Wow, this was an amazing book! First, I love that it's set in Baltimore-- I appreciate new places to explore through books, so it was fun. Second, what a unique and wonderful situation for Lucie and her "platonic first-love of her life". I love her relationship with her daughter, baby-daddy and his husband. Second, the build-up to the steam was *chefs kiss*. I rarely cry during books, but this one almost got me! I'll be looking out for more from this author!

“𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿, 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁-𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿”

It’s finally the month of Aiden and Lucie (out 2/11/25)! I will be referring to this book as Sleepless in Baltimore moving forward because it gave us everything that our favorite rom-com delivered and more!

First-Time Caller is all about finding the magic in love, and for Lucie, this was through joining Baltimore’s romance hotline with the one and only Aiden Valentine. After her daughter called in to Aiden begging for help with her mom’s love life (or lack there of), Lucie gets pulled onto the show in the new segment titled “Lucie’s Road to Love”. But what happens when that road leads her right back to her co-host?

The way that I was kicking my feet for the entirety of this book!! I love the hopeless romantic + jaded MMC trope so much! I also love that Lucie is a mechanic?! It fits her persona so well and I love her body shop family and the roles that they play in the story. The co-parenting life that Lucie and Grayson/Mateo live is absolute goals and makes for amazing side plot / characters!

First-Time Caller is my little love letter to Baltimore 💌 Living in Baltimore, specifically the Fells Point / Harbor East area, this book gave me that nostalgia of the place I called home. The reference to Bertha’s, Berger cookies, and the purple dragon paddle boats in the harbor made my heart tingle the whole way through 💕

𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻… 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲? 💖

⭐️: 4.5/5

☎️ sleepless in seattle vibes
☎️ grumpy/sunshine
☎️ single mom
☎️ forced proximity
☎️ hopeless romantic
☎️ radio talk show
☎️ dual POV

Thank you x1000 @berkleyromance for gifted eARC + finished copy!

OMG, I absolutely loved this! Lucie and Aiden stole my heart!

Borison has done it again with this feel good romance. It's being marketed as a Sleepless in Seattle inspired story, and while I can definitely see the nods to the movie, this book is a masterpiece on its own. Lucie and Aiden have the cutest of meet-cutes. I fell in love with them both immediately. I love grumpy x sunshine or in this case cynic x believer. This dynamic between characters is always entertaining and fun. I highlighted so much here too. So many good quotes!

Pick this one up, you won't regret it!

Thank you @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for the free e-book and ALC!

3.5⭐️

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။‌‌‌‌‌၊|•˚₊˚⊹♡ Sparks fly in this cute, predictable romance between single mom Lucie Stone and jaded radio talk show host Aiden Valentine.

Loved the premise of this one: Lucie’s 10 year old daughter calls into a late night romance hotline to get some love advice and dating tips for her unlucky-in-love single mom.

The episode ends up going viral and before she knows it, Lucie’s signed on for the radio version of “The Bachelorette” where she will go out on blind dates with different men who call into the show. Of course, sparks start flying between her and her emotionally unavailable talk show host, instead.

I came around to Aiden in the final scenes, when his last act hit me in the feels, although leading up to that point I didn’t connect completely with him (Lucie was too good for him!). I did enjoy their playful on-air banter/chemistry, and the co-parenting dynamic Lucie has with her baby’s daddy.

My favorite part of this book was the nostalgia of the radio show call-in setting which reminded me of my childhood and Sleepless in Seattle!

‧₊˚🖇️✩ ₊˚🎧⊹♡ Read this one when in the mood for a light, sweet romance with just a couple of spicy scenes.

The audiobook dual narration by E.J. Bingham & Hathaway Lee was well done in particular the interlude segments between chapters which were sound bites recorded from the radio shows. ‧₊˚🎧⊹

·˚ ༘₊·꒰➳: ̗̀➛ This book releases on Feb 11th! · ←˚ ༘₊·꒰➳: ̗̀

(4.5/5 stars)

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison is a contemporary romance inspired by Sleepless in Seattle and the first in her new Heartstrings series.

Lucie is a single mother to a tween daughter who works as a mechanic. She and her childhood best friend, Grayson, had Maya while they were still pretty young. Today, they have a wonderful co-parenting relationship and Grayson and his husband Mateo live next-door. One night, Maya calls into Heartstrings, Baltimore's romance hotline and radio program, to ask for advice for her mom. Maya's conversation with the host, Aidan, ends up going viral, and Lucie is invited to join the program to help her find love.

