Plot- .75
Aurienne is a healer, Oric is an assasin. Their professions contradict one another, but they are forced to work together when Oric might loose his magic without healing. Overall I didn’t have any complaints about the plot, the pacing did feel a little off, I’m all for a slow burn, but it felt like a complete 180 from hate to love instead of tension building over time. A few things bugged me regarding the plot though. I’m not sure if this is going to be a series or just a standalone, but I was disappointed when the motive for them working together in the first place (Oric needing healing) wasn’t settled, it was just left unresolved. I’m leaving this complaint out of the spoiler warning because I think people need to know going in (but skip this if you don’t want to know about individual spicy scenes) but there was a very uncomfortable instance in which Oric did things in the same room as a sleeping Aurienne, hoping she wouldn’t wake up. It felt very creepy and predatory.

Setting- .5
I have no idea how to describe this world. The magic system, creatures, and order system are all super fleshed out and interesting. However, I couldn’t tell if this was set in an alternate past of our universe, a whole new fantasy world, or even possibly the future.

Characters- .25
I felt the characters all fell very flat. Aurienne was very cocky, but not in an endearing way. Oric seemed laughably soft and weak willed for an assasin. I never really understood the chemistry between them.

Prose/Style- 1
The reason I kept reading was the writing style and humor. This book was really funny, I haven’t laughed out loud at a book in a long time. (I will say a lot of the humor is potty, or sexual related humor if that is a problem for some readers) I also loved the writing style and narration style being more casual almost? Like being in the narrators literal thoughts almost.

Enjoyment- .75
I enjoyed this almost all the way through, but I got bored towards the end. The humor kept me going and not much else.

This was fun! It reminded me of Assistant to the Villain in a good way with the snappy banter and they really are actually enemies to lovers in this one. And I was not expecting that slow slow burn that kept me itching for more and now I have to wait! The plot was also interesting along with the characters being fun so it kept me engaged and wanting to go back to it. Will definitely continue on with the series. It just didn't have that feel for me to give it 5 stars that makes a masterpiece but it was for sure a fun time that I'll happily come back to when the next book comes out.

Zany, captivating, and entertaining!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a humorous, spirited tale that takes you into the lives of Adrienne Fairhrim, a Haelan healer, who spends her days trying to find a cure for the pox that’s ailing the orders children, and Osric Mordaunt, a Fyren Order assassin who is slowing losing his magical powers due to a degenerative disease and is in serious need of someone, even one of his enemies, to help him identity, treat, and hopefully cure what’s ailing him.

The writing is witty and smooth. The characters are snarky, strong, and intelligent. And the plot is a playful tale full of family, friendship, desire, intrigue, sexual tension, dark moments, quirky mishaps, special abilities, danger, and romance.

Overall, The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a comical, light, compelling start to the Dearly Betrothed duology by Knightley that had just the right amount of tension, romance, passion, intrigue, and world building to keep me invested from start to finish and a cliffhanger ending that left me more than a little eager to see how this story will end.

⚔️🤍✨🔮

“I’d rather you hate me than not think of me at all.”

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was a wild ride. Honestly, I thought this wasn’t going to be for me at first — it felt slow and I wasn’t really into the story.

But around chapter 5? Everything changed. The plot picked up, I got hooked, and suddenly I couldn’t stop thinking (or reading) about it.

Osric is officially my new book boyfriend — funny, dark, mysterious… I loved every second of his chapters.

I know it started as a Dramione fanfic, but honestly? I couldn’t even tell. The world-building and characters felt super original, which was such a fun surprise.

The slow burn? Pure torture — I just wanted them to kiss already. 😩 I laughed so much while reading, and the plot twist near the end kept me hooked.

Now I need book two like I need air.

I really liked these characters. I look forward to the next book.

I definitely appreciate the idea of a duology in a romantasy series. We will get more story without having to drag things out into three in order to get a conclusion. Although, with these two, I am pretty certain I will be sad when our time is up.

Aurienne Fairhrim is a strong-willed, intelligent woman. She is also an experienced haelan (healer) and actually one of the top haelan at Swanstone.  She was highly recommended to Osric Mordaunt--actually he was told she was the only haelan who might be able to heal him. As a member of the Fyren, the order of assassins, Osric is quite familiar with the dead, he just isn't excited about the idea of joining their ranks. And while he usually just kills targets, he isn't against adding kidnapping to his list of sins since the haelan who swore to harm no one, doesn't want to heal a man whose entire life is spent harming all.

