This book was sooooo good! I love how the author uses music in their love story. The main characters come together in such a sexy, unique way.

Julie Soto did it again!! I fell in love with her writing style when I read her last book and knew I just needed to get my hands on a copy of this one. I highly recommend this book

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eGalley.

This was my first book by Soto and I thought it was okay. I personally didn't connect with either characters and found our FMC attraction to the MMC a bit odd. She went from hating him (no reason) to being attracted to him. Also, the third act break up? Why?

I think those who like insta love, music, and third act breakup tropes will enjoy this one.

I had some reallllly high hopes for this book after Julie Soto's popularity last year (though I still haven't read Forget Me Not) and then seeing some really positive early reviews for this one. I'm admittedly not a musical person myself, but I have LOVED books with musical elements in the past (Symphony of Secrets & The Violin Conspiracy are two of my all-time favorites) so I was hoping it would be the same case here. And I did love the musical parts of this book - especially the opening scene and how immediately we could feel how talented the main character is and the love interest's respect for her. What I didn't enjoy as much was the romance. I think this might be because the main characters have a past together that we don't get to see, so I was missing the emotional connection once they went right to the physical one. Also the workplace aspects... I don't know how realistic this part was, with the Manhattan Pops and the political nature of the main character's role in the group, but it just annoyed me more than anything. Overall I'm disappointed that this wasn't a new favorite, but now that I know this was actually Julie Soto's FIRST book that she wrote, and that it was originally intended as Reylo fanfic, I'll be more likely to read her future books as she gets more practice and hopefully gets out of that fanfic space.

Gwen is a concert violinist who performs with the Manhattan Pops, a popular orchestra that performs contemporary music. Coming from playing in the subway for tips, Gwen’s musical experience is wildly different from Xander Thorne’s, the star cellist of the Pops and a rock star-ish performer in the concert scene. Gwen and Xander are drawn together by their music and sparks fly. When Gwen is promoted to first chair, Xander questions the motivations of the heads of the orchestra in doing so, leading Gwen determined to prove her promotion was based on talent and not because she’s a beautiful face that can sell tickets.
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A really great story with a strong plot and engaging characters. It was a unique plot that felt fresh. I love reading something that feels completely new to me. I loved the world they lived in and thought their chemistry was off the charts. However, when I finished it, I didn’t feel like Gwen and Alex would be a couple very far into the future. Despite the theme of music and performance drawing them together, I felt like there were too many differences between them for their relationship to last long. They worked well together and performed well together but this wasn’t necessarily a romance in my opinion. It didn’t feel romantic or full of love. The spice was great though. That aside, it didn’t really stop my enjoyment of the book.

Thank you to Julie Soto, Grand Central Publishing (Forever) and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book.

If you are a musician, this book is for you!

Not Another Love Song, was exactly that. It was a love song to musicians. Julie did an excellent job at showing how music can impact our emotions. Music makes us feel so much more when we open ourselves up and allow it to flow freely in us.

I believe that is what Gwen and Alex are portraying in their story. The impact music has on us.

Gwen was an amazing violinist. She gave it her all, when she was paying her violin. But, she struggled with wanting to please others and not actually feeling the emotion of the songs she was playing.

Alex was the opposite. He put his entire heart into playing the cello. But, there was still something missing in his life.

Gwen and Alex both had different perspectives on how and why they played their instruments. But, in the end, they realized that they both wanted to same outcome.

Julie Soto never misses. Ever. Love her, her books, her characters—she’s an auto buy author. Her prose never fails to rope me in and invest me so thoroughly in her characters and storyline. Her works are truly in a league of their own.

This book kept me on my toes from the very beginning...
It's so well written that every line is just a picture before your eyes... no moments with a lot of questions.
The characters and the scenes are beautifully written.
I've never had the desire to go to an orchestra concert or to learn more about it, but this book made me want to.

Not Another Love Song started off really slow for me, where I couldn't decide if l even liked both MC's. Then around the 50% mark, the book hit me with an Uno Reverse and all of the sudden, l couldn't put the book down and was cheering on the MC's. I think Julie Soto is quickly becoming a fav author!

Thanks to Netgalley for the E-ARC. This book was like listening to sweet sweet music. Gwen and Alex what can I say the MMC was sooooo troubled but in a way that you just wanted to hug him and say shhh its gonna be okay. This book was a little bit dark but still gave all those gushy feels everything just flowed together. I hope there is more in this series because I want to see more of Gwen and Alex

This book. This beautiful book with characters you love but also want to strangle. You need this book. This is rivals to lovers with some I hate you but oh I want you thrown in. I loved Xander/Alex even though he was kind of a jerk. I think he wasn't so much a jerk as much as a person who had no idea how to people and Gwen just brought out the best/worst in him. The two make such beautiful music together and I had a lot of fun reading this. I may never look at string instruments the same way again.

This was my first book by Julie Soto, but it won't be the last. I can't wait to go back and read Forget Me Not by her as well. Gwen is a people pleaser and Alex comes out to feel a little snobbish and like he thinks he's better than everyone. The way Alex treats Gwen is so beautiful, and shows just how much he loves her.

