REVIEW: First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison: As the host of Heartstrings radio show, Aiden is used to doling out romantic advice and helping his listeners work through their love dilemmas. The only problem being for the past while Aiden just doesn’t seem to be feeling it anymore, the worst thing that could happen, has happened, it would seem that Aiden has fallen out of love with love!

Well all begins to change when 12 year old Maya calls into the show asking Aiden for advice to help get her mother Lucie back into the dating world. Maya’s well intended call soon gets interrupted when her mother catches her, only for the resulting conversation with Aiden to go viral. With listeners dying to get more of Lucie’s story the station invites her to co-host Heartstrings with Aiden in the hopes that she can find love on-air… while the whole of Baltimore seems to be falling in love with Lucie and rooting her on to find her happily ever after, Aiden can’t help but realize that the single mum sitting next to him in studio is the one that has got him to fall in love again… the only question now is will he have the courage to confess his feelings before its to late?

First-time Caller was so cute, this book was just the sweetest slow burn love story you will find. With a storyline that leaned very much into Sleepless In Seattle, it was hard not to get invested in this book right from the beginning. If anything at all this book highlighted the beauty of love and falling in love and being romantic, simply put I really enjoyed this book and the way the entire story played out.

I loved that while we got both Aiden and Lucie’s POV we also got snippets of their radio show, this really helped make this book all the more enjoyable and immersive. Both our main characters were really lovely and I loved getting to see both of them finding love together and really allowing their hearts to do the leading. I just adored Lucie to bits, she knows her worth and she was not willing to settle for less than she deserved and I thought this was perfect. While she knows that the fairytale prince charming is not real, she wasn’t going to just settle for a cardboard cutout, she wanted magic and butterflies and to show her daughter that real love exists, and I for loved this about her character. I really couldn’t blame the Baltimore listener for falling for her, because I to was right there with them loving our strong, resilient, positive single mom.

As for our hero, well Aiden was just the type of hero that is all gruff and closed off on the outside but deep down he is a total marshmallow softie. For all his claims that he was not romantic, he sure proved himself wrong by creating the most romantic gesture to win over Lucie, this was just beautiful and showed that he was listening all along and that he really saw her. I think the thing that I liked the most about Aiden’s character was how relatable he was, the fact that his fear of getting hurt held him back from allowing love into his life was very relatable and understandable, though this only made me love getting to see him slowly falling as the book progressed.

The chemistry between Aiden and Lucie was just slow burn perfection. These two built up the tension and kept us all on our toes waiting for that ultimate happily ever after. I loved the back and forth flirtation between these two, and the way they slowly wormed their way into each others heart without really even realizing it. I will say the steam in this book was not too high but what we did get was pretty damn good. In general I’m not a huge fan of the third act break up, but I think in this case it was very needed for Aiden to get the wake up call that he needed to realize that his perfect woman was standing right in front of him.

The supporting characters in this book were just the sweetest. I loved Maya to bits, she was so cute and I loved the fact that she helped push her mom and Aiden together. I also really liked the dads, while a bit unconventional, I loved the relationship that Lucie had with Maya’s father and his partner. Grayson and Mateo were just the perfect support system for Lucie and I loved how protective they were over her, this entire wacky family was just to cute.

I really enjoyed reading First-time Caller, this book was sweet, funny, filled with heart and really made me feel happy and content and hopeful at the end. If you are like me and a hopeless romantic then I would strongly advice reading this single mom, grump meets sunshine, slow burn romcom!

Book Info:

Publication: February 11, 2025 | Berkley | Heartstrings #1

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he’s fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, that’s a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.

Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending… even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.