First Time Caller by B.K. Borison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
In First Time Caller, we meet Lucie, a car mechanic with a precocious 12-year old daughter, and Aidan, a radio personality who hosts a late night romance hotline.
Concerned that her Mom might be lonely, Lucie’s daughter, Maya, calls into Aidan’s show, Heartstrings, seeking dating advice for her Mom.
When Lucie discovers what Maya has been up to, she’s understandably mortified. The last thing she needs is all of Baltimore hearing about her pathetic social life.
Nevertheless, Lucie finds herself opening up during an on-air call with Aidan that ends up captivating the listeners and Aidan alike. For someone who has become so disengaged with his work lately, this is a great feat.
The higher-ups at Aidan’s station take notice once Lucie and Aidan’s call goes viral. They want more and the city of Baltimore wants Lucie to have her happy ending. The station is determined to deliver.
Lucie then becomes a regular guest on Aidan’s show, under the guise of finding her a perfect match. As the two begin spending more time together though, something starts smoldering, and Aidan’s not so sure he wants to be setting Lucie up on dates with strangers.
Could Lucie’s happily ever after be sitting right across from her in the cramped radio show room?
First Time Caller was so, so cute and very close to perfect for my tastes. I loved the full cast of quirky characters, as well as all the different kinds of relationships and types of love displayed throughout.
Of course, this is first a foremost a story of romantic love, but the love found within the elements surrounding Lucie’s family, as well as the found family at her workplace, those were some of my favorite elements of the entire book.
With this in mind, I felt like Borison did a great job balancing the romance along with some true character development. I loved both of these main characters and felt they equally contributed to my attachment with the story.
The pining! Oh my goodness, it just melted my heart and I felt like the relationship between Aidan and Lucie blossomed in such an organic way. It was a delight to read.
There was like one sex scene that wasn’t quite for me, kind of cringe, as well as a few of the miscommunication bits towards the end, I could have done without, but I understand why the author included them and it’s just a personal taste thing at the end of the day.
Thank you to the publisher, Berkley, for providing me with a copy to read and review. This is my first Borison, and I’m definitely looking forward to more!