Special thanks to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review 💙

Y’all. Perfect, perfect, perfect. My very first arc as a bookstagrammer was Julie Soto’s debut, Forget Me Not, which I was absolutely obsessed with and solidified Julie as an auto-buy author! So expectations were high for this one to say the least, and I can say with certainty that she surpassed them all!

I won’t waste your time with a complete overview of the plot: but picture rival musicians with interest in the same prestigious job 👀 go in kind of blind, it’s more fun!

The tension between Gwen and Xander had me blushing, giggling, kicking my feet, and obsessing over these two anytime I couldn’t just sit down and continue reading their story! Their chemistry absolutely jumped off the page, and was woven expertly into the overall plot of the story.

Julie Soto is also a master at writing conflict. As an avid romance reader I’ve had excellent stories lose me towards the end of the book due to a poorly handled third act conflict. Too often it seems thrown in to check a box, and someone is obviously right and the other obviously wrong that the conflict almost seems silly. Not here, conflict felt real, human, and messy. I wasn’t rooting for any one person, I could see that they were trying to do the best with what they had, what they’ve known, and what outside influences were pushed on them. The conflict ADDED to the story instead of distracting from it, and kept me turning pages all the way to the end!

Obviously all 5 stars from me. This masterpiece is out now so do yourself a favor and pick it up, if for only this reason: cello scene. You’re welcome.

(P.S. I also picked up on the Taylor Swift references that somehow did not feel pop culturey at all, looooooved!)

(P.P.S. Read Forget Me Not first for the fun Easter eggs that again, had my giggling like a darn fool 🥰)

(P.P.P.S. Multiple Henley spottings for my friends keeping score at home!)

oh my GOD Julie Soto is a new favorite. I enjoyed Forget Me Not, but Not Another Love Song absolutely cements her in my book as an auto buy. Gwen and Xander perform together in the Manhattan Pops symphony; Gwen on violin and Xander on cello. Xander is a musical prodigy and celebrity, while Gwen has more of a scrappy history with the art. When Gwen is hired to perform at Xander's friend's wedding, she is embarrassed to realize that Xander doesn't recognize her. A mishap has her playing cello instead, and Xander is fascinated by her spontaneity. Later, Gwen is offered first chair at the pops when the current first chair steps down and Xander is furious, but his reasons are complicated. The tension and chemistry is off the charts.

Things I liked: the CHEMISTRY and spice was so good. The cello scene can NOT be oversold. I loved the way the two of them challenged and brought out the best in each other. I loved the supporting characters. I loved the musical backdrop. I loved the cameos from Forget Me Not.

I would give this book a HUGE recommendation to any romance fan, but especially any fan of Ali Hazelwood; I found their writing styles to be very similar.

Thanks to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.75 stars. I LOVED this book. The only reason I took off a little was because I didn’t want that third act breakup. It TOTALLY could have been avoided. They could have faced what they are dealing with together with all the other people trying to mess it up. They could have totally stood by each other to figure it out.

But the love. The moments? The writing. The ANGST. Loved it. Ate it up. I was quite literally obsessed.

" I need to be in your orbit in some way... let me make love to you onstage every night because it's the most alive I've felt in ten years"

Wow! This book deserves a standing ovation!
I don't know a thing about classical music or how to play the cello, but I think I might want to learn if Mr. Thorne is going to be teaching me!
This book was hot hot hot! The tension that Ms. Julie wrote into this book is out of this world and the spice was absolutely electric!

Our two main characters are classical musicians playing the violin and the cello. We quickly see animosity turn to infatuation and these two truly make love to each other on stage with their music. Julie wrote this book to make you feel as if you were sitting there in the room with them witnessing this beautiful symphony. Their relationship is so magnetizing and electric that it leaves you craving more.

This is an absolute must-read and has quickly taken the spot of one of my favorite romance reads of the year!

Thank you to the publisher for the arc! I found the first half a bit slow and the character building for MMC a bit clumsy, but the story picked up in the second half and I found myself invested. I was rooting for them by the end! CW: very spicy.

