Holy cow this was so cute!!!

It follows Aiden who is a semi-grumpy radio show host and Lucie, a hopeless romantic. Lucie’s daughter phones in to the radio show on behalf of her mom (who isn’t aware) and the story blossoms from there.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book!! The relationships were so heartwarming! Grayson and Lucie had the sweetest friendship and coparent relationship, it made me so happy!! Of course, I could talk about Aiden forever! Highly recommend!!

⊛ sleepless in Seattle inspired
⊛ slow burn
⊛ dual pov
⊛ single mom
⊛ great banter

Thank you so much to Berkley publishing group and netgalley for the arc!!

This book made me wanna believe in the kind of love that’s magic. This was so romantic.

At times, I couldn’t tell if what I was reading was cringe or cute. By the end I settled on mostly cute.

The writing was SO good. I have been sleeping on Ms. BK here. I will be reading her backlog. I had no idea she was so witty.

This book was really enjoyable and really sweet. The characters were unique and likable.

I do gotta say, this was a very unbelievable story. This grumpy MMC doesn’t believe in love and runs a romance talk show? This FMC just volunteers all her nights to talk on the radio with him without getting paid? Am I the only one who was wondering the entire time if she was getting paid?!

But I decided to throw all logic out the window at about the 60% mark and the book was much more enjoyable. Just a sappy cute romantic time. 🥰

Lucie Stone is a single mom who adores her 11-year-old daughter Maya, and the support system she has built with her ex, Grayson, and his husband Mateo. Although Lucie longs for her own person, she believes her life is fine. Until one night she finds Maya making a call to a local Baltimore radio station.

Aiden Valentine is the host of Heartstrings, Baltimore’s romance hotline and he has a problem; he no longer believes in love. He is floundering until the night Maya calls in seeking dating advice for her mom. The segment goes viral and his life changes when he meets Lucie Stone.

Initially reluctant, Lucie decides to take a chance and agrees to join Heartstrings in the hopes of finding love, or at least a date. She did not expect to find herself fighting her attraction to the handsome Heartstrings host. Their chemistry is instantaneous, but Aiden has made it clear he does not believe in love.

It soon becomes obvious to everyone, from their listeners to their friends and family, that Lucie and Aiden are falling for each other. However, as Lucie and Aiden spend several nights a week in close proximity and their attraction intensifies, so do the reasons they tell themselves that it can never be more than flirting.

First-Time Caller featured incredible banter, top tier romance, longing, a wonderful and supportive family dynamic, and the sweetest happy ending. I loved it.

I am obsessed!!

Lucie’s daughter Maya calls a romance radio show one night hoping to help her mom find love. When she hears her on the phone pasted 10 at night she barges in demanding to know who she is talking to, which is definitely something I would do. When she notices it’s a radio show she opens up to Aiden about wanting to let love happen, to find magic. She doesn’t want to go out finding love, she just wants it to happen, kinda like the movies.

There call goes viral and everyone is either relating to what Lucie said, wanting to be that magic for her or a mad boyfriend because their girlfriend is asking for more.

The radio show is dying to Maggie, the boss of the show, tells Aiden she is going to get in contact with Lucie and invite her to the show to help her find her match. At first Aiden was skeptical about it and didn’t want to because it just felt like Maggie wanted to use her for views. After Lucie agrees to doing the show, Aiden warmed up to the idea.

But as the two of them work together, they start to fall for each other. And honestly it was the cutest thing!!!

I am obsessed with Aiden and Lucie! B.K. Borison said her inspiration for this book was the movie 𝒮𝓁𝑒𝑒𝓅𝓁𝑒𝓈𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝒮𝑒𝒶𝓉𝓉𝓁𝑒, which is my favorite movie. She wanted to write a book that felt like a love letter to love. I can say she definitely accomplished that. You see Lucie’s love for her daughter, her first love, love for herself, lost love, and best-friend love.

I highly recommend giving this book a read once it comes out, on Feb. 11.

Want a book that makes you CHEESE so hard while reading, then this is the book for you. A new take on Sleepless in Seattle, this hilarious slow burn rom com will make you feel every emotion under the sun. What starts out as a daughter trying to help her mom find love on a radio talk show turns into a slow burning pining romance about a man who doesn’t believe in love and a woman who wants that magical feeling she’s always heard about. The story is set in a small town in Baltimore and definitely plays homage to the wonderful city. It’s also a story about small connections, found family, learning to open your heart and sometimes what you are looking for is just one restaurant away!

I absolutely loved this! I really enjoyed Lucie as a character and thought that Aiden’s backstory made a lot of sense for him to be gruff & a cynic about love without ever being mean or heartless. The banter was top notch, and the pacing was perfect—I was begging the two of them to figure out that they wanted to be together before it actually happened, which I love. The third-act breakup, which is always something I dislike, was fairly minor with no big hard feelings so that’s fine, I can handle that. The only character I didn’t really love was Lucie’s ex, Greyson, who was just SO pushy and so quick to jump to judgment! But as he was a fairly minor character, that didn’t impact my enjoyment of the book. This is definitely something I can see being a favorite to reread.

