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!

B.K. Borison does it again! Her writing is always beautiful, and her books give me such joy. I loved the Baltimore location and the Nora Ephron inspiration. As always, I will be buying this for friends and recommend it to everyone. :)

B.K. Borison is an absolute master of romance – I loved every single Lovelight series book, and First-Time Caller was absolutely no different. I absolutely devoured this book, couldn’t put it down, and was absolutely, downright obsessed with Lucie and Aiden!!! First-Time Caller is a Sleepless in Seattle inspired romance, where Lucie’s daughter makes a call to romance radio host, Aiden, in order to help her mom find love (behind her back, of course). Inevitably, Lucie finds out & this sparks not only a beautifully raw conversation about love, but the interest of Aiden, and thus a love story that is the EPITOME of romance.

I absolutely adored how vulnerable both Aiden and Lucie were, both coming from different standpoints on love, relationships, and everything in between. This book made me laugh, shed a few tears, and swoon.

Lucie and Aiden’s characters carried so much depth, I loved them both so much. Between Aiden’s story with his mom’s health, how that affected his view on love and his relationship with his parents, and Lucie’s parents and the unconventional (but beautiful) family she’s apart of now, all I wanted to was give these two a big hug. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to both characters on various levels and I think it’ll also be nearly impossible not to love both of them, too.

Lucie and Aiden’s love story is unique, fun, sweet, and truly filled with so much banter & romance it made my heart HURT. The instant chemistry and tension between these two had me shaking in my boots, their dynamic was so perfect and their personalities flowed so well together. I loved how much they understood each other, the comfort and safety they found, the amount of love and care they showed one another. Please don’t get me started on THE LIST!!! or the grand gesture!!! or just the TENSION between these two. I seriously can’t handle it!!! I haven’t stopped thinking about these two!!! i love them i love them I LOVE THEM.

This may just be my new favorite from B.K. Borison, and I cannot wait to watch everyone else fall in love with Aiden & Lucie the same way I have!!!

I can’t even believe that I was able to read this book early but I am so honored 🫡 I will be blabbing about this book for the next month because OH MY GOD. I am obsessed with Aiden and Lucie. I’m obsessed with Lucie and Grayson’s co-parenting relationship and their beautiful friendship. I’m obsessed with Maya’s relationship with all of her parents and how Aiden wants to be apart of it all. I just can’t even express how much this book felt like a warm blanket or the biggest hug.

Aiden is our grumpy radio show host of Heartstrings, Baltimore’s Romance hotline! He does not believe in love (or so he says) after all the horrible calls he’s heard on the show and his own trauma from his childhood. Lucie believes in love no matter how many times she’s been burned. She wants magic and goosebumps and to feel special. I think everyone can relate to both Lucie and Aiden in many ways, feeling scared to dive in to love, wanting to feel wanted, like you don’t fit in to whatever boxes you’ve been assigned, like you’re more than that.

I can’t recommend this book enough, I loved it from start to finish and I know it will be a book I will go back to when I need that warm ooey gooey feeling 🧡🩷

In summary: AIDEN VALEN YOU ARE MY TYPE BARK BARK BARK 🗣️

PS: LUCIE YOU ARE EVERYTHING AND DESERVE THE WORLD 🗣️

PPS: MAYA KEEP SLAYING AND COSPLAYING AS INDIANA JONE, YOU ARE WONDERFUL 🗣️

a romcom so perfect that nora ephron would adore it. i’m sure of it. first time caller was everything i dreamed it would be and more. all of the stars that have ever existed and that will ever exist for this perfect, beautiful book.

when i first heard that becs was releasing a new series that followed in the footsteps of the Nora Ephron classic trio i was beyond excited (as someone who watches the three classic Ephrons in question like it’s her job)!! and wow did it perfectly smash any expectations i had.

a romance so romantic that it felt like a love letter to the romance genre as a whole. it was so much fun to read while also being so earnest!! the crushing and pining!! the banter!!! the looovveeeee!!!! the grand gesture!!!!!!! OH THE GRAND GESTURE!!!! no one is prepared for the grand gesture!!!!! and aiden and lucie are just so lovable!!! like omg scooch over let me join your relationship!!!
this book had me feeling GIDDDYYY from start to finish!!! i really couldn’t have adored it more!!! most definitely one of my favorite romances i’ve ever read. i am on the edge of my seat waiting for the rest of this series!!!!

