This was my first book of the year and honestly, will be really hard to beat. It was funny, romantic, and hopeful, with a little heartbreak in there and LOADS OF YEARNING. I wanted yearning and I got it.

Thank you for the free book @penguinrandomhouse and @berkleypub #penguinrandomhousepartner #berkleyIG #BerkleyBookstagram. Thank you for the free audiobook, @prhaudio!

Here’s another one that I need you guys to preorder and read!! Because have you seen the news lately?? It’s been so stressful and we need more books like this that will only make us laugh and smile and believe in love again!!!

This is very much inspired by Sleepless in Seattle - single mom version and both people are actually single unlike in the movie 😅

Two chapters in and I already know that I would love this book. The banter and dialogues are topnotch! I also love that our female lead has a job that is considered a “boy job” and all her coworkers are just the sweetest!

He’s a host of a romance hotline but doesn’t believe in love while she’s a hopeless romantic and the opposites attract trope was played so well in this book!!

I love that this is also a radio show where people can call in, it feels like youre reading a small town story with nosy neighbors 😂 The radio show trope is also what made me listen to the audiobook at times because I loved listening to the clips! I’ve also been really loving the single parent trope lately and Lucie was such a lovely character to root for!

ALL the characters blended in so well to the story and I’m so glad you to know that this is part of a series because I cant get enough of the characters from this book!

It does get a little spicy towards the end but really, not that crazy.

I loved this book so much and I’m so excited for you guys to read it!!!

BK Borrison's best yet in my humble opinion...

Our story starts when Maya calls into a local radioshow to get romance advice for her mom. Caught off guard and excited by her viral moment, Lucie joins the show with host Aiden to find her perfect match. But it turns out Lucie and Aiden have a lot of chemistry that they both don't want to ackowledge.

This book was the definition of the perfect rom-com. I NEED THIS IN A MOVIE NOW. I love that the story was inspired by Sleepless in Seattle, and I fell IN LOVE with these characters. Though super lovable and enjoyable to read about, they both had flaws that made them feel very real and human. It was also refreshing to read a single-mom romance where the mom is also allowed to have a life, and has supportive co-parents that want her to go live it. Chef's kiss. No notes. (ALSO, Aiden's mouth had me blushing... HARD.)

thanks to netgalley and berkleyromance for the digital arc!!!

i’ve never read b.k. borison before this, but that is going to change immediately.

the love and tenderness and hope that this story had made my heart clench. i loved the way these characters loved each other—not just lucie and aiden, but every character. everyone deserves magic. everyone deserves love. and it may not be perfect, but it’ll be right.

i adored this book. it may only be february, but i’m already confident this is going to be one of the best romances this year <3

Thank you to Berkley Romance & NetGalley for the e-ARC & free final copy 💘

This was such a cute romance overall! It did feel a little long at times and it took me a bit to get into it, but other than that I really enjoyed it. This is a fun take on Sleepless In Seattle - this dynamic played out on paper was so cool to see and I loved Lucie & Maya’s relationship! Additionally, Aiden & Lucie’s relationship and how they grew and worked through emotional baggage together and separately.
This one is definitely for the romance book lovers and is such a fun read for the Valentine’s Day season🫶🏻

I want to inject this book into my veins so that part of my DNA is Lucie and Aiden (idk if it works like that but you get the picture). Words cannot describe how much I loved this book. From their unexpected meet cute when Lucie's daughter calls into the radio romance hotline that Aiden runs, to them meeting in person with Aiden being the opposite of smooth. Every time Lucie and Aiden were in the same proximity, you could feel their tension through the pages and it made this book down right addictive.

First Time Caller

A magical Sleepless in Seattle retelling. I was hooked from page 1. An ode to love, a reminder that it can find us anywhere.

Lucie is a single mom who’s never been in love. Her preteen daughter calls into a radio show to get some dating advice and meets Aiden. Aiden is the host and invites Lucie on to find love. Except the more time they spend together, the more obsessed they become with each other.

So so so many swoon worthy moments in this story. The MC’s find love but more importantly it depicts love after grief, motherly love, and friendship love.

Read if you like:
📺Nora Ephron
📻Radio shows
👧🏻Single parent
❤️‍🔥Slow burn
🏢Forced proximity
🎙️Witty dialogue
🥐Cruffins
🫂Found family
🍍Pineapple pizza
alexisrosechabot_KK29Bk@kindle.com

Synopsis: Aiden Valentine, the host of Baltimore’s radio romance hotline, doesn’t believe in love anymore. When he gets a call from a young listener requesting dating advice for her mom, Lucie, the call goes viral. Aiden and Lucie begin working together to help her find her happily ever after - live on air.

