When I read Soto's debut book last year, I knew she was going to be an auto-buy author for me. She's such an amazing storyteller, and Forget Me Not was positively swoon-worthy. I mean, heart-growing, pearl-clutching, swoontastically romantic, and I can't get enough. So, when I was offered an early copy of her second book, Not Another Love Song, I jumped at the chance to read it. I have to say, it exceeded my expectations!

The chemistry between Gwen and Alex is off the charts, and I want to officially add Alex to my favorite book boyfriends list. Oh my word, get a fan because this man is fire! He falls so hard and so fast for Gwen, who is enthralled but a bit more hesitant than Alex. I feel like I could write pages about their relationship and how it grew and changed over the course of the story because it's so rich and powerful and ROMANTIC! They literally make beautiful music together, and though I sometimes had no idea what they were talking about when it came to music, the angst, sexual tension, and chemistry were off the charts!

Gwen and Alex are both talented musicians, with very different backgrounds. Alex is a child prodigy who is now the front man in a popular band. He's also from a musically influential family, whereas Gwen is working her way up in the music industry and struggles to make ends meet. It's an interesting look, not just at two imperfect people who are perfect for each other but also at the complexities of the industry. The author also delves deep into the beauty and power of music. It's done exceptionally well, and the music Alex and Gwen create captures their feelings for each other so perfectly. There are definitely some music-making, sexy scenes that will live rent-free in my head for a while. lol

If you liked Forget Me Not, you'll be thrilled to know that several of the characters (including the MMC and FMC) have minor roles in this book. I LOVED that! Seeing how their relationship has progressed and what's going on in their lives made me so happy. I also really liked the messages in the book. Like the characters, the plot is unique, well-developed, nuanced, and compelling. It's the type of read that is fun and romantic but also has some powerful and thought-provoking themes as well as some funny and some touching moments. It's so much more than a love story, and I adored every second of it!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

▪️𝘕𝘠𝘊 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨
▪️𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦
▪️𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘹𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘺
▪️𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺

ooooh there was just something about the end of this that had me so legitimately happy. like my cold heart was smiling. i’m a sucker for a creatives romance, and this delivered in that sense🩷
thank you @netgalley and @readforeverpub for the eARC🎻

Thank you Forever Pub and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

Julie Soto does it again. I'm completely obsessed with Alex Fitzgerald and his alter ego Xander Thorne. This was excellently done--the tension, the characters, the plot. Easily one of my favorite romances of the summer and I can't wait for what Soto does next.

Not Another Love Song is out July 16.

I can’t put my fingers on if it’s the characters, the beats, the writing, but Julie Soto makes magic. 

It’s the five-star you know it is when you start reading, it’s in the first tense moments. It’s the way she crafts so much care for the main character within only the first two pages. Without getting to know her completely I was ready to lay down hands for Gwen just like Jacob. 

It’s the book you pace because you know there’s no re-reading it for the first time. 

The emotions! I could feel every note of Gwen learning of Alex and his life.

The moments sitting across each other have me clinging from one page to the next. Alex is OBSESSED and I’m always here for that. 

The music they create is like it’s on the tip of my ear, like I can hear it but I wish I actually could because I know it would be beyond beautiful and deadly to my heart. 

A five-star emotional romance that has you scrolling through orchestra playlists until you can find a song that replicates the magic of this novel if one even exists.

REVIEW: Not Another Love Song ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Ok, Not Another Love Song was just the book I needed now. It gave me so many feelings and kept me hooked throughout. I’m actually a bit sad that it is done.

Xander Thorne is a famous cello player in a band called Thorne and Roses. Gwen is part of the orchestra Manhattan Pops as a violin player. Gwen has a huge celebrity crush on Xander, so when she sees him as the first cello chair in Pops, she is super nervous. Things start to change around Pops and Gwen is promoted to first chair violin. A rivalry begins between Gwen and Xander; how will this tension affect the orchestra?

Not Another Love Song was a great romance that really drew me in. It features rivals to lovers, insta love, and lots of sexual tension. All this together not only created a sweet and deep romance story but also brought the spice in! I didn’t know the orchestra and instruments could be so sexy. ;-) Not Another Love Song also had strong themes of self-discovery, found family, and learning not to do everything to please others. Xander and Gwen were the perfect imperfect characters. They both had realistic flaws and strengths. Plus their chemistry together was top-notch.

The only minor thing is that I wished that there were a few more chapters from Xander’s point of view. There were some, but not as many as there were in Gwen’s point of view.

I really loved Not Another Love Song. It was just what I needed: a sweet, steamy, and cute romance.

Thank you, Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for the free advanced copy for my honest review!

First of all, thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Here is what I’ll say, this felt like a case of “it’s not you, it’s me”. Musicians have always given me the ick, there is something about the emotions behind music that I cannot personally understand. It feels like too much for me and since this book follows two musicians…I struggled a bit.

However, I can absolutely see the beauty in this story and the music and the love story.

