Damn okay I really really liked this one!! Casablanca and Parks & Rec references like… was this written just for me? I loved the pacing and I genuinely think Aiden and Lucie are some of my favorite book couples ever. They just worked and I love how the book actually spent some time on trauma and how tough it can be working through it. I definitely recommend it if you’re in the mood for a cute Sleepless in Seattle romance!

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

THIS BOOK! THIS ABSOLUTELY BOOK! OH GOD!

hello y’all and be ready for me because this book was truly everything to me and more than i ever expected and needed!! am i surprised tho? no because in becca we trust but also YES bc this easily became my favourite book from her and from the crumbs of the next book well i’m so SAT! this book’s the definition of a perfection romance and u know why? because i was giggling,kicking my feet while smiling like a damn idiot and these feelings were ( and are ) the same feelings i feel when i watch one of my old fav romcom and trust me that it doesn’t happen a lot because it’s a rare vibe u can’t feel with any movie or book u watch but only with the best ones! so do yourself a favour and put in your tbr this book! aiden and lucy were so relatable and the chemistry was on fire 👏🏻 . this book made my heart feel so many things seriously becca’s such a truly amazing author and u can feel her writing every time you read one of her books because she’s magic like her characters!! give me everything and more especially book #2 because the crumbs???

this book’s such a cozy book that’s the type of book that just feels like a warm blanket 💌 i truly devoured it and can’t wait to have the physical copy with me soon!

many thanks to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

This book was beautiful! The ultimate comfort read for those who love love in many forms, a love letter to romcoms & appreciation of romantics.

B.K. Borison is a master at writing love stories, that feel like the warmest hug and that quickly become my comfort / feel-good books.

First-Time Caller literally felt like watching a favourite, comfort romantic film, wrapped in a cozy blanket, with cozy lightning, feeling fully content, kicking your legs when the male lead does something swoony and adorable and when they can’t stop touching each other in even the smallest of ways!!! 😮‍💨

Lucie is a romantic, trying to navigate the difficult world of dating, looking for sparks and magic.

Aiden is a host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, a secret swoony boy, who feels burnt out and out of love with love.

These two collide, when Lucie’s daughter - Maya, calls the radio in an attempt to help her mom.

Both Aiden and Lucie (and all side characters) were written in a way that felt perfectly natural, realistic and relatable. As a romantic myself, I think a lot of our expectations are laughed at, and eventually we hide these parts of ourselves, but Lucie was brave enough to still try to find what she wanted and for once in her life, put herself first. She was committed to finding magic, but sometimes we find magic in ways we didn't expect or it's something we create.

And Aiden, despite his grumpy attitude towards love and romance, made me swoon so many times in this book because of his actions. HE ASKS WHO MADE HER CRY!!! AND KEEPS A LIST OF HER FAVE THINGS SO HE DOESN’T FORGET!!!

B.K. Borison just doesn’t miss and her books are a must read if you’re a romance lover.

Absolutely loved it! The tensionnnn - so good. Also I don't even live in the US and this made me fall in love with Baltimore? BK Borison just has a special way with words when describing the surroundings of a story.. Would absolutely recommend ❤️

Thank you to Pan Macmillan for my arc copy of Frist-Time Caller by B K Borsion

I’m thrilled to have received an ARC from one of my favourite rom-com authors! In this charming story, Lucie's daughter, Maya, finds herself on the phone late at night with a radio host, sharing all the juicy details about her mom's love life—or the absence of one—with everyone in Baltimore and the listeners of HeartStrings.

The story is told through the dual perspectives of Lucie and Adien as they navigate working together on Lucie's love life. The banter between them, along with the palpable sexual tension, makes you root for them from the start. I loved how we got to learn about both of their backstories and how this adds depth to the narrative.

This book had me feeling a whirlwind of emotions; I found myself laughing heartily at some moments, crying during the poignant scenes, and jumping for joy as the story reached its exhilarating peaks. The author masterfully took me on an emotional rollercoaster, crafting a narrative that was both engaging and deeply resonant. I was completely captivated by the vivid characters and their journeys. Now, after experiencing such a thrilling ride, I can’t wait for the next instalment in this captivating series!
One question: And I must ask, with all the charm that HeartStrings brings to the story, where can I find my very own HeartStrings Jumper? It seems like the perfect accessory for a fan of this delightful tale!

RomComReads #HeartStrings #RomanticTension #BookLovers #ARCJoy #BaltimoreCharm #DualPerspectives #Booknerd #LiteraryLove #WittyBanter

I love how Aiden and Lucie vibe with eachother. Lucie is a badass woman that can take care of herself, a real role model mom. Aiden has some issues he has to work trough. These issues are the reason for the will they won't they, which I unfortunately found to take a bit too long. In the beginning I flew through the books but near the end it was harder for me to focus on the story. The radio show excerpts are a great addition. It takes a village to raise a kid and my does Lucie have a fun one!

