As it stands right now; this is my favorite book of 2025. I don’t know if BK got her PhD in Swoon or what, but I was swooning the whole time. There’s nothing I didn’t love about this!

This book is so sweet! I loved Lucie and Aiden as characters. Lucie is not like any FMC that I have read about. I think the things that made her different made me like her even more. Aiden was someone that at first I did not think I was going to care for. As I continued reading and the more that Lucie was involved in Aiden's life, the more enjoyable I think he became. The side characters in this book were also great. Grayson and Lucie's relationship was great and very relatable for many readers. I also liked Jackson and hope that we get a second book about him and possibly the weather woman?. This is a slow kind of burn and it is one that I think is meant to make you feel good and hopeful at the end.

This book had me blushing, kicking my feet, and giggling MULTIPLE times while reading. I loved this modern twist on "Sleepless in Seattle", and I really identified with Lucie as a character. I thought that her struggles to not settle for love were so real, and I enjoyed watching her relationship develop with Aiden. Also, Aiden is the absolute BEST, and I highlighted so many of his lines to Lucie (that man is built upon romance, he can never tell me otherwise). Overall, a very fun, sweet, funny, romantic book.

☏"𝘓𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳, 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵-𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳"☏

BOOK REVIEW: First-Time Caller by @authorbkborison
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I… just yes. All of it yes.

This book!!! The stereotype breaking (Lucie is a badass mechanic - when does that ever happen in books?!?), the family unit inclusivity and representation - it is all SO GOOD!

Within the first few chapters I related to the things Lucie said so much, but in a completely different context. What she talked about in terms of dating - for example, not knowing the steps everyone else knows - hit me so hard in my big autistic heart.

I also LOVED how mature she was. Parts where she could have assumed what was being said leading to miscommunication was immediately avoided because she just… ASKED !?! IMAGINE!!!

Watching Aiden and Lucie fall in love was so heartwarming. Their connection was so tender and genuine and romantic in a real life way.

This book had all the things I look for. Humour, depth, relatability, inclusivity and growth. 10/10.

Read this - regardless but especially - if you like:

👩‍🔧 badass mature stereotype breaking FMC
🏳️‍🌈 representation and inclusivity - the family dynamic is 👌🏼
🧑‍🧒 single mom
📻 workplace romance/ forced proximity
☀️ grumpy/ sunshine

🚨 TW: cancer, pregnancy (past), parental estrangement

~thank you so much @berkleyromance for the e-arc! 😍
#netgalley #firsttimecaller #berkleypublishing

I thought this was one was enjoyable and kept me wanting to read more. I really like the setting because I’ve never read or seen another romance that bloomed in a radio station. I loved how everyone around Aiden and Lucie, both friends and listeners, were so invested in their relationship. I thought it was also so fun to read about Lucie being a mechanic to challenge gender norms. Grayson and Maya were probably my favourite characters in the whole book. They were so delightfully comedic and I loved their whole dynamic with Lucie and Aiden, and of course, Mateo too (can’t forgot Grayson’s hubby). I will admit that I’m more excited to read Jackson’s story than I first was to read this one. At this point, B. K. Borison is an auto buy author for me because I love her characters and the worlds she writes for them. Thanks to NetGalley for the early copy, as always I’m so grateful!!

Well that was DELIGHTFUL. Dare I say 6 star romance read? Kicking my feet, squealing with joy, highlighting cute quotes like crazy. Great banter, great chemistry between Aiden and Lucy. Loved every single character in this book. I kept imagining Jackson to look like Doyle from Brooklyn 99? Highly recommend. Also maybe I have a thing for radio romances cause I’ve enjoyed every one I’ve read lol. Top 10 romance of 2025 solidified!!!



P.S. do you ever think about how much shorter romance books would be if everyone remembered therapy exists or

As a Nora Ephron fan, I was so excited to read a book inspired by one of my favorite movies, Sleepless in Seattle. Though it is a predictable read, it’s very sweet. The side characters were also all so charming. Really hard not to root for absolutely everyone involved.

Two words: Hopeless Romantic.

More to come on this later.
---
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced readers copy of this book.

This review will be short and sweet... because you should just read it.
- Sleepless in Seattle vibes
- Kick your feet giggling
- Hope for the hopeless romantic
- Struggling MMC (emotionally, family illness)
- Super competent and independent FMC (she's an auto mechanic!)
- Reversed gender norms, which was super fun!

Also of note: I listened to the audio book as well and highly recommend! The narration is excellent, especially with the dual POV.

