I loved this book! Julie Soto is becoming one of my favorite authors. Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ahead of time! I love the chemistry between Gwen and Xander/Alex and their story together! The ending was 🤌🏼🤌🏼🤌🏼

the tension???? the YEARNING??? oh i’m so down bad for Alex + Gwen. this book gave me everything!! as someone who knows absolutely nothing about orchestras and musical terminology, i still found this story impossible to put down. learning what *that* scene from the cover was, was a pleasant surprise 😌. this book was STEAMY and at the same time, so so sweet.

thank you to netgalley for the free arc! <3

I love when an author makes me care deeply about a niche subculture I know nothing about and now I want to go to an orchestra and speculate about who is in love with whom. This book was enjoyable from start to finish and those spicy scenes were great! I loved the side characters, especially Mei, and I would love to see a spin off with her. I loved the Forget Me Not cameos as well! I love Julie as an ao3 author and I love all of her published work she writes lovable characters. Can’t wait for her next book! Thank you NetGalley and Forever Books for my copy!

JULIE SOTO OH MY GOSH WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY BRAIN?!?!?! I enjoyed Julie's first book, Forget Me Not, but wow wow wow does Not Another Love Song blow that one away! The tension, the musicality, the drama.... this book is everything. I couldn't be more thrilled for Julie, because she's definitely knocked it out of the park with this one. And THAT cello scene? Yes please.

Thank you thank you thank you to the publisher, Forever and NetGalley for BLESSING ME with this ARC copy in exchange for my review.

I really liked this! I don't think I've ever read a romance centered around classically trained musicians, so I found those aspects very interesting. It definitely was heavy on the music, but I didn't mind that at all. I also loved how spicy this book was. I haven't really the author's other book yet, so I wasn't sure how much to expect in terms of spice level, but was pleasantly surprised.

The only thing keeping me from giving this a higher rating was that I didn't love the male love interest. There were times were it just felt like he was a jerk. We did learn more about his past and his tough upbringing, but to me that wasn't a good enough explanation for times that he seemed just plain rude.

I would definitely still recommend this and I think that readers who love a grumpy MMC could probably look past my issues!

Not Another Love Song is a hot romance for the summer, I was very into this musical world, the characters, and the STEAM!!! The banter and spice are a-plenty here and I loved the Reylo vibes, it was very well done!

All the scenes between Gwen and Xander composing and playing were everything to me. The drama in second half was a little off but I really enjoyed this story as a whole. Julie’s first book Forget and Not was a huge favorite of mine and I liked seeing those characters make a cameo!

Secretly wishing we had a real Thorne and Roses band to obsess over, classical pop is having a resurgence and I caught myself imagining my favorite songs on violin, great concept for a catchy book!

Thank you to Forever for the review copy if this book expected to publish July 16, 2024

This was a really fun and enjoyable romance. The characters and the tension created between them made this novel so compulsively readable. I really enjoy the world Soto is starting to build in her novels.

STORY LOVES
❤️❤️❤️❤️.5
rounded to 5

SPICE
🌶️ medium

RECOMMEND
💳 yes

I just finished reading Julie Soto's upcoming novel, "Not Another Love Song," and I was captivated by its unique take on the classic "rockstar" romance genre.

The story follows the intertwined lives of Zander Thorne, a fervent cellist, and Gwen Jackson, a talented violinist, both deeply embedded in instrumental string music.

While I wished for more detailed character development and a more gradual, authentic progression of Zander and Gwen's romance, I found myself engrossed in their characters and their relationship.

The fast-paced narrative, although easy to follow, left me yearning for something more profound – a certain depth that seemed to elude me.

The cover art vividly portrays one of the most memorable scenes in the story. Additionally, I appreciated the connection to Soto's previous work, "Forget Me Not," through the presence of Ama Torres and Elliot Bloom.

While "Forget Me Not" was an enjoyable read, it's the musical essence and fresh romantic perspective in "Not Another Love Song" that truly captured my imagination. Both books have their unique allure and are definitely worth exploring for any fan of romance novels.

Give "Not Another Love Song" a read. You won't regret it!

Thank you, NetGalley & Forever Publishing, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this title in advance of its release.

The tension between Gwen and Alex (especially when playing/making music together) IS MIND BLOWING!! I could quite literally feel their emotions through the page. This story is mainly told from Gwen's perspective, but occasionally there are chapters from Alex's perspective that are labeled “Cello Suite No.” which is super cool and unique! I love this book and once again Julie Soto blows me away with her amazing writing!

