This was a very engaging read, I got my eyes glued to the book as soon as I got it.
Julie Soto has a way of describing mood en emotions that is very compelling and reaches to your heartstrings.
The characters are well developed and it's great to learn about them just as they learn about themselves. She manages the reveals and exposition delicately, giving it in little pieces that answer questions and create more at the same time.
And not only is the romance aspect deliciously lovely, I was also very interested in seeing the main character's music career develop.

Julie Soto's second book is just as fun and spicy as her last. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for her next one!

This is definitely a solid 4.5 stars! This was my first Julie Soto book to read (I owe Forget Me Not, but I haven't read it) and it definitely won't be my last. She has a way of intertwining romance with behind the scene aspects of symphonies. Gwen has been working for the Manhattan POPS symphony for 4 years and may have been eyeing the lead cello, Alex. Once the two interact and realize the beauty the other has with creating music, they knew they needed to be together. Although this book is told solely in Gwen's perspective, I loved how you got snippets of Alex's perspective scattered throughout book. I not only enjoyed as they characters fell in love but the music they created as well. I cannot wait for this book to come out and add it to my bookshelves!!

Holy moly I LOVED this so much!!! This was my first book written by Julie and it absolutely won’t be my last. I want to go and sit in a room with classical music playing while staring at a wall and then pretend that Gwen & Alex are both serenading me with their instruments. Not Another Love Song has characters you’ll love but also has characters that you’ll be annoyed with. The spice was perfect. The banter and chemistry between both main characters was amazing. I loved every bit of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for my honest review! This reads like an Ali Hazelwood book and that is my highest compliment.

⇢➤ Plot: Gwen is a talented violinist in the heart of New York City. A quiet and quick learner, she’s discovered at a young age and welcomed into an orchestra out of high school. Four years later, she’s offered the opportunity of a lifetime. The problem? Xander Thorne, hot boy cellist prodigy, has been vying for the same position. The two are suddenly thrown together with more tension building between them. Gwen isn’t sure if he wants to kill her, lecture her, or… well. She doesn’t know what he wants. But I’m sure, fair reader, you can guess.

*This book ties into Soto’s debut, “Forget Me Not.” While it isn’t necessary to do so, I would recommend checking it out to get better insight into the side characters. I’m a sucker for a romance multiverse.

⇢➤ Pros: REYLO FANS, WE ARE SO BACK. Soto captures the arrogance, the natural talent, and the silent intensity of my favorite male protagonist archetype. I fear I was kicking my feet and giggling! At my grown age!

This book is fun to read. If you are looking for a light-hearted romance where he falls first, I would be tapping this title at the bookstore 10x over. The orchestral romance, the character dynamics, and the high stakes all blend well together. There is a strong cast of found-family side characters. Mabel, you deserve the world. Ava, learn to support your son or eat dirt.

⇢➤ Cons: I do not like the title. From a marketing and publishing point of view, I absolutely get it. But I cannot get behind it. Also, I don’t know how the cover art of non-Adam Driver looks more like Adam Driver than Adam Driver, but I just can’t look at him.

This is a very by-the-book, to-the-tee fanfiction. While I have accepted that I must suspend my disbelief with this style of romance, there are moments on stage where it truly reads like a Y/N Harry Styles Wattpad story. If Gwen's mother was still alive, I fear she would have sold Gwen to Xander Thorne's boy band on page 1.

⇢➤ Recommended for fans of: Ali Hazelwood, Tessa Bailey

This one is 🔥🔥🔥!!! So much fun to go on the Gwen Jackson & Xander Thorne tour. I love how lively and fun this one is. The Ava & Nathan story was predictable to me and frankly so cliched - I wish she had done more to stand up for herself. Overall this was a great enemies-to-lovers romance! I appreciated all the references to classical music, orchestra, and violin/cello duets. I loved looking up Pop groups and listening. The only thing I think this book needs is a Spotify playlist.

-- update, I finished it
I never thought I could love Julie Soto's writing even more than in "Forget Me Not", but here I am, at the end of "Not Another Love Song", feeling speechless at the absolute beauty of her writing and her characters.

Also, 10/10 for the very deserved Scooter Braun and Taylor's version reference.

TWs - death of parent/grandparent by cancer, abandonment/estrangement from a parent, person of authority taking professional advantage of a newbie to the field

-- update at 27%
(I mean, I already know it's gonna be a 5 star read)
I love Gwen and Alex so much as individual characters and their borderline snarl-y interactions have been >>>>

Also, I have to put the book down and scream into the pillow at every Ama Elliot crumb this book is giving me 😭

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

This book is the embodiment of why I love romance books so much!

I LOVED this book! Like every second of it. I could not put it down and I wish it didn’t have to end. Everything about this book was perfect!

I felt all the feels reading this book. This is one of those books that makes you kick your feet and squeal because of how cute and swoon-worthy it is.

I absolutely adored Xander and definitely need a cello player of my own now. I loved seeing both Xander and Gwen grow throughout the book and realize they wanted more in their careers and in their lives. There were so many great moments between Gwen and Xander and I wish we could have even more.

Highly recommend to romance readers and fans of Julie Soto’s previous book!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! Julie Soto beautifully respects the musician aspect whilel giving you delicious tension between the two lead characters. Swoon! I enjoyed her previous book Forget Me Not but this book really blew it outta the water.

"Not Another Love Song" was a delightful read, especially for someone like me who loves stories centered around violinists and cellists.

