Story 🌟🌟🌟
When is it my turn to marry a hockey player so he gets a green card?
Why can’t my half brother be a hockey player with a team full of wild players and one sweet guy that is obviously in love with me?
Damn, life is unfair.

What did I like? The woman being the one that’s afraid of commitment and the man being the one head over heels.

What I didn’t like? The cliche at the end (hopefully you know what I mean, when you read it).

Characters 🌟🌟🌟
Britta is a tough cookie that sees an opportunity when it’s offered to her.
A (fake) marriage for 50k, so she can be owner of her favorite bar?
Yes.
But sadly as badqss as she was in the beginning, she lost her badassness (is that a word?) in the end (my opinion).
Sumner (who I called summer in my head, because that was the first time I heard of a name like that) was a sweet cookie who started as a respectful sweet gentleman only to tell his fake wife she has great tits and to be a horny ball the rest of the book.

Relationship 🌟🌟🌟
I’m definitely a sucker for „he falls first“ but sadly not a fan of „she does anything for him“ like upend her life etc.
I liked how protective he was of her and how open he was (sharing location etc).
I’m always completely baffled when there’s this crazy change between super sweet and spicy spicy scenes. Like, can you make a softer transition, please.

Writing 🌟🌟🌟
Tessa Bailey is a well known author of spicy romance books and even though I love the romance parts of her books, I’m sometimes rather unsure if I like the spicy parts.
(But that’s just me)
Still, it was entertaining and exactly what I needed right now (hockey romance with spice).

This book was so light hearted and fun! Even though it was a short novella, I thought it was perfectly paced and well thought out. The MMC was kind and caring and the FMC was guarded but you got to watch her open up her heart to a once in a lifetime love.

I love the author's books, she's probably one of my top 5 contemporary romance writers out there. This was a great, quick read for what it was. Lots of fun times with a little bit of plot revolving around a marriage of convenience. Definitely a quick, fun book for a day at the beach.

I’m usually a big fan of Tessa Bailey’s books, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I liked the premise, but the characters didn’t feel fully connected. If it had been a full-length novel instead of a short story, maybe she would’ve had more space to develop their relationship, just kinda fell flat for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy of Same Time Next Year by Tessa Bailey in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I've been a huge Tessa Bailey fan for quite a while now and was beyond excited` to be approved to read this ahead of my friends and family. What a huge let down. This book absolutely was a big disappointment which made me really sad. I hope she goes back to her old way of writing in the future.

I am usually a fan of Tessa Bailey’s books, but the story kind of fell flat for me. I enjoyed the premise but the characters lacked connection. If it was a traditional novel and not a short story, made she would have been able to build out their story more.

I really liked Sumner as a character and could definitely add him to my list of Tessa Bailey book boyfriends. However, I found that Britta lacked depth as a character which I think is mainly due to how short the story was. I enjoyed that there were spicy chapters but there was still a significant plot line which can be hard to do in shorter stories.

This was my first book of 2024- i felt that I needed to read it on new year's.
To tell you the truth, it made it feel more real.
When a book is set on a certain date, I can't help but only want to read it then and only then.

This was a brilliant novella from Bailey which combined her superb ability to create a fully fledged romance in the space of only a few pages. But despite its limits it had passion in a million ways from the taboo of a somewhat forbidden love (her not dating there), a marriage of convenience, plus a slightly posessive guy there is little else you want from a romance.

It seems with each Tessa Bailey book that I consume it leaves me hungry for more and that is still the case.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from #netgalley , thank you. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book is straight-up fire—packed with sizzling chemistry, emotional rollercoasters, and steamy moments that will have you melting. Britta and Sumner are the ultimate couple, serving up a love story that's hot, complicated, and utterly irresistible. The he falls first trope? The fake marriage trope? The healing and growth Britta goes through? Chef's kiss. This one’s got the perfect mix of passion and feels and the amazing spice that Tessa is known for. So grab your cozy blanket, get comfy, and let the heat and heart of this book take over!

With all of the Christmas books around, it's fun to have a book centered on New Year's Eve. Tessa Bailey is a fun writer, and this is a fun novella.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

Same Time Next Year is not the typical type of book that I read. It was over the top spicy for me.

This is the story of Britta and Sumner. Britta marries Sumner so he can get his green card and continue to play hockey in the US. The two are attracted to each other from the beginning but finally connect (and wow, do they connect) after a few months of being married.

The story was far fetched but had some cute elements (at the times when it wasn’t overly graphic).

What a short, sweet, and steamy novella! It’s a book that can be easily read in one sitting. It can be a little over the top and cheesy at times, but I love that in a holiday novella!

Such a fun and spicy novella for those who love hockey romance with a little (or a lot of) spice on the side! I love a good sports romance, and nothing’s any better than a good hockey romance. Add in that this is a marriage of convenience, and I’m hooked!

I actually enjoy the fake dating/marriage trope but sadly this book was not for me. Personal preference I guess but I found the inner monologue of both main characters, but especially Sumner, to be super cringe. See one of many examples below.

"𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦? 𝘈𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘉𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵, 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘢 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩."

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for providing me a digital reviewer copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

2.5

I was looking for something short and steamy as a palate cleanser between books and this did the trick.

Nothing really special unless you like men with serial killer vibes, women with serious trust issues, and some of the cringiest lines during sex scenes.

Enjoyable, lighthearted Tessa Bailey. As I’ve read a lot of her books, this one was cute but not my favorite.

this one was cheesy and very lighthearted!! sometimes we just read books for the vibes, this is one of those books. there is no substance to this story and the elements are rather inaccurate. if you ignore the inaccuracies, this makes for a quick and adorable read. i gave 2 stars because i couldn’t stand the fmc at all. sometimes the mmc made me cringe. overall, i’d recommend this to anyone looking for something short and easy.

I had a great time reading this novella! It was a good read with plenty of spice and dirty talk ;)
Tessa's writing style is always enjoyable and easy to get through!

Their relationship was cute and sweet! I absolutely loved Sumner and his pining for the FMC. He was also obsessed with her, which was sooooo good! Britta wasn't my favorite, but I had a good time seeing her feelings for Sunner develop throughout.

All in all, a quick and easy read! Thanks to Netgalley and Amazon Original Stories for an advanced reader copy!

This was a very enjoyable and cute novella and I kind of wish it were a full length novel. I loved the setting, characters, and plot.

Same time next year by Tessa Bailey

I really enjoyed this holiday novella.
It was quick, short and sweet. Funny.

I was happy to read about a hockey player's romance.

If you want a spicy New years Eve novella this one is for you.

Recommended 4***