This book is exactly what the title promises—and somehow still manages to surprise you. The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is a smart, swoony enemies-to-lovers romance with actual emotional stakes.

The banter is sharp (I laughed out loud more than once), but what really landed for me was the slow, believable unraveling of tension between the MCs. It never felt rushed or surface-level. Knightley gives both characters room to grow, and the result is a romance that feels earned, layered, and deeply satisfying.

Bonus points for a voice that’s witty without trying too hard, and for knowing when to punch you right in the feelings. If you love your romance with just the right mix of spice, heart, and real vulnerability, this one’s worth the hype.

And all this to say it didnt need any of the "dramione" marketing to be good!!!!!

✦ Rom-com Romantasy Recommendation ✦

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘜𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺
by Brigitte Knightley

Book 1 ✦ Dearly Beloathed Series
383 pages

Publication date: 8 Jul 2025
eARC: @netgalley

𝘈𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯 𝘹 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘳
𝘈𝘮𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘢𝘱
𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 ☠️
𝘏𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳
𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤

An amazing debut!

A new slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy series that you should add to your tbr! We follow an assassin and a healer who are forced to work together to solve not only his illness but the mysterious reoccurrence of the Pox and who is attacking the health clinic.

Osric, a member of the Fyren Order of assassins, who can shadow-walk, falls ill with an uncurable disease. He needs the expertise of a very specific healer. The problem is the healer belongs to an enemy faction, the Haelan Order. Aurienne is a Haelan (a healer) and scholars who uses her seith (their magic) in healing and research. The way their relationship develops felt so natural and realistic. Their pining and tension really heats up at the end so I can’t wait for book 2. The banter between these two is hilarious. I laughed out loud quite a few times. Also, there are some big words in this book. I had to open my dictionary a few times. 🤣

I recommend this fun book. I will be reading book 2 when it comes out. Definitely add it to your TBR.

✦ Thank you so much Berkley Publishing Group|Ace and @netgalley for the gifted eARC!
Rating: 4.5/5

I know many people will like this one, but it just wasn't for me. I couldn't imagine a believable scenario where the two main characters would fall for each other given the animosity toward one another for most of the book. That, along with the world building it seems like we're already supposed to understand, and I couldn't finish it. The fanfic was popular because this whole world and the characters were already introduced, you already had all this background information, and those same feelings weren't captured in this. I understand that, legally, anything related to Harry Potter needed to be changed, but I think they could have done a better job of that.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy
By: Brigitte Knightly
Rating : 4 Stars

So first thing that caught my attention with this book was the TITLE and COVER!!! Clearly it's Enemies to Lovers and I can never pass that Trope up!!!!
Then the main characters are an assassin and a healer!!!! One Kills and One Heals?!?!?!? Yeah I definitely want to see how that plays out!!!

When I first started this book it did start out a bit slow for me. I ended up reading about 50 pages and then had to set it down because I could just not get into it the way I wanted and that didn't feel fair to the book!!

When I came back to it I started it over and was able to focus on the story and really get into it.

The book starts out with Osric (our MMC) finding out that he is slowly dying and there is only one person who may be able to help him. That leads us to Aurienne (our FMC) who is a Healer who happens to hate Osric's Order. So to convince her to help him he donates to help fund the sick Adrienne is desperate to heal.

If you Love :
- Romantsay
- Enemies to Lovers
- Slow Burn
- Forced Proximity
- Banter
- Healers and Assassins

Then you should definitely add this to your Tbr!!!

There were a few things that I didn't enjoy too much about this book......
There were a lot of Words that I felt like I needed to look up! Now this could just be a me probably!!! So don't let this stop you from reading it yourself.
Also ..... this was definitely a me problem........I went into this book not knowing much about it, so I had no idea it was going to be a duology. When I was reading the ending I didn't even know it was the ENDING !! I was reading on my kindle and I don't read with the page number or my percentage of book left turned on, so it felt like the book was just starting to pick up and then it ENDED!!!!!

So needless to say........ I am soooooo READY for book 2 with an ending like that!!!

Overall it was a fun book! Now I can't wait for release day so I can grab a physical copy!!!!

Publication Date : July 8 2025

Thank You to Berkley Publishing Group, Net Galley, and Author Brigitte Knightley for this digital Arc to Honestly Review

This is true enemies to lovers they hate each other with an excruciating intensity, and the slow burn? Absolute torture (in the best way). The banter is some of the best I’ve ever read witty, dry, and laugh-out-loud funny. I was cackling one minute and dying from the tension the next.