While I enjoyed Alex's character development, his quick change of heart towards Gwen felt rushed. Nevertheless, their chemistry was palpable despite the speed of their relationship's progression.

However, Gwen's tendency to ignore red flags was frustrating, making the third-act breakup somewhat forced. Nevertheless, with both characters admitting their mistakes, the resolution redeemed the story.

Overall, "Not Another Love Song" was an enjoyable read that perfectly captured the essence of the music world.

Thank you, Net Galley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love anything Julie Soto writes! It was a great insight into the world of classical music and the spice was immaculate! Praise to you Julie!

Thanks Forever Publishing and Julie Soto for this Arc in exchange for an honest review.
This book is about Gwen and Xander who are musical rivals to lovers. The tension was intense between them and the writing was easy to read.
I did find it hard to get into, I think it was maybe because of all the music talk. I also found their was a lot of spice which is not my personal preference. But I do think this is a cute fun and fast read if that's what you're looking for. Also the cover is amazing!

Julie Soto.. what kind of dr*gs did you put into this book?! Holy crap. I loved every second of it. I made all my friends preorder it. I even made my husband listen to me rant and ramble about it!

I had a great time reading Julie Soto's sophomore novel. Her knowledge of music is evident and the romance between the two main characters was sweet and lovely to read about.

When words fail, music does the talking. Xander and Gwen have a very frosty first meeting, and things don’t necessarily get better as fate keeps bringing them together. One moment though was all it took for these two to realize that they are more alike than they thought.

I loved the dynamic between Xander and Gwen. How they just let the music do the talking and the feeling. These two could read each other better than sheet music. I love stories that are original and bring something new to romance and Soto does that with each book.

This books shows the true depths of love.

📚 Not Another Love Song
✍ Julie Soto
📖 Contemporary Romance
⭐4/5
🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️
➡ Struggling violin prodigy Gwen Jackson may have graduated from playing for cash in the subways of New York to playing in the Manhattan Pops but to make ends meet, she's still taking every wedding musician gig she can find. When she's offered the elusive first chair role in the pops over rock star/Cellist Xander Thorne, it's a dream she didn't even know she had come true.

Though every interaction they've ever had has been steeped in hostility, there's something about Gwen that Xander just can't let go of. Despite their rivalry, when they play together something magical happens and the more they lean into their musical chemistry, the more sizzling their connection becomes. As their budding relationship begins to hit the high notes, everyone around them attempts to control what's happening between their bows and strings and Gwen and Xander will ultimately have decide if their duet can rise above the background music to take center stage.
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🙏 Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing), NetGalley and Julie Soto for the advanced copy of Not Another Love Song. All opinions are my own.
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🎯 What I loved: I adored the instrumental overlays of this book and how seamlessly music and composing fit into the love story. Julie Soto's writing is a dream and is so immersive- the story was sexy, heartfelt and had a perfect dramatic flair. Gwen and Alex's chemistry sizzled off the pages in strides and I was rooting for them to get together long before they even spoke to each other. For anyone who has read Soto's debut, Forget Me Not, you'll be happy to know that there are lots of Ama Torres cameos too!

🙅‍♀️ What I didn't: Soto invested a significant portion of the book in Gwen's experience before meeting Alex so they don't really interact much until you're almost 30% of the way into the book. This worked really well for character development but left me wanting a bit more flirting and back and forth- once they got together initially though, all was forgiven! I did finding the ending a little abrupt and would have liked to have seen the storyline extended through spring of the next year with an epilogue so that we got more of how everything came together/fell apart following the climax of the story.
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Read if you love:
*classical music
*golden retriever MMC
*rivals to lovers (kind of)
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See also: The Second Ending, Till There Was You, Roomies

I haven’t been this sucked into a book in awhile. This book was 5 stars in every category. I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN. The author’s note beforehand really set the scene of what vibes she was going for. The description of the characters as well as their character growth was amazing. Gosh I the ending was beautiful! Usually with these third act breakups, there’s a line authors balance on for when it’s “appropriate” to get back together, the author really couldn’t have written this any better. This is definitely a top read for me for this year!

The chemistry, enemies to lovers, and found family tropes were so beautifully written. There’s so many good things I could say about this book and will absolutely be buying this for my shelf as well as recommending this to my friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I was only a couple chapters in when I knew I was going to love this book. Julie Soto is such a wonderful writer; she can really pull you in and make you care about an orchestra (not one of my favorite things), its politics, and she creates characters that you can’t help but love!

I will very happily read anything that Soto writes and would absolutely recommend this book!

When I happened upon Julie Soto's previous novel, Forget Me Not, last year I was surprised I hadn't heard of it. The way she fleshes out characters is so realistic. This book was the same way.

I loved Gwen right away. I liked that she came from humble beginnings and was grateful for all that she had and what she'd accomplished. I liked getting snippets of her backstory. I especially loved the tension between Gwen and Xander. Grumpy/Sunshine is my favorite trope and though Xander wasn't completely "grumpy" he wasn't a wholesome cinnamon roll either.

The story line was a bit predictable but it was still very well done. I liked how annoyed I got with Gwen a few times -- that means the writing was good enough to get me upset.

I'll definitely be reading more from Julie Soto as she continues to write.

Obsessed. I loved this so much. It felt like a movie. Honestly I could really see this having a great screen adaptation with Netflix. It made me feel the same feelings I had when I was younger watching Raise Your Voice and August Rush with the young prodigy aspect but this was a more mature, romance forward story with beautiful music intertwined. Definitely one to check out!