First-Time Caller

First-Time Caller is a 2025 romance novel by B. K. Borison and the first novel in her new Heartstrings series, set at a radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. The work is an homage to the 1993 romantic comedy film Sleepless in Seattle and combines alternating first-person narration with transcripts of radio shows and other interstitial materials. Borison is the author of other romance novels, including Lovelight Farms and its sequels. The second installment in the Heartstrings series is slated for publication in 2026. First-Time Caller has many classic elements of romantic comedy but also explores more intense themes such as Parenthood as Both Challenge and Reward, Love as a Source of Security and Basis for Transformation, and Fear and Cynicism as Obstacles to Growth.

Page numbers in this guide refer to the Kindle e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of cursing, sexual content, sexual harassment, substance use, gender discrimination, antigay bias, and illness.

Plot Summary

The work opens in Baltimore, Maryland, where radio host Aiden Valen, known to the public as Aiden Valentine, reluctantly has breakfast with his best friend, Jackson Clark. Jackson is concerned that Aiden has seemed angry and withdrawn with listeners, which is not conducive to his role as host of a romance hotline, Heartstrings. Aiden is reluctant to explain his emotional struggles.

Soon after, an auto mechanic named Lucie Stone hears unexpected noises from her daughter’s room. She discovers that 12-year-old Maya is on the phone with a man, and her panic soon gives way to embarrassment when Maya explains she has called Baltimore’s radio romance hotline on Lucie’s behalf. Maya is worried that Lucie does not have a partner and is avoiding dating. Aiden persuades Lucie to explain why she has been reluctant to date, and Lucie gives a heartfelt speech about her desire to be wanted for herself and find lasting love and real romance. Aiden finds himself unexpectedly moved. Afterward, many people call the show to ask about Lucie and her search for love.

A week or so later, Lucie tells Maya that while she appreciates her concern, secret plans to revive her love life are a step too far. However, Maya’s father and Lucie’s best friend, Grayson, informs her that the radio show has gone viral. Lucie is embarrassed, especially when her coworkers express interest in the show. Meanwhile, Aiden’s boss, Maggie, suggests bringing Lucie on as a recurring guest: The show can follow her adventures in dating. Aiden is concerned that the show will become exploitative but cannot risk losing his job; moreover, Maggie has already pitched the idea to Lucie.

Lucie ultimately decides to do the radio show, bumping into Aiden in the radio station lobby on her first visit there. Aiden awkwardly flirts with her, not knowing who she is, and Lucie immediately finds him attractive. Nevertheless, she begins to go on dates with some of the callers who have expressed interest in her. Lucie’s first date ends in disaster, as the man judges her for being a single parent. Her second date leaves her stranded at a restaurant. After Aiden rushes to her rescue, he and Lucie spend the evening together at a bar. Aiden confides his family history—he avoids talking to his parents because he was traumatized by his mother’s bout with cancer—and his fear of falling in love. The evening grows increasingly flirtatious, and Aiden and Lucie nearly kiss.

The next morning, Lucie discovers Aiden asleep on her couch; she invited him to stay. She is relieved to hear that she did not kiss him when she was drunk. Though they admit to mutual attraction, however, Aiden and Lucie agree to stop flirting, as Lucie is looking for romance and Aiden feels unable to provide it. Lucie therefore goes on a date with a man who is kind and attractive, but he ultimately tells her that it is obvious that she is interested in Aiden, not him. Despite their decision to keep the relationship platonic, Aiden and Lucie begin to have romantic encounters at the radio station soon afterward. They ultimately spend the night together and commit to a casual relationship, Lucie resolving to let go of some of her fantasies and pursue the real rewards of a relationship with Aiden.

Their relative happiness is shattered when Maggie reminds Aiden that Lucie’s stint on the radio show was meant to be temporary. Coupled with Lucie’s initial reluctance to go public with the relationship, this leads Aiden to push her to date a caller—even though she has expressed interest in remaining with Aiden even after her time on the show ends. Aiden insists that he is unworthy of her, but Lucie tells him that he is merely afraid to love someone. She professes her love for him, but she also tells him that she is leaving the show and is ready to talk whenever he is ready to face his feelings. Aiden is crestfallen and calls his father for support, finally accepting the ways his trauma is holding him back in all of his relationships. He also makes amends with Jackson and enlists his help to stage a romantic reunion with Lucie.

Lucie’s boss asks her to drop off Aiden’s car at the radio station. When she arrives, however, Maggie pretends that Aiden is busy with an emergency and pushes Lucie into the radio booth. To Lucie’s surprise, Maya calls and tells her to listen to the next caller. Aiden then comes on the line and apologizes to Lucie for his retreat from her, professing his love and asking for a future together. They kiss in the station parking lot and reunite.

Sometime later, Maya, Lucie, and Aiden have breakfast together in her best friend’s café, which Aiden realizes is the same place Jackson takes him for breakfast. He begins to believe fate had a small role in bringing him to Lucie and is thankful for his new life with her.