I did really enjoy this! I wasn't a fan of Borison's previous work but this definitely showed an improvement in writing and development. Now I watched sleepless in seattle for the first time after reading this book because I had to know the inspiration, and let me say the book is better.

This book is a very slow burn, almost unnecessarily, and pretty redundant, but it also works out perfectly in that sense. I do not mean it negatively. It still flows, and there is enough meat in between to keep the story moving. Aiden and Lucie had undeniable chemistry and I loved how it felt to be in the station/recording room all the time. The little snippets of Aiden and his routine were fab, and he was such a grumpy cutie. and i LOVED the radio transcripts. They were perfect and did make me laugh. There were plenty of very romantic and sweet moments that made me swoon. It was magical!!!!

I will say for a book with a single mom, there is barely anything really *with* the kid on Lucie's side and on Aiden's side. With a book so long, I would have imagined there would've been more moments and time between the three of them like other single mom books, but there wasn't. With that being said, it was nice to see how Lucie had a strong support system between her baby daddy and the people at her job and her friend.

Thank you Berkley for the arc! #berkleypartner

Synopsis:

Aiden Valentine is the host of Baltimore's romance hotline, but doesn't believe in love himself. When a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight. Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine, but when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she's as happy as she thought. Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending... even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.

Review:

OMG I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!! It's a Sleepless in Seattle retelling. I loved Aiden & Lucie as well as all of the side characters. B.K. just knows how to write characters who are so endearing and you're rooting for them through the whole book. Lucie was so sweet, honest and a mechanic (loveee when we switch things up in typically gendered professions). Her daughter was also the sweetest yet also spiciest pre-teen. Aiden was a bit messy but so thoughtful (he kept a list of her favourite things written down in his glove compartment *sobs*) and romantic. I literally cried on and off (from happiness) in this book and could not put it down. Highly recommend!

Thank yoooooou to Berkley for my digital galley!

I absolutely loved this book! The FMC is a mechanic, which is awesome, and a single mom; her relationship with her daughter and her ex and ex's husband is just lovely. Aiden is adorable and lovable. I wanted to get to know every character in this book - it's been a long time since I've been so invested in multiple characters. Reading the growth in Aiden and Lucie's relationship was a wonderful journey despite the slow burn. I will recommend this book to all my fellow romance readers! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-galley!

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an early review copy.

B.K. Borison's follow-up to the "Lovelight" Series is a delight. The first in a new series, this book follows Aiden, the radio host of a romance hotline, who no longer believes in love, after he received a call from Lucie's daughter, trying to get dating advice for her single mother. After Aiden and Lucie's segment goes viral, the two are tasked with bringing up the studio's ratings, by trying to get Lucie a date.

I absolutely loved this book. The banter between Aiden and Lucie is masterfully written and I loved how their relationship developed between the two, as they got to know each other slowly through their interactions hosting Aiden's radio show. I also really liked the side characters, and I'm thrilled were getting more books with them.

Ohhhh B.K you just melt my heart. I’ll read anything she puts out- loved the connection and the two lovebirds so much!!

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
This book was absolutely adorable, an ode to love and rediscovering it! The chemistry between Aiden and Lucie practically leapt off the pages. I loved the banter and the raw, honest emotions of the characters. There were so many laugh-out-loud moments, and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
I totally remember watching Sleepless in Seattle as a kid, this book gave me all the same swoony feelings. The side characters were fantastic, and I can’t wait to dive into more of the Heartstrings series. Book 2 is inspired by When Harry Met Sally and Book 3 is inspired by You’ve Got Mail. There’s so much to look forward to from BK Borison!
If you love a cinnamon roll grumpy man as much as I do, Aiden will not disappoint. This book is a perfect reminder that we all deserve a little magic in our romances. Oh, and for the record, I totally agree with Lucie, pineapple is the best pizza topping!

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
🧲Opposites attract
☀️Grumpy sunshine
🎙️Workplace romance
🧍🏻‍♀️Single mom
🥰Swoon worthy
🏠Found family
🌶️A little bit of spice
🎥Sleepless in Seattle
🗣️Dual POV

⚠️ 𝙏𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: cancer

🎙️𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾🎙️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💕Q U O T E: “𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓃𝑜𝓉 𝒷𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼’𝓂 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒻𝑜𝓇, 𝒷𝓊𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊’𝓇𝑒 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝐼 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉. 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉’𝓈 𝑒𝓃𝑜𝓊𝑔𝒽 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝑒.”

