I think it’s time for me to accept that Tessa Bailey books just aren’t for me. This plot didn’t work for me and there were parts that were just cringy. It was a fast read since it was short, but had it been a full length book I don’t think I would have finished it. Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

I’ve been smitten with hockey romance books since Elle Kennedy and was excited for Tessa Bailey to find ally write one! It was a short and fun read, with hopefully more hockey books to come! Great book right before the holidays.

Same Time Next Year was a fun, sweet novella! I love reading novellas as little 'palette cleansers' between heavier reads, and this one definitely did the trick. Same Time Next Year has a unique premise with some of my favorite romance tropes: forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine, and he falls first. It's also a hockey romance -- need I say more? This one is definitely worth checking out!

"Same Time Next Year" by Tessa Bailey was a fun read.

Overall, the characters were cute, but can I just say... Britta and Sumner? Are those name choices really necessary?

This is my second book by Tessa Bailey, and although I didn't enjoy it as much as my first read, I still enjoyed this cute, fluffy novella.

Tessa Bailey wrote a tropey quick read that made me fill hopeful during a smidge of holiday dpress mode. I'll give Bailey kudos for maybe making me a hockey romance fan. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

Tessa Bailey is Tessa Bailey. She writes a marriage of convenience in a fun short novel. Sumner Mayfield plays hockey for the Bridgeport Bandits with hopes of being called up to the NHL. To avoid being transferred to a less successful team in his home country of Canada his teammates suggest he marry Britta, a local bar worker. Her half brother is his team mate. She agrees. One thing I love is that he is already smitten and totally buys into true love forever, even though he agrees the arrangement is temporary.

One thing that used to shock me with Bailey’s writing is how explicitly she writes. She’s more explicit than I usually read but I know her style now and obviously I still choose to read her. In just under 150 pages there is lusting to dirty talk to intimate acts. I like the characters too. Both the leads have backgrounds that give them differing points of view on love. His family and her brother help fill out the story too. The book includes a couple of time jumps so it isn’t all instant attraction which I like as well. I got what I was expecting and more.

The characters and the writing in this book were cute and decent. That being said, this novella just missed the mark. Clearly no research was done prior to writing this, not even a simple google search. Honestly it’s a mockery of a very broken system and a slap in the face of real families and people struggling for many many years without seeing loved ones and making many sacrifices trying to use the US immigration system. For this novella’s characters to breeze through the process in completely not possible ways and have none of it make sense is honestly gross. For even those trying to use the system in the same manner it is just not possible in these terms. Very disappointed.

It's a cute novella by Tessa Bailey.

It is like typical Tessa to have a strong Alpha Male who protects here woman at all cost. Fave Author.

Tessa Bailey books are right up my alley, so when I saw this one I couldn't help but stop everything and dive in. My only complaint is that I read it too fast. Sumner is literally the ultimate nice guy and swoon worthy. Such a great read!

Super quick and slow building steamy novella from Tessa Bailey featuring a marriage of convenience between Britta and Sumner. Sumner needs to get married to get a green card to stay and continue playing hockey and Britta is a commitment phobic but has a soft spot for Sumner and agrees. Their start is unconventional but Sumner is already head over heels for Britta but he knows it will take a lot of patience before her walls come down.


Thank you @tessabaileyisanauthor , publishers and netgalley for this eARC!

I have to be honest and say I struggled with this one. I’m a huge Tessa Bailey fan, but this one just didn’t cut it.

Everything happened too fast. I know this is a novella and only has 10 chapters, but based on the plot this could have been a full-length novel.

Things I wasn’t a fan of:
1. There were too many time jumps. It is supposed to be spread over a year, but jumping from December to March and at other times it was just a bit weird.
2. I did not feel any chemistry between Sum and Britta. He was super infatuated by her, but it all seemed physical. I wanted to know what about her personality he was attracted to. This is why I only believed this was lust and not love.
3. The whole Green Card plot took a back seat. There were interviews and Britta and Sum hung out to get to know each other but we rarely saw this.
4. The I Love You came too soon.

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley and Amazon for the chance to read Tessa Bailey's spirited novella, Same Time Next Year.
Not to give anything away, but the two main squeezes get married. Only it's not a spoiler because it happens early on in an arranged marriage, so that Sumner a hockey buff can keep his green card status until he gets picked up for the NHL.
Do marriages like that actually happen? I'm genuinely curious. Because while at times this story felt a bit far-fetched, it also felt charming and romantic. The spice was strong. The characters were loveable. And overall, it made a fun read.

What a crazy, short ride!

Let's start with the positives. If you take this book for what it is (a novella), then it's pretty decent. It's a short, decently paced novella with minimum stakes. This book reminded me of the movie "The Proposal" for some reason. Enjoyment wise, it was a fun little read. It didn't take too much out of me to read this, and it was a nice read after having being in a reading slump.

Now if I were to be picky and overly critical, one issue I have with Tessa Bailey novellas is that they tend to present these difficult topics (heavy/serious) that don't get handled or dealt with in the right fashion. This book was no exception. The main character had familial trauma that felt like it was thrown out there for the only purpose as serving as a personality trait instead of being the actual trauma it was. It was such a complex issue too, and I felt like it was never resolved or actually dealt with. And I, personally, feel that if you're writing a short and spicy novella, like this one, that maybe there should be more consideration for the topics covered, especially if they are not going to be elaborated on.

