4.75/5

the possibility that i come back to this app and change this rating to a five is very, very high!!!

after reading forget me not, i went out of my way to find this ARC. julie soto’s writing is just so good, its simple in the best way. her stories are amazing and cute and have depth but nothing seems overbearing. you read her romances and just have the best time falling in love with the characters while they fall in love with each other!

i wish i could say that this book showed me cello’s were hot but that happened when i watched smooth criminal be performed on glee… this is the same vibe though. i was obsessed with alex and gwen!!!! they had such good tension and the progression of their romance was beautiful. boy obsessed has seemed to be a very prevalent trope in new romances are i am so happy, seeing a man just completely enamored with someone is so good!!!!! he literally went back to a job he didn’t like, for good reasons, just because he wanted to play music with her!!!! i’m going to thinking about alex for a long time… gwen was also such a good character. seeing her gain confidence and success was so rewarding. she’s not even real but i am rooting for her career!!! i love all the side characters as well, mabel is the best pseudo grandma/trainer and i love her, ava’s “redemption” was so good, and jacob was the best!!

can’t wait to see if we get any more books that follow this group of characters!!! the mentions of ama and elliot were also so good!!!!

*thank you netgalley for the ARC*

How am I supposed to use words to write a review when the author stole them all away from me??
This book.. this book touched my soul. I have never felt such angst and tension in my reading life.. I silently screamed through half of this novel. Honestly I just didn’t want it to end. Julie Soto is one of my favorite authors.

THIS BOOK ALTERED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY! I enjoyed Julie Soto's last release, but there is something about this book that scratched an itch I didn't know I had. I am not musically gifted, nor do I really know much about music so I was expecting to kind of gloss over the musical aspects of this book, but man was I wrong! From the very first page, I am immediately engrossed in the world of pop orchestras. Soto provided such a lovely explanation that was extremely easy to digest as someone who does not have a ton of knowledge. Julie Soto's writing was so engaging and kept me hooked from the very beginning all the way to the end! I absolutely loved every aspect of this book, absolutely no notes!!

While preforming at a wedding, Gwen butts heads with the enigmatic Xander Thorne. She's bound and determined to stay away from the grumpy yet gifted rock star while he seems drawn to her as they continue to meet up.

Wow. This book was just so good! I was hooked from beginning to end. Here's what I loved:

Gwen and Xander. These two were opposites yet cut from the same cloth. They both have musical genius that ignites when they are together. I loved seeing how Gwen navigated Xander's grumpiness. They were so meant to be!

The music. I loved seeing these two make music. I don't know much about the violin or the cello but they were brought to life in this story.

The angst and the spice. Both were top tier in this one! Soto writes some good spice scenes, let me tell you! I was hooked. Beyond that, she really knows how to draw on your heartstrings. I found myself crying along with Gwen most of the time.

All in all, I really liked this spicy musical romance!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy!

"Not Another Love Song" was my first Julie Soto's read. In this book, we follow Gwen Jackson — a very talented violinist who doesn't seem to see how talented she is — and Xander Thorne — a famous celloist who does see how good she is. From that point on, the story unfolds with as many rom-coms classic characteristics as you can think about: rivals to lovers; she falls first, he falls harder; third act break up (sadly) and the whole shebang.

The problem is... it wasn't good.

Gwen, our main character, doesn't have a lot of personality for herself. She's a people pleaser (as FMC's usually are) and full of dreams, but she doesn't really got a personality. Her people pleaser trait is always on full sail (something that Xander comments a few times), and something that she wouldn't notice about herself, which is not a problem. The problem was: the person who she should trust more than anyone gave her an advice, the person I could understand if she was manipulated by, because there was a hell lot of gratefulness that should've been taken into consideration; instead, she decided to trust on the people that didn't give her anything but... a job? Like, she brushed away the advise of the woman who was like a mother to her, and took into consideration what a third party said, even though it didn't align in anything with what she wanted for her own life. It didn't add up. Why was she doing it? Why was she listening to those people? I still have no idea.

Than we've got Xander, and I might say this: I know falling in love is pretty much a narcissistic movement (hi, Freud!), but holy shit. There was literally a point in which he said that he basically fell in love with her (or liked her, whatever), because she was musically his equal — right after he complained about how he never had girlfriends, but sexual partners because they only wanted to fuck his music, not him. This was precisely the point in which the book started to become really bad for me. I believe that, to some point, Julie wrote a love story, but I'm confused if Xander wanted Gwen or if he wanted to date himself, and since we're not Sue Sylvester, he had to work with the second best thing — which was sad, because I loved their moments together, their music talk and their banter; the chemestry was there, but if someone asked me "$2 or a date with Xander Thorne?" you could BET I'd get my money and go home.

