Forever eARC
The angst, the cello, the characters, the spice - whew I absolutely loved this romance. I am a sucker for any book that has a cello playing character, so between reading Forget Me Not and this aspect, I was absolutely sold on this novel. I loved how Gwen and Xander were so different and just had such delicious tension between them for a lot of the novel. The orchestra plot line was so interesting. I didn't know what all of it meant, but I was still fully engaged in the Manhattan Pops and what was happening there. I fell quickly for Gwen and how she just wanted to figure out how music could support her life. I fell for Xander because of how he slowly revealed himself one layer at a time. I just loved these two and this book - and especially that one cello scene.

Holy moly! This book is filled with angst, tension, slow burn, and spicy spice. I absolutely loved reading the love story of Gwen and Alex!

Gwen, a violinist, and Alex, a cellist, have played together in the same orchestra group in New York for the past year. Gwen assumes that Alex has no idea who she is, until they begin running into one another at random music-related events, and gigs. What she doesn’t know is that Alex has been watching her for some time, and waiting for the moment they can connect musically (or more).

The pacing of the story is fast moving and it’s an easy, bingeable read, that leaves you wanting more from this couple and their musical universe. Read this story if you like found family, slow burn, open door romance, witty banter, and complicated family dynamics.

Thank you to Net Galley, Julie Soto and Forever Pub for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Overall, I loved it. A fun read, especially if you've already read Forget Me Not!

Pros:
• musical rep! oh man, they way Soto describes music and how it feels and flows was just *chef's kiss*
• low-stakes read
• good spice
• decent characters
• tie-ins to Forget Me Not that are easter eggs but leave this book a standalone...

Cons:
• predictable villain
• predictable angst
• why tell us upfront it was reylo fanfic first? that colored my perception of the characters immediately (don't get me wrong, fanfic is great) without being able to form imagery or opinions on my own. Tell us at the end!

Thank you NetGalley and Julie Soto for an arc of this book!

Thank you NetGalley and Forever Publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review!

I found my new favorite romance author. Julie Soto hit it out the park with this book and I couldn't put it down. If you are looking for an easy and fun read this is your book. It brought me out of my reading slump and I can't wait to read more from her.

Gwen Jackson, a 22-year-old aspiring violinist performing with the Manhattan Pops, navigates the world of music as a prodigy despite lacking formal education and being an orphan. Her life takes a turn when she enters Mabel’s music store, owned by a talented musician. While busking in the subway, she encounters Ava Fitzgerald, a legendary musician and Manhattan Pops board member, who holds the coveted first chair. Ava's connection with Mabel helps Gwen secure a position at the orchestra.

However, Gwen's side gig performing at a celebrity wedding with her roommate Jacob leads to an unexpected encounter with Xander Thorne, a star from Thorne & Roses and also a member of Manhattan Pops. Despite his tardiness and arrogance, which irritate both Ava and her partner Nathan, Xander's arrival shakes things up.

Their initial meeting doesn’t go smoothly: Xander harshly critiques Gwen’s performance, unaware they are colleagues until the board decides to give Gwen the first chair Xander demanded to replace Ava, leading to further tension.

Although Gwen battles her insecurities, she has no desire to fight for her position or prove her talent further. Unbeknownst to her, Xander, whose true identity is Alex, recognizes her exceptional talent, surpassing his own. He becomes captivated by this mysterious prodigy, pushing him to break boundaries and stay at Manhattan Pops to collaborate with her. Together, their performances are pure magic. Can Gwen trust this arrogant scion of wealth and power without risking her heart?

In conclusion, this book left me sighing with delight multiple times. The romantic passages were beautifully written and utterly captivating. I adored every moment and believe it deserves more than five stars. Dive into this enchanting story without hesitation!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing me with the digital reviewer copy of this incredible book in exchange for my honest review.

4.75⭐️

The way I cried and dreamed—y’all, I DREAMED about this book. First and foremost, thank you to Julie Soto and her publisher for offering the ARC e-book for a limited time. 💜

Now…this book…I am not a musical person at all…I have no musical talent, but the way I devoured these characters and the emotion of their music was insane! The characters were dynamic and I love that there is an opportunity (at least I hope I’m understanding this correctly) for future books with these characters.

