I will read everything Julie Soto ever rights. She writes the best characters and the best love stories.

Who knew the violin and cello would be hot? Not I.

I loved how much tension there was. Our boy Xander was so down bad from the start and I was here for it. Gwen was great, I just wanted her to get whatever she wanted and I feel like she does have some coming of age (can adults have a coming of age? Why do I think that’s only for teens?). Both Xander and Gwen have growth from the start to the end of this book and it’s a delight to see.

The music plot line was so good, it added so much tension and spice (which was so good lol) and room for some backstory and overall story development. it did not overshadow the romance or vice versa, they worked perfectly in tandem.

The third act conflict hurt me cause I wanted these dumb dumbs to be happy but it made sense and I’m obsessed with the way it’s resolved tbh it’s very fitting for them. I would like to read this again for the first time right now

Thank you NetGalley, Forever Publishing and Julie Soto for the ARC

First this cover is flawless!! This book was everything! I read it in a day because I could not put it down! Easily a 5 stars! The storyline, the character development, the chemistry, the love story, was all chef's kiss. Foremost, I LOVED that this felt so different from romances I've read lately with the focus on music as both part of their profession, personality, and ultimately their love. The banter and tension between the FMC and MMC was perfectly done. The focus on dislike to lovers and musical rivals to lovers was a breath of fresh air. It is just so so good. I can't recommend this book enough. Julie Soto was really able to get me just as invested in each of the main characters as individuals as well as their relationship. The writing style flowed perfectly between the chapters and POV. Also the descriptions of when they played? So beautifully done. I have no musical ability but could almost see and hear these scenes in my head. And the scene from the cover?!? Made me want to play an instrument. IFYKYK. Everyone needs to read this book!!

One thing about me is that if there’s a Reylo fan fic turned book, I’m going to read it! This is my first Julie Soto book, and I’m really impressed. I see shades of Ali Hazelwood and Emily Henry in Soto’s writing style, and yet it still feels unique and fresh.

The progression between Xander and Gwen’s relationship was really well done. I don’t enjoy insta love stories, and that wasn’t present here. Their relationship kept growing, and the tension kept building in the best possible way. Both of our main characters are flawed individuals, and that comes across really well throughout the book.

I don’t like when a book is promoted as an enemies to lovers relationship when in actuality, it’s more like misunderstanding to lovers. If they’re going to be enemies they better HATE each other at the beginning. I also found that the book overall lacked some drama. Despite the act three breakup, things were going a little too well for all the characters.

The concept of found family was a large focus of this book, and it helps connect all the plot points really well. The ending was really satisfying and made sense. Julie Soto has just become an auto buy author for me.

Thank you to Forever publishing and Netgalley for the arc!

Gwen Jackson likes the stability of her life. The self-taught violinist plays for the Manhattan Pops. There are other opportunities out there, but why shake things up? The only problem is Xander Thorne, who plays cello for the Pops. He shows up late, is rude, and honestly did not even realize Gwen existed. He’s also part of her favorite band, Thorne and Roses. And he thinks Gwen can be doing so much more with her life.

When the two end up working together, sparks fly. Xander’s ready to move forward with Gwen and show her a whole new world, but he’s got some real mommy issues to get over first. Gwen might just be ready to move forward with Xander, but she’s afraid to take a leap of faith.
The heat between Gwen and Xander is palpable. This book is STEAMY. I also was intrigued by the relationship between Xander and his mother (and her husband).

Gwen was maybe 10% too wishy-washy, but I still rooted for her to stand up for herself.

Overall, this is a good, quick read with a lot of heat.

I am Definitely not the right audience for this one. The synopsis had me intrigued, but the story was far too sex heavy for my preference. I quickly DNF it

Gwen Jackson has risen above her meager beginnings to earn a spot in the Manhattan Pops orchestra. Granted, it’s only as seventh violin, but for someone without formal training, it’s quite an achievement. She’s making a living doing what she loves, even if she has to supplement it playing weddings and other events with her roommate Jacob.

It’s at one of these weddings, a posh, extravagant affair at a mansion in New Jersey, that a miscommunication means she has to play cello instead of violin, and transpose the music for violin in her head, playing on a borrowed cello.

And who supplied the last minute cello? Only Xander Thorne, the lead player of her favorite band, Thorne and Roses, famous for their rock songs on electric string instruments. And, weirdly, he plays first cello in the Pops. And has for over a year. And he doesn’t even recognize her. He’s hostile, arrogant, perennially late, and unprofessional, and now as she’s returning his cello, he’s criticizing her playing.

