I. Love. This. Book.

After reading Julie Soto's review and learning that her new one was available, I could not have run faster to request it from NetGalley. Thanks to the Forever team for this ARC! I will be singing this book's praises right through publication day.

Knowing that the story has its roots in Reylo fanfic hooked me but Julie's writing kept me there. I knew music was sexy (I'm a regular symphony attendee: including a performance of Rise of Skywalker, which could not be any more Not Another Love Song coded), but I have a whole new appreciation for the strings section! I loved all the characters, I loved the plot, I love the cover (and THAT scene, whew!). The connections to Forget Me Not were perfect.

Julie Soto has become an instant read author for me and I'm happy to share her books with my audience.

4.25 stars: This book is so good! The love story of a cellist and violinist, Not Another Love Song is jam packed with angst, longing, and steam.

The strongest part of this book is definitely the central romance; I enjoyed both of the characters, and I thought their relationship had a natural progression throughout the book. The steamy scenes were hot, but I also felt they had an emotional connection in addition to the physical connection. My one nitpick about the romance is that they got together a little too quickly. I would have liked to see at least one more date/ non-steamy connection scene before they got together, but that didn’t break the book for me.

I enjoyed the characters in the book a lot, and I was very interested in the familial dynamics in the book. I thought Soto did an excellent job of depicting realistic messy family dynamics and how different people respond to them. However, I don’t think there was a full resolution of some of those dynamics, especially given how complex they are. While the romance should take center stage in a romance book, the familial relationships got lost in the efforts to wrap up the romance and I would have liked to see another chapter or two dedicated to wrapping those conflicts up as well.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this as a great contemporary romance read! I liked it even more than Julie Soto’s first book!

Goodness this book had me obsessed. It was an absolute delight with the perfect amount of angst, spice, heartbreak, anger, and love. The NY setting was realistic instead of corny. Gwen & Xander have me now wanting to head straight to a symphony. Absolutely recommend. In fact I Immediately went and grabbed a copy of Julie Soto's Forget Me Not which has a Xander cameo. This is definitely an author to keep eyes on. Ali Hazelwood promised us a spicy cello scene here and JULIE DELIVERED!

Julie Soto has written a perfect rom com once again. So vivid, so beautiful, so well done. Though the conflict frustrated me I would always rather feel frustrated and angry for characters than not care about them at all! Can’t wait to have this in store and hopefully see it become something bigger as it is released and loved.

I was so pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. The love story in this book was beautiful and raw. I felt very connected to the characters and was invested in their relationship. Many modern romances lack character development and chemistry between the main characters, but this truly felt complete and full of substance. I was nervous I would be lost due to the music terminology; and although there was quite a bit of that, I was never confused about the story. Those who are not familiar with the music or orchestra industry should NOT be afraid of this book. It was very digestible and easy to understand even with all of the musical jargon! Overall, I would say this is one of my favorite romance novels to date. It was the perfect length, perfect amount of plot and romance (and spice!), and kept me captivated from the very beginning.

Lovely and emotional palette cleanser for me. Julie Soto has done it again! I loved falling in love with these characters. As a reader whose life has always been full of music, it was so fun to read about characters who share that connection! The romance felt raw and real in the best of ways. It was simultaneously heartbreaking and heartwarming. Seriously, a must read for anyone who loves music and romance.

Julie Soto outdoes herself! With well fleshed out characters and enough push and pull to really keep me interested. The Boston Pops type setting was engaging and I really enjoyed the cameos from Forget Me Not.

Loved this one! What a great follow-up to Soto's first book -- and it was fun to see Ama in the background of NALS. I loved the peak into orchestra culture (who knew classical music could be so steamy?), and the New York-iness of the book was just great. And that cello scene! Five stars!

Did I think I needed a romance novel about two people who are musical prodigies!? No. But DANG am I glad to be proven wrong!
This book was totally unexpected in THE BEST WAY!

Julie Soto was already an autobuy author for me (I read Forget Me Not and it was EXCELLENT) but this book solidified that even more if possible. I read a lot of Romance Novels and they can sometimes start to blur together.... But that is NOT the case with Not Another Love Song! I think my cheeks are still sore from smiling so hard while reading this and I found myself holding my breath because of the beautiful tension and chemistry between our two main characters!

