Book Review: ‘First Time Caller’ by BK Borison (romance inspired by ‘Sleepless in Seattle’)
You know those books you go into with moderate expectations and the knowledge that BookTok went crazy over their previous series, but something about the summary is calling to you so you go for it? Listen to that call. Seriously, listen. That’s how I felt about ‘First Time Caller’ and it’s now one of my favourite books of 2025 so far.
This books made me laugh, it made me tear up, and it made me swoon. I absolutely loved it.
A hopeless romantic meets a demoralized radio host in this cosy, Sleepless in Seattle inspired love story from fan-favourite author of the ‘Lovelight’ series, B.K. Borison.
Aiden Valentine has a 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.
I haven’t read a contemporary romance in a long while, but this has been calling to me and reading it during Valentine’s week just felt right. This is how you write romance and I immediately want more from this series and these characters, and in the meantime I’ll be reading BK Borison’s other novels.
I’m a huge fan of ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ (and that whole era of romances and romcoms from Nora Ephron and her contemporaries, honestly) so that what was drew me to ‘First Time Caller’ and I think it honoured the original really beautifully. It also actually made me think of elements of ‘Just Listen’ by Sarah Dessen as well with the falling in love during a late night radio show, though the rest of the novel is very different! There’s always a magic to people talking late at night when barriers are lowered, the darkness shields your face and anonymity allows a freedom of expression, but adding to that the element of radio and the extra layer of protection but also intimacy when it feels like that person on the radio is talking only to you.
When presenting on ‘Heartstrings’, Lucie and Aidan exist in a little bubble insulated from the outside world by their tiny little studio, able to cut off all influences from the outside world with the incoming calls - for a few hours they exist as Lucie and Aidan, and that allows them to fall head over heels in love. And I fell in love with them, too.
I’ve read and enjoyed a lot of romances in my time, but it takes something special to make me tear up when someone opens up or for something to feel truly romantic, and ‘First Time Caller’ achieved both of those things. Even though it had a modern setting, it also felt like it could have existed in a 90s or 00s romcom effortlessly because the emotion was there and it’s a love story that could have taken place anywhere and in any time. Yet to through the novel into 2025, it has some recognisable tropes: grumpy x sunshine, single mum, forced proximity, and found family.
The found family and non-traditional family structure in ‘First Time Caller’ was a joy. Lucie co-parents her 12-year-old, Maya, with Maya’s father and his husband who live next door, and Lucie very quickly becomes a part of the Heartstrings family after joining the show, while you can see Aidan desperate to be a part of Lucie’s family. There’s lots of discussions around family, love in all of its guises and the strains of parenthood, even when the parents love their roles whole-heartedly. It was deftly handled and even though I’m not a parent, I felt the pull that Lucie felt between doing right by her child and also taking back time and fun for herself.
The chemistry between Lucie and Aidan is red-hot, but the slow burn is tantalising and all of the build up was more than worth the wait. There is a dose of spice in this novel, but it’s anchored by real feelings as well as lust which was really appreciated and evident in a publishing trend of the more smut the better (which I do read now and then!). Everything about their romance made me want, and that’s what a good romance should do.
I absolutely loved ‘First Time Caller’ and I haven’t read anything since finishing the novel so I’m a little concerned that I loved it so much that it’s put me into a slump!
Thank you to Macmillan and NetGalley for the review copy.
Written by Sophie
