This book—I loved every second of it! I read it as an immersive experience, and the audio was an absolute delight. E.J. Bingham and Hathaway Lee were meant to voice Aidan and Lucie. The book alone is enough to make anyone swoon over Aidan and his gold chain, but E.J.’s narration made it even better. Hathaway Lee’s smoky, sultry voice fit Lucie perfectly, adding just the right edge to her character. It truly felt like listening to them. The little snippets of the radio were such a fun touch and made the listening experience even better.

This Sleepless in Seattle retelling was so special. That first call set everything in motion, and getting to follow along as Aidan and Lucie slowly fell for each other—alongside the rest of Baltimore—was such a joy. I've only been to Baltimore once, but this book felt like a love letter to the city. The local references and details made it all the more immersive.

Lucie's dynamic with her daughter, Maya, and her two dads, Grayson and Mateo, was a breath of fresh air. They made the absolute best of an unplanned situation, creating a warm and loving environment for Maya to grow up in.

This love story was a journey, and I found myself smiling so many times. Experiencing Aidan and Lucie’s relationship unfold was pure joy. Aidan showed up for Lucie in every way, making sure she was taken care of. Even when his protectiveness and a little jealousy kicked in, it just made me root for them even more. I wanted all the magic for them both.

Five MILLION stars!

First-Time Caller is everything I could ever need and want in a spicy lil romcom.

The characters? Stellar. Their relationships? Beautiful, real. Their growth and support of one another? Incredible. The pace and flow of the story? Like watching a nostalgic romcom movie in my mind. Smiles the whole time.

The audiobook is exceptional, too. I couldn't get enough of the narrators and their vocal chemistry. Their inflection and emotion that conveyed Aiden and Lucie in the way they deserve.

BK Borison is a magician and First-Time Caller is a top romance read of the year!

B.K. Borison is an author I could never be disappointed by! Her books always manage to invoke so many feelings while somehow also bringing in the lighthearted you love to see in romance books, It’s why she’s one of my favourite authors.

From the beginning, you’re instantly drawn to Lucie’s character and her views on life and romance. She’s relatable, fun and if I could I would sign up to be her best friend because of her bubbly personality. Aiden took a little longer to get attached to but as the book progresses, you understand why he is the way he is.

I had so much fun reading this book! It’s not my FAVOURITE of B.K. Borison’s books (Lovelight Farms you’ll always be famous), but it’s one I would definitely recommend to anyone and everyone. I can’t wait for the next books in this new series!

⭐️ 4.5/5
🌶️ 3/5

First Time Caller was an absolute delight! Right from the start, I was instantly hooked, absolutely loving sweet Maya and her heartwarming desire to see her mother happy! The banter was immediate between Aiden and Lucie, and I couldn’t get enough. Obsessed! Countless times I found myself blushing with every look or lingering touch, the chemistry between these two just electric. Also, I definitely have a new kink and it stars our MMC in a gold chain necklace. I need more. TYIA, author friends!

I loved to see the relationship between Aiden and Lucie grow over time. Seeing Aiden’s protectiveness flare up was overall my favorite thing and made me so giddy! A true hero to our heroine.

Aside from Aiden and Lucie, every side character added so much flavor to this story, but honestly wanted some more for them. I loved the dads, and the fact that they lived next door and had the absolute best co-parenting relationship. Not only them, but Lucie’s garage guys - these three men were hilarious and I loved to see their gentle prodding and plotting for team Luden! Lastly, I am so excited to see more of Jackson in Heartstrings book #2! His own HEA is within reach and he deserves everything! I can’t wait to see his feud with the weather girl play out, assuming that’s who it’ll be…

This was the Booked with Babes Book Club March pick! We had a bunch of Baltimore locals in our chat and it was so fun to learn more about the places mentioned in the book. I love it when you can picture the different scenes described, it just adds so much more dimension to the story.

Overall, I loved this romance SO MUCH! I truly cannot wait to read more from B. K. Borison!

Thank you @NetGalley for the ARC. I was so excited to read a book influenced by one of my favorite movies, Sleepless in Seattle. Lucie daughter calls a romance radio host to say her mom is lonely and has given up on falling in love. Aiden, the DJ, has also fallen out of love for his show and sticks to his pact not to fall in love. I enjoyed this book, but really wanted to know more about the supporting characters and more of the shows callers. This is a series and at the time I did not know that. Now it makes sense that the supporting cast will have their own book. A good read.

