I will read anything and everything Julie Soto writes. This book was exactly what I wanted. All the pining and the tension and the perfect pacing.

10/10

Julie Soto’s *Not Another Love Song* is a heartfelt romance that hits all the right notes. The story revolves around a rising singer-songwriter, Angie, who’s determined to make it big without losing her artistic soul to the music industry. Along the way, she navigates the turbulent waters of love, ambition, and self-discovery, with Soto weaving an engaging tale of passion and vulnerability.

What makes this book stand out is Soto's ability to create characters that are not only relatable but human. Angie is a wonderful protagonist—strong, determined, and refreshingly flawed. Her journey toward balancing love and ambition feels authentic and rooted in real emotional stakes. The chemistry between Angie and her love interest is palpable, yet Soto avoids cliché, bringing depth to their relationship that feels real and earned.

The novel also excels in its portrayal of the music world. Soto vividly captures the highs and lows of pursuing a career in the arts, from the exhilaration of success to the fear of losing one’s identity in the process. The balance between romance and Angie’s professional journey is handled masterfully, making the story about much more than just love—it's also about staying true to oneself.

A must-read for those who appreciate a strong, independent female lead and a story with heart and substance. Soto has crafted a book that is as much about finding love as it is about finding yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an e-arc!

This is my first book by this author, and I’m definitely interested in reading others!

Gwen is a dedicated violinist working in an orchestra. She also does weddings on the side, and one gig in particular ends up changing her life. Gwen shows up to a wedding ready to play the piano, only to find out that she is expected to play the cello. Gwen hasn’t played the cello in years, but she’s willing to give it her best shot because she can’t afford to lose the money from the gig. Only, Gwen has a violin with her, not a cello. Luckily, a member of the wedding party has a cello she can borrow- belonging to none other than Xander, a musician in one of Gwen’s favorite bands. Xander also happens to be a member of the same orchestra Gwen works for, despite him not remembering or recognizing her. Gwen is of course nervous to play the cello in front of a cello prodigy, but her performance definitely gets her noticed by him, for more reasons than one.

Xander sees Gwen’s potential and recognizes her rising talent. However, when Gwen is offered the coveted position of first chair in the orchestra, the basically non existent relationship between the two changes. As Xander and Gwen get to know each other better, they connect through their art and even help each other become better musicians. Their connection grows personally as well, revealing intense feelings that complicate things. At the same time, Gwen learns more about the orchestra she works for, discovering that things are not completely as they seem.

I really enjoyed Gwen and Xander’s story, and I liked them together but also as individual characters. Gwen was a likable character with a unique background, and Xander’s life is interesting and surprising as well. I always tend to enjoy stories that center around music, but it’s been a bit since I’ve read a book where the characters are violinists or cellists instead of members of a wildly successful group. There were some charming supporting characters too, like Maggie, who started off in Gwen’s life as her violin teacher and ended up being essentially a guardian, definitely a part of Gwen’s life and possibly the only one she’s had looking out for her for a long time.

I would describe this book as having grumpy/sunshine, and I think anyone who enjoys that trope should pick this one up. Even if you aren’t a fan of grumpy/sunshine, this one has plenty of other aspects that would be enjoyable to any romance fan.

I really wanted to like this book more but I just didn’t feel invested in the characters. The love story didn’t feel developed to me, and it seemed a lot like mostly lust, which didn’t read bad at all, but I just wasn’t as invested. The spice was well done, but I didn’t feel the emotional connection to the characters. This was enjoyable but just wasn’t my favorite. The relationship felt so focused on one aspect of their lives, music, which was a very unique connection.

I loved this book so much! The scenes where Gwen and Xander were playing music together it was very moving. There's definitely an emotional connection between the characters. As the reader I felt connected to them and was rooting for them all the way. I loved Gwen and Xander's chemistry and their musicality really outshine when they're playing together. Highly recommend!

Loved!!! I never knew I was so into string instruments, but here we are. I loved these characters and their story, there was so much tension I almost died. I would say the pace was a little wonky - I flew through the first 75% and then the last bit slowed down a lot. But overall, amazing 4.5 stars

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First off: THIS COVER?! This cover is perfection.

And second, Julie Soto made me want to play a string instrument hard core. This woman can write ‘em y’all.

The tension. The pining. The spice. All fantastically done! Please, I beg of you, pick this baddie of a book up! Just make sure you fan off after

This book walks the line between omg who knew strings could be so sexy and god damn enough with the instruments already. Thankfully it lives in the former for 86% of the story. THE TENSION between these two off stage but also on stage was so high. I loved that Alex and Gwen challenged each other, to be the best versions of themselves, to never become comfortable, but mostly to grow.
I really liked the twist on Alex’s POV, there’s not a lot and they are short but they helped me get into his head enough. The pining that comes from this man- yes please. Do yourself a favor and listen to the playlist- it’s beautiful. I’ve listened to book inspired playlists before, but never while reading (I usually need quiet) so this was a new experience and one I definitely enjoyed. Between this and FMN I’ve fallen in love with Julie Soto’s writing.