The worldbuilding is incredibly unique so fresh, so detailed. (Pro tip: read the glossary first!) It’s unlike anything I’ve read before, and the writing? Sharp, smart, and beautifully done.

I adore the FMC she’s clever, hilarious, and her sharp tongue had me laughing or saying oh my god. And the MMC? Deliciously morally grey. What a delight.

Huge thanks to Ace Books for the ARC this is book one in a duology, and I already need book two!

Banter, yearning and REAL slow burn enemies to lovers. We are so back.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy follows Osric Mordaunt, an assassin who’s recently developed a condition which could compromise his ability to wield magic forever. In a moment of desperation, he bribes Aurienne Fairhrim, one of the best scientists in the land, in exchange for her attempt to heal him. Faced with the desperation to stop an aggressive plague known as the Pox, Aureienne agrees to help him if he donates enough money towards developing a cure that could save countless lives. Despite their distaste for one another, (and their occupation), they find themselves working together.

The banter in this book gave me life. I can’t remember the last time a book made me laugh so hard. The chemistry between Osric and Aurienne was truly amazing, but this book stayed true to its slow burn description. The marketing for this book focuses on the romance, but I found myself pleasantly surprised by the overall plot. I love the writing style, and the way it so perfectly fit the atmosphere of the book. The world building also intrigued me because it blended both science and magic together, but there was a lack of explanation concerning both the magic system as well as the politics, so if you go into this story expecting epic world building, you may be disappointed. I loved the overall story, and was shocked when I realized this wasn’t a standalone. I can’t wait to read the next book and read more about Osric and Aurienne.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start off by saying that I think Brigitte Knightley is a genius. I read DMATMOOBIL and absolutely loved it, so much so that I do regular re-reads. She brought such depth and yearning to the main characters, and her ability to create hilarious moments and banter are second to none.

So with much love, I am disappointed to say that I did not enjoy The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy because I felt that it lacked much of what made me love her previous works. In particular, I think this published title lacked convincing world-building, character depth, and the hilarious banter I typically enjoy.

I was a bit confused why the world-building still included some real geography, ethnicities, and language, despite the world map pointing to a completely fantasy world. It affected the immersion of the read, and made it less believable.

The characters felt flat and almost like caricatures, with little believable backstory or context. While this is excusable with works of fanfiction because of the built-in context, this book didn’t do enough to make these characters stand on their own besides as shadows of other works. This, in turn, made the romance a bit irrelevant to me, though I did feel more drawn in towards the end of the book. Given that the book was so short, I feel like the character development, like the world-building, could’ve been expanded much more.

After reading a few other reviews, I also agree that this didn’t really feel like enemies to lovers—just two people with philosophical differences. I wonder if things would’ve felt more angsty if Osric’s order had caused some sort of personal harm to Aurienne. Perhaps that is to come?

Lastly, I just didn’t enjoy the humor and jokes in this story. I had assumed that the banter would be much of the same as her previous work, however I didn’t find the overly crude and repetitive humor to be funny.

I will still be reading Knightley’s future works, but this one didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

This book was a lot of fun! I read it by the pool and it had the perfect pool vibes: romantic, easy to follow, funny, and not overly complex. The authorial voice was unique and quirky and I liked the romcom style, which I don't usually see in romantasy books. I definitely felt the Dramione vibes in our two main characters as well as the world. The writing was incredibly cheeky and I liked the silly and whimsical aspects that served as little nods to the Harry Potter world. The banter was top notch and I always love an enemies to lovers dynamic. My biggest complaints were that we didn't get enough world building and that in a lot of ways it felt more of a slice of life story instead of a completed first book. We don't get a resolution on either of the main plots or much character development. I also wish the world building was more robust, because I loved the details we were given, but there is still so much unknown. Without having that info the big reveal at the end didn't feel as impactful as it could have been. All that being said, I'm definitely going to be reading the second book and I'm excited to see where the story goes!

This book was definitely a slow burn. I almost thought it wouldn't happen. I warmed up to the MMC Osric much quicker than I was able to warm up the the FMC Aurienne. I almost didn't finish the book but am glad that I did. Overall it was a fun read but it did take a while to get into the characters and care where it was headed.

