Though I’ve had Tessa Bailey books on my TBR for a long time (heck, I even had some loaded up on my e-reader when I went on vacation in October), I haven’t gotten around to reading anything of hers. When I saw that I could get a New Year’s Eve-inspired story of hers on Amazon First Reads, I knew it would be the perfect way to ring in the new year. Happy New Year, everyone!

Adored by all, Britta is an ambitious waitress working at Sluggers. The popular bar holds a special place in her heart and is a regular hangout for the Bridgeport Bandits, the local hockey club. With a half brother on the team, Britta has a strict no-dating policy for hockey boys. But she does have a soft spot for one particular player.

A beast on the ice, Sumner Mayfield is on the brink of breaking into the NHL. But time’s running out. With his work visa about to expire, Sumner’s only chance to stay in Bridgeport is to marry an American—and get a green card. Otherwise, it’s back to Canada for the defenseman.

On New Year’s Eve, the team begs Britta to marry Sumner that very night. Sum is embarrassed yet hopeful—he’s desperately in love. But Britta balks at first. Until something about Sumner’s soulful brown eyes and ripped physique makes her reconsider…

I’m really torn on this one. It was cute and spicy and the perfect length, but I just couldn’t get over the things that were stated as fact that were simply not true—especially as a Canadian who has had a brother navigate the competitive hockey system. Those parts were making me so mad…but if I chose to turn that part of my brain off, it was a fun read. Plus, it’s a really short story, so I’m going to keep my review pretty short, too.

What didn’t work for me

The hockey facts: For one, Sumner is 28. There is no world in which a hockey player who was good enough to be scouted to play in the NHL hadn’t already been scouted by that age. That’s pretty close to retirement. He’s just too old for this all to be happening to him. Plus, he’s Canadian. It’s not like coming to the USA is giving him opportunities he couldn’t get in his own country—it’s basically our national sport. Being deported to Canada where, spoiler alert, there’s a lot of hockey wouldn’t really be a problem. Bailey’s excuse was “there were no spots left on Canadian teams,” which *might* be true, but if he was good enough to play in the NHL, people would have been fighting to get him on their team. I just feel like the whole premise didn’t make sense because of all of this, which made it harder to get into the story.

The cheesy dialogue: The chemistry between the characters was pretty good, but then Sumner would say something *so* cheesy and cringe that it would take me completely out of the story. If there was 75% fewer words said during the sexy scenes, they would have been so much better! Or maybe even if the POV was only Britta’s. I’m not totally sure.

What I liked

The fake marriage: I love a fake marriage trope, even when it’s cheesy and far-fetched. I know the length of the story kept us from getting deeper into their day-to-day lives, but I do wish we got to see some real-life issues the fake marriage caused for them versus just skipping months at a time, which happened here.

The length: Usually novellas are even shorter than this. It was nice that there was a full story here, and I didn’t feel like I was missing anything to complete the story. I kind of think more books should be this length!

2.5 STARS

“It’s just that lately I feel a little left behind. Like everyone is checking off the boxes of life, and my pencil is broken. Or I didn’t bring one to class at all.”—Tessa Bailey, Same Time Next Year