I was lucky enough to be able to snag this ARC from netgalley. This is the first time I have read a book by this author and it did not disappoint. I am not musically blessed and they way she described how the main characters relate and how they express their love it was perfect. It was a fast paced read and I believe in Gwen all that she stands for. I wouldn't mind reading a novella to learn more about Mabel. Everytime she was on page, I yearned to learn more about her.

Not Another Love Song
Rating: 5/5⭐️
Recommended: Yes!

I honestly could not put this book down. I don’t remember the last time I read a book this quickly but I started and finished this book in less than 24 hours. As a former violin player, I loved the orchestra elements involved in this book. This one reminded me a lot of Check & Mate, which is another one of my favorite books!

LOVE!! Julie can absolutely do no wrong in my eyes! The longing, the pinning, the tension, the CELLO SCENE!! 😍
Julie can always write a simp of a man with perfection. I absolutely LOVED the chapters thrown in from Alex’s POV.
The music aspect adds such depth and romance to the story!
This story made my heart physically hurt then put it back together.
This was a brilliant idea for a fanfic now turned into a published novel and I will always sing Julie Soto’s praises forever and ever! 🖤🎻

I went into this knowing absolutely nothing about this type of music world but I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved it. It was a slow start for me so I was unsure at first but after the 30% mark I was so invested in this story and I did not want to put it down.

This story follows Gwen Jackson and Xander Throne who are both musical prodigies in their own right. Xander was classically trained from the moment he was able to hold an instrument in his hand. While Gwen did not pick up a Violin until she was 11 and curious about it. Xander was raised from a very famous musician while Gwen just born with natural talent. Both of them had very different paths to success but ultimately end up in the same room.

The tension and chemistry in this book was off the walls. I was holding my breathe waiting for them to get together. I loved loved loved Alex and Gwen. They were a match made in heaven. Both of them brought out a side in each other that they were secretly wanting. They made the best couple in both the romantic and musical way.

Having grown up in New York I loved the setting of this book. It is such an ode to NYC in its truest form. It all felt authentic and factually correct. I could picture every single street and building I was reading. This was another hit from Julie and I can’t wait to see what comes next from her.

Read if you like:
- rivals to lovers
- musical prodigies
- he is obsessed with her

thank you Julie Soto and NetGalley for making the ARC free on April Fool’s this book is in fact NOT A JOKE and I will forever be thinking about how no man will ever measure up to Xander Thorne (he wanted to buy her toiletries to keep at his house 😩🥲🫶 the bar for real men is genuinely in hell)

I loved the cameos from Forget Me Not and I will definitely be buying this when it releases in July just so I can reread the cello scene again ❤️

So grateful to Forever publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I thought this was going to be an enemies to lovers romance with two extremely talented musicians!! But this was so much more!! This was passion and difficult conversations! This was toxic work environments and finding out who you really are!! The romance was so good!!!

Seriously go pick this up on July 16!!

This books had me giggling and kicking my feet, my heart racing and butterflies in my stomach. The characters are so relatable and funny I was laughing outloud at some of the dialogue and interactions. Alex and Gwen? Hello. Chemistry of the charts and the spice WOOF.

This book was such a fun read! Julie Soto is an instant buy author for me now after two amazing books. The tension between Alex and Gwen was great, though the rivals to lovers didn’t feel right as a description with how much they were both obsessed with each other I felt they were barely rivals. Don’t get me wrong I love a man obsessed (if you like Ali Hazelwood you’ll love Julie, promise)

The comparing sex to music was a little odd, but I also read a book where they did the same with science (shoutout Ali Hazelwood again) so I am really not that bothered by it.

I would recommend this if you’re looking for a low stakes read set in NYC and centered around symphonies and the world of music.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the April Fools gift of the digital reviewers copy of this book!

