Review: 2 stars

This story was originally a Draco/Hermione fanfic that got restructured into its own book completely with an original new world.

Osric is in desperate need of a healer to heal his incurable disease and is forced to seek the help of Aurienne where he bribes her to help him…they are meant to hate each other as their fractions/orders loathe each other with Aurienne being from the healer faction (Haelen) and Osric the assassin faction (Fyren). This starts out as true enemies to lovers given that both exceedingly hate each other.

I struggled with this book…and let me tell you why!

The writing style was choppy and dense to start with multiple flowery language used. It felt like reading a thesaurus at times…and it drove me nuts! The world building was nada with the exception of the glossary of terms we got in the intro..and the magic system - like it is present and all we know is Aurienne and Osric have them but that’s about itt??

I have no love for either of the characters, they were so boring and flat! I just know Aurienne is a healer and reputed to be good and she is helping. Osric in the meantime is a killer and is in it for the money….the romance wasn’t a romance until the last 10% of the book given the immense slow burn since it took some time for them to fall for each other. The banter was so off given the excessive flowery language and dick jokes

And the humor?!! Gahh, this one did not work for me - it was so crass and excessive with a lot of dick, farts, nipples, fluid, holes jokes thrown in. I wonder if the author was trying to make it more humorous and interesting but it did not work for me as it was not funny in any shape or form.

Overall, it definitely is not my vibe but it might be interesting to certain readers who enjoy a straightforward romance story with a simple fantasy plot.

Thank you Berkley Publishing and Acebooks for the eARC

I have never been a huge Harry Potter fan, but I have nothing but the upmost respect for fan fiction writers and I'm always excited to see one get traditionally published. This was a great read to help come out of a reading slump. It was humorous and action packed. While I did feel a little disconnected from the characters I am excited to see where the next book goes. I also love the ode to the fans of her original work.

I’m not really sure where to begin with this one so I’m just going to jump right in. I had really high hopes going into this book, and maybe that worked against me. I’d previously read Knightley’s fanfiction and absolutely adored her writing style. It had me giggling, kicking my feet, and fully obsessed. But this book… didn’t quite hit the same way.

Let’s start with the setting. This was actually a point of confusion for me. At first, I couldn’t tell if it was high fantasy or low fantasy. There were kingdoms and fictional locations, but then London was mentioned. I was left wanting more background on the world and how it all connected.

As for the characters, they grew on me. Osric ended up being my favorite (unsurprising), and I really liked Aurienne too. The dual POV worked well, and their banter was one of the strongest parts of the story. There were also some great side characters sprinkled in, and the character development overall helped carry the book.

The plot, though, is where I struggled a bit. The premise is solid, but the focus on Osric needing to be healed seemed like the main storyline for most of the book—until a much bigger plotline appeared near the end. It made the pacing feel a little off, and the abrupt cliffhanger caught me completely off guard. I literally flipped the page expecting more, and… that was it.

One thing I did enjoy was the writing style. The banter and dialogue between Osric and Aurienne was genuinely funny and sharp. That said, there were a few moments of unexpected vulgarity that didn’t really add anything to the story and took me out of the moment a bit.

I wanted to love this book. And while it had its moments, it just didn’t hit the same emotional notes I’d expected based on her fanfiction. That might just be me—and I really hope other readers fall in love with it. I’ll still be keeping an eye out for the sequel because I’m curious where this story goes next.

After hearing feedback from the trans community, I do not find I am able to finish reading this book and promoting it. Platforming books based on IP from famously transphobic authors is seen as a direct attack on trans people and I just don't feel right continuing my read. I did start it and didn't feel like I meshed well with the author's writing style anyway.

Apparently, The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy has its origins in Dramonie fanfic and I’m going to be real honest here: if I had known that, I probably wouldn’t have taken the ARC or read the novel because these days, I stay away from anything that-particular-wizard-tinged.

I did read it and there was a review here but I’ve removed it because it turns out that all of the marketing for the book in the run-up to next week’s release was Dramonie themed to the point that the TERF extraordinaire would have had to sign off and, if that is the case, likely made some money off of the deal which means I can’t, in good conscience, recommend the book because fuck her and all of her ilk.

