Not another love song was a fast easy read!
It follows Gwen and Xander in this grumpy/enemies to lovers story. They are both amazing musicians that are passionate about their career. They are on the journey of self discovery walking different but connected by an invisible string.
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I loved the build up of the fmc and mmc coming together but felt that the relationship was forced at times. I would’ve wanted to see more character development rather than the story ending abruptly . I had so many questions, unless there will be a second book?
I did enjoy some of the angst, him falling for her without noticing; also idk why I imagine him looking like Edward from twilight. With the raybans, being moody and the floppy hair, that was all I could picture whilst reading!
I give it a 3.8/5

Thank you Grand Central/Forever Publishing for providing me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Let me start by saying I have been in a terrible book slump. Nothing has been interesting to me; I have read 20 books this year and had yet to find a 5 star read that WOWED me. I am so happy to say that I finally found it.

This book genuinely had me in a chokehold and I dreaded having to put it down to go to work and class. This book is a new favorite for sure. I cried when it ended because I NEEDED more.

The way that Julie Soto writes is just so enrapturing like I could imagine every single setting to the T, I could feel every emotions the characters were feeling, I could put myself in their shoes and be in the story. Everything about this book was seamless and just flowed together so perfectly. From the ‘enemies’ aspect to the tension, the buildup, the climax [literally and figuratively], every aspect of this book was just incredible.

I loved Ama and Elliot in Forget Me Not, but Gwen and Alex are so so so personal to me. Gwen is just such a lovable character and you want for her to get everything she has ever wanted and Alex is so misunderstood!! They are just two people who fit together perfectly and I loved them so much.

I never thought that musical speak as foreplay would make me kick my feet up and giggle like a child but here we are!! The tension and chemistry in this book was incredible and I was clutching my pearls because I was so flustered and amazed LOL.

I cannot wait for July so I can buy every single version of this book possible, I need it IMMEDIATELY. Julie Soto, the woman that you are!!! I hope you never misplace your keys and find $100 bills every time you go outside and your pillow is always perfectly cold and your shower water is always the perfect temperature. You deserve everything !!!!

Not to be dramatic but reading this book is what falling in love feels like. Big thank you to Julie Soto, Forever, and NetGalley for the ARC. I devoured this and left no crumbs. The fact that the concept of this was born simply because Julie watched a first violinist and first cellist make eye contact, and then wrote a fanfic about it, is iconic. You had me from the beginning.

If you think the cover is gorgeous, just wait until you read the scene that the cover illustration is based on. That scene especially, and other moments between Gwen and Xander, like their first duet in Carnegie Hall, were written so lyrically. I don’t know how Julie did it and I don’t how to describe it very well, but they flowed like real music. A true masterpiece. It’s like I could feel the rallentandos and crescendos through the words. Maybe I was just hearing the music in my mind. Anyways, this is easily one of my favorite books of the year.

Listen, I don't want to exaggerate, but this book was kind of life-changing. The yearning, the tension, their relationship—this book was everything. It had me giggling, screaming, kicking my feet, and being all silly and giddy. Julie Soto, you are a genius. I'll read ANYTHING you write. I'll write a longer review closer to the release date, but thank you so much to Forever and NetGalley for this eARC! Favorite book of the year and probably ever.

“It’s simple really,” he said. “It’s about a cello who fell in love with a violin.”

4.5/5 stars

I was so excited to read this book after devouring Forget Me Not last year so thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC!

Things I loved:
- Gwen & Alex: their passion, their banter, the way they created music together, the tension, and THE ANGST
- all the side characters (wholesome friends, found family, also complicated family relationships + drama)
- the cameo from characters from Forget Me Not

Things I didn't like as much:
- third act Alex
- the ending because it was a little bit lackluster

This was such an enjoyable read & I can't wait to read what Julie Soto writes next!

I could not put down Not Another Love Song! I never knew playing cello could be so hot. Julie Soto is an amazing writer and I can’t wait to read whatever comes next. 🥵 5 stars!

