I’m in my romance era right now so I was really excited to get this ARC!
This book put me through all the emotions! From crying to giggling to wanting to throw the book against the wall!
I just couldn’t put the book down and had to read it in one go!
I highly recommend this book for anyone that is looking for a grumpy x sunshine and he falls first story

Forget Me Not was one of my favourite books of 2023 so how could I not request Not Another Love Song when I saw it on NetGalley?! And Julie Soto has done it again! This was a delightful read with great pacing, brilliant dialogue and a super steamy romance. The first half of the book literally had me grinning from ear to ear and giggling out loud. I fell in love with both main characters so quickly. The chemistry between them was fantastic from the moment they met and carried on that way till the very end. The only thing that I didn't love was the third act breakup. It just didn't make sense to me after everything that had gone on in the lead up. Despite the third act breakup, I found this book thotoughly enjoyable and it has cemented Julie Soto as an auto read author for me in the future!

I really liked the last book by Julie Soto and this one did not disappoint either. Beautiful story. Very emotional and well written. I feel like Julie Soto could become extremely popular in the next few years. She deserves more hype.

Such a passionate, emotional and sexy romance full of drama. I loved being in the world of professional musicians, the pressure they're put under and the magic of performing something in front of a concert. I really felt all of it with Gwen and Alex/Xander, and was completely swept up in their story. I love Julie Soto, and thought this was even better than Forget Me Not. A gorgeous book with lots of heart and soul, a heroine I loved and a hero I fell for right away. And that Cello scene!!

This is one of my favourite books of the year!!!! Gwen and Alex were amazing and the tension was so intense. The music was described so beautifully and it truly was a gorgeous read. The end lost me a tad but the first 80% made up for it.

I loved this one so much, I found myself immediately gripped and was constantly desperate to keep reading. Gwen and Alex are so obsessed with each other in the best way and their chemistry is next level. The scene from the cover? INCREDIBLE.
It delves into dealing with other people’s expectations frequently and I loved that by the end both of them are able to live the life they want to, doing exactly what makes them happy.
I also loved getting that little glimpse of Ama and Elliott.

i LOVED this book. Great pace, great characters, the chemistry was brilliant.

As an orchestra nerd it spoke to my romantic heart. loved.

Wow. Wow. Wow. What an intense love story. Reading this book felt like listening to a beautiful melody, a melody that is so familiar, but also so exciting. A melody that resembles your heartbeat and your fear. A melody that you'll never forget.
Incredible plot, incredible characters. I loved every second!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advance reader copy.

I haven’t read anything by Julie Soro before but I think after this I will be.
This is a beautiful love story woven around family dynamics, music and of course sketchy characters.

I really enjoyed all the music and how much it was a huge part of the main characters lives.

This was a quick read and I feel like a good contained story.

Julie Soto is an auto buy author for me now!!!!!!! I adored Forget Me Not and this one was equally as amazing. The most perfect rivals to lovers that I have read, the angst and the hate just amped up the chemistry between our MMC and FMC. I really love music and so reading a book about two musicians was perfect for me.

There was the perfect balance between spice and plot I this book and the spice itself was varied and passionate. It didn’t feel like it was just thrown in there at all. I loved Mabel as a character and how she was linked in the entirety of the story and her and Ava’s redemption arc in the book too because their friendship was so stinking cute. I HATED NATHAN!!! What a horrid manipulative character but it made for some good dynamics to keep the plot going so there wasn’t any areas that were stagnant. I can’t wait to read more from this author

5 ⭐️ Words cannot encompass how overcome with emotions I felt after finishing this book. The build-up, the tension, and the unanswered questions kept me breathlessly turning one page after another because I simply could not get enough of Xander and Gwen.

“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.”

The spice was otherworldly in my opinion, and the enemies to lovers trope made each scene so believable and natural that it had me craving more with each chapter that passed.