I’d also say that I wish the forward of the book hadn’t told me this was a fanfic because throughout the entire story it just kept feeling like a fanfic to me. I’ve never read a fan fiction story and truthfully, I have no desire to, so I wish that tidbit of information had been in the acknowledgments after the book and maybe my feelings would have changed.

I also kind of wish we had just a little bit more from Alex’s POV. I think it could have added to the story just a bit more. He was almost TOO mysterious.

Overall though, I did think the book was cute. It was a pretty typical romance and I can see how and why some readers would love this story!


3.5 ⭐️ | 📚 | 🌶️🌶️ (1.5)

1000000000 stars.

I didn't know I needed this enemies to lovers orchestra edition romance. Once I started reading, I could not put this book down. I was giggling, screaming, gasping, blushing- so many emotions while reading. The tension, the banter, the spice! I am absolutely speechless trying to write this.

THE CELLO SCENE. I WILL NEVER RECOVER!

One of the best romances I have read. Period.

I would recommend if you enjoy

*enemies to lovers
*slow burn
* classical music
* Reylo Fanfic

Do yourself a favor and listen to the playlist on Spotify. Beautiful.

THANK YOU SO MUCH JULIE SOTO, FOREVER PUBLISHING AND NETGALLEY FOR THIS ARC!

This was a fast paced enemy to lovers story. I thought it started off slow but it picked up speed pretty quickly. It had a perfect amount of spice done tastefully. I will be recommending!

I absolutely adore Kyle and Ren inspired reads. There were a few moments that I definitely saw it in this book. But this one just fell flat for me.

"Not Another Love Song" by Julie Soto is an absolutely adorable story about two classical musicians with undeniable chemistry that will definitely get your heart tempo revved up a few notches.

Gwen Jackson and Xander Thorne are both musical prodigies but have had very different paths to success. Xander was born into classical music royalty, while Gwen's natural ear for music was nurtured by a kind shop owner. After Gwen performs at his friend’s wedding, she’s mortified when she realizes Xander has no clue who she is—despite having worked together for a year at the Pops Orchestra. To make matters worse, he arrogantly critiques her performance. The tension between them escalates when Gwen is offered the role of First Chair of the orchestra, a position Xander had secretly coveted for years.

Their existing hostility intensifies, but so does their respect for each other's music, and their onstage chemistry is off the scale. As they begin to explore their feelings for one another, their blossoming romance is threatened by a publicity stunt that could crush their fragile relationship.

This novel is a well-executed rivals-to-lovers story that incorporates some typical romcom tropes while managing to establish a romance you’ll definitely root for. While Gwen, our main protagonist, makes some questionable decisions and the classical music elements sometimes feel a bit heavy-handed, Gwen and Xander's story is compelling and heartwarming.

"Not Another Love Song" is the perfect summer read for fans of Julie Soto and Reylo fanfic, blending musical passion with romantic tension in a delightful way.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed Julie Soto's steamy debut romance, 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘔𝘦 𝘕𝘰𝘵 and enjoyed her sophomore novel 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆 even more.

“𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯.”

The main characters are Violin/Cello prodigies that are brought together by a Pops Orchestra. I loved how the author used music as a love language in bringing Alex and Gwen together. It was breathtaking. It stole my heart and I read it in two sittings.

MORE:
Reylo-fanfiction-to-trad-publishing
Rivals to Lovers
Third person from Gwen's perspective with interludes from Alex's POV.
Chemistry & heft. Tension & angst.
4 (steam level)
Complemented and challenged
Wishing there was a soundtrack

I originally wanted to give this 4 stars but to me a 4 stars is a love and I didn't really love this - more like a 3 or 3.5 stars. I did enjoy the book, but there were so many things that felt off or unrealistic about this love story. This book had a insta-love component which is just not my favorite - which is a me problem since I prefer a slow burn. I never made it past 9th grade band, but I cannot imagine a professional orchestra moving a girl up to first chair because it was "good publicity". I also just didn't really get butterflies as I read this book. There were parts I really enjoyed and I loved how it ended, some parts just really didn't make sense. Maybe it was the characters age (young 20s) but I just don't think I was the target audience for this book.

5 f*cking stars ⭐️ Julie soto’s best work!

What to expect:
✨ contemporary romance
✨ musicians falling in love
✨ he’s an arrogant, superstar cellist
✨ she’s a wallflower and talented violinist
✨ rivals to lovers
✨ he falls first
✨ insane sexual tension
✨ 4/5 🌶️
✨ found family

My Thoughts:

I am absolutely, positively, unequivocally obsessed!!!! Once I picked this up, I couldn’t put it down! I’m legit in safari in Africa and I was reading this in the damn car during game drives because I was so enthralled!

