Not Another Love Song had me giggling sometimes, cringing other times from secondhand embarrassment, swooning, and speed reading once I was about half way in, as if to race to the end because I could get everything in quick enough.
Alex and Gwen were lovely main characters who felt both very real, but also kept that comfortable romance main couple vibes that everyone loves.
As a music lover and a romance reader, this book was such a nice and refreshing read. Soto did incredibly well with keeping the story easily digestible but engaging, and I look forward to getting to read any future works by the author!

Aaaahhhh and I thought I loved FMN?! Heck no this blows everything out of the park.

I grew up playing the violin. Started at age 5. By 13 I was playing in symphonies. And let me tell you, none of my time in the most uncomfortable chairs in the world was spent making googly eyes across to the cello section. (A stand mate maybe. But that’s another story)

I ate up EVERYTHING she gave us. I don’t think the musical terms were overused. I do think that it could use a cheat sheet for those who are not as familiar with the vocabulary.

When I tell you this book had me blushing and giggling like a little school girl… the cello scene - yes please. 🫠 Alex is top tier book boyfriend material.

I guess you could say the story was a little formulaic. But I was so engrossed with everything that was happening that huge milestones at certain percentages was not even on my radar. This book sucked me in and I fear I didn’t come out whole. It’s taken a piece of me and I’m not mad about it. I’ll definitely be thinking of this for a long time coming.

Also the Ama and Elliot cameos were awesome.

I WILL be rereading once the book is officially released. I’ll need an audio copy asap.

P. S. If you’re going to complain about it being a Reylo fanfic, she literally says it in the dedication. Also it doesn’t read like one at all. But maybe I’m not tapped into that world enough. I wasn’t getting those vibes at all.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever publishing for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

Holy cow I loved, loved, loved this book! Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto follows Gwen and Xander, two orchestra prodigies who are trying to make it through the Manhattan Pops Orchestra season without killing each other. Or so Gwen thinks. It just so happens that Xander is also a world famous rock start cellist (yes, that's a real thing) and he really really wants to make music with her (yes, that is a euphemism, but also very literally true). The extra attention catapults Gwen's carreer to places she never thought possible and Gwen soon decides how hard it is to lead an orchestra with the hottest man alive playing directly across from her. Did I mention there were hair flips galore?

As a forever band geek, the backdrop of the orchestral world and the almost lyrical composition of this book was consumingly fascinating. I read this in a stayed-up-late-and-was-late-to-work frenzy because I just could not put it down. The chemistry between the characters was spot on, the tension was well constructed and felt organic, and the romance and spice were delicious. Can we talk about how the cover illustration is one of the hottest scenes in the whole book?

This book featured wonderful cameos of some characters from Soto's first book, Forget Me Not, which was nice. The only thing that would have made this a 5-star read instead of a 4.75-star read would be if her her side characters were a little more fleshed but considering how consuming their jobs/infatuations were, it made sense? I just really loved Mei and wanted more of her.

I have been a fan of Julie Soto's work from the very beginning (iykyk) and this book is no exception. I highly recommend this book if you like steamy not-truly-enemies-to-lovers, when the guy falls first and hard, and the pottery scene from Ghost (this book has it but in cello form).

This was my first Julie book and I absolutely loved it. I'm going to need to go read her other one since I realized the couple from it was making guest appearances. I loved the dynamic of Gwen and Alex a lot.

I don’t have much of a musical background so was I a little lost sometimes? Yes. The story overall was good and I liked the characters. I loved Jacob and Mabel, because we all need that kind of support system. I wish we learned more about Alex and Gwen and who they are as individuals instead of making their whole personality about music. Nonetheless, I would recommend.

I'd like to thank the author, publisher, and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book, though not nearly as much as Soto's Forget Me Not. While the author writes very beautifully and has excellent pace, I find that the beats of her romances follow a very specific rhythm, and therefore this second book proceeded rather predictably. There wasn't anything glaringly bad about Not Another Love Song, only that it feels a tad cookie cutter. My interest in the story wavered severely the moment the third act break up hit, but perhaps that's not the author's fault. Commercial romance fiction is very cut and paste as it is. It sells because it works, but now the market is saturated with these fill-in-the-number narratives that rarely surprise me anymore. In a word, this story was "safe." Some risk, some reward, but no twists or turns that truly thrilled me.

All in all, a good read, just not a spectacular one.

I was lucky enough to get a copy of an ARC of Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto through NetGalley.

