I wanted to like this because I loved the fic this was inspired by, but this just didn't work as well as the fanfic did.

I think the issue is that this is marketed as an original work that is separate from the fic. It just isn't. The only thing that is different is the names have changed and new world building had to be made. Some of the dialogue, characterizations, storylines are all the same.

Also unfortunately the world building was clunky and unimaginative. It is obvious that the fanfic worked so well because the reader is already familiar with the magic systems and world building without needing to include it in the story.

I so deeply wanted to love this but I really can't.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an arc for an honest review.

So I’m struggling some with how to write this review for The IrresistibleUrge to Fall for Your Enemy because I wanted to love this one. It’s Dramione coded to the extreme, and I was so excited for that, but overall it just fell flat. Osric Mordaunt, assassin and member of the Fire Order, is in dire need of healing, and the only one who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim. Aurienne is in desperate needs of funding to heal the sick, so when Orsic bribes her with a donation to work on a cure for the deadly pox, she accepts and a forced collaboration begins. Okay, first, this book relies very heavily on the glossary doing the work for the world building, so it feels really easy to get lost in what’s happening and the structure of the world. I also felt like both characters lacked a lot of development. Adrienne is constantly thinking of herself as the Best and Osric has a heavy arrogance that comes off more egotistic than charming for me. This is a slow burn, enemies to lovers romance, and I did like the moments they find themselves falling for each other and try to catch themselves and stop themselves from falling, It’s a gentle way of falling, and I did like that. The humor is very quippy and the story is very dialogue heavy. That being said, just because this wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for someone else. I went in with a very Dramione experience and it just didn’t match my sense of humor. The slow burn and banter are a lot of fun to follow. It has big cozy fantasy romcom vibes.

I loved this book and the characters! I was surprised how much I loved this! I am so sad I can't read the next one right now. The writing and character development was awesome and the dialog was chefs kiss!

DNF at 34% (page 130)

I gave this book my best shot, I really did, but after putting it down for 10 days I have realized that I don't have the ~irresistible urge~ to pick it back up again.

I feel like this book does a lot of telling. Telling me what the characters said instead of having the dialogue; telling me that Osric is an evil person and Aurainne is a good person; telling me that seith is finite. However, at the same time it doesn't tell me enough. What makes Osric an evil person? Wouldn't a good person want to heal anyone who came her way because it was the right thing to do? Is the magical world secret? How am I supposed to know what costs a lot of seith, or how it is recovered, or how it is used? It seems like you just shove your seith at things and hope that solves the problem?

Another thing I struggled with was how obvious it was that this book used to be Harry Potter fanfiction. Don't get me wrong - that's not the problem in an of itself. The issue is that the deofols are an obvious substitute for patronus messages, and don't seem to have any other use. The waystones are an obvious substitution for apparition and don't seem to have any other cultural significance even though they're at social/cultural hubs. Aurainne is supposed to be based on Hermione Granger, but where is her compassion and empathy? Osric is supposed to be based on Draco Malfoy, but he feels like a caricature of an evil person instead of someone with specific goals and motivations that are being met through their actions, and who believes their actions to be for the good of someone, even if that someone is themself.

There also doesn't seem to be any direct conflict between the orders, but they hate each other? And people continue to purposefully chose to be in orders that are explicitly considered to be evil? I don't understand why. There is no clear character motivation, no clear world politics, and I feel like half of the world building is in the glossary at the beginning of the book. You shouldn't need to read a glossary to understand a 360 page romantic fantasy's world building - you have space to flesh out the book by another 3k-8k words instead if you need to. But also, separate from the glossary is info about the Orders and a pronunciation guide, both of which are lovely to have. Why have those at the end, when the glossary is at the front? Why not combine them all into the same place? I LOVE that the Order info and pronunciation guide were included at the bottom of the content notes, but you could also move the glossary to the back and add another page number to the content warnings. If people aren't understanding the magic system unless they read the glossary, that's a structural issue with the book that needs to be addressed.

