I was unable to put this book down and I devoured it in a day and a half. This doesn’t happen very often, so I was expecting it to be a new favorite read, When I surfaced though, I felt dissatisfied and left wanting more.

Unfortunately these characters felt hollow and fell flat and I was ultimately left wondering who they really were. I think I would have loved this book if Soto reworked it to bridge the gap between who she knows the characters to be and how they are shown to the audience.

I would recommend this if you like atmospheric writing and want a fast paced read, as that is where this book excels.

THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE SUMMER! Also the first book I've read where the (male) musician did not give me the ick... Alex Fitzgerald is my new fave book boyfriend. But seriously, the writing was amazing, the plot was interesting and the love interests were beautifully written and developed. Julie Soto might have to go into my "auto buy" list

My god she's done it again. I fell head over heels for Elliott reading Forget Me Not and Alex dialed that up to 1000.

The tension! The passion! I devoured this book in a single sitting and then was heartbroken it was over. I want to yell about it from the rooftops. I cannot stop thinking about it. I love you, Julie Soto.

I can not expires how absolutely perfect this book was. I requested it because the cover immediately made me swoon and my friends had all raved about Julie’s books and I could not be more obsessed with this. The tension from it being a rivals to lovers, workplace romance was done perfectly and Julie is definitely an auto buy author for me going forward.

Could not put this down since I started. Loved the dual pov giving a glimpse into Xander’s thoughts and the way the tension built between them after each performance together. Have never attended any sort of orchestra musical but now I’m looking them up 👀 easily in the top 5 reads of the year!

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

If you're in the mood for an easy to digest, musician focused romance, I would recommend this book! The author did a great job of balancing a real orchestral setting with fictional stakes, and I enjoyed it immensely. If you were a fan of the author's previous work, "Forget me Not", apparently there is some crossover with the characters from that book as well, which is a nice tie-in, but it is not necessary to read the previous work to enjoy and appreciate this one.

Could not get through this book. The musical lingo was much too much for me and threw me out of the story a lot.

This book was amazing, the love story was believable and honestly I was rooting for the MCs the whole time

"Look, I don't know what you want from em, but—"
"Anything." Black eyes look down on her, and he took a shaking breath. "Everything."

The LONGING in Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto was EVERYTHING.

I love a celebrity romance and this one is a bit unconventional because they are famous classical musicians.
Gwen is a hugely talented violinist who really wants to break out but feels more comfortable playing in the background. She's given the opportunity to be first chair in her POPs orchestra. This should be her dream come true until she meets Xander, a classically trained celloist turned cello rock star.
Gwen has idolized Xander since she picked up a violin. There are so many strings tying them together, including a mutual mentor. Xander is immediately smitten by Gwen and her talent. These two have incredible chemistry and the barely try to fight it. This book is hot but I love that it so full of longing.

The main conflict comes because of how hyper focused on their careers instead of what is right for their craft. Gwen and Xander (Alex) see each other for who they really are and it pushes them a part for a little bit because... artist egos, right?

Great book lots of depth. I'm looking forward to when this one comes out in July. Thank you to Forever and Netgalley for an eARC of Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto in exchange for my honest review. I honestly really liked it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to Not Another Love Song.

4.5 stars! I really enjoyed Julie Soto's first novel, Forget Me Not, and was thrilled to receive an early copy of her next novel. Believe me I squealed! This story did not disappoint with the plot, the steam, and teaching me more about orchestras and music composition. Gwen plays violin in the Manhattan Pops Orchestra, while Alex (also called Xander) plays the cello. They start with a bit of enemies to lovers tension as Gwen believes Alex doesn't take his role seriously, showing up to rehearsal late, being rude to others, things like that. Things change as they start to spend time together, especially writing music together (phew the cello scene). Each of them is navigating their own dreams and growth but doing it together puts all the pieces in the right places. I flew through this story and loved it so much. I already miss Alex and Gwen but am excited to see what this author puts out next.

~4.5~

Gwen is a prodigy violinist who wants to make a living and play her violin for everyone around her. She meets Xander Thorne, lead of Thorne and Roses, and there are sparks, but not the positive kind. Gwen is promoted to first chair and at the same time, can't seem to escape Xander, his gaze, his music.

I can definitely say I enjoyed it more than book one. Maybe I liked the rivals (ish) to lovers better than the second chance, but I just had more fun with this one.

