Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for an advance copy of this book!
Thank you so much to PRH Audio for the complimentary ALC!

This book will be out Feb 11, 2025.

This is my 2nd book by BK and after reading the first Lovelight Farm book, I wasn't sure if BK's writing style was for me. But other reader friends boosted about how great her books are including this one and I thought let me give her another try.

Well I am happy to report that I absolutely loved this one!!! Growing up I used to listen to syndicated talk shows so this felt very nostalgic and makes me wonder if these types of shows still exist. Its been a while since I've watched Sleepless in Seattle but I know that this was a retelling of the movie which honestly I love any call back to the 90s with a modern flair.

"Do you think I'll get my magic?"
"Nah, Lucie. I think you're the magic."

This is more of a slow burn but the kind of slow burn that at least for me that I enjoy. You get these little moments leading up to the big moment that keeps you fed.

Aiden was smitten from Lucie right from the beginning and was trying so hard to suppress those feelings. Don't worry you do learn why he feels the way he feels and what he does to overcome it. I love that we got to see his slightly jealous side any time Lucie would go on dates. And then how protective he would become when those dates would ultimately be sour. Lucie was attractive to Aiden from the start but didn't think he was ever the option since he was so gung ho on not ever wanting to find love. I love Lucie's relationship with her daughter Maya as well as to her best friend/daughter's father Greyson. They work so well as a blended family. I was glad that Greyson and his husband Mateo especially was a part of the whole process. Aiden & Lucie just worked so well together! One of my favorite moments happened early on during one of her dates that ultimately never happened and Aiden shows up. *SWOOOOOOOON*

The book was on the longer side but I felt like it still flowed really well. I paired my reading with the audio and thought the audio production was great. There are these vignettes between chapters where its from the radio show and in the audio it sounded like it was on the radio.
E.J. Bingham and Hathaway Lee were spectacular as our MMC and FMC. I love Hathaway's deep sultry sounding voice which honestly is perfect for radio so it worked so well for this narration. This appears to be E.J.'s first audiobook and I would certainly listen to future books narrated by them.

I am looking forward to the next book in this series! I recommend this if you love Sleepless in Seattle and just love a feel good romance that will make you laugh and smile.

it’s giving rom-com perfection! 🤭 i adored this book mind, body, and soul. aiden and lucie were absolutely adorable. aiden is the sweetest little moody golden retriever and lucie… can we please be friends? i want to hang out with maya and patty (and everyone, let’s be soooo for real) and eat cruffins at the café! please, i beg. like i’m begging you to read this book. it’s so good and i HIGHLY recommend it!!! this was the easiest 5 stars and soothed my romantic heart 🥹🫶🏾

thank you so, so much for netgalley and berkley for this arc of first-time caller!! 🩷

First Time Caller is only **very loosely** inspired by Sleepless in Seattle. It borrows the single parent + radio show to find love aspect of Sleepless, but is really just a standard issue contemporary romance set in Baltimore. Lucie is happily co-parenting with her ex/childhood bestie and his husband. But her daughter Maya thinks she's lonely and it's time to find love. Maya calls up Aiden Valentine's struggling Heartstrings show and it becomes the show's mission to find Lucie some dates. But sometimes the one you need is right in front of you. It's a bit of a slow burn, but when the two finally get together, the heat is on.

For me, First Time Caller falls into the category of "it's fine." I ended up mildly disappointed because it ended up only being vaguely inspired by Sleepless. I think I was expecting more of a retelling. I also wished that there had been more audience interaction / social media posting about Lucie's search for love, rather than just a few interstitials.

CW: parent with cancer, parents who gave their kids ultimatums when its discovered Lucie is pregnant

I am absolutely floored by this book after reading. Aiden and Lucie have such a deep emotional bond and understand each other on such a beautiful level. This book had me laughing and crying and I cannot commend B.K. Borison enough for another novel well done! I would recommend this to anyone who loves a connection between characters that cannot be broken and a healthy dose of communication and true love.

I have not read the Lovelight Farm series but after reading this I imagine I would really enjoy it. This book is sweet in a 'might need to visit a dentist' way. I enjoyed how Lucie and Aiden's relationship worked, and how it was all started by a nosy twelve year old. Lucie also has a fantastic support system throughout the book. One think I liked is I feel like we've already the other characters that will be the MCs of later books, which might be a thing the author does, but as I mentioned I haven't read another one of their books before. I think both Lucie and Aiden carry a lot of baggage, but the way they manage to move through it, and understand each other seems really genuine and sweet. Overall, this is definitely a well-written book and I enjoyed how the story arc worked.

