Excellent enemies to lovers. And with a super spicy cello scene to boot? This is everything I wanted from an orchestra romance. The characters had interesting back stories and a chemistry that felt raw and beautiful and completely natural. I was reminded of a theme from the Red Violin - there is something just so insanely sexy about playing music with another person. And goodness, did Julie bring all that passion to life on the page. And bonus! Some Sweet cameos from forget me
Not!

Whoa! My fellow book lovers, I’m about to make an announcement: I've found the best YA romance novel of the year, with a perfect 10-star rating for its spicy, high chemistry level! Oh boy, I can practically hear the masterpieces composed by Alex & Gwen in my head! I never say no to rock songs that transform into marvelous concertos when performed with passion, intensity, and pure love pouring out from the depths of the musicians’ hearts. This lyrical romance may start with tunes like “Rarara Bad Romance,” but slowly intensifies into “Addicted to Love,” and finishes with “Eternal Flame” notes! You absolutely cannot afford to miss this novel! It even exceeded my love for the author’s previous novel, “Forget Me Not” (by the way, we have cameos of Ama and Elliot in this novel, and I have a hunch that the third novel of the series might focus on Dominic-Xander’s bandmate, Mar; Ama’s photographer best friend from the first book, which is set to release in May 2025. Fingers crossed that I got the hint right and made a good guess!)

Anyway, let’s delve into the plot and introduce the characters, explaining why I loved them so much and what makes their passionate and sentimental, yet flawed, love story so captivating and emotionally stirring.

Gwen Jackson, an aspiring violinist performing with the Manhattan Pops, manages to keep her head above water as a musical prodigy at the age of 22, despite lacking formal education and being an orphan. Her life changes when she steps foot into Mabel’s music store, owned by a gifted musician. While performing in the subway station, she crosses paths with Ava Fitzgerald, a legendary musician and board member of Manhattan Pops, who holds the first chair. Ava’s connection with Mabel helps Gwen secure a spot at her workplace.

However, Gwen’s side gig, performing at a celebrity wedding with her roommate Jacob, leads to an unexpected encounter with the legendary Thorne & Roses star, Xander Thorne, who is also a member of Manhattan Pops. Despite his tardiness and arrogance, which irritate both Ava and her partner Nathan, Xander’s arrival shakes things up.

Their initial meeting doesn’t go as planned: Xander harshly criticizes Gwen’s performance, unaware that they are part of the same orchestra until the board decides to give Gwen the first chair that Xander had demanded to replace Ava. This leads to even more harsh comments from Xander.

Although Gwen struggles with her own insecurities, she has no intention of fighting for her place or working harder to prove her talent. Unbeknownst to her, Xander's true identity, as Alex, recognizes just how special and talented she is, even more so than himself. He can't stop thinking about this mysterious prodigy who takes his breath away, pushing him to cross boundaries and stay at Manhattan Pops just to be close to her and create more music together. When they perform together, they become the epitome of magic. Can Gwen trust this arrogant boy from a wealthy and powerful background without risking her heart forever?

Overall, I found myself sighing several times by the end. I reread some of the romantic parts repeatedly; they were poetically written! I absolutely adored this book, and I’m certain it deserves more than five stars! Don’t hesitate—just dive in and read it!

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

Am I attracted to cellists now?

As a lover of string quartets and an adamant Reylo shipper, this book that is basically a fanfic about Adam Driver playing a cello, really did…✨things✨ to me.

This book was easy to read (devoured in one sitting) with an interesting plot, lovable characters, tension, spice, banter, and just all around captivating. I do wish the characters were a little more developed. I would have loved to hear more about Gwen’s past, which is not something I’m normally interested in when reading a book, but her backstory seemed to be compelling so I wish I got more of that. I also wish I got more page time with the other characters like Jacob, Declan, and Mei, but that is mostly for selfish reasons, just because I enjoyed them and their dialogue so much.


Ali Hazelwood was right when she said the cello scene would change my life. I am a changed woman, in fact, I now have a cello kink (don’t question it, I’m not)

4/5⭐️

I had the pleasure of reading the ARC of Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto and all I can say is wow!
Gwen, a self-taught violinist with amazing talent, finds herself thrown into the spotlight when she’s offered the coveted first chair position in the symphony as a publicity stunt. The catch? She must collaborate with Xander, the arrogant first chair cellist who also happens to be the frontman of her favorite band.