Not A Love Song is possibly my favorite read of 2024 so far— someone’s going to have to try really hard to prove to me it won’t be my fave of the year overall. I could not put this down. Julie Soto is a master of tension, it crackles. Xander/Alex is so broody and intense and immediately obsessed with Gwen, in a way the text telegraphs well even when he’s still a distant looming figure who isn’t quite real to her yet. The intimate scenes are so deliciously spicy I wanted to throw my book across the room; and the merging of Alex and Gwen’s musical passion and passion passion was *chefs kiss,*, A+ craft. I love the friend and found family moments Soto creates- the side characters are so textured and vivid. If I had qualms with this book, they are few. I did notice a pacing issue toward the end with a rather quick “I love you” followed not long after by the abrupt introduction of an external conflict via the shady manager. The sense of abruptness could maybe have been avoided if Soto had made different POV choices (I.e. if Alex’s had been privileged more.) And as much as I truly think the love scenes are exquisite, I also struggled to accept that Gwen’s anxiety about performing didn’t show up in these physically intimate moments given her sexual inexperience. I note these minor issues in the interest of being well rounded, but I cannot emphasize enough that my reading experience with this book was perfect. I anticipate many rereads and I’ll be recommending it fervently to everyone I know.

HOLY GODS THE CELLO SCENE!!

I knew as soon as I started this book that I wouldn't want it to end- I still want more Xander and Gwen so I will be annoyingly making this book my entire personality and rec it to anyone who will listen & I'M NOT SORRY

running to find all julie's fanfic now bc i CANNOT GET ENOUGH


thank you julie & forever for making this arc available to normals for one day 😭🤍

The characters had so much passion for their music that it just spilled over into a whirlwind romance. The chemistry between Alex and Gwen was equal parts swoony and explosive.

I loved that they were rivals to lovers instead of enemies to lovers, it felt much more organic. Their musical talent was so extraordinary but they came from two completely different walks of life so for me their transition into lovers was captivating especially because they shared the same talent but wildly different worldviews and were forced to work it out to work together and be together.

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this advanced copy! You can pick up Not Another Love Song on July 16, 2024.

Y'all. I can't even express how much I LOVED this book. It was pure perfection from beginning to end. He falls first? Done. Hot musical foreplay? No problem. Complex character development and relationships? Easy. I was sucked in from the beginning, and the way Julie wrote about music literally moved me. I think because music is such an emotional experience, Xander and Gwen's relationship was that much more emotional too.

Plus, the cameos from Forget Me Not made me so happy! I can't stop thinking about this book. I think it'll be the one I rate the rest of this year's romances by because the bar is high as hell. If you're ANY kind of romance reader, I highly recommend picking this one up!

This is my new favorite Julie Soto book! I really liked Forget Me Not, but this one tops it! I couldn't put it down and finished it in less than 24 hours. I loved the musical references and the rivals to lovers trope between a violinist and a cellist. The way the book is written, it reads like a song immersing you in every emotion that the characters feel. It may be a little spicy for some people but overall I loved it!

Spiciness: 3/5 🌶️

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever for the ARC!

This book was full of stunningly delicious tension and I LOVED it.

Alex’s story reminded me a lot of the movie Whiplash. He was constantly being pushed to be better, do better, create more and finally hit a wall and felt like he needed to leave his life behind and create a new one. He always believed in Gwen’s potential.
We live to see a man OBSESSED and boy was this man obsessed.

“‘Look, I don’t know what you want from me, but—‘
‘Anything.‘ Black eyes looked down on her, and he took a shaking breath. ‘Everything.’”

I loved the two of them coming together to create something beautiful and both of them creating their own families and paths forward.

There was some conflict/ a third act breakup that was a little frustrating. The pacing felt a little weird in that moment and they both did need to individually go on their own journeys to come back together but it felt a little rushed? I can’t put my finger on it but I didn’t love it.


Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I really loved this book and it gave me all the feels!! As a musician this book had me hooked.. the way music was depicted was magical and emotive.

Not only did we get a spicy/tension filled/passonate love story between two classical string instrumentalists (grumpy cellist rockstar/sunshine violinist prodigy), but we also got to dive into the world of families/mentors/musicians dynamics from multiple perspectives and the pressure that comes along with it the music industry.

This books was beautifully written and I would highly recommend!! I’m so glad this was my first ARC ❤️

I mostly enjoyed the first half of this book for the romance, the tension and the musical passion! but the second half quickly became smut over plot. 🌶️🌶️🌶️

a rivals-to-lovers romance with the main characters playing across from each other in the same orchestra? yes please.

ok, first up i adore an obsessed mmc. alex telling gwen that she’s magnificent and being so clearly head-over-heels for her through most of the book is something i loved!

i enjoyed all the music stuff as well. i’m not a musician and never have been, but found that whole aspect of the book really interesting, even if it didn’t actually mean much (anything) to me.

it dragged a tiny bit at around 60/70% but luckily that didn’t last long.

and idk i’m not a gal who loves the third-act breakup but for some strange reason this one worked for me ??? and i am shocked ??

overall, when i forgot that this was originally a reylo fanfic (not a reylo gal either) i had a great time.