5 🌟 mark my words - this is the big romance of the summer!! I cannot stop singing the praises for this book. The characters are unique and I enjoyed how their completely different upbringings affected their music careers and the tension it created. Also, the tension and the pining!!! And then the spice!! I loved this romance and how they spoke the same language (music) and as the reader (with no musical background) I could respect it without understanding it completely. I just loved these characters so much and am marking Julie Soto down as an auto-buy author!

Thank you to NetGalley and Read Forever Pub for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I'm not going to lie, the beginning of this book was pretty slow. It started to pick up about 40% of the way through, but there was almost no chemistry between the main characters until then. It started off with just an info dump on music (which I guess you need, but it felt repetitive and unnecessary at times). I have a background in music, so much of the info was just wrong, and it was a major turn off for me, making it even harder to get through the book. The pacing was just overall off with the book and could have been improved upon greatly.

There was a lot of info on side characters and it felt like too many storylines were happening at once. They all eventually connected, but I didn't see the point of them until over half way through the book. I felt like the main character just had everything handed to her, and it seemed so unrealistic. She just blindly followed those around her and rarely had a thought for herself. When it came to her and the MMC interacting, he felt so manipulative, and she just accepted it. I couldn't stand it. I get enemies to lovers or what not, but this just didn't do it for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the eArc to read and review.

THIS WAS SO GOOD! (4.5/5)
Let me start by saying that I know absolutely nothing about music, orchestras, cello or violin. But this book made me want to learn a new instrument at 27 yo. It had me checking out cello and violin covers of popular songs online.
This was a super quick read, it had tension, a great story and endearing characters. I looooved Xander.
I highly recommend for any romance lover who wants a quick and cute read with great spice and discover a world we don’t see often in books!

- rivals to lovers
- workplace romance
- he falls first
- set in NYC
- music prodigies

I really enjoyed Forget Me Not and was so happy we got to see Elliott and Ama make their appearance in this one

Absolutely loved this! Thank you so much to Net Galley for sending me this ARC.

I was so excited to read this one and it did not disappoint. I absolutely fell in love with the characters and I love when the MMC is so protective of the FMC. It was just so sweet, sexy and the perfect combination of both. I flew through this book because I enjoyed it so much.

4.5/5⭐️- UGH I LOVED THIS SO MUCH!🎻🤍

Julie Soto's "Not Another Love Song" is a delightful dive into the world of love, ambition, found family, and the intoxicating allure of violins and cellos. This spicy contemporary romance novel weaves together a story that's as heartwarming as it is relatable, capturing the essence of musical aspirations and dreams, while navigating the tumultuous journey of pursuing them. I fell in love with both Xander and Gwen and thoroughly enjoyed reading as their love story struck a chord with my heart (pun intended). Their connection was instant and electric, setting the stage for a romance that's as sweet as it is complex. Soto addresses the challenges faced by young artists, including the pressure to conform, the fear of failure, and the sacrifices required to achieve one's goals.

I absolutely loved this book and hope you pick it up and fall in love with Xander and Gwen when it releases on July 16th!🎻

Thank you to Forever Publishing and Julie Soto for the ARC!

This book is most definitely a 5-star read for me. I love the whole premise and the spice is top tier. If I could go back and reread this for the first time again, I totally would. It delivers on plot, light angst, and so much more!

I loved Julie Soto's first book and their Rights & Wrongs series was okay, if not amateur in nature. Finding out that this work was originally her first attempt at Reylo fanfic and had to be shopped so extensively did not deter me from wanting to read this story. Reading the first set of reviews of early ARCs on Goodreads was a little unsettling, however, I decided to go in reading this not expecting the next great American romance, but what it was, a Reylo inspired music rivals-to-???? story with a cartoon cover, as is the norm these days. No one should be out here giving Tessa Bailey 5 stars, and yet here they are.

The story and pacing are pretty good. All in all, romances about musicians that heavily feature describing performances with words tend to be cheesy, in my opinion. It's so hard to get me to feel moved by a musical performance with words. I found a fan-made Spotify playlist that featured most of the songs mentioned in this story, which was really cool until it was missing many of the others. If Julie Soto had included a playlist in the book I would have been absolutely tickled. Returning to the songs after reading it made it feel 10x cooler.