Lastly, and this is very minor, why are some words capitalized for seemingly no reason? Is it to show sarcasm? Is it a title? Is it to show emphasis? I straight up don't know. But Aurainne is not only a "Phenomenon," but also the "Best" and I feel like we would still understand that she's exceptionally good at her job without being *told* so many times. Show us! The scene with her in the lab was an attempt at showing, and I enjoyed it for the most part. Aurainne does seem to only be characterized by her austerity and stickler-ness, but it was a start. Why is she like this? There doesn't seem to be any hint as to if anything happened to her that caused her to be such a no-nonsense person even around people she is supposed to have fellowship and camaraderie with. Is this just who she is? She doesn't seem to have any sense of humor at all, or a soft spot for any of her fellow Haeleans, or a love of her work. It feels like she does this because it is right, not because it is something she loves in any way. What does she love instead of her job? How come in over 1/3 of the book we haven't seen any other emotions in her? Same with Osric, though to a lesser degree because he obviously values his life more than anything, and is doing whatever it takes to keep it. What does he do other than kill people? Do the people in this world live by their jobs? That's pretty boring.

Anyway, while my above feedback might not seem to support this, I don't hate this book. I simply don't care enough about the plot or the characters to continue, which honestly might be worse.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC in exchange for my honest review!

I LOVED this book! I’m not sure I’ve ever laughed so hard while reading a book, I am in desperate need of a physical copy just so I can annotate and highlight all of the insults! This was top tier banter. The magic system is unique and so cool, and I was happy that I could jump right in without there being a big info dump.

I love reading advanced copies, but this time it was a little painful because the first book isn’t even out yet and I neeeeed the second one!! Something to look forward to!

This was honestly one of the strangest books I’ve read. It felt like a fever dream or maybe like I had food poisoning after eating something delicious? I had moments where I enjoyed it but moments where I didn’t enjoy it. I will say the story had my attention. I liked the idea of a mysterious illness and political subterfuge and trying to find a cure for Osric. Side note *I kept reading his name as Ostrich in my head so that kept throwing me off.

I do wish there had been more world building and discussion of the magic system. It felt like a fanfic almost in the sense that it felt like I was supposed to know the lore and the history but I didn’t beyond the tiny glossary at the beginning of the book. The writing was over the top and a bit clunky at times. I understand it was trying for a specific unique voice and it achieved that but it was definitely clunky at the beginning.

The characters definitely took a bit to grow on me. They felt familiar but also like we barely got any background we are kind of just thrust into the story going with they are loosely Draco and Hermione. I also found myself just kind of struggling to figure out what was happening or being said. It was kind of like reading an essay where someone didn’t want to appear like they copied something so they just used every synonym they could come up with to replace everyday words. Also the humor felt very crass. I wouldn’t even say I’m a prude I think fart jokes are funny but this one just felt like I was reading a strange Victorian London where witches meet Jackass or something? So many farts, balls, holes, nipples, dick and fluid jokes. It didn’t even feel like it fit into the story? Not sure if it was trying for a mix of dark humor but somehow it came out as teenage boy locker room humor? I kind of just got to the point where I was like alright this is EdGy I get it…

I think this story will find its specific niche of readers and they will absolutely love and devour it. I was definitely intrigued and do want to read the next one because I was invested in the overall story.

Thank you to Berkeley Publishing Group and Ace For an eARC

Aurienne is a healer. Osric is an assassin. The orders they belong to are enemies, diametrically opposed to one another. So when Osric falls ill with something extreme that only Aurienne can cure, her initial instinct is, of course, to say no. She’d much rather spend her time working to find a cure for the epidemic attacking the city’s vulnerable children. If only she could find the necessary funding…

Turns out Osric can provide that funding. For the low, low price of researching a cure for him, as well. Will saving an assassin, who could take countless more lives, be worth it to cure the mysterious Pox?

The title of Chapter One is “Irresistable Bastard Meets Immovable Bitch.” Ok, I’m sold.

I’m gonna go ahead and say, up front, that some people won’t like this. It leans hard into the over-the-top witty banter at times, and it’s definitely a romance first, fantasy second. I think fans of the modern romantasy genre will love it, particularly if you like cozy fantasy. (I wouldn’t call this full on cozy, but it definitely falls more in that camp than in epic fantasy like, say, Game of Thrones.)

I found it delightful. It was FUN. It’s slow burn, enemies to lovers, and wow, do I love that combo. I also love when the charming but infuriating rogue falls first and hardest and then has to figure out how to woo the FMC.

