is the answer, but it’s more than that. Love is the question and the answer and the reason to ask in the first place. It’s everything. All of it.’’
As someone who is very satisfied with just reading about great loves and happily ever-afters, this book really made me think about why we go through all the heartbreak and pain just for love.
The ending was bittersweet, as I was already expecting. I cried a bit but not as much as I had thought I would after my experience with Everything, Everything by her. But overall, it was heartwarming, beautiful, quick and emotional read- I enjoyed it a lot!