I can’t explain why I took away 1/4 of a star because this book is unreleased and I don’t want to spoil anything. But if you’ve read my other reviews, you’ll pick up what I’m putting down.

Bravo, Julie Soto! Bravo! 👏 🎻 💜

I had a love hate relationship with this book. The beginning was very slow in my opinion. Lots of information about music and orchestras and lots of side character conversations and story set up. I think I was at 37% and the two main character had had maybe 3 interactions and said 4 sentences to eachother and I was feeling zero chemistry. But then once the romance aspect picked up it took off and I could not put it down. There was so much I loved about their chemistry and their story. The music mirroring their love was so beautiful. It had me emotional at the end which is hard to do! At times their relationship felt rushed but over all I really liked this book. The pacing was just a little off.

Review 🎻

Julie Soto has done it again and has officially become an autobuy author for me! I’m obsessed with how detailed her writing is. You truly get whisked away into these stories. There were moments in this book where I would sit and close my eyes after reading certain parts to “listen” to the music. It was magical 🥰 From the very beginning with her authors note you’re hooked! The tension leading to all the spice was soooo good! But the romance and how it’s blended into the music was pure poetry. Now the FMC Gwen loved her. Her journey was inspiring. But the MMC Xander/Alex stole my heart and ran with it! 😭 I cannot wait to read more from this author💕

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What You Get:
🌮Found Family
🎻Musical Prodigy
🌮Spice 🥵
🎻Rivals to Lovers
🌮Grumpy to Sunshine
🎻NYC Setting
🌮He Falls First

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This was a very sweet, entertaining romance novel. I loved the musical aspects and always love a book that teaches me about a new topic. This book gave me Ali Hazelwood vibes. I believe fans of Hazelwood will also enjoy this one. I was hoping to get more information on the backstory of our main character but otherwise this was an enjoyable read.

5🌟 idk how julie did it, but she somehow made a book about string instruments and musicians one of the most sexy and angsty books i have ever read!!!! And this is coming from someone who has never played an instrument in her life lol.

This books was complete and utter perfection and here is what to expect!
-third person, dual pov
-rivals to lovers
-workplace
-string player musicians
-he falls first
-reylo fanfic

After reading this book, I know for a fact Julie Soto is an auto buy author for me. No one writes a romance quite like her! The romance, the chemistry, the tension, the angst, the SPICE!!!! Not another love song was no different and it had me hooked from the first few chapters.

One big worry for me was that a lot of the music talk would go over my head because I’m pretty much clueless about instruments and music. But it was super easy to understand for someone how is not musically gifted lol. I actually thought the way julie incorporated music was very beautiful and poetic.

We need to discuss XANDER THORNE!!!!!!!!!!! He is that MAN!!! I actually love him and I’m not ok. And the CELLO SCENE???????? I was really not ok during that scene in the best way.

Thank you so much to Read Forever for the physical ARC and netgalley for the eARC!

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto was a refreshing contemporary read for me, and because I always wish I was a musical prodigy, this was so. much. fun.

The steam was steaming and the spice was spicing, so there's that. I also really enjoyed the rivals to friends to lovers vibes.

The secondary characters and found family were the perfect complement for the story.

Thankfully I already have Forget Me Not in my possession, because I need to move that up on my TBR.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

This is my second title from Soto this year, she’s quickly making me a fan!!
Our story follows Gwen and Alex/Xander, two musicians in NYC with different motivations but similar passions for their music. I ate this up in two days, and enjoyed the feeling of being swept away in the characters love of music and performing!

I need to point out the elephant in the room (that the author also addresses in her note at the start of the book) … this is clearly Reylo fanfiction. Don’t mistake me, I love a good fanfic! But for this, the door was glass my friends. I found myself throughout the book realizing who characters went meant to be as their Star Wars counterparts, and it took me out of the story being told.
Another point that I did not love was the call backs to “Forget Me Not”. Easter eggs and cameos are fun, but this one had a few too many, and I had to think back to who all the characters were, which may be a barrier for anyone picking this book up on its own!

3.75✨ (rounded to 4)
1.75🌶️

A cellist and a violinist, and a violinist and a cellist. Both ways, always.

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto is a contemporary romance novel with an orchestral backdrop; both MCs, FMC Gwen and MMC Xander (Alex), are string musicians playing for a Pops orchestra, both with dreams of first chair. But is it just that, a dream, for both?