There were several things in this book that I loved: the casual queerness is phenomenal, the romance had me kicking my little feeties, and it's set in a real place that I am familiar with. Baltimore is less than an hour from my house on a good travel day, and I tend to visit several times per year. In fact, I used to work as a pirate out of Fells Point, an area name-dropped in the book!

Another thing that I love to see in contemporary romance is the importance of enthusiastic consent and regular check-ins to make sure everyone is comfortable with any scenario. For the most part, I really loved how communicative both of our leads were. In many ways I saw a lot of myself in both Lucie and Aidan, especially how the latter compartmentalizes.

This would have probably gotten a full five stars from me if it was a little less long (it's almost 450 pages) and there wasn't a contrived third-act breakup. I say contrived because up until this point, our main characters were communicating pretty well. Unfortunately, miscommunication (my least favorite romance trope) rears its ugly head there.

That being said, there was a ton of banter throughout the book that I truly enjoyed, and not just between romantic partners. This exchange literally made me snarf:

“Do you find anyone sexy yet, or is that a thirteen-year-old thing?”
“Patty,” I say again, a warning in my voice. Maya shrugs, scooping the avocado off her sweater.
“I think books are sexy,” she says, very seriously. “No one at school has quite lived up to Aragorn yet.”
God, I love this kid. I lean over and press a smacking kiss to her temple. “I hate to break it to you, kid, but no one ever will.”

I'm so excited to read further books in this series. Jackson, Aidan's best friend and weather reporter, was so bumbling and fun and I am so hype to see where he finds love. There's also Maggie, their boss, who seems very put together so I'm very interested in seeing her let her hair down (hopefully with the actually nice guy that Lucie has a date with but didn't have sparks).

"I think I got too used to you in the spot next to me. I'll be fine. Promise." I squeeze. "I like the spot next to you." He gives me a half-smile. "Yeah. Me too."

Gah!!! New book CRUSH!! I’m absolutely IN LOVE with this story. It’s been on my mind nonstop. I adore this couple and story!

Tropes :
-dual pov
-heartstrings, baltimore's romance hotline
-single mom
-she wants magic » & he doesn't do love or romance
-he's sweet even though he’s grumpy
-radio transcripts

For lovers of Sleepless in Seattle and a cozy rom con? This is for you. Aiden Valentine is the host of a popular Baltimore radio talk show of the romantic variety. His passion for the job has been dwindling as it seems that most callers are going over such asinine things. That is until a 12 year old girl calls on behalf of her loveless mother, Lucie. Lucie has an honest conversation with Aiden that soon goes viral, so viral that in order to save the radio station and the show they invite Lucie on to "find love". And unbeknownst to Aiden and Lucie, every magical moment that comes between them may end up being everything Lucie's been looking for. But can Aiden get over his own demons of keeping himself at arms length? I loved this read so much, you can tell how much stronger Borison has gotten as a writer and I was so deeply immersed, I didn't want it to end!

5⭐️

thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley Romance, B.K. Borison and Penguin Randomhouse for allowing me to read this ARC!

wow. some people have already said this & i’m gonna say it too — this book is the definition of the perfect contemporary romance. from start to finish, this book was AMAZING. beautiful inside & out, i mean look at that cover!!! i cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy.

there wasn’t a single flaw about this book. the characters felt so real & raw that in my head, i’m friends with them. the side characters were even so involved that i was attached to them. i loved every single character, i wouldn’t change a thing about one of them. the platonic soulmate aspect of Lucie & Graysons relationship was so wholesome. Maya’s personality had me smiling from ear to ear she was so fun & creative & her own kind of person. & their little family that they had all figured out was perfect.