📚Trope(s): Grumpy/Sunshine, Single Mom, Competent Heroine/Sweet Hero, Reversed Gender Norms
What you get: 🎙️📻👩🏻‍🔧🌩️☀️
⭐️Plot: 3/5 (not the most original, but solid)
🔥Chemistry: 5/5
🌶️Spice: 4/5

This book was a breath of fresh air in a season of books I've struggled to finish. I cannot recommend it more highly.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me a copy through Netgalley. It's been a real pleasure.

All of the characters are adorable. The banter between the characters is believeable. I can't wait till there are more books in the series.

Loved every single second of this, thank you so much for putting it into the universe! I was never able to put this book down without the incredible urge to pick it back up and find out what happened next. There's something about a single mom with a meddling daughter that always pulls me in.
I would 100% recommend!

So, so stinking cute. I loved this author’s previous works and this one is no exception. I will definitely be recommending this one to the romance lovers in my life!

This was a fun, quick read but didn't have the spark I expected based on my experience with other books by this author (I LOVED the Lovelight Farms series). It was so strange, but I cared way more about the supporting characters than the main characters. Grayson, Mateo, and Maya were far more interesting to me and I wanted more about them, especially Grayson. The writing was good and it wasn't a bad book, I just didn't connect with it the way I'd hoped.

RATING: 2.75/5 STARS

Cute premise, sweet characters... and also unfortunately a bit boring for me and too long. I've liked B.K. Borison's writing in the past, but this one fell into the camp of a little too saccharine.

4.5 stars

Loved this Sleepless in Seattle inspired romance! A grumpy radio show host and a hopelessly romantic mechanic make the most unusual couple but this love story will have you laughing and swooning. Added humor with the random people who called into the show, the interactions of all the staff at the station and the heroine's ex-husband. So ridiculously fun side characters. I highly recommend!

Mild 1-2 open door scenes

this was just the cutest story ever! I am obsessed and wished I could tune into the radio show! gotta go watch sleepless in seattle!! the steam is STEAMY, btw.

BK has done it again. I am completely obsessed with this book! From the very beginning I just knew that these characters would pull on my heartstrings.

I love that we got snippets of the radio show in between chapters. The characters backstories were so well developed and the dual pov was perfection.

A cute take on Sleepless in Seattle. There were fun Easter eggs throughout for fans of the movie. I enjoyed Lucie’s search for love and Aiden’s self delusions. But honestly this book was too long. The story could’ve been about 20% shorter and tighter and it would’ve still been a lovely and charming book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

First Time Caller is a charming read that had me hooked by the end, even if it took me a little while to get there. The premise of the story was interesting from the start, and I immediately found myself invested in the characters and their journey. Each of them felt SO real!

However, I did struggle a bit at first to really get hooked into the story. It took me until about the halfway point to feel fully immersed, but once I was, I couldn't put it down. The pacing picked up, and I found myself completely invested in how everything would unfold and resolve.

The ending, though, was absolutely worth the wait! It tied everything together so beautifully and left me with a sense of fulfillment that I hadn’t expected. I'm even more excited to read more about the side characters and their stories!!

Overall, it’s a fantastic book with great characters and a strong plot—just stick with it through the slower start, and you'll be rewarded with a fantastic conclusion.

4.5 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I truly believe this is B.K. Borison’s best work yet!

Aiden Valentine is the host of a romance hotline, and while he has become reluctant to love, a call from Maya, a young tween, looking for romantic advice for their mother sets off the start of what is soon to be a viral conversation with Lucie Stone. Their conversation is honest and leaves people wanting more of Lucie. As they begin to co-host the hotline, they are also working on finding Lucie a worthy romantic partner.

Aiden and Lucie are such sweethearts and while they have seemingly conflicting views on love, they both want the same thing. And we see each of them work through their “issues” with love and learn to accept each other for who they are and where they are in life. They’re both vulnerable with each other and take their respective time to open up to the other but what blossoms is pure understanding of each other. And I just love them and the found families they have cultivated.

In her acknowledgments, she mentions that this novel is a love letter to love. And when you read it, you certainly see that shine through. Not only is this a love letter to the romance movies and books we all love, but to her city and all the various forms of love one encounters.

An absolutely delightful romance between a jaded romance radio talk show host and a single mother whose 12 year old daughter calls into the radio show one night concerned for her mother’s nonexistent love life.

My favorite things about this book are all of the puzzle pieces that come together to make up their story, how they all end up connecting, and how they sneak up on you. It’s ultimately a story about learning how to accept good things, believing in love again, and that the real magic is in the small stuff.