The writing itself was basic but good. It had simple descriptions and was digestible and easy to follow. I wouldn’t say it was necessarily gripping or altogether totally engrossing where you felt you NEEDED to continue, but pleasant nonetheless; particularly for this only being Julie Soto’s second published book, at least according to Goodreads! Yay for authors continuing to rock it. I didn’t read Soto’s first book, but the main couple from that one (I believe) feature as minor supporting characters in Not Another Love Song; a cameo highlight, versus a spotlight stealer.

The characters and their characterizations were nice, although there were times I wish the emotion was pushed even deeper. We definitely got more depth with the two MCs, Gwen and Xander, but at times the other casts in the supporting cast fell flat, or felt like they were just there. This wasn’t totally detrimental though. There was really, really decent chemistry between the romantic leads, particularly when music and their instruments got involved. Let me just say, the scene on the cover actually happens in book, LOVE THAT, and it’s HAWT! The tension between the pair is great. My only wish for the romance was that I had hoped for more development between them before the actual romance and declaration of feelings got involved. I think it happened a little too fast, and it left a little too many pages to fill with things at the end, which made it feel a little boring.

Without having read the first book, although this isn’t a direct sequel, more just interconnected, I can’t say if Not Another Love Song has any inklings of sophomore syndrome, but standing on its own, it’s a cute read, great for fans of contemporary romance, and particularly those with a love of classical music.

Not Another Love Song was a great read. I’m grateful for this ARC. I was hooked from the beginning. The only thing that irked me was how naïve the main character was. I get it though, she sees the good in everybody. The main character from Forget Me Not and this main character has that in common.
My friend who also received an ARC, kept talking about the cello scene. Yeah. Something to look forward to because it took me awhile to pick my jaw up from the floor. All I can say is.. musicians know how to work their fingers LOOOOL.
Anyway, I think Julie Soto did amazing with this book. I’m super excited to see what she has in store for us next.

this was a good one! i liked the music aspect of the book. the enemies to lovers is chefs kiss and one of my fav tropes to read.

I have seen Julie Soto's work circulating around since Forget Me Not but this is my first dive into her and I desperately want more works from her. There is definitely an element of grumpy x sunshine in the romance aspects but one that has made me see playing the cello in an entirely different light. The found family aspect for the FMC warmed my heart and though there was a third act separation, I truly loved seeing how it all came together that made it make so much sweeter for a reunion. I will be thinking of this read for days to come and cannot wait to scream about this with others on pub day.

* definitely one of my fav reads this year !! the chemistry jumped off the page and i was imagining (and blushing, giggling, hair twirling) my way through the tension filled scenes
* if you love check and mate by ali hazelwood (but make it adult and musically focused) this hits so hard
* i'm not even musically knowledgable but i followed along so well it didn't matter and i wanted to buy a ticket to the next orchestra concert immediately

My musician heart is so full after reading Not Another Love Song. A Reylo fic, turned traditional romance, focused on two overachieving musicians is precisely the book I needed. Throughout the story, I was obsessed with Gwen’s growth as a person and musician. Alex’s encouragement of Gwen was exactly what anyone should seek in a partner. Every element of the story worked so well together and I could not put the book down. The music, the character development, the spice…. Everything was perfect! I have already encouraged all of my friends to pick up a copy as soon as they can.

I’ve been reading Julie’s writing for a loooong time (iykyk). I was so excited to hear she received a traditional publishing contract and I can tell you, she has exceeded expectations continuously. I will always read her work and cannot wait to see what we get next!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for access to the eARC!

A really terrific follow up to her debut. Enemies to lovers at its finest with a healthy side of spice. I loved how ReyLo this was coded but it wasn’t overtly so. Really fun read!

I absolutely adored the musical aspects of this book. The cover is absolute perfection and that scene in the book is even better!!! This book had me totally hooked and I could not put it down. Really great message about finding your own path and not letting other's desires and perception of you define your happiness. I loved how straightforward Xander was! He was out spoken about his feelings and went after his girl. The miscommunication trope actually did feel necessary. Gwen and Xander are both flawed and scarred from difficult childhoods and it didn't go away overnight. There were a few things i didn't love. The last 1/4 of the book felt so rushed. I also would have like a few on page interactions between the two that wasn't about the music.