An absolute masterpiece, I honestly don't know how I'm going to move on from this magnificent read but Julie Soto just blew me away all over again!

"𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐲'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧," 𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝 "𝐎𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐭."

I loved Ama and Elliot but I may love Gwen and Xander even more and that feels like blasphemy or something. Gwen is a self taught violinist who plays for the manhattan pops, and when her and her roommate agree to play a wedding for some extra cash she's prepared except for one thing. They want a cellist not a violinist, and even though she hasn't played since she was young she agrees because they need this job. She's not expecting the Cello she's given to play on to belong to none other than rockstar cellist Xander Thorne. Xander is the best, he knows it, everyone knows it so he is thrown for a loop when a violinist turned cellist for the night blows him away with her playing. He's transfixed. What he doesn't know is they've met, they're regularly in each others or it with him also playing in the pops. After seeing her play he finds himself seeking her out and being intimated by her ability but he can't stay away.

Every bit of this read was absolutely fantastic, I cannot wait to devour the next Julie Soto novel!

I LOVED this one! I couldn’t put it down. It was fun, fast-paced, and the music sung from the pages. The chemistry was so good. The plot was well-developed and I loved the found family elements. I loved following along as the characters grew, also. I can’t wait to read more books from this author. Highly recommend!

Thank you Julie and Forever Publishing for the Netgalley ARC of Not Another Love Song. Julie’s previous book, Forget Me Not, is one of my very favorite books, so I couldn’t wait to devour this book. And devour it I did!! I had no idea cellos and orchestras could be so sexy! But get me to an orchestra concert pronto please!
I loved the journey our FMC, Gwen, made during the book. She was so broken and had so little confidence in herself at the beginning. This is more than just a love story, its a story of found family and knowing who your people are.
Xander was everything you want in your male lead. Tall, dark, handsome and very moody. But he and Gwen made the perfect compliment to eachother. And can we just talk about the cello scene in chapter 10 🔥🔥🔥. Im still drooling!!

I could not put this book down. Julie Soto has hit it out of the park again with a love story between the lead violinist and cellist of an orchestra. The heat and passion fly off the pages as their music soars. Every character in this book is amazing and when they all come together in this story, it is perfect. I cannot recommend this book enough!

not another love song by julie soto / ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

she’s done it again, folks!! julie soto has created something so so beautiful with alex and gwen’s story! the tension was chefs kiss, the spice was chefs kiss, the DRAMA was chefs kiss - kisses all around! this also felt like a grown up if I stay with the rockstar/classical music aspect and that was one of my favorite books growing up so this has a special place in my heart for sure

Shoutout Julie, Forever Publishing, and NetGalley for this ARC!! Best April Fools surprise ever!

tropes:
🎻 rivals to lovers
🎫 musical prodigies
🗽 rockstar boyfriend
🎼 (grumpily) workshops her 🙈
🌮 he’s in denial of his feelings but then goes on to write the most beautiful song about her???!!!!!!!

Thank you to NetGalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

I didn’t love this one as much as Forget me Not and as a Reylo Stan that pains me.

You definitely can tell who the characters are if you know Star Wars and I was captivated by the story but I wasn’t invested. It was good but I wasn’t chomping at the bit to keep reading. There were even parts I skimmed just trying to get to the end.

A lot of it felt predictable (maybe also because I know all the classic reylo fanfiction tropes and plot moves) but it overall fell slightly flat. Still cute and a fun romance but it didn’t blow me away.

3.5 ⭐️

Not Another Long Song has a super fun and interesting plot that had me intrigued immediately! I really enjoyed the first half of this book and was obsessing over the longing stares and the general premise of the story. However, I didn’t love the second half of the book and the romance fell flat for me. I felt like it could’ve had more emotional depth to it outside of the spice.

This is definitely a great summer romance book, though. I definitely would recommend it to people who love the genre.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the advanced copy. Not Another Love Song releases on July 16!

I don't think I will ever have enough words to explain how beautiful this story was. Julie Soto has solidified herself as one of my forever favorite authors with this new release, maybe even in the top 3. The intricate and complex way that she conveys the emotions of her characters to her readers will never fail to astound me!

The chemistry between Alex and Gwen was explosive, well developed, and made my heart do so many summersaults. Both characters were vividly portrayed as individuals, but when their relationship developed their personalities intertwined in such a romantic way. They complimented each other in a way that screamed soulmates from the very first moment they were on page together. As they communicated the hardest of emotions with each other through their music, Soto drew the reader into those conversations as well. I never knew so much could be said through music composition, especially as someone not well-versed in music theory, but Soto described the pieces Gwen and Alex performed in a way that even I could understand thoroughly!

This book was a beautiful, perfect, show-stopping five star read for me. I will be recommending it to every romance reader I know!

This was my first musical romance book and I thought it was delightful - cozy and emotional without being overdramatic. I have no musical training at all, but I felt the emotions pouring off the page with each performance. I also loved the complexities of the different relationships and the found family aspect of it all.

Thank you Netgalley for the e-arc of this upcoming title!
I am very hit or miss when it comes to romance. Like horror, which I love, I expect romance to grab ahold my feelings. It’s supposed to evoke all these different emotions. This, did not. Soto is definitely a talented writer and for that I give her 3 gracious stars. But for plot, I just didn’t ever care.