Read this if you like:
•workplace romance
•single mom
•Grumpy/sunshine

This is a Sleepless in Seattle inspired story. I loved the radio aspect. I loved the messing daughter & baby daddy. Seeing Aiden open up and come to terms with his relationship issues was so special. Thank you Berkley for the eARC!

this book was the PERFECT ROMANCE. if you love 90s romcoms (all hail 90minute movies and grand gestures!!!), but wish tom hanks would just yank meg ryan into a supply closet and … anyways. this is for you. actually, this is for everyone. bk, you just don’t miss, do you?

i enjoyed every page

This was super cute. Once I was able to get into it, I couldn’t put it down. I was swooning for Mr. Grumpy Aiden. The side characters in the book were written perfectly and blended perfectly into Aiden and Lucie’s story. I really enjoyed reading about Lucie and her relationship with her daughter. You could feel the love coming off the pages between them.

I loved the banter and slow burn between Aiden and Lucie but I was looking for a bit more. I do think it started off a little slow but it picked up after a while. What was lost on me was how immature they acted sometimes even though they were pushing 30. I struggle with the lack of communication, so at times I was frustrated BUT the build up to them finding each other was worth it in the end.

This story was so cute and lovable, you can’t help but fall in love with each of the characters, especially the side characters!


Thank you Berkley Romance and NetGalley for this wonderful E-ARC <3

♾️⭐️

trying to find the words to describe this masterpiece is so incredibly difficult. the book is art. aiden and lucie’s love story is so soft, tender, romantic, and gut wrenching. i got all the warm, cozy feelings from it. the writing was so so so well done. bk has a talent of depicting vulnerable emotions into words that play out beautifully in your mind. the pacing was perfect. the setting and “world building” was perfect. i’m just in awe writing this review. pls read. thank you netgalley for the e-arc & berkeley romance for the physical copy!!!!💕💕

not enough sleepless in seattle vibes based on the marketing!

definitely lulled in some parts; 50-100 pages could’ve easily been cut to make this more engaging.

I did enjoy the relationship development and writing! I just think this could’ve been edited better.

thanks for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my gosh this was super cute!!!

Finding love on the radio?! Ugh gush Lucie and Aiden the best!

I think Aiden is my new book boyfriend!

I love the radio aspect. It was so nostalgic to me. It reminded me of listening to the radio late at night with the lights on.

My only issue with this one was it was a tad too slow burn for me. I also felt like it was a tad too long as well.

Overall, super cute!

4/5 stars

Lucie’s daughter, Maya, calls into a radio show about romance, hoping to help her mom find a date. The radio host, Aiden Valentine, listens as Lucie describes how she wants dating to feel easy. Days pass before their conversation goes viral, with Baltimore wanting to help Lucie find love. Lucie is invited to do a weekly segment on the Heartstrings radio show where she will hopefully find the one for her.

Wow, I loved this! I read the first half and after hearing how great the audio was, I added it in tandem while reading. The narrators were fantastic and really elevated the experience of this book. This story had enjoyable and relatable characters. I love how Lucie is strong, independent, but still has doubts. I loved how the potential miscommunication was handled. And Aiden? Loved. All the supporting characters? Iconic. I really enjoyed the concept of dating via a radio show. This was my first book by this author, and I will definitely be looking for another from them!

What an amazing book! Lucie and Aiden had the best chemistry. I couldn’t get enough of their story. The concept of the radio show was so fun. Truly an amazing romance!


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

This book was such a delight to read. It was a warm blanket on a cold day. I couldn’t stop reading. The character development was great and the way the story unfolded was perfect. I fell in love with the characters, even the background characters. I need each one of them to have their own story! I’m sad I finished the book, but I’m so glad I read it. I can’t wait to recommend it!

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was my first from B.K Borison, but it won't be my last. This was a very slow burn romance, but not too tension filled. It did slightly bother me that as Aiden and Lucy's friendship grew, they didn't really communicate (specifically Aiden) that his feelings on a relationship were changing, and so there was a fair amount of misunderstanding between the two of them. Overall, very enjoyable.

