A super fun hockey romance! I liked the story concept a lot and almost wish it had been a full book instead of a novella so it could have been fleshed out a little more.

Britta doesn't believe in marriage and happily ever afters. Her father left to be with his other family when she was just a child and she witnessed how it destroyed her mother. She grew up in the bar her mother worked at and eventually took a job there herself. Sluggers bar has become her safe space and also a hangout for her brother's local hockey team. On New Year's Eve, the whole team is begging for a favor... marry their superstar teammate Sumner for a green card so he doesn't get deported before getting his shot at the NHL. She really wants the money he's offering to buy her partnership in the bar, but the man is already obsessed with her and she's afraid he'll expect more. They make it a business arrangement for one year, no feelings. But as the deadline approaches and Britta falls for her fake husband, will a year be enough?
For a sweet shy guy, Sumner can sure take charge when it counts! I loved seeing his side of the story and how he fell so hard so fast for his wife. Poor guy was tiptoeing on eggshells not to move too fast and scare her off lol! Even though this was a novella, I didn't feel like the story was rushed at all.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was short, sweet and SPICY!! Such a great fast read, kept me hooked right from the first chapter! Highly recommend but unless you have a poker face, don’t read it in public ;)

Thank you to NetGalley for an early read of this book. All thoughts are my own, I don’t accept money for reviews.

Y’ALL, THIS BOOK HAS NO BUSINESS BEING THIS GOOD FOR IT TO ONLY BE A NOVELLA. When I tell you this book has solved the slump I was falling into I’m serious. I wasn’t vibing with the other book I was reading, and this was what I needed.

The only fault I have with this book is its short. I’m aware it’s a novella, but I want more. While I don’t have a problem with how short it is, I do feel like some people might not vibe with it. It might feel a bit insta-lovey, and while some of the interactions come out of left field, I had no problem with it. I was in the mood for a quick read and a love story, and I got exactly that.

Now, don’t let me fool you, this book has some SPICE. I was legitimately sweating while reading those scenes, and I have full on read spice across the room from my grandmother with no reaction. It’s probably because with how short the book is that she had to pack a punch, but it does not disappoint.

Brothers teammate, forced proximity, he falls first and HARD, she’s a bartender, family trauma, rushed wedding, marriage for green card, he calls her sweetheart, Canadian, hockey romance, one year timeline

As surprising as it may be, this is my first ever TB book and jury is still out on how I’m feeling. It was short and spicy, as it is only a novella. I really did like Britta but Sumner wasn’t exactly my type and some of the things he said left me cringing. Overall, I can see myself giving TB another go!

Tessa Bailey had NO BUSINESS WRITING ONE OF THE BEST ROMANCES IN NOVELLA FORM. LIKE HOW??

This hockey romance, brother’s best friend, marriage of convienence, commitment-phone meets commitment hungry trope full romance might be the sweetest and spiciest of Tessa’s books and I cannot stop thinking about it.

BRB off to reread it asap

Thanks NetGalley and Amazon for an advanced copy of this novella.
This was my first Tessa Bailey read and boy was it spicy! A quick and easy hot read about a fake marriage for Greencard arrangement purposes between 2 people who basically already have the hots for eacother. What ensues is a mixture of very well executed spicy talk and activities with love and romance vibes. Sure to get you hot and bothered in the best way possible. iIt's been a great entry into Tessa Bailey's work and I won't hesitate to grab another in future.

A quick and steamy novella! This was the perfect amount of humor and spice to keep me out of a reading slump.

A marriage of convenience to attain a green card leads to strengthening a friendship that can't lead to more.

I love Sumner's character and honesty. He's a genuine book boyfriend and I love every moment he's on page, especially his patience with Britta and her past issues with relationships.

All the steam that Tessa is known for, but the characters that will stick with you for days to follow.

I really don't know how to start with this review, only that I am surprised to say I almost DNF'd this story, and the only reason I didn't 🚫💔 is because I was so excited to get this because: Tessa Bailey + Hockey Romance and I have to sadly say I really didn't like it. 😕

If you take these tropes and put them together in a story, you think you will hit a jackpot 🎰💰, but the writing felt so bad, it was rushed, at some times the dialogue reminded me of a Mexican Telenovela 🇲🇽📺, those dramatic ones I saw as a kid in Mexico, and it got to a point where I couldn't believe this was Tessa's writing.