This story follows Gwen, a musical prodigy and self-taught violinist, who plays for the Manhattan POPs. One day her life is basically turned upside when she is offered the first chair of the orchestra. She is quickly thrust into the limelight... but is she ready for it and all the "politicalness" it entails... I must confess I know nothing about music but the way Julie wrote the musical scenes I swear I could almost hear it!!!

While Gwen is dealing with all these sudden changes in her life she keeps crossing paths with Xander Thorne. The lead member of a "rock band" called Thorne and Roses and the first chair for the Cello players at the Manhattan POPs with Gwen... when they first meet it does not exactly go well... but their chemistry is undeniable to say the least.

This is very much a rivals to lovers storyline and who knew spicy scene with a cello was missing from my life!?!?! AHHHH!!! I'll never look at this instrument the same again!

Gwen and Zander's journeys are beautifully written. Their love seemed a little "insta love" or instant connection kind of love BUT I loved it. It made so much sense to me and I think that music does really bring people together in a more intimate way that people realize.

My only "grief" with this book is the ending... I think it wrapped up too quickly and some loose ends needed to be tied up more so than they were BUT that's okay. I still LOVED it and will recommend to everyone I see from now on!

I also recently found out Julie writes Dramione FanFic under a pen name so I will be starting that series ASAP!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with this AMAZING book's digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest opinions.

4/5 stars

this was my first julie soto book and it will not be my last! oh my! the mind that julie soto has is amazing.

‘not another love song’ doesn’t have the traditional tropes i gravitate towards but there is an addictive nature to this book, that i fear i might need to read some more books like it!

tropes:
- rivals (kinda just hate each other) to lovers
- he falls first
- boy obsessed fr
- workplace romance
- she’s a violinist x he’s a cellist
- musical prodigies
- amazing banter
- dual pov (though we don’t see his very often)
- forced proximity


this book follows an anxious yet extremely talented violinist, and a really cocky and confident cellist (or so we think!). while they work together at an orchestra, he’s never noticed her… until now..

this author is extremely talented, it is well written, and in a third person pov (omniscient) that is hard to do right, but soto did it perfectly!

i need to reread this asap, i wanted to throw up, scream, cry, laugh, and overall force myself into this story because i want to be loved the way xander’s loves.

such an amazing book, the spice isn’t overwhelming and is there where needed (not an overload of it, it is more plot based, but with such good tension)!

Not Another Love Song made me wish I played an instrument, who knew a violin or cello could be that sexy. Soto’s first book Forget Me Not was one of my favorites last year and although I prefer it, this one was really great too. I enjoyed the pacing and tension between Gwen and Xander. Also loved the cameos from Ama and the other characters.

The only reason it’s not five starts is because at the beginning I did find that Xander came across as a bit too rude and entitled for me. I get that he was raised to be the best at playing and being praised, but he had no respect for other peoples time. I’m glad his character was able to grow, he was down bad for her. Gwen felt like such a sweet character despite going through a lot at such a young age, she found her passion and worked hard of it. I like reading books that showcase professions or hobbies I don’t know much about, it’s fun to learn about new things. Overall great romance story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and the author for the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

This book was amazing! Imagine if Black Swan was a hilarious romance set in an orchestra. The characters are so into their music that it sparks a crazy love story. Alex and Gwen's chemistry is both sweet and explosive. What's cool is they start off as rivals but end up falling for each other. Their musical talents are out of this world, but they come from totally different backgrounds, which makes their love story even more interesting. Plus, the guest appearances from Forget Me Not were a blast! Overall, this book gets a perfect 5/5. You've gotta read it, binge it, and definitely buy it!

This was so cute ! I loved seeing what Ama and Elliot are up to. This was third person vs dual pov like forget me not . I loved how grumpy Alex / Xander was and then how he totally melted for Gwen, very romantic ! All the music stuff was new to me but the author did a good job explaining it .

