First-Time Caller is a hazy late-night phone call that makes the heart flutter, and the world outside the window feel like a fuzzy, faraway dream. Aiden Valentine and Lucie Stone’s evening forays in the sound booth taste of bitter coffee and gazing at the stars. The book buzzes with a giddy, sleep-deprived energy that will keep readers up late for all the right reasons.
First-time readers of B.K. Borison are sure to become dedicated listeners after this enthralling read. This contemporary love story, set against the backdrop of glowing city lights and cozy recording booths, is a soothing balm of healing love connections.
The movie bottles up the magic of Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle with a weary harbour town setting and an emotionally unavailable love interest slowly worming his way into the leading lady’s heart with her favourite pizza and his comfiest sweaters. It’s a whirlwind of adorable banter, stolen coffee, near-missed connections, and small brushes across the other’s skin that tug at the heartstrings.
Readers can expect to float through this urban fantasy with a delightful protagonist who is refreshingly sincere about her worth and pitfalls.
Lucie also has a badass job as a mechanic and a semi-tragic backstory — elements the author merely uses to enrich her character rather than letting them consume her identity. Lucie is like all the other girls — she is a goddess who wants a romantic love worthy of the platonic and familiar love she has surrounded herself with. And maybe that’s what makes Lucie such an infatuating narrator. Her best features are heightened by a dozen wholesome dynamics with her grumpy mechanic pals and unconventional yet loving family. It feels like she walked right off the set of a 90s rom-com into the pages of this book without sacrificing authenticity,
“But what’s wrong with being a romantic? I can be a confident, independent woman and still want someone to hold my hand. To ask about my day. It’s a good thing to want passion and excitement and care. Attention and affection. I don’t want to settle for anything less than that.”
― B.K. Borison, First-Time Caller
First-Time Caller is a tantalizing commentary on fate and all the near misses that have to happen for Lucie and Aiden to finally meet, miles away from each other over the static of an on-air phone call. They orbit around each other for years, never really knowing each other, and once they do, the couple finds themselves at the mercy of constant run-ins. This steamy radio meet-cute thrives in the unknowns of the universe, the possible supernatural forces of a city on the cusp of sleep, and the nostalgia of a dating advice hotline.
It does stumble in its humble beginnings. The duelling POVs succumb to asking one too many leading questions, drawing out the mystic of their first few runs as strangers. However, the reader often comes to the conclusion pages before the protagonist and has to endure infuriating lines of questions as Lucie and Aidan refuse to reach out and grasp the answer right in front of them. Thankfully, these quirks evaporate once the two get in the booth.
Then, not even some annoying miscommunication and icky emotional unavailability can stop the momentum of their love story.
The result is a romance reminiscent of Jess and Nick’s wholesome friendship-to-lovers arc on New Girl, with bantering family dynamics that could easily fit in alongside charming TV ensembles like Modern Family and Shrinking.
The novel does not shy away from the harsh realities of dating while wrapping Lucie’s brave journey in a warm blanket of healthy self-esteem, functional relationships, and a fulfilling career with supportive co-workers. It is a vulnerable, heart-tugging tale of red-hot passion that proves authentic romance isn’t dead — it’s just a phone call away.
Borison crafts a contemporary time capsule that captures the bittersweet essence of late-night phone calls and meet-cutes in a city that never sleeps.
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