I adored this book! A single romance but it was so much more!
I am a married mother but so many things in this book it so close to home!!
The banter between luci and Aiden is too notch!
The spice that it builds up to is so good! I could read this book over and over again.
I loved and have no bad things to say

Thank you, @netgalley @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for the #gifted advanced digital and audio copies of this homage to Sleepless in Seattle! #berkley #berkleypartner #prhaudioinfluencer

Aiden Valentine hosts a call-in radio advice show about love, but he’s become disillusioned and cynical. The calls no longer excite him—until a tween dials in on behalf of her mom, sparking a heated and unforgettable on-air conversation. Lucie Stone, the mom in question, longs for a love as big as the movies, but she’s content with her life. Mortified when her daughter calls a love hotline, Lucie reluctantly agrees to join Aiden on his Heart Strings broadcast in an attempt to find potential love matches. As Lucie navigates a series of hilariously tragic or awkward dates, it becomes clear to everyone—including their friends and the listeners—that the sparks lighting up the Baltimore airwaves are between the host and his reluctant guest.

I absolutely LOVED all of the characters in this story. Lucy and Aiden are obviously central to the story but their closest friends, co-workers, and family are also such an important part of this story and they are absolutely lovely. You really feel Aiden and Lucy’s transition from strangers to friends to pulse-pounding attraction. Borison even writes a pulse-quickeningly sexy scene involving skeeball. SKEEBALL. My only critique is that I would have liked a bit more depth to Aiden’s transformation from love cynic and more meaningful interactions between Aiden and Lucie’s daughter. But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise charming and thoroughly enjoyable read!

If you’ve loved B.K. Borison’s Lovelight series, this book brings the same cozy, heartwarming vibes.

🎧About the Audiobook🎧 E.J. Bingham and Hathaway Lee do an absolutely fantastic job with their dual narration performance - making supply closets, skeeball and pineapple pizza positively spark! The audio runs 11 hours and 43 minutes.

Holy buckets. I knew I was going to love this book, because I have absolutely adored every one of BK Borison’s books so far, just I was not prepared for the way this book was going to blow me away. Borison has said First Time Caller is a “love letter to love” and there may truly be no better way to describe it. Lucie and Aiden connect through a sort-of call to Aiden’s radio show, Heartstrings. Lucie is looking for magic and Aiden no longer even believes in love. What they both discover changes both of their lives and may just save Aiden’s radio show in the process.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. First Time Caller by B.K Borison is my first book by this author and I genuinely enjoyed it! The chemistry between Adrian and Lucie was electric, and I feel like the character development of Adrian specifically, was very well done. I was able to really feel for the characters backstory as Adrian is trying to deal with his concept of love while having a mother who is currently in remission and Lucie is trying to find love as a single mom. I really liked the positive relationship between Lucie and her Ex-husband as well as the relationship between her and her daughter. I did think it was a bit of a reach that her daughter who is in like middle school was reaching out to a radio station late at night for her mom, as in my mind, I pictured her being older like a teenager around 14 to 16. Nevertheless, this was a fantastic book, great for Valentines Day and an awesome retelling of Sleepless in Seattle!

A VERY generous three stars to my first ever arc. Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this e-arc!!

Single mother without a love life meets host of a romance radio segment…. I lived for our girlie Lucie being a woman in a male dominated field! Lucie being brave for her daughter’s sake and of course for her own happiness was also very tender. There’s lots of found family vibes going on in this one which I always eat up. Unfortunately I found the pacing to be so off - I was bored for most of this rom heavy on the COM. And I wished our two main characters had more chemistry and time spent out of their radio booth.

I also fear I needed Aiden to seek help much sooner - his hot and cold attitude was not only annoying, but super red flag vibes and lasted a long portion of this book. Please sort your mommy issues out like the rest of us babe!!! And I reside in the camp of romances not needing to exceed 350 pages. This one especially was very slow at the beginning and then had an extremely rushed ending.

Give this one a go if you like cheesy romances, funny side characters, supportive found family, and millennial vibes!! Out Feb 11!

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up! This book was such a good slowburn YEARNING romance book. It truly felt like a love letter to romance and how love lies in the little moments.

