Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto Review
Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto is a book about love for music and the pressure with expectations we often put on ourselves to be someone’s idea of perfect.
- Gwen is a self-taught, driven, and ambitious violinist. She plays for Manhattan Pops, the same orchestra as her idol Alex or, as he goes by now, Xander.
- Xander is a child prodigy and cello rock star. Along with his leading role at the Manhattan Pops, he is a rock star. The only role he desires is one of the orchestra’s first chair.
- When the role of Xander for years goes to Gwen, he starts fuming, and so does the rivalry beings. But they are immensely talented, especially when they inspire each other and compose musical masterpieces together.
Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto
Category: Contemporary Adult Romance, Music
Tags: Musical Romance, Both play for the same orchestra, Enemies/ Rivals to Lovers, Celebrity Romance, Grumpy Hero, He Falls First, NYC Setting.
CONTENT WARNINGS: Sexual content, Death of a parent, Gaslighting, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Misogyny
Rating: ★★★★
Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto Publisher Description
When professional—and self-taught—violinist Gwen Jackson plays, she disappears into the peaks and valleys of each song, a quiet passion that never quite explodes into pure emotion. Xander Thorne is the exact opposite. A cellist and a rock star, he’s all about big emotion, but not even his six-foot-four frame can contain his skill, his genius . . . and an attitude that borders on jerkitude.
Not only did it take Xander a year to notice that he and Gwen both play in the Manhattan Pops, but he also always seems to have the perfect cutting criticism about her technique. When Gwen is offered the role of first chair of the orchestra, something Xander has secretly coveted for years, their existing hostility goes up a notch. Yet, despite her best efforts, Gwen can’t ignore the sizzling chemistry between them.
Forced to work more closely with each other, they can’t help exploring their attraction. As they begin to compose and play songs together, it’s clear that their powerful connection could make for a performance that would blow everyone’s minds. Suddenly, they’re box office dynamite, and the fragile romance growing between them is in danger of being crushed beneath a publicity stunt.
Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto Review
Forget Me Not was one of my favorite reads last year, and Elliot has even made it on my best book-boyfriends list. So, I was happy when I started this book. It is in 3rd person, which I am not a fan of, but since I am a fan of Soto’s writing style, I was able to overlook that. Also, I loved seeing Ama and Elliot thriving at the beginning of the book. It reminded me how much of a badass she is.
Music is an integral part of the entire story. The romance is intertwined with their passion for music and composing. They don’t explain themselves well with words, but they communicate through music. And there is no miscommunication when they do.
Not Another Love Song features Taylor Swift’s real-life conflict where the story explores exploitive contracts and uses naivety to profit from young and aspiring, talented minds. Every part of the story is incredibly well-written and researched. The balance between the main plot and romance is perfect, as we get an equal measure of both parts.
Characters
Alex was a classic rude grump at the beginning. But, when we see things from his perspective, we can comprehend his motivations. While we can’t excuse his rudeness, we can understand how his experiences have influenced his behavior. He is a highly ambitious and driven child prodigy who has been taken advantage of by those he trusts the most.
Grace is ambitious and driven but very naive. She sometimes acts like a teenager. Unfortunately, she lost her only family very young, and she longs for a place to belong. This fondness causes her to excuse certain behaviors that she is aware of but chooses to ignore.
We have a gaslighter in the story as a side character, and Soto has portrayed him so convincingly that, for a moment, I even began to doubt myself.
The story is in the third person. And it’s not a quick, light read. However, the pacing is so well-written that I was eager to continue reading and read what would happen next. It’s a character-driven story with the most beautiful found family trope I’ve read in a long time.
Conclusion
I loved this book. I would also like to mention that the hero in this book is very similar to the hero from her previous book, Forget Me Not. So, if you disliked Elliot, you would dislike Alex in Not Anther Love Song’s main protagonist.
The only minus for me is the graphic and detailed spice scenes. It is well written, but the number and length of scenes were excessive. For me, at least. Although, I need to mention that my favorite spice scene probably ever is in this book.
Read if you like:
- Ambitious and very driven characters
- Grumpy hero and heroine who doesn’t care for it
- Strong found family component
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About Julie Soto
Originally from Sacramento, Julie spent many years bouncing between New York and California before eventually settling in coastal Fort Bragg, CA. A theatre and fandom nerd, Julie can tell you the name of any Buffy episode if you pick a number 1-7, and another 1-22.
With her Bichon-Poodle brother, Charlie, she spends her days writing Rom-Coms, Adult Fantasies, and YA Thrillers, and at night, she falls asleep to Pride and Prejudice 2005 in the background.
As a playwright, Julie’s musical Generation Me won the 2017 New York Musical Festival’s Best Musical award, as well as Best Book for Julie’s work on the script.