Alex, also known by his stage name Xander, is a prodigy on cello. When he meets Gwen, a violin virtuoso herself, he knows instantly he’s met his equal or better. They couldn’t have more different backgrounds, him coming from a bloodline of accomplished musicians and her basically being an orphan. This is a story of how they end up hopelessly wrapped around each other despite their lives and careers being on very different paths.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️.5

Liked
* Soto did an exceptional job making you READ about music yet HEAR it in your head. I want to hear Gwen and Alex’s Fugues!
* I loved that it was he who was mesmerized by her first even though she was fan of his band
* The author’s previous books got exceptional reviews but it was a rare popular book that didn’t knock me off my feet. This one, however, I liked much better than Forget Me Not. Perhaps bc I grew up heavily involved in music and performance so it brought me back to a context I knew well.
* This was spicier than I was expecting! The studio scenes were 🥵
* Very well paced

Disliked
* there was always a slight edge of something about both characters missing for me. I can’t quite put my finger on it.
* There is so much manipulation and greed in this industry

Tropes deployed: sorta workplace romance, celebrity romance, elements of grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Book Group for this ARC. Pub date: 7/16/24

Having “Not another love story” be my first arc, was definitely an amazing experience. Thank you to Julie Soto and her team at Forever publishing for creating this world as well as NetGalley for the opportunity to read it in advance. Julie Soto is definitely an auto buy- Auto read author for me now after reading book her books.

This book is going to be perfect for the summer time, the themes of orchestras and music along side the weddings was a perfect combination.. I definitely was feeling the vibes of sitting in a park listening to a classic music group or a night at the opera vibes with this story. Gwen and Xander’s dynamic of workplace rivals to lovers… the banter… the tension… and the spice… “chefs kiss”. The cello scene… HELLO I was blushing…

The camos from her other book “Forget me not” was so sweet coming off of reading it right before starting this book. Which in “Forget me not” we are introduced to Xander.. and he was a great choice to be the new MMC. Definitely book boyfriend material… July 16th can’t come fast enough. Go pick it up!!

girl goes to carnegie hall and leaves a changed woman(aka spirals for weeks over needing to read an enemies to lovers orchestra themed book).

and soto delivered thank goodness! so happy i got to experience this now when im at my peak insanity and not later this summer. i just absolutely devoured this!!! and the sporadic dual POV rounded out the story so well, never taking away from the tension(which…wowza). the scene the cover -i think- is based off was even better than portrayed. in unresolved cello x violin conversations we trust!

4.5 ⭐️

*ARC via NetGalley*

Julie Soto has made Orchestra sexy! You get so immersed in this book by her descriptions that you can basically hear the music! I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5 only because when I love you was said it seemed premature. The emotional depth wasn’t there just yet & I wish we had just a little bit more of where Zander/Alex was at emotionally leading up to that point & who he was as a person aside from being a child prodigy!

Gwen’s character was incredibly written! Strong FMC with emotional intelligence and goals! Loved her support system with Mabel stepping in as a mother figure & the relationship she had with Ava!
Loved reading Mabel & Ava’s history!

Overall a great read! Julie Soto is an auto buy author for me!

This book!!!! Ugh, I was hooked from very first page and could not put this down. I loved Alex and Gwen and their chemistry was amazing. I finished in a day. Can’t wait for Julie’s next book!

I enjoyed this book. I liked the dynamic between Gwen and Xander! As always I think Julie Soto’s writing is amazing and she hooks in from the beginning and always makes me want to know how these characters will evolve and come out ok on the other end! I was not disappointed!

First off, I would like to thank NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. I found the book a little hard to get into, but once I was past the 30% mark I couldn’t stop reading.

I love the way Alex went all soft and started chasing her after he realised he liked her. It was so cute. And the thing about him buying her shampoo and conditioner for his bathroom…It was so sweet. Their chemistry was so good…I love that their connection started because of music which is something I could connect to.

Generally a really enjoyable read but hard to get into. Also Alex was so mean and kind of insufferable at the start so it was not looking good for him but at least he redeemed himself.

The last line. That’s all I’m gonna say!

Note: This review has temporarily been posted on Goodreads without a rating, as I am aware that certain publishers/authors do not want any ratings under 4 stars to be posted before the book is released.