Listen, there are plenty of other snarky couples populating fantasy to whom the MCs of this tale could be compared. I mean, just off the top of my head: Zhao Yunlan and Shen Wei from Zhen Hun, Seokga and Hani from The God and the Gumiho, Madmartigan and Sorsha in Willow, Cui Buqu and Feng Xiao in Peerless, Kanan Jarrus and Hera Syndulla when they first meet in A New Dawn… and those are just off the top of my head. The genre does not hurt for examples of enemies (or at least snark-buddies) to lovers and Knightley and the ACE marketing team could have chosen literally any other one. But they chose poorly. I, in return, am choosing to delete my review of their book.

the banter, the tension, the ending😭😭😭 I cannot wait for everyone to experience this book. from someone who loved DMATMOOBIL, and couldn’t wait for this to be published, this was ✨perfect✨


thank you NetGalley & Berkley for this ARC 🫶🫶🫶🫶

I did not finish the book I did dnf it I just did not feel a connection to the story and really felt like another fanfic which is stated but just not for me

When I say banter THIS IS WHAT I MEAN!! The angst mixed with the wittiness and slow burn made this such a fun read.

Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, is in dire need of healing. Naturally the only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and member of an enemy Order. Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick - so desperate that, when Osric bribes her to help him, she accepts, even if she detests him and everything he stands for. A forced collaboration ensues.

The characters and their interactions were the highlights of the book. The fact that both of the characters were competent, eloquent and funny was refreshing to read. The fact that this is actually a slow burn made me so happy!!! This has you waiting for that first kiss on pins and needles! My biggest gripe with the story was the lack of world building. I don’t really like being plopped into a world and scrambling to find out what’s happening. I have no real idea what time period we were in and what the magic system is. I also found the curing Osric aspect to be repetitive. It felt like some of that could’ve been taken out to explain more world building/magic. I think if you go into the book looking for more of a romance than anything else you will definitely enjoy it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing the ARC.

I really wanted to like this book, but it really fell short of my expectations.

As an avid romance and fantasy reader, I love finding books that do well in seamlessly blending the two genres together. However, this book does neither genre well.

Part of what makes fantasy so great is the world building and the bigger than life feeling you get from being immersed in it. This book failed to deliver on that front. The world building was very minimal and instead the reader is thrust into the story with no understanding of the world these characters live in, how their magic systems work, the relative time period, or anything. It makes for a very jarring reader experience.

On top of that, the characters are underdeveloped and flat. They are uninteresting and unlikeable, and there doesn't seem much in the way of substance. Their romance together is just as flat, with the writing coming across as insincere and inauthentic. Not something that I would want out of a romance book.

Not the best book for me, by far. I'm sure the author will find their niche in the literary world, but they will be far from my bookshelf.

I did not do all of my research because I was unaware that this was originally an HP fan-fiction. I know a lot of my customers will enjoy this book for the sole reason of that though. I got 14% in of the book and realized there was nothing in the story driving me to pick it back up. I need more time to dedicate to the world building aspect of this book. I do think that I will give this title another chance later in the year. It is a "not right now" title for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkeley and Brigitte for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. I do want to state up front that I DNFd at 45% as I was not feeling invested in their story.

Irresistible Urge is like a romcom rolled into a fantasy setting—and I mean that in a good way if you love romcoms! We’ve got a sassy assassin who needs to see a healer to cure his incurable seith (their internal system in which their magic stems from). We’ve got enemies to lovers in which our MCs come from different Orders. One to heal and one, well, to murder. Osric, our MMC, leaves our FMC Aurienne little choice but to help cure him. This is a super witty read with sarcastic humor the had me giggling. 

I think this would be a great read for those who love romcoms dipped into a fantasy setting, but could be a miss for those who are more avid readers of the romantasy genre and could want a bit more world building. I found myself confused frequently with the world. With the amount of made up terms, names, places, and extra uses of larger words, the writing felt too congested for easy consumption at times. Words were frequently capitalized where it was hard to tell if it was just for emphasis or if it’s something important in their world. There were also a few times where you are told about the conversation our main characters had instead of being given the conversation. I love humor and banter as much as the next person, however the crude humor seemed to be a bit gratuitous. 

It hurts to say this wasn’t for me, but still giving this 3 stars because I think plenty will eat it up!

3.75 stars.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was giving it girl, until it wasn't. Let me explain.

Before we start, keep in my mind this is another iteration of Dramione fanfic turned trad pub.

We start with an awesome premise of two rivals being "forced" to work together to save one of them. Sounds good, right? Sign me up.

