This was my first read by B.K. Borison and I will definitely be seeking out their other books. I thought that the premise of this book was really unique, which is rare in the modern age to read something you've never read before. The characters were really well fleshed out and the relationships felt incredibly genuine. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

B.K. Borison delivers a charming, feel-good romance with *Heartstrings*, full of warmth, humour, and undeniable chemistry. Lucie is a delightful protagonist, and her journey to rediscovering love is both heartfelt and entertaining. Aiden’s grumpy-yet-soft dynamic works well, though his narrator didn’t quite click for me. Still, the story’s cosy, *Sleepless in Seattle*-esque vibes make it a great read for romance fans!

A news book series by the author I discovered last year. I thought both narrators, Hathaway Lee and E.J. Bingham both did an amazing job in bringing all the characters to life. I love listening to audiobooks and having a narrator that fits the bill really makes a difference. The book was very light-hearted and cosy but I loved that the author included some more serious storylines, including dealing with cancer diagnosis and coparenting. The characters felt relatable and real and I cannot wait for the part two – hopefully this will be a book about Jackson, the weather guru and absolute legend.

✨ Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book ✨

This review contains 🚨spoilers 🚨

3⭐️

I enjoyed this book so much. SO MUCH! Until it reached 60% or so. Which really annoyed me because the premise is great, the characters are very funny, the puns are fantastic… but then it gets super cringy 😩😩

Lucie is (apparently) a hottie mom who also is a mechanic and lives next door to her baby daddy who is married to another man. No mention to him coming out as gay or being bisexual/pansexual, which is fine. They’re one big queer family, and honestly I love that. Although living next door is quite the weird thing in my opinion.

Aidan is a radio guy with an attitude problem and lots of mommy issues. He is in desperate need of therapy. He is WEIRD. Honestly he’s cute at times and flips to asshole others. His whole personality is around his mom’s cancer and he just shoves his trauma deep inside him and makes everyone feel uncomfortable. We like him, but then he says things like “I fucked my fist” and he wants to make us vomit.

The spice is… not good. Let me explain. Yes it is a romance book. Yes emotions are highlighted. However, Uhm, that’s not how you treat a lady? IN MY OPINION, the first time you get sexual, you don’t dry hump her with your tight????? AND THEN HAVE A WANK???? Aidan hun you have issues. Just no. And then when you actually have sex, you go weird bossy, not the sexy kind of bossy. It was laughable to me and it made me feel really uncomfortable.

The end was cute however lucie deserves so much better than Aidan. She’s been vocal about her feelings, what she wants, what she is willing to give, not just to Aidan but to everyone who was listening, and she can do a lot better than this weird man. But oh well.

It was cute and all that but his cringing ass ruined it for me. Sorry.

I was initially hesitant going into this book because I didn’t enjoy Love Light Farms by BK Borison, but this one really surprised me, and I ended up loving it. There was a brief moment in the middle where I felt a little bored, which is why I’m giving it 4 stars instead of 5, but overall, I would highly recommend it.

I’m going to be a little sceptical when something is said to be inspired by/compared to arguably one of the best romcoms around, but this book really knocked it out of the park.

First-Time Caller had me hooked from the start. I’m a big fan of a slow burn, our two main characters Lucie and Aiden had great chemistry, and the side characters were also a joy to get to know. The audiobook was really well done and I enjoyed the radio sound effects when snippets of thr show were put in the story.

This will have you kicking your feet and squealing at the tension, it might just be my favourite romance.

I wasn't a fan of Sleepless in Seattle when it first came out. I was too young and only wanted straightforward stories that immediately got into the romance. I appreciate it much more now as an adult and First Time Caller is a great homage to it. You are instantly drawn into Lucie and Aidan's world, with their friends, family and co-workers all adding warmth and coziness. This is a great first book to start of B.K. Borison's new series, setting it up so I now cannot wait for the rest of them.
I liked Lucie and Aidan enough to route for them and want to see them again. I can't wait to find out who the next book will be about (*coughs* Jackson, please and thank you).