Overall, though, I enjoyed the book if I take a step back and remember that it's just a simple novella. This book was not meant to have complex themes and a revolutionary plot. It's a good read if you're looking for something short, sweet and not overly complicated.

Overall Rating: 4/5

“Same Time Next Year” by Tessa Bailey is an Amazon Original novella that has much of the author’s signature qualities in a short, holiday format.

The picture is misleading, as is the book summary to a certain extent. American Britta does marry Canadian Sumner to ensure he is not deported while playing minor league hockey looking to make it pro.

The story is told over the course of a year – from 2023 New Year’s Eve to 2024. The marriage of convenience takes quite some time before it comes to fruition (if you know what I mean ... and I meant sex if you didn’t know what I meant). When the spice hits, it’s classic Bailey – lots of dirty talk and boinking against a wall.

The only thing I wasn’t crazy about is something I take issue with many romance novels – the “swearing off love / marriage” character. I find the need to pathologize characters strange; a reader needs more than superficial sketches, and motivations or actions need to be consistent with that person (or deliciously contradictory, when the grump/violent person is only nice to the love of his life).

However, sometimes I find the need to provide backstory and explanation a bit unnecessary and eye-rolling; like, how all remakes of the Grinch need to explain Grinch doesn’t like Christmas because he’s an abandoned orphan.

In this novella, Birtta’s family breakdown as a youngster fuels her inability to trust intimate partners. I mean, fine, I acknowledge seminal moments in our childhood shape us, but the author seemed to lean into this a bit too much for me (she won’t even get it on with her husband for months because she might catch the feels!). I was impatient for the heart-growing-three-sizes revelation everyone knows is going to happen.

Anyway, this was a cute romance read. Entertaining, light, short. Perfect if you’ve got commitment issues when it comes to what you want to read this month. 3.5/5

I feel like I'm in the minority here, but I absolutely loved this fake marriage, hockey romance novella. It was so freaking cute. I loved the MMC and FMC, and their slow burn romance. I will listen to no criticism, thank you. 🤣

This isn't my first Tessa Bailey book, but the ones I have read have been few and far between. So I can't really remember if this is her typical style. Whoo, was it spicy though! Choosing to read this in a crowded hospital waiting room was not my best decision.

I know that things have to move really fast in romance novellas, so I appreciated the fact that the plot for this one spanned a full year and didn't come off as insta-lust. The premise was interesting, with the male MC being the more romantic and family oriented partner in the relationship. It starts off very sweet...loved the soup scene! Then the smut hits, and it brings to mind dark mafia romance. It felt very incongruous and didn't really work for me. And seriously, why with all the spitting?😖

Which brings me to my dilemna. Did I hate it? No. So, in the spirit of the holiday season, I'm going to round this one up to a 3⭐️.

Big fat thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for setting this novella up for immediate reading in the platform for ARC readers 💕

My rating: 4⭐
Read this if you like:
- Fake marriage
- Sports romance
- Slow burn🔥
- Steamy!!
- He falls first

My review:
Okay, so this novella was everything I was hoping for: Big ice hockey player with a filthy mouth is head over heels about the hyper-independent FMC needs her to marry him so he doesn't get deported.

Was it borderline ridiculous? Yes.
But was it fun, light and spicy enough for me to enjoy every word? Yup, yup, yup.

I totally recommend this one if you're looking for a spicy, quick paced palate cleanser.

If you ever were to read a novella, this is the one to get your hands on!

“Same Time Next Year” follows Sumner, a hockey player on the brink of breaking into the NHL. With Sumner’s work visa about to expire, his only chance to stay in America and achieve his dream of going pro is to get a green card. Enter Britta, an ambitious waitress looking to become a part owner of the bar she works at. In exchange for the money she needs, Britta reluctantly agrees to marry Sumner, but the closer they become in preparation for their green card interview, the harder it is for them to keep their relationship solely contractual.

Novellas can be challenging to write because they are shorter than novels, yet longer than short stories (typically being anywhere from 70 to 160 pages), but Tessa Bailey navigates the constraints beautifully. She tracks her characters’ fake marriage across the span of a year, cleverly homing in on specific moments in time that are sure to hold the attention of readers and further invest them in the development of Britta and Sumner’s relationship—like when Sumner insists on accompany Britta to a concert or when they went to their first family gathering as a “couple”. Bailey also perfectly balances steamier scenes with more wholesome moments.

By the time I got to the end, I wanted more, not because I was left unsatisfied (a feeling I often experience when reading novellas due to their brevity), but because I genuinely fell in love with the characters and their story. I thoroughly enjoyed this little taste of what is to come in Bailey’s sports series and cannot wait for them to hit shelves!

Believe me when I say that I absolutely don't want to say this, but I hated this. If it weren't for the fact that it's just a novella and not a second longer I would have totally DNF'd this. I just absolutely could not stand our male main character. Almost everything he said was just a massive ick to me. He grossed me out so much. I also wasn't really that sold on the romance. The female main character just kind of felt forced into it, to me. So yeah, this really wasn't my thing.

This was my first read by Tessa Bailey, and I really enjoyed it! I liked Sumner from the beginning! There were a few cringe moments that seemed cheesy to me, but I’m sure they won’t bother other readers! I love happily ever after books with a little spice, and this was perfect.