But the rest of the plot falls flat. We get a couple exciting moments where the plot seems to advance and expand onto the universe and make the novel seem more dimensional, but those moments don't hit until about halfway through. We also don't really get a cohesive explanation of the Orders. We know our characters have beef because of them is marked as an assassin-for-hire and the other one is a stuck up healer. But why the Orders beef? Couldn't tell you. There's a whole page with explanations after the main contents, but I would've loved it explained to me more in the span of the book itself.

Next, if you're expecting a heartstopping romance, reign in those expectations right now.

Our characters are not that developed in the feelings department, so even tho we have their POVs, we don't quite get to explore their attraction towards each other that much. Yes, they both jerk off to imaginings of one another and kiss towards the end, but there seems to be something missing.

Their banter is great, but it seems to follow one main strategy - he's an assassin and she's a healer. So he thinks she's sheltered and they bounce off each others sex jokes.

And oh boy the sex jokes are like 80% of the whole book. Don't get me wrong it's not that I don't appreciate them, I do. But shit gets repetitive reallllll fast.

Speaking of repetitive, most of the plot is repetitive too. She heals him, he does something for her. She's in danger, he saves her. He's in danger, she saves him. And on and on and on and on.

I did love the overall feel of the novel, it reads more like The Assistant to the Villain, but of them are Evie. I would definitely pick up book 2, but I'm not going to reread book 1 for a couple years at least.

Osric Mordaunt, member of the assassin Fyren Order, has a problem: his magic may be rotting, which is a death sentence. He blackmails Aurienne Fairhrim, member of the healer Order, Haelan, into helping him find an impossible solution. Both brilliant, and diametrically opposed, Osric and Aurienne are forced to work together when it's clear they'd rather be anywhere else. Until they can't imagine spending time without each other.

I absolutely loved The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy. The quippy language and tone of the writing emphasize the whimsy of the story, which works as another layer on top of the banter between Osric and Aurienne. The language is crass, but masked by complex sentence structure and playful worldbuilding it becomes laugh out loud funny.

This book is not going to be for everyone: the style of the writing alone will likely turn off some readers unused to complicated worldbuilding that throws you in. While reading the book on my kindle, for the first couple of chapters, I had to keep the glossary open on the kindle app on my phone. Once I adjust (by the second or third chapter) and fell into the pacing, Knightley's terminology clicked with me too. There were times I had to look up words (thankful for built in dictionaries), and occasionally they were real words and sometimes they ended up being made up. Rather than finding this frustrating, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was glad I used my eyes to read this.

While the book is fast paced, thanks in part to the language, the romance is slow burn. Like, very slow; like, at the end of book one they may finally be admitting to themselves that they're in over their heads with each other. The lengths at which both Osric and Aurienne go to deny attraction kept me hooked. Osric flirts with everything that moves. Aurienne is buttoned up (quite literally, she typically wears a high necked Order uniform) and has no time of day for frivolities. As the two come together though, and they realize that those differences can help rather than hinder them, a part of each of them starts to melt. There are two outstanding solo scenes in this book, where they are each wholly mortified to discover that the other is at the root of their desire. Osric getting himself off while Aurienne sleeps next to him is hot, mortifying, and sheds critical light on the softening of his character.

Irresistible Urge has its foundation in fanfic, but leaves little trace of its original canon. The worldbuilding, magic system, tone, and all of the side characters have no resemblance to any other books. I have not read Mortifying Ordeal, but my understanding from friends who have is that while this takes a similar tone, it's an entire rewrite of that story in a completely new world. I think it holds on to the successful character traits we want in an enemies to lovers battle of wits.

Like I said, I loved this book, and it worked for me on almost every single level. It's going to be polarizing because of its origins (f*ck JKR) and because of the style of writing and worldbuilding. But if you're in the mood for a crass and silly slow burn enemies to lovers story that doesn't take itself too seriously, I recommend it!

DNF @ 40% - literally felt like I was having an aneurysm while reading this.

I went into this book with no connection or past experience with dramione so I’m not sure if it would have helped if I did. However I felt so lost. The writing made me feel like I was on drugs. It was a mixture of random big vocabulary words and things in the world that I guess we are just supposed to know??

I just felt like we were thrown into a world and supposed to know what was going on and that just made the experience confusing and not fun.

The banter was pretty good and I did laugh a bunch but that was not enough to make me connect to the characters or story.

Thank you to Berkley for the advanced e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was everything I was hoping it would be! The banter was SO GOOD, and the writing itself was just so much fun. I’ve never read a book quite like this. Yes, I was expecting an enemies to lovers romantasy, but what I loved about this book was that it didn’t take itself too seriously. I swear, I laughed out loud so many times during my read through.

