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First-Time Caller by B. K. Borison

Romance

First-Time Caller

by B. K. Borison

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Quick take

Fed-up with romance? So is Aiden, a love-weary radio host whose world is turned upside down by a charming single mom.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, 400

    400+ pages

  • Illustrated icon, Light_Read

    Light read

  • Illustrated icon, Movieish

    Movieish

  • Illustrated icon, Salacious

    Salacious

Synopsis

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 believed. 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 decision between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of First-Time Caller.

First-Time Caller

Chapter 1

Aiden

Love is a lie.

At least, that’s what the sign above the door tells me. It’s written in large looping letters. Little hearts dotted along the edges and a lipstick mark in the bottom left corner. It looks like a sign that should be hanging crooked in the hallway of a high school, not boldly declaring the decline of humanity during the morning rush at a coffee shop.

There are streamers too. Red and white and dangling from the hanging baskets by the window. They twist back and forth violently every time someone slips in from the street, relaxing back to their sad, wilted loops as soon as the door shuts again.

I frown at a red balloon with an X drawn over it in Sharpie, scratching at the scruff along my jaw as I wait for Jackson to come back to our table. A woman with a satchel the size of a small country smacks into the back of my head and I cross my arms over my chest, kicking my legs out halfway into the aisle to protect my peace. If Jackson doesn’t come back soon, I might start eating the saltshaker. I demanded a croissant, two bagels, and a coffee the size of my face as soon as we sat down. Payment for pulling me out of bed at this ungodly hour.

I’m usually too tired from a ­late-night shift to drag myself from bed any earlier than ten. But Jackson had insisted, and then switched to threats when his insistence didn’t work. I’d been too shocked at his language to come up with an appropriate excuse. In our four years of working together at the radio station, I’ve never heard Jackson raise his voice, let alone threaten bodily harm if I didn’t agree to meet him at the tiny bookshop café two blocks from his house.

Be at Skullduggery at eight, he said. Or I’m coming for you.

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Why I love it

Let’s get this out of the way: Yes, I might be especially partial to this book because the female lead is a redhead named Lucie. No, I have not called in to any Baltimore romance hotlines lately. And yes, regardless of one’s personal similarities to its heroine, First-Time Caller is utterly brilliant.

First-Time Caller brings its leading couple together on a Baltimore radio show. Single mom Lucie hasn’t had time for romance since her daughter was born twelve years ago, but she still believes her true love could be out there. Radio host Aiden knows far too much about the pitfalls of love from his relationship hotline Heartstrings, and so has given up hope for the real thing. When Lucie unexpectedly finds herself live on Aiden’s show and their conversation goes viral, the radio station decides to spice up Lucie’s love life by setting her up with various Heartstrings listeners—but as so often happens, the happily ever after Lucie is looking for might be closer than she thinks.

Reading this book feels like watching a cozy classic rom-com…except with spicy, off-the-charts chemistry that definitely wouldn’t rate a 1990s PG! By turns tender, funny, sexy, and sweet, First-Time Caller is the only valentine you’ll need this February.

Member ratings (267)