Things I enjoyed:
-That we've met these characters in Forget Me Not!!! I loooooove when authors do this.
That the FMC wasn't immediately the most amazing, talented, jaw-dropping violin talent. She had to work at it.
-The friendships she has are really sweet (I hope Jacob is Finn and Declan is Poe and Mei is Rose)
-Mabel (Luke???), I love a rough mentor who has multiple connections that are revealed throughout the story.

Things I didn't enjoy:
-The cover, I'm sorry Julie, PLEASE, these covers look so cheap. I'm trying so hard to not judge a book by its cover but you keep making it so hard. I wouldn't have picked up either of your books based off of the cover had I not already ready your work on Ao3.
-Music puns during sexy scenes (LAAAAAME)
-Insta-love as soon as they hook up (boring)
-I couldn't really figure out who the villain was? It kept shifting, and I was constantly trying to figure out who was safe and who could be trusted.
- The constant shifting of the MMC's name. It was often difficult to follow.

All in all, it was a solid read for me. I'll definitely be eager to read future works by this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I think the idea of the story was so good, and I love a good "she falls first, he falls harder."

Not surprisingly giving its Reylo beginnings, the FMC is oh-so naive and special. The MMC is tall, dark, brooding, and manipulative. At no point was I attracted to this man.

I also thought there might be a twist at some point but nope, it was just... exactly what we were told from the first few chapters. The villains felt painfully Saturday morning cartoon style.

Mostly, this book just felt completely unrealistic. I don't need my contemporary romance to be totally realistic, but there's a certain point at which it starts taking me out of the story and this was it for me.

The spice was steamy and well written, though! That cello scene...

I am unwell. Julie Soto absolutely killed it once again. I finished this book almost a week ago and I can not stop thinking about it. The tension is essentially it's own character, and I have never been more interested in string instruments and orchestras in my life. Gwen and Xander and the cello scene, I will never be the same. I adored watching him chase her, it was sweet and a little desperate, almost frantic. His need to have her in his life was palpable. Gwen was understandably hesitant with her career at stake, but when she comes around, the chemistry is explosive. I cannot express enough how much I loved these two and this book.

Not Another Love Song
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🥹😍🔥💓😫🎻🌶️ The words are coming lol still processing… I LOVED this book
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I kept seeing great reviews so I was really looking forward to reading this one and it did not disappoint! A cello playing god posting thirst traps sign me up! I don’t have a musical bone in my body so I was in awe of the characters musical abilities and really captivated by it. Julie Soto wrote so beautifully that it felt like the music was floating around outside my head even though half the time (okay most of the time lol) I had no idea the sounds she was describing. I really liked her writing style, she reminds me of Ali Hazelwood who I love! And I mean honestly the cover alone was giving me goosebumps the longer I looked at it lol Why is it that every time Alex was sitting and he leaned forward, elbows on his knees I was blushing, what’s wrong with me?! 😂
🎼
The majority of this book is single POV. We hear from Gwen who honestly left me really frustrated sometimes. The solution to her problem seemed obvious to me so I struggled to feel sympathetic toward her at times. Her thought process about her career bugged me, but what I loved was that it wasn’t bad writing in my opinion, we just had a main character who I think grew up without the support system she needed and her true role model was a little callous and fogged up her thinking. We do get a second POV, but it’s sprinkled in. I wish we would have heard from Alex just as much! And hello spice! So ya’ll, do we think Shakespeare was full of shit? Is music the food of love? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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I have Forget Me Not on my shelf thanks to a book bestie and I am really looking forward to it now!! I also love the mention of Lindsey Stirling because I love her Christmas music!
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Thank you so much to NetGalley, Julie Soto, and Forever Publishing for this e-arc. Not Another Love Song comes out July 16th so mark your calendars!!

I thoroughly enjoyed Not Another Love Song. Gwen is trying to find her way as a violinist but suffers from imposter syndrome. She has no idea just how gifted she is. Even after she’s offered the position of first chair with the Manhattan Pops, she continues to doubt how deserving she is of the role, everyone else’s reactions, and what she really wants for her career as a musician.

I loved that there are low-key crossovers with Julie’s first book, Forget Me Not. You don’t have to have read that book to enjoy this one, but it’s fun to have little cameos!

By the end, I was really rooting for Gwen to find her voice and decide what the future looked like for her!

If you’re looking for a book with musical influences, some spice, a completely believable plot, and complex characters, look no further.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book. The review expresses my personal opinions only.