5⭐️

thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley Romance, B.K. Borison and Penguin Randomhouse for allowing me to read this ARC!

wow. some people have already said this & i’m gonna say it too — this book is the definition of the perfect contemporary romance. from start to finish, this book was AMAZING. beautiful inside & out, i mean look at that cover!!! i cannot wait to get my hands on the physical copy.

there wasn’t a single flaw about this book. the characters felt so real & raw that in my head, i’m friends with them. the side characters were even so involved that i was attached to them. i loved every single character, i wouldn’t change a thing about one of them. the platonic soulmate aspect of Lucie & Graysons relationship was so wholesome. Maya’s personality had me smiling from ear to ear she was so fun & creative & her own kind of person. & their little family that they had all figured out was perfect.

Aiden had me hooked from the start. he is definitely something tho, that’s for sure — he’s funny, stubborn, sweet & protective, & definitely has an attitude problem. 😂 but i loved him! the banter between him & Lucie was top tier. & you could feel the tension off of the pages from the get go! but all surface level things aside, Aiden & Lucie are 2 very complex characters with some baggage which made the story that much more beautiful. There’s so much emotional depth to the both of them individually but also in their journey together. i loved watching everything come full circle & how it all came together so beautifully. the ending was PERFECT.

oh who am i kidding the ENTIRE BOOKE WAS PERFECT & AMAZING & BEAUTIFUL. & i clearly don’t have any other descriptive words in my vocabulary because i’ve
reused them all so many times in this review alone.

moral of the story you NEED to pick this up when it’s RELEASED ON FEBRUARY 11th‼️

4.5⭐️

I did a full immersion read with this one and had a great time reading it! I loved all of these characters and all of their relationships/friendships. Aiden is one of the sweetest book boyfriends I’ve ever read! He might have given up on love but finds out just how much he wanted it through Lucie. Lucie is a single mom to a preteen that just wants to see her mom happy. I love Lucie and Aiden together and was rooting for them the whole time. This book was pure romance that made me laugh, cry and swoon.

Reading a B.K. Borison novel is like drinking hot chocolate on a snowy day: cozy, comforting, and, in the right moment, magical. The winter love fairy returns with the first in a new series of interconnected novels, all based on Nora Ephron’s beloved films. "First-Time Caller," loosely inspired by "Sleepless in Seattle," follows a disgruntled radio show host, Aiden Valentine, who receives a most interesting call from a 12-year-old girl. The request? Help her hardworking mom, Lucie, find The One. And so Aiden receives a new challenge. Over the course of one Baltimore winter, Aiden and Lucie vet potential suitors, offer dating advice to their listeners, and learn what it really means to fall in love. Absolutely the perfect book for this time of year.

There’s nothing quite like a B.K. Borison book to reaffirm my faith in love. In First-Time Caller, the “love guru” radio host who doesn’t believe in love meets the hopeless/hopeful romantic single mom mechanic who has been out of the dating game for too long. Cue the warm fuzzies, y’all.

It all starts with a late-night phone call from twelve-year-old Maya to the Heartstrings radio show hotline. Soon mom Lucie finds herself opening up to show host Aiden about love and how she wants magic.

Lucie’s earnest confession strikes a chord with listeners across Baltimore, and she soon finds herself in the recording booth, next to Aiden, seeking out Mr. Right.

As often happens with books I absolutely adore, I’m vacillating between, “What can I say to truly capture how I feel about this one?” and rambling on endlessly—and most likely incoherently—until everyone has for sure tuned me out. To save us from that latter experience, I’m providing a list of some of the reactions I had while reading:
- “fallen out of love with love” 😢
- Doesn’t “know how to be a hopeful person anymore” 🥺
- I love the concept of “emotional support cookies”
- BANTER
- These text messages!
- And the radio show transcripts!
- I sure do love a forced proximity + workplace situation
- WARM FUZZIES
- Y’all, this man’s half-smiles
- I will never think of the “Thong Song” the same way again
- Ahhhhhh this tension
- REDACTED
- Chosen support family 🥹
- Fans self
- Fans self again
- Yep, still fanning self
- Oh my gosh, I love them

I received an advance copy of the book from Berkley. All review opinions are my own.

Lucie, a cute red-headed mechanic, is a hopeless romantic. She's also a single mom to a preteen who wants to help her mom find love. And she does exactly that by calling into Baltimore's #1 romance radio show, Heartstrings. Aiden Valentine, host of Heartstrings, can't wait to help Lucie, and his show ratings, by setting her up on dates with callers. Little do they know that finding romance is closer than a phone call away.

Our cast of characters were just so fun in this book! I enjoyed getting to see Aiden work through his emotions and past trauma with his family. I loved seeing Lucie find her own family to love and be loved by. The chemistry and banter between Lucie and Aiden were perfect. The only reason it wasn't 4 stars for was I found myself speeding through some dialogue I didn't need for the story. Overall, I loved the book and B. K. Borison is still giving me the hopeless romantic feels.