“I’m thinking about her, about us, about this.
About this tiny cafe across from her house and all the places we almost met. About the right time, the right place, the right moment. I’m thinking about the way her hand fits in mine, and the way my heart drums out a beat that matches her name. Lu-cie. Lu-cie. Lu-cie.”

*whispers* can i say something blasphemous? … i’ve never watched a nora ephron film before 🫣 but because of Becs’ writing and this series I think i’m definitely going to have to now!

i did a hybrid read and let me tell you the audiobook is so worth it, there are these cute sound effects for the pages with the headphones on it and those are the only parts read in duet narration. this is one of those books that is so unique and cannot be replicated completely which is why i enjoyed it so much! of course the tropes in this will be familiar to readers such as forced proximity, the single parent trope, reluctant x hopeless romantic but it’s the way that Becs took all of this and made lucie and aiden’s love story so distinctive. first time caller is probably one of the best slow burns i’ve read in a while, we get the perfect balance of seeing lucie as a mum, an auto mechanic (yaas women in male dominated fields) and temporary co-host to aiden while he reluctantly helps her find the one.

i think the use of radio rather than social media/other forms of technology is what drew me in more. it felt refreshing to see lucie go through finding her perfect match whilst using the heartstrings radio+ hotline that was set up just for her. and having the city of baltimore grow invested with lucie’s quest made this even more entertaining, it’s the vibe you get with a small town romance but replicated in a city setting. thank god bk writes in dual pov because without aiden’s thoughts we wouldn’t see how down bad this man was for her the more time they spent together. it felt so natural seeing their relationship blossom.

This was a reread (listen) and I loved it just as much as the first time! Lucie and Aiden are the most adorable goofballs!
The family dynamic in this book are adorable and the radio station gang are brilliant and the vibes are impeccable. I loved all the radio chapters on audio, it added such a fun element to the story and the two narrators worked so well together!

First Time Caller has the most impeccable 80s romcom vibes that fly out of the pages in little heart shapes.

Full disclosure: I don't tend to read romances where the love interests have children because I find them annoying and I hate when there's any miscommunication/third act breakup situations that involve kids. HOWEVER, Lucie's daughter Maya is a charming, fun character integral to the story as Lucie's rock and unwavering support, expert meddler and costume queen. Clearly I'm maturing as a romance reader and will now not be so hasty in writing off stories featuring main characters with kids. And that's on growth.

Maya, Grayson, Jackson (I volunteer to be his love interest for the spin-off) and so many other adorable sidekicks make up a chaotic and endearing group of supporting characters which definitely carried this book from almost-perfect to all-time favourite. Aiden is one of my most favourite book boyfriends; I was utterly charmed by his quick wit and charisma both on and off the air. His chapters felt very authentic and I found myself rooting for him even when he was being infuriating. Lucie's journey was a delight to follow, not only because of the cinematic weaving of her plot to find true love, but because of her unbreakable smile, resilience and massive heart. Like so many of the people she meets in this book, I wanted to get to know Lucie completely and orbit her forever.

Overall, this is a book you cancel plans to keep reading - grinning and kicking your feet while you do so. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook as the narrations are spot on, and the splices of audio from the Heartstrings radio show are hilarious.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an ALC!

I’m so in love with First Time Caller and you should read it asap.

This book had me laughing, giggling and kicking my feet and swooning.

Aiden and Lucie are so perfect for each other and I loved their journey together. This gave me the perfect 2000’s rom com vibes and I LOVED it. Their banter was everything and I felt their chemistry off the page.

Can we also talk about Lucie killing it in a male dominated field? We love to see it.

It’s just so perfect and a great slow burn romance. If this isn’t on your TBR, you NEED to add it too.

The audiobook is also AMAZING!

Lucie and Aidan are the FMC and MMC of this Sleepless in Seattle inspired story. The set-up is Lucie's daughter phoning into Aiden's radio show for dating advice for her mom, which was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed the character development and varied case of minor characters. I listened to the audiobook and found the narration really good.