I had not read a book before where music had such a focal point and after this book it's safe to say that I am obsessed! It definitely has joined my short and select favourites list <3

Alex and Gwen have great chemistry. The cello scene is steamy and they clearly make great music together on the page. It’s a bit confusing initially for Alex to go by multiple names but it becomes clear as the story continues. The dynamics between the characters of Mabel, Ava, Nathan and Alex with the animosity threaded through are at times difficult to parse but eventually become clear. I didn’t like that Gwen spent so much of the book not accepting that Xander was a part of Alex and only loving Alex. So overall a good read but not quite a 5 star for me.

I couldn’t get over Forget Me Not. I was thrilled when Not a Love Song was announced. I dived into it without knowing anything about it. It was a blind read but I knew it would be this good. I trust the author this much.

Can we take a moment to appreciate the book cover!

About the book

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

It’s not really enemies to lovers, it’s more like rivals to lovers but it was so good.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC.

Thank you Author!! I can’t wait for your next masterpiece.

who knew a cello and violin could be so steamy? i absolutely loved this author’s last book and was really looking forward to reading Not Another Love Song, i’m so glad it didn’t disappoint. Julie Soto is now solidly on my list of favourite romance writers and i can’t wait to read whatever she’s planning on publishing next!

I will read everything Julie Soto writes. The tension in this book was off the charts. THE CHELLO SCENE. Need I say more?

Julie’s character work is phenomenal. Every single character in this book is so fleshed out. No one was an after thought and that made this story feel so very real. There was obviously a lot of research and thought that went in to this story and for this I applaud her.

I will 100% be keeping my eyes on any chellists and violinists in the future 👀

Yes. Just yes, this book was everything! Incredible tension and chemistry. Absolutely devine! I read this so quickly and could not put it down. Running to buy this and immediately re-reading.

Julie Soto is the master at broody, pining characters and I eat it up every time. Please read this whirlwind romance; the story is a delight and the spice is 10/10. Would highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an early release copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Plot summary:
Gwen Jackson and Xander Thorne are both musical prodigies, but each has had very different paths to success. Xander was born into classical music royalty, while Gwen had a natural ear for music that was nurtured by a kind shop owner.

After Gwen performs at his friend’s wedding, she’s mortified when she realizes Xander has no clue who she is—despite having worked together for a year at the Pops Orchestra. But she’s more furious that he arrogantly critiques her performance.

When Gwen is offered the role of First Chair of the orchestra, something Xander had secretly coveted for years, their existing hostility goes up a notch. But their respect for each other's music is undeniable, and their onstage chemistry off the scale. As they begin to explore their feelings for one another, suddenly they're box office dynamite and the fragile romance that's growing between them is in danger of being crushed beneath a publicity stunt..

My thoughts:
This was very different to the authors previous work, which was a nice breath of fresh air, it definitely wasn't a recycled story which I was so thankful for. I looved the spice scenes, they were done really well! However, if I'm being honest, this was not my favourite of this author's work. I found it was too heavy on the music aspect, which I'm sure would be great if you played music professionally, but I found that I couldn't connect to the characters because I couldn't relate to it. I found Gwen and Xander's initial interaction really rude, and it made it really hard to root for them to stay together. It felt as though there were very few touching moments between the two characters - those small things that are so important in a relationship were lacking, and it made the relationship feel entirely sexual for me.

3/5 overall, I enjoyed it but I felt there was a lack of emotional depth, but this book would be perfect if you played music regularly!

The TENSION! This book was incredible - the yearning and chemistry between the leads were superb. The passion for the craft and the music was palpable. Seriously, I recommend this if you're in the mood for a sweet, tender romance which tugs on the heartstrings. And the audiobook was performed really well. I will say that Alex's perspective didn't seem strictly necessary for the book but was a fun addition.

*Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | HarperCollins for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review*

It was my first take on a Julie Soto book and I must say I feel a little underwhelmed. This book was supposed to be good but it felt flat. The romance was forced and most times Gwen just irritated me. Maybe it wasn't my cup of tea.

Absolutely loved

Julie Soto did it again, this romance is not fluffy but not dark. It feels incredibly authentic and sexy. The Cello was a highlight and i really appreciated the way music was woven into this title. It was also giving reylo, again a big tick for me.