Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto

SYNOPSIS

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 the publicity stunt…

~~~~~

Julie Soto knocked it out of the park with Not Another Love Song. I did put off reading this for quite a while after release as, compared to her fanfics, her debut novel underwhelmed me. This book, although tying into that same world as her debut novel, was a new level of writing in my opinion. The yearning in this book had me hooked from start to end. I find it rare that we have this level of yearning in what is considered “romcom” novels these days. Goodbye insta-love, we’re back in the era of the slow-burn. This book definitely had “Reylo” vibes but I feel it was done in a really good way. The only ways that made it obvious were the cover (duh) and the family dynamics that these characters had going on. Otherwise, in my personal opinion, they felt very original. Gwen and Xander had top tier chemistry, it was very much unrequited one sided for a good portion of the book which added to the slow-burn sooooooo well. I also really loved the insight we get into Gwen’s career and her passion for her music. Her relationship with her instrument was just as vital as the romantic relationship in this book and if you’ve ever played an instrument, you know just how lovely and inspiring that is to read in a character you admire.

We follow this story mainly through Gwen’s point of view as she struggles to work with an artist she used to admire but who, in reality, is a real ass. Her and her best friend play at a wedding and she’s forced to borrow this coworkers instrument… and he doesn’t even recognize her as a coworker, but her performance catches his attention and from then on out, throughout the book, his eyes are always on her. She’s competition to him, but she’s also someone he thinks could finally measure up to him after years of searching for an equal. As he begins to mentor her and their conductor starts to promote the orchestra through their relationship, tensions arise and some harsh truths come to light.

Gwen could be pretty oblivious and I can see where that might turn some people off as we tiptoe the line of horrid miscommunication. However, this is a pretty common fanfic trope so to me? It was art. I was sold. Xander is obviously into her and into having a partnership with her in their music and she is very much of the “I’m not good enough” mindset which usually frustrates me but in this it really worked out in highlighting her background and upbringing and the various people in her life that discredited her whether purposefully or not.

Xander was your typical brooding MMC but his background made his attitude entirely relatable. I loved the glimpses we got to young child prodigy Xander and the treatment that lots of young talented children go through when the adults in their life pressure the same way they would a full grown adult. His ego and Gwen’s lack of confidence were the perfect foils for each other and helped tip the scales back and forth throughout the book while they tried to find a good balance and leant to some great character development.

I really loved this book and I did give it 4.5 stars. Because WHY are there still plot holes and unanswered questions? I felt for how long (and GOOD) the conflict section of the book was, the resolution was a bit too quick. We didn’t really get a full resolution and because of that it felt unfinished. I’ve found this quite common in “reylo” inspired romances unfortunately. So, it was a great read, I FLEW through it and it’s the most engaged I’ve been in a romance book since the summer. I definitely recommend this especially if you’re a lover of Julie Soto.