Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reading copy! B.K. Borison has become one of my favorite authors and though this book isn’t in her original universe of Lovelight Farms, it does not disappoint. This book is modeled after Sleepless in Seattle, but really showcases Baltimore nicely and does a gender switch - the FMC is the one whose daughter calls into a radio station and the MMC is the radio host. This book was very very cute and great, with great main and side characters, very sweet build up, and great banter and falling for each other. The only reason this book does not get 5 stars from me is that it’s 448 pages - that’s insane for a cute book like this. It does pace okay, but I truly believe it could have been shorter. Overall, I still highly recommend and love this book - great for fans of Borison, Nora Ephron fan fiction, and sweet steamy contemporary romance.

It's hard for me to rate or review this book because the parts of this book that worked REALLY worked, but the parts that didn't kind of annoy me.

I loved Lucie and liked Aiden, their chemistry was great and the banter was cute and I loved watching them fall for eachother. However, I also felt like Aiden's whole "I'm not the one for you" schtick got old fast and I wish he grew more (someone get this man a lot therapy, stat!).

ALSO, the singular steamy scene had no right to be as hot as it was but omg.

Thank you Berkley Romance for this ARC!

I was almost nervous to start this book. I had such high - probably bordering on unrealistic - expectations and I was worried I'd be unintentionally let down. I should have known to trust B.K. Borison because she is clearly a wizard and puts magic into each and every one of her books. I LOVED THIS. Aiden and Lucie are absolutely everything. I adored their banter and chemistry. Every step of their friendship and relationship felt realistic and I just could not get enough of them. The growth each of these characters have throughout the story is really beautiful and heart-wrenching. I simply could not get enough.

Thank you SO much to Berkley Romance for the eARC - all opinions are my own!

Such a great romance story. Thank you netgalley and the publishers for this ARC.

If you are looking for a book with a great plot and character development, this is it. I enjoyed the pacing of the story and never felt bored. I finished it quickly too because the way the author constructed the chapters you want to know what is going on with the characters.

The ending was perfect and wraps everything up nicely. I can’t wait to read more by the author in the future.

This was 4.5 stars for me!

From the start of this story, I was hooked. The chemistry between our FMC and MMC is giddy from the getgo. I didn't know what to expect when I got into this but it wasn't that I'd be swooning over the banter and characters. I really enjoyed Lucie and Aiden and the fact that Lucie's daughter is the one who set the entire love plot in motion.

Aiden and Lucie's chemistry is clear as they fight their positive charge, but the best part of this read was how I had to make myself slow down while reading. There's something about a book that keeps you engaged but also makes you want to slow down.

Absolutely read this book and enjoy the ride !

Sigh. This is the book that is in love with love. I could feel my heart swell full to bursting as I finished reading. I wish I had more thoughtful words to describe my feelings, but I don’t. I feel so warm and content and full of joy, that I need to just sit with my feelings and enjoy it. Thanks to Berkley for the ARC.

This was a really sweet and charming love story inspired by Sleepless in Seattle. First-Time Caller follows Lucie, single mother and mechanic, and Aiden, radio show host and cynic. I loved the dual POV, and the little snippets from the radio show in between chapters.

When 12 year old Maya calls into radio show Heartstrings, she was wanting to help her mom find love. What her mom Lucie didn’t realize was that that call would go viral. Then she finds herself going on the same radio show and looking for love.

This really was a sweet story. I loved the side characters, especially Maya’s dad. I felt like the characters were well fleshed out and relatable. I would’ve liked a bit more resolution for both MCs in relation to their parents, but I did like both of their backstories. Overall this is a cute romance that I recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this Advanced Reader Copy!

This book follows grumpy, cynical Aiden who runs a radio show about love and romance, but doesn’t believe it exists for someone like him.

One night, a twelve year old named Maya decides to call in and ask for advice about her mom Lucie’s sad and pathetic love life. This turns into Lucie getting roped into coming on Aiden’s show and sharing her desire to feel “the magic” of romance that seems unattainable. Maybe she can change Aiden’s cold heart to believe true love does exist?

This book was so so cute and had so many funny moments. I loved the characters and couldn’t get enough of them and their banter. I am so excited for this book to come out so others can read it! Absolutely great book!

Such a great rom com!

I adored this book and just know it’s going to be a major hit. It’s a Sleepless in Seattle remake with all of the heart, yearning, and vulnerability you want. BK Borison puts a few spins on the story to make it her own, but the overall magic and threads are present throughout the novel.

Lucie is a single mom who enjoys her alone time, work as a mechanic and co-parenting her daughter Maya with her best friend and hs husband. She’s got the found family she wants and doesn’t worry about her failed attempts at romance. Aiden is a grumpy radio show host for Heartstrings, a romance hotline. Ironically, he’s very anti romance and keeps his feelings under tight lock and key due to his family history. When Maya, Lucie’s daughter, calls in about her mom, the show brings Lucie in to help her date Baltimore’s men and find her a match. Before they know it, Aiden and Lucie are spending a lot of time in the booth together, helping her navigate her love life and falling in love in the process.

