Hehehehe!! I really enjoyed reading this! When we say this is a slow burn romantasy, we mean this is a slowwwww burn! In this enemies to lovers tale, a healer (against her better judgement and in exchange for a boat load of coin to help the sick) agrees to heal an assassin (who she can’t stand for more reasons than him just being Generally Evil). Let me tell you I was laughing out louuuud so much of this book! The banter is top-tier, the magic system is so cool and unique, the characters are dripping with personality. I CANNOT WAIT until the second book comes out!!!

Thank you soooo much to NetGalley, Berkley Romance, and Bridgette Knightley for the advance e-copy of the book in exchange for my honest review!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group/Ace for an early review copy.

Brigitte Knightley's debut follows a desperate assassin, with a seemingly uncurbable magical injury, and the healer he is blackmailing into helping him. The magic system is extremely compelling, and the relationship between Osric and Aurienne is extremely well-developed. Readers will be anxious for the second installment in this duology.

2.5⭐️

Unfortunately I had much higher hopes for this book than it was able to deliver.

The writing style, for the most part, was pleasing & there were some really nice quotes. I thought that the magic system was really cool & I wanted to learn more about it. I was also interested in the politics of the world & the orders but fear it was mostly glossed over, despite being really important in the end. I think we were missing a lot of context in the world building.

The majority of the book skips from full moon to full moon as Aurienne attempt to heal Osric with experimental magic. I found the time jumps to be a bit distracting bc it diminished the important of the plague plot line & the politics.

The romance is a true slow burn but I’d actually argue that it isn’t really enemies to lovers. While they are of opposing morals, they never truly act like they hate each other & instead just make crass jokes back & forth.

In general, the entire book was an amalgamation of failed humor & lame dick jokes. I understand what it was trying to do but it was trying way too hard, in my opinion, when every other page had a “joke” that made me cringe with second hand embarrassment & general discomfort. It really distracted me from the well written lines & pulled me out of the story.

Overall, I found this book to be lacking depth & thought it did too much while somehow not doing nearly enough. It certainly wasn’t the worst book I’ve read & had entertaining aspects but I don’t see myself continuing the series.

Giving it a weak 4. Probably closer to a 3.75. That said. The amount of times I actually, literally laughed out loud while reading this book? So many times. The two main leads are snarky and hilarious with their snips and comebacks to one another. They’re so sassy. That said. Many have complained about the lack of world building. Yes. We are thrown in blind. I want to say it’s almost like simultaneous world building and story building? I’m just reading it and going with the flow.

Now if you want a TRUE enemies to lovers, this is it. They fucking hate one another for like 99.9 of the book.i also personally enjoyed the two POVS. I think romance writers need to do this more often because I want to know what both parties are experiencing.

I would continue on with the second book because I am curious to see how this book will end and how the plots will resolve itself. Note this is not just a rewrite of DMATMOOBIL. This is entirely different. But def inspired by it.

This book was a fun and unique take on the enemies-to-lovers trope! I loved the slow-burn romance between Aurienne, the grumpy healer, and Osric, the charming assassin. Their banter was sharp and witty, and I really enjoyed watching their relationship develop over time. The magical world was interesting, especially the idea of two rival orders forced to work together to cure a mysterious illness. The beginning hooked me right away, and the plot around the Pox and Osric’s illness kept me intrigued.
That said, I did find the story a little too focused on banter in the middle. I would’ve liked more plot progression and deeper emotional moments. The last few chapters picked up again and left me curious for the next book. Overall, it’s a light, fun romantasy with lovable characters, great tension, and a solid setup for book two!
Very grateful to the publisher @berkleyromance and @acebooks for my #gifted copy through @netgalley , opinions are my own

This book was amusing and fun.

I'd say the closest comparison I can draw in terms of storytelling is My Lady Jane and Assistant to the Villain. Like those tales, this book doesn't take itself too seriously. Which I know will not be for everyone. But I liked it and found myself laughing quite a lot at some of the hijinks and character lines.

That being said, something kept me from fully immersing and connecting with the story. This is why I can't commit to giving the book more than three stars, because the story itself hasn't completely won me over quite yet. I am, however, optimistic about its potential to grow in future installments.

I'll be honest when I saw the Glossary I became concerned that I'd have a hard time following the characters, but that did not happen. Aurienne Fairhrim, a scientist & healer whose lives by the code, harm to none, is coerced into healing Osric Mordaunt, who makes his living as an assassin & thief.

They cannot stand each other and banter back & forth which was laugh out loud funny. During their quest to heal Osric they begin to see each other differently, but fight it all the way.