But when Aurienne's boss finds them at an impasse in their negotiations and Osric holding a sack he is trying to convince Aurienne into, she insists that Aurienne would be willing to heal Osric for 20 million, which is what they need to create a vaccination against the pox which is killing poor children.  It seems they have applied to all the kingdoms and no one is interested in spending money to cure a pox that  only seems to effect poor children.   So she would have Aurienne heal the devil himself for enough funds to create their vaccine.

But Osric is loosing his magic to seith rot and Aurienne keeps telling him what is dead is dead and no one is able to recover dead nerves.   Yet in Aurienne's youth, she wrote a paper about ancient accounts of healing under the full moon, something she almost cost her internship for such frivolities.   Except Osric is pretty desperate and is willing to dance under a full moon if that is what it takes so Aurienne and Osric make plans to meet up at different locations under the full moons in the hope that some ancient healer actually had a miracle cure.

THOUGHTS:
Just so you know, this enemies to lovers story only has enemies right now. Maybe in book 2, there will be more.

I really like the characters. Aurienne is a strong FMC, a hardcore professional who has dedicated herself to caring for others. She is focused on these sick and dying children and isn't happy with being forced to heal a killer so he can go out and murder more people.

Osric is a hard-core killer but he also has an odd and wicked sense of humor. Both Osric and Aurienne love to snipe at each other and are determined to hold onto their dislike of the other and most of their time together happily ends with name calling and snide remarks.

This biggest problem that is keeping them from solely focusing on healing Osric is the fact that many powerful people are concerned about who the anonymous person (Osric) who donated all the money to Swanstone for healing the pox kids, and the more powerful people who are inquiring, the more concerning it becomes to Osric and Aurienne.

This is very much a slow burn story as it takes 90 percent of the story in order to get to a reluctant acknowledgement that there is something to admire about each other. Yet I did like that Aurienne held strong to her principals of doing no harm and she weighed any good points she found in Osric against the fact that he killed so many and his being a killer was always too strong a strike against him.  There is a scene where Osric is pretending to a knight and Aurienne fantasies about meeting an Osric who is a champion for good and how she would absolutely fall for someone like that.  Osric admires Aurienne's strength of character, he just doesn't want to admire Aurienne because she hates him so he was more pissed at himself for becoming a bit obsessed and protective of her.

One of my favorite parts is on one of their adventures, someone in the shadows keeps throwing out insults at them until they realize its the crickets.  Later, we find that one managed to hitch a ride on Osric and now he has an insult cricket hiding in his house which he can't find which just keeps shouting insults at him.

The only thing I didn't like was odd spellings of words and thankfully, I read on my kindle so I could look up many of the $5 words sprinkled throughout the story.

Osric and Aurienne figure out the problem in the last few pages and I am looking forward to seeing how they settle things.

Man.. I really wanted to love this because I’ve heard nothing but good things. This is just a story that wasn’t for me. The characters weren’t for me, and I wasn’t interested in the plot at all. I am in the minority though, so keep that in mind. It was a quick read, so check it out for yourself. You might love it! Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for an e-arc of this book.

thank you SO much to the author, Berkley Publishing, Ace, and NetGalley for the ARC!

this book was the most unique, wildly entertaining, and delightful ride. i truly have never read anything like it and i absolutely adored it! i laughed out loud so many times that i lost count and i’m already looking forward to the day that i re-read it.

i knew i was in for a treat when even the map at the beginning took me out - consider me intrigued to find out if the MCs would somehow end up in the “j*zz baths” 💀

what to expect:
- healer x hired assassin
- TRUE enemies to lovers
- slowwww burn
- the most hilarious banter
- quiet yearning

brigette gave us such an insanely entertaining novel for her debut. i looked back and found that i had highlighted 114 things while reading (which included hilarious moments, yearning, swoon-y moments, and moments of character growth), if that tells you anything. i truly giggled my way through this whole thing - the scene with the “critique crickets” had me in shambles 🤣

despite being funny, she still managed to create a true enemies to lovers dynamic between a stubborn healer and an equally stubborn assassin who literally hate each other but are forced together against their wishes. Aurienne was an incredible FMC and seeing her grapple with what she “should do” and what she wants to do was such a fun journey to watch. and similarly, watching Osric, a ruthless assassin, soften for Aurienne over time was everything and more.

the last few chapters had me in my feels, and i am SO ready to see where Brigette takes book 2 in this duology. this has absolutely become one of my favorite reads of 2025 so far!

