Month: June 2021

Title: Instructions for Dancing
Author: Nicola Yoon
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 1, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

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?

Review:

After her parents got divorced and she found out her dad cheated on her mom, Evie Thomas gave up on her belief in love. Then, one day she sees a couple kiss and has a vision of their entire relationship, including how it will end. She has these visions when she sees a couple in love kiss, even if they’re her best friends. Evie is led to a dance school by a book she finds called Instructions for Dancing. She’s partnered up with a boy called X, and they’re trained to compete in an LA ballroom dance competition. As they get closer and Evie starts to believe in love again, she has to decide if love is worth it in the end.

This story was a quick read. The chapters were short and the timeline of the story flew by. Even though it was fast, the story was complete. I fell in love with the characters right away, starting with Evie. She had a valid reason for not believing in love anymore, but I was rooting for her and X the whole time.

I found most of the story fun and light hearted. The parts where Evie and X were learning to dance and getting to know each other were so fun. I used to dance so I could relate to their lessons. I had read in a review that this story was heartbreaking, and I found it hard to believe that until the end. It was definitely heartbreaking but I also want more of their story.

Instructions for Dancing is another beautiful and heartbreaking Nicola Yoon story.

What to read next:

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn

Have you read Instructions for Dancing? What did you think of it?

Title: Misfit in Love (Saints and Misfits #2)
Author: S.K. Ali
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Salaam Reads
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook, Paperback arc
Release Date: May 25, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this fun and fresh sequel to Saints and Misfits, Janna hopes her brother’s wedding will be the perfect start to her own summer of love, but attractive new arrivals have her more confused than ever.

Janna Yusuf is so excited for the weekend: her brother Muhammad’s getting married, and she’s reuniting with her mom, whom she’s missed the whole summer.

And Nuah’s arriving for the weekend too.

Sweet, constant Nuah.

The last time she saw him, Janna wasn’t ready to reciprocate his feelings for her. But things are different now. She’s finished high school, ready for college…and ready for Nuah.

It’s time for Janna’s (carefully planned) summer of love to begin—starting right at the wedding.

But it wouldn’t be a wedding if everything went according to plan. Muhammad’s party choices aren’t in line with his fiancée’s taste at all, Janna’s dad is acting strange, and her mom is spending more time with an old friend (and maybe love interest?) than Janna.

And Nuah’s treating her differently.

Just when things couldn’t get more complicated, two newcomers—the dreamy Haytham and brooding Layth—have Janna more confused than ever about what her misfit heart really wants.

Janna’s summer of love is turning out to be super crowded and painfully unpredictable.

Review:

Janna Yusuf is busy preparing for her brother, Muhammad’s wedding to Sarah. She’s been staying at her father’s lake house, where they are holding the wedding, so she’s excited to be reunited with her mother for the wedding. Janna is also excited to be reunited with her childhood friend, and crush, Nuah, who she is finally willing to tell that she likes him. However, Nuah treats her differently when she arrives. To add to the wedding drama, Muhammad has made choices for the wedding that his fiancée doesn’t like, Janna’s dad is acting strangely, and her mom has a new male friend who she has brought to the wedding. Add in charming Haytham, Sarah’s cousin, and mysterious Layth, the nephew of her mom’s friend, and Janna has a drama filled wedding weekend!

I was so glad to return to the world of Saints and Misfits! I loved that book when I read it years ago. This story was more light hearted but still dealt with some important issues. Janna discovered that someone close to her was racist and prejudiced. It was disturbing to her to realize this, which others had noticed before. There were a couple of instances of prejudice against someone’s culture. Most of the characters were Muslim, but from different countries and cultures that some others found hard to accept. This wedding was the joining of two people, from different cultures, but that was all that mattered in the end.

Love was a major theme in this wedding story. Love is universal, and doesn’t discriminate against race, nationality, or culture. It was nice to read a story where love was the centre, after a senseless hate-motivated attack on a Muslim family in an Ontario city. I don’t understand how things like that can happen in this world. This story proves that despite our differences, deep down we are all the same. We can all join together in celebrating love, like the wedding of Muhammad and Sarah in this book.

Misfit in Love is the perfect sequel! I hope there will be another book in this series!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Love From A to Z by S.K. Ali

Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin

Other books in the series:

• Saints and Misfits

Have you read Misfit in Love? What did you think of it?