one word: banter. i love the witty banter between the two main characters. enemies to lovers in a fantasy gets me every. single. time. this was a true enemies to lovers with the way the main characters go back and forth with their humorous banter, however romance is the back plot and not the main priority. i also liked the mystery element with finding the cure for both the outbreak and the magic-threatening illness (they go on adventures).

the only thing that i struggled with was the world building. i had to keep referring back to the reference page which took me out of the story a bit. the world itself is so intriguing and fun to learn, it just got confusing for me at times. it was definitely more complex than what i am used too. i definitely want to continue the series and would recommend you check it out.

this is a romantasy featuring an assassin, osric and healer, aurienne are forced to work together. osric is dealing with a magic-threatening illness and needs aurienne’s healing expertise. in return, she needs his help to fund her research into a deadly pox outbreak. eventually, a romance develops between the two while trying to resist one another.

tropes: enemies to lovers, slow burn, assassin and healer, forced proximity, stem representation

thank you to the publisher for the e-arc!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was an interesting story, I would recommend it to fans of Assistant to the Villain!

What I enjoyed about this book was that it was lighthearted and funny, the internal dialogue of both the male and female main characters made me laugh out loud along with them. The plot was interesting and unique, it's not your typical fantasy book. I enjoyed the way it tied so much real science into the very fictional world. I think both of the main characters were well developed and had excellent character growth throughout the story. Osric develops emotional intelligence and a genuine conscience, to a degree. Aurienne learns to live outside of her box a bit and that the choices we make are not always morally black and white but indeed sometimes, very grey. The romance wasn't sizzling hot in this one, but I did enjoy the banter and slow burn. I look forward to that continuing to develop in the next book.

There were also things I didn't love about this story. There is a lot of heavy prose which I found a bit over the top in some parts. Between the dated language used, the entirely made up language, and the third person narrative it was sometimes difficult to follow along with. At other times it felt like it was a whole lot of words to say what could've been communicated in a single sentence. The plot kept me intrigued enough that I could read through it, but I can see where for other readers it may have been not a good fit because of this. Another thing I struggled with was the lack of world building. For all the pages of internal dialogue I read from each character, I would've liked for some of those to instead be a better description of the magic system and the history of the world they're in. I think that would've made for a more well-rounded story.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will definitely read the next one. I would recommend it to fans of the genre but not necessarily the general public overall.

3.75 ⭐️

I LOVED the writing style in this. It was so addictive and all consuming just like the romance. The banter in this book had me completely sat.

I will say the third act was the star of this book and I wish the world building had a bit more detail and definition. However this was cozy and fun and would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good laugh and fun romance!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC

This writer has a unique voice. I lost track of the number of times I laughed out loud at the dry wit. It left me wishing the sequel were already out!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy by
Rating: DNF
Pub date: ⅞

Thank you so much to Berkley for my free book!

I’m so disappointed to say that I just couldn’t make it through this book. It was a DNF at 45%.

This had all the makings of a great read: enemies-to-lovers tension in a fantasy setting, but it was just meh.

Osric is an assassin in need of healing, and Aurienne is a no-nonsense healer who is forced to help him. They belong to different groups and have different moral compasses, which is where the “enemies” part comes in.

This was confusing from the start. I’m all for using big words, but stopping mid-page to Google words kills the vibe for me. The jokes weren’t funny, and I didn’t connect with the characters. I needed more backstory, more emotions, and more reasons to care about the story.

Overall, I wasn’t invested in this enough to finish it, but if it sounds interesting to you, you should still check it out!

Overall a 4.25, it took about 35% in to this book to get into, because the world building was a little hard to follow. But after that first part it was a great read the storyline had a great flow and the banter between the FMC & the MMC was top tier.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It was laugh out loud funny, and so cute. I know this was originally based on a Harry Potter fan fiction, but I thought it was reworked enough so that the the magic system felt new and exciting, and the characters could stand on their own. As I closed it, I immediately wished there was more.

Osric has magic that is going bad, and only the best healer can fix him. Problem is the healers are not normally helpful to his assassin group.

Aurienne is the best healer there is and specializes in their magic. The two main characters are brought together despite their differences and some excellent dialogue ensues.

It was an interesting world to be set in with some mentions of political intrigue. The tension of that reaches a high point at the end and we have a cliffhanger for the next book. I will look forward to it!