This new foray into a new world with new characters was absolute perfection. Borison’s writing is so beautiful, making you wholly immersed in the story. I loved the premise, and the immediate spark between Aiden and Lucie—then watching it unfold—was delicious. LOVED this book.

I love this book and I loved these characters. This book just felt like a warm hug and I was so giddy as it progressed. Lucie and Aiden are the perfect protagonists that by chance end up in each others lives. I was rooting for them equally and was so so so satisfied by the ending!! Cannot recommend enough

This book brought me so much joy! First Time Caller is the perfect rom-com, and I wouldn’t change a thing about it. Lucie and Aidan felt incredibly real—even when they struggled to communicate it was natural and never frustrating, making their connection all the more believable.

As someone who grew up in the ‘90s loving Nora Ephron movies, I absolutely adored the Sleepless in Seattle vibes woven throughout the story. The nostalgia, humor, and heartfelt moments had me smiling from start to finish. If you’re looking for a charming, feel-good romance, this one is a must-read! I can’t think of a better book for LOVE month than this book that feels like a love letter to romantics.

First-Time Caller is a contemporary romance inspired by Sleepless in Seattle. Lucie is a 29 year old single mom who basically has no life outside of her 12 year old daughter Maya and work. What does Maya do to resolve this? Call a romance radio show for advice, obviously.

Aiden might be the host of a romance radio show, but he's burned out and has lost all faith in love. When his conversation with Maya and Lucie go viral, his boss ropes Lucie into doing a special show with Aiden.

Lucie's frustration with dating is very real and anyone who's tried dating in his modern age will find her very relatable. I also strangely found Aiden relatable—burnout, distant relationship with parents, etc. I get it, dude.

The romance was a real slow burn, and the chemistry between Lucie and Aiden burns everytime they are together. Their banter is so very engaging. I, along with half of Baltimore, was waiting for them to finally get together. One of my favourite scenes is when Aiden gave Lucie a piggyback ride after she had too much to drink—this is such a classic kdrama trope, but it's rarely found in romance novels.

There's a great cast of supporting characters and I'm very invested in all of them. Jackson and his enemy Delilah. Maggie and the insufferable Cooper. Dare I say I was also very invested in side characters like Oliver and his crush? And maybe even Colin.

The only thing is...I just don't get why the book was so long. What is up with contemporary romance books being longer than they should be? The push and pull between Lucie and Aiden was fun, until it wasn't? The slow burn was great, but then it kind of fizzled out after too much unnecessary push and pull. That being said, I still cheered when Lucie and Aiden finally crossed the line.

Overall, this was a great contemporary romance, if a bit too long. I'm definitely invested in the series!

I absolutely fell in love with this book and couldn’t believe how quickly I devoured it! So many moments had me swooning and sighing, starting with the charming banter between Aiden and Lucie during their radio show, squeezed into a tiny booth without a single complaint.
When Lucie discovers a list of her favorite things tucked inside Aiden’s glove compartment, my heart melted.

I absolutely adore Lovelight Farms, so I was beyond excited for First-Time Caller and it was worth it. This was just a cute, adorable small town romance.

If you were a fan of the soft, slow burn from LoveLight Farms, then you will enjoy First Time Caller. I adored Lucie and the cute found family she had going on. I’m hoping that everyone gets their own story and happy ending.

Please note, this is a 450 page slow burn. Which is a bit longer than I would like. Especially when this wasn’t some huge world building fantasy. I feel like some of this could have been condensed but I had a good time.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read First- Time Caller in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything and more, five million stars. As someone who has always so deeply believed in the magic of romance and falling in love, this book spoke to pieces of my soul and validated all those thoughts I, like Lucie, get too scared to voice sometimes. Not only was this such a beautiful story of two people finding each other and falling in love, but it was also a story about these two characters healing parts of themselves they spent so long neglecting. There’s not a single thing I would change about this book, and I know it will be a forever favorite. It had banter that just makes you swoon, giggle and kick your feet, and it was such a good reminder that you can be your own magic. This book pulled at every single one of my heartstrings (see what I did there🥹) in all the best ways, and if you take one recommendation from me please let it be this one!!

✨tropes✨
📻grumpy/sunshine
💗workplace romance
📻single mom
💗opposites attract
📻forced proximity
💗red string theory

thank you Berkley Romance for the arc🤍

Heartstrings is a new series from B.K. Borison, inspired by Nora Ephron romcoms ❤️ First-Time Caller could not have been a more perfect book to kick off this new series and I don’t know how I’m going to be able to wait until the next one releases!!

This book had my heart from the very beginning. I’m so glad I listened to the audiobook because it was FANTASTIC 👏 both of the narrators were new to me, but they could not have been more perfect for Aiden + Lucie 🙌 the sound effect that played when there was a new caller made me feel like I was right there in the booth.

I finished the audio in two days and kept finding ways to squeeze in another chapter 🥰 it was one of my all-time favorite audiobook experiences!

Read if you like —
❤️ sleepless in seattle
❤️ dual POV
❤️ slow-burns
❤️ pining

FIRST-TIME CALLER is a love letter to love, Baltimore, and Sleepless in Seattle❣️I loved every second.

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! 💓