I DEVOURED this book! Thank you to NetGalley, Julie Soto, and Forever publishing! I got this on April fools, but the way I loved this book is not a joke.

ALSO, all opinions are my own of course, and I think that will be evident throughout.

So let's get into it!

This book KEPT MY INTEREST! I wanted to know more and read more, which is saying a lot as I am actively reading three other books oops ahah. I have been in my fantasy era, so I wasn't expecting to fall for this book like I fell for this book. I enjoyed most of it so much!

Things that worked well for me:
-Alex. Enough said, he was great until every readers dreaded third act breakup.
-Gwen as a character. I liked her a lot honestly. She wasn't relatable for me, but she was painted in such a way that I cared about her as a character.
-Gwen and Alex together. It takes a while for them to get there, but when they get there, they are THERE. I love how Alex was not ashamed to say how he felt and what he felt. It annoys me to no end when the MMC is like "no I love you, but I am going to be an ABSOLUTE JERK and you are going to have to guess about my feelings toward you."
-Gwen and Alex composing/creating music together and for each other. This was masterful, it was art and I loved it.
- The side characters (minus Lorenz and Nathan, they can choke and dissipate)
-The world/atmosphere was pretty enjoyable to me. I felt emersed in a good way.
-The plot/storyline was pretty unique in my opinion. I mean, did Julie Soto reinvent the wheel? No. But the whole music storyline and world in a romance book is new to at least me and I liked that. I actually cared about the story and Gwen and not just Gwen and Alex as a couple.

Things that did not work well for me...
- Third act breakups or pauses are always going to be a no for me. Quite frankly, I would not have been able to be in a relationship with someone who was so easily willing to choose a career for no contact with me. I thought Gwen and Alex were so cute together and their relationship felt amazing, until we got to the third act breakup that was not really necessary at all?
- Some scenes were not normal to be honest. When you are creating orchestra music/composing pieces (or really actually any music involving the cello and violin) please like let's keep our clothes on? It felt like a defilement of music to be honest. Like if I am playing an instrument (which I can't really, I can BARELY play the piano) if someone tried to pull any of the things Alex (and Gwen) did I would be like NOPEEEEEE.

Overall, I would recommend this book when it releases because it was an enjoyable ride. I did take one star off for the ending and weird scenes mentioned in what didn't work for me. But I loved this book and can certainly say I want more Julie Soto books!
4/5 for sure!

Forget Me Not was one of my top books of 2023 so the second Not a Love Song was on netgalley I had to start it immediately. This book was so good. The angst, the longing, the tension!!! Julie nailed the perfect rivals to lovers scenario with the setting. I will say I wasn’t as completely obsessed with parts of the story as I was for Forget Me Not, for that reason it was only a 4.5 star read for me. But I enjoyed it so much and I can’t wait to see what Julie’s next book will be!

I loved Julie Soto's other book but this one wasn't 100% for me. I thought the insta love/attraction was too dramatic and I wasn't a fan of the sexualization of the music/instruments. also when I read it was Reylo fanfiction...I am just not the audience for that! but you if love reylo then youll love this!

I really enjoyed this book! I love when the main characters have such passions for what they do in life like Gwen and Alex had. I do wish we got a little bit more perspective from Alex in the beginning like his inner thoughts when we first heard Gwen play at the wedding. It felt a bit lopsided in the beginning. Also their relationship felt a bit rushed once they got together. Overall I definitely enjoyed and would recommend!

I so loved everything about NOT ANOTHER LOVE SONG! I was immediately engrossed in the world of it. The intensity and buildup tension between Gwen and Alex/Xander was impeccably undeniable and so believable. I appreciated the roundedness, emotional depth, and authenticity to the characters and the storyline. Yes, the story revolves about music, an orchestra and symphonies, but the writing itself has sense of musicality to it in a lyrical and rhythmic way, making for a beautiful read. The book made me admire cellos that much more... once you read it you'll know. I loved all the discovery that happens to Gwen and Alex individually and together as they navigate their own careers and who they are to each other. First time reading this author's work, and I'm off to go read her other book! Looking forward to reading whatever the author grants us with next!

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.