400+ pages
Rebel Witch
We All Live Here
Kingdom of Claw
First-Time Caller
Playworld
Babylonia
The Favorites
The Thirteenth Child
Homeseeking
Most Wonderful
The Courting of Bristol Keats
Pictures of You
PS: I Hate You
The Road of Bones
Intermezzo
The Dagger and the Flame
The Wild Huntress
The Crimson Crown
Here One Moment
Phantasma
The Pairing
All the Colors of the Dark
The God of the Woods
Same As It Ever Was
The Demon of Unrest
Five Broken Blades
Real Americans
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Table for Two
The Familiar
A Short Walk Through a Wide World
Just for the Summer
The Wives
A Fate Inked in Blood
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard
The Fox Wife
The Mayor of Maxwell Street
Ready or Not
Heartless Hunter
The Women
Family Family
Ruthless Vows
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
The Frozen River
The Future
What We Kept to Ourselves
Wellness
The Fragile Threads of Power
You, Again
The Bookbinder
Happiness Falls
Shark Heart
Love, Theoretically
The Only One Left
The First Ladies
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Warrior Girl Unearthed
The True Love Experiment
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
Yours Truly
Hello Beautiful
I Have Some Questions for You
The Last Russian Doll
Someone Else’s Shoes
The Shards
Hell Bent
Age of Vice
A Wilderness of Stars
Babel
The Circus Train
Before I Let Go
Bloodmarked
The Last Party
Foul Lady Fortune
Sign Here
Thistlefoot
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Bronze Drum
The It Girl
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle
The Change
Part of Your World
Lessons in Chemistry
The Good Left Undone
Kaikeyi
True Biz
Booth
Peach Blossom Spring
Black Cake
Will
Still Life
The Keeper of Night
The Book of Magic
The Lincoln Highway
Apples Never Fall
In Every Mirror She's Black
Damnation Spring
One Last Stop
Half Sick of Shadows
The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes
What Comes After
In a Book Club Far Away
The Four Winds
Black Buck
The City We Became
The Prophets
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Notes on a Silencing
Friends and Strangers
Evicted
The End of October
The Book of Longings
The Great Believers
Yes No Maybe So
Anna K
Red, White & Royal Blue
Long Bright River
When the Stars Lead to You
Ninth House
The Fountains of Silence
The Goldfinch
Frankly in Love
Permanent Record
This Tender Land
The Reckless Oath We Made
The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World
The Gifted School
Free Food for Millionaires
Ask Again, Yes
All the Light We Cannot See
Sky Without Stars
Night Music
Small Fry
One Day in December
Nine Perfect Strangers
The Clockmaker's Daughter
The Great Alone
The Heart’s Invisible Furies
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
A Million Junes
The Nightingale
Behold the Dreamers
A Gentleman in Moscow
The Secret History
Dead Wake
Salt to the Sea
& Sons
Palace of Treason
400+ pages
View all
Rebel Witch
We All Live Here
Kingdom of Claw
First-Time Caller
Playworld
Babylonia
The Favorites
The Thirteenth Child
Homeseeking
Most Wonderful
The Courting of Bristol Keats
Pictures of You
PS: I Hate You
The Road of Bones
Intermezzo
The Dagger and the Flame
The Wild Huntress
The Crimson Crown
Here One Moment
Phantasma
The Pairing
All the Colors of the Dark
The God of the Woods
Same As It Ever Was
The Demon of Unrest
Five Broken Blades
Real Americans
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Table for Two
The Familiar
A Short Walk Through a Wide World
Just for the Summer
The Wives
A Fate Inked in Blood
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard
The Fox Wife
The Mayor of Maxwell Street
Ready or Not
Heartless Hunter
The Women
Family Family
Ruthless Vows
Gwen & Art Are Not in Love
The Frozen River
The Future
What We Kept to Ourselves
Wellness
The Fragile Threads of Power
You, Again
The Bookbinder
Happiness Falls
Shark Heart
Love, Theoretically
The Only One Left
The First Ladies
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
Warrior Girl Unearthed
The True Love Experiment
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
Yours Truly
Hello Beautiful
I Have Some Questions for You
The Last Russian Doll
Someone Else’s Shoes
The Shards
Hell Bent
Age of Vice
A Wilderness of Stars
Babel
The Circus Train
Before I Let Go
Bloodmarked
The Last Party
Foul Lady Fortune
Sign Here
Thistlefoot
As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow
Bronze Drum
The It Girl
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
The Wedding Dress Sewing Circle
The Change
Part of Your World
Lessons in Chemistry
The Good Left Undone
Kaikeyi
True Biz
Booth
Peach Blossom Spring
Black Cake
Will
Still Life
The Keeper of Night
The Book of Magic
The Lincoln Highway
Apples Never Fall
In Every Mirror She's Black
Damnation Spring
One Last Stop
Half Sick of Shadows
The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes
What Comes After
In a Book Club Far Away
The Four Winds
Black Buck
The City We Became
The Prophets
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Notes on a Silencing
Friends and Strangers
Evicted
The End of October
The Book of Longings
The Great Believers
Yes No Maybe So
Anna K
Red, White & Royal Blue
Long Bright River
When the Stars Lead to You
Ninth House
The Fountains of Silence
The Goldfinch
Frankly in Love
Permanent Record
This Tender Land
The Reckless Oath We Made
The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World
The Gifted School
Free Food for Millionaires
Ask Again, Yes
All the Light We Cannot See
Sky Without Stars
Night Music
Small Fry
One Day in December
Nine Perfect Strangers
The Clockmaker's Daughter
The Great Alone
The Heart’s Invisible Furies
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
A Million Junes
The Nightingale
Behold the Dreamers
A Gentleman in Moscow
The Secret History
Dead Wake
Salt to the Sea
& Sons
Palace of Treason