I enjoyed this. It's probably closer to 4.5 stars, but not sure I want to round up. I've read some other reviews and I'm confused as to what people expected. This is a sweet novella, not some serious, non-fiction epic. When you read stories like this, you need to take some of the details with a grain of salt since you're here for the story, not the logistics. Britta and Sumner are great together. He fell first and fast while maintaining a protective friendship with her. She's been hurt(probably needs some therapy, but who doesn't?) and is reluctant to get close to Sumner, despite this HUGE favor she's doing for him. It was sweet to see her brother help give her the extra nudge she needed to be strong and go after what she wants. As always, it's well written and honestly there were times where I wanted to cry for Sumner. And Britta. I recommend.

it was cute and short enough. i mean, nothing life changing. i probably wouldn’t read again, or think about it again. i must ask, what type of name is britta? like add one more t and that’s just brita filter.

anyway, thank you NetGalley and publishers for this arc.

A sweet and sexy romance that begins as a business arrangement but doesn't stay that way. Great characters and storyline.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I started this Novella in the waiting area during the girls dance classes this morning and finished by dinner time. The male lead drew me right into this story and I love a dual POV in a romance. Also, the family drama was very cute.

My favorite quotes:
“With women, problems need to be solved with words. My father taught me that lesson early and reiterated it throughout my life.” -Sumner, Same Time Next Year, Tessa Bailey

“Can you please try to piece together what you’re feeling and communicate it to me?” -Sumner, Same Time Next Year, Tessa Bailey

Read this if you enjoy: fake relationship, marriage of conviction, or hockey romance, and need a quick pick me up read!

🌶️ oh yeah, and the spice level was JUST RIGHT for this story. 🙌

Happy Pub Week @tessabaileyisanauthor!

I received an free digital copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review. Thank you @netgalley & Amazon Original Stories ( @amazonpublishing )

He’s a hot, hockey hunk of a man. She’s sweet, strong and scared of losing the walls she’s built around her heart. Will a marriage of convenience grow into love?

I loved the story and Britta and Sumner. I could not put the book down. Literally consuming this story from Tessa Bailey in one day! At only 109 pages, I was worried that the character development of Britta and Sumner would be lacking or that there would be huge plot holes or gaps in the timeline, but there really wasn’t. The characters were both well developed and while there were some jumps forward in the timeline, they were well documented and didn’t feel as the reader that you were missing time in the plot. I really enjoyed, too, that each chapter changed perspective between Britta and Sumner and seamlessly picked up where the previous chapter left off. I really don’t have any negative comments except to say I’d love to read more of their story!

If you love a good story where he falls first and he falls hard, this one’s for you. Lots of good steamy bits in this as well, for all those of you who enjoy a spicy read! 😜🌶️🥵❤️

It's unbelievable how I loved the first Tessa Bailey book I've ever read, and from there on it just got worse.
I feel thrilled and excited every time she announces a new release, I add them right away to my tbr, and I even wait till I’m sure I really wanna read it… just to end up disappointed every single time. Trust me, I don't wanna complain either, but it's her third book this year alone and now I have to talk about it.

Is the book that bad? Is it her writing? Is it the underskin feeling that this story is addressed to a specific part of the BookTok, while others may just feel like her only concerns were the sex scenes - all from his pov, btw?
That's up to you to decide, what I can say is that it feels off for many reasons.

Besides one of the most unrealistic cliches made in Hollywood - this is not how green cards work at all, and you can't marry someone the day before your expatriation just for staying in that country -, the plot holes were so many in so few pages that I just wonder why don't turn this into a proper book.
Leading the readers during Britta and Sunmer’s romance would have made a big change in the way they acted around each other, and I'm not talking only about the two of them being ALWAYS horny, but also things like picking someone up and putting her in your lap because she’s telling you her sad life story when you don't know her enough to do that.

I’m brutal because I expect something way better from a big name such as hers, and the moment I start acting like an editor is when I drown the line of a book being decent - and it can only go one way from there.
And many of these “issues” were really just editor things that I thought they’d have fixed in the final version: him annoyingly repeating “wife” every two sentences, her just scratching the surface of what happened with her father, they being in their late 20s and her best friends since middle school both already having kids because the author couldn't come up with a better idea, and why - WHY - is this story beginning during a year we haven't even start when she could have set it from New Year’s Eve 2022 and ending it now?!

I wish I could tell you I'm just a hater, and trusting my word or not is up to you, but the reality is that I’m not.
I manifest a lot of unrealizable things every day, so I'm just adding to the list to find another good Tessa Bailey book. In the meantime, I'll have to metaphorically kiss a lot of frogs - aka, I'm gonna read any of her remaining books, so you'll hear from me again.

Thanks to Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley, who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

Well this was certainly a novella written by Tessa Bailey. A quick and easy (and spicy!) sports romance with a marriage of convenience turning into the real thing. Where can I find a Sumner??

Really, really cute novella!

I can't wait for Tessa's new series! I love how patiently Sumner was with Britta and the "guys falls first" trope was *chef kiss*.

It was really enjoyable & fast passed. The spice was on point like always.

If you're looking for a quick read with a marriage of convenience and a brother's teammate trope, I would definitely recommend this one.

Same Time Next Year is based around a fake marriage between Sumner and Britta so Sumner has a chance to get called up to a NHL hockey team in the US.

