This story hooked me from the start, and I just didn't want to put it down. The main characters are musicians and as their paths keep crossing in unexpected ways, I love the mysteriously deep connection that forms between them. The writer really illustrated the lifestyle of a musician - in multiple settings and levels of performance - in a way that was fun to read and gave a rich context for the characters to develop personally, professionally, and of course romantically. The side characters were entertaining as well, and it was fun to recognize certain faces that popped in from Julie Soto's previous book Forget Me Not. I smiled through both of these books, and look forward to reading more from this author!

i fell in love with soto’s first book so i KNEW i had to snag this one! i am so obsessed with this title and im convinced its going to be my top book of 2024! i cannot wait to get a physical copy!!

I have no worddddds for this!

First of all thank you endlessly to Julie and Forever and NetGalley for the ARC of this masterpiece. I’m so grateful because it’s exactly what I needed. I was feeling a bit burnt out and slumpy and this was like a shot of espresso to the SOUL!

As readers I feel like we’re constantly searching for that feeling you get when you’re reading what’s going to end up being one of your favorite books. This book was THAT GIRL 👏🏻

As a musician myself, I have to say, this book especially appealed to me. Made me want to go jam with my partner 🎶

The chemistry??? THE TENSION??? I devoured it- not a single crumb in sight. The fact that this started as Reylo fic? It’s like this was written just for me? 🙈

These characters had me blusssshhhing 🫣 It was SO refreshing to read a book where the MC is just completely gone for the FMC and just in awe of her talent and EVERYTHING.

I found these characters SO relatable. Julie is amazing at writing characters with depth. Even through the limited chapters we get of Alex’s POV we really get to know him.

I feel like I have so much more to say! I could rant about this forever.

Gwen is a self-taught violinist with amazing talent, playing a symphony. When she gets offered the job of first chair as a publicity stunt to raise money for the symphony, she realizes she’ll have to work with a rude first chair cello, who also happens to be the star of her favorite band. Gwen and Xander try to work together, and find out they have amazing chemistry.

I loved this book. So cute! I love the build up of their relationship. I’m a big fan of rivals/enemies to lovers and this one was great! The chemistry between the main characters was palpable. The third act break-up was not a miscommunication but a real relationship struggle, and I loved the resolutions at the end for all the characters.

Not another love song is a beautifully composed masterpiece.


Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for providing me with this ARC.

Ok, I want to start out by saying I really enjoyed this and you should read it. The love story was great - she falls first because he's famous and she loves his music, but he falls way WAY harder. The MMC is an icon in pop-classical crossover music and she's a major fan. I adored the inclusion of the Scooter Braun-type character and reading about the seedy underbelly of orchestra fundraising. I loved the references to popular, current soloists like Hilary Hahn and Nicola Benedetti, and I'm going to love seeing them read about themselves in this book - I hope they like it as much as I did!

My only issues with the book were because I'm a snob. I play music [not strings], though I wouldn't call myself a musician, and enjoy classical music. I loved the references to popular classical pieces, but I wish we had more variety to maybe pique people's interest in listening to pieces they haven't heard of before. I absolutely loved that we had a love story between two orchestral positions in prominent positions in their orchestra. I loved that they came from two different backgrounds, one academic and one more naturally gifted. The things is - I don't see a concertmaster of an orchestra, even a Pops orchestra, with absolutely zero conservatory training. It doesn't make any sense, and I can't see others in her section or other sections being okay with it.

I won't get into too many plot details because this book is pre-publication, but there some things that happened that I felt like simply would NOT happen among high level amateur or professional musicians—picking up an instrument at a gig that you don't play and playing it? Being called on stage by your idol to play a song, and you wind up playing for 6? At a concert that people paid to see the ACTUAL musician at? A professional cellist [PRINCIPAL CELLIST?] having issues playing Bach's Cello Suite? Idk Idk Idk.

HOWEVER all told, I was able to put those things aside because the story was cute and well-paced. I was glad to see this set in the world of classical music, and I hope we get more!

