This was really good. To be honest, if I’d gotten it from the library or something, I probably would’ve DNFed early on, because I found the main character pretty annoying and kind of an asshole at first. And then I almost DNFed a second time when it pulled a certain trope I hate, but I ended up liking it more than I thought I would. Bel has shit she’s been through and seeing her character growth made me emotional. Her and Nick’s relationship was really sweet, stuff about sisters always gets to me, and the ending definitely made me cry, so I’m glad I read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline Books for the digital ARC. All opinions are my own.

Oh my. It took really, really long to read this book, simply because I didn't feel the need to get back to it when I put it down. I couldn't engage with it. I couldn't engage with the characters. I didn't understand them, the way they were, why they were like this. It was only when the Trade Nomads, or whatever was their name, appeared on the scenes, that the story started to feel a bit interesting. Nick brought life and light and humour, the banter between him and Bel was brilliant, and actually, from then on, the story started to feel lighter, easier and just more lively, without so much shadows in the corners. Yes, there was still the background story of Bell that she couldn't let go of, yes, there was still the thing of this complicated relationship between Bel and Marie, and I still often couldn't understand Bel, but the book just started to live its life and it was brilliant to follow it and the characters. There were still moments that I wanted to bang Bel's head on the wall, but less and less, and it was a real joy to read the story from then on. So really, from meh - read, it exploded into a brilliant, engaging and also emotional read that, in the end, I simply loved.
The book is filled with many characters, but they are all great, all of them with their own pasts and background stories, adding so much to the story.

Altogether, before I lose myself completely in gushing and gushing and gushing, it was an emotional roller - coaster about family bonds, about complicated relationships, about second chances, about letting go of the past and trusting again. In the end, it left me feel warm, it was like a hug and a mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Never thought that a book could so change my mind about it - but it did. It just worm its way into my heart and the characters grew on me - a great read in the end.

Bel and Marie are sisters. But they are absolutely nothing alike. They have spent very little time in each other's lives. But unforseen circumstances will force them together. I will admit I actually wasn't a huge fan of Bel to begin with. I didn't connect with her. She would anny me. Yet by the end of the book I absolutely loved her. The journey both sisters go through is very emotional. This is my second book by this author. Honestly I wish I found her sooner.

#SameTimeNextYear #NetGalley #HeidiStephens


Charming heartwarming story about sisters

Bel and Marie are sisters but not close. They are quite different.

When their mother dies they inherit an old house on the coast but they can't just get it and sell it immediately.
There is a stipulation they must follow.

Marie invited some friends to visit and help with the renovations while Bel bakes.

I loved how the sisters changed over time in a good way.
I liked how they were able to get cheaper things they needed.

I liked the found family aspect and how everyone was likeable.

This was my first but not last book by this author. I am going to read her earlier books.

Definitely spelling this one

Thanks to net galley the author and publisher for this great read.

4 1\2 stars
Very highly recommended

This was an absolutely heartfelt story about sisters, love, loss, and grief.

The story is told in Bel's POV & surrounds her(Bluebell) and her estranged sister, Marie (Marigold). Their mother recently passed away and left them a house they were unaware of. But there is a catch, the two of them have to live together for a year before they are able to sell the house. Will they be able to last the year together? Will this end up being the best thing for them???

I loved how every character in this book was flawed, but somewhat willing to grow. Their flaws made them more relatable to me.

This was my first read by Heidi Stephens & I definitely will be back for more.

I loved my time reading this. Stephens has written a compelling, immersive story that I enjoyed being a part of. We follow two sisters, Bel and Marie as they are thrust together living in a house for a year following their mother's death. The sisters have never got on and the year is a chance to see if they can build a relationship together. Along the way we meet many people who come in and out of their lives as well.
Bel and Marie really made this book for me, I loved them individually and I enjoyed reading about their relationship and in particular, how it changes over the year. They were easy to relate to and understand and I relished reading about them.
The plot is wonderful and Stephens has packed in so many different threads, I never got bored but I never thought things were rushed either. Everything happened at the perfect pace. There was a bit in this for everyone from love, loss and hope to sea swimming and decorating. I loved everything about this book and am sure you will too.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for an advance copy.

