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A review by keliterate
Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto
5.0
reread notes: yeah I still swooned and kicked my feet and giggled like a schoolgirl. That cello scene man, play me like one of your CELLOS
—-
oh goodness, she’s done it again.
i started this yesterday (i forgot to post my funny story reread review yesterday, oops) so don’t be too alarmed with my reading speed. i just could not, for the life of me, put this down. i ran home (in heels) to read it, i rushed through dinner, and promptly ignored everyone last night while i bulldozed through a good chunk of it. THAT is the magic of julie soto.
god, the tension in this was so good—so palpable, thick in the air, hanging on top of your head kind of heavy—so much so that i thought a string was going to snap. i loved the chemistry these two characters had, and even if i’m not familiar with reylo lore, i (in gen z speak) ATE this up. gwen and alex/xander had me in the palm of their hands, their romance humming through me like a rhythm i couldn’t shake.
there’s also something special about the way julie describes the music process here. i’m not classically trained, by any means, but getting to read how she described the rehearsing and learning process—how music was so intrinsically woven into each of the character’s lives made me so sentimental and soft. i learned how to play guitar at roughly the same age as gwen with the violin—and in a music shop too! julie describes music as muscle memory so well—bringing me back to my teenage years & playing the guitar for hours, starting over each time i got a part wrong. i related to gwen and alex in that way—just that inability to stop until it sounded right; to have the music take over until it felt like second skin to me; a reflex, an impulse.
there’s so many aspects to this book that i wish i could go on and on about—better reserved for a full review closer to pub day (and an excuse to reread, obviously AND ANNOTATE THE HECK out of a physical copy, mostly so i can scream). i can’t wait until this glittering gem of an opus is in your hands; until its melody rings through your ears, too. brb bingeing bach & creep by duomo today!!!!
—-
oh goodness, she’s done it again.
i started this yesterday (i forgot to post my funny story reread review yesterday, oops) so don’t be too alarmed with my reading speed. i just could not, for the life of me, put this down. i ran home (in heels) to read it, i rushed through dinner, and promptly ignored everyone last night while i bulldozed through a good chunk of it. THAT is the magic of julie soto.
god, the tension in this was so good—so palpable, thick in the air, hanging on top of your head kind of heavy—so much so that i thought a string was going to snap. i loved the chemistry these two characters had, and even if i’m not familiar with reylo lore, i (in gen z speak) ATE this up. gwen and alex/xander had me in the palm of their hands, their romance humming through me like a rhythm i couldn’t shake.
there’s also something special about the way julie describes the music process here. i’m not classically trained, by any means, but getting to read how she described the rehearsing and learning process—how music was so intrinsically woven into each of the character’s lives made me so sentimental and soft. i learned how to play guitar at roughly the same age as gwen with the violin—and in a music shop too! julie describes music as muscle memory so well—bringing me back to my teenage years & playing the guitar for hours, starting over each time i got a part wrong. i related to gwen and alex in that way—just that inability to stop until it sounded right; to have the music take over until it felt like second skin to me; a reflex, an impulse.
there’s so many aspects to this book that i wish i could go on and on about—better reserved for a full review closer to pub day (and an excuse to reread, obviously AND ANNOTATE THE HECK out of a physical copy, mostly so i can scream). i can’t wait until this glittering gem of an opus is in your hands; until its melody rings through your ears, too. brb bingeing bach & creep by duomo today!!!!