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for the eARC!

Julie Soto does it again yall. When I say unputdownable, I mean it. I didn’t know how I was going to vibe with this one since it’s about two people in the orchestra and I don’t know the orchestra all that well or understand the culture of it, but boy am I ready to pick up a cello now. Alex was such a cutie pie and he PINED for her. And she made him work to prove himself. They simply are so perfect for each other and it was so beautiful to see them carve a little family into their lives after being surrounded by manipulative people who claimed they had their best interests but were only looking out for themselves. They are so cute together and Christmas Day made my heart warm (could also be heartburn from the copious amounts of cheese and chocolate I ate while reading this). I simply didn’t have time for proper sustenance when I needed to read this banger of a book. Can’t wait for everyone to read this and can’t wait for the next one!!

I went into this a little bit blind and was extremely surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Who knew that musical dynamics could be so enthralling? Most people know that listening to music can evoke intense feelings and emotions, but surprisingly, reading about it can also.
The tension between the MC’s at the beginning kept me interested, and the tender connection through their composition and playing held my interest throughout.
Absolutely recommend reading this, especially if you’re a music lover who is a sucker for a good romance!

I was lucky to get an ARC of this since it is one of my most anticipated reads of 2024 after reading "Forget Me Not". I was able to fall in love with both characters very easily and I love the style in which Julie Soto arranges the multi-POV. I find myself craving the 2nd perspective. Soto built the complexities in both main characters as well as with the supporting cast that really filled out the story. If you are looking for a complex romance this is for you!

I devoured this book and loved every bit of it! It hooked me from the start, and I loved Gwen and Alex's relationship. There was definitely angst, but I felt that the 3rd act breakup wasn't overly drawn out. Overall, this was a 5 star read for me, and I can't wait to see what JS comes out with next.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC!

I'm not a musical person, but I still enjoyed this very much. The emotion between Alex and Gwen was intense and I liked how the author used music to depict that. I suspect for someone with a musical background, this would be even more impactful. I re-read several parts because the emotion of the book was very compelling. Can't wait to read more of this author's work!

The grip this book has on me!!!! I could barely get any work done bc I wanted to finish it so bad. This book was SO fluffy, SO cute and SO sweet! Also the spicy scenes were so perfectly done as usual with a Julie Soto book.

The plot is absolutely screaming reylo and as a reylo Stan I’m for it! But despite the glaring neon “this is Kylo Ren!” Signs, I still visualize Alex as more of his own character.

If you like Ali hazelwood or any stem romance you’ll like this one!!!

This was a sweet and spicy modern romance that left me with all the warm and fuzzy feelings! As is typical with most romances, the third act conflict reared its ugly head, but I can report it centered around issues that went beyond miscommunication, my least favorite of tropes. The issues Gwen and Alex face will resonate with most adults who have struggled with life-changing decisions. This was my first Julie Soto book, and I am looking forward to reading more of her work!

I’ve loved following Julie Sotos venture from fanfic into published works. She deserves the hype!

This book was beautiful. -I know nothing about classical/instrumental music, but found the crossover of creative passion vs familial pressure to be a great dynamic for the main characters to work through both professionally, and personally.
The struggle is what brought them together! 👏🏼
I would hardly call this a rivalry romance, but more of a creative connection. Two prodigies forging out their futures.
The musical terms were used in relation to Alex and Gwen’s own love story, it felt so passionate and inspiring. Their relationship was a natural progression and with great tension that fell in perfectly with the other plot points.
New York as the setting worked so well. Almost like a little love story to the musical aspect of NYC.

Will happily be reading anything Soto writes!


Thank you NetGalley, for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review
And the publisher, Forever (Grand Central publishing)
Publication date: July 15, 2024

Loved this read! I feel like Soto outdid herself from her last romance novel, Forget Me Not. It was easy to relate to the main character, Gwen, and was just such a sweet (and steamy) story. Really enjoyed the musical aspect to it, as I know nothing about that lol. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the approval of this e-ARC, I ate it up!