And yet, despite everything I told about Xander, I think this book would've worked a lot more for me if it were on his POV instead of Gwen. There was story there, there was a flaw, there were family issues and a whole lot of secrets that we only could see through Gwen's lens — and it wasn't nice, it wasn't fine, it just looked like she was constantly putting puzzle pieces back together all the time and forgetting about them right after, just for it to be brought back in the future when I wasn't interested in them anymore. Xander Thorne was a conflict machine that would've made an amazing first chair in this book, but it was also left behing.

Thank you Julie Soto and Netgalley for giving me a copy of this book for an honest review.

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto is a captivating romance that strikes a harmonious chord with readers, with its immense chemistry between the main characters. The novel stands out not only for its engaging plot and characters but also for how music is woven into the narrative as a character in its own right, adding depth and resonance to the story.

Read this for:
- Forced proximity
- Childhood crush
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- He's gone for her
- Workplace
- That cello scene

This book had me hooked in from the start. The premise is amazing and the execution was perfection.

Gwen Jackson feels like all her dreams are coming true when she gets the first chair position of the Pops Orchestra. The problem is that her long time crush, Xander Thorne who is playing first Cello, turns out to be extremely problematic.

The two are pushed together and immediately Xander is able to tell how much talent Gwen has. The problem is that Xander is living a double life and doesn't want to leave his stardom and band behind. As the two develop their relationship the music brings them together in the most profound ways. It weaves the story of them and their past and how connected they have been for most of their lives.

The chemistry between Gwen and Xander is palpable on the page and gets brought to life throughout the book. I didn't realize how sexy orchestra instruments were until now!

Not Another Love Song is a delightful read that hits all the right notes! I highly recommend pre-ordering it and getting on your TBRs.

Thank you to Forever for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I had such a great time reading the book omg! Gwen and Alex were so good together🥹 their connection was insane and I love how obsessed he was with her from the moment he noticed her.

Gwen and Alex were perfect for each other. They balanced each other out and their chemistry was so clear! The way they both loved music and pushed each other to be better and be true to themselves was lovely to see and the ending proved how good they were together.

I wish we’d got a little bit more of Alex’s POV. He was so in love with Gwen he literally couldn’t stop thinking about her and writing music for her. He was down so so bad and while I loved the little glimpses we got into his head, I wish we’d seen more.

Overall, an amazing read. If you love music, couples with amazing chemistry who always push each other to be better and a MMC that’s legit obsessed with the FMC, this book’s for you!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

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

I finished this last night and wanted to sleep on it and this is where I land. Personally, I loved it. I don't think this may be for everyone but I also think it'll be for so many. Yes, was this originally a Reylo fanfic and then made with edits? Yes, and you can tell. But I'm simply just a girl, an addict. Eat it up *violin playing from my fingertips* 🎻

It's a book I couldn't stop thinking about while I was reading and I know I won't be able to stop thinking about it after. I can't wait to re-read my favorite scenes once I have my physical copy. It's a rival to lovers but WOW is Xaden (Alex) down BADDDDDD for our girl Gwen. The CHASE! The unattainable of wanting what you want and not understanding it. The orchestra, plot, and setting. I was enamored. I played heightened violin/cello music while reading to enhance the experience. I mean, a natural prodigy and someone born in the musical scene!!! The tension is palatable. The love confessions 😭

This book is HOT and HORNY so brace yourselves. It's a sexy book. I will say, this book to me almost felt like two books. Up to the 65% mark, it almost felt like a Part One and then beyond that, Part Two. Even the change up in some character moments for the things they wanted, with past intrusions that seemed to really backtrack their character developments (queue third act break up). But I couldn't put the book down...I was there until the end. The villains were def villains and maybe some of this felt like a very unrealistic addictive film of a plot, but it was a cinema in my head. THE DRAMA and the love.

My favorite Julie Sato to date! Thanks, girl!!! You gave me what I wanted to be given!

I loved this book. I might go learn an instrument, jk, it would take away from reading. The third act breakup (is that a spoiler, or a given?) did give me the ick, but the rest of the book makes up for it.

I received an eArc from Netgalley, for an honest review.

A standing ovation for Julie Soto everyone!

This book may not play out loud like music does but I can guarantee those who will read it will hear and feel it in their bones!

The way the author captured the sound of two very specific instruments was beautiful! In addition to that, Soto gave us an inside view of the workings behind composing, how an orchestra functions, and all that comes with it. This helped the story along even more because sometimes personal life and work life can become one and the same without even realizing it. And these two characters Soto created showcased the challenges and how they overcame them with tingling ease!