Unfortunately, this book just wasn’t for me. This book is irreverent to the point of ridiculousness. Pretty much any time anything serious was being discussed, I just couldn’t connect because everything had to just be stuffed full with jokes. And the humor is very hit or miss. A lot of it is very juvenile just usually written with very proper speech. As the book went on, the humor missed more and more, likely because I was just tired of it.

The characters felt pretty one note to me. Everyone feels like a caricature, where the personality traits they do have are cranked up to eleven. I found it hard to connect to either of the main characters. Maybe consequently, I didn’t feel like the romance landed. It’s a slow burn, which I usually love, enemies-to-lovers, which again usually love, but the way they started to notice each other didn’t feel natural to me. Instead, it almost felt like they started to have feelings just because it was a certain number of pages into the book.

Finally, I felt like I was missing pages? I had to search through reviews to make sure I wasn’t. The book kind of just ends with no climax and nothing resolved. There’s going to be at least another book in the series, but it makes me think that the books maybe were written as one book and chopped in half and there wasn’t a natural stopping point, so the ending feels like the end of a chapter, not of a whole book. There is an emotional climax, but it’s really not enough to end a book on.

I was so excited to read this book because i lobe a slow burn enemies to lovers arc, and I heard it was very funny as well. While it was all of the things I listed, it was also a little too slow paced for my taste and a bit too overly descriptive. I know the writing style was going for whimsy but it just left me confused most of the time. The cliff hanger though!!!!! Wow

The Irresistible Urger to Fall for Your Enemy was a story I was greatly looking forward to reading in 2025, but unfortunately I felt like it left much to be desired and was far from irresponsible. The overall storyline was interesting, but I felt the execution fell flat for me. I think this story really relied on "witty banter" but it often felt very try hard in my opinion. I felt like the romantic connection was a bit forced and did not have a lot of chemistry. I did really love the magic system and learning about the different types of magic and ways in which characters were able to use it. This was just a very middle of the road story to me, but I would still be interested in seeing the next installment and learning what the final resolution will be. I think some people were really enjoy this, but I don't think I would be actively encouraging people to pick it up either.

Thank you, @berkleyromance, for the free copy #BerkleyRomance #BerkleyPartner #BerkleyBookstagram & Netgalley for the free ARC.]

📣 two people who are really on the opposite side of life decisions have to work together for reasons

Aurienne is a healer. Osric is an assassin with a death sentence. He uses his ill-gotten gains to purchase Aurienne’s healing abilities, even though she’s all, there’s no way you can be healed.

Every minute that these two are forced to spend together is filled with will they or won’t they (if it’s will they or won’t they let the other person die / kill the other person). The tension between them & their hostility toward the other’s way of life is what powers the book & makes for some really funny moments. It’s also done so convincingly that I’m like, is there a middle ground for them & should there be??

FYI, this book is fantastically written but it’s important to note it’s apparent Dramione fan fiction connection. As others have noted, I personally never would assumed that connection while reading, but I wanted to touch on its supposed origins. (I’m using words like supposed because I haven’t seen anything specific from the author about it, but I also have only done the most basic of searches.)

5 ⭐️, out now.

CWs: please see the author’s exhaustive list

[ID: Jess holds the book in front of a tree]

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC!

I want to preface this with I loved this as a fanfic, and do not support the inspiration author. That being said, I very much support Brigitte Knightley and "The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy". For anyone that has read the fanfic, this is a vastly different novel. It still incorporates the author's witty (and sometimes dry) humor, and one character has light blonde hair and is devilishly handsome.

I had such a fun time reading this. It did take me a while to get through it, but that was pure circumstance. The plot does lag a bit in the middle, but quickly picks back up and leaves you ready and waiting for the next book. Osric is charming, handsome, and witty (and he knows it). And Adrienne is strict, rigid, and practical (thank you very much). They make such an unlikely pairing that I was rooting for them all the more. I just wish it had a bit more between the two of them, but I guess that's what book 2 is for. Their deofols are adorable side characters. The magic system is a solid structure and again, leaves me wanting to know more about the Orders. The "who done it" mystery throughout as a secondary plot helps drive it home for a well rounded novel.