My main issue with The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is the lack of world building. For the first few chapters, I just thought there might be an info dump. At around 20% I was hoping the magic system and world politics weren’t important because I was utterly lost. By the time I finished the book, I realized that the politics were important and was annoyed that they weren’t fleshed out better. With the spread of a plague-like disease as a focal point in this world, how the kingdoms interact with each other and who are allies or enemies matters. Except, the author writes as though that information is just a side note barely worthy of noticing. I understand that the romance is another focal point of this story and is a larger one at that. However, I don’t like it when stakes are introduced and then forgotten. I did enjoy the banter between our two leads! But felt like a large chunk of the story that just focuses on their travels could have been cut out to further develop other aspects of the story.

Oh I loved this book! Super slow burn and I was here for it! Can’t wait for #2. Typically enemies to lovers isn’t my thing, but it worked in this book! A fun fantasy that provided a perfect getaway from reality! Thanks NetGalley for an early copy!!!

Thank you to Berkley, Ace, and PRH Audio for the eARC and ALC so I could get my hands on this early!

First off, I want to start with a disclaimer that I think attaching this to Dramione is actually a disservice to the book because this fully stood on its own (unlike Rose in Chains, which felt like fanfic of a fanfic 🤪). I despise JKR and wish this hadn’t been marketed with Dramione in mind because it truly didn’t feel like it. If it didn’t have the character art that it did, you wouldn’t even know IMO.

Secondly, this is weird, too wordy at times, and the humor is a bit dry, but it was honestly so intriguing once I got into the story and I found myself barreling towards the end because the slow burn was SO good (the whole book babyyy!!) and I really wanted to find out how things would be handled and solved. I do think it should have been just one book rather than a duology because I feel like we ended mid-scene.

I loved both of our main characters, they were interesting to follow and the dual POV was amazing because we got to have such great insight into their motivations and connection with one another. The hate was palpable!! And I honestly highlighted SO much, it was really so well done in a lot of regards.

Overall, once I really let myself have fun, I had a really great and enjoyable time. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the sequel to hopefully have some happy resolution for Aurienne and Osric!

Thank you Berkley for the arc in exchange for review. The story revolves around Aurienne who is a healer and Osric who is an assassin. Osric needs Aurienne to help get his magic back to normal. This was originally Dramione fanfic, but I have not read the original. The problem that I have been running into, specifically with Dramione fanfic is that there is a certain level of presumed world building, which works for fanfic, but not necessarily as a fully published work. The world building and magic system rely heavily on the readers knowledge of the source material, but if you haven't read the source material you might end up a little lost. Overall, it was a fun romcom kind of read. If you're looking for a banter-y enemies to lovers then this books is for you.

3.75 ⭐️

This was SUCH an anticipated read for me! I’m sooo grateful to have received an ARC thank you sooo much to the publisher and Brigitte!

Okay let’s dive in

I am gonna be completely honest, at first I did get overwhelmed with learning all these new words but luckily there is a provided glossary. Once I got passed the first couple chapters I found myself enjoying it more but I kept going back and forth on how I felt, I think the author making her own words while also incorporating such overly complex words was really taking me out of the story.

I loveddddd DMATMOOBIL and I’m completely aware this is its own story and the author wanted to create a separate story and this is in no way related to that , BUT I did get giddy everytime I would pick up on little Easter eggs from the fic, even the dedication had me giddy.

I did enjoy the romance and slow burn aspects of this as well, it was a perfect slow burn and a true enemy to lover type vibe. We have Aurienne who is a healer and Osrin who is an assassin. They are enemies due to being in enemy orders and their overall morals (she heals, he kills LOL). It turns out Osrin needs a healer and Aurienne is his only hope. Aurienne is coerced I nto to helping Osrin. Their banter is fantastic! I found myself laughing so many times.

final verdict is that it’s gonna be a 3.75 which bums me bc I thought it would be an auto 5 star! (3.75 is still a great rating in my eyes I still very much enjoyed it just not as much as I expected!!) The plot is chefs kiss and there’s alot of really funny parts but kinda as I said earlier the authors use of such INTENSE vocab like every page kept taking me out of the story cause I had to keep stopping and looking up what the word meant and this is all on top of her also creating her own terms for her world so it was hard for me to stay in the story. It took me so long to read it bc I would read like 10-15 pages and then feel overwhelmed 🤣🤣🤣 but other than that the story is good! The overall plot is there and has so much potential as a series but there just wasn’t much like world building or explanations to when and where they are in like the time era and stuff so that is why I settled on a 3.75

This was a delightful, witty romp filled with wonderful wordplay and endearing characters. I'm really looking forward to the second one! Reviewed for a forthcoming edition of Shelf Awareness, Readers!