The two main characters of this story were very relatable, whether one grew up rich or middle class or poor. It was all there. The determination these two had for each other as well as the work they both did to prove themselves was very impactful. The buildup to the ROMANCE was so so SO good—and the spice was, *smirky face goes here!* Not only did the main characters have so much angst, and tension, and dedication, and need for one another as well as music, but one could fall in love with every side character that appeared!

While I do feel like the ending arrived too fast, I can understand why the author did it. I see it as a good sign: means I wanted MORE AND MORE AND MORE! But I can also appreciate how she left some events—what I think would have been inner monologues or behind the scenes reasoning for what was done, when or how—open and gave the reader the freedom to picture it on their own. But in the end, Soto still made sure to bring us all back on the same page with how their life had ended up!

A composition of words instead of music notes! A romance that was in perfect harmony! A book that kept us waiting for the next note!
This book had my emotions being tuned with every arco! And I loved every second of it!

Thank you SO much Julie Soto for this CONCERTO! Encore encore encore! And thank you to NetGalley for allowing me this opportunity to read this before July 16, 2024!

I’m not embarrassed to say that when I finished Not Another Love Song, I hugged it and cried happy tears for Alex and Gwen. The book is absolutely flawless. The chemistry? Perfection. The tension? Gripping. The music? Gorgeous. Easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given. Not Another Love Song IS a love song. It uses music to bring Gwen and Xander together, to develop and strengthen their relationship, and to harmonize their lives together in a HEA.

Character development is A++ — not just for Gwen and Alex, but for a few of the secondary characters as well. Even the supporting characters that aren’t fully developed feel real! In other words, no character, big or small, feels like a means to an end to advance Gwen and Alex’s story - they seem like real people. I also LOVED the cameos from Ama, Elliot, Hazel, and Jackie. LOL to Hazel and Alex’s history… HAHA.

The plot, setting, and writing are also, of course, perfection. It’s a unique premise: an enemies to lovers story about a first chair violinist and first cellist in a prestigious orchestra. But Julie isn’t resting on her laurels just because she’s got a solid premise: her execution is flawless. THE NEW YORK OF IT ALL! The way she brings their connection to life through music (actually, using WORDS to describe their music) is stunning. I can’t explain how she’s done it… it just works. The tension, desire, and eventually love that flows between Gwen and Alex through their music is beautiful.

The only remotely negative feeling I had while reading this book was anxiety that Julie would tarnish this otherwise perfect book by including a third act break up based on a miscommunication or some other contrived nonsense. Fortunately, neither of these potential catastrophes materialized. To avoid spoilers, I'll just say that everything in the story, including the third act, felt true to the characters, entirely natural and necessary for their eventual HEA.

I can’t wait for Julie’s next book already (I’m desperately hoping and maybe even outright begging for it to be Mar and Dom’s story).

Read if you love:
- Enemies to lovers
- He falls first/he falls harder
- Books about music
- Set in NYC
- Rom coms

Not Another Love Song
Julie Soto
Pub: 7/16/24
4.5☆

Another absolute winner from Julie Soto!!

This book was SO good and sooo well written. Gwen and Xanders story was rivals to lovers perfection. I literally could not get enough of these two. The banter, the tension, and their off the scale chemistry was all … chefs kiss. 🤌🏻 Soto brought out the good spice for this emotional dish, and I ate it up. Still thinking about that Cello scene. 🥵

I love how music is woven throughout the entire story and at times feels like the main character. Soto writes in such beautiful and vivid detail, I swore I could hear and feel the music.

What I loved;
🎻 Orchestra World Setting
🎻 Rivals To Lovers
🎻 Grumpy x Sunshine
🎻 FMN Cameos

‼️ Don’t miss the author’s note at the end about how this story came to be. I loved it.

This was also about so much more than the romance and music; it's about family, love, and finding yourself. Trust me when I tell you that NALS is an absolute must read so go pre-order your copy now! @nikitajobson couldn’t have given us a more perfect cover. I cannot wait to get my hands on a finished copy.

A huge thank you to Forever Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. I honestly loved it!