In my opinion, Julie wrote such a well rounded book. I love an enemies to lovers trope and I felt like the book did a great job of our main characters development throughout this journey.

The theme of the book is centered around music and love and Julie was able to tie those together without it being awkward. Personally I found this interesting because I grew up playing the violin in our school orchestra (but infinitely less talented than Gwen and Xander- much less eventful in the romance department LOL)

I also found the pace of the book to also be just right- the development of their relationship with each other never felt rushed to me. We had time to become invested in Gwen’s upbringing and story of how she became a player at Pops and then we are introduced to the broody, Xander. I found myself looking forward to all the chapters that gave his perspective or family history. It helps you root for both characters throughout the book.

Multiple times I found myself audibly shocked because of cute scenes or even the sad ones. I couldn’t think of a better way for Julie to wrap up this book. At one point I was in tears, smiling and completely satisfied feeling like she left no unanswered questions. Once this book is released I will go back and share my favorite quotes with everyone!

Book cover artwork is also a 10/10.

I definitely look forward to Julie Soto’s next book in 2025!

This. Is. Everything.

As a fellow music girlie, my heart was a flutter this entire book and I am obsessed. The writing is beautiful, the crescendo of the story is utterly captivating and it deserves a million stars.

DNF'd at 22%. After reading and loving Forget Me Not, I was excited to start Not Another Love Song. I really enjoyed the first few chapters but as the story progressed I felt less and less engaged. I did not find the characters as endearing as those in Forget Me Not and the simulates to the Reylo inspiration were a bit too close for me.

Never has music felt so sexy!! Not Another Love Song is the perfect, tension-filled, and sizzling musical rivals to lovers romance that I never knew I needed.

Julie Soto's debut Forget Me Not was a real triumph, and when we got to see Xander Thorne at the very end I was obviously curious to learn more about him. I love how we still got to see some of the characters we loved from the first book while also expanding the universe that felt natural, but also let each book stand on its own.

What I love about Soto's writing is that while these are love stories they are also equally about human growth and I love the depth of each character's background story. The way Soto writes her characters make them feel so real and layered. My heart hurt for Gwewn multiple times throughout the novel and I was cheering her on every step of the way. Sometimes even out loud haha. And oh boy is the romance so rewarding here. The tension and the chemistry between Gwen and Xander was delightful. With such dynamic characters the banter and later the sweet romance had me swooning and racing through this book as fast as I could.

I also really loved the addition of the very few chapters from Xander's point of view. I normally like single-POV romances more, but the way it was delivered added the perfect depth to the story without taking away any of the anticipation or suspense. I would love to read more stories using this approach.

Soto has quickly become one of my favorite authors, and Not Another Love Song will be one of my favorite new releases this year. I can't wait to make everyone I know read it.

As someone who doesn’t have a musical background, I had a really hard time connecting with this story and the characters. This book really focuses on the technical aspects of an orchestra and composing, which I had a hard time relating to. There were definitely some great moments, but I found that the characters and relationship had very little depth. Gwen and Xander were both musicians, but I didn’t feel an emotional connection between them and their relationship felt purely physical. Overall, if you have a musical background and enjoy spice, you’d likely enjoy this book. Unfortunately, it wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Grand Central Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn't wait to compose my review about how much I adored this book. The beginning felt a little bit like I was being strung along and I was worried it would fall flat. However, loudly it hit a crescendo that caused my heart to beat at a staccato pace. From that point, no diminuendo. The spice was OFF THE CHARTS and the story hit all the right notes of a solid, angsty enemies-to-lovers Reylo romance. It was a fitting encore to Forget Me Not, complete with a small chorus of familiar characters.

Sorry not sorry for the abundance of musical puns.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow this book gives you all the feels!
I loved it! I wasn't sure at first because I know nothing about music besides the instrument names😂but even with that disadvantage for myself I still ATE THIS BOOK UP.
I just recently finish Forget Me Not also, and I devoured that so I loved seeing the character crossover in this book! Julie Soto has become an auto buy author for sure.
If this book has a song it would be Invisible String by Taylor Swift🫶🏼
The plot? Kept me intrigued and wanting to keep reading! The pacing was perfectly executed for the storyline.
The sexual tension between Gwen and Alex/Xander? Perfection. Loved the dynamic between them. It was giving grumpy/sunshine and she falls first but he falls harder. 🤭
The smut? STEAMY 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
And the cover being the cello scene?🥵iykyk.
I really enjoyed this book, and hopefully get to meet Julie at book bonanza later this year!