"First-Time Caller", written by B. K. Borison, was a good time. I went in wanting to have a fun time and I did. There were quite a few moments when I laughed out loud, which I always appreciate in a work of fiction.
On another note, though, the book is more than comedy and romance. Lucie's and Aiden's personal lives were beautifully constructed. They both have complex personalities, which allowed them to grow as people. Lucie's struggle with living and doing things only for herself really resonated with me.
When it comes to Aiden, I wish we had the chance to see him grow more gradually. It seemed to me that his growth as a character was very rushed. We kept revisiting the reasons for his behavior, but we don't really get to see the process of him dealing with his issues so as to understand the place he's at by the end of the book. I think he deserved a bit more attention since his backstory is very emotionally charged.
In terms of writing, I was not fond of the repetition of certain similes, especially the one with the puzzle ("like I'm a puzzle she doesn't know how to solve." or "Like I'm am equation he can't ..."), but that is just a pet peeve of mine. At the same time, I loved some of the comparisons the love interest made about the female main character and vice versa. They were really sweet. I guess, by constantly repeating these, we get a clear sense of the deep connection between them. So I can confidently say that most of the clichés did not bother me at all; in fact, they rather reinforced Aiden and Lucie's dreamy pure love story.
By way of concluding my silly little review, I am going to mention my favorite part of the entire book: "Aiden." My dad sighs. "You're not broken." "It feels like it." I rub my chest. "I feel broken". "I think maybe you're just bruised."
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book!

B. K. Borison can do no wrong.

This book was amazing! I loved the banter between Aiden and Lucie.

Maya is Lucie’s daughter who one night calls in to Heartstrings. A radio station on 101.6 FM, hosted by Aiden Valentine. Maya spills Lucie’s love life beans on air to Aiden when Lucie walks in. Lucie ends up talking to Aiden about love and she has given up trying. Their conversation captures the hearts of not just Baltimore but many around the world, as it’s shared all over the internet.

Lucie later gets asked to join Aiden on the air to find her perfect man. I don’t wanna spoil anything so I’ll shut up because I’m getting too excited about it. This is my favorite B. K. Book so far!

💕💌 FIRST-TIME CALLER ☎️ by B.K Borison

Well, this was my first B.K. Borison book, and it blew me away!

Lucie, a single mother and mechanic, discovers her daughter on the phone late at night with a man—who turns out to be Aiden Valentine, the host of Heartstrings, Baltimore’s late-night romance hotline. Her daughter is on a mission to help Lucie find love, and what follows is a truly heartwarming story, full of love, family, and undeniable chemistry that had me swooning.

I heard that this book was the first in a new series, inspired by Nora Ephron movies, so I went in expecting classic rom-com vibes and it delivered! It has everything I love in a romance, yet the story feels fresh and I couldn't put the book down.

First-Time Caller is hands-down my favourite read of the year, and I wish I could experience it for the first time all over again (though I’ll settle for a re-read!).

Thank you to the team at Pan Macmillan for the advanced read! 💕

BK Borison does it again!

I desperately needed a light easy read after my previous and Lucie and Aidan’s love story was just perfect. To say I was reading an ARC, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Meeting for the first time over a romance radio stations hot line Lucie’s daughter Maya sets her up with a potential for future dates. The dynamic of Lucie’s family was the sweetest and I hope we get to see this develop more through the rest of the serious.

I’m sincerely hoping we get Jackson for book 2!

The story of Lucie who wants the kind of love you dream of and see in movies, and Aiden, a man who holds himself back from caring at all and a romance hotline radio show that brings them together. It's a very sweet story, from the young daughter who calls in the radio hotline because she doesn't want her mother to be lonely, to the friends who want the best kind of love from her. Lucie speaks to Aiden, the host of the show and there's something there from the start, and before long her quest to find the love she craves makes her a co-host on the show and brings her and Aiden closer together. This gives the two a chance to get to know each other, but also know themselves better too. They learn things about themselves, and help each other. There's no changing each other because they're perfect for each other exactly as they are. It's very slow burn which I did find difficult at times, it felt dragged out a little bit too long and as nice as it is to give the relationship depth and see it develop it did feel like some things were a but unnecessary and could have been shorter. I'd have liked to actually see some of the bad dates instead of just hearing a bit about them for Aiden's reaction. I get that the whole point was to show how Aiden was feeling towards Lucie, but since her quest to find the right guy was part of the plot, it would have been fun to see some of the dates. We already knew Aiden was the one for her anyway! Overall though a really good story. A solid 3.75 stars (closer to a 4 than a 3)

Oh my god!!! This was my very first book by miss B.K Borison and it certainly won’t be my last because this was soooo good. It sucked me in as soon as I started and when I looked up it was 4 hours later, I was done? The time flew by so fast while I was just giggling and blushing at the tension between Aiden and Lucie. This book felt like watching an early 2000s movie; so tender and heartwarming! And don’t even get me started on the way Borison writes banter and flirting? It felt so real and the emotions felt so raw, I teared up reading the conversation Aiden has with his dad at the end. Listened to My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys on repeat for my broken boy <3 Y’all for sure need to pick this book up when it comes out on Feb 13th! Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.25/5

I want to thank NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for providing me with the First-Time Caller arc.

