I really, really, really wanted to love this. I did not read the fan-fiction it’s rumored to be inspired by, so I had no idea what I was going into. The bottom line was the humor and character personalities were not for me. I probably got permanent wrinkles in my forehead from cringing so hard when reading this at times. I couldn’t stop comparing the two main characters to Geraldine and Professor Washer in the Zodiac Academy series (iykyk)

It was torture to finish this one, but I didn’t dnf in hopes to remain on Berkley’s good side (I PROMISE I LOVE Y’ALL OKAY)

Many people will love this book. And I love that for them. Unfortunately, it just was not for me. I was incredibly bored and ended up not caring about the slow burn romance at all. The characters were annoying, the terminologies used were cringey, shall I go on?

Thank you tremendously to Berkley and NetGalley for access to this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall in Love With Your Enemy was an absolute hoot. It delivered on multiple fronts: salacious humor, a unique and clever magic system, an intriguing plot, and layer upon layer of mystery that pulls you in and keeps you desperate to unravel it all. And best of all—the cherry on top—it nails the enemies-to-lovers dynamic (as it absolutely should, given the title).

Our FMC and MMC are so mean to each other, in the most deliciously entertaining way. Their banter is sharp-tongued, utterly shameless, and laced with that perfect kind of filthy tension that makes every interaction a spark-fueled joyride.

The romance is a delicious slow burn, full of friction, fire, and reluctant yearning. There’s a beautiful, clashing contrast between the main characters: Aurienne, our FMC, is an honorable healer—rigid, straight-laced, like a starched collar that refuses to wrinkle. Osric, our MMC, is her complete opposite: morally ambivalent, shameless, a killer by trade and utterly unapologetic about it. He doesn’t wear honor like armor—he shrugs it off like an old coat.

Thrown together by wild, chaotic circumstances, what begins as a tense standoff (with just a whisper of kidnapping) unravels into something deeper—a loyalty and devotion that somehow (maybe?) transcends their stark differences.

Add in an amusing cast of side characters who bring their own razzle-dazzle (and some truly unhinged, gloriously raunchy humor), and you've got a book that's equal parts funny, filthy, and fascinating. What more could you ask for?

4 ⭐️

okay so i went into the irresistible urge to fall for your enemy thinking it might just be a dramione rehash in a new outfit—and listen, i wasn’t totally wrong. but i wasn’t mad about it either.

this book? it’s like if dramione and a chaotic fantasy romcom had a baby that was raised by sarcastic assassins and morally righteous healers. osric is a disaster (and i say that lovingly). cocky, charming, deeply unwell. aurienne is all brains and zero tolerance, a healer with no time for bs or bleeding assassins who keep showing up at her door. they hate each other. they need each other. cue: glorious banter, magical tension, and a sloooowwww burn that nearly killed me.

y’all. the banter. it’s next-level. i was grinning like a gremlin every time they fought-flirted. osric deserves every verbal slap aurienne gives him and he loves it, obviously. this book had me cackling out loud and rereading certain insults just to feel something again.

the world-building? super cool. all the different orders, the guilds, the magic system, the waystones, the DEOFOLS (literal sass monsters)—i was into all of it. even if i did have to look up like 30% of the vocabulary. girl was out here dropping french words and medical terminology like she’s testing our duolingo streak and biology knowledge at the same time 😭

why not five stars? it dragged a little in the beginning, ngl. i was like okay yes enemies, yes sarcasm, but can we please get to the part where someone catches feelings or bleeds out dramatically. eventually it did pick up, and the ending?? cliffhanger chaos. i need the sequel in my hands like yesterday.

also shoutout to the casual queer rep and the super capable female side characters. love me a world where women are saving lives, running guilds, and absolutely not tolerating nonsense.

so yeah, 4 stars! funny, sharp, tense in the best way, and absolutely worth the read. if you love enemies-to-lovers with actual emotional stakes, snark for days, and a slowburn that will ruin your life a little, this one’s for you.

I’m going to be honest, I had no idea this was originally Dramione fanfiction. However, as someone who is not a fan of Harry Potter but it’s a consumer of fanfiction, this book was incredible.

I’m absolutely shocked that this was fan fiction because it written well. In fact, I thought the writing style was vaguely reminiscent of Jane Austen’s writing.