A solid Valentines Day romance book. I really enjoyed this book. Having read BK Borrison’s Lovelight Farms series you can really tell how much she has evolved as a writer. The romance between our main characters flowed so beautifully and it was like being in the booth with them from flirting to falling in love and dealing with the strong emotions that comes with being human. Another thing i absolutely enjoyed was the family dynamics and the relationship with Maya, her daughter’s dad. Everyone being loving and realizing that she has all the love she needs, but her family wants her to have the love she deserves. So cute. Aiden was definitely giving golden retriever boyfriend and I’m not mad about it. He had some hang ups that are really hard to deal with. Overall good love story.

a jaded romance radio host, a mechanic with a preteen daughter, and a late night call to said radio host for love advice for her mother….what could possibly go wrong? the question you should be asking is - what could go absolutely stinking right?

after Lucie’s daughter calls in to Aiden’s dying romance radio show for advice for her mom, it turns into something more: a viral hit that plunges Lucie and Aiden into the spotlight.

Lucie agrees to join the show as a cohost to find love with the help of Aiden…who doesn’t really believe in love anymore. (Now is when you can ask: what could go wrong?)

It turns out a lot - like the realities of dating in the spotlight and pineapple on pizza (nobody can romanticize this for me, even these two beautiful characters). But so much more can go absolutely right - facing trauma, believing in love again, the hards realties of dating in the spotlight, thong song, skee-ball, Andes chocolates, gold necklaces, family, and ultimately finding the love you didn’t even know was right under your nose the whole time.

This is a beautifully written Sleepless in Seattle inspired romance that will absolutely steal your heart. I know it stole mine from the very first chapter.

It was sweet, sincere, flirtatious, a lil spicy, and so SO good. seriously y’all, mark your calendars for February 11th because you don’t want to miss this one! 🥹

thank you so much @berkleyromance + @netgalley for the gifted eARC! 💕

Thank you @berkleyromance #berkleyromancepartner for my free copy and @prhaudio for my free alc 💖

✨What it is about:
A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this Sleepless in Seattle style love story.✨

💭My thoughts:
B.K. Borison is one of my favorite writers, and she did not disappoint with this super sweet romance! AHHH you must read it! I absolutely loved everything about it. It was relatable, full of great banter and a slow burn that delivered! I loved the modern twist of the radio show call “gone viral” meet cute, I enjoyed how strong and kind Lucie’s character was, how even though Aiden did not believe in love, he’s was willing to help Lucie find hers. I love how their chemistry and attraction changed both of them, and eventually brought them together. The depths of the characters and their relationship was refreshing, and their whole coming together story was beautiful.
🎧This book was narrated by E.J. Bingham and Hathaway Lee and I feel they both did an amazing job with the narration, as it felt like I was just listening to friends sharing a story with me. It felt natural, not over-performed and really authentic to the coziness of this story. Bravo.

5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
☎️Sleepless in Seattle
☎️Dual POV
☎️Grumpy sunshine
☎️Slow burn
☎️Forced proximity
☎️Workplace romance
☎️Single mom

⚠️CW: Cancer, grief, sexual content.

first-time caller is such a cute romance story (based on sleepless in Seattle !!) about aiden valen who runs a romance hotline show for the local radio station and Lucie is a single mom of 12 year old maya who's basically given up on looking for love when her daughter calls in to Aiden's show on her behalf and the whole city falls in love with Lucie's story and she joins Aiden's show to find love. but these characters stories are so real and it was so good 🥹 i enjoyed every minute of this book and B.K Borison you are one of my new favourite authors!!!

thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an eArc of this book in exchange for my honest review!

A huge thank you NetGalley and Berkley Romance for a copy of this book for an honest review!

First-Time Caller is as endearing as the cover. I really needed this sweet uplifting rom com after such a rough week (iykyk) and this was the perfect pick me up I needed.

The story follows Lucie, a single mom of a teen (WHO WANTS TO BE AN ARCHAEOLOGIST BY THE WAY) and is roped into being a radio caller looking for love. Aiden, one of the hosts is your typical cynic- skeptical about love due to previous events with his parents. That being said, I was relieved to discover that Aiden is probably one of the few MMC that have good relationships with both of his parents as some romcoms of late usually have some sort of parental issues.

I overall loved the relationship with Lucie and Aiden and their sweet banter. I did feel like the romance was a smidge feral (and I mean a BIG smidge feral) that was a bit off tone for the book (in my opinion). But I really did enjoy it and will definitely be recommending me this one!

Content: open door, language