Amy Daws’ Endurance is a riotous, cheeky, and surprisingly heartfelt sports romance that delivers passion, sass, and two characters who test each other’s patience, limits, and hearts. This second entry in the Harris Brothers series takes on the classic enemies-to-lovers trope with a footballer who cannot seem to stay out of the tabloids and a sharp, no-nonsense surgeon whose tolerance for his antics is nonexistent. Throw in a fake relationship and all the complications that come with it, and the stage is set for plenty of sparks.

Tanner Harris, the so-called wild Harris twin, is every inch the cheeky, bearded bad boy that readers of the series expect him to be. With his tattoos, devil-may-care attitude, and scandalous reputation, he is both magnetic and infuriating. Belle Ryan, on the other hand, is all discipline and ambition, a surgical fellow who has fought tooth and nail to get to where she is. Belle is the kind of heroine who has no time for games, least of all from Tanner, and their early dynamic is full of snark and sparring that makes their eventual collision feel inevitable.

What makes their story particularly fun is how they end up in each other’s orbit again after a disastrous first encounter. Forced into a fake dating setup for the sake of appearances, Tanner and Belle have no choice but to tolerate one another. But as jealousy flares and real attraction edges past their pretenses, the carefully drawn lines between them blur into something far messier and hotter. Their chemistry jumps off the pages, with Belle’s cool restraint a sharp counterpoint to Tanner’s impulsive fire.

I loved how Tanner’s humor and larger-than-life personality kept the story light even when emotions deepened, while Belle’s intelligence and steel gave their relationship grounding. Their banter is one of the highlights of the book, with every interaction teetering on the edge of an argument or a kiss. That said, the buildup sometimes outpaced the delivery, and while the sex scenes eventually delivered, I expected a bit more heat earlier on given the intensity of their dynamic.

Overall, Endurance is an entertaining, laugh-out-loud, and surprisingly tender romance. It is a great example of Ms. Daws can balance hilarity with emotional depth, particularly in a sub-genre I do not normally pick up; sports romance. And yet, the combination of a roguish footballer and a determined heroine worked beautifully here, making it hard not to root for them even when they drove each other crazy.

Recommended for: fans of sports romance, enemies-to-lovers banter, bearded bad boy heroes, and heroines who refuse to be bowled over.

Final Verdict: A laugh-out-loud enemies-to-lovers romance with a bearded bad boy footballer and a sharp-tongued doctor who prove that endurance is as much about the heart as the game.

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