Part of what made this work so strong was that the MCs weren’t dumb. I can’t emphasize enough how much I appreciated the author writing them to act their age and to not make stupid mistakes for the sake of the plot. While mistakes were made, they were made for good reasons, ones that fit with the characters’ histories and backstories, and the growth that came from those moments was well done and added much to the story. Yay for dimensional characters! The secondary characters were also quite strong.

The work does start to get a little steamy towards the end, but it wasn’t overdone and probably won’t seem all that spicey to most romance readers. I enjoyed the somewhat slow burn at the beginning, and while things took off faster than I expected them to, it didn’t feel forced or misplaced. I also loved the careers of the two MCs, especially Lucie’s. And how refreshing to have a protagonist who was normal sized, especially related to height. I also liked many of the elements the author incorporated that showed how much the characters cared about each other or how they worked well together – they were little things, but it was all personality related and not looks related, adding depth and making this a real romance.

If you want to try a romance with realistic and strong characters, many cute moments, and just a little spice, then read this. My thanks to NetGalley and Berkely Publishing for allowing me to read this work, which will be published February 11, 2025. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

4.75 stars!!!!!

this book was absolutely ✨magical✨

i simply adored aiden & lucie and everything about them!! this had all the nostalgia of sleepless in seattle but like it's way better??? i had the best time reading it and the amount of times i just felt like squealing !!!!! i cannot handle how cute and adorable and heartwarming this book was. the beauty of romance, the magic of love, the soul lightness of finding your person -- bk borison captured all of this while also making me laugh out loud & swoon!

aiden - i fear i love him !!! and his poor bruised heart. lucie reminding him why he should believe in love still gets me 🥺 just thinking about it.
lucie - the way she is unashamedly herself & refuses to settle despite the hardships of modern dating!!! an icon!!!

the whole heartstrings gang & lucie's fam are amazing !!!! i love them all!!! and i CANNOT wait for the next book in the series and to fall in love alllll over again.

thank you Berkley & NetGalley for the eARC! this is my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you so much @berkleyromance and @prhaudio for this ARC and ALC!! 🫶🏼

I. AM. A. PUDDLE. You know all the feels you get from an early 2000’s romcom? Where you get to watch two people fall in love before they even realize it? That’s exactly what this book gave me. There is hope, warmth, humor, love, healing, and different bonds we all look for. I may or may not have sent @authorbkborison a million messages when I finished it. First-Time Caller is a book you’ll want to soak up every single page and revisit often.

✨Aiden is the Heartstrings radio romance hotline host who doesn’t believe in love and Lucie is a single mom mechanic who is a hopeless romantic. He is broody and most of the time only responds with hums. While Lucie is quite the opposite. She is vibrant, loves to laugh, and you can feel her take up the entire room.

✨Their flirtation banter had me giddy and laughing. My cheeks literally hurt from smiling so much. They have a pure connection that had me melting into a puddle. If you can’t tell, I absolutely adore them. They have late night conversations, slip ups with their thoughts, and longing moments.

✨The Audiobook is my favorite! It was perfect for listening to the Heartstrings radio show portions. E.J. Bingham and Hathaway Lee did a phenomenal job voicing the characters. I was smiling for almost the entirety of it. This is my favorite audiobook ever currently.

First-Time Caller has:
💖 Small town romance
📻 Heartstrings radio show
📞 Sleepless in Seattle vibes
🧡 Broody MMC
🌧️ Playful banter
🧰 Single mom
🍕 All the feels
☕️ Grumpy/sunshine

I cannot wait to get a physical copy so I can eat it up all over again.

This book was a bit of a slow start, but the second half truly turned into the style of romance we all love.

I’m just 😭💕

Firstly, let me just say I loooooooved that this was set in Baltimore 😭 it made me so happy to see all the lil city related tidbits and landmarks. I felt so at home while reading this being that I’ve lived here for the past 7 years. And even though that makes me quite biased, I felt like there was enough info included to appreciate as a resident but not be overwhelming for other readers.

