Eve Woods is at the pinnacle of her archery career — a world champion and one half of the nation’s power couple. But when a scandalous breakup leads to accusations of infidelity, Eve's world crumbles overnight.
Sponsors pull out, and without funding, her dreams of victory may slip away.
Daniel Harris, heir to a prestigious fashion empire, faces a scandal when an athlete accuses him of exchanging favours for silence. Desperate for damage control, Daniel must find a new ambassador and he needs one fast.
“You need a sponsor, and we need a winner.” –Daniel
“Give me your money, and I’ll give you the win and your redemption arc.” – Eve
Neither trusts the other. But what begins as mutual distrust evolves into an undeniable connection.
When they become the centre of a new storm, Eve’s career is once again on the line.
“Between my heart and my future, no matter what I chose, I would’ve looked selfish either way.” – Eve
It is a race against everything. Time, career, and the feelings she swore she could control. Will she choose victory or surrender to what her heart wants most?
“Eve proves that strength isn’t just physical. Her story is a quiet testament to perseverance for readers.” – Amin Sama, Editor
I wanted to like this book because I was invested in the beginning of the story, but somehow I felt like I was watching a melodrama that could have ended 200 pages earlier.
It was exhausting having to read chapter after chapter of how pitiful Eve was. The plot dragged and dragged over the same issue until I wanted to scream & just DNF it!
I mean, she chose to keep silent, allowing the media and public to crucify her over a false allegation made by her bitter ex.
She also chose to bear the cross of “earning” for the family and lack communication - causing her family to misunderstand her. I almost threw the book at the wall, but I resisted because I needed it in pristine condition to sell it off later on.
The only redeemable parts were Daniel and Colin’s. I cannot imagine if it was written entirely in Eve’s POV. Yes, this book is written in dual POV (first person), alternating between Eve & Daniel. Ok, I will also admit that the author did a good job describing about archery and touching upon how women have it harder than men in sports.
I’m getting to the main point of this review, the inconsistent writing. It felt like it was written by 2 completely different writers (language wise)?! The well written parts felt like it was written by a writer who has a good command of English, the poorly written parts felt like it was someone with a poor command of the language.
The numerous grammatical mistakes, weird and wrong usage of words (eg. it costed him, it costed a lot of money, he cooed, she cooed, blinking jewelery in between our fingers - seriously?) and broken sentence structure (the sudden voice instantly raised my head. Huh???) that totally need a rewrite. How did the editor actually missed this??? Honestly, it was so difficult finishing this book but I had to since I spent RM40 on it.
Nevertheless, I commend the author for her dedication and effort in writing this story in English. But unfortunately, this will be my last purchase of an English novel from a local publisher.
If you liked Song of the Runway Hearts & Chords of the Reckless Heart by Marisa Fendi, you’ll love Tension & Triumphs.
The first two stories took place in Malaysia, but Tension & Triumphs is set in the US.
I’ve always dreamt of reading an English novel set in the States written by a local author. I wanted that Netflix-drama vibe in novel form—and this book didn’t disappoint.
It tells the story of Eve Woods, an archer who gets swept up in cheating allegations after breaking up with her ex. They were the nation’s IT couple—ice skater × archer.
Daniel Harris is the heir to a famous fashion company. One of his sponsored athletes, Heath, had his reputation tarnished due to a doping scandal. He needs a new athlete to fill Heath’s spot—and Eve needs a new sponsor after the news.
So they meet. After some banter and their first encounter, their stories become entangled, and they make a deal: Eve becomes an athlete under Daniel’s company.
Their meeting also leads to the unraveling of: - The struggles of Eve as the eldest daughter - Daniel learns that Eve Woods isn't just a sportswoman; she is Yvette, a devoted breadwinner working tirelessly to support her sick little sister. - The harsh reality of the sports world, which is not always kind to women
This book perfectly balances romance, archery, and emotional depth.
Every character is well-developed. No one feels wasted. Loved how the author reveals each character’s personality through dialogue, not just description. Collins! Love him. And Williams, Eve’s professional coach, exudes professionalism and formality.
This book made me giggle more than once. And mind you, the trope is he fell first. Daniel Harris… the man you are!
Overall, this is my first time reading a book by novelist Hannaz, and it did not disappoint.
I’m rooting for the next sequel… maybe Rivera and Riley? Hopefully 😭🙏🏻
This book is the kind of book that doesn't let you rest. Felt like a movie worthy book. My first time reading sport romance and honestly it's so good. Author potray everything perfectly especially when author really potray eve struggles after all the things curt has put her through. The only things I wish to see more is how Daniel fall in love with eve but overall chef kiss. Just a cute sport romance for me despite all the struggle FL go through.
This is good OMG. This is my first ever sport romance actually (wait this is sport romance right? cause the FMC is an archer) so I don't know what to expect but surprisingly this book is good. The romance is great and I love how this book have other than romance between such as family love, the eldest daughter struggle, cyberbullying, etc. There's so much I learned actually in this book so it's not just 'romance'. I love Eve character and within the few last chapters make me nearly sobbing as I am too an eldest daughter 🥹
I just want to say that the amount of times I giggled and kicking my feet when reading this is crazy. Did not expect to like it tbh.
I was debating at first whether or not I should buy this book but for the sake of supporting the other english authors of manes I decided to buy it. And BOY THIS IS A FREAKING 5 STAR!
Personally, I would actually want this as a series just because I’m being bias to not end this standalone book but it works either way as long as it has a happy ending 🤭
(Update! : I do want to say that there’s a little mix up in one of the chapters about daniel’s POV with eve’s name, so i was a little confused about it. I think it was just one chapter but i couldn’t remember it well.
Other than that, I was shocked to see that this book has cursed words in it. The way my jaw dropped when i saw the word “shit” made me closed the book and rethink about how the heck did they get out of their comfort zone. Not to be rude or anything but based on the mane’s english book that I’ve read it mostly avoids any type of words that could trigger, but this specific book made it like, 😨)
Characters: 10/10 Writing: 10/10 (the amount of “numbers” of easter egg that i found always made me laugh every time 🤭) Plot: 10/10