🙏Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Romance, and BK Borison for this free ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. 💕 #BerkleyPartner

This was a super cute read! I fell in love with the characters the first few chapters and couldn't stop reading!

I think this is my favourite romance book I’ve ever read. This gutted me towards the end. A word of advice - don’t read the last 10% of this book immediately after downing a large glass of wine. I am an emotional wreck. These characters were absolutely fantastic. Not just the mains, but also all of the side characters. The plot was so clever as well & really shaped this story to be so captivating & attention-catching. I must also note that the tension & banter in this is TOP NOTCH!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this & I am ECSTATIC to read more from BK Borison!!!!

Thank you SO much to Berkley Romance for the eARC!!!

In a new series by the creator of “Lovelight,” Lucie is a mechanic in Baltimore with a 12-year-old kid, fulfilled in her cobbled-together found family but lacking in romantic love. When she finds herself in the spotlight of a late-night romantic talk show, a la Sleepless in Seattle, she becomes the romantic darling of her city and is paired with the talk show host to end her love troubles. Her chemistry with the disc jockey Aidan Valentine is electric on air, and the two navigate how to mesh cynicism and romanticism in front of the entire Baltimore listening area.

I love Borison’s writing style - there’s grit to every character she draws, and people are never tropes but human: flawed, open or closed, an amalgamation of their choices, and the product of their environment. I love how the city plays such a big part of this story too; readers get a genuine sense of Baltimore and the people who inhabit it and the places they go and live - it was a main character along with Lucie and Adian. I like that she had a troubled relationship with her family but it wasn’t just brushed over and “fixed.” The whole narrative is a slice-of-life romance based in reality rather than Hallmark-fantasy-realistic-fiction-land. Love it and can’t wait for future installments!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I am shocked at how much I loved this. The description was what dragged me in, but I hesitated to actually read it when I noticed it was first person POV and dual POV - two things I don't normally enjoy. This was so much different from those that I've read in the past though.

I was really happy that the book didn't rely heavily on the child as a character. A lot of books featuring single parents over infantilize the kids, which is so grating. Maya - the daughter - flits in and out of scenes like a preteen living her life and worrying about her mom in between cosplay events. She's great. Aiden (ML) doesn't blink at Lucie (FL) having a kid, and they don't make a big deal of it.

Borison offers a lot of really relatable insight on dating - apps, settlings, etc. - and I think that really helped me dive back into the romance novel pool.

I'm frothing at the mouth for the next in the series.

ARC Review: First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
Pub Date: February 11, 2025

Thank you to @berkleyromance for the eARC and to @joyfulchaosbookclub for including me in on the traveling ARC.

Honestly words cannot even come close to describing how much I love this book! I'm as obsessed with it as Aiden is with Lucie - and let me tell you, that man is down BAD. Like you don't even know - he is so utterly enchanted by her and I was just kicking my little feet because I was so giddy about it.

I've loved B.K.'s books for a long time - they all have something truly special! I laughed, I swooned, I wanted to move to Baltimore and become best friends with all of these characters?? Rude that I can't honestly.

This book is not one to miss. Preorder now! Also please do guess how many copies of this book are on their way to my home....

this book is incredible - the yearning and longing. only read if you enjoy being edged lol. but seriously, this was such a beautiful book about looking for love and being strong enough to reach out and take it when you find it.

aiden valentine is a radio host on heartstrings, Baltimore's romance hotline. one night he gets a call from maya, who wants aiden's help in finding her someone to love. maya's mum, lucie is initially mortified but eventually agrees to look for love on the show.

bk did a fantastic job with this one. its cliche but i would honestly love to read their shopping list.