Secondly, I’ve been dying to read more romances set in Bmore so freakin bad, you don’t even know. It was a need, not a want. So thank you BK for having your Heartstrings series take place in this beautiful city. It was so nice to see the magic of Baltimore cityb through this romantic lens 🫶🏽

Thirdly, this story was everything to me. It literally brought tears to my eyes multiple times. I loved the dynamic between Lucy and Aiden so much it hurt. Like a mechanic and radio show host!?!?!? Are you kidding! I thought it was so original and unique. And it was so freaking cute to see their chemistry and banter grow during their radio shows 🥰 and how everyone and their mother knew they liked each other on live radio before they even did lmao.

Lastly, I really liked all the characters, but especially Lucy as the MC. I loved everything she stood for fr. I know I would really mess with her in real life. She was so brave to even do the radio show. But the way she literally laid herself bare to that man as well as whoever else was also listening was so inspiring. She made me want to say F it and make my own magic too 🥲💕👏🏽 and Aiden, poor poor Aiden. Ugh, I hate how much I love damaged heroes, since they can be quite toxic these days. But I really felt for himmmmmm 😮‍💨 he was just really hardened by life and I truly get that. Life hurts and sometimes avoiding it can seem like the only option if you don’t know better. I also really appreciated how Lucy ate him up so bad towards the end that he finally woke up and had some introspection. His insistence that he wasn’t worth it was getting kinda annoying by that point ngl, but at least that forced him to make some changes that allowed himself to be open to love 👏🏽

Thank you BK Borison and Berkely for sending us this ARC. I really reallyyyyyy appreciate it! 🙏🏽

- Alex

P. S - I’m also really curious to hear how the pronunciation of “Baltimore” will be in the audiobooks. Since BK lives in Bmore, I’m sure she knows but still I’ll be very pleased to hear “bawl-dah-mor” from a regular audiobook narrator lol 😅 ya gotta love that representation.

Thank you, Netgalley, Berkeley Romance, and BK Borrison, for the ARC. I truly loved getting the opportunity to read this book.
Tropes: single mom, found family, grumpy / sunshine, slow burn
This book literally stole my heart from the very first page. I am such a sucker for a single-parent romance, so I knew I would ultimately love this book. Throughout this book, I blushed multiple times (the closet scene ☺️), and the banter between the main characters had me giggling throughout the book. I absolutely loved Aidan from the start, the way that he wanted to like everything Lucie did, and the true definition of a SIMP!!! The chemistry that he had with Lucie was TOP TIER!!!! I think what really carried the book was Lucie’s relationship with her baby daddy; I just loved their interactions. We also got both POVs, which just made the book even better.

Ahhhhhh. Listen. I know it’s my first read of 2025 and I know it’ll be up there for top of the year. This was too gooood. 10% in I already knew it was going to be a 5 star read. The way this book made me feel! I truly cannot get over it. I laughed, giggled, I blushed (multiple times), *ahem* the closet scene, I even got butterflies! I don’t know what BK put in this, but give me dozen. This book is everything and I cannot wait to read it again. Oh, and the title is mentioned in the dialogue *dead* - cherry on top.

Sleepless in Seattle inspired
Single mon
Found family
Witty banter
Grumpy / sunshine
Slow burn
He wears a gold chain
He keeps a list of her favorite things

Thank you Berkley and Netgalley for the arc!

Already preordered despite having read it via Netgalley because: 1) I loved it that much and want to reread it and 2) I need to put it on display on my shelves. BK Borison is one of my favorite romance writers!

This is one of the cutest books I’ve read in a long time. Lucie and Aiden were absolutely everything in fact this whole concept of the book of “falling out of love with love” was one of my favorite things and made the book that much more cutesy and enjoyable. The entire time I was giggling and blushing that I didn’t even know what to do with myself. But come on this was written by THE BK borison of course it was going to deliver on a silver platter. I genuinely could not get enough of the humor, the slight angst, and the genuine love between Aiden and Lucie. I can read about them forever.