NOT ANOTHER LOVE SONG is a reylo-inspired romance about two professional musicians who don't get off to the best start. this is one of the most anticipated romances of the year and i'm so glad to have read an advanced copy! i had a great time and i really enjoyed the book (hence the rating) but i did have some Thoughts™️ (as my friend amy can attest because i kept texting her as i was reading it).

i'm a lifelong star wars fan and let's just say i am not a reylo (and that's putting it mildly). now, i am not here to yuck anyone's yum (before anyone yells at me) but it took a lot of effort to stop thinking about this book in its original context and that is my only criticism of it. i wish it had been reworked a bit more to make it less obvious BUT once i could put it out of my mind, i had the time of my life!!!

this book has some of the best spice i've read and if that's a selling point for you, i would say you need to get this book asap. their chemistry was explosive but beyond that, i loved seeing them fall for each other and the way they climbed over each other's walls. i also loved all of the side characters, i loved seeing ava and mabel patch things up (and am i the only one who was getting a bit of a gay, scorned ex lovers vibe from them??).

read if you like:
- sexy musical duets
- workplace rivals to lovers
- grumpy/sunshine

thanks to netgalley and forever for the advanced copy! NOT ANOTHER LOVE SONG comes out july 16.

Five stars all around, this was such a fun read!

Gwen Jackson loves being a part of the Manhattan Pops orchestra. After the early death of her mother and grandfather, the members of the orchestra have been a family to her. So when an opportunity is given to her - first chair of her beloved group - she could not be more thrilled. The only probably? The hot headed and rockstar famous Xander Thorne wanted the spot for himself and is not content to play second fiddle.

The tension in this enemies to lovers romance was top notch. While I knew going in it was a Kylo/Rey fanfic originally, I don’t think I would have noticed without the forewarning. The writing was lyrical in the parts where it should be and fun in the parts where it should be. While I’m sure some of the finer details of running an orchestra were a little askew for the sake of the plot, I’m happy to overlook it for the fun that was this story.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5⭐ I won't lie. I didn't know exactly what to expect, but nevertheless, I was having a great time reading, lol. Was it the best writing? No, but boy, oh boy, was I entertained. Never in my life did I think I would be reading about how s*x is basically music, LOL. I liked the whole rivals-to-lovers trope, and also, who doesn't love a man who is thoroughly obsessed?

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the author for sending me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

I loved Forget Me Not so I was really excited to read Julie Soto's next book, Not Another Love Song and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT! I was lucky enough to get to read this one early and dare I say it might be my favorite romance so far this year! It releases on July 16 so add it to your TBR list!

Not Another Love Song is a romance about two musical prodigies. Xander Thorne was born into a famous musical family. Gwen Jackson was just a naturally talented musician who picked it up with little formal training. They both perform with the Pops Orchestra but when they meet up at a wedding where Gwen is performing, Xander arrogantly critiques her performance and she realizes he has no clue who she is. Their hostility builds over the next few weeks and months but so does their chemistry, on stage and off. But will a publicity stunt derail their new romance?

This book has everything you want in a great romance and the musical aspect takes this romance to another level. The characters connect through music and it makes the chemistry and tension between them OFF THE CHARTS! Their individual stories are emotional and will tug at your heart strings. This book has some spice and it is so well written. And the MMC is so swoony I absolutely loved this book! Devoured it! Julie Soto is officially an auto-buy author for me!

I loved Forget Me Not so I was excited to read Julie Soto’s next book, Not Another Love Song and IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

Not Another Love Song is a romance about two musical prodigies. Xander Thorne was born into a famous musical family. Gwen Jackson was just a naturally talented musician who picked it up with little formal training. They both perform with the Pops Orchestra but when they meet up at a wedding where Gwen is performing, Xander arrogantly critiques her performance and she realizes he has no clue who she is. Their hostility builds over the next few weeks and months but so does their chemistry, on stage and off. But will a publicity stunt derail their new romance?

This book has everything you want in a great romance and the musical aspect takes this romance to another level. The characters connect through music and it makes the chemistry and tension between them OFF THE CHARTS! Their individual stories are emotional and will tug at your heart strings. This book has some spice and it is so well written. And the MMC is so swoony😍 I absolutely loved this book! Devoured it! Julie Soto is officially an auto-buy author for me!

If you love….
❤️ Rivals to lovers
❤️Grumpy/sunshine
❤️Found family
❤️Tension and banter
❤️Spicy romance
….don’t hesitate to pick this one up!

***Thanks to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read this ARC copy of Not Another Love Song in exchange for my honest review.

dare i say- the best romance book i’ve ever read???

