Review by bookcheshirecat - First-Time Caller

bookcheshirecat 's review for:

First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison

2.0

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

“I want to feel something when I connect with someone. I want sparks. The good kind, you know? I want to laugh and mean it. I want goose bumps. I want to wonder what my date is thinking about and hope it might be me. I want…I want the magic.”

➽ I really enjoyed Lovelight Farms, but the author's new series sadly turned out to be a disappointment. I was so excited for First-Time Caller and didn't expect it to be such a miss for me. I still love B.K. Borison's writing style, but the story wasn't nearly as good as Lovelight Farms. First-Time Caller follows Lucy, whose daughter calls into the local radio station because she's afraid her mom is lonely. Radio host Aiden Valentine jumps at the opportunity, as his views have been dropping and Lucy's love life might be the thing to get his show popular again. She agrees to join his show and seek out love, but quickly sparks between them fly on and off the air.

➽ I liked the segments of the radio show and Lucy, but that was about it. The general idea for the story was good and Lucy was a solid protagonist. I emphasized with her, as she became a mom very early in her life and has dedicated her life to her daughter ever since. She lives close to the father, Grayson and his husband, so it was nice to see their non-traditional family. There's no bad blood between them and Lucy and Grayson know they're better off as friends. I was rooting for Lucy, though I didn't like how her not dating was being equated to her needing to date someone. I think she deserved much better than her lacklustre Romance with Aiden.

➽ I was also mad at how Grayson acted overprotective and possessive when it came to Lucy. The first thing he does is berate and guilt-trip her for talking to Aiden during the first show (even though it wasn't her idea). I hated how he acted entitled to know everything about her and was mad she didn't 'open up to him'. The narrative was trying to frame it as him being concerned, but it felt so icky to me. He also crosses boundaries by showing up at Lucy's house uninvited. Just because they live next door doesn't give him the right to do as he pleases. Lucy was clearly embarrassed by him at times.

➽ The romance was the main flop of this book. Aiden and Lucy had zero compatibility, but the story tries to make it seem like they'll work out in the end. Aiden's emotionally unavailable the entire book and clearly not the stable, dedicated partner Lucy deserves. His background story felt shallow and was used as an excuse for his behavior. I love a flawed character, but Aiden wasn't well-developed. That's why him avoiding his mother, who had Cancer a lot when he was growing up, came across as a cowardly, selfish move. I also hated how jealous he got when Lucy had other dates. I think making Lucy seek dates on the radio station wasn't a good plot, as it brought out the worst in Aiden. He acts SO unprofessional on air, e.g. constantly cutting off callers, calling them by wrong names and generally sabotaging Lucy's attempts to find someone. The longer this went on, the more I started to dislike Aiden.

➽ In the end, I didn't believe Aiden and Lucy were a good couple. The book didn't show Aiden changing throughout the story, but made him suddenly have an epiphany in the very end, just so he'd look like he'd grown. Even their third-act confrontation showed that Lucy's the emotionally mature one, who's actually interested in talking it out. Aiden acts like a giant, jealous manchild and didn't grovel nearly enough in the end. It was also disappointing that he never once tried to have a relationship with Lucy's daughter.

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