Thoughts: This is such a sweet, feel-good romance! Lucie and Aiden are perfection with top notch banter and chemistry. If you like grumpy/sunshine, you will adore them. The found family vibes are so well done, and I actually cannot wait to see whose story we get next in this series! If you need more convincing, what if I told you he keeps a list of her favorite things in his glove compartment so he doesn’t forget? SWOON 😍

Read this if you like:
☎️ Baltimore
☎️ Sleepless in Seattle
☎️ single mom
☎️ found family
☎️ grumpy sunshine

After her young daughter Maya calls in to a Baltimore romance hotline on her behalf, Lucie realizes that her life, while fulfilling, is missing something. Attempting to put herself out there, Lucie agrees to take part in an on-air dating show with the host of the Heartstrings hotline, Aiden Valentine. Heartfelt and vulnerable, Lucie and Aiden’s struggles with loneliness and relationships are touching and relatable. First Time Caller is probably my favorite romance I’ve requested in quite a while.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgallery for the ARC of First-Time Caller in exchange for an honest review.

NOSTALGIA, ROMANCE AND A UNIQUE PREMISE, those were my initial thoughts after finishing this book. B.K. Borison has an incredible ability to write lovable characters in a very cozy and feel good setting. While I enjoyed this book for the most part, the length of it, and the slow burn dragged for me in the middle. That is not to say I don't enjoy when relationship develop slowly throughout a story, but there were moments where I found the characters pondering too much over the same conflicts or thoughts. All and all, a very solid 3.75-4 book.


Thanks again to Berkley, all the opinions are my own.

.25⭐️
2/5🌶️

When I think of the perfect romance book, this will now be my prime example of that!! Everything about this was so sweet and I couldn’t get enough 🥺 This really captured the early 2000s rom-com vibes I’ve been missing so much♥️ Aiden is someone who has given up on love and Lucie is a hopeless romantic. I loved this dynamic between them so much. ALSO THE WAY THEY MET WAS SO CUTE I CANNOT 😭

Tropes/Themes:
-single mom romance
-workplace romance
-slow-burn

Sleepless in Seattle combined with B.K. Borison’s writing and characters? We knew it would be perfect and yet it still exceeded expectations!

I cried happy tears with this one, B.K. Borison truly knows how to write a romance. I can’t wait for the next one!

This is my first read by this author, but it most certainly will not be my last! I fell in love with Aiden and Lucie almost immediately. The grumpy/sunshine vibes, the flirty banter, the protectiveness, THE FAVORITES LIST ahhh, this book is just full of so many cute moments and I loved them all.

I’ve never seen Sleepless in Seattle, but if this has similar vibes I might need to check it out!

Thank you to the author and Berkley Romance for the eARC.

Aiden Valentine, host of Baltimore’s beloved romance hotline, has a secret—he’s lost faith in love. But when a caller’s plea for her mom’s dating advice goes viral, single mom Lucie Stone finds herself at the center of a media frenzy. As sparks fly off-air, will she choose the scripted fairytale or the man behind the mic?

Magical. This book had all the yearning, all the charm, and all the swoon. The little Baltimore setting details? Delightful. The radio show segments? Immaculate. And don’t even get me started on the hair braiding and piggyback rides—adorable.

Lucie carried herself with such confidence and maturity, and Aiden? Total flirty, laid-back, best-friend vibes. But because he was so resistant to love and letting people in, his personality felt ‘younger,’ which led to some frustrating miscommunication (sigh). I still loved them both separately, but together... I wasn’t always convinced they were the best match.

The narrators perfectly portrayed their characters, and that might have contributed to me recognizing the difference in the feel of their maturity.

Fans will love Lucie’s found family dynamic with her daughter’s father and his husband, but I didn’t care for that part. What stole the show for me was the setting, the cozy radio station vibes, and the sweet, slow-burn connection unfolding over the airwaves. If the rest of the series keeps this atmosphere, I’ll definitely be tuning in!

Perfect for you if you like:
Found family
Flirty banter and heartfelt emotion
MMC character growth
Bad idea romance

Similar to:
Funny Story by Emily Henry
Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
Perfect Fit by Clare Gilmore

⛔️chapters 23 & 37 contain explicit romance scenes (open door)
⚠️explicit language, discussion of parent who had cancer, pineapple on pizza

Do you love slow-burn romance, witty banter, and a touch of anonymous pining? Because First-Time Caller is bringing all of that and more with a charming, radio-show-meets-secret-crush setup that had me grinning like an idiot the entire time. Cue tension, unexpected confessions, and a whole lot of “oh no, they’re perfect for each other” moments. It’s cozy, it’s swoony, and it’s the perfect book to curl up with when you need a serotonin boost. Final thoughts? If you don’t finish this book with a ridiculous smile on your face, I’ll be shocked.