His playing is mesmerizing and she wishes she could infuse her performance with that kind of passion. And, sure, he’s physically attractive (thanks to the promo posters of the shirtless band that she used to have on her wall), but his personality is just awful.

As fate throws them together, he encourages her to play his electronic cello. His hands-on teaching teases a new emotional way of playing from her, and those emotions carry over to their feelings for each other, and the music they create together.

When their relationship becomes public, the pressure is intense, and they are torn between competing commitments, contracts, and the mentors who have had an outsized impact on their lives.

Julie Soto tells this story with her wonderful humor, and sizzling heat. Fans of her previous novel Forget Me Not will enjoy the cameo appearances of some of those characters as well.

Rivals to lovers
Found family
Rockstar romance
5⭐️


Both FMC & MMC are string players 🎻

He’s a moody perfectionist who only really knows how to expresses himself through music. She learned how to play when she was 12 and doesn’t know how good she really is.

3rd person with some dual POV starting a little deep into the book. I have a very hard time getting into 3rd person books but with Julie I didn’t notice until I was a few pages in.

Connections with Forget Me Not 🌸

Spicy with. The COVER, The CELLO scene 🥵

I know nothing about instruments and musical terms but loved the feel of music Julie Soto’s writing gave me. There was tension and lots of drama/past trauma, but the love story was beautiful.

Stars Wars

The last sentence in this book ❤️

So glad to get this book from Netgalley! Loved the storyline and the romance between Xander/Alex and Gwen. Their banter but also support for each other was entertaining. Their lives came together after some sacrifices on both ends but with a happy ending

Listen I will read anything Julien Soto writes, this includes fanfiction back In the day. I loved this book, and will make sure everyone knows it. I want to say more but.i don't want to spoil or give too much away...but I will say that cello scene...excuse me?? 🥵🥵

“ℑ 𝔨𝔫𝔢𝔴 𝔣𝔯𝔬𝔪 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔪𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔫𝔱 ℑ 𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔯𝔡 𝔥𝔢𝔯 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔶 𝔱𝔥𝔞𝔱 ℑ 𝔫𝔢𝔢𝔡𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔬 𝔪𝔞𝔨𝔢 𝔪𝔲𝔰𝔦𝔠 𝔴𝔦𝔱𝔥 𝔥𝔢𝔯.”

•••

Excuse me while I go make this book my entire personality.

Ya’ll, when I tell you this book is HOT with a capital H-O-T…🥵

The tension, the pining, the SPICE. Julie you blew it out of the park. I literally have no words. I’m just OBSESSED with Alex and Gwen.

💭 My thoughts 💭

Gwen - my sweet baby angel. I love her with my entire heart. She makes me want to wrap her in bubble wrap and protect her at all costs. She deserves the world and to see her progression was just so lovely. To watch her grow, find her way, stand up for the things and people she loves? Amazing. So proud.

Alex. Hi. Woah. So freakin hot. You could put raw meat on him and it would cook. His little POV’s made me SCREAM. Every. Single. Time. To see his view, hear his thoughts - especially when it came to Gwen? I’m deceased. His ability to let go of who he thought he needed to be and fight for himself and the life he wanted? GO ALEX! I LOVE YOU.

•••

Please go give Julie’s amazing book some love. You deserve the cello lesson scene, TRUST ME.

Julie Soto’s done it again 😮‍💨 her writing is always so addictive, and keeps me engaged and entertained from beginning to end. Not Another Love Song was such a sweet and romantic read. I’d definitely recommend this to all my romance-loving friends!

Absolutely stunning, truly perfection. I feel so honored to have gotten to experience this book, and I can’t wait for the world to experience this beautiful story. Julie Soto’s writing is effortless, romantic, and addictive, almost dizzying so. I could not put this book down! I’ve been trying to put into words ways to encapsulate the story, but it’s so much more than any synopsis could say. It’s a New York love story. It’s a journey from sizzling tension to urgency both in the story and the chemistry between Xander and Gwen, and I loved every moment. My one worry with any book about music, is that I will have to read passages droning on trying to explain something that is meant to be heard and felt — but this book wiped that worry right from the first page. I could feel the it in every word Soto wrote, I could practically hear the music. Genius writing, beautiful story, don’t miss this one.

Julie Soto has done it again. With this second book, she has established herself as an insta buy romance author for me.