I quite enjoyed this book & then it ended. And when I say ended, it ended. To say it left me wanting more is an understatement. I look forward to reading the next book.

I received this advance review copy from NetGalley & the publisher for my honest review.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group, NetGalley and Brigitte Knightley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. As a huge fan of the HP universe (besides the author), I was so excited to be able to read one of my favourite fanfics as a traditionally published novel. My hopes were high and perhaps that was my downfall.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy follows Osric, an assassin who falls ill and requires assistance from a specific healer, one from the enemy order. Aurienne and her group of healers are overwhelmed with sick children suffering from the Pox and when Osric offers a sizeable donation in return, Aurienne has no choice but to accept and work on trying to heal his “incurable” disease. Of course being in such situations causes some tension and undeniable attraction.

I want to start off by saying that I absolutely love that these original fanfics are being published for more eyes to enjoy them. Not everyone grew up reading fanfics and probably had no idea these stories existed. That being said, what unfortunately happens in this fanfic to trad pub pipeline is the original allure and obsession with the story can occasionally fall flat. And that’s what happened for me in this case. The way the story was written had you dropped into a story with all these characters and ideas and places that you had literally no clue about. The glossary was a small help but without flipping back and forth, I would’ve been completely lost, even with having read the original.
Not to mention these characters felt like they had no dimension at all. I honestly felt like I was reading about two grey blobs and every interaction had me questioning whether I was reading a slow burn romance or a textbook. While the banter was amusing at times, I feel like I just missing that overall something that makes fantasy books so entertaining, whether it was the lack of high stakes or really overall conflict besides the healing. I honestly should’ve just not completed the book but I was hoping it would redeem itself.
Overall, it seems that there are still a good number of people who enjoyed this book and I’m sure more people will! I just wish I felt the same way.

If you see the title of The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy and think: “fuck me, that sounds dreadfully delightful”, then I’d say you are absolutely right. I mean, cue all the cheeky dark humour, witty banter, and razor-sharp snark and sarcasm, this is just an irresistibly addictive enemies to lovers fantasy romcom done to absolute perfection.

In a nutshell, the entire plot of The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy can be summed up as: an absolute menace of a shadow-walking assassin with a degenerative seith disease (magic rot) bribes The Best and Most Perfect healer, who is desperate for funding to aid the sick, to heal him. Their Orders are mortal enemies, they absolutely despise each other (and whine about that every chance they get), but as they work together to heal his illness and get unexpectedly pulled into the investigation of a mysterious resurgence of a deadly pox, these two highly competent idiots turn out to make quite the dream team. Not that they are ever going to admit that to each other or themselves though, because the Horror!!

Now, as soon as I saw the title of Chapter 1: “Irresistible Bastard Meets Immovable Bitch” (seriously, bonus points for the incredibly funny and punny chapter titles), I knew this was going to be the book for me. However, as much as I was vibing from the start, it took me quite a while to really get grounded in this world and invested in this story. See, it’s not just the romantic aspect in The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy that is exceedingly (but deliciously) slow-burn, but the overall plot takes its sweet time to get going as well, with lots of slightly boring medical talk and very little actual action (of any kind) in the first half of the story.

That said, Aurienne and Osric honestly immediately captured my heart the moment I met them, despite (or maybe exactly because of?) the fact that they are both quite flawed, haughty, frustrating, morally deficient (looking at you, Osric), and overall just not the most easily loveable characters, and I had an absolute ball just following them as they yelled at each other and the sky about their frustrations with the unfairness of the universe. Red flags were truly waving all around, but I guess it’s a good thing I love the colour red then.

And when I say I love enemies to lovers romance, THIS is what I mean!! Do we really get a good personal backstory for why they are such mortal enemies aside from the fact their Orders hate each other and are diametrically opposed? No, but I sure was highly amused by how committed they were to expressing their mutual hostility. I am talking, their love language is (verbal) evisceration because ‘why bang when you can bicker?’; I am talking, (verbal) evisceration as a love language because ‘why kiss when you can bicker?’; I am talking, if lying to yourself about your feelings was an Olympic sport, they’d both get the golden medal (and hate each other for it because obviously they can’t BOTH be the best?!); I am talking, it takes until the last 5% of the book for the tiniest bit of romantic feelings and actions to occur… AND I WAS LIVING FOR IT! Like, the tension, the banter, the irresistible attraction, the secret mutual respect (because how can you truly hate someone if you don’t respect/love them on some level?), I spooned (or forked, iykyk) it all up!

