I really enjoyed this book. Julie Soto will become an auto-buy author for me in the future. As a former band member, I really loved the music aspect of this book and thought that it made love the book even more. I thought that Gwen and Alex were super sweet in choosing each other in the end and creating their own paths in music. I really enjoyed their rivalry and could feel the tension between them. I really enjoyed the development of their relationship.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC!

Oh my goodness Julie Soto has made me want to start learning to play the violin or cello after reading this book. This was the perfect amount of spice and Julie can write! I was a little skeptical about a Star Wars fanfic, but this book did not disappoint. Alex is mighty fine. You need to add this to your TBR like yesterday. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

Got the chance to get an early copy or this arc!!!!

I can’t even explain what Julie Sotos writing does to me. The connections she forms. The banter. The chemistry is beyond what anyone can say. She truly does her characters justice. She develops them into what we love and then reminds us what’s the meaning of it all. I’m obsessed as a fellow music nerd this book pulled at the strings of my heart.

Golly. This book is GOOD. The back stories are well developed and really help drive the plot forward. The attraction between the two is palpable and kept me turning pages long after I should have been asleep. And that CELLO SCENE.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever Publishing for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

🎻”There was a long held note that sounded so wrong, completely out of key, and Gwen was certain she’d played it wrong. And then he flipped the bow around his fingers, pulling against the strings again, and suddenly it fit back together. Like she’d been drifting off without him, and he’d found her.” 🎻

My oh my! This was my first book by Julie Soto and it certainly won’t be the last. This was a brilliant story that highlighted the careers of two orchestral musicians.

Alex/Xander had great character development, though I would say he became whipped so fast. But it flowed well with the story.

Gwen did seem to have a lot of unrealistic luck, mainly because she was young and talented. But then again, sometimes it can happen!

4.5/5⭐️
🌶️🌶️🌶️ (that cello scene😍)

I loved Julie’s writing style and I can’t wait to read more of her!
“Not Another Love Song” releases on July 16, 2024 and you’re not going to want to miss it!🎻

I loved this story. I love the characters, I love the vibe
I loved everything about it. This was great and the musical focus really brought things together.
4.5 Stars

This is hands down my favorite book of the year. Immediately after finishing it, I wanted to re-read it again (and I did). When the audiobook is released, I will absolutely be first in line for my 3rd read of this book!

I received an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I read Soto's debut romance book and adored it. Not another Love song was just *chefskiss* to me. You have to be patient, though, because Alexander did not impress at first.

Gwen Jackson is a violinist for the Manhattan Pops Orchestra and only 22, 23 years old. She's an orphan with no family left except her music tutor, Mabel. She was discovered by Ava Fitzgerald, 1st chair at the Pops, while playing for tips in the subway. Xander Thorne is a celloist for Thorne and Roses, a popular band. He's a groomsman at his friend's wedding where Gwen and her best friend and roommate are playing a duet, Jacob on piano and her on violin, only she's asked to play cello.

While I played piano for 8 years, some of the music technicalities were beyond me, but I just went with it. Gwen tries to fight her attraction to Alex. He may have initially been grumpy and mean, but his demeanor changed, and then, it was just like poetry or.. a love song. The obstacles in their relationship were related to career aspirations and goals.

I enjoyed seeing a little glimpse of Ama Torres from the 1st book. I liked the side characters, including Mei, Declan and Mabel. I highly recommend this book when it comes out July 16th.

TW for death of a parent from cancer.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC, and these are my honest thoughts/opinions. This might be one of my favorite romance reads of the year thus far! The tension, chemistry and spice of this book!!! I couldn't put it down and I now think Julie Soto is one of my favorite authors. I am excited for whatever she writes next!

Gwen and Xander now hold a very special place in my heart, and I love how they push each other to try new things. Together they earn each others trust and heal through music. I also loved that they included the characters from the first book as well! It was a fun cameo and it put a smile on my face. Overall an amazing read and I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

I requested this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Strengths:
- the erotic music sessions btwn Gwen and Xander as they sight read are chef's kiss

Weaknesses:
- this isn't remotely hiding the fact that this is/was KyloRen fanfiction; it's so bizarre to me that this was traditionally published

Opportunities:
- I hope that Soto can grow as a writer and write some original characters
- pieces of both this book and Forget Me Not (also KyloRen fanfic) are really great and I'd love to see her develop as a writer

Overall, I'm happy I got to read this. Although I couldn't forget that I was watching someone play dolls with Adam Driver and they were making their Adam Driver doll f*ck...

I feel so lucky to have gotten an early of Not Another Love Song; I enjoyed every single moment of it! Enemies-to-lovers is a favorite trope of mine and the chemistry in this book was on fire. The love story in this book was very believable and I loved the small twist in plot too. Also, this book made me want to get tickets to my local symphony. I will be looking into this! Our library has preordered this book - I can't wait to put it in readers' hands.

Thank you Forever Publishing for my gifted copy of Not Another Love Song By Julie Soto

You know those AITAH posts where the verdict is Everyone Sucks Here? That's unfortunately how this book felt. Every character needed 100 stern talking too.

I did love the beginning of the book. I loved the Rivals to Lovers aspect and Gwen's overall back story. I loved the side characters (Jacob) and all the mentions of Ama.