I love how the talk show premise lets the dialogue drive the story. It’s very characters and interaction based versus plot forward and I think it’s done really well. We get to see the dynamic between the mains early and thoroughly. I love the depth, the vulnerability and the bravery behind the conversations. It all felt very real to me.

As someone who’s mom has had cancer three times, Aiden’s story struck home to me and when he calls his dad towards the end of the book because he recognizes his love for Lucie and is afraid of the pain, I sobbed like a baby. And when he builds her a fort and we find out he keeps a list of her favorite things, I knew I was a goner.

BK Borison has written a mature, heartfelt, incredible romance I know all my romance readers will love.

Vibes;
Sleepless in Seattle
Forced proximity
Grumpy x sunshine
Chosen/found family
Single mom
Yearning
Finding excuses to touch them
Who did this to you
Slow burn
Public declarations of love
Witty banter
Dual POV
Spice

Thank you Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

"𝑫𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝑰'𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄?"

"𝑵𝒂𝒉, 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒆. 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒌 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄."

Now this is what I call a romance! Everything that I wanted and more. Perfect for fans of nostalgic 90's-early 2000's romcoms. A love letter to love in all of its shapes and sizes - family, friends, and that special someone.

The romance was fresh, beautifully written, and so engaging. Lucie and Aiden remind us that love is found in the little things: piggyback rides over cobblestone streets because you're in heels, finding a list of all of your favorite things written in a glove compartment, trying a new pizza order because it's her favorite, and just finding the fun in one another :.). Aiden Valentine is straight out of a hopeless romantics dreams, and Lucie is a sweet, smart, strong-willed, loving and independent leading lady. I fell head over heels for both of them.

First-time caller is real, nostalgic, and full of swoon-worthy, kick your feet and giggle moments. There's no way this book isn't a hit <3.

Thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for the arc!

Make the Call
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (5/5)  
Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (3/5)  
~
“I don’t know what I want for myself. It’s all twisted up in the things I think I deserve, then squashed under the things I’m brave enough to reach for.”
~
Vibes:   
Once I started - I couldn’t stop!! Raw, real, witty, enchanting. I’ve had BK Borison on my TBR for ages, and I’m kicking myself now that I know how amazing her writing is!

I love these characters. I love the way our MCs-Aiden and Lucie-go on a journey of self discovery and find love along the way. The flirty commentary and meddling antics of side characters had me cackling. The spice was absolutely delicious. I felt every emotion. And the HEA should be made into a movie… oh wait, it sort of was!
~
What to Expect:
Based on Sleepless in Seattle
Radio Show Romance
Grumpy x Sunshine
Search for Love
~
Recommended to...  
If you’re a fan of Sleepless in Seattle (or that 90s romance movie vibe) - you need this book!

You have got to absolutely be joking me with this. This is such a good romance. This book puts a fresh spin on how a romance is written. This is witty, heartfelt, and will absolutely pull on your heartstrings. This discusses very real moments that people deal with every day. This book and character development are executed perfectly. I saw myself in both of these characters. It was just amazing. I was not disappointed. I actually cried at watching Aiden grow. PleeeeeeeeeaW read this book!

I could not recommend this book enough.

Loved this ode to sleepless in Seattle! It felt charming and nostalgic while also being modern and low stakes. The cover is also adorable! Perfect Vday read!

I feel so blessed that I was able to read an early copy of this book! IT WAS FANTASTIC. I already fell in love with Borison's Lovelight Farms, but I enjoyed First-Time Caller even more! From the magic of Sleepless in Seattle, to the writing, the banter, the plot, the characters, the chemistry, the spice - everything was so wonderful. I don't say this lightly, as it's hard to get a full 5 stars from me. This book was perfection and has already been purchased for the library. I will be recommending it to many!

this beautiful book is so precious and perfect to me!!! I just love when a book reminds me on why I love reading so much 🥹🩷 the premise and storyline was SO fun! this book felt like a breath of fresh air. there were so many beautiful moments that had me swooning, and moments that tugged on my heartstrings (I get it now), and other moments that had me literally laughing out loud, I swear this book had it ALL 💜

lucie and aiden are everything to me. such a beautiful slow burn romance that I LOVE, the pacing was absolutely perfect to me and when I say this book is SO ROMANTIC — ugh, it’s perfect. 🤭 the tension between those two was through the ROOF. It had me gasping, giggling and kicking my feet. 🤭🥵 lucie is just such an amazing and brave character, our hopeless romantic girly 🥹 and aiden, the man that you are!!! I’m obsessed with the both of them. 🩷

the chemistry, tension, banter, flirting, family, ROMANCE — perfection. I loved everything about this 🩷 also honorable mention to the side characters because they brought so much laughter and fun into this beautiful story 🥰

thank you SO MUCH berkley for the arc!! I’m so grateful 🩷

As the host of a Baltimore romance hotline radio show, you'd think that Aiden Valentine loves love. But the truth is, listening to callers' woes and watching his father nurse his mother through sickness has made Aiden more than a little jaded regarding heart matters. He knows his grumpy attitude is affecting the show's ratings, so no one is more surprised than he is when a young girl calls in asking for dating advice for her mom goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.

