While this was a quick read and somewhat interesting, it wasn't my favorite Tessa Bailey book. I also was under the wrong impression that it was a full-length novel rather than a novella, which could lend to the lack of details and development. Overall, it was cute and enjoyable, just not my fave.

Tessa bailey is a hit or miss author for me, and just like the other books she released recently this was a miss. This was just so cringy and completely unrealistic. I’m sad to say, but I feel like lately her books have lost their appeal to me.

3.5 ⭐️

Here is the thing… if you go into this looking for details and research 🧐 you’re going to hate it. This is not a literary masterpiece (And I mean that with the upmost respect to Ms. Bailey) It’s not even well researched. If you stop to think about the details while you are reading it you are going to get annoyed. Of course green cards don’t work that way and I think the extent of the hockey 🏒 knowledge might come from watching a single game.

So if you can’t suspend your disbelief and get caught up in the vibes, stop reading. If you try to read this in less than one sitting and you have time to think about the plot holes, it will probably bother you as well.

BUT THE VIBES

This book has love stuck golden retriever vibes and they work for me. Someone is in these reviews pointing out that the word wife is used 145 times. They thought about it too much, you had to feel it. You had to feel the vibe of someone who thought they would hate that realize it’s creating an all together different feeling. The vibes are golden. Read this for vibes and vibes alone with some spice. 🌶️

Vibes > Logic

This was such a super cute short read.
Sumner is a hockey player from Canada and if he doesn’t get married, he will be sent back to Canada.
Britta doesn’t believe in relationships but agrees to marry Sumner.
This is the story of them falling in love.
So cute!!

3.5/5 rounded up

Thank you Amazon Original Stories for the advanced reading copy!

Everyone knows Sluggers' most adored bartender, Britta, but no one adores her quite like the Bridgeport Bandits hockey team. With her half-brother being on the team and a traumatic history of trust being broken, Britta maintains a strict no-dating policy with the team members. But what she never thought to have, however, was a strict no-marriage policy. When her lowkey favorite member of the team, Sumner Mayfield, is about to be deported back to Canada, only inches away from his NHL dreams, Britta is forced to acknowledge her soft spot for Sumner and help him out in the only way she can...

This was a super quick, cute and steamy novella! It felt a little bit rushed to me but that might be because 1) novella -- naturally short and 2) I wanted more of Britta and Sumner! Despite this book being short, I fell so in love with these characters. The way they interacted, their banter and their character/relationship development was great for such a short book, and I was surprised when I got emotionally invested in them (even shedding a tear or two)! I think this could have been a 4-5 star book easily had it had more plot and content, but I loved it for what it was, and highly recommend if you need a quick burst of spice in your life.

never have i ever met a tessa bailey book i didn't devour and squeal over like a lovesick teenager (note to parents: these books are NOT for lovesick teenagers).

UGH BRITTA.

tessa baileys books are always a hit or miss for me. i was really excited to see where this one fell.

this novella was short and sweet and a good book to kick off the new year with! the writing felt different from Tessa’s previous work which i enjoyed.

i would recommend this to people looking for a cute hockey novella/ fans of marriage of convenience.

overall this was a cute book but not one i would pick up again.

thank you to netgalley and amazon original stories for an e-arc of this book!

This was a cute spicy novella.

The story was solid and I loved how Sumner was so persistent in getting Britta to fall for him but he wasn’t ever intrusive about it and respected her boundaries.

Towards the end the cheesiness kinda went up though. So that wasn’t my fav.

Excited to check out more books from Tessa Bailey

Adorable. Spicy. Wish it had been a full length novel! Britta marries her brother’s hockey teammate who needs a green card. It is purely meant to be a marriage of convenience, but it doesn’t stay that way.

Sumner was an adorable book boyfriend, and enjoyed his wholesome family vibe. Britta’s character development was also pretty heartwarming.

What to expect:

- novella
- marriage of convenience
- he falls first
- very spicy

Cute story, you just have to not focus on the hockey inaccuracies as you read. Hockey fans will know that the main man would be about to age out of hockey not age in for his big break at that age. And having to return to Canada and worry about not getting a shot in NHL there that he would get in US is off because hockey is huge in Canada. But over look types of obvious issues the book was cute.

I loved some books by Tessa Bailey but this one is unfortunately not one of them. It is a novella so it was a quick read but I did not like the characters. The smut was not my taste and I feel like the author did not really know what she was writing about. I am so sorry to say it but I actually think this is one of the worst books I read in a while.