Aside from the writing, an aspect I loved from the book is the characters — so unserious yet unhinged, and I was instantly attached to them. The relationship between the main characters is a slow burn — so slow you all have no idea. I was loving every bit of it because it’s been so long, or never in my experience, for a romantasy to have a slow burn. I appreciated it so much.

As for the plot, this was definitely on me but I found it a bit confusing. I definitely plan on rereading this book for such reasons but I enjoyed it so much!

I screamed when I received the ARC approval email, and that is not an exaggeration! Brigitte is a creator in every sense of the word. She has masterfully built a world of magic, science, humor and romance. I was swept away into the world of Aurienne and Osric with immense ease. The slow burn of these enemies to lovers was perfectly timed, and I crave what happens with the Halen and Fyren next. Brigitte's personality and penchant for wit, banter, and dark humor shone as Bright as Fairhrim's path. I felt at home with the turn of every page, falling deeply into Brigitte's writing. There were so many moments full of emotion: joy, sorrow, passion, and laughter. The subtle hints to the Dramione fandom and DMATMOOBIL were *chef's kiss*. To say I did not want Irresistible to end is an understatement. Waiting for the second book of the Dearly Beloathed Duology will be bittersweet torture, worthy of falling for one's enemy.

A strong start to a potentially great romance. If you are looking for a slow burn, enemies to lovers with funny dialogue and effortless banter look no further. The characters have a way of making you fall in love with them despite their quirks. At times the writing can feel extremely 'smart', but if you push through you can start to get to the heart of the story. Overall I'm excited to continue on in the series.

If someone were to ask me for a recommendation of a true slow-burn, enemies to lovers— this book would without a doubt be one of the first to come to my mind as I felt the author executed the main characters tension filled relationship effectively. Their annoyance with each other grew so palpable you could cut it with a blade only a Fyren had access to.
The magic system in this world was definitely my favorite detail, as I loved how each character with a Tācn had their own sort of “familiar” (Deofol) if you will— that perfectly conveyed their holder by their type of specimen and attitude. Details such as those I truly appreciated from Knightley as it adds so much more depth to her characters.
With that being said, when it came to the writing overall, I felt a lot of the humor fell flat for me, it didn’t resonate in ways I had hoped or at least probably the way the author had intended.
Many times the story had dragged and felt it needn’t be as long as it was. Though I’d love to highlight that towards the end I did feel more engrossed as the love interests were coming to terms with their inner feelings for one another.
The conclusion for this story felt a tad abrupt, I was expecting a little more when it comes to the ending of the first book of a series. I was left pondering if maybe the ending just hasn’t truly been made yet as it wasn’t really any sort of concrete cliffhanger in my opinion.
I do plan to continue this series as it has the potential, I just hope with the next book we can explore more of the world building with the Tiendoms as the lore surrounding them are super interesting to read about!

I incorrectly assumed this was going to be a reskin of Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In love. Is this Dramione? No. And also...kinda yes.

This is a completely different story and world. Osric is an assassin dying of a magical disease and Aurienne is an incredibly talented healer who might be his only hope—and the book shows her attempts at using old magic rituals to heal him.

The two are antagonistic from the jump but they share the same amazing banter and cutting jibes that we loved in Mortifying Ordeal. This author constantly serves hilarious and charming encounters between the two.

But while the plot, scenarios and fresh jokes are great, I can’t help but feel like this is a spiritual sibling to Mortifying Ordeal. Osric is cocky, dark and preening. Aurienne is intelligent, righteous and compassionate. Their characterizations scream Dramione—but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, and I don’t even think that makes this unoriginal.

This is entirely original, in fact. It takes what worked in Mortifying Ordeal and introduces a genuinely cool fantasy England. No it’s not the Wizarding World, but it doesn’t need to be. The spirit of the adventure rom com with witty banter is here. There are more sex jokes than you could throw a dildo at, and Osric and Auerienne are as deliciously enjoyable whether you love Dramione or not.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was one of those books I instantly knew would be one of my top reads of the year, and after finishing it in under 24 hours, I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard while reading—not just chuckling, but genuinely bursting into laughter. This book is hilarious. It’s also one of my favourite enemies-to-lovers stories, packed with back-and-forth banter that lasts for pages and still leaves you wanting more.