The MCs, Xander and Gwen are perfection! They are well developed characters with flaws and issues they learn to overcome in this story. And everything about their progression as characters felt natural. I really loved Gwen and wanted the best for her, and I was in love with Xander 💕

The romance was everything! And the sexual tension was to die for! This is one of, if not the best, tension filled stories I’ve ever read! My stomach was fluttering and heart was pounding during so many chapters! The romance was gripping from beginning to end! Bonus, it felt believable. I loved that while Xander and Gwen’s romance is hot and heavy, it was also beautiful and romantic. And while they had some complications, it wasn’t overly or unrealistically complicated. Just enough to make my heart hurt for a little with the knowledge everything will be just fine.

I am obsessed with the music aspect. I don’t know if it’s because I played classic piano since I was 8 and love to sing, but I understood the way music affected them. Gwen and Xander are the definition of soulmates and seeing their love story unfold through music was breathtaking. I just wish I could listen in real life to the music they wrote together.

The spice was spicing! Good tension always makes the spice better. And that was the case here. Every single kiss had me hot and bothered. The way Xander plays Gwen’s body. . . the freaking cello scene!!! 🥵And I loved that these spicy scenes really reflected their deep love and admiration and need for one another. It was intimacy on a whole different level.

I haven’t felt this obsessed about a book in a while. Bravo! Favorite book of 2024!

4.5 stars! ⭐️

Julie Soto writes tension between characters so well. Two musicians who are rivals, in a way. Gwen, who is a violinist for the Manhattan Pops and Xander Thorne, cellist in Gwen’s favorite band who joins the Pops for a season. Xander has no idea who Gwen is until they run into each other when she’s playing at a wedding. Except people at the wedding are calling him…Alex?

They continue to cross paths and connect from there. You get glimpses of Alex’s POV throughout the novel but it’s primarily written from Gwen’s perspective. Alex has always been looking to make a name for himself and Gwen has always been in search of security and stability but they continue to connect over the music.

The tension between them is delicious! Alex is a grump but totally down bad for Gwen. The setting of New York and musicians is intriguing. Seeing the characters really wrestle with their mistakes, regrets, and desires is compelling. However, the story fell apart a little bit at the end for me with the agent/producer.

Overall for the vibes it was a fun book!

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝑵𝒐𝒕 𝑨𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐲𝐞𝐬. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧? 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞! 𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞!) 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 (𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧).

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐚 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐨, 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮!! 𝐀𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜, 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈’𝐦 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐜, 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐧-𝐰𝐢𝐧.

𝐌𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐆𝐰𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐗𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐨 𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 (𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰) 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧!

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒥𝓊𝓁𝒾𝑒 𝒮𝑜𝓉𝑜, 𝐹𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 (𝒢𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒞𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓇𝒶𝓁 𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔), & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

A Reylo inspired professional orchestra enemies to lovers with a fully formed cast of lovely characters.

Gwen is a *almost* 23-year-old violin player for a pop orchestra in NYC. She is on her way to living her dream, she thinks, when the orchestra asks her to take the first chair and concertmaster role after her idol retires. The only issue is Xander Thorne the first chair cellist and band member in Gwen's favorite musical group. For some reason that Gwen doesn't understand, Xander becomes singularly focused on her. As the orchestra's season progresses so does Xander and Gwen's relationship.

I should really take a few points off of this book because they only mention the oboe 3 times but I'll let it slide. As a member of a community orchestra I LOVED this novel. Soto did a great job doing the research to make the orchestra aspect of the novel accurate and believable! This book is heavier on the romance than Soto's last book but I didn't think it was too much.

Thank you to NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

And honestly… I did not like this. Not Another Love Song made me feel uncomfortable and I almost DNF’d multiple times, however I felt obligated to finish it. The last ~10ish% was really my favourite part of the book. I was not interested or invested in the main characters, Gwen and Xander/Alex, nor was I interested in their story. I’m not sure if it was just me and the fact that I wasn’t enjoying this book, but it felt flat and like it jumped around very abruptly and chunks were missing. It took me 10 days to get through this and I dreaded picking it up.

I love Julie Soto. She absolutely got me with forget me not and she’s done it again. I love her story telling ability and how unique her stories are.

I don’t think that I had considered the cello or violin sexy before, but I feel like I need to watch some orchestra performances.

Soto does a great job of weaving together two part of the story. The romance portion, and Gwen’s self identity and exploration of who she wants to be in her career. I thought it was beautiful both in the romance and self discovery.

I will continue to read whatever Julie Soto puts out

What does she put in these books!! If Julie writes it, I simply can't put it down.

- violinist x cellist
- workplace
- rivals to lovers vibes
- steamy

I was so hooked by this story. There was something about the feeling of music mixed with their budding emotions for each other and the way they fit together so seamlessly that was just intoxicating. Gwen and Alex challenged each other and made each other better versions of themselves and as musicians.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was my first Julie Soto book and I really enjoyed it. I admit, I don’t know the first thing about playing a string instrument so most of the terminology/technique went right over my head, but the love story was beautiful. Tons of spice, the chemistry between Gwen and Alex was delightful. Also huge fan of Jacob and Declan. Actually I really loved 95% of the characters, you know who the losers are.

Not Another Love Song releases July 16!