It’s a fast read and a nice bit of fun for a unique romance, well worth picking up. Perfect book for a lazy weekend!

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!!

This book is lacking so much world building. The info dump of definitions and lack of context in the actual story doesn't help.

I really am just sad becuase I was pretty excited for the potential here on the set up. I ended up DNFing at 20%

Thank you so much Net Galley and publishers for the ARC of this book. I liked the tropes and slow burn romance. I just didn't really vibe with the world building. I get it was fan fic-y vibes, but I just didn't vibe with it.

This was an interesting read. Ive never read any of the fanfics but it deff gave me harry potter vibes but just a tad

I was excited to read this book because I loved DMATMOBIL, and it did not disappoint. I loved this book just as much! It is the perfect slow burn—funny, angsty, and full of that delicious enemies-to-lovers tension (I actually couldn't even picture how they were going to stop hating each other... until I could). The Celtic magic was a unique twist. Can't wait until the next one!

We are so back!!! Unique magic system? enemies to lovers? banter? slow burn? tension? We got it all here! I had such a fun time in this world I cannot wait for everyone else to be able to enjoy it!

This book is easily among the top three best fantasy books released this year. The banter was amazing, clever, and the dry humour of it all made me laugh every three sentences. The voice of each of the characters, and rather, the author herself was present and driving the story until the end. The phonetics and naming systems within this world were well researched, and backed by ancient and modern language models, as well as archaeological finds. The magic system was unique and engaging, and the scientific terminology used was correct, and well very understandable for someone working in a university lab. This author is smart, well read and researched, and has a personality present and vivid throughout the book.

I truly have nothing bad to say about this book. The jokes, language, naming, and scientific backing were not only right and well researched, but also so funny, witty, clever, and engaging as both an archaeologist, a scientist, and a reader. My full review after I digest this book appropriately will be posted on my Goodreads, but wow. I am just blown away.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley is the first book in her Dearly Beloathed duology. From what I understand, this book had its origin in a Draco and Hermione fanfiction (Dramione). I have not read any of the fanfiction in this world, so I was a little lost on the background and world building. It is set in an alternate UK reality where magic is given according to one's abilities.
Osric Mordaunt is an assassin with the Fyren Order. A very good assassin. Unfortunately what makes him a good assassin has been damaged and according to all the experts he has seen, is incurable. The order of assassins he belongs to takes care of its own. When they are useless, they execute them. Hoping to avoid that fate, Osric turns to a fairytale as his last hope. The person in the best position to carry out this fairy tale is a healer with the Haelen Order, Aurienne Fairhrim. The Haelen loath the Fyren and Osric has to employ some blackmail to get Aurienne to help him. She does, but very grudgingly. Each encounter is at least a DEFCON 3 interaction.
The author writes very well - especially her dialogue. Her snark factor is off the charts. It could almost be a book just by itself. But it isn't, and the rest of the book falls a bit flat. Osric and Aurienne just go from one place to another trying to find a healing strategy and the snark starts to get a little stale after a bit. I think I might have given a more favorable grade had I read something located in this world previously. But I just felt like I was wading through to get to the end. There are many five star reviews for this book from people who went into the book already being fans of this author. So take what I write with a grain of salt. It may be your cup of tea, so give it a try and see.
*Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the free eARC in return for an honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and Berkley for the ARC!
2.5 stars.

I was cautiously excited for this book. I knew not to expect a copycat of a Dramione fanfic, but I was still eager to see what the author came up with on her own.

Unfortunately much of this book wasn't for me.

First the good:
-The banter was fun, to an extent. The snarky writing might appeal to fans of Assistant to the Villain
-At times the author has a very poetic way of writing and it was lovely when she did that.
-Once I got into it and mostly figured out the world (at maybe 50%) I was interested enough to keep reading.
-I liked seeing the MCs go from truly hating each other, to reluctantly working together, to beginning to fall for each other.
-It's a true slow burn
-STEM vibes

The not so good:
-Incredibly crude/sexual humor. Not for me. It did nothing to help the plot or characters. It was downright gross at times. I would have hard DNF'd this book because of it, but I felt obligated to finish reading since it's an ARC.
-A glossary at the beginning does not qualify as worldbuilding in a fantasy book. Especially if it's an ebook or audiobook and you can't flip back and forth when there are unfamiliar terms. (And there are a LOT.) There are very few world building explanations within the narrative and it was frustrating.
-Characters are pretty flat without much backstory, emotion, or development.