I like that the conflict comes from the MMC Aiden not dealing with his past demons - it is emotional, beautiful, and wildly relatable. The trauma he experienced as a kid and how it influenced him as an adult was so realistic.

One of my fave parts about this book is that the FMC Lucie is herself. I feel like she’s one of the only female leads who I’ve read who isn’t super girly and knows who she is (and is proud of it). As a ‘tom boy’ I related to her so much. ALSO the only book I’ve read where a woman is a car mechanic and I LOVED IT! So badass.

My only critique is how long this book was. I think some parts could have been cut out but I loved the characters so much I hardly noticed.

This is the perfect book for Valentine’s Day and beyond because it truly reminds us why it’s important to take the leap, be vulnerable, and ask for what you want.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for allowing me to read this ARC!

Calling all rom-com lovers this February… THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU!! ✨🥹💖🫶🪩

▫️Genre: Romance
▫️Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 (5/5)
▫️Pub day: 2/11/25
#gifted @berkleyromance —ily!! Thx so much!

Dear @authorbkborison, you have outdone yourself. 🥹 This romance was absolutely everything— slow burn, found family, grumpy sunshine, & as sweet as can be!!! Our main character, Lucie, is a single parent of 12-year-old, Maya, who mayyyy or may not have 🤭 called in to a romance radio show 📻 (aka Heartstrings, Baltimore’s Romance Hotline) to find her momma love. HOW CUTE IS THAT. 😭💖 And when Lucie meets the radio host, Aiden… omg 😩🙌 I was kicking my feet at their flirting. The cutest ever!!! This book is just the ✨perfect✨ read for February, so please don’t miss it.

The author has said this book was inspired by the movie, Sleepless in Seattle— which I have NEVER seen 😱 So I will definitely be adding that to the weekend watch list! 🎥 First-Time Caller is also book one of a new series by Borison (Heartstrings) with the next book being inspired by the movie, When Harry Met Sally! Ekk! 💓

Thank you so much to Berkeley and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this arc!

I’ve been sitting on this arc for months, and I’m kicking myself for waiting so long because—wow—it was everything. What started as a funny, charming story turned into something way more: that kind of chemistry that makes your heart race and those moments that just feel... magical. I’m also left really wanting to try pineapple on pizza so- there’s that.

This book is all about not giving up on love, knowing you deserve that kind of chemistry, and remembering that real relationships take effort—sometimes more than you expect. It’s a reminder to believe in yourself, trust that the right connection will come when it’s meant to, and to never settle for less than what you’re truly worth.

I loved this book so much and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a good romance. I’m going to add my favorite quote after this so don’t go down more if that’s not your thing.

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“"You said pineapple on pizza is disgusting."
"Then why do you have it?"
"Because you said it was your favorite," I admit. "And I want your favorite to be my favorite."

I loved First-Time Caller. I also love the movie it’s inspired by so I’m not surprised. It was such a fun read and I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

As someone who is not typically a contemporary romance girlie, I LOVED THIS BOOK! I read it in one sitting because I simply couldn't stop reading. Aiden is the new blueprint for fictional men everywhere. Their flirtyness with each other is truly swoon worthy. Will be recommending to all of my followers and bookish friends!

3.5⭐️

This was a really cute story just a bit slower and longer than I personally would have preferred.

One thing BK Borison always does super well is writing the most impeccable banter between characters. Although I never became super attached to the characters I really did like Aiden and Lucie and was really rooting for them and their relationship. I also really enjoyed seeing Lucie’s relationship with her daughter, Maya.

Even though the story was missing a spark for me personally I can 100% see this end up on a lot of people’s favorite books list by the end of the year.

I definitely recommend it if you’re a fan of the Lovelight Farm series or if you’ve been wanting to try a BK Borison book.

Thank you so much to Berkley, NetGalley, and BK Borison for the opportunity to read and review this arc.

This was so cute omg! I was swooning and giggling and kicking my feet the entire story! I love Lucie and Aiden so much. They had chemistry from the start and I ate it up.

I loved the radio station setting more than I thought I would. It made their interactions more interesting and I loved their dynamic on the air.