From the very first chapter, the personalities of the main characters are clear and compelling. And don’t even get me started on the chapter titles—each one had me eagerly anticipating what the next one would be. The humour in this book is contagious, and I loved every moment of it.

One of the toughest challenges fanfiction authors face is reimagining the world they’ve created, and Bridget Knightley does this effortlessly. She crafted a stunning magic system centred around different guilds, which I couldn’t get enough of. The fact that the glossary was at the start of the book, instead of the end, was a thoughtful touch. I loved how the two main characters (Osiric and Aurienne) belong to opposing guilds that can’t stand each other—true enemies-to-lovers material with a perfect slow-burn romance. You’ll be desperate for more after each chapter, filled with witty banter and subtle yearning. This slow-burn is something fanfiction authors excel at, and Knightley nails it.

The characters are fantastic. They have so much in common, but their core beliefs about right and wrong create tension between them. Aurienne is desperate to avoid violence as a healer, while our Assassian, Osiric, struggles to resist his darker instincts in her presence. I loved how they genuinely disliked each other at the start, but the change in their dynamic was so subtle that you could almost miss it. By the halfway point, their antagonism begins to shift into mutual admiration, and the transformation is beautifully done. There were even moments where Osiric imagined future arguments with the healer, and I was completely hooked.

The plot is expertly woven together. There are multiple storylines that come together in a stunning and satisfying way. I couldn’t get enough of it.

This is one of the few books I've ever read that gets the 6 star perfect rating from me!!! I cannot wait for more.

I wanted to like this book more than I do. I was so excited to read this; the title and cover are magnificent, so the hype is real. Everything about this book is slow -- the pacing, the romance, the thrill of it all. Sure, the banter is great, but does that compensate for the complicated magic and what feels like a detached world? It was fine, but it could have been so much more. I won't be reading it again, but it was worth the read once.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

I loved this The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy so much. I thoroughly enjoyed all the snipping and banter. The world was fun, the storyline intriguing, and it was the perfect amount of ridiculous. Not too serious and perfectly snarky. I cannot wait for the second book!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Okay, I genuinely don’t know how I’m supposed to read anything else after this. It was that good. This one’s 100% going on my reread shelf.

The writing? Absolutely phenomenal. There’s this perfect balance of wit, tension, and chaos, and I ate up every page. The banter between Osric and Aurienne was next-level—flirting by constantly throwing insults at each other. Every interaction crackled with chemistry and sarcasm, and I was living for it. Seriously, almost every page had a line that made me laugh out loud or grin like an idiot. It was all sharp comebacks, exasperated glares, and “I hate you but also maybe want to kiss you” vibes. It’s exactly the kind of humor I love!

Even the chapter titles were iconic—“Osric Gets on Fairhrim’s Last Nerve”? I’d read a whole book just titled that.

The dynamic? Perfection. She’s a fierce, hyper-competent “harm no one” healer. He’s a cocky disaster assassin with charm and zero self-preservation, and he absolutely needs her help. The enemies-to-lovers energy was flawless—a slow burn packed with tension, sass, and emotional payoff.

The world-building and magic system were magically done, and I adored the familiars (they were very sassy too). Everything just clicked.

I already need book two. Like, yesterday.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!
5 stars!

If you live for a true enemies-to-lovers romance—one with banter that bites, slow burn that keeps you turning pages late into the night, and real emotional stakes—The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy delivers in spades.

Aurienne and Osric hate each other. Not the “we’re going to kiss by chapter three” kind of hate, but genuine, complex, earned animosity. Watching that ice melt (grudgingly, painfully, deliciously) is what makes this book sing. Their dialogue is razor-sharp and had me highlighting quotes constantly, and the chemistry? Absolutely electric.

Knightley doesn’t stop at just the romance either—she builds a fantasy world that’s lush, detailed, and packed with intrigue. There’s adventure, mystery, and just enough danger to keep your heart racing, all without stealing the spotlight from the romance. It’s all so well-balanced.

The ending hit hard—the kind that leaves you staring at the last page in stunned silence, already reaching for the next book, which I need like I need air to breathe.

Perfect for fans of romantasy with emotional depth, well-earned (truly fought sleep for) romantic tension, and immersive world-building. It’s not just an irresistible urge—it’s a need.

