Tessa BaileyCritiques

Same Time Next Year

I Picked Up This Book Because: Looking for a short read.

Media Type: eBook
Source: Amazon Prime Reading
Dates Read: 5/14/24 - 5/16/24
Rating: 4 Stars

The Characters:

Britta:
Sumner:

The Story:
A quick, cute tale about love that is not as unrequited as we think. Britta and Sumner have brilliant chemistry and I always forget what filthy mouths Ms. Bailey’s heroes have. 🥵

Stella is an ex-convict that has been gifted her dream opportunity as a window dresser. Though Stella had been in prison for four years and only released a month ago, her focus shifts with amazing ease from re-establishing the life put on hold to romance with her boss. It’s very on par for a rom-com, so don’t expect too much out of it. Since this revealed pretty early on Stella’s criminal history, there was potential to explore re-entry and the challenges of it. It’s hinted at but not explored in depth. Although it takes place during Christmas, it’s not very Christmasy.

That being said, it was a cute and very quick read. I powered through it in a day. For something lightweight with no expectations, this fits the bill. Stella and Aiden are cute enough together to make you root for them.

I'd give it 0 if possible

Awful, and I love cliche chick lit. Just terrible in all ways. And the sex scenes were just cringeworthy. I would pay this author money to never write again.

Hannah Bellinger and Fox Thornton have been texting almost daily since she left the small fishing village of Westport, Washington to return to her day job as a production assistant for a small film company in LA. The two have become unlikely close friends and so when Hannah comes back to Westport, this time to work on a film, she's more than happy to stay with Fox as her sister's guest room is full with other family. Being in close proximity again, however, highlights that Hannah and Fox's friendship might be more than that. But Fox's baggage from a lifetime being seen as the town's lady's man may be more than their fledgling romance can take.

Browsing my local library's romance section, I picked this one up on a whim to sample Tessa Bailey's writing. While I'd definitely give another of her books a try, this one didn't quite win me over. Friends to lovers is one of my favourite tropes and while that territory often comes with a bit of angst, this one was VERY angst heavy. Fox spends a LOT of time feeling unworthy of Hannah because of his reputation, which is fair as character trait, but didn't make for particularly fun reading. And there's a bunch of waffling about whether they should get together at all. There were some funny moments and Bailey's writing is decent, which is what kept me sticking with the book to the end. However, the epilogue was pretty saccharine, even for someone who loves a sappy happy ending. Ultimately a read that I'd describe as fine enough but there are much better romances out there.

I generally like Tessa Bailey, but she has also handed me some of the absolutely most laughably bad romance writing I have ever endured. Most of the truly terrible stuff is older, and maybe this was sitting in a drawer somewhere and was written years back, I don't know. What I do know is that it is nearly beyond belief that the same person wrote this and also wrote the Vine Mess or Bellinger Sisters series.

This novella is a bad story based on a terrible premise but even worse the MMC is hella creepy, with a pathological wife kink. Never has matrimony seemed so unappealing to me, and that includes the day I filed for divorce from a man who was stalking me.

More like 3.5/5

At one point it felt like I was reading fan fiction! Which I don’t hate. But it felt like a book for people who are married (probably middle aged) but also love fanfic. I mean anybody can read it but I feel like that’s who it was written for.

Fun book all round

Should have DNF this one

3.8 If you like corny, angst love this is the book for you! Love both Bethany and Wes! It’s just a really nice comfort book with enough corniness in the ending to fill the biggest piñata you’d ever see. But who doesn’t love a little bit cheesy love and loving proclamations?

DNF

This was a mostly fun golf related romance. A formerly successful golfer who has lost his game and his longtime biggest fan team up to get him back in the game.

There was lots of fun banter between the two of them and I enjoyed most of it. I could have done without a couple of the details of their sexual activities but it was still an enjoyable contemporary romance.½

73000

76000

79000

High 2- best book of the series. Skip the others

So gross, the first half of the book. The second half was good but not enough to excuse the beginning. So toxic!

What a hideous series.
Kept skipping back as I read this one, SURE that I had missed previous mention of things. Nope- just crappy, confusing storytelling.

High 2/Low 3, in spite of some really high 5ish points. The intensity of the sex scenes, usually enjoyable in Bailey’s books, was instead bordering on farcical. The resolution was unforgivably rushed. Waste of a great premise.

Wish I had read it BEFORE “Live Her or Lose Her”- too many cute parts!!

Dnf

Whole secret admirer schtick stunk.

UPDATE: Finished the whole series and recommend you don’t even start it. One of TB’s worst efforts!

I just finished “My Killer Vacation”- amazing!- and was SO looking forward to this 4-part series w siblings. Well, I’ll give the next three a shot but THTH is just TWTL (too weird to like). Tessa Bailey absolutely BLOWS the opportunity to deal with genuine Hh traumas respectfully. The sex scenes, which I usually enjoy, are absolute cringe. I do like the characters but TB done ‘em wrong BIGTIME.

Gee, I forgot- what colour was his hair again? Editing (as in removing) the repetition (thereby shorteningthe book by 1/4 or even 1/3) would have greatly improved this novel. The FMC’s post-coital comment that precipitates the book’s final crisis just wasn’t in character AT all.

“Had him and Laura left for good?”

I happen to LIKE the recharger.

High 4.