First off the narrators did a lovely job giving Aiden and Lucie’s characters their own personalities with their voices. The set up of this book, alternating chapters of plot development with snippets from the calls or a social media comment, made it really hard to ever press pause! I just wanted to keep hearing Lucie and Aiden’s story. I do think it was a bit odd how little Greyson and Maya ended up featured in this given how complicated a single mother’s life can be in the real life, but I guess here it’s just assumed that the relationship between Lucie and Greyson is so positive that any school things are dealt with by Greyson and his partner. The setting in Baltimore did endear this book to me as I grew up in Maryland, and I enjoyed recognizing some of the places mentioned. The spice in chapter 55 was HOT to listen to! And while I was a little worried we wouldn’t get a HEA as this is listed as book one, the ending did not disappoint. Overall, it’s a very worthy romance novel, and I overcame my initial hesitancy about one of the love interests having a kid preventing me from relating or enjoying the story. That was my folly, and B. K. Borison proved me wrong at every turn!

This book was gorgeous! It had ‘The Perfect Man’ (Hilary Duff movie) feels but so much better! It was heartfelt and had great spice. Like come on the list of her favourite things?! Obsessed.

This book had a lovely premise and followed some great romcom tropes in the best way - we all love a bit of forced proximity and enemies to lovers. It worked brilliantly well as an audiobook and the production value was really high. I loved the radio snippets and the sound effects and the dual narrators were really beneficial to the production.

My favourite thing about this story was the family. I loved the way BK wrote an unconventional/found family-style unit so beautifully and normally.
I loved the support network they provided for each-other and Maya was written wonderfully and confidently. It was totally believable.
I particularly loved a scene between Lucie and Matteo and the clear love between them.

I sadly feel that overall, I was a bit underwhelmed by the story as a whole. I had really high hopes but I didn't feel completely taken by their chemistry and didn't love Aiden as a character. It was sweet and lighthearted but not my favourite.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC copy of this book.

Ahh this was SO cute!!

I don’t often read romances as they tend to all get a bit samey after a while but I enjoy it as a palette cleanser in-between heavier books. But this was such a good read!!

The idea of a love story starting from a radio show felt really original, the characters were so loveable and I liked having both perspectives of Lucie and Aidan throughout the book.

The writing style was easy to read, funny at times and the suspense of would they fall for each other kept me going

I loved reading/listening so much I had to go out and buy a copy 😍 the voices for the audiobook really complemented each other well

Romcoms are back! But to be fair, did they ever really leave? This is perfect for lovers of 90s Tom Hanks movies, that cozy yet toe curling attraction between both characters, the tension is static and I just loved getting lost in this story and wrapped up with the characters

B.K. Borison never misses! This romance was everything my heart was looking for. Lucie and Aiden actually are my world. What a perfect story of love and parenthood and finding what we deserve. I wish I could relive this book over and over again. A masterpiece!

Naturally after reading Lovelight Farms by B. K. Borison this last Christmas i had veeeeery high expectations for this book and they were exceeded beyond my imagination. This story was like being wrapped up in a heated blanket, handed a mug of hot cocoa and given a kiss on the forehead. Wholesome doesn't even begin to cover it. With absolutely "Sleepless in Seattle" vibes (one of my favorite romance movies by the way), this was bound to be a success.
It starts with a single mum and her pre-teen daughter calling into a romance radio hotline to try and liven up her love life and things just get wholesomer by the page, the main character keeps wishing for her magical meet-cute and lets just say she get it.

I cannot recommend this enough and the audiobook made the whole experience so much better. the narrators were perfect for these characters.

Loved this! A slow-burn friends-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine romcom with a nice level of spice, First Time Caller is highly recommended for fans of writers like Abby Jimenez. Lucy is a great character - kind and relatable, and also a car mechanic (yesss!), and Aiden is the grumpy single man who's sworn off love. The audiobook is great, too - talented narrators and lots of nice little auditory flourishes.