Thank you to NetGalley, Julie Soto and Forever for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is wholly my own & may not be reproduced.

I became a Julie Soto fan with Forget Me Not & am so excited that I had the opportunity to review Not Another Love Song.

I didn’t think it was possible to top Forget Me Not, but here we are. This is FOR SURE one of the best romances I’ve read this year.

Everything about this was gold. Alex (Xander) & Gwen had INSANE chemistry & as I reader, I felt all that tension. The spice level was amazing. And the music!?! If music speaks to you, this book is an absolute must read. Music is woven into every aspect of the story from beginning to end & music lovers will eat this up for that alone.

This book was so well-written, immersive & addictive. It is so bingeworthy & puts the readers through ALL the feelings.

Perfection!

I honestly can't get 0ver how much I loved this book. The chemistry, the tension, the music and that cello scene? All perfection. Easily my favorite read of the year and I immediately pre-ordered the physical copy and audiobook after reading the ARC!

I stayed up far too late because I just could not put this book down. I've rarely read a book with so much passion, not just for the romance but for music. If you like to read about creative, talented people then this is the book for you. Gwen Jackson and Xander Thorne start out as competitors but when they play together - it's magic.

The two of them could not be more different. Gwen is more traditional than Xander both in how and what she plays. Xander is more like a rock star, who takes chances. There is also the mystery of why he'd stopped playing violin and played cello instead. They both play for the Manhattan Pops, where they play popular music with classical instruments. Reading this made me miss my piano, and working behind the scenes in live plays when I was in college.

I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher Forever (Grand Central Publishing) via NetGalley, and voluntarily read and reviewed it.

Not Another Love Song was sweet, I enjoyed it more than the author’s previous book, Forget Me Not. I especially enjoyed the music aspects and overall the romance was good. My biggest annoyance was how long it took for some things in the past to unfold. When the whole story finally came out it was very anticlimactic. I’ll be interested to read Julie Soto’s next work and hope I keep enjoying her books more.

This book explored music in a whole new way with an orchestra, classical music and composing it had just as much romance and it was great. I loved all the characters connections.

I really love that Julie Soto writes and how the chemistry between love interests are ELECTRIC.
I do wish that Alex & Gwen could have communicated more instead of a "bang it out" solution to things.
Overall, the story was well write and sweet but the end felt a bit rushed.
Thank you to NetGalley & Forever Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 STARS! One of the best books of 2024!

"Not Another Love Song" by Julie Soto is incredible. It's sexy, it's hot, it's original, it's alluring, it's full of banter, it's steamy, it's sensual, it's entertaining, it's brilliant! I love this book sooooooooo much. If you love music as much as I do, you will fall head over heels for this book. I will have a hard time moving Alex/Xander off the top of my book-boyfriends list because SWOON!!!!!! My goodness, Alex and Gwen's chemistry is indelible, incredible, and intoxicating. Their banter is top-notch, their pull to each other is delectable, and the spice is chef's kiss. Ugh, so freaking good. I could not put this book down! They are the perfect book couple, in my opinion. Soto's words are alluring, and this story is like a symphony you cannot stop listening to. I was pulled in from the very first chapter. One minor complaint is the miscommunication at the end, but I can overlook this because of how good the rest of it is. I love Julie Soto's writing, and I cannot wait for her next book. It's clear to me that she puts her heart and soul into each of her characters... and it shows! Just fantastic stuff here.

Thank you to NetGalley, Julie Soto, and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the complimentary ARC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

This book is perfection. A Reylo fanfic turned traditionally published novel about rival players in an orchestra. He's Down Bad immediately. The spicy times are amazingggg. The pining is amazingggg. The cameos from Forget Me Not characters are amazingggg. I have no notes. If you like contemporary romance, then I think you'll adore this book!

I feel like (maybe?) people who dabble with instruments would eat this up! As someone who could barely play the recorder, I still ate this up! I wouldn’t know the first thing about a cello or violin, except for maybe their size difference, but this story was still easy to follow along with. They lost me at electric violin though — sounds cool!