Not Another Love Song has officially left me speechless and then some. This book was the perfect combination of everything I look for in a contemporary romance story: intriguing characters with tragic pasts, angst GALORE, complex familial and friendship relationships, and heartbreaking moments followed up by scenes that put my heart back together.

as a former orchestra kid (hi hello, it’s me, former music major🫡), Julie captured the politics of the orchestra SO well. having a crush on a cellist was honestly so real (we’ve all been there) and Xander was the epitome of “hardcore gifted/ prodigy child who’s better than you and he knows it”. gwen was a lovely fmc who I would 100% be friends with irl. safe to say i loved these characters!

gwen and xander’s relationship LITERALLY had my heart racing, pacing around the room, sitting awestruck and overheated. This was some of the best “he falls first” I’ve read and BOY did Xander know how to use his words to make the reader fall in love. gwen, you held out longer than any of us would have. the spice was IMMACULATE, but what else are we to expect from Julie Soto?

what I usually hate about romance books is the third act breakup. Not Another Love Story did it so well, where it actually made sense on both sides that I couldn’t even be mad. Was I still screaming at both of them? Yes. Was I screaming at other forces even more, though? YES.

On top of all that, the journey of both characters healing parts of their childhood relationships was a beautiful touch. The end of this book had me in tears and I wish I could continue reading about their lives.

if you’re looking for some quick highlights:
- rivals to lovers
- slow burn & banter & angst
- he falls first
- mmc who’s REALLY good with words
- rockstar(ish) romance (trust me)
- mirrorball AND archer mmc

I read this book forever ago and read it so fast that my review is all over the place. Also it as a massive amount of Reylo mentions because as a Reylo fic reader I was obsessed with this one and it really is the most Reylo book I've ever read (and I've read the classics).

Julie soto is the QUEEN OF PACING. I only meant to read one chapter and suddenly I was 40% into the book. And then the next night when I read a bit I wasn't even fully aware of time. I just get sucked in and that isn't something that happens to me very often. Every scene matters and adds to the story in a way that is so impressive. 

I do think Gwen could've been a bit more developed. For me with former Reylo fics I don't need a ton of character work bc I can read between the lines and infer a lot based on my knowledge of Reylo fic / Star Wars fic. But I know this is something that people have pointed out in other fic to trad published works. 

This book gets one thing right with its depiction of the Kylo/Ben Solo character BEN IS A LOSER WHEN IT COMES TO REY. LIKE. Man is gone and is not smooth. I am obsessed with this and we love seeing a "suave" man become an absolute loser. like love a pathetic man. And Xander is obsessed with Gwen and is a fool about it (in the best way).

I feel like the cello scene was a bit overhyped bc it was great? but I would've LOVED TO BE SURPRISED. Do love that it is on the cover though. 

Gwen and Xander are WILD LIKE MAKING OUT DURING INTERMISSION!! To be fair hot and romance reasons yada yada BUT ONE COLLECTIVE BRAINCELL BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM and truly do not think they could've been presentable in the TWO MINUTES they had to get themselves together 

I loved that Gwen was a fan of Xander's band!! I'm tired of books with famous people where the love interest has never heard of them/is nonchalant about their work. like YES SHE HAD A POSTER OF HIM AND IS EMBARRASSED BY IT and LMAO when her friends were teasing her about (that being said the way she reacted when she learned about the toxicity of said band could've been more developed. 

I don't think this third act break up entirely worked, but they really rushed into certain things so them sort of falling apart and then fixing things after one convo is not my fave. But it worked because they were so emotional and dramatic about everything that it made sense to me.

ALSO WHEN HIS MOM WALKS IN ON THEM AND HE IS JUST WEARING A TOWEL . I CACKLED

Not the Alex's version and the OKAY SCOOTER moment like is that???

Overall I had a great time with this book and have already started a reread. If you're a contemporary romance reader I highly recommend this one. Also hit me up if you want Reylo fics LMAO

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto
Genre: contemporary romance
Format: eARC
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Can you say new auto-buy author?! Julie Soto - you’ve done it again! I don’t know how to describe it, but she puts a level of angst into these books and I eat it UP!

🎻Musicians (violinist and cellist)
🎻Rivals to lovers
🎻Spice
🎻Allllll the tension
🎻Forced proximity
🎻NYC setting

I’ve read romances where music is involved, but this is my first book where classical music was a focus. While that may not sound the most entertaining (sorry classical music fans, don’t hate me) this book had me SO intrigued. Also the music gets… included in some spicy scenes (hello cello scene omg) and it’s something lemme tell ya!!! 🥵 Xander is also basically a rock star in the classical music world so that’s very attractive as well.

The way Xander sees Gwen’s talent and pushes her out of her comfort zone? Love. The way he remembers the little things, like her coffee order after only hearing it one time? Amazing. The way he’s absolutely enthralled with her?! Incredible.

Thank you to @readforeverpub for my eARC of this one! Not Another Love Song is out July 16th!