I picked this one up for the Baltimore vibes, but unfortunately it felt like the author had only passed through as a tourist once a few years ago. (which is weird, because I think she's from here). There was mention of the characters going to a famous restaurant that closed a few years ago, and another restaurant owned by a well known restaurant group that most people who live here try to avoid. And of course, the characters never left Fells Point, which is such a small corner of Baltimore. That's fine, but it's not representative of the city. I realize most people will not care about that part one way or another...

The story itself was your standard fare contemporary romance. The radio show at the center of it seemed from another time, and I had a hard time believing the whole city was engaged in the outcome of Lucie's search for her one true love. Or understanding why Aiden thought he was off the table. I'd have loved to see more of Aiden's interaction with his family, since there was a lot of backstory there. I did love that Lucie was an auto mechanic - you don't see that much and I am here for it.

wow. I absolutely LOVED this book!! I feel like i have been in a bit of romance slump lately but wow this one really had me in love.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

Review: First-Time Caller is a great start to a new series by B.K. Borison. This is very different from Lovelight Farms but also feels close enough to what we love from the author. I really enjoyed this story and felt it was pure from the heart. Borison gives us a complex family dynamic and relationship difficulties we can all relate to. I found the MC's to be very well developed, this is a full story. If you come into it hoping for a lot of smut that's not a large part of the story. We really slow down and take time to get to know the characters and there's a lot of exploration of various family structures and dating slightly later in life than the typical romance novel (I mean this just in the sense that the MC has a 14 year old daughter).

I enjoyed the radio interludes and felt this was a refreshing new setup for a romance story. There were some parts where you have suspend disbelief but it's fiction and I didn't feel like it was too much that really took me out of the story. I loved how human all the characters were and how much we really got to take a look at their lives.

Happy to say this was a hit for me!

In First-Time Caller, we follow two POV’s, Aiden and Lucie. We are thrust into the story when Lucie’s daughter, Maya, calls in to the radio station that Aiden runs a segment of, called Heartstrings, Baltimore’s Romance Hotline. Lucie wants to feel the magic and perfection of love in her life, and Aiden attempts to assist her in this mission by inviting her to be a part of the commentary.

Lucie joins Heartstrings in an effort to discover that magical love she desires, and together, Aiden and Lucie’s chemistry is ever present, so much so that Baltimore’s population tunes in each time they go on air. Does Lucie find that type of love that she desperately wants, and will Aiden be successful in aiding alongside her search?

Quickly, I became obsessed with this book. I started it on a whim and quickly became enthralled in Borison’s tantalizing writing style and story telling. From the setting, the characters, and everything in between, Borison delivered on every single front and gave me a romance story that will follow me for a long time. From chapter one, I was highlighting so many quotes about love that I connected to so effortlessly, This story is extremely relatable and personable and applaud Borison’s ability to craft such a delicately beautiful story.

B.K. Borison has officially become a favorite author of mine. I adored every book in the Lovelight series so I was nervous that her new series - the Heartstrings series - was not going to be as good or fulfilling as Lovelight. Good thing I was proven wrong.

First Time Caller has everything I want from a romance novel - a slow burn, banter, cheesiness that doesn’t feel cringey or weird, great characters, and more.

My two criticisms is that, one, it drags on in the middle - being repetitive in its narration and dialogue. However, the critique is small, and it didn’t ruin my reading experience or from enjoying this book. Secondly, I think the conflict is predictable. It’s not bad, and I think this just comes from a place where I have read many romance novels and I kind of already tell the conflict.

Nonetheless, I’m very excited for the second book of the series!

4.5🌟 WOW! AIDEN VALENTINE THE MAN THAT YOU ARE!!💖

this was one of the best romances I’ve read in a while!! It was so sweet and swoony and honest! I was rooting for them the entire time and just loved seeing their growth and their love unfold!

PLS everyone read this on Feb 11🍒🫶🏼🌟💖

thank you berkley romance for the arc!!

I CRIED!!! The emotions of this books absolutely killed me !! The hope for love and the loss of hope of love , maya calling into the radio station to try and find love for lucie!! Lucie having an army behind her even tho her own family disowned her , and don’t get me started on Aiden and his mother being diagnosed with cancer multiple times in his life and his hope and love diminishing !! The whole thing had me kicking my feet and shedding tears!