Another winner by Julie Soto. If you’re a band or orchestra geek, you’ll eat this book up. Set in NYC. Cellist + Violinist romance. Great tension and great spice. It does have a third act breakup and makeup that feels a bit rushed/flat, but other than that, it’s a dynamic romcom. I was kicking my feet in the air with giddiness. If you loved Forget Me Not, you’ll likely love this too.

When I tell you that Julie Soto is an insta-buy author I am not joking. The way she paints a picture with her words brings me shockingly close to tears. Seriously, she has such a beautiful way with words. I would have never imagined the sexual tension that an orchestra can bring but now I will think of nothing else. Thank you for blessing us Julie.

this was the EASIEST 5 stars I think I’ve ever given. Julie Soto’s writing is just exceptional and the depth she gives her characters are just *chefs kiss* I loved Gwen’s character so much, she’s relatable in a lot of ways. Having Xander’s POV every few chapters was such a power move. I absolutely loved that music played such a major role, it was everything and more. Just the way she writes these characters!!!! the plot!!!!! Their interactions had me literally giggling like Xander is so GONE for Gwen. I love them so much, I just knew I was going to be obsessed with them. This book was so much fun and I cannot wait to buy the physical copy later this year.

I just finished this book and I feel…conflicted. I loved Julie Soto’s last book, Forget Me Not, so I’d been really looking forward to reading this one. And while there were parts of it that were good, it felt a bit chaotic to me overall.

The characters were all likable, but the plot was sort of all over the place. The music aspect was interesting, though. It’s made me want to go to a Pops concert now. I really wanted to love this book, and I can’t quite put my finger on what it’s missing, I just felt a little underwhelmed when I finished it. That being said, I’m still definitely going to read anything else Julie Soto writes in the future!

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the ARC of this book!

Oh…my…GOD!!! My heart did not stop racing the entire time I was reading this book. The passion Alex and Gwen had for music and for each other was simply off the charts and rocked me to my core.

This book is definitely not for the faint of heart. It had more spice to it than any popular romance book I’ve read to date and I could not put it down if I tried.

Julie did such an amazing job bringing depth and tension to the book with the different struggles each of the characters had in the past and present. I loved, loved, LOVED both Gwen and Alex, and all of their friends and family I met along the way.

Julie Soto really comes into her own with this story, and it’s such an evolution from “Forget Me Not.” While this book is stand alone, I smiled when we got snippets of Ama and Elliot.

I can honestly say “Not Another Love Song” will easily be one of my favorite reads of 2024, and I can’t wait to see what Julie has in store for us in 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC!

4.5⭐️
I absolutely loved this book!! It was my first Julie Soto book and I can’t wait to read her other book and recommend this book to everyone! This book was everything I wanted and more and had me giddy. I loved the entire story, and the tension, and the surprising depth to the characters was amazing.

I'm obsessed with this book! Julie did it again, but even better!

So, we have here a rivals-to-lovers set in NY with two incredibly passionate characters.
As we all know, artists are the type of people who usually breathe poetry into their way of seeing life, and this is what this book made me feel. Xander is poetry! The way he describes his feelings is top-tier. Everything about this story was fascinating.

Its only defect is that it ends! I wanted so much more... more Xander POV's chapters and more about what happened after, but what we got, was perfect!

Julie has become a must-read author for me!

At the end of this book, there is a discussion question which reads "Which parts of Xander do you think are real? What makes Xander, Xander and Alex, or Alex- and is there any over lap?" this whole book I was trying to get a grasp on his character, but he is so inconsistent. It's honestly kind of a shock finishing the book and taking an inventory of all of this man's interactions with Gwen. This multiple personality aspect of Alex was confusing and ended up coming off as really emo.

This paired terribly with one of my least favorite things I see in romance books which is random avoidant behavior. That shit triggers me so much. I cannot stand when two characters start building intimacy, and then in a social situation one of them just goes "I wasn't aware we were even friends". That's so disrespectful. I don't need or even want my characters to be flawless individuals, but at the very least, I need them to actively work towards developing secure attachments with people.