I can see why some people may not like it, but I thought it was a silly, goofy time and I loved it.

rating —4.25 out of 5 stars.

can you believe it? an enemies-to-lovers romantasy in which the author actually commits to the “enemies” aspect and doesn’t have the characters start fantasizing about each other 5 pages in and sleeping together at the 20% mark? it actually exists! shocking! i will admit i had doubts – i’ve been burned so many times before by people who simply do not want to commit to having their characters hate each other for a lot of the book. which is fine, it’s just not enemies-to-lovers, and i sure wish they’d stop marketing it that way! this slow burn really did commit to the hatred, and i enjoyed myself greatly. now, i will say it isn’t a book that takes itself too seriously, so it might not be for everyone if you’re not as into the idea of a romantasy meets rom-com type vibe. i did enjoy myself, but i know it’s not to everyone’s taste!

one thing that i Did Not Like: this book contains a lot of Capital Letters for Emphasis. too many, in fact. believe me, i too think it’s funny to do that sometimes, and that it can be used for comedic effect – but like any other joke, when you tell it a hundred times, it loses a bit of its luster. she used it so many times. like, enough! some sentences can just be! the message will get across even without the capital letters, i promise – trust your readers to get the joke.

overall, though, i had a fun time. i think the worldbuilding could be fleshed out a bit more – i did enjoy the things we learned (like the waystone system, for example), and i think there’s a lot of potential here, but it wasn’t always clear. i’m hoping we’ll get to learn more about hedgewitches in particular in the second book, with all those mysterious allusions to aurienne’s past! i greatly look forward to it.

Meet your newest obsession! The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is a laugh-out-loud, slow burn, banter-filled enemies to lovers romance fantasy you don’t want to miss. 

Osric is dying. His only option for a cure is a brilliant healer, Aurienne; though no cure technically exists for his affliction, she’s his best chance. One caveat— she hates his guts (and all of his kind, they’re murderers).



I was constantly amazed by Irresistible Urge! Like not only is this book written in a unique comical way, but also the research is incredible! I had to look up so many British terms and was so impressed by the medical accuracy. You seriously won’t find another book like this.

𝑻𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝑬𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕:
💖 The wittiest banter
🗡️ Morally Grey (Arrogant) Assassin MMC
💖 Slow burn
🧪 Clever(est) Healer FMC
💖 Acts of Warranted Brutality and other Diverse Felonies 

One of my most anticipated releases this year DEFINITELY delivered!! Brigitte Knightley is easily one of my new favorite authors and we cannot to get our hands on book two!

This is one of those odd reviews to write where, largely, my experience while reading it was positive. But at the same time, there were some glaring hiccups along the way. This made for a very confusing reading experience, as I was having fun, but was also constantly pulled back from full immersion by one thing or another.

Now, I haven’t read the original fanfic (and there are mixed messages going around about whether this is a straight adaptation of that story or a more original tale), but I will say that had I not known this was based on a Draco/Hermione fanfiction tale (and the marketing and cover image hadn’t telegraphed that point so heavily), I wouldn’t have guessed. This speaks well to the author’s ability to remove it from any original points of inspiration, leaving characters and a world that felt wholly unique. If I squinted I could maybe identify pieces that were pulled from Harry Potter; but truly, had I not known, it never would have entered my mind that there was any connection to another story/world in this book.

The story is also a fast, fun, romantic comedy. This last point I think is crucial. While it is marketed as “romantasy” and would fit that criteria, being both a romance and set in a fantasy world, it more strictly aligns with the sort of story you’d likely find in a romantic comedy. There are very few serious moments to be found and the fantasy world-building is mostly just there as window-dressing for this love story to play out. Instead, the story is largely light-hearted (even its darker moments are largely tempered by jokes).

I also very much appreciated the slow-burn nature of the story. It is here that I think some romantasy fans may find disappointment. These two barely make any progress until the very end of the book, and even there, it’s the most minimal of steps. Now, I love slow burn, so I was all about this approach. But for romantasy readers looking for more spice or clearly romantic interactions, this may be a disappointment.

However, I did struggle with this book throughout. As I mentioned above, the world-building and magic system is incredibly sparce. There is a glossary at the end of the book that describes the various magical groups and their beliefs/powers. But if the reader doesn’t discover this bit for themselves, the book does very little to explain any of this within the story itself. We get enough about the main characters’ respective groups, but the groups who aren’t represented on the page are incredibly unclear. Like I said, if I hadn’t scanned the back of the book to start, I’d have no clue about how any of these worked.