It pains me to say this, because I am all about Tessa Bailey, but this book left me hanging completely and I don't even want to rate it, I am sorry. 😢📚

This marriage of convenience was delicious! We have a gentle giant Ball player who falls in love with the half sister of one of the team mates. It’s a slow burn that burns and the dual pov made the book even better

With a premise similar to The Proposal, Same Time Next Year was a cute and smutty romance novella featuring an amateur Canadian hockey player about to lose his work visa and a bar manager who is the sister of one of his teammates in Connecticut. Sumner is definitely smitten for Britta (maybe a little obsessed) and convinces her to marry him so he can get a green card, stay in the country, and keep trying to get called up to the NHL. Overall, I'm excited that Tessa Bailey is starting to write sports romances. I wasn't 100% on this one, it was a little cringy at times. But I'm excited to see what she does with a full-length sports romance novel. Thank you to Amazon and NetGalley for the chance to read this novella.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

I liked it but not enough to really get past the super cringey dirty talk, and the fact that in my head every time I read her name I thought of a Brita pitcher for some reason… Overall, it’s a cute enough novella but I don’t think I’m really a Tessa Bailey fan anymore.

I guess I’d recommend since it’s quick.

This was a quick and fun read but nothing to memorable. Basically the whole plot was the MMC being overly obsessed with the FMC to the point that it was almost concerning!

In this novella, bartender Britta agrees to a marriage of convenience with Canadian hockey player Sumner (who she knows has a huge crush on her) so he can get his green card and continue to play for the local team.

I'll keep the review as short and sweet as the book. The story had a fun premise and somewhat likable characters. However, I did not like the possessive-aggressive-alpha-male tendencies or painfully cringey smut, and the lackadaisical green card plot line was an insult to the immigration process.

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories for gifting me with an ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

I just didn’t like this story. It ultimately comes down to I didn’t like Britta who is the main character within this story and her love interest, Sumner, truthfully wasn’t any better. She couldn’t let go of her past and he, though multiple times said he would respect her boundaries, never did. It felt so beyond fictitious for a story set in a modern day setting that, for me, just didn’t work. Really had high hopes but it just didn’t live up to the hype for me.

2 stars - This book was okay. It did not have too much plot but that is not surprising since it is a novella. Sumner, the MMC, plays hockey and his work visa is expiring so he asks his teammate's half-sister Britta to marry him for a green card. There were so many questions I had when I was reading this. Why did the hockey team he was playing for not help him with his visa? Why could he not sign with a hockey team in Canada? Why did they never move in together if they pretended to be married? I get that he put his name on the bills and had this mail directed to her house but why did immigration not question the fact that he had another residence? Not even going to touch upon the whole green card issue.

This was a fun and steamy novel from the queen of sexy romance, Tessa Bailey. Britta has trust issues and has plans never to giver her heart to a relationship. Sumner is a hockey player who has been pining for Britta for the last year. He's about to lose his green card unless he can get married. This is the set up for this slow burn novella that takes place over the course of a year. While they might be fantasizing about each other, they take their time getting to know each other. I enjoyed the progression of their relationship and getting to know both of them. It was an enjoyable read.

Thanks to the publisher for sharing a copy. All opinions are my own.

Tessa does it again! This time it's a spicy hockey romance! Great characters, great chemistry, great spice! My only compaint is that it's too short;) Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

trust me when I say that I'm not a huge steamy books fan but this is so good!
it made me feel a certain way while reading it and although it is just a novella the story is complete.
also, the reassurance coming from the MMC is chef's kiss.

this was fine.

i would definitely recommend other works by this author before ever mentioning this one - but it’s not a bad story.


it’s extremely and too heavily focused on the sex moments and the too often described heavenly „tits“ of the female POV or the constant mentioned of the thick bulging veined arms of the huge large big 6.5 feet tall male POV…. it was a bit too heavy handed.


personally i think this would have been a cute story in itself - a sports player needing a green card to finally be able to go pro and needs someone to marry (has been done a lot before nothing bad about a popular trope!) and the sister of other player in the team make it work together and fall in love along the way.
could have even included -hopefully less cringy- sex scenes BUT the hyper focus on mentioning all the sexual attributes while also always mentioning the female POVs personal struggles to commit to a relationship…. it was too much with too little and at the same time too long for what this story did.


overall it’s okay but it isn’t a great read and i know this author can do better and had done better.

do with that what you will!