As Gwen and Xander reluctantly team up, they discover a surprising chemistry that transcends their initial animosity. Their relationship blossoms against the backdrop of the symphony, leading to a compelling and heartwarming story.I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The gradual development of Gwen and Xander’s relationship was beautifully executed. As a fan of the rivals-to-lovers trope, I found their dynamic particularly engaging.

The chemistry between the main characters added depth to their interactions and kept me hooked until the very end. What I loved most was the realistic portrayal of their relationship struggles.

Overall, this book was a delightful read, blending romance, music, and personal growth seamlessly. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a heartwarming story with well-developed characters and a satisfying conclusion.

5 star stunner!

This book was beyond stunning. Julie Soto strikes again! This book was like if Black Swan was a RomCom about the orchestra.

The characters had so much passion for their music that it just spilled over into a whirlwind romance. The chemistry between Alex and Gwen was equal parts swoony and explosive.

I loved that they were rivals to lovers instead of enemies to lovers, it felt much more organic. Their musical talent was so extraordinary but they came from two completely different walks of life so for me their transition into lovers was captivating especially because they shared the same talent but wildly different worldviews and were forced to work it out to work together and be together.

And the cameos from Forget Me Not were so fun!

Overall this was a 5/5, must read, must binge, must buy!

This story hooked me from the start, and I just didn't want to put it down. The main characters are musicians and as their paths keep crossing in unexpected ways, I love the mysteriously deep connection that forms between them. The writer really illustrated the lifestyle of a musician - in multiple settings and levels of performance - in a way that was fun to read and gave a rich context for the characters to develop personally, professionally, and of course romantically. The side characters were entertaining as well, and it was fun to recognize certain faces that popped in from Julie Soto's previous book Forget Me Not. I smiled through both of these books, and look forward to reading more from this author!

i fell in love with soto’s first book so i KNEW i had to snag this one! i am so obsessed with this title and im convinced its going to be my top book of 2024! i cannot wait to get a physical copy!!

I have no worddddds for this!

First of all thank you endlessly to Julie and Forever and NetGalley for the ARC of this masterpiece. I’m so grateful because it’s exactly what I needed. I was feeling a bit burnt out and slumpy and this was like a shot of espresso to the SOUL!

As readers I feel like we’re constantly searching for that feeling you get when you’re reading what’s going to end up being one of your favorite books. This book was THAT GIRL 👏🏻

As a musician myself, I have to say, this book especially appealed to me. Made me want to go jam with my partner 🎶

The chemistry??? THE TENSION??? I devoured it- not a single crumb in sight. The fact that this started as Reylo fic? It’s like this was written just for me? 🙈

These characters had me blusssshhhing 🫣 It was SO refreshing to read a book where the MC is just completely gone for the FMC and just in awe of her talent and EVERYTHING.

I found these characters SO relatable. Julie is amazing at writing characters with depth. Even through the limited chapters we get of Alex’s POV we really get to know him.

I feel like I have so much more to say! I could rant about this forever.

Gwen is a self-taught violinist with amazing talent, playing a symphony. When she gets offered the job of first chair as a publicity stunt to raise money for the symphony, she realizes she’ll have to work with a rude first chair cello, who also happens to be the star of her favorite band. Gwen and Xander try to work together, and find out they have amazing chemistry.

I loved this book. So cute! I love the build up of their relationship. I’m a big fan of rivals/enemies to lovers and this one was great! The chemistry between the main characters was palpable. The third act break-up was not a miscommunication but a real relationship struggle, and I loved the resolutions at the end for all the characters.

Not another love song is a beautifully composed masterpiece.


Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

Ok, I want to start out by saying I really enjoyed this and you should read it. The love story was great - she falls first because he's famous and she loves his music, but he falls way WAY harder. The MMC is an icon in pop-classical crossover music and she's a major fan. I adored the inclusion of the Scooter Braun-type character and reading about the seedy underbelly of orchestra fundraising. I loved the references to popular, current soloists like Hilary Hahn and Nicola Benedetti, and I'm going to love seeing them read about themselves in this book - I hope they like it as much as I did!

My only issues with the book were because I'm a snob. I play music [not strings], though I wouldn't call myself a musician, and enjoy classical music. I loved the references to popular classical pieces, but I wish we had more variety to maybe pique people's interest in listening to pieces they haven't heard of before. I absolutely loved that we had a love story between two orchestral positions in prominent positions in their orchestra. I loved that they came from two different backgrounds, one academic and one more naturally gifted. The things is - I don't see a concertmaster of an orchestra, even a Pops orchestra, with absolutely zero conservatory training. It doesn't make any sense, and I can't see others in her section or other sections being okay with it.