It's heavy on the music scene (which like that's on me for expecting otherwise). Aside from playing trumpet in 6th grade, I have 0 musical capabilities so I struggled extra hard through those parts.

If you're huge into music this one would be GREAT for you. You likely can connect to the characters more because of that background.

Violins & Victories
Cellos & Chemistry
Angst & Arpeggios
Subways & Sizzle

This book was everything. For me, it is a worry how a 2nd book will be after a debut was a win. This didn't disappoint. The story showcased music but did so in a way that made you feel even if you didn't know everything that was written about. It drew you in and held you. The way the love story unfolded was perfect. There was banter, heat, conflict---all the things! All the very best things! I cried, screamed, and laughed throughout.

The secondary characters and resolutions were written so well. I felt for characters who were perhaps a bit morally grey---all but two who once you read this book, you will understand.

This book cemented Julie Soto as an auto buy author for me.

I could not put this book down! The TENSION. The WANT. The HORNY. It was POTENT. It was HOT. It was EVERYTHING.

Julie Soto, you have done it again. I am a music lover already, but I've never been so invested in classical music or an orchestra. I wish we could hear Thorne and Roses play and listen to Alex and Gwen's original work. I am INVESTED. Why aren't they real? *cries*

I also must mention that cello scene 100000000000% lived up to the hype. Wowowowow. I can't wait to have this cover on my shelf for the rest of time.

Apart from the romance, I really enjoyed both Gwen and Alex's individual journeys. I think Gwen's struggles are very relatable - wanting to please everyone, being uncertain regarding what she wants for her future, wanting stability and a steady income, etc. On the other hand, Alex has essentially created an alternative persona via Xander, and he's trying to balance that with his true self. I enjoyed seeing their growth throughout the story, and loved where they are at in the Epilogue!

Lastly, I LOVED the cameos from the Forget Me Not crew! It was so fun to see some glimpses of Ama and Elliott. Just thriving and taking their business coast to coast!

Overall, I highly recommend Not Another Love Song. Definitely will be one of my favorites of 2024!

This book immediately became a favorite. The language and relationship is handled elegantly and evocatively. I know next to nothing about the music world, but it was explained so well, I never felt lost. The last line of the book is one of my favorites of all time.

I have read several Reylo inspired novels and while it's a dynamic that generally works for me, I can't say it did here at all. The author's note at the beginning of this book might have done a disservice by setting this up as some sort of rival musicians-to-lovers story, a description that had me totally on board. However, I don't really think that theme is borne out in the novel - it's more instant-love with some musical fated mates thrown in? Neither of which really work for me in a contemporary romance setting. And while I get that the Alex v. Xander personality schism is likely a direct reflection of Kylo v. Ben Solo, I don't think it worked really well here at all. Instead of a tortured, brooding hero with a deeply troubled past, it seems that instead we got an enigma instead of a personality, and an overly intense, whiny, obsessive enigma at that. And Gwen's naivete really grated on me. I can't say that I felt any chemistry or real love between these characters, which to me is sort of the whole point of reading a romance.

I do think the writing is good, there are some lovely passages, and admittedly the spice is very hot, hence the 3 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc! All opinions my own.

I was immediately drawn in to this story. I'm not a musician, but the way Soto writes about it makes me want to go listen to classical music. I literally could not put this book down once I got into the story. The spice in this was so good! Also the chemistry between Gwen & Xander (Alex) was so so good. I couldn't get enough of this book.

Absolutely wonderful! I picked up this book because Julie was doing an author panel with another author I love, Abby Jimenez. Her personality was so lovely and fun. This book did not disappoint. I also love music though I don't connect as much with the orchestra. That really doesn't matter though because the passion is all there. Watching the relationship being explored through music is a whole other level of spicy! I'm looking forward to reading more Julie Soto books.

🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻
𝐴𝑅𝐶 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝑘 𝑅𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤
𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝐴𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑆𝑜𝑛𝑔
𝐽𝑢𝑙𝑖𝑒 𝑆𝑜𝑡𝑜
4.5/5 💫
🌶️🌶️

•𝐎𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝
•𝐀𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧
•𝐎𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐌𝐌𝐂
•𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐱𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐲

Thank you to Netgalley and author for an early copy of this wonderful Kylo Ren / Rey fanfic novel. I squealed with joy and anticipation when I downloaded it onto my kindle. I thought Forget Me Not would be hard to top…I was wrong 😬

Not only do I love her writing style, but learned a good amount about life in a famous orchestra and concerning themes of music in general. Things seemed a bit melodramatic, but that’s just show business, right?

The tension. The music. The angsty slow burn. The explosions. Butttttt that cello scene? All I gotta say. Go read this now 🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️🏃🏼‍♀️

“𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐤𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.”

Safe to say Julie Soto is now an auto buy author for me. I was hooked when I heard this was inspired by a love of classical music and was billed as Reylo fanfic. (That’s Adam Driver/Daisy Ridley for the non Star Wars fans lol). I was DELIGHTED by the writing. It was just so sensual, so captivating. You are there, in Carnegie Hall, being swept away in the music. As an elder millennial I was skeptical about a romance involving young 20 somethings, but found myself easily wrapped up in their explosive love and the lyrical nature of this story. The subplots were delightfully stressful and schemey in a way that only helped the story. My only desire was more dialogue and more of the side characters- because both were great!