As a Dramione girlie I was so excited for this and Osric and Aurienne had banter for days that made my heart swell. A healer and an assasin are drawn together after the assasin has an impossible feat, healing seith rot. Aurienne is Osric's only hope but the trouble is they loathe each other and begrudingly must keep up the folly for their own gains and uses of survival. I am so looking forward to book 2 of the duology

I’ll start by saying that I really enjoyed this book. Admittedly when I first started, I had a bit of trouble with the world building and it took me a while to catch on. Thankfully, the banter between Aurienne and Osric was amazing! That’s what really propelled the story forward for me and had me interested along with the main sub plots - the mystery surrounding the sick children and hunting for Osrics cure were fantastic at keeping me curious. But like I said, the banter and sarcasm and building tension was the big hook!

An excellent debut novel. Truly appreciate this addition to the romantasy genre. It is unafraid to have flawed characters, be both witty and crass, as well as utterly sincere. Honestly, very refreshing. My only note is that it is part of a series, thus not completely satisfying in and of itself.

I really enjoyed this book. This story is an actual Slowburn with a solidly paced enemies to lovers story. The characters are quick witted, and their banter had me cackling out loud. Although this story used a lot of popular tropes, the authors’ take on them was refreshing. The MMC assassin is narcissistic and arrogant. The FMC is brilliant, but navigates the world with a stick up her a**. Their combination makes for a highly entertaining rom-com in a fantasy setting. The world building left a lot to be desired. For this reason, I gave this book a four. I do wish that the marketing wasn’t so heavily leaning into Dramione. The author has stated that this is not a rewrite of her popular fic. People are leaving negative reviews because they were unaware of this, and it’s doing the author a great disservice.

This delightful romantasy will not appeal to everyone, mostly because of the bawdy language, which I grant was a little overused. But I found it to be quite amusing and I loved the slow burn enemies to lovers storyline.

So many enemies to lovers story just develop way too fast lately, or it seems that the enemies aspect of the story really doesn’t quite work, they really aren’t enemies, they just don’t like each other. But these two are truly enemies and really should have nothing to do with each other. But circumstances throw them together and they soon find themselves denying their feelings. It was so fun to watch their feelings change as they got to know each other.

Osric was a fun character even though he was a bit full of himself. He is a very accomplished assassin and therefore thinks everyone admires him and that his charms will work on everyone. Until he meets Aurienne who really wants nothing to do with him. Aurienne is the best at what she does, and she doesn’t have the time or inclination to help Osric, until she is forced by her superior. Granted Osric does a nice thing to get that help, by giving her order lots of money, but she still doesn’t want to do it. The narrative switches between their points of view and it was a lot of fun seeing their ideas about each other change over the course of the story.

The world building was interesting, it is an alternative England where magic is readily available. But there could have been a bit more of an explanation of how the magical system works. Osric is losing his magic because of an old injury and we get a bit of a medical explanation about the magic but that is it. But eventually you just sort of go with it and that works too.

Many people will probably find the language and all of the sexual references and jokes a bit over the top, but I actually found it kind of endearing after awhile, especially the bawdy banter between Osric and Aurienne. But it was also a little bit tiresome after awhile. The author is somewhat known for her fanfic, and this book does sort of remind me of that style of writing.

The plot of the story is quite good. As I mentioned I really liked the slow burn romance and the banter between them was excellent. There is some gory stuff, especially when we are privy to scenes where Osric is busy with his job, which seemed a bit much. But I liked the overall plot of the story. There is a bit of a mystery involving the illness that is affecting only children. We get a bit of a hint about what is really going on with that at the end which made me really want to read the next book.

Overall I really did like this story, although I could have done with a little bit less of the sex jokes and gore. But the characters are fun, the enemies to lovers story is top notch and it was fun watching these two slowly start to have feelings for each other.

I’d like to preface this review by thanking @netgalley and @brigitteknightley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC and take the time to acknowledge the fact that I read the original transformative work it evolved from which allowed me to (in my opinion) review this more critically.

Overall this is a 5⭐️ classic romantasy story. Knightley nails a delicious slowburn TRUE enemies to lovers romance arc while sandwiching it between a tense political subterfuge plot and the characters own comedic commentary on their less-than-ideal partnership which had me laughing out loud constantly!

However, my one and only gripe is a big one. For the first 50% or so I found the world building lacking. Knightley throws her readers into the sandbox of their world with a glossary and map to do most of the heavy lifting with little to no exposition beyond the magic system and magical factions (ie: Orders).

