Hannah’s Pick of the Week: First Time Caller by B.K. Borison

‘”I host a radio show,” Aiden says calmly. “Maya called in to ask for dating advice.”

My hand clenches around the phone. “Dating advice? She’s twelve.”

“She didn’t call for herself. She called for you.” He makes a small huff of amusement. “My name is Aiden Valentine and you’re live with Heartstrings, Baltimore’s romance hotline.”’

B.K. Borison, First-Time Caller, pp. 19-20

We begin First-Time Caller with an intervention, one of many that we’ll come upon in this first in the Heartstrings series. Basically, Aiden Valen (a.k.a. Aiden Valentine, the husky-voiced host of Baltimore’s Heartstrings radio romance hotline), has fallen out of love with love. Or maybe, he never believed in love to begin with? Either way, this lackluster opinion of romance has seeped into Aiden’s work life, causing concern among his friends, plummeting listener ratings, and drawing the ire of Maggie, 101.6 LITE FM’s radio manager.

That is, until one 12-year-old named Maya calls into Heartstrings seeking romantic advice for her single mother, Lucie. When Lucie and Aiden’s intimate interview goes viral, Lucie is convinced to join Heartstrings as Aiden’s co-host, turning the romance hotline into a project to find Lucie the road to love (sponsored by Mr. Tire and egged on by Maggie, of course). But is Aiden willing to share the airtime? And moreover, will Lucie find exactly what she’s looking for?

Henceforth, I would like to proclaim a new subcategory of grumpy and sunshine: romantic and cynic. Though Sleepless in Seattle-inspired, Lucie’s young daughter calling into a romance hotline in a valiant attempt to give her mother a second chance at love is where the plot similarities end between the two stories. However, fans of Nora Ephron’s filmography will love the witty banter between Aiden and Lucie, the quirky and fleshed-out side characters who may be looking for love of their own, and the slow burn of Aiden and Lucie’s relationship. The shoutouts to Baltimore, B.K. Borison’s home city, warm one’s heart. If you’re a fan of Is She Really Going Out With Him? by Sophie Cousens, The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, or Next To You by Hannah Bonam-Young, First-Time Caller is the next read for you!