An absolutely stellar follow-up by Julie Soto! I couldn't love this book more. Though, fair warning, you're going to have to put it down to pull up a Vitamin String Quartet playlist to listen while you read.

Gwen Jackson is a young violinist in the New York Pops. She found violin relatively later in life, but her immense talent has led to a violin chair at a relatively young age. Also in the New York Pops is cello superstar Xander Thorne. Part of the popular group Roses and Thorns, Xander has fame and prestige. Gwen and Xander run into each other at a wedding, and do not get off on the right foot. However, Xander is drawn to Gwen's talent, and begins to make music with her. While making music, they find they are also drawn together in other ways.

This book was a delight through and through. The chemistry between Gwen and Xander is electric. This book is steamy and wonderful, and everyone will swoon over Xander. The supporting characters (Jeremy!) were hilarious, and the plot was very well-paced. The only con was this book doesn't come with a playlist! Original compositions are a key part of the novel, and while Julie Soto does a masterful job describing the sound, I'll always wonder what Fugue No. 1 sounds like. The music parts were a true highlight of the book, and I was so impressed at how evocative the descriptions of music were.

While I liked Forget Me Not (and appreciated the cameos in this book!), Not Another Love Song is my new favorite. Overall amazing sophomore novel (hard to do!), and I can't wait to see what else comes out by the author.

Thank you NetGalley & the publishers for letting me get my hands on this early! I loved this story and these characters. That ending had me tearing up, and the whole story up until that point had me so invested.

I really enjoyed having several characters from Julie’s previous book make appearances, even though this story was so separate from that one. The two main characters were so lovable, as were the supporting characters — I need a book about Jacob and Declan, please. Jumping into the music world with Gwen and Alex was such a delight. I already can’t wait for Julie’s next work of art!

I absolutely devoured this story! I loved the rivals to lovers aspect, and how the characters hated each other but made each other better.
The orchestra aspect was so interesting. I am a big music/band nerd, so I just enjoyed all of the orchestra parts and the music in general.
The characters are so well developed and their back stories. The relationships were believable. The story was emotional at times, but also so funny and cute.
I would recommend this book to everyone!

This was my first book by this author but it will not be the last! I really enjoyed the romance plot and found the characters to be relatable. I was rooting for them the whole time!

This is the second book I have read by Julie Soto, and I am so in love with it and her as an author. I loved having the enemies to lovers theme include a bad boy Rock Star cello player and a good girl violist whose paths just happen to start crossing a lot. Learning about music and having it running as a song throughout the book as a background to the romance made the story all the more beautiful. In many books, a lot of characters in the background are just one sided where we got glimpses of the lives of the people running through our characters lives as complicated people, who make mistakes, who love, who try to protect you, who have rich backstories.
I can’t wait to read what she writes next.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever, and Julie Soto for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I would like to start by likening this to the magic of Ali Hazelwood. Do I know anything about STEM/Omegaverse/Chess? No, I don't. Do I still love every minute of her stories and the details? Yes, absolutely! So, while I did grow up with a choir and piano background, the strings are it's own beast. I know nothing. And I loooooved it.

The chemistry. The tension. The soul searching. The determination. The found family. Ugh- this book is it.

Special appreciation to the Scooter/Alex's version/Swiftie references.

Author's notes at the beginning and at the end are indispensable to appreciating the inspiration!

This was a bummer for me 🤣. Unless you have a musical background you may feel a bit disconnected from the orchestral terms used regularly in it. It also shows that the author DOES have a musical background since the handful of years in orchestra helped me in reading this book.

Unfortunately almost all the characters are crap. I’m so sorry to say this! Gwen is like a rag doll and fine with just about anything happening to her. The correct ending would be for her to literally ditch everyone and start her life over in a new place making music.

I thought for the first half of the book that the MMC Alex/Xander was going to be redeemed as just a moody misunderstood character with an actual depth of feeling and motivation, but he’s actually just an immature man-child. He’s obsessed with her when it’s convenient for him. No chemistry and the ending is so abrupt that I circle back to wanting Gwen to simply peace out and leave these manipulative fools behind.

Thoughts:
-Best thing about this book was the cover art.
-Drink every time the author uses “Stradivarius” and you shall be very hydrated. Was this sponsored?
-Best character was Diane. Spot on with the chair kick for the late measure intro.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc!