From the first few chapters, this story had my attention. The tension between the two main characters was so intense and visceral that I had a hard time putting the book down let alone breathe! Yes, this is a love story but it felt like it was primarily a love story to and for music then a love story between Gwen and Alex.

The writing had this lyrical quality to it when describing the music and the instruments and the hold it had on most of the characters. I think that was a smart approach by Soto because it help further the premise of finding love through music and finding music through love. Cheesy, I know but still effective. However, the strong references to music and it’s vocabulary did take away from the story at times.

My main critique is that Gwen as a main character fell flat for me. As I sat down to write this review, I realized that I didn’t fully know her. There wasn’t much character development on her end as there was for Alex/Xander. I think having his POV and backstory sprinkled throughout the book helped with that.

Overall I did enjoy this book and I wanted to THANK Netgalley and Forever Publishing for an eARC.

Wow! There is something about Julie Soto's writing that just oozes tension and chemistry and I love it! This gave me the vibes of an Ali Hazelwood book - except instead of scientists, the MCs are musicians.

Read this story if you enjoy:
> Tension and angst
> Enemies to lovers
> Mostly one POV (with his POV sprinkled in)
> Music! (both the MCs are musicians)
> Spicy spice

I devoured this book and was so sad when it was over. I really loved so many things about this story. The way that the tension is built with just teasing glimpses of the MMC POV (I was dying for more of his POV in the story). The complicated and layered backgrounds that the MCs had which gave them depth and also really impacted who they were in the story.

The musical setting and aspects of this book were amazing and felt very unique. I loved how the music was an integral part of the story - not just an occupation that they had - but drove so much of the storyline. The classical music mixed with rock star vibes were **chefs kiss**. And just for fun, there are little cameos of characters from Julie's previous book which makes for fun little nuggets to throw back to a previous story - without requiring any one to read her first book if they haven't.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book. It will definitely be one that I'm adding to my shelf after it's published!

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

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

After reading Julie Soto’s debut Forget Me Not, I knew that I had to read her next book!

Gwen Jackson is a talented violinist and finds herself having to play the cello at a wedding. There she encounters Xander Thorne, a member of Thorne and Roses and is a cellist at the Manhattan Pops where she is also employed at. After harsh criticism, she has no desire to ever interact with him again.
Tension only flares when Gwen is given the position of first chair that Xander wanted.
As a natural people pleaser, she is determined to prove that she is worthy of this honor. Even it means letting the board take advantage of her willingness to do what is best for Pops.

Even though it wasn’t a traditional dual POV, we got glimpses of how Xander/Alex felt throughout the book. He seems so full of himself but, in reality it is his false persona. There’s an inner conflict within himself as he struggles to decide who he wants to be.
Reasons which are explained in the book as to why he has two identities.

The way that they’re able to communicate with their music was beautifully written. Their connection to one another was raw and profound. There are several intimate moments that added to their chemistry. The cello scene was not expected but definitely needed. At the end both Gwen and Alex were both able to play as their true selves.

As someone who doesn’t (can’t) play instruments, it was a bit difficult to follow along the musical terms. Thankfully I read on my kindle so I was able to look up the definitions. Which I recommend doing since it helped me understand what was going on.

I don’t think it’s necessary to read Forget Me Not, but if you do/did then you’ll love seeing the characters' cameos.

Thank You to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), and Julie Soto for an eARC. All opinions are my own.

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto is a charming and heartfelt romance that hits all the right notes. As a fan of contemporary romance, I found this book to be an enjoyable and engaging read.

Soto's writing style is fresh and witty, making the story come alive with vibrant characters and realistic dialogue. The chemistry between the main characters is palpable, and their journey from initial attraction to deep connection is well-paced and satisfying.

One of the standout aspects of the book is its relatable and well-developed characters. Each character has their own quirks and flaws, making them feel genuine and easy to root for. The romantic tension and sweet moments are balanced perfectly, keeping me hooked from start to finish.

While the plot follows some familiar romance tropes, Soto manages to infuse them with originality and charm, creating a story that feels both classic and new. There were a few predictable moments, but they didn't detract from my overall enjoyment.

Overall, Not Another Love Song is a delightful read for anyone who loves a good romance. Julie Soto has crafted a story that is both heartwarming and fun, making it a perfect addition to your summer reading list.

Not Another Love Song
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Earlier this year I read Forget Me Not and I was instantly obsessed! When I saw this one (and its incredible cover) I was so excited and I knew I needed to read it.
This author is such a great writer, and she definitely delivered in the beautiful writing department!
This book follows Gwen and Xander, both of whom are talented musicians. If you are a huge music fan, especially if you play an instrument, you will probably like this book.
I thought this was a sweet book! It felt a touch slow to start but once things picked up and the tension was there I enjoyed it a lot more! I will say I think there’s a certain point where it was more spice than plot… there definitely felt like there were more scenes in this one than in her previous book.
Overall, this is a good book, and it’s getting tons of amazing reviews! However, I think I would have connected more with it if it were written in the 1st person point of view. Forget Me Not was in 1st and I had an easier time connecting with the characters and plot! I read many 3rd person point of view books without issue, but I struggled a bit with this one.
With that being said, I still recommend it! Not Another Love Song will be available on July 16th!

Read If You Like:
🎵musical prodigies
🎵grumpy + sunshine
🎵found family
🎵he falls first
🎵rivals to lovers

Have you ever read a book that just ensnares you? Has you thinking about the characters well after it’s over? Not Another Love Song was that for me.