I love beach books so thought this would be a fun read. It just fell short for me. I couldn’t seem to get into it nor did I connect with anyone to keep wanting to read.

Unfortunately this book sounded better than I thought it was. Slow moving. Too long. I ended up skimming and didn’t finish.

This book had me in my feels the entire time. I don’t have a sister, but the relationship between these two siblings brought tears to my little green eyes. Books about found family always hit me so hard, and this was no exception. Bel was such a fun character to go on this journey with, thanks to her pessimistic outlook on life and dark sense of humor. Nick was an absolute dream. I’d read this again and again.

Marie and Bel are sisters who have been estranged for years.
They reunite at their mother’s funeral.
They have inherited the rundown family home on the Norfolk coastline, the only condition is they have to live together for a year before it’s legally theirs.
What follows is a journey of how they slowly rebuild their relationship with the help of a community providing a wonderful network support.
Marie and Bel were wonderful as main characters, they were completely different and it was lovely to observe them learn to accept themselves and their differences in order to live together for a year in the house by the sea.
I aLeo loved the back stories of the additional characters of Aunt Mag, Dan - the lawyer, as well as handsome Nick, the nomadic tradesman, they really added to the novel.
A feel good novel, full of love and self discovery - all about family and acceptance
Thanks @heidistephens @accentpressbooks & @netgalley for the feel good read

I think this is an absolutely beautiful read. I really enjoyed it and found it so easy to read. If your looking for a heart warming story this is it. Sure to say I am definitely becoming a fan of this author, they know how to read a fabulous book. Will definitely read more from this author in fact I am very excited too!

This was a warm hug of a book which left me feeling uplifted and full of happiness and positivity.

Two sisters, Marie and Bel, have been estranged for years and are only brought back together at their mother's funeral. Their mother was a free spirit who lived on a canal boat her whole life, so they are both surprised to find out that they have inherited her rundown family home in on the coast of Norfolk. It comes with one condition - they have to live there together for a year before it is legally theirs.

The sisters baulk at the idea of living together but agree to do so in the absence of any other options. When they move to the house, they discover an aunt that they never knew about as well as a host of friendly neighbours, all keen to support the sisters and make them part of the community.

They are very short of money so find creative ways of funding their house renovation project including calling in a bunch of nomadic tradespeople, who travel the country carrying out renovation jobs in exchange for bed and board. Amongst them is the handsome and enigmatic Nick; he sets Bel's pulse racing but is unwilling to take up her offer of no strings fun, only able to offer friendship instead.

I enjoyed discovering how both Bel and Marie developed and changed over the period of the book, slowly rebuilding their relationship after years of neglect, as well as accepting parts of themselves that they had been trying to push away. The community around them provided a wonderful network of support and assistance. The side characters including Aunt Mag and lawyer Dan were fabulous characters with their own lives and back stories that fed well into the story of the sisters' year in their house.

I’ve read a couple of other Heidi Stephens books and usually find them to be fun, warm-hearted romance stories. This was too and I definitely flew through the pages! Thank you so much to the lovely people at Headline for allowing me to be on the blog tour for it.

Bel and Marie are sisters but they barely know each other, as they lead such different lives. When their mother Lily dies and leaves them a house in Norfolk that they knew nothing about, the sisters are confused. Lily’s will states that in order to inherit the house, they must live in it together for a whole year. But how can they possibly stand each other or the challenges that the upcoming year will throw their way?

I was really invested in this trope of two very different sisters reconnecting as adults because their mother wanted them to. It was such an interesting premise that left space for so much tension and humour. It worked in some places!

Bel is reserved and serious with some very obvious mental and emotional scars that she hasn’t dealt with. Marie is sociable, bubbly and quirky, making her much more likeable. To be honest, I wanted a lot more Marie and a lot less Bel.

What follows is a series of instances where Bel really irritated me. At the beginning of the book, she has nothing but negative judgement for her sister when actually Marie just has her own, unique style. I completely get that Bel had been through some serious trauma but I didn’t really see that as an excuse to be so mean to her sister, who had nothing to do with it.

She is also horrendously heterosexual, which of course is never normally a problem. However, when her sister comes out to her, she assumes that Marie was straight once and ‘turned gay’. I already didn’t like Bel but this comment definitely made me say 'um… that’s not OK?’.