This is a novella so it’s very short but even so Bailey is able to keep a good pace so we don’t get bored or feel it’s moving too fast. Don’t get me wrong, it is fast paced but we’re getting a year long story in under 150 pages so it has to move a little fast.

This wasn’t my favorite Tessa Bailey book but I still enjoyed it and worth reading if you want a nice quick read.

I was provided with a copy via NetGalley to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the opportunity to read and review an advanced copy of this book.

Cute cover, really wanted to like this, definitely a miss. Would have DNF'd if it wasn't so short to begin with. Completely unrealistic, from the hockey parts to the green card parts to the business ownership parts. Yeah, I get that it's fiction, but I couldn't get past the ridiculous.

This was a very quick read and not my favorite of Tessa Bailey but not a terrible read for a novella if you're looking for short and spicy. The MMC's pining was a little over-the-top at times. The storyline was unrealistic but captivating enough to read this in one sitting.

A short steamy fake marriage novella. I liked the MMC, but felt he was a little too good to be true at some parts. Overall I enjoyed it and finished it in one sitting.

This is a super cute novella! I loved the grumpy/ sunshine vibes and always enjoy a marriage of convenience.

Britta and Sumner were pretty amazing together, and if you like dirty talk and tender words during the spicy scenes, then this is for you. It was funny, lighthearted, and wonderfully sexy!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Imagine slicing a chapter purely about broccoli cheddar soup in between two extremely cringe sex scenes.

If that's what you're into, then wow do I have the book for you.

I can't even coherently collect my thoughts so I think a list will suffice.

- The gasp Canadians collectively gusped when Miss Tessa said poor Sumner couldn't possible have an NHL career in Canada. Like, girl? This isn't even research at this point. It's common sense.

- the cute thing of having a wall full of the same picture of your significant other? It's not cute, it's like serial killer behaviour. Stop.

- I'm no expert on marriage other than the fact that I am married, but don't you think you need a marriage license before getting married legally? Instead of some drunk dude officiating you in a bar??? The night before the poor hockey player is getting deported? Also totally not fishy at all. The government would totally not think it was a marriage of convenience for a green card.

- getting your green card in less than a year is pure fantasy and kind of insulting to people who actually have to go through that process.

- our MMC is grossly possessive, can not go three days without touching himself (the horror!), and honestly is just really creepy !

Anyone who says oh it's fiction don't be so critical...no. This is a story with so many stupid oversights that it completely takes you out of the story. What should have been a fun romance turned into something incredibly difficult to get through. Please. Google is your friend!

Sidenote: "jiggle that pucker" will live rent free on my head forever. Iykyk.

A fun short story. Britta is a waitress with a big crush on Sumner. But Sumner's visa is about to expire and needs to marry an American.

Love the fake marriage. Funny, sweet, sexy and charming! Both characters are terrific. Love them both! Britta is especially wonderful. Love how Sumner is so understanding.

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

I like this novella more than any of her other books....
Marriage of convenience is one of my all time favorite tropes, but the timing carried through the novella clicked with their relationship. The spice was eh-hmmm definitely there ;)

Thank you to NetGalley and Tessa Bailey for this Amazon Original Story in exchange for a review!

Britta has worked at Sluggers since she covered for her mom as a child and it has become the place that the local hockey team, the Bridgeport Bandits, like to spend their time. Britta’s half brother plays for the Bandits so she has a no dating policy with anyone on the team…that is until Sumner Mayfield, the quiet, broody one is about to be sent back to Canada due to his work visa expiring. He is so close to getting called up to the NHL that his only chance at staying in Bridgeport is if Britta agrees to marry him.

When I saw this was an option for my amazon first reads selection, I was thrilled!! I love all of Tessa Bailey’s books for just lighthearted reads that include lots of spice. The attraction between Britta and Sumner is so strong from the first glance in the bar when he helps get people out of her way. When they agreed to just be friends and only friends for this fake marriage, I knew that would never happen. There was lots of spice, but Sumner knew the rules and respected his own boundaries of knowing that it would be more. The way that Britta showed up for him in the end with the same kind of hat that he mentioned his grandmother used to wear had me crying. This was such a sweet but spicy novella.

Tessa Bailey has another hit with this marriage of convenience, slow burn story. Loved this novella and the sweet MMC.

Thanks Net Galley and Amazon Original Stories for the temporary ARC.

Tessa Bailey said she cried and beg to make this as long as it was and I WANTED IT ALLLL! This novella is so cute! Friends to lovers with hockey & a green card agreement. Please and thank you for the spice! I want more from this story! Thank you Tessa Bailey, the publisher, Amazon First reads, and Netgalley for letting me devour this in thirty minutes!

Tessa Bailey meets a bit of Jessa Kane

This book was a fantastic read, it had the perfect length, the perfect level of detail to keep the story going and the perfect level of heat!

It's the story of Britta, a young waitress and Sumner, a hockey player who needs to marry someone in order to get his green card. It helps he has a huge crush on Britta, and Britta needs something he can offer her. Also, a silent crush on him :)

I loved how their story is not rushed, this could have been so easily an insta kind of love, yet it takes a year for Britta to trust fully and offer her love to Sumner. There is as much feeling to this book as it is heat and that is absolutely wonderful! Britta is a lovely character, but Sumner.. he is so attentive and so mature and yet he spots that kind of obsession only Jessa Kane's characters usually displayed.

I read this in one sitting and I couldn't put it down, it was a great read!

I received a copy of this in order to share my view on it.