For the love of all things holy—-I got an epic sunburn bc I couldn’t move from my spit at the beach until I finished this book. And now THAT ONE scene lives rent free in my head. It JS writes it, I will read it!

4.0 Stars

Thank you NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Julie Soto for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thoughts:

After not being much of a fan of Julie Soto’s first novel, I was a bit hesitant and nervous to pick this book up, but also looking forward to giving this author another chance. AND BOY AM I SO GRATEFUL I DID! Not Another Love Song was beautiful, emotional, sexy, touching, full of tension, and an overall big fat hug.

The chemistry between Gwen and Alex/Xander was… delicious! I ate up every minute. I am an avid fan of all music, but never in my life would I think there could be so much steam during orchestra practice and performances!

This will absolutely be a future reread for me! I am excited for more of what Julie Soto has to offer following this!

P.s. Was it just me or was there something going on between Ava and Mabel?? This is my petition for a book between the two of them!

Paperback/Hardcover/Audiobook/E-book:

E-book/Audiobook

Pace:

Fast/Medium

Cover thoughts:

GORGEOUS!!! I feel the tension between them in the cover alone!

Triggers:

Mentions of Death, Illness, Toxic Relationships, Emotional Abuse, Sexual Content, Grief, Minor hint of Classism, etc.

Super cute! My first book by this author. I am a huge music lover so I loved that aspect of the book and the romance was cute! There were some weird parts so it was not five stars for me but definitely would recommend to a friend!

I loved Forget Me Not and had high expectations for this one. I was sadly very disappointed. The first part was great, but the book quickly lost steam and by the end I found it disjointed and exceptionally contrived. I also know that this book started as a Reylo fanfiction and it was not nearly enough removed from those origins, I say that as a Reylo fanfic reader and lover. I just expected so much more out of this book and found myself so very bummed by the execution.

I’m not a big fan of romance novels but for someone who has zero interest in classical music or orchestra, I was impressed by how invested I was with this story.

Was it realistic? Not at all. Did I skim through many of the sex scenes? Absolutely (this book felt spicier than her first) but the tension and chemistry between the two MCs was taught as their bow strings.

While I didn’t love this one quite as much as Forget Me Not, NALS definitely solidified Julie Soto as one of the few romance authors I will continue to read. She does a great job of creating cute and complex characters and putting them in sweet and spicy situations.

My major critique is… someone NEEDS to get her a new cover designer cuz the cover art on both these books is SO bad… (I’m sorry Julie, don’t hate me for this 🫣)

I really enjoyed this book! It caught my attention right away and I ended up reading it in just a couple of sittings. The chemistry between our two main characters was insane. Xander and Gwen were both really well rounded characters and I appreciate that we got to see all the facets of their personalities and lives. I also really enjoyed the musical aspect of this story, watching Gwen and Xander's love unfold through music was so special and added another emotional layer to the story.

After absolutely LOVING this author’s debut (Forget Me Not - 5 stars), I knew I had to pick this one up ASAP.

The chemistry between Gwen and Xander was great. I loved the very opening of the book - the handoff of FMC lead from Ama to Gwen to keep it all in the same universe. That was a fun callback to Forget Me Not and helped place this book.

People, Julie Soto knows how to write S P I C E. Any romance she writes, I’m going to read because she’s 2/2 in my book and only going up from there. This has everything you want in a romance: he falls first, workplace relationship, drama, and chemistry off the chartsssss. There’s a lot of buzz about the cello scene and yeah… there should be.

The reason I didn’t give this 5 stars: the conflict. **spoilers ahead I couldn’t get past Gwen’s naivete when it came to workplace loyalty and who she trusted. Every important character in her life (read: Mabel & Xander) spent the whole book warning her to watch out around Ava and Nathan and that they were just using her and would drop her when it worked best for them. And when she gets the opportunity to go on tour with Xander and let her light shine and play the music she wants to play and get recognition for being amazing she’s just like… but Ava and Nathan might still need to screw me over!! Gah. Girl. I think if the point of conflict had been a little more believable to where she actually should’ve stayed behind while he went on tour, this would’ve been 5 stars for me. But that part of the book was so frustrating - like have we gotten 8 hours into this audio and you’ve learned nothing??

That being said, it’s my pretty much only complaint. I liked Xander’s little asides and appreciate that his POV wasn’t the whole book. It gave his character some context but let Gwen gain her confidence and shine, like the way he knew she could. Their love story was sweet and I’m rooting for them.

Giving this book 5 stars feels so wrong because there’s not enough stars in this world to contain the multitude of emotions this made me feel. 5 stars is insulting to the absolute poetry this novel was.