This was my first time reading a book from this author, I loved the writing and the storytelling. So the Lovelight series is surely going to be among the books I'm going to read in 2025.

I had so much fun with this book. The characters were amazing, the way they supported and protected eachother was so endearing to read.

Lucie and Aiden struggles and insecurities throughout the pages humanized them as characters and made them more relatable to the reader. Their personal growth was everything and you can notice from their first interaction how much they complement eachother.

And what can I say, I have a soft spot for fictional lover boys!!

this book made me smile and definitely my cozy read ❤️

I love Lucie's family and Aiden's radio crew. I really enjoy the found family and friendship side of things more than the romance. Oh, not that the romance is bad, it's good and beautifully written. Although I got a bit impatient somewhere in the middle, there's a lot of things that keep me reading. I can understand where Aiden got his hesitation. I love how Lucie is a mechanic with good co-workers. And I love the radio-thing because it feels nostalgic--nowadays I only listen to podcast :')
Overall, I enjoy this novel and ebeb though this is not a small-town Lovelight Farm, Borrison's writing for the setting is always good, it gives me warm feeling throughout the book!

thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC!

I only read three books but B.K. Borison but all three of them had me floored by how amazing they were ! I said in other reviews of her books but it stands true with First Time Caller: I simply love her writing so much ! I loved Lucie and how relatable she was and I loved Aiden and how sweet he was. I love B.K. Borison’s books because she writes flawed and real characters, everyday people that I can connect to and really put myself in their shoes.
This book was simply amazing and definitely pulled on all my Heartstrings !

I loved the Lovelight Farms series and was very excited to get to read this early and it did not disappoint. I adored everything about this book, Aiden and Lucie were perfect for each other and all of the supporting characters were amazing. I loved the family dynamic between Lucie, Maya, Grayson and Mateo and all of the staff at Heartstrings radio show were also brilliant.
Lucie's daughter Maya calls in to the local love hotline Heartstrings and tells Aiden, the host, that her mom is lonely. Lucie then joins the show as a host in her search for love. As a few awful dates, one of which ends with Aiden coming to see her, the two get closer but will Aiden allow himself the risk of loving.
I really can't wait to read the rest of the series!!!

4.75!!!!

This book just makes me feel like I’m floating whenever I think about it. It has everything a romance needs to be relatable, realistic, cute, and heartfelt.
I think the radio idea was done extremely well! I genuinely don’t think I’ve read a meet cute as unique as this one. Aiden is so good to Lucie, even when she is shy and hesitant to start something with him. I like the fact that Aiden didn’t understand love, and he had to learn to live and embrace it, because it came into his life very unexpectedly.
Maya is everything! She’s such a beautiful and lively kid that just wants the best for her mother. The support Lucie has behind her is amazing, with Maya’s dad and her best friend giving her advice and acting as comedic relief.
Aiden’s relationship with his family is also heartwarming, that phone call with his dad literally brought me to tears. ☎️
It also had right amount of spice/explicit content. Some, but not too overwhelming, and the story stood on its on without it.
I can’t wait to reread it when is officially comes out.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7008803013

https://www.instagram.com/p/DDSWlMKA-zm/?igsh=QkFOd3hxZGdQVA%3D%3D

This was so sweet and swoony and delightful. I often find myself frustrated with slow burn romance but this was so perfect. The banter, the character development, the chemistry. It was such a careful, gentle, beautiful love story.

The author has such compassion towards the characters that even when they behave in ways that could appear frustrating to the reader, that isn't the case because you understand where they're coming from and you feel connected to their fear and their pain. They heal as they fall in love and they fall in love as they heal, it was sweet and moving and just the right amount of angsty, with a little spice on the way to the happy ever after.

I was blessed to be given an advanced copy of this novel, and dove into it right away. BK is one of my top authors so I was delighted to have this novel. Lovelight Farms left an imprint on my heart; so I was eager to see what First Time Caller has to offer. And, I was NOT disappointed.

A swoon-worthy romance, yearning and angst was perfect, and when our characters finally get together it was worth the wait! I love all the characters, the family dynamics, the personal growth and achievements and all round goodness this book gives.

Absolutely everything a romance novel should be! This was really sweet and I loved watching the romance between our two MCs unravel. Aiden was soooo down bad for Lucie and I loved that we could get in his head from the dual-POV. The spice was also super hot - I loved all the pining that lead up to the steamy scenes. Will be a 2025 favorite for me!