Look, love the cover but girl. I think I might just be too dumb to read this. There are so many made up qorda that I wish a glossary was in it. I didn't particularly care about the plot or the characters. I feel like others would like this but it was not for me.

4/5

I'll out myself by saying I have read the fanfic, and I love the fanfic. I came into this read hearing the way this book was being advertised (a la fifty shades or manacled). So color me surprised that this is, not, in fact, a repurposed fanfic. It leaves me a bit confused about the choice to advertise it as such and not letting the author's skills speak for themselves. Ultimately, I think this marketing strategy does the author (and the story!) a disservice.

With that being said, I enjoyed this story! The chemistry between the leads was a bit hit or miss for me, but the banter was hilarious, and the world-building and establishment of a magic system were well done. Knightley didn't frontload the reader with exposition, and instead wove plot development and world-building together pretty seamlessly. The story itself is fun, and I'm glad I read it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the published for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was a delightful enemies-to-lovers romantasy!

I will start off by saying this was one of the funniest books I’ve ever read. The banter between the love interests is immaculately witty and fun. Osric’s perspective was especially amusing because his thought-process and commentary on anything and everything was hilarious. I adore the way Brigitte Knightly incorporated humor with magic for some truly unique and charming moments. For example, there are “critique crickets”, which are actual crickets that brutally roast the main characters much to my amusement.

I appreciated that Aurienne and Osric are true enemies because sometimes that’s not the case in books marketed as enemies-to-lovers. This book has a true slow-burn enemies-to-lovers arc; the romance doesn’t begin to emerge until very late in the book. Additionally, I loved the writing style of this book. It’s very beautifully written and different from anything else I’ve read before. I found myself pausing to appreciate the way sentences were phrased often. The pacing was slower than I anticipated but it was a nice change of pace compared to most romantasy books with enemies-to-lovers arcs.

The magic system was interesting and I liked the way the world was set up with different orders and enemy factions. However, I found the world-building to be a little bit lacking. I’m hoping the sequel dives a little more into the different orders and tiendoms, or kingdoms because I'm very curious about them and the inner-workings of the world Knightley created!

Osric was my favorite character right from the start because his humor, charm, and flirtatious nature was so entertaining to read. I would’ve liked for Aurienne and Osric’s personalities to be a little more developed. I just needed a bit more depth from them both, especially Aurienne. I feel as though I don’t really know her even after finishing the book besides the fact that she has a strong work ethic and holds tightly to her morals. I feel like both Aurienne and Osric are kind of defined by their jobs, which is understandable because that’s what makes them enemies, but I hope the sequel will reveal more about them.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and I’m excited to read the next installment in the duology! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romantic fantasy books with banter and enemies-to-lovers! Thank you to Ace Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

Let me just start by saying:
I’ve never highlighted a book THIS MUCH in my life: 63% chaotic roast battles, 12% emotionally devastating longing, and idc a 100% in love with Osric and Aurienne.
This book is utterly ridiculous in the best possible way. It’s sharp, biting, clever, theatrical, and so damn funny. Imagine two enemies so committed to hating each other that they become connoisseurs of mutual disdain—using sarcasm as foreplay, existential dread as small talk, and petty insults as a “love” language.

Enemies-to-lovers (but make it deadly elegant)

You know it’s serious when they don’t call each other “my love” or “darling” but things like:

🧅 Onion Boy

🦠 The Abscess

🛠 The Means to an End

🧬 The Self-Righteous Plague

Peak romance.🙌🏼

Their dynamic is straight-up unhinged—Aurienne with her unflappable intellect and surgical disdain, Osric with his emotionally constipated melodrama and chronic peacocking. Every conversation is a damn masterclass in verbal sparring, and every accidental brush of hands (at like 90%) had me SCREAMING.

🦊 Osric: 
An absolute menace. Dramatic, arrogant, self-deluded, deliciously obsessed with a woman who cannot stand him. The man is a walking Shakespearean tragedy wrapped in sarcasm and emotional repression. I love him with my whole corrupted heart.

“He looked at her as one who wished to worship, and one who wished to defile.”

🦢 Aurienne:
Flawless. Prideful. Incandescently competent. She doesn’t just dislike Osric—she strategically excludes him from her perception. The disdain is Olympic-level, and yet her slow, reluctant softening is written with so much finesse!