As a fan of Lovelight Farms, I was thrilled to see this book. Sadly, it lacks the magic of the other series. It dragged on for too long, and Aiden never grew on me. I am curious about the side characters, and would love to see where the series goes.

This is my first book by BK Borison, and it won't be my last! Its been a while since I've felt this invested in a Romance novel. I thought this was really well done. Unique plot, likeable FMC & MMC, and side characters to die for. Absolutely loved the family dynamic here. It was probably my fav part of the book!!!

This Sleepless in Seattle inspired rom-com was perfection!
-single mom
-forced proximity
- great banter
- slow burn
-opposites attract
Aiden Valentine has a radio show where people call in asking for advice. Late one night a 12 year old girl calls in on behalf of her mother.
Lucie is a single mom that has been single for the last 12 years. She's so caught up keeping all of the balls in her life balanced she hadn't really noticed that's she's lonely. When she catches her daughter on the phone with a radio show she's mortified.
She finds herself opening up to Aiden on the phone on how she hopes to find love someday but only if it's magical.
Their segment goes viral and she agrees to be a weekly guest allowing them to help her find love. But will Aiden be able to help her or keep her for himself?
The banter in this book was top tier! I felt so many emotions! Laughter, near tears and so thoroughly entertained. I felt like I was immersed in a movie and a well done one at that!

I absolutely adored this one. It’s a Sleepless in Seattle inspire romance that is a perfect Valentine’s (or anytime) week read. It follows single mom Lucie, having an encounter with radio love-line host Adain Valentine, after her daughter makes a late night call to the show. Their chemistry is electric and Aiden’s viewers eat up there banter, but sparks are flying between them in real life. The ending was so sweet I now have diabetes. I’m still swooning over it…

I loved the unique premise of the radio show and the way that the story was set up. I thought the FMC and MMC often had great banter and loved how it had the backdrop of the radio show to highlight it. I loved all of the side characters, especially Maya! At the same time, I thought that the side characters as well as many of the plot lines beyond the relationship were undeveloped, like Lucie's life as a single mom/her relationship with Maya and Aiden's relationship with his family. By the 50% mark, I felt somewhat disconnected as a result and kind of flew through the rest of the book without many thoughts. I did enjoy this a lot more than when I read the first Lovelight Farms and am not opposed to continuing with this series.

let’s freaking go. I finally understand the BK Borison hype. Eveything about this was perfection. I cannot wait to continue to read the rest of her backlist asap. Fantastic!!

Darling.

Simply darling.

First-Time Caller is a novel you want to stick in your bones long after you finish it. I fell deeply for the characters and their exploration into romance and love. The entire story was tender and precious to the core. This is a reread for sure (and that is a rare thing).

BK Borison is the author to read.

Thank you to the publisher for my gifted copy.

First, thank you to the publisher for the early read. I love the author and after reading her prior series, I knew I had to read this one. It's so cozy and lovely. The main characters are so sweet and wonderful and you're just rooting for them the whole time. What a fun and delightful read.

This was a fun book with a lot of charm. I don't often like romances with children, but in this case, the kid really worked. What worked less for me was a male main character who "doesn't do relationships." It's a tired source of conflict for me personally, and I wish we could have dug deeper. Similarly, I am not personally someone who has issues with reading about death and cancer, but it seems a little overused as a source of trauma in romance these days, especially for a book that does not need to be that heavy. Still overall really fun. This book has some similarities with Linda Holmes' Back After This!

A gorgeous look at love and putting yourself out there. This spin on Sleepless in Seattle sees Lucie, a single mother, joining Aiden on his romance radio show to try and find love. This book perfectly captures the feeling of falling in love and all the butterflies and roller coaster emotions along the way.

Aiden did not expect to fall down a rabbit hole of emotions after giving up on love for so long. But here he was, fighting tooth and nail as he found himself helping a single mother whose daughter called his romance hotline. Now the entire city of Baltimore is watching and waiting to see what will happen to them next.