Julie does a fantastic job of making you think you’re a literal musician who totally understands the inner workings of playing the violin and cello. I lovedddd how she described the experience of playing the intrustments.

This is an extreme slow burn of a book but MAN was the romance romancing by the end. It did have a super ROUGH 3rd act break up which we know I’m not a huge fan of, but I am a big fan of Julie so 🤷🏾‍♀️

Tropes:

🎼 rival musicians
🎼 hate to lovers
🎼 forced proximity
🎼 famous MMC

3⭐️

Unfortunately this book wasn’t it for me and would be much better suited for someone with experience and interest in classical music.

I’m addicted to this young man!

Best book I’ve read this year! I couldn’t put it down and I want more! He’s obsessed with her! And I’m obsessed with that!

Xander and Gwen meet at a wedding when she is asked to play the cello (she is a violinist!!!!) ! Can she do it? Of course she can! She’s a musical genius!

When he asked for her name and where she came from, and she hit him back with, “I sit across from you at the pops every week.” Chills!

Soto is officially an auto-buy author for me. I loved her debut novel and I loved this one. I felt like I could visualize/hear the original compositions Soto described. Also the chemistry between the characters was incredible. Would re-read and recommend this!

This book was so good!! I loved it way better than forget me not!

I personally haven’t dipped into the genres of music/rockstar romances much. But this story didn’t disappoint. This book was so much better than Forget me Not. The love story and tension between the two was flying off the pages of the book.
I will definitely be exploring more music star romances!

I feel like I am in the minority here but, it was just alright. I didn’t really connect with the characters, skimmed a lot of the spice (as a result), and found myself checking how much I had left in a chapter. Unfortunately the stakes weren’t that high and the “villain” was mediocre at best. It felt like a whole lot of nothing for the first half and the final conflict had me feeling indifferent. Where was the pining and desire? What I do have to praise is that Soto seemed to have done a lot of research for this book, and it shows. Furthermore, from a technical perspective the writing itself was well done, though overshadowed by areas that could have been worked on more (a plethora of side characters and pacing). Unfortunately not my cup of tea but it might tickle your fancy. It’s not a book I’d read again

This was such a good time!! Such a good romance and I wasn’t even mad at the third act breakup!! Loved the couples chemistry and having classical music composition as the background of this was different and really cool to read about! That last 15% actually made me so emotional for literally no reason. My lip was legit almost quivering even though it was a happy ending lol. Overall just really loved it. 5/5⭐️

I loved this book so much. Soto had me in a chokehold (yet again, I’m a major fan of Forget Me Not). This book feels like listening to vitamin string quartet while watching Bridgerton—lots of strings, lots of emotion, lots of heat. Looking forward to reading this again and again and again.

I really enjoyed this! The tension, the music, the perfect slow burn - it was so beautifully written and woven together. Highly recommend!

I LOVED the beginning. I could start to build an idea of Gwen, Xander, and Jacob (a side character).

However, as we go on there were some things I struggled with.

Gwen felt flat.
We learned more about other people’s struggles and their backstory, but not enough about Gwen’s.

I loved "Forget Me Not," but I am in love with "Not Another Love Song." Alex and Gwen writing love notes to each other through there compositions absolutely makes my heart swoon!

Not Another Love Song made my heart absolutely sing!

As a musician myself, this book resonated with me so much. How Julie Soto was able to convey what it feels like to perform, to audition, to play with abandon, and to be affected by the music and vice versa was so powerful. I absolutely loved it, and it made me want to grab some sheet music.

This book is for people who settled into a life they’re happy with because it’s safe, not because they love it. It’s for people who are scared to go after what they want. It’s for people who are always scared of letting people down. It’s for people who feel music, or whatever their passion is, deep in their bone marrow.

The romance is amazing, the character growth is beautiful, and I can’t wait to read more from Julie Soto. 5 stars

My review will be posted to Instagram in the 14 days leading up to publication, and to Amazon on publication day

Be still my heart! Quick, cozy read that gives all the feels. I tell you when Soto described them playing I waned to close my eyes because I swore I felt their music playing around me. Enjoyed this!

Gwen is a violin prodigy who plays for the Manhattan Pops. Xander is also a player and is also the cellist for Gwen's favorite band. Even though they've been playing together for a year, Xander has always ignored Gwen. When they cross paths at an Ama wedding, he can't stop insulting her at every turn even when that isnt his intention. Thus begins their tension-filled back and forth. Turns out their pasts overlap quite a but and people who have harmed Xander in the past may be looking to use Gwen as well.

I thought reading about music might be a little boring but I was so wrong. This book is sexy and so intense.

I want to start by saying I probably would appreciate this book more if I knew more about music and composing. A lot of the details and descriptions flew over my head. This book is very heavy on the descriptions so I found myself skimming paragraphs because I was familiar with all other musical lingo. I found the pacing of this story to be off as well. Some parts felt unnecessarily drawn out, while others were quite rushed.

Xander vs Alex is made out to be two very different people which gets somewhat confusing when it comes to how Gwen feels about him. I definitely felt the fan fiction vibes when it came to her original feels for him. Xander was so rude to her, and yet she continued to pine over him because of her childhood crush.

It felt as though conflict is solved before it really starts in the later half of the book. Then there’s the big third act breakup, whose resolution comes overly quick. Again, pacing issues that impacted overall how this reads.

I did enjoy Gwen and especially Mabel as characters. Nathan was the absolute worst, and I can’t tell you how I feel about Alex truthfully. However, if you love music, I feel like this would be your jam!