I had the thought in my head that this was a perfectly acceptable romance, but not one I’d particularly remember in a couple of months, then it to to the scene where Xander has Gwen play the piece he wrote for her without her knowing that and I was like. Hmm. Perhaps I will remember. After that, we were off to the races and I was invested. (However it was also odd that Xander/Alex was fully tripping over himself for this girl he’d had maybe 2 actual conversations with, but sure). Once we got past the part where he was just glaring at her across the stage and they started speaking, it was fun and dramatic and emotional. You can see where this was originally a fanfiction, but it has all of what makes fanfiction so fun.

This was also around the time Gwen started to grow a backbone, so that helped. I am so, so tired of reading about female characters who are incredibly naive about the shady things that happen behind the scenes in their career fields (not saying these things should happen or be accepted but like… do they live under a rock). Maybe I’m just tired of the plot line where the character arc is all about ~finding your voice and gaining self-confidence~. Obviously that can be done very well, but why does it always have to be that? Anyway, Gwen did have that character arc but it wasn’t as obnoxious as it could have been and it happened gradually, not all at once at the end. I was proud of her.

This book also really captured all of the great parts of playing music. Sight-reading? So much fun. Playing live and having the music surround you? Amazing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this arc!

It’s a no for me. DNF at 13%. I just couldn’t get into this plot or characters and it is not because it was in 3 PPOV. Which by the way I was shocked to discover when my bestie told me about it. Really disappointed it didn’t work out since I absolutely loved Forget me Not. Thank you NetGalley

Julie Soto has done it again!!!! This was the book of the year for me so far! Not only was it released on my birthday, but I truly feel like this book was written for me. Gwen and Xander’s musical connection felt as easy and whimsical as their love story. Although they went through some hardships, Soto’s writing style keeps everything entertaining and romantic. This is definitely in my top romances!

Cute and quick read - beautifully highlighting the inside of the music industry while also celebrating a lead who puts her career first. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free advance copy.

Not Another Love Song is a tale of two musician prodigies who find each other through working at the Manhattan Pops-- but one is also a rock star musician, and the other is a long time fan! So in a chance meeting outside of work and he gets to hear her play outside of work, so starts an obsession to make music and love together.

Also, this book is very specifically a re-written/named Star Wars fic (the author explains this both in the forward and the afterward). Even outside the main two (is Adam Driver getting royalties for the cover??) you can tell who some of the other characters started life as, and sometimes it was distracting or a bit of a stretch

I'm not someone who can easily put aside reality when I'm reading, even romance novels, so the whole, "TWO child prodigies! And now she can play cello and it's still but enough to make this dude fall head over heels for her! And now she's FIRST CHAIR after two years!'

I really didn't like most of this book! It started getting better, to me, at about 60%-plus in but as someone who reads fic I can tell that this book, being formerly a fanfic, very much relies on the readers already familiar with the characters -- what they LOOK like (I cannot tell you what Lorenz is supposed to look like, or Nathan, etc), what they're all about -- and because this is supposed to be a standalone novel we are not supposed to have that familiarity already. And me, who is not really a fan of the newer Star Wars movies and definitely not into Reylo (no hate, I just don't... get it...) I don't have those assumptions and the things the Reylo fans like already built in.

Also, the sex scenes were built up to be these great things and I honestly... fell asleep during at least two of them, and when reading I had to go back because I had missed something happening and was like "they're doing what now?"

It's a shame because I actually really like the 'he falls first' vibe when a dude is just like DOWN BAD for the other party but maybe it's because it seemed really sudden or out of nowhere with him still being a dick to her or making assumptions and then Gwen just really not having... .much personality at all. Maybe again this is where the writing assumes you're supposed to know what they're like already due to fic-origin?

I used to play violin (I only stopped because of familial moving!) and I was in a school orchestra and I just... I don't know, man. There were so many things in this book that SHOULD have hit that just really did not for me. Instead, I was just sort of gritting my teeth at this dude and how he treated her despite wanting things from her. It's also a shame because I've only heard great things about Julie Soto (I'm a Sacramento-person! Everyone here sings high praises of Forget Me Not!) so I'll try that book... but this one.... well, I finished the whole thing, anyway, and I'm glad I did because it did get better in the last third... but man. Disappointing overall.

Three stars instead of two because it did turn a bit around and also I know a lot of it is "maybe this is not for me".... or at least I hope so! It really should have been for me though looking at the bullet points.

I absolutely devoured this book, definitely a 5 star read for me, and it was beautifully written, and didn’t want to put down this book. He falls first and tries to help her better her playing and career as a violinist, while she’s tried and fails to avoid him. The spice scene was very artistically done, and not written like your typical scene. This book is written with music details, but I feel like even people without a music background can enjoy the details in the book.

I was THRILLED to receive an ARC for Julie Soto's next release. I LOVED Forget Me Not. With that said, these characters fell a little flat for me (no musical pun intended). The FMC is quite naive - wish she had been a bit more complex. The MMC? Excuse me sir but no, not dreamy enough. I loved the musical references and getting a glimpse into a life not often told in stories. And I would 100% pick up Julie Soto's next release but this was 3.5 for me. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Julie Soto does it again! This was everything I could’ve asked for in a romance. I felt so sucked in from the beginning. Enemies to lovers is my FAVORITE, so reading how their dynamic played out was a real treat. Though I’ll admit, I am not a musical person and it took me some time to grasp the concepts discussed particularly in the beginning about the various string instruments. But I’m telling you, I will buy ANYTHING Julie Soto writes for the rest of my life!