I played violin for two years in high school, so I was able to enjoy and understand the orchestra setting, however I am concerned for the non-music girlies who will be reading this. Does the average romance reader know what rosin is? Bow markings? Transposing sheet music? An Arpeggio? Staccato? Legato? Additionally, there were times where plot around the orchestra got a little stale for me, and that's coming from someone who understands all the jargon.

When Gwen was offered to open for U2 with Alex, I was so shocked at her unyielding loyalty to the Pops. I understand that she has been working her whole life for first chair violin for this orchestra, but to not even consider this extraordinary opportunity, especially after multiple events throughout the book where Gwen expresses she loves doing solo "all eyes on her" music performances AND when she had an onstage big crowd moment that she loved? I'm not sure why she seemed to not even consider it. I would have expected some hesitancy since it's a big commitment to start going on tour with a new boyfriend, but that wasn't even it, it was "I can't leave Pops".

I felt kind of lost and overwhelmed by the interconnected nature of this book. The way that all these characters are connected to each other and how much our main character is in the dark about it all doesn't seem realistic. And it was frustrating how cryptic people were people about giving her advice. This seemed to give Gwen anxiety which translated into my reading experience too. Like why is everyone around her just not being helpful? And also how no one knows Xander is Alex! I'm supposed to believe this man went full Hannah Montana but 1) when making zero appearance changes 2) after over a decade of building a musical career as Alex and 3) after going to Julliard for a year. No one recognized him? In this day and age of the internet?

The positives of this book. First, the cover is GIVING and it helps to paint a beautiful image in your head when reading. I think Julie Soto really delivers with her physical chemistry in her novels. When Alex decided he was in a loving mood, I was kicking my feet and giggling at some of the sweet things he did. There were a few Taylor Swift references, some pretty meaningful ones towards the end of the book, so major points for that from me! Also, as cheesy as it was with Forget Me Not, I enjoyed the way she wrapped up the ending of this book with a cute lil bow (music pun intended? lol) 3 stars

I loved this story. I'm a sucker for a romance but add in an orchestra (pops) I am sold. I've read this author's previous book "Forget Me Knot" which I enjoyed immensely. This book was so much more than a romance as it gave voice to former child prodigies. It also touches on the issue of the rights of composers and musicians.
The cello scene on the cover. Wow. Perfection.

The tension was strong from the very first moment Gwen and Xander interact, we are doomed to fall apart. The deadpan tone/delivery from Xander is literally jaw dropping, 3 chapters in and I had to pick up my jaw because this man was like “that wasn’t a compliment”. The duet partner wedding scene was the sexiest thing I’ve ever read until they were in his recording studio.

3.5-4 stars.

I was initially captured by the premise of this novel with its setting surrounding classical music and an orchestra. This book did not disappoint when it came to the setting, unlike other romance novels where the setting and plot seem like an afterthought. Also, I really enjoyed these characters and their stories. They did not feel one-dimensional at all.

Where this novel fell flat for me was the resolution and the relationship. This novel is so close to getting me to believe these characters are in love, but ultimately relies more on tell than show, which disappointed me in the end. That being said, I am very hard to convince so this is probably a me problem.

Overall, I would highly recommend giving this one a shot!

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this ARC. All reviews are my own opinion.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/201627074-not-another-love-song

Wow! This ended up being more fun than I expected. I read Forget Me Not and enjoyed the grumpy sunshine of florist Elliot and wedding planner Ama. Grumpy sunshine is my sweet spot but the rivals to lovers has the amount of obsession that I was craving. Gwen and Alex are both in the Pops orchestra and rivals for the same spot. I don't understand much about music so I couldn't connect with it on that level but I could feel the pining and frustration so deeply between them. The cello scene is as hot as Ali Hazelwood said it would be and it still has me distracted. I would give it 4.5 stars for my feelings about the inclusion of the social politics of orchestras and not enjoying that as much. Overall though I think it was wonderful and I'd happily read any Julie Soto books instantly! Thanks Netgalley for the copy!