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!

I loved everything about this book. I thought the relationship between the two main characters was amazing, so much tension and chemistry! I also loved all of the side characters and I thought they added a lot of humor and comfort to not only the min characters but the readers as well. I will read anything that Julie Soto writes!

Amazing book. The attention to details, especially about music and orchestra was very impressive. I know absolutely nothing about that, but was able to understand everything. Loved the two main characters, their chemistry was explosive. Also loved all of the side characters.

I suddenly wish this book came with a soundtrack.

Yes, this book is super Kylo/Rey coded. I'm not into it personally but it's clear that there is a big audience that ships them. If you are a shipper, don't miss this book! Xavier/Alex has it BAD for Gwen. I mean BAD. Julie Soto's writing style and flow reminded me of Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis (also Kylo/Rey lol). However, this book is in 3rd POV and I think it worked even better that way! Usually, I like single POV but the 3rd POV helped ease some of the tension and see both of their perspectives.

Fans of Forget Me Not will love to see Ama and Elliot pop up here and there. I personally was disappointed in that book so I went in to this with low-ish expectations. I didn't gel with Forget Me Not and now I realize that a big part of that was because of the flow and the past/present aspect that dragged on for me. Since this book didn't rely on flashbacks, it was a lot smoother to read.

Also, I loved the forward! I always love to read about real-life encounters inspire the author.

What to expect in Not Another Love Song
-grumpy/sunshine
-grumbly/grumpy/alphahole
-they're both in a musical group together
-found family
-🌶🌶

Gwen Jackson loves her job as a violinist in the Pops Orchestra. Ultimately she wants a stable job where she can live comfortably in New York. While at one point Julliard was the dream, it wasn't meant to happen for Gwen financially. Having no family left of her own, Gwen relies on the support of her music teacher and her best friend and roommate Jacob.

When Jacob and Gwen find themselves playing for a wedding theres a bit of a mishap and Gwen finds herself playing the cello instead of the violin. But not just any cello (!!!!), the cello of star Xander Thorne. If Xander wasn't a conceited ass he'd realize that they'd been in Pops together for over a year. The only reason Gwen has to play the cello and not Xander is because he's actually part of the wedding party. Not only does he not remember her, but he also critiques her performance. Gwen has had enough of Xander Thorne and her crush on him and his band go up in flames.

Soon after, Gwen is offered the role of First Chair with the Pops. To say Xander is upset would be an understatement and he conveniently takes his frustrations out on Gwen. But when Gwen and Xander keep bumping into one another and ultimately play some music together they both realize they have chemistry that is undeniable. Gwen is falling and falling hard. But is she falling for the rock star Xander Thorne who is confident and surly or the sweet man who loves making music with her?

I loved both Gwen and Xander's characters. They were both so complicated for different reasons. And yet their attraction was always sizzling on the page. I loved any moment they had together and their dialogue was either giving me butterflies or making me giggle and kick my feet!

I will say that Not Another Love Song did start off a bit slowly for me. But once the story started moving I had a hard time putting it down. There were so many scenes that had me 🫠.

Overall I would give Not Another Love Song 4.5 stars, but rounding up!

I read Forget Me Not last year and immediately fell in love with Julie Soto's writing style. I couldn't wait for Not Another Love Song. I already can't wait to read whatever book Julie decides to write next!

I really enjoyed Forget Me Not and was looking forward to this book. It was nice to have a little cameo from Ama and Elliot but selfishly, I would have liked to hear a little more about what they are up to now.
I felt a little lost with all the orchestra and music composition references - I don't have any background with music. I think one villain would have been enough, we didn't need two. Overall I liked Gwen and Alex/Xander's relationship, they were well-written and I also liked the side characters of Mabel, Jacob, Declan, and Mei. Can we get a Mabel book??

A rockstar cellist (yeah that’s a thing) and a professional violinist butt heads constantly… until they don’t.

I thought this book was fantastic! I read Julie Soto’s first novel and thoroughly enjoyed myself. This one was even better. Julie has a wonderful voice that makes reading her books easy and impactful.

Gwen and Alexander were such an entertaining couple to read about. I didn’t hate either of them (a miracle) and actually enjoyed reading their thoughts. I also loved all the side characters.

If you’re a romance reader or someone wanting to get into romance, pick this one up! You won’t regret it.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
🌶️🌶️🌶️
Netgalley arc 🙂

Before I read this book, I did not realize that I needed an orchestra romance in my life the way I need air to breathe. I read this in one sitting.

Loved the cameos from Ama and Elliot from Forget Me Not. I really liked that book, but this book clearly had me in a chokehold. The tension between Xander and Gwen was juuust right. It's mostly her POV, but I enjoyed the brief glimpses into his thoughts. To be honest, I'm not really sure what these characters have in common besides being musicians, but it absolutely does not matter. No notes.

This book was SO good!! I LOVED their dynamic. The way Julie writes yearning is so good and now I'm gonna listen to all of the violin and cello music I can. This book isn't fully dual POV, but we do get his perspective at various point throughout the book.

I finished the book in one day and could not stop reading. I absolutely loved it! The tension between Alex ‘Xander’ and Gwen spat from the pages. I have not felt this kind of giddiness in a long time. After I fell in love with Julie Soto’s first book, I knew that I would love this book too. It was nice to read that they both made decisions based off what suited them best but ultimately towards each other.

The only minor thing I missed was more of Alex’s POV.

Thank you for providing an E-ARC!

Wow, wow, wow!!!

Gwen is an orphaned 22 year old who loves playing in the Pops orchestra, but has been hesitant to stand out. Xander Thorne is a musical celebrity that is fighting to find what he wants from his career. Xander and Gwen first meet each other at a wedding where Gwen is playing. From there, they find that they have a common history and both want to be leaders in the Manhattan Pops orchestra. Will Gwen be able to trust Xander given that they want the same first chair and they be able to come together despite outside forces trying to pull them apart?

I loved this book! 4.5⭐️ and highly recommend! Gwen and Xanders relationship and their love of music was beautifully written. I am not musically inclined and reading the descriptions of the music they made/played was intricate and captivating. This book is mostly in Gwen's POV, but I enjoyed the Cello Suite chapters that were from Xanders POV. I have not read Forget me Not and now it is on the top of my TBR.

I truly loved this book. Julie has a way of describing the music battles between Alex and Gwen that gave me goosebumps. I can't get enough of these characters. And the spice was perfection

Adorable romance. Loved the orchestra/music rep! Would definitely recommend to my fellow music lovers. :)

I ate this up!!! This was such a fun read and rivals to lovers does it for me every time. The tension and chemistry between Alex and Gwen was SO good. I mean that cello scene omfg???🥵

I don’t know much about being in an orchestra but I still enjoyed that aspect of the book, especially with it being set in NYC! When they played music together it felt so romantic. She did such a beautiful job of setting the scene.

The only reason this wasn’t 5 stars is bc once the third act breakup hit it went kinda downhill for me. I also usually don’t love 3rd person POV but I didn’t mind it in this, and I loved the chapters from Alex’s perspective! Overall I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a fun and spicy romance!

Absolutely devoured this new story from Soto. This was my most anticipated story of the summer and it did not disappoint.