A wonderful debut by Brigitte Knightley.

the thing i loved most about this book was the incredible dialogue between the two main characters. there were moments where i was laughing out loud at the absurdity of their situations and what Osric would say in response. it was giving romantic comedy all the way through.

the only thing i struggled with was in the very beginning with pronunciations of the words, it pulled me out of the story up until about 25% in where i eventually got used to them and began to understand their meanings. the glossary and pronunciation guides did help quite a bit with this.

thank you NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

A fun, witty romantasy with the slowest of slow burns!

“The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy” follows Aurienne Fairhrim, a healer, and Osric Mordaunt, an assassin, after they are forced to work together to cure a fatal disease, all while resisting the urge to kill each other—or worse, fall in love.

Knightley’s use of Old English helps to transport readers to the Tiendoms—an alternate fin-de-siécle UK that feels familiar, but also wholly unique. Her prose brings to life the lively atmosphere of the pubs, the hustle and bustle of Swanstone, and the former glory of Rosefell Hall among other key locations. Unfortunately, the world-building does fall flat in some respects. The different Orders and the magic associated with them, for example, are mentioned frequently, but are never really explained outside of the glossary. Flipping back and forth between the story and the glossary every time I came across a word or phrase I did not know interrupted my immersion in the world. This also happened whenever I stumbled upon heavy medical terminology without context clues and particularly raunchy jokes that made me feel uncomfortable.

Despite these minor setbacks, I really enjoyed the romance subplot, as it developed in an organic and intriguing way. Aurienne and Osric’s professions are diametrically opposed, creating an interesting dynamic between the two of them once they are forced to work together. Their verbal sparring matches are incredibly entertaining and serve as the catalyst for the war they fight with themselves. The more time they spend together, the stronger the pull becomes between them. The back-and-forth that characterizes their relationship is highly addictive, with Aurienne and Osric fighting the urges to both kill and kiss the other. The tension, yearning, and self-loathing propel the plot and sucked me further into the story. Neither one actually voices their feelings aloud, so I can’t wait to see them do that in the next installment!

⭐️⭐️💫 (2.5/5)

Okay. So here’s the thing. I WANTED to love this. Enemies-to-lovers in a sci-fi setting? Yes, please. But somewhere between the world-building and the “let me explain the science of this Seith for three pages straight,” the actual story got a little… lost.

Don’t get me wrong the story had promise. Tension? There. Banter? Yes. But just when things were getting good between the characters, we’d hit another info dump that made my eyes glaze over. I like a little science in my fiction, but this felt like I accidentally signed up for a lecture.

The world itself was creative, just not always digestible. I found myself flipping back to earlier pages trying to figure out what things meant or what the heck. It didn’t help that the romance felt like it was fighting for space the entire time ironic, considering the title.

If you’re a die-hard sci-fi, this might work for you. But if you came here for messy tension and slow-burn angst, you might shouldn’t come. (respectfully).

Honestly… I was too distracted trying to remember what the special words meant.

this book was so fun to read!

shadow-walking, pretentious assassin meets clever, baddie healer. said assassin “hires” healer to find a cure for his magic degeneration, aka to do the impossible. need i say more?

(irresistible was written by the author of the famous dramione fanfic DMATMOOBIL - and this book was supposedly inspired from it!)

aurienne and osric’s banter was SO GOOD. i LOL’d every time they humbled eachother. while the story itself was pretty confusing (not enough world building - too much new vocabulary that didn’t stick), i thoroughly enjoyed the enemies to lovers aspect.

i was always anticipating aurienne and osric’s meetups because i wanted to see if she could save him. watching them interact and slowly become comfortable with eachother was sooo refreshing - i’m excited to watch their story unfold more and more!

i didn’t realize this was going to be a series?? but that makes me feel so much better considering there was A LOT of background and word jargon that, even now, i didn’t quite grasp.

will i continue this series in hopes of putting all the pieces together? absolutely. it was worth the pick up!

thank you to berkley romance for gifting me this arc ❤️

Such a fun, charming read! The author is known for their Dramione fanfiction (which I loved), but I think comps to Dramione and the HP universe do this book a disservice. There are some similarities in the magic system, but the world and the atmosphere created felt like their own.

I loved the raunchy, campy comedy, and the tender, serious moments of romance, and how the author managed to bridge the two seamlessly as the book progressed. I was wondering how the book would transition from these two enemies who GENUINELY hate each other and everything the other stands for to romance... but the story really pulls this off!

I feel like this book fills a gap I didn't realize I was missing in the fantasy/romantasy genres. Instead of a serious or angsty romantasy, it's more of a romantic comedy in a fantasy setting... Romcomtasy?

Frothing at the mouth for book two!!!

I wanted to LOVE this - I've read this author's previous unpublished work and adored it. However, in the Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy, the characters fell flat for me and the witty banter felt forced and overdone.