Lucie Stone has everything she could need, or so she thought. She has a job she loves, an incredible support system, and a preteen daughter who, despite her mischievous side, Lucie would do anything for. So, when she catches her daughter talking to a stranger about Lucie's lackluster love life, Lucie has to face the fact that maybe she's lonelier than she'd like to admit. With all of Baltimore behind her, Lucie agrees to come on Aiden's radio show and have him help her look for love. But what if her happily ever after happens to be the stubbornly handsome man beside her?

At this point, I would read Borison's grocery list. Everything she writes hits the spot. When I heard that she was writing a series loosely based on romance movies, I couldn't wait. This one is Sleepless in Seattle-inspired, and she nailed it. I loved the chemistry between Lucie and Aiden. They had such a natural and easy back-and-forth banter that I ate up. Typically, I relate more to the FMCs in books, but there was so much about Aiden and his way of dealing with his emotions that I was like, "Yep, that's me." He also shot his way up to the top of my favorite Borison MMC's ranking when he made a list of Lucie's favorite things that he kept in his glove compartment. *Insert swoony face here* It's also rare when I love the secondary characters almost as much as the main characters, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the next book follows Jackson because I love him already. If you enjoy Nora Ephron movies and don't mind more of a slow-burn romance, I highly recommend checking it out.

I am writing this review at 2:34 in the morning with tears streaming down my cheeks in a way that is, quite frankly, a little alarming.

The Lovelight Farms family burrowed deep into my chest, so I knew I would love anything (and everything) else Becs gifted us. But I still, somehow, was bowled over by this.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

The raw, unfiltered, messy and chaotic and earnest love hooked right under my ribcage. Not just between Aiden and Lucie (though of course, of COURSE between Aiden and Lucie) but the casual affection, borderline (and entirely) intrusive love between them and the families they’ve created for themselves. There is yearning not only for each other but also for the idea of love - romantic love, familial love, platonic love. The deep, achingly human need to feel seen and wanted.

So many parts of Lucie resonated so deeply with me - her desire for something magic while also protecting her heart and the life she’s created for herself because it is so exhausting to try - and why try and try when you truly are content (most of the time)?

“I have so much love in my life, I’m not sure I need any more. I don’t want to settle for something just to say I have it. That’s what I’ve been telling myself, anyway.”

As always, this love story is about far more than romantic love. And it’s complicated, and tender, and lovely. And I can’t wait for you to love it, too.

3.75 stars, it was really good I loved the fact that it was sleepless in seattle inspired and that the whole series are nora ephron movie inspired but out of all her movies sleepless in seattle is def my least fav even tho I still love it and I think that’s maybe part of the reason I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought i would like there is so much plot around the radio storyline it felt like the chemistry between the main couple wasn’t as much as it could’ve been but I still enjoyed it never the less overall I would recommend it. im excited for the rest of the series tho

I would willingly PAY someone to wipe my memory so I can read "First-Time Caller" for the first time again.

As someone who grew up watching "You've Got Mail" with her mom, this book hit me right in the heart. It had everything I could have wanted, made me giggle my head off literally from page one until the end, and filled my heart with so much love and hope.

No MMC will ever compare to Aiden Valen, nope. This man is EVERYTHING. He was sweet, protective, funny, grumpy (but a literal goopy puddle at her feet when she's around). I loved how honest he felt, even though he was blocking some serious trauma at times. I don't quite know how to put this into words, but I guess saying I loved how messy he was is a decent attempt (like calls to like, after all, and I can be a real mess)

And LUCIE!! My gosh, I loved her. I loved the family she built for herself, but I also loved seeing her branch out and putting herself first. That's probably one of my favorite aspects of the entire book.

B.K. -- THANK YOU for the amazing work you do, the art you create, and the joy you bring into your readers' hearts. It never goes unnoticed <3 And to the team at Berkley who hit the "APPROVE" button when I sent in my request, I love ya'll with my entire being. THANK YOU!!!

thank you to netgalley & berkeley publishing for this arc!

5/5 🌟

wow… i want to start off by saying this is the first book i’ve read by b.k borison and im now RUNNING to read the rest of her books!!
this book was so beautiful and has made its way into my top 5 books of 2024. every single character in this book has a special place in my heart and i think thats really hard to get from a book! this definitely felt like watching a rom com made in the 90’s - early 2000s and i wanted to sit in that feeling forever.
aiden and lucie were EVERYTHINGGGG!! i loved how mature they felt as characters and how the communication never lacked once. the yearning was there x10000!! 🤧💕 i will say lucie is one of my favorite fmc’s of the year because she just gives girl boss in the best possible way!! aiden is also now in my top book boyfriends and im obsessed with him 👹
i feel like i can talk about this book forever and i cannot wait for everyone to be in awe of this book once it’s released! UGH I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH SOMEONE GIVE B.K BORISON HER FLOWERS 💐💐💐