I don't exactly know of this was based off of someone from AO3, but I'm choosing not to think about who. I loved this honesty, as someone who's played music, it's kind of fun to read about people so passionate about it. The third act breakup made me scream tho, I did not vibe with that, but I guess it was necessary for the plot...


Thank you Netgalley and publisher for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This is the first book I read by the author and over all it was a good read. I loved the premise of the story of two musical prodigies. The beginning of the story really drew me in with the first interaction of the main character and the musical components but as the story continued I felt it dragged and I lost the emotions I felt from the start of the story. I wish there was more time to see the romance between the two characters develop on a deeper level it felt rushed with the “I love you’s”. They did speak on a deeper level there was so much that they didn’t know about each other l. Their chemistry and romance started to feel forced and less organic or unrelatistic/unnatural in a way. I also wish their was more resolution of the trauma that both characters experience with their family dynamics

I absolutely LOVE Julie Soto! Her books are beautifully paced, perfectly angsty and so dang good. I completely devoured this book in 24 hours and will do it again on release day!! Gwen and Alex were easy to love as was their love story. And the cover!!!!!! IYKYK

Thank you! Thank you for this ARC! What an absolute treat!

If I had known that the orchestra could be this sexy, I wouldn't have given up the violin in the 9th grade.

Soto's writing works for me perfectly. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this story, and OMG, this book made me feel so many things. SO MANY THINGS!! The cello scene might be my new Roman Empire. The banter, the humor, the tenderness, the angst. Chef's kiss! The tension between Gwen + Xander was palpable. I am still thinking about them months later. I adore Soto's characters - even the unlikeable ones - and this one has many. The side characters were fantastic and added so much to the atmosphere. Fans of Forget Me Not might recognize a few cameos.

Soto knows how to make violins sexy. Seriously though, her use of music as a communication device is masterful. Despite the symphony playing a major role in the plot, it never felt weighed down by the music. I knew a lot of the terminology, and the rest I looked up because I am a nerd like that. I learned a lot reading this. However, you don't need to do this. The story makes perfect sense, even if you don't know what allegro means.

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto is one of the best contemporary romances of the year - I don't see anything changing that for me. I already plan to listen to this as soon as I get my hands on the audio!!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto is a romance about two string players that are in competition with each other, but ending up falling for each other. I really enjoyed both the musical and the romance aspects of this story. Definitely recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and Julie Soto for a free e-ARC of this book.

I finished Not Another Love Song in one continuous, wonderful sitting. I read Julie Soto's first book and was so excited to receive an e-ARC of this book because of the premise and the author. WOW, WOW, WOW. This book is even better than the last and it seriously made me a fan of classical music and I could not help but put myself into the scenes she painted in this book. I loved the romance and the interactions between the characters. This was seriously one of my favorite romance reads of the year. Five easy stars and I cannot wait for her next book!

My goodness, I had so much fun with this book. I really enjoyed Julie Soto's first book so when she announced her musician rivals to lovers romance I was immediately in. Gwen and Alex have phenomenal chemistry and there is so much tension! I really don't know a lot about being a musician but really enjoyed everything related to that part of the story. I can't wait to read whatever Julie has in store for us next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Julie Soto is easily emerging as a new autoread author for me. It’s rare that a sophomore title lives up to how much I loved her debut, Forget Me Not, but this one absolutely did. From the beginning I was pulled in by the chemistry between Xander and Gwen and I loved seeing their story develop. The set up of an enemies to lovers, workplace romance taking place in an orchestra was great. And I loved the format with occasional glimpses from Xander’s POV at pivotal moments in the story.

Content flags: Parental death from cancer

I voluntarily read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This had me at the words "Reylo". Ever since the Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, if you tell me something was inspired/was reylo fanfiction, I will probably get my hands on it and devour it.
Not Another Love Song was a fantastic read--in short about, Gwen, a violinist just trying to make a living in NYC, who gets thrown into a dance of back-and-forth banter and tension with Xander Thorne, fellow orchestra member and member of her favorite band.
This book had me right from the very first page, it was so hard to put down. It was an easy and fun read, that had me laughing throughout and had me entranced the entire time. The love for music and the writing had me practically hearing every note the characters played, and the rivals to lovers' story was executed perfectly.

I am absolutely OBSESSED with Julie Soto!! I didn't know if she could put out another book as much as I loved Forget Me Not (because I love that book A LOT!) and she absolutely delivered with this one. I feel the need to learn how to play a musical instrument now or attend an orchestra because wow she really transported me. Loved this romance, loved the writing, loved this story! Absolute 5 stars from me!