"It was hard being perfect in an imperfect world, but Aurienne managed. If she had a flaw, it was that she was the Best, and she knew she was the Best. Some called it arrogance. She called it competence untainted by performative humility. "
[honestly slay]

The Writing: intelligent, poetic, and occasionally unhinged
Knightley’s prose is dazzling. Lyrical, clever, and densely layered. It’s not casual writing. It’s full of interesting phrasing and vocabulary. The dialogue is unmatched. The humor is sarcastic, dry, witty, and very deadpan.
One of my favorite things is the way she masterfully balances two wildly different tones without it ever feeling disjointed. On one hand, you get this lyrical, emotionally resonant prose that reads like poetry:

“What was between them? An ebb and a flow, curiosity and guilt, today’s fatal daydream and tomorrow’s scars.”

But then, you’re hit with this deadpan, darkly funny dialogue that feels like something straight out of a grim courtroom drama:

“What did you do?” gasped Aurienne.

“He fell,” said Mordaunt.

“He fell?”

“Yes. On the fork.”

“He fell on the fork? Twenty times?”

“Yes. Due to… fear.”

“What was he afraid of?”

“The fork.”

The book feels like a literary duel. There’s romance, yes—but this is also about restraint. About tension drawn so taut it feels erotic before anything actually happens. And that, my friends, is the kind of slow-burn I would sell my soul for.

"Isn't forgetting you preferable to continuing to hate you?"
"I'd rather you hate me than not think of me at all."

It’s the slowest of slow burns, the smartest of dialogues, and the pettiest of hatreds slowly melting into… something.
Honestly i wish i could quote the whole book, but i can’t, so you’ll have to read it yourself.
And if you don’t?
Then may you fall on a fork. Twenty times. Due to… fear. :)

Talk about a slow burn! The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was delightfully endearing. At first, I was very confused when first thrust into this new world but as I kept reading things started to make more sense and I liked that the world building wasn’t an info dump. The banter between the main characters was so fun. I was constantly looking forward to their next interaction. I really can’t wait to see where this story goes now that they’ve both realized they don’t actually hate each other.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this one! It’s part I of an enemies to lovers, forbidden relationship, opposites attract romance that takes place in a detailed fantasy world.
Osric Mordant is a member of the Fyren Order of Assassins. He’s very handsome but morally bereft, and he’s also very ill. The only person capable of healing him is Aurienne Fairhrim, member of a healing order and a preeminent scientist. Their orders are enemies, and they shouldn’t even be seen together.
I was honestly a little lost at first. Several of the reviews I read said the world was similar to Harry Potter, which gave me a frame of reference. The writing is full of sarcastic banter and is really funny in places.

I find myself looking forward to book II, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley, I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Brigitte Knightley delivers a deliciously sharp and slow-burning enemies-to-lovers romance in The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy. With wit, emotional depth, and enough tension to light a match, this story is a must-read for fans of forced proximity, stubborn pride, and undeniable chemistry.

Our leads are perfectly matched in both fire and flaw. Knightley crafts the "enemy" dynamic with layered authenticity—it’s not just banter and bickering (though there’s plenty of that), but an undercurrent of vulnerability and longing that simmers beneath the surface. Watching them unravel each other’s defenses is nothing short of addictive.

What makes this novel stand out is its sharp dialogue and emotional pacing. The character development is steady and satisfying, and by the time the inevitable fall happens, it feels earned. Knightley doesn’t rush the romance, allowing tension to build until it’s explosive in the best way.

This book strikes a wonderful balance between heartfelt and hilarious. Fans of Ali Hazelwood, Emily Henry, or Sally Thorne will feel right at home with Knightley’s style. It’s modern, clever, and swoonworthy without ever losing its emotional grounding.

If you’re a sucker for hate-turns-to-love stories that leave you smiling and a little breathless, The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy will absolutely hit the mark.

I was beyond excited to have an early copy of this one to read, especially with how stunning the cover is! Disappointingly, this book didn’t end up being a top read for me. One of my main issues was that I found the novel to jump right into a world that would have benefited from more “building” and “exploration”. I really enjoyed the healer’s perspective and how the virus was affecting the population and felt like we could have spent more time with that side of the story and how it came to be. I also struggled with the romance part, or the lack of it, as it was only really present near the end of the book. The banter, which was obviously quite present as they start with a strong playful dislike for each other, sometimes turned to the more immature side of things. I wonder if this is a series that I would have enjoyed more, had I waited for the sequel to also be published so I could get from the slow burn to the romance development right away.