As someone who feels that romantasy has started to blur together lately, full of the same tropes and predictable beats, I was genuinely surprised by how much I enjoyed The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy. Brigitte Knightley takes a well-loved formula and manages to inject enough heart, wit, and originality into it to make it feel exciting again.

The slow-burn tension between Aurienne and Osric was just the right kind of addictive, and the world-building, while subtle, gave the story a rich backdrop without overwhelming the romance. I found myself smiling a lot while reading and completely caught up in the push and pull between the characters.

While it nods to familiar genre staples, this book never feels like it's simply following a checklist. It was fun, engaging, and exactly the kind of story that reminds me why I still love dipping into fantasy romance when it’s done right.

Having read some of the fanfiction that this book is based on I was really excited to be able to read this book. I was impressed by Knightley's ability to create a new magic world with systems and rules that made sense and didn't feel too similar to the books that originated the fanfiction. I had thought that this book would be a standalone and because of that the pacing felt off to me. Now that I know that this will be a series, I can understand the pacing more. However, there were moments, particularly in the middle when Arienne and Osric were trying to figure out how to fix Osric's Seith block, that felt redundant and dragged out. The slow burn was glacial in pace. Overall, I thought this was a fun read and I definitely think fans of the fanfic will be excited to read this but it might have been better, for me, as a standalone.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for providing me with the digital ARC.

THE BANTER OF IT ALL!!!

as a dramione girl i really liked this! the banter was so good and i can’t wait for their relationship to develop further in the series!!!!

i was finding it hard to care about the secondary plot but was more intrigued by the end.

will definitely continue reading the series as it is released!

this was just an okay book for me! i enjoyed some parts of it (the writing and world) but the romance didn’t really work for me. i’m also not really a dramione person lol, but i think this book will work for a lot of people!

As much as I wanted to be all-in in for this reimagined Dramione telling, I did have a hard time connecting with the story. The magical system was interesting and there were bits of humorous dialogue throughout this slow burn, but it was an effort to finish. The need for a glossary seemed to highlight the issue that the language used seemed complex simply for the sake of being "scholarly" - rather than because the language furthered the story.

Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for this read.

You need to add this book to your TBR if you’re a fan of characters like Hermione and Draco from Harry Potter (more importantly, the shipping of those two characters), AND also love romcom and sitcom vibes AND witty, sarcastic, dry bantering AND enemies to lovers tropes.

This book is like nothing I have ever read before! It took me a second to get into the groove of the book, but once I settled in I couldn’t put it down and was looking forward to each new chapter. The dialogue and inner monologues were actually laugh-out-loud funny at times. Just a straight up good time!

I had no idea how the story was going to unfold, and it kept getting more intriguing as it went! I know this hasn’t been officially released yet, but I need book two ASAP hehe

It comes out in July, so plan your TBR ahead of time and add this to the list! Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing an e-ARC of this book 💕

“The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy” is author Brigitte Knightley’s debut, slow burn enemies to almost lovers, romantasy and my very first physical ARC! Thank you to Brigitte and Berkeley for sending this book my way.

The book follows Aurienne Fairhrim and Osric Mordaunt, two people who could not be more different if they tried. Aurienne is a scientist, a brilliant scholar and a Healer. Osric is a rogue, a gentleman assassin, and a Fyren. But when the pair end up needing one another – Osric for healing only Aurienne can provide, Aurienne for funding only Osric is offering – they set off on unlikely quests that pull them together more often than either would like. At least… that’s what they tell themselves.

What I loved most about this book was the world building. World building absolutely blows my mind. Coming up with magic systems, alliances, governments, creatures and species – it is incredible to see all that an author can dream up and put together on the page. For this book in particular, I liked learning about the different orders: how each of them existed in the world, what they specialized in, how they were different from one another and ultimately, which orders were part of the larger, lurking evil.

I also love a good slow burn and the tension in this book, oh my!! The romance, the enemies to lovers – it was very slow but deliciously so. I think slow burns or slow pacing gets a bad rap, but when it’s done well, I think it adds to a book. In this case, it kept me wanting to know more, and because the ending happened the way it did, I didn’t even have time to think about pacing – I just wanted the next book!

All in all, if you are already a lover of romantasy and are on the hunt for your next series, consider picking up “The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy.” And don’t say I didn’t warn you with that ending – you will want the next book in this duology immediately.