♾️⭐️ 3🌶️

Where do I even begin this review? Do I start with the fact I have been reading this for over 2 months now and only allowed myself a few chapters every so often because I couldn’t bear to finish it? Or maybe with the fact this is one of the top romances books to have come out of 2024? Or that I haven’t been this captivated by fictional characters in this magnitude in such a while now?

Maybe I should start by going outside and touching some grass because the desire to run off and join an orchestra, find a man, and have a deep emotional connection and palpable chemistry from a mile away is so strong I’m starting to feel lightheaded.

This book is poetry on page. This is one of the hottest, most sensual books I have ever read and there is no kink, no super spicy scenes, there is no dirty talk, no “good girls”. They pull you in, they make you feel like you’re so deep in their world, in their story, in their music that you feel the tension. You feel the lust and the desire and love and you start to move when they move. I didn’t read this book, I saw this. I am as seeing it all play out as if I was in it. It was the craziest part about this experience. It was like the feeling I get when I go to a live orchestra show and the music feels like it’s coming from within me, like I am the music and just get to sit there and let it all flow.

Since this book was announced I have been screaming into the universe that this is the hottest book cover of 2024. I can now confirm that the scene out of which the cover is based is also one of the hottest scenes I’ve read all year and this says a lot coming from someone who thoroughly enjoyed the Throne Scene in Honey Cut by Sierra Simone this year. I want this cover, that scene, Alex Fitzgerald, and Gwen Jackson tattooed onto my soul, my DNA.

Chemistry chemistry chemistry!!! This book was pure chemistry and sexual tension, GOD THE SEXUAL TENSION. It was palpable. They would look at each other across the room and I would get shivers running through my body. I’ve never wanted to be an object more than I’ve wanted to be Xander’s freaking Stradivarius Cello all throughout this book. What Julie Soto did with these characters would have gotten her executed in 1692 for being a witch. A witch with a delicious brain and a laptop.

I could go on and on and on. But let me put it into simple worlds… when I win the lottery I won’t say a thing. But there will be signs because I will personally pay to produce this into a movie.

Go read it. Now.

“…hearing her play the cello part filled in all the gaps inside himself he’d been missing.”

Julie Soto has done it again! One of the most romantic, sensual, and emotional romances I’ve read. I was in love with this from page 1 and I could not stop reading.

I have NO WORDS??? This story is filled with a comforting depth that you don’t find in all romance. I absolutely loved the incorporation of music into their love story. Truly, this was beautifully and inspiringly written.

I absolutely loved this book, but I do have a complaint. This do not stop this book from being a 5 star, it's just a one thing I would have liked to see.
I LOVED THAT AMA AND ELLIOT ARE IN THIS BOOK!!! :D

This story follows Gwen, a self-taught violinist, and Xander, a cocky, better-than-you cellist, as they work together at "the Pop." Gwen has known Xander personally for a year but had followed him through his band "Thorn and Roses" for years.

Throughout the story we learn that Xander is actually a violinist prodigy and had been playing violin since he was 3 and only switched to cello when he wanted to step out of his moms limelight and become his own person. Xander and Gwen first start to have a growing friendship which quickly blooms to a relationship. One night she goes home with him and she just never goes back to her apartment.
The relationship starts to fall apart after Gwen performs with Thorn and Roses in Boston and U2 wants them to go on tour together. Gwen is in contract with the Pop and doesn't want to disappoint anyone and Xander wants them to say forget it and go on tour. They get in an argument and Xander just walks away to shower and Gwen ends up leaving their hotel room because she felt as though they were over and Xander had dismissed her. Xanders agent convinces him to block Gwen's number and go on tour. Gwen decides to go to LA from New York to try to work things out with Xander. Her boss ends up finding out about her plan and has Xanders agent intercept her and threatens her with a restraining order if she doesn't leave Xander alone.
I think the part that I start to dislike it just how fast they forgive each other and move past their fight. They are supposed to be separated for weeks and they just apologized and both agreed to move on with basically no conversation. I would have liked to see some better communication and some more dialogue to get through the issues.
Honestly other than that though, it was great.

This book was a no-brainer for me the moment I knew it was going to be released. I loved Forget Me Not so much, and I still can’t believe that these two books are Julie Soto’s first published works. I’m not one of the Kylo Ren fanfic girlies, but I enjoyed it just the same. I know nothing about the Pops Orchestra world, but my lack of orchestral knowledge wasn’t enough to spoil the book for me. Some of the characters weren’t fully flushed out to me (or not in the way they could/should have been) but that’s a very minor complaint. Xander’s parents were super gross to me, but that’s all part of what made him so complicated. The resolution felt rushed and wasn’t the best in my opinion, but again, minor complaint that would not keep me from reading the book again.