Final thoughts:
I did finally become invested in the plot by the end. I feel like I would probably continue to read book 2 if it was already out. But in another year or so I don't know if I'll care enough to put up with all the crude jokes again.

I never claimed to be the brightest crayon in the box… but I’m also not the dullest…….. and this one really had me scratching my head trying to process and understand the world, magic, language & happenings.

I did understand the premise of the plot, as far as Osric experiencing Seith (magic) rot (degeneration), and Aurienne dealing with the Pox outbreak and trying to find a way to mitigate it. Everything else in between had me totally lost.

Aside from my general lack of understanding, the humor was on point. The banter between Osric & Aurienne was just so good, very dry and sarcastic. That is what kept me pushing through the story.

The enemies to lovers was done well, but I do wish we got a little bit more of the “lovers” in it than we did.

Thank you to Berkeley & Brigitte for providing me with this ARC copy to read and review!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was such a fun read. What really impressed me was the worldbuilding. I am familiar with this author's a03 works, so I went in expecting to see some remnants/inspiration from the source material, as is usually the case with some fanfic authors. But that was not the case at all. This world felt original and entirely its own. I loved learning about the magic system and how the world functions.

The things that kept this from being a 5-star read for me are that I wanted a bit more from the romance, but I do prefer more of a slow-burn. And then the novel ends rather abruptly.

I'm eagerly awaiting the conclusion to this duology, and I plan on re-reading the book once it is published. It's a fantastic debut, and well worth people's time.

Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley.

Right off the bat, unfortunately, I knew this book wasn't quite right for me. I can see how others may enjoy this read, especially my romantasy lovers. This is a rom-com-style fantasy with an enemies-to-lovers trope. The premise is promising; Aurienne is a healer. Osric is an assassin who comes down with an illness- affecting his magic. Aurienne is the only one that can save him. They come from opposing Orders, and are forced into a reluctant alliance where they inevitably develop feelings for one another.

Which sounds like an amazing plotline. What I got instead was more surface-level than I hoped for. I didn't grow attached to the characters like I had hoped for. The main characters had potential, but their development lay flat. I didn't get a strong sense of who they were beyond their roles in their Orders, and because of that the romance wasn't emotional enough for me.

The worldbuilding was vague and I had trouble understanding the setting; the rules of the Orders, and how the magic worked. I wish there was more writing invested in setting the scene. It was like being dropped into a map, in the middle of a war you know nothing about, hoping that the fog would clear as you pushed forward. I only understood the true objective of multiple Orders when I got to the glossary description (at the end of the book), and only then did I have an inkling of a reason as to why the world was set up the way it was. This should have been set up during the storyline, and not a shock factor at the end of the book.

All that being said, I did enjoy the concept of the book and I do believe that Knightley has potential in the writing world. She uses creative touches in her work and is a vivid writer.

Overall, this particular story wasn't for me, but I do believe readers who enjoy a light-hearted romantasy may find themselves thoroughly encapsulated by this book!

I’d like to state for the record that I’ve read this author’s dramione via AO3 and adored it.

I’m rooting Brigitte Knightley to succeed. Truly.

So hurts to admit – this was … cringe worthy bad. 🫣

For those going into this thinking it’s a deep swim– it’s not. Think more of it as Assistant to the Villain- cheesy, flippant vibes. But side characters are not as polished the chemistry build isn’t as smirk worthy. 😩 I think the concept could have worked, but this needed a few more rounds of tough-love editing.

Not a one star because there are a couple diamonds in the rough.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and Netgalley for this highly anticipated ARC. I realize as a reader, I need to understand these authors must dramatically translate their inspo/concepts so there isn’t any legal issues. Expectations need to be lowered. What dramione fans are getting is a very different concept in a very different box.

But I felt like in this concept change, we lost what we loved most, Knightly’s unique voice. My fingers are crossed she finds it in book two. 🤞

Unfortunately I just didn't see any chemistry between these two characters. There was a lot of banter, but that does not directly translate to romantic chemistry alas. I did find the world-building and plot really interesting, and I want to learn more about Amagris, so I might read the next book though,