I AM A PUDDLE OF TEARS! I AM SITTING IN MY CAR BLUBBERING LIKE A LITTLE BABY OVER WORDS ON PAPER!!

there's no way to describe how much i love this book other than that it was WRITTEN for me! just for me! bk borison sat down, peered into my brain, gathered all of my hopes and dreams, and descriptions of my dream man and stirred it into this incredible romance novel. and i thank her for the invasion into my soul!

i am a nora ephron girlie so knowing that this was a "sleepless in seattle" inspired story already had me so so excited, but it was the characters that kept me reading and made me fall in love.

lucie is my mirrorball lover girl and i love her so much! i have never read about an fmc who so perfectly describes the loneliness i feel even when surrounded by the best family in the world. bk borison perfectly captured the longing for intimacy and connection that all of us like lucie are feeling and it felt like a sucker punch to my chest every time i was in her pov.

and aiden..... god, i love him!!!!! my perfectly imperfect man who deserves the world!! there's just something about a broken man who doesn't believe in love/doesn't believe he is capable of love that will do it for me every single time! being in his pov and reading the way he sees lucie and talks about her melted me down to ash! he's so down bad obsessed with her and i want one just like him!!

the side characters were also everything to me! maya is the coolest 12 year old in the world, and jackson clark???? oh i need him!

bk borison is my god and i will read whatever she publishes for the rest of my life! she just gets me and writes the most "me" books and i'm just so happy to have read this book.

thank you Berkley romance and Netgalley for this earc, it's out everywhere on 2/11!

This was the easiest 5 star I’ve ever handed out. I truly knew from the first chapter that this was going to be a forever favorite of mine. BK Borison perfectly captured the nostalgic feeling of watching a classic romcom, and turned it into such an endearing and unique story. First Time Caller weaved magic and created hope that would turn any cynic into a romantic.

This book is the love child of Invisible String and Afterglow and NEEDS to be on everyone’s tbr list. I promise you this is not a book you wanna miss out on and I can’t wait to see where BK takes us next!

I have no notes, but prepare to be sick of me because I will never be able to stop talking about this one!

Romance is REAL!! Sleepless in Seattle is one of my favorite movies a
So of course I knew I would love this book. The romance was so pure and beautiful. Adrian and Lucie were such likeable MCs and I loved the gradual transition to their relationship. I wish we had more moments with the daughter but overall I loved this book and would definitely recommend

While too much of an introvert to call into a advice radio show myself. I have had jobs in the past that played these shows in the background, and I've seen people become engrossed in a crowded room hanging on every word.

The idea of love has Aiden feeling disillusioned. What would be a personal issue begins to affect his professional life. He is the host of Heartstrings, Baltimore's romance advice radio show. A phone call from a girl seeking advice to help encourage her mom ,Lucie, to reenter the dating world is interrupted by said mom and goes viral. And Baltimore can't get enough.

The positive support system in this novel is applause worthy.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 I love the healthy co-parenting. Her daughter is well adjusted, funny, and considerate. Lucie's support system caring about her happiness beyond motherhood was wonderful to see. The fact that her daughter was viewing Lucie as a woman beyond just her mom shows promise that one day she will see herself as an entire being too. I 💗 it so much!! The steam here delivers so take that into consideration according to your personal preferences. The humor was great, and I had some actual lol moments! 🤣 The book ran a little long, but nothing major.

A pleasant nod to Sleepless in Seattle.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an Advanced Readers Copy. These are my unbiased opinions.

I can’t remember the last time I felt this giddy over a contemporary romance!!! Easily one of my favorites. AHH I loved their banter and their chemistry and how well the story flowed. It was so natural and so FUN. Oh I can’t wait to make my friends read this, I was literally giggling out loud over Aiden and Lucie

♾️/ 🌶️🌶️

“I don’t want something perfect. I want something honest; something that can be mine.”

I’d first like to thank NetGalley and Berkeley Romance for giving me the opportunity to read this amazing book.

First of all I am blown away. This is absolutely going to be one of my top 10 books of 2025 and I swear if I’m wrong about this, someone can quote me now and hold me to it. I was blown away reading this and the way that BK was able to write a romcom that gave you all of the feelings I mean from sweet to bittersweet to giggling and kicking your feet. First time caller encompasses love in its finest, and I could not recommend enough.

Lucie is a single mom who is tired of dating and looking for love. Her daughter sets her up on a dating hotline trying to push her to find someone. Aiden is our grumpy, burnt out MMC who is trying to make it through his workday without throwing his coffee cup 🤭. They were such a cute match and honestly watching them learn and grow and love each other was so touching!

Also as a girl who always reads and is tired of spice, this had the perfect amount of yearning and two spicy scenes!

Read if you love:

💕 single mom
💕 funny meet cute
💕 grumpy MMC x sunshine FMC
💕 forced proximity

First Time Caller will be available on 2/11!

HE KEPT A LIST OF HER FAVORITE THINGS IN HIS FRICKING GLOVE DEPARTMENT!!!!!

oh my. i loved every aspect about this book. genuinely everything about it. i was giggling and kicking my feet at every single aiden and lucie interaction because they were just THAT good. i think the whole concept of aiden helping lucie find love and they end up falling in love with eachother is PERFECT. becca absolutely nailed this one, you could tell she put so much love into the characters and story. this book just felt like a huge hug and i recommend it to everyone (,:

thank you netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review!