I loved everything about this book. I thought the relationship between the two main characters was amazing, so much tension and chemistry! I also loved all of the side characters and I thought they added a lot of humor and comfort to not only the min characters but the readers as well. I will read anything that Julie Soto writes!

Amazing book. The attention to details, especially about music and orchestra was very impressive. I know absolutely nothing about that, but was able to understand everything. Loved the two main characters, their chemistry was explosive. Also loved all of the side characters.

I suddenly wish this book came with a soundtrack.

Yes, this book is super Kylo/Rey coded. I'm not into it personally but it's clear that there is a big audience that ships them. If you are a shipper, don't miss this book! Xavier/Alex has it BAD for Gwen. I mean BAD. Julie Soto's writing style and flow reminded me of Ali Hazelwood's The Love Hypothesis (also Kylo/Rey lol). However, this book is in 3rd POV and I think it worked even better that way! Usually, I like single POV but the 3rd POV helped ease some of the tension and see both of their perspectives.

Fans of Forget Me Not will love to see Ama and Elliot pop up here and there. I personally was disappointed in that book so I went in to this with low-ish expectations. I didn't gel with Forget Me Not and now I realize that a big part of that was because of the flow and the past/present aspect that dragged on for me. Since this book didn't rely on flashbacks, it was a lot smoother to read.

Also, I loved the forward! I always love to read about real-life encounters inspire the author.

What to expect in Not Another Love Song
-grumpy/sunshine
-grumbly/grumpy/alphahole
-they're both in a musical group together
-found family
-🌶🌶

Gwen Jackson loves her job as a violinist in the Pops Orchestra. Ultimately she wants a stable job where she can live comfortably in New York. While at one point Julliard was the dream, it wasn't meant to happen for Gwen financially. Having no family left of her own, Gwen relies on the support of her music teacher and her best friend and roommate Jacob.

When Jacob and Gwen find themselves playing for a wedding theres a bit of a mishap and Gwen finds herself playing the cello instead of the violin. But not just any cello (!!!!), the cello of star Xander Thorne. If Xander wasn't a conceited ass he'd realize that they'd been in Pops together for over a year. The only reason Gwen has to play the cello and not Xander is because he's actually part of the wedding party. Not only does he not remember her, but he also critiques her performance. Gwen has had enough of Xander Thorne and her crush on him and his band go up in flames.

Soon after, Gwen is offered the role of First Chair with the Pops. To say Xander is upset would be an understatement and he conveniently takes his frustrations out on Gwen. But when Gwen and Xander keep bumping into one another and ultimately play some music together they both realize they have chemistry that is undeniable. Gwen is falling and falling hard. But is she falling for the rock star Xander Thorne who is confident and surly or the sweet man who loves making music with her?

I loved both Gwen and Xander's characters. They were both so complicated for different reasons. And yet their attraction was always sizzling on the page. I loved any moment they had together and their dialogue was either giving me butterflies or making me giggle and kick my feet!

I will say that Not Another Love Song did start off a bit slowly for me. But once the story started moving I had a hard time putting it down. There were so many scenes that had me 🫠.

Overall I would give Not Another Love Song 4.5 stars, but rounding up!

I read Forget Me Not last year and immediately fell in love with Julie Soto's writing style. I couldn't wait for Not Another Love Song. I already can't wait to read whatever book Julie decides to write next!

I really enjoyed Forget Me Not and was looking forward to this book. It was nice to have a little cameo from Ama and Elliot but selfishly, I would have liked to hear a little more about what they are up to now.
I felt a little lost with all the orchestra and music composition references - I don't have any background with music. I think one villain would have been enough, we didn't need two. Overall I liked Gwen and Alex/Xander's relationship, they were well-written and I also liked the side characters of Mabel, Jacob, Declan, and Mei. Can we get a Mabel book??