After loving ‘Forget me Not’, I was really looking forward to reading her second novel, and it did not disappoint at all. She has a way of immersing you in the world she creates, in making the character’s passions so realistic and intense, that you almost feel them as your own.

Our main characters are musical prodigies, which could’ve resulted in me not empathizing a whole lot with them, since I have absolutely no clue about music (specifically the world of instrumental music), but she managed to immerse me into the story and into their lives, to make me actually care about their career, their performances, their struggles, their successes… 
And, obviously, their love story. I really liked how “slow-burn” (or as slow burn as a romance novel can be) it was, how it felt like an actual song in crescendo, and how it finally exploded in the chorus. And I love how the steaminess and sexy moments were so intertwined with their performances. Who could’ve known reading about two people playing the violin and cello could be SO incredibly sensual, and evoke so many feelings, even when you’re not even listening to the sound?? Not me! But there I was, on the edge of my seat while they played and eyed each other.

My main complaint of the story was that the conflict and the conclusion felt super rushed, especially when the rest of the story was so well paced. The conflict felt a bit weak for me, and then it was solved in a few pages, so it didn’t even allow me to think, “oh my god, what if this one DOESN’T end well?”
And apart from their story, there were so many more smaller conflicts within the story, and those were also apparently resolved in a couple of scenes, which wasn’t very realistic to me.
But overall, I loved the story a lot, so totally worth it. 

Also, we see a few brief cameos of the characters from the first novel, which I always love in romance novels, as they create their own little multiverse-type of thing. It’s like seeing an old friend, finding out they’re doing well and thinking, “aw, I’m glad for them!”

This one gave me heartache, I loved it. It’s not as light as ‘Forget Me Not’, but for me the main couple had much better chemistry and I really enjoyed the push and pull of their relationship. FMC & MMC are musical prodigies and struggling to work out who they want to be, where they want to be, and navigating all the people who seem to own a part of them. They find a lovely solace in each other and I LOVED that music was genuinely a huge part of the story, it did just heighten everything for me. Music writing blended with sex scenes were just perfect.

+ Rivals-to-Lovers
+ Feel those good vibrations
+ Competence is sexy

I should also mention I just love Julie Soto, she is easily an insta-buy author for me. Her prose never disappoints, there's just always the perfect amount of banter and angsty moments. And of course the covers are gorgeous (by Nikita Jobson), I read this on kindle but will absolutely be getting the paperback ASAP

**Thanks NetGalley for the copy**

I always have to prepare for romcoms by trying to figure out how far removed from reality I have to be to enjoy this book. Sometimes it’s pretty easy to have fun with it and sometimes you have to forget how life really is as you read so that you don’t spend the book internally (or externally really) cringing the entire time. I thought this would be a little more down to earth but I had to readjust my expectations a little bit in so I could enjoy myself.

What I liked, the characters for the most part were characters I enjoyed reading about. I rooted for them and I enjoyed that there were a multitude of relationships beyond just the two intended lovers. They weren’t cookie cutter characters and there was character development that for the most part made sense. I maybe was annoyed with how much of a plot device Alex’s duel personas were and was annoyed with the conflict but I get it. It was hard for me to really buy into this whole character’s history and character arc which is where I had to take a moment to readjust my reality with this book.

The writing was totally fine. Nothing that really blew my socks off with prose or creativity but also not usually what I see in these kinds of books. Overall, you want a fun and easy to follow romcom and you get a fun and easy to follow romcom. It’s a great book to read quickly between the heavier stuff or read on vacation. Would absolutely (and probably will) pick up other books by Julie for when I need a little joy in my life.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I was hashtag blessed to receive an ARC from NetGalley.

I thought Julie's first book, Forget Me Not, was amazing and didn't think there was any way to top it. Thankfully I was very wrong (and there may or may not be a cameo from those characters). Not Another Love Song is the beautiful story of Gwen and Xander that I will never do justice with my words. They are not nearly as beautiful as the authors. The only thing they truly have in common is their love of music, particularly string instruments. They play together in a city orchestra where Gwen is trying to do her best and move up in the ranks. Xander is a member of a hot music group and doesn't really need to be taking up a spot in this comparatively small time orchestra.

When they find themselves making music together, the sparks fly between them and inspiration strikes musically. However, there are people on both sides who are using Gwen and Xander's talents, and their relationship, to their advantage. Xander thought he put a situation like that behind him and is adamant that it doesn't happen to Gwen, even if it could help her career.

