Evie Thomas believed in love once. That was before she began having visions of couples’ relationships, from sweet beginnings to heart breaking ends. Trying to understand what is happening to her, Evie stumbles upon La Brea Dance Studio, a ballroom dancing studio. There she meets X. X is the complete opposite of Evie and yet between time spent in the studio preparing for the competition X pulled her into, and the time they spend together alone, Evie can’t help but start to fall. She knows all too well that nobody escapes love unscathed, yet she finds herself wondering if Love is worth the risk in the end.

This book was, if anything, interesting. I have read and loved Nicola Yoon’s other two works so when this book was coming out I knew I had to read it. It was a little bit underwhelming, but overall a solid book. There was an element of magical realism that Yoon played with in Instructions for Dancing that she had not touched in her past works. I have never read anything with magical realism so it was a bit weird adjusting to this new kind of storytelling, but I think that Yoon pulled it off well. While I do prefer her other works, I still thoroughly enjoyed what I think Yoon does best, which is her love stories in unlikely places. I fell in love with Evie and X and their stories. While I did not love the plot of the novel, the characters pulled it through and I would still recommend you pick it up. If you know that you like magical realism you will definitely love this and if this is the first exposure you have to Yoon and you do not love it I highly recommend you give her other works a try before you completely knock her.

Rating: 3/5
by Camryn