I won't get into too many plot details because this book is pre-publication, but there some things that happened that I felt like simply would NOT happen among high level amateur or professional musicians—picking up an instrument at a gig that you don't play and playing it? Being called on stage by your idol to play a song, and you wind up playing for 6? At a concert that people paid to see the ACTUAL musician at? A professional cellist [PRINCIPAL CELLIST?] having issues playing Bach's Cello Suite? Idk Idk Idk.

HOWEVER all told, I was able to put those things aside because the story was cute and well-paced. I was glad to see this set in the world of classical music, and I hope we get more!

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the eARC!

Julie Soto does it again yall. When I say unputdownable, I mean it. I didn’t know how I was going to vibe with this one since it’s about two people in the orchestra and I don’t know the orchestra all that well or understand the culture of it, but boy am I ready to pick up a cello now. Alex was such a cutie pie and he PINED for her. And she made him work to prove himself. They simply are so perfect for each other and it was so beautiful to see them carve a little family into their lives after being surrounded by manipulative people who claimed they had their best interests but were only looking out for themselves. They are so cute together and Christmas Day made my heart warm (could also be heartburn from the copious amounts of cheese and chocolate I ate while reading this). I simply didn’t have time for proper sustenance when I needed to read this banger of a book. Can’t wait for everyone to read this and can’t wait for the next one!!

I went into this a little bit blind and was extremely surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Who knew that musical dynamics could be so enthralling? Most people know that listening to music can evoke intense feelings and emotions, but surprisingly, reading about it can also.
The tension between the MC’s at the beginning kept me interested, and the tender connection through their composition and playing held my interest throughout.
Absolutely recommend reading this, especially if you’re a music lover who is a sucker for a good romance!

I was lucky to get an ARC of this since it is one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 after reading "Forget Me Not". I was able to fall in love with both characters very easily and I love the style in which Julie Soto arranges the multi-POV. I find myself craving the 2nd perspective. Soto built the complexities in both main characters as well as with the supporting cast that really filled out the story. If you are looking for a complex romance this is for you!

I devoured this book and loved every bit of it! It hooked me from the start, and I loved Gwen and Alex's relationship. There was definitely angst, but I felt that the 3rd act breakup wasn't overly drawn out. Overall, this was a 5 star read for me, and I can't wait to see what JS comes out with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC!

I'm not a musical person, but I still enjoyed this very much. The emotion between Alex and Gwen was intense and I liked how the author used music to depict that. I suspect for someone with a musical background, this would be even more impactful. I re-read several parts because the emotion of the book was very compelling. Can't wait to read more of this author's work!

The grip this book has on me!!!! I could barely get any work done bc I wanted to finish it so bad. This book was SO fluffy, SO cute and SO sweet! Also the spicy scenes were so perfectly done as usual with a Julie Soto book.

The plot is absolutely screaming reylo and as a reylo Stan I’m for it! But despite the glaring neon “this is Kylo Ren!” Signs, I still visualize Alex as more of his own character.

If you like Ali hazelwood or any stem romance you’ll like this one!!!

This was a sweet and spicy modern romance that left me with all the warm and fuzzy feelings! As is typical with most romances, the third act conflict reared its ugly head, but I can report it centered around issues that went beyond miscommunication, my least favorite of tropes. The issues Gwen and Alex face will resonate with most adults who have struggled with life-changing decisions. This was my first Julie Soto book, and I am looking forward to reading more of her work!

I’ve loved following Julie Sotos venture from fanfic into published works. She deserves the hype!

This book was beautiful. -I know nothing about classical/instrumental music, but found the crossover of creative passion vs familial pressure to be a great dynamic for the main characters to work through both professionally, and personally.
The struggle is what brought them together! 👏🏼
I would hardly call this a rivalry romance, but more of a creative connection. Two prodigies forging out their futures.
The musical terms were used in relation to Alex and Gwen’s own love story, it felt so passionate and inspiring. Their relationship was a natural progression and with great tension that fell in perfectly with the other plot points.
New York as the setting worked so well. Almost like a little love story to the musical aspect of NYC.

Will happily be reading anything Soto writes!


Thank you NetGalley, for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review
And the publisher, Forever (Grand Central publishing)
Publication date: July 15, 2024

Loved this read! I feel like Soto outdid herself from her last romance novel, Forget Me Not. It was easy to relate to the main character, Gwen, and was just such a sweet (and steamy) story. Really enjoyed the musical aspect to it, as I know nothing about that lol. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the approval of this e-ARC, I ate it up!