Julie Soto has, in the span of two books, become one of those authors I will always read. If you don't feel her stories viscerally, check your pulse because you may have expired. The attraction between Gwen and Xander leaps off the page and pulls you onto an emotional rollercoaster whether you are willing to ride or not. I was so sucked in that I only got about 4 hours of sleep after staying up all night to read. Highly recommend listening the the pieces at the beginning of the chapters while you read because it heightens everything.

This is my favorite book of the year so far and will definitely be the one I'm recommending to everyone.

I didn’t know string instruments could get down like that but I sure know better now.

I absolutely ate this book up, could not put it down. All day I’d tell myself, *If you just get this thing done then you can go read another chapter,* and then I’d accidentally read five chapters… needless to say I didn’t get a lot done.

I find Julie Soto’s writing so easy and pleasurable to sink into and I loved this premise so much. Similar to her debut *Forget Me Not,* the premise was a fun and unique sandbox to play in. The dynamics of the Pops Orchestra, its many musicians, its financial obligations, its practices and concerts created so many opportunities for fun and tension. I read a lot of contemporary romance and love a unique setting/situation that differentiates a book.

There was also a lot to love in the side characters and the depth they provided to the conflict. I especially loved that Nathan and Calvin weren’t juxtaposed as good father/bad father and instead both had their issues and their impact on Alex. It felt more real.

All in all, so so fun to read. I think I liked this even better than *Forget Me Not*, partly for how much I liked the music situation and partly because I think her writing grew. There were a few issues, which I’ll get to next, but since they didn’t distract me from reading this VORACIOUSLY, I’m rounding this up to the full five stars for fun factor.

The main issue I had with this was one I had with her previous book as well, and I suspect it’s a result of the transition from fanfiction to original trad pub. I felt like I didn’t get enough of our main characters’ personalities. In fanfiction, since you’re working with characters that people already know, you don’t have to do as much characterization. Additionally, knowing that this was originally Reylo (not that that changes the fact that this is supposed to be standalone contemporary fiction), Kylo Ren and Rey don’t get a whole lot of time to chat and get to know each other in canon, so their dynamic is still somewhat undefined outside of their draw to each other via the force. I needed to know these character’s personalities better and I needed to know *why* they got along and liked each other.

It was clear they had that draw through music, which I actually really enjoyed—seeing them recognize something in the music of the other, seeing how their relationship spurred their creativity and passion, was a very cool dynamic. But I needed like, a conversation where I saw their personalities interacting with each other and could tell they matched well.

The other issue I had is that a few things got brushed over and even though I understand them not being the focus, I would’ve liked a teeny tiny bit more info! Who am I if not a nosy bitch?

Anyways, I definitely plan on continuing to read everything Julie Soto comes out with because I enjoy her writing so so much.

The Manhattan Pops orchestra is lucky enough to have 2 incredible musicians. Gwen Jackson is a self taught violinist & Xander Thorn who is a famous cellist and part time rockstar! While Gwen knows everything about Xander and may even have his poster on her wall, Xander hasn’t given her the time of day. It isn’t until Gwen is offered the first chair position that catches Xanders attention.

I know hardly anything about symphonies or classical music but damn if I didn’t want to rush out and buy tickets to a show!

The chemistry and tension between these two!!! 🥵 wow.

This book hit all the right notes 😉

Perfect if you like:
Opposites Attract
Workplace Romance
Rivals to Lovers
He Falls First
Found Family
Music Prodigies
Third Person POV

I loved this book! My only complaint: the ending felt like it was slightly rushed. I wish it was more. I would have loved to read a few more chapters for it to feel complete.

I was so excited and grateful to receive this ARC copy! Thank you Julie Soto & Grand Central Publishing!

The vibes for this book were “Nora Ephron movie but make it spicy.”

I read a lot of contemporary romance novels, but it’s been a while since one has hit me the way Not Another Love Song did. In fact, this book has now set a new bar that all the novels I read will have to reach to earn a five-star rating. There were so many points while reading when I was squealing, giggling, kicking my feet, screaming.

Here’s what you can expect when reading Not Another Love Song:

- Romantic leads who are absolutely obsessed with each other
- MMC who is a walking red flag until we get to know him
- A glimpse at what life as a professional classical musician could look like in a world that supports the performing arts
- Complex and interesting side characters
- Swoony declarations of love

It was perfect. I have no notes.

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book for me to review.