*thank you netgalley for the arc*

dare i say… my favorite romance book i’ve ever read?? this had me downright giddy and i devoured it in less than a day. i know nothing of the inner workings of the orchestra but this rivals-to-lovers, found family rom-com was perfect.

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto
Contemporary romance. Same world as the first book, Forget Me Not, but only the opening scene in common.
Gwen Jackson is hired to play at a wedding but before she can start, the coordinator says she needs to play a cello instead of her regular violin. Since that’s not what she brought with her, she gets a loan from member of the wedding party, who just happens to be an idol of hers. Xander Thorne is the leader of her very favorite band, and he watches her closely the entire night. Turns out that he’s amazed she was able to play immediately converting violin music to cello and that she seems to play instinctively.
Gwen and Xander end up playing together at the Pops Orchestra but she’s takes his comments as criticism. Only after they spend time together and he writes a piece of music do they start to become closer.
Both are musical prodigies, but each has had a rocky path. They will need to what they really want.

Another book that I read slower as I progressed - because I loved it, I was stalling, re-reading paragraphs and pages over and over again, in the first read. Making the book last but then missing the release date because of my procrastination.
I loved Xander but he does have some emotional issues. Grand gesture had my heart.

Romantic, an emotional roller coaster of feelings, often amusing, gifted naïveté, being in love, family. So much. So good.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

I absolutely loved this book. I’ve been a fan of Julie’s since finding her on Ao3, and have never once been disappointed by anything she has written. This story was such a delight as a former music nerd. I also don’t think I will ever view a cello the same way. Brava, Ms. Soto.

Dual POV, rivals to lovers, tension you could cut with a knife - that evolves in to meltingly hot spice - good stuff!

I loved the contrast between Alex (aka Xander Thorne) a child prodigy with full musical background from violin to the cello later and Gwen with less than half the opportunities, still aiming to rise in the ranks just the same.
They’re both more complicated - musically and personally - than others give them credit for. Even the two of them start out with preconceived ideas of who the other is, and that doesn’t even begin to change until they get to know each other better through playing together.
Most of the drama comes from them navigating where they are in their careers and where they want to be - and who can be trusted to help them reach their different goals - music is a HUGE part of this story.

Ama and Elliot - from book one - also have had cameo type appearances and it’s nice to see businesses thriving for them.
I really loved their book, and this one was a close second (only because the pacing felt a little slow in parts)

Thanks to netgalley and Forever for the arc!

𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: contemporary romance 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
OKAY STOP THIS BOOK WAS TRULY AMAZING

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Orchestra romance
Found family
All the tension
Enemies to lovers
He falls first
Grumpy x sunshine
NYC setting
Slow burn with spice

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
I really didn’t think I was an orchestra fan but I ate this one up!!!
Xander’s POVs
That cover though… (iykyk)

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
I’m not the biggest fan of naive FMCs

I really enjoyed this one, maybe even more than Forget Me Not. It was a super quick read, and a little predicable, but sometimes those are just the types of books you need.

My favorite quote that will stick with me:

“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.”

This was a really entertaining enemies to lovers contemporary romance! I can't say I've ever read a book about being in the orchestra so that was super unique. Some of the terminology was definitely over my head. But, you can still understand and enjoy it. The main characters were both likable. I enjoyed the dual POV even if it was only for a few chapters spread about. I would recommend this one.

I absolutely LOVED this! I missed the boat on Soto’s past release but saw how loved it was so I was very excited for this one. After seeing so many rave reviews, I was afraid this wouldn’t live up to the hype but it sure did!!! I was giggling, smiling like a goof at my kindle, and laughing out loud at this. I had the time of my life reading it and I can’t wait to rave about this to everyone I know!!!

Forget Me Not is one of my favourite romances I have read so far this year. It made me laugh out loud. The characters jumped off the page. The FMC was smart and driven. The tattooed florist MMC was dreamy. It was dual POV second chance romance done so so right. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it!