⚠️(SPOILERS AHEAD)⚠️
the world feels like a completely original fantasy world that’s superimposed on our reality. And so, at no point was I entirely sure where their civilization placed on the timeline of medieval to modern day. Moreover, I was entirely confused when London, the Thames, Kent, and Wessex existed alongside places like Dyfed, Fortriu, and a pub called the Bunghole. Is their world and alternate reality of our own? Why so many similar places in an entirely dissimilar world? It was confusing— and to that end, extremely frustrating because I would’ve loved to immerse myself more in their magical world! Despite that, I still enjoyed myself immensely particularly because I found the romance between Osric and Aurienne more compelling to read than most of the currently published romantasy genre. Like I said this is TRUE enemies to lovers!! No insta love/lust insight (THANK GOD) so I have no doubt that Irresistable Urge to Fall for Your Enemy will be a best seller upon release!

❤️ for fans of:
Ali Hazelwoods STEM romances & The Princess Bride!

❗️Trigger Warning:
Graphic depictions of violence & medical discussions/treatment

This is the first ARC I have ever read more than twice before writing a review and I have no doubt come this July when I get the physical copy in my hands, it will be HEAVILY annotated. I’m so thankful there’s going to be a second book! 2025 is the year when we are being fed with delicious and sexy enemies to lovers. Aurienne and Osric (shout out to Miss Knightley for giving them such unique names! Romantasy books seems to be cycling through the same 5 male character names lately) are my new favorite couple. Their banter was such a delight to read. Witty and sexy chemistry! I can’t wait to see what she has next in store for them and us. 5 stars!

A mixed bag romantasy, in my opinion.

I felt like the magic and worldbuilding was confusing, and there wasn’t even an info-dump that clarified anything. I didn’t enjoy the writing style; I felt like Knightley just wanted to sound smart for no reason. why am i having to google definitions in a romantasy novel? And then the humor! the humor just didn’t land with me at all. i got tired of the high brow writing combined with the all of the crude jokes. i also just generally didn’t find this all that interesting unfortunately. I know this is a duology but there is very little payoff for the slow burn (which i know some people like; I just wanted a little more!).

Thank you for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was such a delight 🤭

The first few chapters were full of so much whimsical jargon that it threw me off at first and took me a while to get through 😅 but eventually I came to enjoy the unique vocabulary used throughout the story - real and fictional words alike 🤣

I thought the world building was a perfect blend of realistic England (though I know virtually nothing about it 🫣) and the fictional world the book takes place in. She did a great job with all the details and it felt really unique and interesting!

The banter was the absolute best part of this book 🤣 I truly cannot remember the last time I laughed so much while reading. Not only do these two not miss a beat while bickering back and forth, they do so with so much wit and dry humor that made it especially enjoyable. I couldn’t get enough!

The two main characters were so well written. They know who they are, they’re well into their careers and adulthood and are both so stubborn and confident that it made their relationship so much fun to watch grow and change 🤭 Aurienne is truly such a great fmc, I absolutely loved her! Her wit, intelligence and integrity was top tier. And Osric?! I absolutely adored him. The perfect blend of morally grey/black yet can’t help but grow a soft spot just for her 🥹 his humor and inner monologue was the best!

There are sort of two different plot lines throughout the book, but I thought the author did a great job oscillating back and forth between the two and keeping them both as a point of interest.

The build up to the end was well done, and the only thing that bothered me a bit was that I felt like the slow burn didn’t have as much of a pay off as I wanted. But there will be a book 2, and I am more than excited to keep reading and see where it takes us and how the romance takes off!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced copy of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy. I want to state upfront that I did not finish this book, choosing to stop at the 50% mark after realizing it wasn’t what I had anticipated.

This book follows an enemies-to-lovers romance between a healer, Aurienne Fairhrim, and an assassin, Osric Mordaunt. When Osric finds himself in desperate need of medical help, his only viable option is to bribe Aurienne into treating him. Based on the description, I expected a sarcastic tone, a slow-burn romance, and likable characters. Unfortunately, the book didn’t meet those expectations. I found the humor unappealing—particularly the excessive use of crude jokes—and I struggled to connect with either of the main characters.

That said, I did enjoy the first two chapters, especially Osric and Aurienne's initial encounter and how the premise was introduced. However, the rest of my reading experience was unpleasant, primarily due to the writing style. The story was difficult to follow due to the author’s frequent use of unnecessary and overly complex vocabulary, which disrupted the flow and my understanding of the story.

This book was one of my most anticipated reads this year, so I am very disappointed that it did not meet my expectations. Just because this was my personal experience reading, this does not mean others will not enjoy the book.

Brigitte has such a unique voice that she lends to her characters! This was such a fun ride, with a heart stopping whimsical love story, AND SO FUNNY!