This is my second ever Julie Soto book, it didn’t land quite as well as the first one, but I think that’s because of the Kylo Ren fanfic part of it. I’ve never watched Star Wars so I couldn’t draw the similarities. To me, Alex / Zander was just a selfish d-bag who was really sweet with her when they were 1:1 and was super ego-centric. He was really sweet publically, but when it’s also a publicity-stunt-looking relationship, that doesn’t say much.

We can’t help but feel proud of Gwen for getting where she’s at in life despite her life circumstances. I wasn’t sure how the book would end, but I didn’t anticipate that ending! I loved it nonetheless. Creative. :)

Would absolutely recommend this book, but I would definitely recommend Forget Me Not first. It’s set in the same universe, but not necessary to read this book! I just loved it a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for this book in exchange for an honest review.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review…even though I was so excited for July 16th i went out and bought my own copy

maybe more of a 3.5 probably but rounding up for goodreads. the first half was really strong and i was having a ton of fun with it but I found the second half of the book kind of meandering and unsure of itself. gwen and xavier both could’ve used some more development as people outside of their relationship, which makes sense because of its origins as reylo fic. looking forward to seeing what julie soto does next, including her foray into ya!

I really enjoyed this read, not as much as Forget Me Not, but it still gave me excitement and frustration towards Xander many times. I’m happy with how it ended though, they were so cute together!! I didn’t love how unrealistic it was at times, but who knows, maybe it could happen! It is romance and Reylo after all!

Another incredible book by Julie Soto!! I loved every moment reading this book! Xander and Gwen are faced with the tough realities and are forced to make some hard choices in their positions. The way Julie wrote these character's growths was absolutely amazing. I really loved seeing how they characters stood up for themselves and found themselves as an individual and musician. Not to mention the tension in this book is SO GOOD! It added so much to their relationship and the moments our main characters had together.

An inspiring violinist and a world-famous cellist find themselves working in the same orchestra and competing for centre stage, all while trying to fight the growing chemistry between them.

Julie’s debut novel, Forget Me Not, was one of my top romances of last year, so when I got my hands on this ARC of her newest book, I was beyond excited! This was such a fun, passion-filled, and tension-filled story of two artists sharing their love for music and finding their true selves with the help of each other. You’ll also learn a thing or two about violins and cellos!
Thank you NetGalley & Forever pub for the copy!

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for giving me an e-arc for review. All opinions are my own.

Julie Soto is great, but I think I adored the first book by her more than this one tbh!

Alex and Gwen are great. I really liked having bits and pieces of Alex and seeing how it grew but I found the ending rushed and a bit abrupt. I wished the book was a tad longer or they cut off some stuff. It took Gwen forever to figure out her shit but I do love her loyalty, love, and passion for her craft.

I found Alex (or Zander) to be annoying for a good portion of the book, as a love interest, I didn't see it especially at a specific sex scene. Alex should not have been fucking Gwen while he talked to his agent on the phone that was disgusting and kinda awful especially since Gwen was uncomfortable at the start ovbs.

Overall it was a good story, but I don't think I'll be purchasing my own copy.

I was completely sucked into this book. I loved the banter, the backdrop of classical musicians, and chemistry.

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

Ummmmm…. I feel the need to bow down at Julie Soto’s feet for that cello scene. Like oh my god ma’am, you really did that.

As a musician myself, I actually rarely reach for musician romances. But I 100000% knew I would be reading this one. Because Julie Soto + anything she writes = me reading it and knowing I’ll be obsessed with it. I absolutely devoured this book and it was perfect in every way. Gwen and Alex were everything I needed. Their chemistry was so palpable and off the charts. You could feel everything through the book. It was truly such a stunning book and I have been thinking about it nonstop ever since finishing it.

I’ve known Julie would be an auto-buy author for me ever since getting a quarter way through Forget Me Not, and this book just solidified the fact that she will continue to be an auto-buy author always. This combination of romance and music was absolute perfection and I don’t think any book could top this musician romance for me. This is *THE* music romance I’ve always wanted and hoped for.

*Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

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

Ummmmm…. I feel the need to bow down at Julie Soto’s feet for that cello scene. Like oh my god ma’am, you really did that.