I was lucky enough to get an arc for this and boyyyy did i have a great time! I wasn’t the biggest fan of her debut (i do love her dramione fanfics tho) and this one did it for me 😌 it scratched a spot in my brain and my god. this book was my he he ha ha, giggling, kicking my feet under the covers book 🤍 Gwen and Xander are musical prodigies. Gwen is offered First Chair in the orchestra where she works at, Xander has wanted that role for YEARS. There is hostility, sexual tension, the respect for each other’s talent?? Their chemistry?? I could feel it. I read the infamous cello scene and yeah, life changing. I loved this even more because I ADORE classical music. I grew up watcing and listening to 2cellos, Yo-Yo ma, Hilary Hahn, Ray Chen... this was definitely up my alley

4.5/5
I loved this so much. Grumpy/sunshine type with the perfect amount of spice and smut for this romance. The very beginning started out a little slow for me but once it got going I literally could not put this down. It kept me engaged throughout the entire book. Allowing a peek into the orchestra world (that I honestly have no background in), but giving you just enough that you don't even need knowledge of the music world. This is one I could reread again! Thank you NetGalley, Forever, and Julie Soto for allowing me to read this amazing ARC. EVERYONE grab this and read it when it becomes available July 16! 1 will definitely be grabbing more of Julie Soto's books in the future.

Having not read Julie Soto's other work, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but let me tell you... this was excellent! Some of the hottest spice I've read in a long while, with the added fun of music being at the center of this relationship. The build up to the first encounter was excellent and you could practically feel them drawing together like magnets the whole book. While both characters have their issues, I think they discussed them openly and honestly by the end of the book which doesn't always happen. I was glad to see those who deserved it get their comeuppance without injuring the relaltionships that had been building. The side characters were charming and just brightened the story further. Absolutley recommend picking this one up, especially if you have a love of music and spice. ;)

Thank you to Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

A sexy and stunning symphony of a sequel, Not Another Love Song may just be my favorite read of 2024 so far.

Though it is not technically a true sequel to the memorable Forget Me Not, the two do take place in the same universe, and I adored the brief glimpses we got of our beloved Ama and Elliot.

Soto’s second book is equally as swoon-worthy as the first, the perfect harmony of sweet and spicy. With spots of delicious tension and the unique orchestral setting, this truly swept me from the first chords and carried me all the way through to the coda.

As someone intimately familiar with both New York City (I sit typing this in The Bronx as we speak) and the violin (10 years and an appearance at Lincoln Center later, my Scotland is to Gwen’s Squeaky), both of these elements felt beautifully realistic and drew me into the page so completely at times I forgot I was even reading (which is always the best).

The side characters were wonderfully executed, creating an intriguing and authentic dynamic amongst the cast, and the additional plot surrounding Gwen’s career was additionally compelling.

I gasped, I giggled, I couldn’t get enough. This book was a romantic musicians dream. There’s so much more I could say, but honestly, I think you should simply experience it for yourself.

For those who enjoy —
- broody rockstars
- he fell first (and harder)
- longing looks across classical compositions
- spice that will make you sweat

than you’re sure to love this as much as I did!

As a long time reader of Julie’s works (iykyk), I am never surprised by her brilliance and am so beyond thrilled to have another sensational story of hers to seek comfort in.

While this may be Not Another Love Song, it certainly is a love story—one I’ll be returning to time and time again.

Oh, and one last thing…
THE. CELLO. SCENE.

I LOVED this book. I was obsessed right from the beginning through the end. I need this author to write more books because they are SO good.

i enjoyed the first 20% of this...but the writing style and plot kinda fell flat for me as it progressed :')

Julie Soto has a talent for making me absolutely inhale whatever she writes. I loved the orchestral setting.

I loved this story! There was so much love and passion. And it was really fun trying to hear what the music would sound like in my head. The romance was so well written and had me absolutely swooning. Such an amazing story!

Reading this so close to Julie Soto's debut Forget Me Not, it was hard not to compare them, though they're different in many ways. While I enjoyed that book, I thought some of the problems with it were much improved here: the characters communicated more, we spent more time with them as their relationship developed, making it feel more genuine, and the characters themselves felt more fleshed out and consistent in their motivations and actions. Interestingly, some of the things I really liked about Forget Me Not were not as well done here: for example, I thought the sex scenes here were a bit more awkwardly written, with some strange imagery and over-use of certain words.

This book is absorbing and compulsively readable. Once I started it, I didn't want to put it down. I thought the pacing was a bit off: there were big time jumps where nothing really happened and I thought it was a bit too much of a slow burn in that way -- sometimes there was too much time in between the characters' interactions where I felt the tension was kind of wearing off rather than heightening. Conversely, when the characters do get together, their relationship progressed really quickly -- I would have liked to see more even pacing throughout. I also would have liked to see a bit more from Xander's POV. I love a man obsessed and I think if his sections were just a bit longer, it would have made that aspect of the story even more delicious!

Overall, I enjoyed this book and would recommend it! It gives that fun fizzy feeling of a good romance and at the end of the day, that's what the people want.

Thanks to Julie Soto and her publisher for making this book available early to all readers on NetGalley!

Hot dayum. Not Another Love Song as skyrocketed into the my top 3 favorite romance reads (joining the company of Priest by Sierra Simone and One Dirty Night by Pepper Winters).

For anyone who loves a good romance novel it's amazing. But if you're also a music nerd it's even more incredible. A violin player and a cello player from a pops orchestra? Competition for concertmaster? It’s every band nerd’s dream book. Most of us realize that music can make or break a mood, a scene in a movie, etc. Not Another Love Song takes that to a whole new level by building those feelings through words instead of the audio (and now I really want an audio book of this with a soundtrack!). A great premise for a novel with an even better execution.