The world itself is also fairly confusing. It’s clearly based on the UK, but this version is also split into various smaller nations, many of whom are verging on war with one another. It’s never clear how these places differ from one another, why they are fighting, what goals they are trying to achieve…really, just nothing was given here. I was usually having enough fun just following the interactions between the main couple to forget these niggling details, but the second I stepped back from the book, all of these questions came charging back in. And frankly, there just aren’t any answers to be found.

There is also a strong emphasis on humor in this book. This was also a tough spot, because while I found some of it genuinely funny, there was also a lot of cringy moments. In particular, there was so, so much crass body humor throughout the entire affair. Just ball/dick jokes galore. And that’s just not my thing. It was especially frustrating because there were other moments where I actually chuckled out loud! Mostly, I feel like the author has the skill to write a funny, romantic comedy-style story, but that this one was a bit too stuck in some of the stylized humor that you do find in fanfiction still.

The story itself was also interesting, and, like I said, the pacing was fast. That said, the ending was incredibly abrupt and left me turning pages and looking for the real ending. It’s not even really a cliff-hanger (though everything is still completely unresolved at the end), but more that it felt like the author finished a chapter….and then they just cut the book off there. Presumably to pick up with the very next chapter at the start of the next book! It was just odd.

So, there you go. A very mixed bag read. I’d say that for my actual reading experience, this was fun enough to earn an 8 rating. However, due to the issues with the limited world-building, the sometimes cringy humor, and the odd pacing at the end, I have to lower it down to a 7. I think that readers looking for a fun, lighthearted romantasy (especially those who enjoy a true slow burn) may still have fun with this one though. And I’ll definitely be checking out book two when it comes out!

Rating 7: While I had a lot of fun reading this book, the world-building and pacing were rough at times, and the humor came on a bit too hard at times.

Link will go live on The Library Ladies on Aug 1

2.5⭐️
thank you netgally for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!
i know the author said this book is not DMATMOOBIL rewritten, but i’m going to be so for real, I have a hard time believing that. Are there changes? Yes. There is a disease called “the pox” that targets mostly children, enemies to lovers, slow burn, and women in STEM.

differences:
-“morally gray fmc” but to me she’s just apathetic and angry, so i don’t know how that makes her morally gray
-he is sent to protect her
-he is dying and needs her to heal him
-their magic gives them some disease whether it’s arthritis, skin rotting, or anything in between

similarities:
-banter/bickering as if they’re in a 1950’s romance
-crude and childish humor (a lot like “locker room talk”)
-she has knowledge and semi practices in traditional pagan magic
-slow burn
-close proximity
-hate to friendly(ish)
-they look the same as draco and hermione
-character traits similar to how she wrote them in her fanfic

So to me, there are differences, but too many foundational similarities to be seen as completely different to the fanfic.

when it comes to the world building, there’s a concept but it just wasn’t explained well enough to understand it. so thank god for the glossary. and while i loved the incorporation of pagan mythology, it felt like there’s was an undertone of going to holistic medicine because pharmaceuticals don’t work, and *spoiler* deadly diseases are man made.

i really wanted to love this book, it was one of my most anticipated reads. it’s a great concept but fell way too flat.

When the assassin Osric falls ill, he needs the expertise of a very specific healer. As fate would have it that healer, Aurienne, belongs to an enemy faction, the Haelan Order. Aurienne and Osric cannot stand each other, and the childish insults they hurtle at one another had me in stitches! It's a very dry British humor that might not appeal to everyone, but it grew on me. This is a true enemies-to-lovers slow burn: if their attraction was moving any slower we'd be going backwards, and they remain enemies for the entirety of this book. I do wish we'd have gotten a bit more world building - there is a glossary of term at the front, but I'd have preferred to have more of that sprinkled into the text itself.

There's a lot of buzz about this debut novel, as Knightley is the author of fanfic "Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In Love." Irresistible Urge is an original story that is not based on DMATMOOBIL, but if you read between the lines you can see the Dramione coding. Irresistible is in no way affiliated with HP.

Overall I enjoyed this! It's the first in a planned duology, and I'm already anxious to find out what happens next. If you're looking for a snarky romantasy with a morally gray MMC and unapologetically know-it-all FMC, this might be the book you've been waiting for.