This story is so cute. I love a good romance, so the idea that there is a romance hotline intrigued me. Lucie joining Aiden on the radio to find her true love is a fun idea. He is such a grouch and cynical character, so watching him lose himself in his feelings for Lucie made me giddy. He paid attention to everything she loved, and the friendship turned into so much more.

This is a slow romance as Lucie is trying to find love in other men. It did not bother me because they both had a lot of growing up to do. The friendship helped build a solid foundation for their romance. I kind of wished that Lucie’s daughter was around a bit more. Lucie was always working, out dating, or around Aiden.

Despite me loving this, the story is so predictable. There are moments when the author drags it out and you want something exciting to happen. The cheese factor is on high and makes some scenes a bit cringe but overall, I still enjoyed it.

Fan fans of B.K. Borison, you are in for a treat with this new series. While, it may not have been the best story that I have read by her, it left me smiling. I can’t wait to see what is next.

~ Samantha

First-Time Caller, by BK Borison, is a contemporary romance revolving around a call in radio show and is compared to Sleepless in Seattle.

Aiden Valentine hosts Baltimore's late night romance hotline and, even though this is his job and Valentine is his name, he's not sure he believes in love. The callers he gets to the show often just complain or share heartache. He wants nothing to do with that. Until 12-year old Maya calls on behalf of her mother, Lucie. Lucie Stone overhears her daughter whispering on the phone when she is supposed to be sleeping and finds her daughter called in and chatting with Aiden about dating advice for Lucie. Suddenly, the call goes viral, the station wants more of Aiden and Lucie, and the whole city is rooting for Lucie to find true love. And Aiden realizes that he's falling for Lucie, but will he tell her in time, or let love slip by?

This is a new series by BK Borison. After having read a couple from the author's Lovelight Farms series I thought I'd give this a try. Well, I should have known better. I, personally, found the open door love scenes a little too much and was hoping this series would not be as explicit, but it was just the same. I think I will stay away from this author for that personal reason. I did enjoy the banter and the storyline in this book, so I will rate based on that, but I chose not to finish this one based on the above reasons.

I think if you enjoy romance, spice, and cute banter, you'll enjoy First-Time Caller by BK Borison.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This was such a cute rom-com! I loved Lucie and Aiden so much. Seeing their relationship grow over the course of Lucie's time on Heartstrings was very adorable. Their chemistry and banter was super strong right from the beginning of the novel, but overall, their romance was so gentle and magical. I really loved the community that surrounded Lucie by the end of the novel--not just Maya, Grayson, and Mateo, but also Aiden, Jackson, Maggie, and all of Heartstring's listeners. The ending of this book was super sweet too, especially with Aiden's line, "Long-time listener, first-time caller," and the full-circle moment at Skulldaggery cafe (IYKYK). I'm super excited for the next book in this series, following Jackson and Delilah, next!

I’ve never seen Sleepless in Seattle (I know I KNOW I need to) but I enjoyed this book. It felt so sweet and wholesome and I really loved the characters and the plot. I definitely cheered for the FMC and MMC to end up together. The only negative for me was the spicy scenes. Don’t get me wrong, I love spice. I read a lot of it. I read a lot of books where there is nothing but spice. But the premise of this book just felt so wholesome and innocent that the spicy parts felt weird to me… out of place. I honestly would have been really happy with just kissing and a HEA for these two!

Thank you so much to BK, Berkley, and NetGalley for the early read! It truly means so much.

Sometimes a girl just wants a guy who is sweet, has boundaries, and is also just so ravenously into her. First-Time Caller hit every note I wanted when it comes to a contemporary romance.
This was my first time reading anything by B.K. Borison and I can't wait to check out her other books. The beginning of the story started out a little slow for me. I wasn't instantly hooked by the Sleepless in Seattle-esque meet-cute. However, around 20% of the way in, once the in-person banter got going, I was invested.
There were only a few spicy scenes and all but one were just intense make-outs, but that was perfect. It wasn't cringy or weird. Instead, it was the ideal result of pages of pining. I was very impressed with how Borison balanced the story with the spice.
I will definitely read from Borison again and would recommend her books to people who like Emily Henry.
Thank you to B.K. Borison and Berkley for an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.