Not Another Love Song is Soto's sophomore novel and I had high expectations.This is prefaced as being based on a fanfic of Kylo Ren and Rey from Star Wars and you can see how Xander is based on Adam Driver and his famously tortured character. This story, however, is about two rival musicians in an orchestra, and there is an undercurrent of fire that runs through the entire book. The tension and the buildup is A+++

Despite this, I didn't find the characters very charming, and Gwen's age and naivete paired with a Driver like cold MMC made this feel a bit like an older Ali Hazelwood novel to me (I said what I said). Further, the book leans very heavily on its orchestra/musicians who love making music together platform, which I imagine could get a bit tedious for non-music aficionados. Yes, the idea is that the chemistry between violinist Gwen and cellist Xander comes to such a boiling point that it snaps like a string. This made this a little bit niche, but yet, as someone who grew up in a family of musicians- and can play and read music- this also wasn't technical at all and I had to take fault with that since it was such a large part of the story. 3.5 stars downgraded to a 3 for my rating.

There is definitely a lot of spice, though, so I know readers will surely be thrilled by that. Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Book Group Canada for my earc and physical copy.

I wish this was on the same level as her debut novel, but this just didn't feel the same. We are given 3rd POV vs 1st like the first and that's a struggle to begin with for me, but that's not why I gave the rating I did. The music dynamics and language felt heavy to me and I just kept skimming it. I want more from the romance aspect! The characters didn't knock it out of the park for me even with the cello scene iykyk. Hoping for more from her next release!

Julie Soto did it again! Not Another Love Song is a fantastic musical rivals to lovers story that is so well written you will feel like you can hear the music being played in the book.

Not Another Love Song is a delicious contemporary romance featuring that mixes music and rivalry and sexual tension and angst all into one amazing story. Gwen and Alex are so compatible and the way they make each other better while also challenging each other just sucks the reader in and doesn't let them go.
Soto is such a talented writer and I've been following her since her fan fiction days and it is such a pleasure to see some of her work being commercially published. <3

✨ Review ✨ Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto

Thanks to Forever and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

A super short review for this one, but this one was so much fun. I loved the Kylo Ren + Rey fanfic vibes, and couldn't get over the broodiness of it all. I loved that this mixed orchestra and rock in various ways, blending musical styles. Found family themes were strong, stretching across both main characters. I loved how they came together in this story and what they could do together. Definitely a steamy summer read!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5)
Genre: contemporary m/f romance
Setting: NYC
Reminds me of: Kylo + Rey - Star Wars
Pub Date: July 16, 2024

Read this if you like:
⭕️ Imagining a Kylo / Rey love story
⭕️ orchestras / music
⭕️ life in the city
⭕️ drama

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto is about a violinist who ends up meeting and working with her teenage band idol. This was definitely a romance with some spice (which isn’t normally my taste), but I thoroughly enjoyed this. I liked the cast of characters and the details in their interactions that made the story believable. Definitely will read Julie Soto’s next book!

This book took me a minute to get into, I think it was because it is told in 3rd person and I don't read very many books written in 3rd. Once I was used to the writing style I was in the story.

This book was filled with delicious tension and it was so sexy...who knew orchestra could be so hot!

This book follows Gwen and Xander. They are both members of the Manhattan Pops Orchestra, where Gwen kind of blends into the background, Xander is in the front, incredibly talented and he seemingly doesn't care. Xander is also a member of a band, Thorne and Roses, that Gwen is a huge fan of. They have worked together for over a year, where Gwen knew who Xander was but he didn't know her. When he sees her performing at a wedding he is a member of the bridal party, his eyes are opened and he can't get her out of his head after that.

These two characters are so similar, despite having very different childhoods. They are both looking for a place to belong, safety and security and they eventually find that with each other. What they don't realize when they start spending time together is just how connected they are.

I really enjoyed the journey of their relationship, and man I loved how fast and hard Xander fell for Gwen. This was so well written I could almost hear the music they were making together as I was reading. There is a practice session and an on-stage duet that will live rent free in my head 😮‍💨.

I also really love the found family in this book. Both Gwen and Xander have built their own small families of friends, and both welcomed the other into their groups. I really loved that for both of these characters.

This book was a different kind of romance than what I usually read and I loved it.