I was so excited to hear that Julie Soto has a new book this year. I absolutely loved Forget Me Not and loved Not Another Love Song just as much.

Not Another Love Song is a story about two twenty something rivals-to-lovers musicians in New York City. They are prodigy string players navigating career and personal decisions, while following in love and dealing with external conflicts.

I loved many things about this book. The depth and passion of the characters, the descriptions of the city, the details about string instruments and music (I know almost nothing about playing music but loved learning), the romance, the found family. Also, it was great to see an Elliot and Ama appearance!

Julie Soto has become a must read author for me. For anyone who enjoyed Forget Me Not, you will definitely enjoy this book as well. I highly recommend Not Another Love Song.

4.5 💫

.“It’s simple really,” he said. “It’s about a cello who fell in love with a violin.”

It such a intens, angesty and beautiful story, I won't be able to watch people playing cello or violin and don't think about these two, I feel corrupted.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the ARC.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6174558390?

Okay. Five stars! The way this book pulled at my heart strings. This book made me wish I had actually stuck to playing the cello in middle school.

The cello scene in this book everyone is talking about? YEAH ITS A MUST READ. It was so well written it made me wish I was a musician.

The way Alex and Gwen learn to play music for themselves was beautiful.

Thank you to NetGalley and Julie Soto for an ebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating 4/5 Stars

I had such a great time with this one! Really easy to binge. Loved the couple so much - anything about rivals to lovers sign me UP!!

I felt chills reading this book, because I truly felt the sexual tension between Gwen and Xander from cover to cover. This was such a wonderfully written book that had me listening to classical music and orchestral covers all night just to match the mood. There were some technical parts of violin/cello playing that flew right over my head, but somehow it still worked and added to the authenticity of the story.

Having read the fanfic version first, I can say that this book is a fresh take to the same love story that I enjoyed so many years ago. And the connection to her first book, Forget Me Not, was a cute bonus. I can't wait to see what Julie brings us in 2025!

Thank you for the ARC!

This was a love letter to orchestras, cellists, and violinists… I love the way Julie Soto dove so much into the technicalities and structure of the music itself, which truly made the connection between both main characters feel more palpable and real. This book kept me interested the entire time, and had a happily ever after. I’m missing the “rivals to lovers” part though, because from what I read, they were both obsessed with each other from the beginning and they were never really true rivals. Anyways, this was very cute and much like “Forget Me Not.” Speaking of that, we get a little glimpse of Ama and Elliott which was so precious.

I absolutely loved reading Gwen and Alex’s story. Being a musician made me love this book even more. I rarely read about and actually laugh out loud but for some reason this book had me giggling throughout (I mean come on there’s a Cotten eyed joe reference). Also loved the cameos from all the forget me not characters.I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet romcom.

I will be posting my reviews closer to publication date. But this book was so amazing. I couldn’t stop reading once I started. I didn’t think I could fall in love with two musicians like this. Julie Soto is on my automatic buy/read list.

This was so good! I loved Forget Me Not and was super excited to get to read this book so early. It’s a great love story and I’m a sucker for a romance set in NYC.

Wow! This book was so so good. I knew the author was part of the Reylo fandom, so I definitely wanted to read it.

Gwen and Alex were HOT! The way he felt about her had me fanning myself during certain parts. The angst was delicious. I wish I could hear the music in the book so badly.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for the ARC.

Overall this slapped.

One it just made my heart happy to read a book set in an orchestra. I got to relive my 10th grade of being in love with a boy who played violin and cello. Two if you were a fan of If I Stay you will enjoy this cause emo emotional artists are a vibe. Three I just think her writing style downgraded, it didn’t read as polished and the ending of the book felt rushed

What does Julie Soto put in her books because I absolutely devour them!!! The chemistry between these two had me sweatingggg. The resolution after the 3rd act breakup wasn't really my favorite, which is why I dropped my rating to 4 stars, otherwise it would have been a 5 star for me.

Slayed. Obsessed. Incredible. I ate this book UP. The tension?!? The EYE CONTACT? It is immaculate. Delicious.

I am down bad for Alex, this will go into the "reread for funsies" pile, along with all my Ali Hazelwood.

I The way I yelled out loud when this Julie Soto’s newest novel became available!! I devoured her first novel which gave a short introduction to Xander and I knew I was going to love this next novel. I devoured this latest one in less than 24 hours. Never did I think a plot centered around an orchestra, the cello, and violin could be so sexy and romance filled! This story follows child violin prodigy Xander turned cello rock band member as he returns to his orchestra roots and encounters Gwen, violinist in his family run orchestra. I absolutely loved watching them fall hard and fast for eachother in this topic not often found in love stories. Can’t wait to see what Julie does next!

If you loved Forget Me Not, love Julie Soto's writing style, or are looking for a binge-worthy contemporary romance that pulls at your heart strings (pun intended), you will not regret bumping Not Another Love Song to the top of your TBR. I could not put it down.

For all Star Wars fans that ship Reylo, Julie Soto wrote this for you because it was their dynamic that inspired this story.