Definitely one of my favorite reads of 2025!

I want to thank NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC!

Another fantastic book by BK Borison. While this book did feel a bit long it was still beautifully written. The spice was good and I’m interested to read the additional books in the series!

I struggle with what to say about this one. I loved Aiden and Lucie! I loved the banter and the whole radio show. I loved Maya and Greyson!

But I wanted more. It just felt like we got almost there and then stopped. They didn’t quite connect enough and we needed more banter. I wanted to know more about the characters. The beginning was slow and then end felt almost too fast.

But overall I still really enjoyed this one. It was a funny romcom that people are sure to love.

Thank you PRH Audio, Berkley & Netgalley for the review copy.

Lovelight wasn’t a fluke - BK is incredible at crafting romance, characters you fall in love with, and stories you can’t put down. I loved the radio interludes, the relationship dynamics with Maya’s dads and Lucie, the workplace silliness at both the station and the garage. I felt immersed in Baltimore and was invested in Aiden and Lucie from the very beginning.

I love dual POV where the man falls first. This was swoony and fun and I related to Lucie so much. Love the cast of side characters and the banter. I highlighted so many of Lucie's quotes.

Thank you Berkeley for the e-ARC!

This book (insert clutching my heart).

First-Time Caller is swoony, loving and simply adorable. My favorite scene is when Lucie finds a list of favorite things in Aiden's glove box.

Lucie's daughter calls into a radio show to help her mom put herself out there to date. When her conversation goes viral, her mother finds herself a regular on the program, and the ratings skyrocket. Aiden, the brooding radio host, along with mischievous station manager, agree to help Lucie find some dates. In her quest for love, what Lucie doesn't anticipate in the man in front is the love of her life. And what Aiden doesn't' anticipate is the constant need to be in her orbit to help his heart mend.

Their love story crackles the airwaves in attraction, chemistry and witty banter. They simply blow the roof of the station. I can't wait for more in the Heartstrings series!

Thank you, Berkley Publishing Group | Berkley

I'll definitely be reading more B.K. Borison since finishing First-Time Caller! Lucie and Aiden have my whole heart. I absolutely could relate to Lucie's feelings about dating and romance. I thought this book had kind of the perfect amount of plot between slow burn moments that kept me interested and entertained while anticipating the next moment. First-Time Caller will be any easy handsell for me and I know my Romance customers will love it!

I've been CRAVING a 5-star read, and First-Time Caller DELIVERED.

💕 eARC review | pub date: February 11, 2025 💕

I decided to request this book on NetGalley after a handful of my friends ARC read it and loved it, and it lived up to every bit of hype.

If I had to describe this book in three words it would be: cozy, swoon-worthy, and heartwarming.

As a hopeless romantic who was (very) single for 3 years and looking for that "magic" love, I felt seen with this story—especially when the FMC, Lucie felt like people were making fun of her for wanting and waiting for that type of love.

What to expect:
☎️ 1st person, dual POV
☎️ Radio romance
☎️ Grumpy x sunshine
☎️ Found family
☎️ Forced proximity
☎️ BANTER & YEARNING
☎️ Sleepless in Seattle-inspired // homage to Nora Ephron classics
☎️ Book 1 in a series of interconnected standalones

Spice rating: 🌶️🌶️

This is my first B.K. Borison book, and I love her writing style. You KNOW I'm devouring a story when I'm highlighting line after line of (swoon-worthy) dialogue.

I will absolutely be continuing this series with NOW, BACK TO YOU—"a When Harry Met Sally-inspired love story, color coded with a sexy weather man and the woman who shakes his meticulous control" ?? I'm in!!

A sincere thank you to Berkley for the gifted eARC provided through NetGalley ahead of its February 11, 2025 release.

First-Time Caller is one of those books that grew page by page, chapter by chapter, until the characters and their stories slowly worked their way into my depths of my heart. The story of Aiden and Lucie is sweet, tender, funny, emotional, thought-provoking, and so full of love. Lots and lots of LOVE. I wanted to cry for these characters and I said "Oh my gosh I can't believe this is happening" just as often as I laughed.