Bel also teases her love interest Nick for having a National Trust membership, which really confused me. Why is that something to tease someone about? Especially someone who travels around as much as Nick does? So weird.

Same Time Next Year does have some lovely side characters and I really enjoyed getting glimpses of each of their situation. However, the fact that Bel ended up being the main character ruined it for me because I simply didn’t like her. Even when she went to therapy and worked through some of her stuff, it felt like it was too little too late. If it had been Marie at the centre of things, I really could have loved it! There is also a trope in this book that I don’t like, which I can’t reveal because it’s a spoiler for the second half. However, if you like stories with sisters and mismatched romance and you don’t mind a very spiky heroine, you might just enjoy it!

Absolutely blimmin’ brilliant.
The concept was fantastic and I loved Lily's last wishes! I enjoyed reading about different ways of life - barge life, seaside life, and nomad life.
Loved the writing as always. I love all Heidi Stephens books and this one didn’t disappoint

An enjoyable romance set in hawaii, that made me want to eat all the food!
Nikki moves to Maui to help her mum after the death of her father, they are scraping by with their food truck, but one day a new food truck parks next door and war begins between Nikki and English guy Callum.
I liked the enemies to lovers storyline and the way Nikki is helping her family and in a similar situation to Callum. The romance element was decent with some good spicy scenes.
The competition element went on a bit long, maybe, but overall, a solid read. Ideal for summer holidays at the beach.

This is a story, which takes place over the course of one year, about family bonds. Both the family you are born with, and the one you choose to form. Two sisters reunite when they inherit an old house in a tiny coastal town in the UK. The writing was lovely with graphic descriptions which really put the reader into the story, and the characters relatable. Highly recommend this one.

This was a heartwarming and funny read. This is the first book I’ve read of this author and I really did love it. The two sisters relationship was written very well and I loved how Their relationship between them grew as they lived together and sorting out their past differences. The book has very scenic descriptions as it is set mostly on the Norfolk coast in England. There are some lovely beach scenes which mad e me picture myself on a Norfolk beach with ice cream or coffee on a walk.

I love books about sisters! This book was packed with so much emotion between sisters Bluebell and Marigold. I love that they go by the names Bel and Marie.
When their mother died, they were left her house. The catch being that they had to live in the house a year before they could sell it. This would have been an easy thing for them to do but they had not been close for several years and they were both dreading the thought of being together that long. Being with them as I read this book was fabulous. To be able to see and feel them doing what they could to survive the year together was packed with a lot of feelings and emotions.
The author did a great job of putting characters in this story that fir so perfectly together.
I am anxious to read more books by Heidi Stephens. I can not wait to tell all my fellow readers to grab this book as soon as they can and sit back and enjoy the ride.

I really enjoyed getting into this book – it has an unusual story-line, was well written, and clearly by an author who knows her Norfolk and its coast (I lived there for years). Whilst the ending was fairly predictable, there were enough people and ideas to keep me well involved throughout – albeit the middle section was a little slow. Believable, up to a point (e.g. would Dan really have followed through?), and interesting characters and stories. Well-studied views on some family issues and very funny in parts. Having read it, I’d agree it’s not the sort of book I’d normally have chosen. I was intrigued by the title (see the film of the same title with Alan Alda), but I’m really glad I did!

I've read and enjoyed a couple of other books by Heidi Stephens and was happy to get my hands on this one. The story is centred on two estranged sisters, Bel and Marie, who have to live together for a year after their mother dies suddenly. It's about family, love, loss, learning to trust and building a new family in tough times.

Both sisters are a little hard to like at times, especially Bel, but loved seeing the growth, and understanding and trying to resolve baggage from the past that's affecting their lives in the present And Nick! He has been through his own tough times, and really resolved to make changes in his life for the better. He was so supportive of Bel even when she seemingly didn't deserve his patience and love. The whole cast of characters was really amazing and added to my overall enjoyment.

The book really highlights the importance of looking after your mental health and a strong support system. I enjoyed reading about how wild swimming helped Bel centre herself. The Trade Nomads idea is so cool and I wish we had that where I live.

Really enjoyed getting lost in this story and would recommend to anyone looking a satisfying read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Headline for an ARC of this book.