Now, I am sure people are going to bounce off the tongue-in-cheek tone, the slightly pretentious aesthetic, and the crude and at times juvenile humour in The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy, but I think it helps that the entire vibe of this story is so self-aware, and I was honestly cackling and shaking my head in sheer delight the entire way through. Sure, I could’ve done with a bit less sex and dick jokes, but overall I loved the balance between the silliness and wittiness, and think there’s simply no denying that Knightley is an incredibly clever and effortlessly funny author.

Lastly, I feel like I’d be remiss to not address the elephant in the room: is The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy just a slightly reworked Dramione fanfic with some trad pub pizzazz sprinkled over it? No, but I do think it shows that Knightley’s roots lie in fanfic, for better or worse. See, the history and political landscape of the Tiendoms (which is really just a magical alternate history version of the British Isles if William the Conqueror never invaded and overthrew the Anglo-Saxons), the intricacies of the seith magic and the eight different magic Orders, and the general character development all leave quite a bit to be desired, with most of it being presented as if the reader should already have been familiar with everything/everyone like is normally the case in fanfic writing (thank fuck for a glossary, I guess).

Yet at the same time, I think it’s rather impressive how Knightley took the bones of her original fic and created something so wholly original and refreshing out of it. I mean, I personally have not (yet) read the author’s Dramione fanfic (Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Falling in Love), but I honestly don’t think it’d even be worth comparing the two, because The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is completely its own unique thing. Also, I personally didn’t come here for exceptionally rich world building or intricate plotting; I wanted a good enemies to lovers romcom with that dangerously addictive ‘just one more chapter’ quality that only the best fanfic writing has, and this more than satisfied my cravings for that.

Ultimately, The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy was somehow both everything I was hoping it would be, while also being full of unexpected surprises that sent both me and the characters spiralling, and I love it all the more for it. And thank all that is holy that this is the start of the Dearly Beloathed duology, because I am DESPERATE for more, especially after the wild revelations and delicious teases in the final chapters. If you like your fantasy romance with a good dollop of humour, (butt?)cheek, snark, banter, mystery, and dangerously high levels of tension, then you just have to pick this up. How terribly fun!

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is scheduled for release on 8 July, 2025.

I devoured The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy in a day, drawn equally to the smart writing style, the well drawn world, and two main characters who kept me enthralled. The book has that unique quality that makes reading it a breeze, and I found myself wanting nothing more than to advance the story. The world is both modern and antiquated, the societal structure is just complicated enough to add heft to the story, and the interactions between these two opposites are perfectly done. To say I can’t wait for the sequel is an understatement.

The Best Bits
The sarcastic humor - always biting, always perfectly executed
A solid enemies-to-lovers progression
A scene straight out of Bridgerton

A Complex World
The world was both complex and easily understandable, at least where fantasy novels are concerned. The magic system was more personal than some, tied into your body like a nervous system that can degrade and harm you if overtaxed. There were no spells or incantations or magic wands. Magic essentially enhances typical actions dependent on the strength of the caster. Beyond the basics, there were some intriguing pieces like a communication system based on sending ethereal forms back and forth that communicate on behalf of the sender. Magical travel is done through a series of stones all connected to pubs - the why wasn’t important and it felt very matter of fact in the world. Their society centers around orders and while we see a lot of the healer’s order in the book, there are a lot of others that we’ve yet to dive into. It was all enough to make me excited to learn more in future entries.

Enemies to Almost Lovers
I couldn’t get over how perfectly written the interactions were between Osric, the debonair and deadly assassin, and Aurienne, the incredibly intellectual and practical healer. From their first interaction, they are constantly biting back and forth at each other, and it’s clear each has met their match. They vex each other but continue to draw in closer and closer until the lines between reluctant allies to potential lovers are muddled. They’re as different as could be, along very firm lines, yet they somehow work well together. I found myself constantly laughing at the comebacks and bickering. The romance is on the light side, more of an intro to what could be instead of a full fledged romance, which fit the book well.

The Dialogue
Dialogue is front and center in this novel and it is done masterfully. It can be difficult to make dialogue work and I couldn’t get over how well it was done here. Each of the main characters has a well-defined personality that comes through in everything they say. Retorts are biting and brilliantly sarcastic, they hate each other in epic ways while also caring for each other in subtle ways. It all plays out in their often hilarious interactions that made this a delightful read.

Had fun reading about Aurienne and Osric. The world building set the perfect stage for the rest of the series. Love an enemies-to-lovers where he falls first, wouldn’t have it any other way. Great balance of the dual POV. Wish the slow burn had gone a little faster but only cause I want more story!