Not Another Love Song reads like a ballad and tells the love story of a violinist and a cellist. It is told in 3rd person, dual POV—primarily told from the POV of Gwen, our perfectionist, independent, violinist FMC, with some chapters from the POV of our moody, "wild child," swoon-worthy MMC, Xander (also known as Alex). They are both musical prodigies but with different backgrounds that shaped them into the musicians and people they are today.

This love story gave me ALL the feelings I was craving: it made me laugh, cry, curse out loud, and swoon all at the same time. Julie Soto has a way of making you feel a part of her characters' love story, and I ate up every. second. of. it.

If I haven't convinced you to read this book yet, here are other quick reasons I loved/devoured this book:
🎻 Xander/Alex is the perfect moody rockstar/musician (yes, YUM)
🎻 The spice scenes are SPICIN'
🎻 The comedic moments are *chefs kiss* and highly relatable
🎻 I felt like I was at their performances and jam sessions—I could FEEL the music
🎻 The complicated parental relationships/dynamics added complexity to the story
🎻 Julie Sotos writing style hits every time—it's so easy to dive into and live in her books
🎻 Julie Soto beautifully builds these characters to the point I feel like I personally know them
🎻 The side characters were fantastic and built up the main characters

Like Forget Me Not, this is a perfect book to buddy read—Julie Soto makes it easy to do so because she includes discussion questions at the end.

A huge thank you to Julie Soto and NetGalley for the eARC!

Honestly— this book could be called sexual tension, the novel, because oh boy, can Julie Soto write some sizzling build up!! I don’t know if it’s because I read this in one feverish sitting (thank you, 10 hour international flight) or if Julie’s writing has something addictive in it, but I seriously couldn’t put it down. I read A LOT of romance and it’s rare to find something that truly takes me by surprise, but Not Another Love Song did that with ease. And yes, Ali Hazelwood was right… that cello scene is MEMORABLE.

Following the story of Gwen, up and coming violinist turned sudden first violinist for a prestigious Manhattan orchestra, and Alex, mysterious, brooding cellist with more secrets than he can count, when they’re pitted together at the orchestra they play for, and secrets start to come to light. Slowlyyyy they start to find a shared connection in music, in belonging and purpose. And by god, did I eat it up.

I’m going to circle back to the tension because I truly have never seen anything like it. Something about Reylo just makes for the perfect setting for some deliciously slow burn pining. And the comparison between music and… other things… Who knew stringed instruments could be so hot?

All jokes aside, this was really a wonderful book that surprised me with how it took tropes and spun them on their head. It took these two a long time to trust and I really appreciated how real they were— flaws and all. I especially liked Alex’s battle with wanting to be someone important vs wanting to be seen for who he is. The slow crumble of the walls between them was expertly done, proving Soto as a standout voice in her genre. I’ve been a huge fan of her work since ye olde AO3 days, and it’s such a delight to read her stories on a whole new stage as her career continues to grow. Can’t wait to see what she’ll write next!

AS GOOD AS I KNEW IT WOULD BE!!! After ready ‘Forget Me Not’, I knew Julie Soto would be one of my “buy now, ask questions later” authors. When I saw this book I had high hopes and they were all met beautifully. The tension? A+. The smut? A++! Pulling at my heartstrings with a few string instruments?? A++++++!!!!! I really enjoyed the story between these two characters and the healing they did for the generation before them in the book. The pacing I felt was done so well and gave all the feels. The side characters in this story were also such a great comic relief and I hope to see a future story brewing with a certain photographer and violinist!! Overall 4 and 1/2 stars!! I loved it!!

4.5 stars. I was admittedly not a huge fan of Forget Me Not. I wanted to give Not Another Love Song a shot and heard about the April 1st ARC promo. I’m so glad I tried again because I LOVED this. This gave me exactly what I was looking for. You can have a ‘grumpy’ character that actually holds conversations with people instead of just grunting. Was our MMC a little pretentious and rude? Yes, but we had enough of a backstory for it to make sense to me so I could look past that. I usually find the weakest parts of romance novels to be the male POV. I loved the fact that we got very few insights into our MMCs mind during key points in the plot. I have never seen a structure like that and I ate it up. I had one minor gripe with this story. Very minor spoiler, but our MMC repeatedly asks our FMC to call him by a certain name and stop using the other…..and she just ignores him? I understand why this was done, but I do think it was a little excessive and probably wouldn’t be cool in a real life setting. Other than that, no complaints and so happy I was able to read this early! I look forward to reading more from Julie Soto.

This was definitely a steamy binge of a read. The characters were well developed and their chemistry was *fire*. Now excuse me while I go get my hands on more of Soto's work!

Oh my goodness. What a read!!! I was not-so-patiently awaiting this book as I loved Forget Me Not, Soto’s other novel. My expectations were high and Not Another Love Song still blew them out of the water! The tension between Gwen and Xander rolls off the page. If you like (misunderstanding-based) enemies to lovers, this is the playbook on it. I wasn’t sure how the orchestra piece would read to someone who is tone-deaf (me) but it was described so perfectly I felt like I was hearing the music and definitely understanding how it added to the passion between the characters. Unfortunately, Xander has now ruined all men for me, and I will promptly be moving to NYC to meet a celloist. Six stars!