Aiden had me hooked from the start. he is definitely something tho, that’s for sure — he’s funny, stubborn, sweet & protective, & definitely has an attitude problem. 😂 but i loved him! the banter between him & Lucie was top tier. & you could feel the tension off of the pages from the get go! but all surface level things aside, Aiden & Lucie are 2 very complex characters with some baggage which made the story that much more beautiful. There’s so much emotional depth to the both of them individually but also in their journey together. i loved watching everything come full circle & how it all came together so beautifully. the ending was PERFECT.

oh who am i kidding the ENTIRE BOOKE WAS PERFECT & AMAZING & BEAUTIFUL. & i clearly don’t have any other descriptive words in my vocabulary because i’ve
reused them all so many times in this review alone.

moral of the story you NEED to pick this up when it’s RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 11th‼️

4.5⭐️

I did a full immersion read with this one and had a great time reading it! I loved all of these characters and all of their relationships/friendships. Aiden is one of the sweetest book boyfriends I’ve ever read! He might have given up on love but finds out just how much he wanted it through Lucie. Lucie is a single mom to a preteen that just wants to see her mom happy. I love Lucie and Aiden together and was rooting for them the whole time. This book was pure romance that made me laugh, cry and swoon.

Reading a B.K. Borison novel is like drinking hot chocolate on a snowy day: cozy, comforting, and, in the right moment, magical. The winter love fairy returns with the first in a new series of interconnected novels, all based on Nora Ephron’s beloved films. "First-Time Caller," loosely inspired by "Sleepless in Seattle," follows a disgruntled radio show host, Aiden Valentine, who receives a most interesting call from a 12-year-old girl. The request? Help her hardworking mom, Lucie, find The One. And so Aiden receives a new challenge. Over the course of one Baltimore winter, Aiden and Lucie vet potential suitors, offer dating advice to their listeners, and learn what it really means to fall in love. Absolutely the perfect book for this time of year.

There’s nothing quite like a B.K. Borison book to reaffirm my faith in love. In First-Time Caller, the “love guru” radio host who doesn’t believe in love meets the hopeless/hopeful romantic single mom mechanic who has been out of the dating game for too long. Cue the warm fuzzies, y’all.

It all starts with a late-night phone call from twelve-year-old Maya to the Heartstrings radio show hotline. Soon mom Lucie finds herself opening up to show host Aiden about love and how she wants magic.

Lucie’s earnest confession strikes a chord with listeners across Baltimore, and she soon finds herself in the recording booth, next to Aiden, seeking out Mr. Right.

As often happens with books I absolutely adore, I’m vacillating between, “What can I say to truly capture how I feel about this one?” and rambling on endlessly—and most likely incoherently—until everyone has for sure tuned me out. To save us from that latter experience, I’m providing a list of some of the reactions I had while reading:
- “fallen out of love with love” 😢
- Doesn’t “know how to be a hopeful person anymore” 🥺
- I love the concept of “emotional support cookies”
- BANTER
- These text messages!
- And the radio show transcripts!
- I sure do love a forced proximity + workplace situation
- WARM FUZZIES
- Y’all, this man’s half-smiles
- I will never think of the “Thong Song” the same way again
- Ahhhhhh this tension
- REDACTED
- Chosen support family 🥹
- Fans self
- Fans self again
- Yep, still fanning self
- Oh my gosh, I love them

I received an advance copy of the book from Berkley. All review opinions are my own.

Lucie, a cute red-headed mechanic, is a hopeless romantic. She's also a single mom to a preteen who wants to help her mom find love. And she does exactly that by calling into Baltimore's #1 romance radio show, Heartstrings. Aiden Valentine, host of Heartstrings, can't wait to help Lucie, and his show ratings, by setting her up on dates with callers. Little do they know that finding romance is closer than a phone call away.

Our cast of characters were just so fun in this book! I enjoyed getting to see Aiden work through his emotions and past trauma with his family. I loved seeing Lucie find her own family to love and be loved by. The chemistry and banter between Lucie and Aiden were perfect. The only reason it wasn't 4 stars for was I found myself speeding through some dialogue I didn't need for the story. Overall, I loved the book and B. K. Borison is still giving me the hopeless romantic feels.

This new foray into a new world with new characters was absolute perfection. Borison’s writing is so beautiful, making you wholly immersed in the story. I loved the premise, and the immediate spark between Aiden and Lucie—then watching it unfold—was delicious. LOVED this book.

I love this book and I loved these characters. This book just felt like a warm hug and I was so giddy as it progressed. Lucie and Aiden are the perfect protagonists that by chance end up in each others lives. I was rooting for them equally and was so so so satisfied by the ending!! Cannot recommend enough

This book brought me so much joy! First Time Caller is the perfect rom-com, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Lucie and Aidan felt incredibly real—even when they struggled to communicate it was natural and never frustrating, making their connection all the more believable.