As a musician myself, I actually rarely reach for musician romances. But I 100000% knew I would be reading this one. Because Julie Soto + anything she writes = me reading it and knowing I’ll be obsessed with it. I absolutely devoured this book and it was perfect in every way. Gwen and Alex were everything I needed. Their chemistry was so palpable and off the charts. You could feel everything through the book. It was truly such a stunning book and I have been thinking about it nonstop ever since finishing it.

I’ve known Julie would be an auto-buy author for me ever since getting a quarter way through Forget Me Not, and this book just solidified the fact that she will continue to be an auto-buy author always. This combination of romance and music was absolute perfection and I don’t think any book could top this musician romance for me. This is *THE* music romance I’ve always wanted and hoped for.

*Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

Rating:
4.5/5⭐️
2.5/5🌶️

Review:

This book took me by surprise! I originally wanted to read it because I’ve heard good things about her other book ‘Forget Me Not.’

When I started this book, I thought it was a little bit slow, but once I reached the 20% mark, the pace picked up and I couldn’t stop reading! I was reading on the bus, in the car, while I was eating, and during my breaks at work. I just wanted to finish the book because it was that good.

Will this book change my life? No.
Will this book be one of my favorites this year? No.
Did I have one hell of a good time reading it? Yes.

I loved that we saw both POVs. I feel like it added more depth to the book! I also loved all the music elements. I’m not a musician, but I loved learning about different instruments throughout the book.

The characters were also very good! I loved that the female main character was stubborn (like me) and wouldn’t give in to the male love interest. She stood her ground and was vocal about things she wasn’t happy about. I love that she found even more confidence at the end of the book.

The side characters were also great! The found family aspect was wonderful, and even though I wanted to see more of her friends, I thought the relationships between the FMC, her friends, her family, and the love interest were well balanced.

Overall, I just thought the romance was cute! I love an obsessed MMC. When Xander said, “Gwen, please make music with me. I need you in my life. I need to be in your orbit in some way, and if you don't want me to touch you and kiss you and f*ck you, then let me make love to you onstage every night because it's the most alive I've felt in ten years,” I knew I was going to love this man.

And a tiny word on the spice: it wasn’t my favorite spice of all time, but it was still great and so cute!

In summary, I would recommend this grumpy x sunshine book to anyone looking for a good time! Someone who loves a tension-packed book filled with humor and music.

I really wanted to love this one because Forget Me Not is one of my new favorite books! But, parts of this felt off to me. I didn't connect with the romance as much as I had hoped I would. I loved the premise, but at times it felt a little TOO young adult for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-arc of this book to read.

If you were a fan of Forget Me Not, well brace yourself, because you are going to love Not Another Love Song even more. I loved this book so much to the point that I am concerned I won’t like her next one the same way. But in Julie Soto we trust.

This second book takes place in NYC, with both main characters being musicians who play in the Manhattan Pops orchestra (emulating the NYC Pops who play in Carnegie Hall). Our FMC Gwen, is hired last minute to play violin with her roommate Jacob for a wedding, only to find out when she arrives that they actually needed a cellist. If you know instruments, you’ll know that you cannot simply switch to playing another simply because it’s just a little bigger in size with the same strings. With the help of a groomsman who brought his cello, and a lot of luck, Gwen plays the cello beautifully. At the wedding with very little mistakes.

The groomsman so happens to be none other than Xander Thorne, our MMC and first chair cellist of the Manhattan Pops. He’s surprised by her talent while a little frustrated and jealous, and yet when he confronts Gwen about who she was and how she was able to change instruments while insulting her, she responds to him that what’s insulting is sitting across from him for over a year and him not noticing they’ve worked together all this time.

This, of course, changes the way Xander sees her going forward, and when Gwen is promoted to first chair in violin, they are both bound to work together closer than ever before.

This book had some of the steamiest scenes I’ve ever read. I’ll never be able to look at a cello the same way again. Julie Soto’s very detailed description of notes and music revealed her own history in playing instruments during her time in NYC. I loved the history she built for both characters, how she shared the politics of being in an orchestra, and how music can ignite love and forgiveness in so many ways.

This is absolutely my favorite contemporary romance book of the year so far. And I can’t wait for her third book next year.

Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 5/5
Romance: 4.5/5
Spice: 2.5 🌶️
Overall: 4.75 out of 5 ⭐️