I expected so much better from Tessa Bailey but this was not for me. It was a quick read but it wasn’t the fun smut I was expecting. I only finished it because it was a novella so it didn’t take me long. The sex made me physically cringe. Sumner constantly calling Britta wife during sex was too much and some of the dirty talk or descriptions were just a turn off. So damn cringey

I know it’s a novella so there’s a limit on how much can be covered but there are a lot of time jumps so everything felt underdeveloped. This meant I didn’t really love either main character. My final gripe is if the whole premise of your book is hockey and visa’s maybe do some research because that is definitely not how green cards work. I’m also pretty sure Canada is the birthplace of ice hockey so I don’t understand why going back would kill his career.

I received a copy of the ebook via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This was a cute, quick spicy read to start the new year!

Read if you like:
•hockey romance
•brother’s friend/teammate
•he falls first
•marriage of convenience
•golden retriever MMC

Tessa Bailey is one of my favorite authors and the cover just brings a smile to your face.

This was a cute story and to have a Hockey player setting who doesn't like that. Surprised me that this was a novella but either way i would have read it because Tessa Bailey always writes a great novel.

The Character build was good but would have loved to see more. Will read anything that the author writes.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Very fast paced story! I would have loved for it to be even longer. Tessa Bailey is an awesome author that knows how to keep you hanging onto every word of the story.

This was....no bueno...Tessa I love your books, but this...brutal. It was unrealistic, and just so cringy every step of the way. These are some of the quotes another reviewer used, and I have to agree with them...they're bad.

“you’re the only one i’ll ever give it to, tight girl.”

“creamy wife pussy”

“let me slide my hands into those panties and play with something tight.”

“my middle finger slides down between the cheeks of her ass and jiggles that pucker.”

“ohhhh my god!” she shakes like a washing machine on the spin cycle.

Tessa Bailey adds heart into every story, even the short ones. I absolutely loved these characters. Sumner is such a softie. I definitely got emotional in this book.

I didn’t get as much character development and back story as I would have liked. I would have enjoyed seeing Britta confront her father or at least see her point of view of the game. However, that’s novellas for you.

The “wife” and “husband” nickname is bed wasn’t for me personally.

A marriage of conviniente that would only last a year, but time became their friend as true feelings come to fruition.

I have read Tessa Bailey books before. I read her books before she became the Tessa Bailey writer that everyone knows. And I am missing out with her new ones. I could definitely see thee improvement on how she writes her plot and even just the way her characters dialogues and flow. I am so impressed.

The only thing I disliked about this book is it's too short! I want more of the two characters! I want more Sumner that does his best to make her love him while respecting her feelings and more Britta that wants to stay true to her decisions but continuesly sees that it's okay to change. It's just so good! And the slow burn for a novella like this was done so well.

Additionally, props to Tessa for writing something she has experience with. l am an immigrant that had to apply for citizenship. And the process was so true even though there wasn't a lot of it in the novella But it's just comforting to read. I loved that she wrote about her experience with her husband!

Overall, this novella was amazing! This made me realize that I'm missing out on Tessa Bailey novels and she deserves th success she has gained now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon for providing this ARC.

This was a cute story, with an awesome cinnamon roll, hockey player hero, Sumner. He and Britta, aspiring bar owner, had great chemistry, and the spice was well done.

The story takes place over the course of one year, New Year's Eve to the following New Year's Eve. I thought the time jumps worked well for a novella format, but honestly, I would have read this as a full novel, to see more in the gaps of Sumner and Britta's relationship progressing. Also, I wanted to see more with the Bandits teammates, Sumner's family, and Britta's dad.

As it stands, this was an enjoyable and fast read with lovable characters.

Britta, a bartender at a local sports bar, isn't interested in relationships and definitely isn't looking to fall in love. Enter Sumner, the Canadian hockey player who has been in love with Britta since the first time they met. The only problem is, Sumner is in danger of being sent back to Canada and missing out on his dream of becoming a professional hockey player (and dating Britta) unless he can secure a green card. Britta agrees to marry Sumner and be his fake wife for a year, but is adamant that this will not be anything other than a business arrangement. Can Sumner convince Britta that they can be so much more than just a fake marriage?

Same Time Next Year was a classic Tessa Bailey story, full of lots of spice with characters that you love to root for. She is one of my favorite authors, and this book did not disappoint. Sometimes novellas can come off as underdeveloped due to their short length, but I absolutely did not think that was the case here. I was very invested in the characters (and the tension between them) and it kept me wanting to read to the end to see how their story would pan out. I think this book would be perfect for anyone looking for a fast-paced spicy hockey romance novella.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!