As someone who grew up in the ‘90s loving Nora Ephron movies, I absolutely adored the Sleepless in Seattle vibes woven throughout the story. The nostalgia, humor, and heartfelt moments had me smiling from start to finish. If you’re looking for a charming, feel-good romance, this one is a must-read! I can’t think of a better book for LOVE month than this book that feels like a love letter to romantics.

First-Time Caller is a contemporary romance inspired by Sleepless in Seattle. Lucie is a 29 year old single mom who basically has no life outside of her 12 year old daughter Maya and work. What does Maya do to resolve this? Call a romance radio show for advice, obviously.

Aiden might be the host of a romance radio show, but he's burned out and has lost all faith in love. When his conversation with Maya and Lucie go viral, his boss ropes Lucie into doing a special show with Aiden.

Lucie's frustration with dating is very real and anyone who's tried dating in his modern age will find her very relatable. I also strangely found Aiden relatable—burnout, distant relationship with parents, etc. I get it, dude.

The romance was a real slow burn, and the chemistry between Lucie and Aiden burns everytime they are together. Their banter is so very engaging. I, along with half of Baltimore, was waiting for them to finally get together. One of my favourite scenes is when Aiden gave Lucie a piggyback ride after she had too much to drink—this is such a classic kdrama trope, but it's rarely found in romance novels.

There's a great cast of supporting characters and I'm very invested in all of them. Jackson and his enemy Delilah. Maggie and the insufferable Cooper. Dare I say I was also very invested in side characters like Oliver and his crush? And maybe even Colin.

The only thing is...I just don't get why the book was so long. What is up with contemporary romance books being longer than they should be? The push and pull between Lucie and Aiden was fun, until it wasn't? The slow burn was great, but then it kind of fizzled out after too much unnecessary push and pull. That being said, I still cheered when Lucie and Aiden finally crossed the line.

Overall, this was a great contemporary romance, if a bit too long. I'm definitely invested in the series!

I absolutely fell in love with this book and couldn’t believe how quickly I devoured it! So many moments had me swooning and sighing, starting with the charming banter between Aiden and Lucie during their radio show, squeezed into a tiny booth without a single complaint.
When Lucie discovers a list of her favorite things tucked inside Aiden’s glove compartment, my heart melted.

I absolutely adore Lovelight Farms, so I was beyond excited for First-Time Caller and it was worth it. This was just a cute, adorable small town romance.

If you were a fan of the soft, slow burn from LoveLight Farms, then you will enjoy First Time Caller. I adored Lucie and the cute found family she had going on. I’m hoping that everyone gets their own story and happy ending.

Please note, this is a 450 page slow burn. Which is a bit longer than I would like. Especially when this wasn’t some huge world building fantasy. I feel like some of this could have been condensed but I had a good time.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read First- Time Caller in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything and more, five million stars. As someone who has always so deeply believed in the magic of romance and falling in love, this book spoke to pieces of my soul and validated all those thoughts I, like Lucie, get too scared to voice sometimes. Not only was this such a beautiful story of two people finding each other and falling in love, but it was also a story about these two characters healing parts of themselves they spent so long neglecting. There’s not a single thing I would change about this book, and I know it will be a forever favorite. It had banter that just makes you swoon, giggle and kick your feet, and it was such a good reminder that you can be your own magic. This book pulled at every single one of my heartstrings (see what I did there🥹) in all the best ways, and if you take one recommendation from me please let it be this one!!

✨tropes✨
📻grumpy/sunshine
💗workplace romance
📻single mom
💗opposites attract
📻forced proximity
💗red string theory

thank you Berkley Romance for the arc🤍

Heartstrings is a new series from B.K. Borison, inspired by Nora Ephron romcoms ❤️ First-Time Caller could not have been a more perfect book to kick off this new series and I don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait until the next one releases!!

This book had my heart from the very beginning. I’m so glad I listened to the audiobook because it was FANTASTIC 👏 both of the narrators were new to me, but they could not have been more perfect for Aiden + Lucie 🙌 the sound effect that played when there was a new caller made me feel like I was right there in the booth.

I finished the audio in two days and kept finding ways to squeeze in another chapter 🥰 it was one of my all-time favorite audiobook experiences!

Read if you like —
❤️ sleepless in seattle
❤️ dual POV
❤️ slow-burns
❤️ pining

FIRST-TIME CALLER is a love letter to love, Baltimore, and Sleepless in Seattle❣️I loved every second.