I read the majority of this book and despite the mention that this had been updated so that it was no longer a HP/Dramione fanfic, the characters still felt very Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger coded. Additionally, I did have trouble with the complicated world building. Overall, this book just wasn't a good fit for me.

This. Is. How. You. Do. A. Slow. Burn. 🔥 4.5⭐️

The tension, the build-up, the little moments! It’s all so well done. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic is perfectly paced and believable, with just the right amount of bite. And the banter? TOP TIER. I was completely hooked from start to finish.

I wasn’t sure about the writing style at first. It felt a bit clunky in the beginning, and the terminology threw me off. I honestly thought it was going to lean more sci-fi. But once I realized it was true fantasy and got into the flow of it, everything just clicked.

The humour is outlandish and very tongue-in-cheek. Think dramatic declarations, petty arguments, snarky banter, and for some reason, an alarming number of body fluid mentions. It’s definitely not going to be everyone’s kind of funny, but if you enjoy books that are a little ridiculous in the best way, this might be your thing. For me, it was exactly the kind of fun & escapism I needed to get out of my reading slump. I devoured this book in less than 36 hours!

And yes, it ends on a cliffhanger. But after that build-up, I’m absolutely grabbing the physical copy and continuing on when book 2 comes out! (Ugh but now the wait!)

If you’re craving something playful, chaotic, and full of banter then definitely pick this one up. It’s a fantasy romance that doesn’t take itself too seriously but still delivers all the tension and payoff. This one’s a solid choice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy has humor, witty banter and a slow-burn love affair. These enemies to lovers are more they come from different worlds rather than true enemies; one a healer and one a for hire murderer.

Aurienne is a grumpy healer who just wants to heal the sick. Osric is a morally gray assassin with a chronic, life threatening illness. Together, they are working against the clock to save his life.

Hence, what begins as the slowest slow-burn enemies to lovers romantasy. It takes nearly to whole book to get to the romance. This is the first book in the Dearly Beloathed duology, hoping we get more romance in the next installment.

Thank you Berkley Publishing Group | Ace

Two enemies from rival Orders are forced to reluctantly work together in this fantastic new romantasy. The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy follows Aurienne Fairhrim, a brilliant healer struggling to find a cure for an illness ravaging children and Osric Mordaunt, an assassin whose magic is slowly degenerating. In a desperate attempt to reverse his decline, Osric bribes Aurienne to heal him by funding her research endeavors. The misadventures that follow are hilarious, tension-filled, and delightfully batty.

The story drops you in without preamble. It took me a second to get into, and I suggest reading the glossary to fully grasp some of the world building, but once I was in, I had such a fun time tearing through these pages. The magic system is unique and there were many compelling elements to it. I loved the deofol’s — messengers that take the shape of animals. Each magic caster has their own specific deofol who become a mouthpiece for their master, adding even more levity to the already absurd circumstances.

If there’s one thing to take away from this book it’s banter, banter, banter! Aurienne and Osric are equally matched (serious but audacious) and there were countless times where I caught myself chuckling at their exchanges. He is cocky and self-deprecating while she is dry and confident. Together, their conversations are the embodiment of a ping pong match, with barbs volleying back and forth. The prose is also littered with cheeky asides that put you right into Osric and Aurienne’s sarcastic mindsets. These sections act as an extension of the banter and help readers better understand the inner workings of the main characters.

As far as the romance goes, this is a slowwww burn. But, what it lacks in steam it fully makes up for in magnetism. The majority of the book is made up of Aurienne and Osric’s interactions so there is quite a bit of development between the two of them. The steady build up of their romantic connection felt necessary due to their intense hatred of one another at the novel’s start. The stakes wouldn’t have made sense if they gave into their whims too quickly. As they progress, there is an almost imperceptible change that occurs in their attitudes and they slowly start to adopt each other’s mentalities. It is such a smart way to show the impact these these two people have and how integral they become in each other’s lives.

The ending leaves a few questions unanswered and opens up the possibility of world expansion in future books. I am very excited to see where this series goes and am salivating for even more Aurienne and Osric content. They have become my new favorite hyper-fixation couple and I can see myself re-reading this book as I wait for the next installment.

