Not Another Love Song

by Julie Soto

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Two musicians hungry for success… and each other. The author of Forget Me Now gives us another love story to swoon over.

From a USA Today bestselling author, a competition between a classical violinist and a rock star cellist sparks a sizzling chemistry in this book that’s “100% pure magic,” perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Abby Jimenez (Christina Lauren).
 
Gwen Jackson is a self-taught professional violinist. Xander Thorne is the exact opposite—a rock star cellist with a bad attitude. They both play in the Manhattan Pops, and their styles couldn’t be more different.
 
When Gwen is offered first chair of the orchestra (a role Xander has coveted for years), she can’t help but notice a hostile sense of competition between them…but also an electric chemistry, as they’re forced to work together. As they compose and play songs together, it’s clear that their powerful connection could make for a performance that will blow everyone’s minds.
 
But can their slowly growing romance survive the pressures of success?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538740910
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	07/16/2024
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	8,540
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

JULIE SOTO is a USA Today bestselling author, playwright, and actress originally from Sacramento, CA. Her musical Generation Me won the 2017 New York Musical Festival’s Best Musical award, as well as Best Book for her script. She is a musical theater geek, fandom nerd, and the author of many spicy fan fictions. Julie now lives in Fort Bragg, CA, with her dog, Charlie. She is probably drinking coffee as you read this.

Editorial Reviews

06/10/2024

Soto (Forget Me Not) makes philharmonic music downright sexy in this taut contemporary. Self-taught violinist Gwen Jackson is playing a fancy wedding in New Jersey when she borrows a cello from a grumpy wedding guest—who, insultingly, doesn’t recognize her as a fellow member of the Manhattan Pops, “the largest popular music orchestra in the United States.” Gwen knows him as Xander Thorne, bad-boy lead singer in a rock band when he’s not at the Pops. Later, thanks to YouTube, she learns that his real name is Alex Fitzgerald, that he was a violin prodigy and stopped playing the instrument for mysterious reasons, and that he’s her boss’s son. The initial animosity between Alex and Gwen obviously belies a blistering attraction, but the road to love has many bumps, including Gwen being promoted to the orchestra’s first chair over Alex and the machinations of both Alex’s manager and his stepfather, who aim to sabotage the relationship. While Alex comes off as a bit of a jerk at first, readers will fall for him as he falls for Gwen. Their chemistry is explosive, and the author injects the plot with just enough suspense to keep the pages flying. Soto’s sophomore outing will leave readers eager for her next story. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"The cello scene in this book will change your life."—Ali Hazelwood, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“100% pure romance magic.”—Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling author

“Not Another Love Song is an immediate five star read. This book will vibrate in your bones for days after you turn the last page. Julie Soto is quickly staking her claim as one of the greats in romance.”—Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone, New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors

“Like a balm made of all your favorite melodies, Not Another Love Song is the perfect cure for heartache. Julie Soto never misses!”—Ashley Poston, New York Times bestselling author

“Like the best of symphonies, Julie Soto’s book soars.  (And I’ll never look at a cello quite the same way…)”—Jodi Picoult, #1 NYT bestselling author

A truly masterful composition! Julie Soto delivers the crescendoing intensity, transportive fluidity, and most of all the depth of feeling you get listening to an exceptional piece of music through Alex and Gwen’s passionate romance. At turns funny, moving, and fan-your-face steamy, I couldn’t put NOT ANOTHER LOVE SONG DOWN!—Rosie Danan, USA Today bestselling author of Do Your Worst

"The most gorgeous, addictive, and enlivening romance I've read in ages, Not Another Love Song is on a brand new level of entertainment. Gwen and Xander's story is a flawless mix of tenderness, angst, and incendiary heat."—Tarah Dewitt, author of Savor It

This book is a masterclass in romance…the kind that touches every page with intense longing, makes the reader feel deeply the simmering, tightly-coiled tension, and had me jumping to my feet with the most satisfying HEA. Standing ovation for Julie Soto’s Not Another Love Song!—Susan Lee, author of The Name Drop

"The heat that explodes between Gwen and Xander is so intense you might feel compelled to look away. And you know the steamy pottery scene in “Ghost”? Just imagine a cello equivalent."—The Washington Post

"Soto makes philharmonic music downright sexy."—Publishers Weekly

“A phenomenal talent. Watch out, world - Julie Soto has arrived.”—Sarah Hawley, author of A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon

“Julie Soto is the queen of heart flutters and swoony awesomeness.”—Penny Reid, New York Times bestselling author

“This musical romance hits the right notes with sizzling flirtation and tension.”—Kirkus

“Julie Soto knows how to give us a novel worth singing about. This is one duet that you definitely won't get out of your head.”—Cosmo.com

From the Publisher

06/14/2024

Self-taught professional musician Gwen Jackson enjoys working for a popular orchestra but sometimes wonders whether she should try again to get into music school. She knows she's talented but is self-conscious about not being able to study music after high school. Alex Thorne, who plays in the same orchestra and is a legitimate music star outside of their shared job, plays music and moves through the world with a sense of belonging that Gwen knows she lacks. The two unexpectedly get to know each other and discover they have more in common than a passion for music, including complicated relationships with the personal and professional authority figures in their lives. As Gwen and Alex grow closer, each must decide how to balance others' expectations with their own needs and determine for themselves how much they'll allow their paths to be determined by outside forces. VERDICT Soto's (Forget Me Not) engaging novel, which is sure to be a hit with members of the Reylo fandom it originated from, should also circulate well in collections where contemporary romances are popular.—Nicole Williams

Library Journal

2024-05-31
Two talented musicians battle for professional recognition and against their increasing attraction.

Gwen Jackson and Xander Thorne are talented performers with the Manhattan Pops Orchestra: She’s a violinist; he’s a cellist. When Gwen is hired to play the wedding of one of Xander’s friends, she’s stunned to realize that Xander has no clue who she is. Given that Xander is also from a family of famed and wealthy musicians, the snub stings even more. After all, Gwen’s natural talent didn’t come from good genetics or expensive lessons. Her gift was nurtured by a caring music shop owner, and, at times, she feels more at home busking in a subway station than in a fancy concert hall. Gwen seems to be beneath Xander’s notice until she receives the coveted spot of first chair, further igniting their hostility toward one another. Beneath their personal antagonism, Gwen and Xander have a healthy amount of respect for each other’s talent, which bubbles up and turns into sexual attraction. Some readers may find that the change from rivals to romantic partners progresses rather swiftly, but the close quarters and public setting is an ideal pressure cooker. This is a delightful spin on the workplace-relationship trope, trading buttoned-up boardrooms and Type A strivers for intense rehearsals and musical prodigies whose journeys to the same orchestra couldn’t have been more different. There are some plot threads that don’t land well, as when the orchestra decides to use Gwen and Xander’s relationship to drum up publicity. Less is more if it allows a relationship to develop at a pace that won’t give the reader whiplash.

This musical romance hits the right notes with sizzling flirtation and tension.

Kirkus Reviews