Sexy, sweet and funny! I want more of the Lucie Highway to Love. Great representation and relatable family dynamics. I want more!

l didn't love it but I didn't dislike it - my critiques (not as much parent-type content for a single parent romance as I'd expect; perhaps too slow of a burn; room for being bored with the plot/characters) are equally met by things I enjoyed (the premise itself; Lucie being five foot ten [ali hazelwood eat your heart out]; her friends at work; her monologue about finding magic). overall a solid contemporary romance but nothing to really call into your hometown radio show about.

*Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review*

This book is volcanic lightning in a bottle. I loved B.K. Borison's Lovelight Farms series, but I think I may adore Heartstrings even more. 90's romcom retellings set at a radio station? Say less.

Aiden and Lucie had chemistry from the get-go and are aided perfectly by a cast of charming side characters. (Though let's be real, Jackson and Maggie are totally getting their own books) It truly felt like a warm emotional hug - everyone deserves a little magic in their lives and a person willing to deliver it. We're talking pillow fort picnics, drunken piggybacks, and steamy skee-ball lessons y'all. I don't want to spoil too much of the swoony moments, but my heart is still all melty.

I want to curl up with a cruffin, ogle Aragorn on the TV, and reread this book over and over again.

I fell head over heels in love with this BK Borison novel! The single mom who raises her daughter with her baby’s father and his husband is a really sweet setting. But the radio show meet cute a la Sleepless in Seattle is just such a cute start off. I really enjoyed this one and think it’s a favorite Borison for me.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced copy of "First-Time Caller".

This is my first B.K. Borison novel, but I had only heard good things from friends and reviews on goodreads. I was charmed from the beginning by the premise of the story and then my heart melted even more at the addition of the meddling child in her mother's life. It was so heartwarming to have so many people rooting for Lucie's love life. Aidan immediately captured my attention as well. You can tell from the beginning there's something about him that's hurting, and the climax of this book is a really good culmination of how bottling up your feelings is never a beneficial thing. The third quarter of this book was a little slow and made me want to pick up the book less often but overall, I was very happy with my first Borison read and will certainly be turning my attentions to the Lovelight Farms series in the future!

4.5 stars

Thank you to @netgalley, @berkleypub, and @berkleyromance for my early copy of this book!

This was my first time reading a B.K. Borison book, and I immediately want to read her Lovelight series! This book was so sweet and even though it’s based on Sleepless in Seattle, the idea felt original and different from any romance book I’ve read!

First off, a FMC who’s a mechanic?! I’m obsessed. More of this in romance novels, please and thank you. Second, the whole concept of the meet cute being a call in radio show—LOVE! I completely adored this storyline. And I always love books that positively portray single parents, especially single moms, even though the FMC here had a large amount of support 🙌🏻

This is definitely a SLOW burn. Like, reallllly slow. Dare I say TOO slow? It definitely got to the point where I needed something to happen! The build up definitely paid off, though 👏🏻

There was a little bit of miscommunication/third act breakup going on, but it’s not leaned into too hard and things resolve in a realistic way. The epilogue felt like a very satisfying conclusion 😻

I think people are going to LOVE this one! You definitely need to put it on your list to read—an adorable & fresh romcom with lovable side characters!

I did not like Aiden. Instead of coming to like him as I read, I came to dislike him more. He never grew up. He was immature and sulky the whole time. Not the main character I want to spend a whole book with.

This was by far one of the best romance books I have ever read 🥹 I'm pretty sure this ruined me for all other books. I genuinely don't know how I'm supposed to move on after this.

~Aiden is a radio host for a romance hotline and he has a secret: he's fallen out of love with love. Lucie was happy where she was in life, she didn't realize how lonely she actually was. Enter 12 year old Maya (and her two dads) who just wants to see her mom happy. No one expected the interview to go viral.~

Aiden is the sweetest man alive. The change we see in him from beginning to end is actually so amazing and just goes to show you what the right kind of love can do for someone. I love their love so much. Lucie is the sweetest woman and deserves the literal world. I love how open and honest she is about what she wants. These two are such goals.

I loved Grayson and Matteo so much. They added so much love and laughter to their little family, it was beautiful to witness. Jackson was HILARIOUS! I thoroughly enjoyed every single character in this book and would happily read their own books.

This made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me realize how functional families can be.. this book was everything.

Forced proximity
Single mom
Meddling daughter
Friends to lovers

*I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review with my honest opinion.*