Aiden has hosted a local romance hotline radio show for six years, and he has major burnout, not even sure he believes in love. But when 12-year-old Maya calls the show to find a date for her single mom, Lucie, Aiden’s life changes. Soon, Lucie joins Aiden on the show and the pair have amazing chemistry as Aiden tries to find Lucie a date with Mr. Right.

What starts off with a Sleepless in Seattle vibe, turns into its own journey about friendship and love. In her acknowledgments, Borison shares that First-Time Caller is a “love letter to love. And a thank you to Nora Ephron.” I believe she successfully reaches her goal, because the story isn’t just about romantic love, but about familial love, found families, best friends, and bonds that cannot be broken. It’s about allowing oneself to the freedom to feel any and all emotions, both the good and difficult. It’s about what it’s like to be hurt and to heal.

First-Time Caller is shared via the alternating first person POVs of Lucie and Aiden. I love this because it allows me to experience the raw emotions of both characters first hand. At first Lucie and Aiden become friends, and then they develop a crush, and then they fall in love, but Aiden is too scared to take a chance. I love how Borison writes the emotions of Aiden. She digs into his panic and fear, knowing he’s on the cusp of something amazing and too scared to go for it. The panic of seeing his life plan crumble and realize it wasn’t the right plan. I felt it all along side Aiden and that connected me to the character and relationship.

First-Time Caller really warmed my heart and made me smile. I love the search for love and the discovery that it’s not this perfect, magical thing. I love Lucie’s family and the love she has in her life. She’s sunshine and magic and makes everyone a bit better. I highly recommend this friends-to-lovers romance; it's destined to become one of my comfort reads!

My Rating: A-

This book y’all, it’s swoony. I am SWOONED.

(Mild spoilers ahead)

Right from the start of their quirky “meet cute”, Aiden and Lucie have electric chemistry. She’s looking for a spark, he doesn’t really believe in love. Which is curious for a man who hosts a radio show about love. What starts as coworkers turns to friendship, then quickly into more.

Aiden is soft with Lucie in a way she doesn’t even realize she needs. And our boy is just GONE for her. He reminds me a bit of Caleb (Mixed Signals) in all of the best ways. Becs finds a way to write the most perfect, deeply real, and honest MMCs who are flawed and layered in the most authentic way.

I also found myself relating deeply to Lucie. All she wants is to find her person. To find someone she can just BE with. To get past the dating part and get into the relationship part with. To find something real with someone who accepts and wants her exactly where she is. Who doesn’t want that kind of love?

This story also served as a love letter to Baltimore. To the history and quirkiness of the city. To its unique characteristics and landmarks. It acts as the perfect backdrop for our cast of characters who include some side people that I loved (looking at you, Maya and Mateo!)

I’ve been a fan of Becs since she released Lovelight and have been greatly anticipating this story. It absolutely did not disappoint! Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this story!

Adian Valentine runs a dating advice show on a local Boston radio station. He’s getting disenchanted with his job because it feels like all his calls are about petty squabbles in relationships. Then Maya calls to get dating advice for her mom. Once Lucie comes on the phone, it’s interesting. They discuss what she’s looking for and what’s holding her back. Turns out that everyone else agrees. The segment goes viral and suddenly everyone wants to know that Lucie found her happily ever after.
Lucie never thought she was unhappy. She has a job and d few close friends, but her conversation with Adian makes her realize that maybe she does want more. So she joins the show and goes on several dates, each worse than the last. Can Lucie help Aidan revitalize his show and find love?

read. this. book.

I absolutely ate this up, this was the perfect little romance book to get you in a lovey dovey valentines mood!! I had so many moments of butterflies and giggling and kicking my feet and heart eyes.

b.k. borison wrote a perfect romance novel! the characters were the perfect mix of witty, loving and troubled to make them seem realistic, not out of touch, and relatable!

it was perfectly steamy, had me yearning for more. the ending was a bit predictable based on what the book is about, but that predictability actually increased the tension and the wanting and the needing. I found myself needing them to see what everyone else could see and it was a desperate feeling that I loved.

Aiden and Lucie are the cutest people I have ever had the pleasure of reading about. Each of the side characters are pleasantly funny and supportive and I loved them all!!

If you’re a romantic, if you believe in romance and love and magic and a spark, this book is for you!

I saw someone say this book was a love story to love and it truly was. The friendships, the family and the relationship all truly showed what love can be and it was beautiful please please please read this immediately!!!

Thank you SO MUCH to netgalley for giving me an early copy of this book and allowing me to experience the magic in exchange for my honest review.

I love everything BK Borison writes! After reading the Lovelight series, this new book intrigued me! Best believe, it did not disappoint. <3