Thank you Berkley Publishing / Ace and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Truly I have mixed feelings about this book. I think the potential is there, but I also think this missed the mark.
I know that this is based off of a Dramione fan fiction that is well liked, and honestly, I can just tell the two main characters are Hermione and Draco in an alternate universe. I wish they were their own characters here with their own stories, so it was just too parallel to the Harry Potter world for me.
I really enjoyed the author’s use of dialogue and banter. It’s definitely a skill to be able to be a dialogue driven writer who has truly funny and witty banter. I could listen to the two characters talk all day long. It did make us feel like we were part of the scenes.
My biggest confusion and concern come from the utter lack of world building. This world is entirely unique, and I’m quite interested in hearing more about it. However, I have no idea what is going on and I say that after I’ve finished the book. I don’t understand how the Orders work, how the magic system works, and how the world is laid out. This highly interferes with my ability to feel like I’m in the book as well as understand the depth of the issues our characters are facing. I literally only read this book all the way through because I liked the banter. I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise, no matter how much potential I think it has. I will say I think that the author has a good understanding of the world because I can tell how intricate and complex it is. I just wish that translated through to the reader.
While the witty back and forth and good versus bad made it obvious these two had some form of chemistry, I don’t understand how it became romantic. Their morals and ideals are just too far apart, and I don’t understand how that gap was bridged. Some will say it is due to one specific action, but that was for a single person and not the general public — does that qualify as good?
Finally, I was confused with how the book ended. I turned the page, and I was surprised to see the acknowledgements. I had to reread it to make sure I didn’t miss something, but no. It just kind of stops.
I don’t like to rate books because rating is so black and white. I gave this a three because there is potential, the banter was great, and I think the author has the chance to make something of the second book. However, the world building wasn’t there and neither was the smooth transition from enemies to more.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for a free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I decided to not finish this book because of the PR around it focused so hard on the fanfiction angle, bringing attention to an author who is actively trying to take rights away from a vulnerable community. I might read other books from Brigitte Knightley, I can tell she's a talented author but the publicity around the book turned me off from finishing this one.

3.75/5 ⭐ 1/5 🌶️ I absolutely loved the quirky writing in this one!!!!
It’s clever, eclectic, and had me giggling with the flirtatious/murderous banter between the main characters. (To the reader it’s flirty but to them?? They genuinely want to end each other😂)

This is a true enemies to lovers story in my opinion! one is a healer, the other an assassin
They’re morally opposed in every way, yet something forces them to work together.
As they do, they start to see the gray between their black and white beliefs.... and that tension??? SO GOOD AND DELICIOUSSSS YUMMMM

I genuinely had a great time reading this and couldn’t put it down. I’m really looking forward to book two!

That said, I do wish the worldbuilding had gone deeper. I was left with questions about the setting and how their powers actually worked. The plot stayed fairly surface level which is totally fine if you’re looking for a lighter fantasy read ... but I personally wanted a bit more depth.?? maybe with book 2 we will??

Still, this was a hit for me. Brigitte’s writing style is so unique and I’m really impressed by the voice she brings to her characters. I can’t wait to see where she takes the story next!

4 stars. The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy is a sharp, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romantasy. But don't let the word romantasy fool you, there is a TON of world building. And you kind of just get plopped into this intense fantasy world that feels historical but also steampunky- as there are elements of machine blending with magic. That said, at the heart of TIUTFFYE are Aurienne, a principled healer, and Osric, a ruthless assassin—two characters who couldn’t hate one another more, and with good reasons. One of my biggest pet peeves is in enemies to lovers books where the characters may appear to be enemies/ adversaries on the surface, but the reason for the discord/ dislike is fairly benign, and they fall for one another pretty quickly. There's a big difference between disliking someone and being their enemy. And thankfully, Knightley gives us a true enemies to lovers. Aurienne and Osric hate one another, and they have good reason to. And doesn't that just make the tension all the more delicious? This is slow burn but along with tension there's a lot of humor, wit, and banter, which I can absolutely appreciate. The plot itself is definitely high stakes, and there's also political intrigue and mystery, but for me, the romance was the star of the show. This is a Dramione romance and I believe is based on some fanfiction that Knightley previously crafted. I'm coming into this book and Knightley's writing with a blank slate, having never read her before, so I can't comment on its relation to anything Knightley's previously released. TIUTFFYE is slated to be a duology, and the ending definitely leaves you wanting more in book 2. I really enjoyed TIUTFFYE and am grateful for Knightley, Berkley Romance/ ACE, and netgalley for the ARC!

Writing is overly verbose and feels fanfictiony still, to the point where it was very hard to read and mildly cringey. The story is fine, but I do find it hard when fanfiction becomes traditionally published, as it's a challenge to build a world around a story rather than a story around a world. I ended up stopping about 50% in because I just couldn't anymore.