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.

Knightley’s world-building is imaginative and lush. The characters are absolutely adorable, and the banter is super smashing with enough sass to power a small city. And, girl, the dialogue is filthy in the most glorious, gutter-humor way. I also liked the cultural touches, like Aurienne’s Moroccan2 heritage and other characters who clearly aren’t from the UK or its colonies. Thankfully, there's no racism here, just class dynamics via the various guilds. It does have "animal familiars" called "deofol"—from Old English (OE) dēofol “devil.” A deofol is a projection of a person's spirit, a clear nod to "dæmons" in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. All in all, the storytelling and universe pop. This is a slow burn that teases, torments, and tantalizes, and just when you think it’s about to ignite—bam! That cliffhanger hits, leaving you gasping and fumbling around for the sequel.

What makes this book sing is its humor and cleverness. It’s hilarious and sharp, but never at the expense of dimensional characters or stakes. Aurienne and Osric aren’t just archetypes or clones—they have perspectives that shift and deepen as the story unfolds. If there’s a flaw, it’s that sometimes the book is almost too clever, layering in so much wit and wordplay that you might wish for more moments to sink in and feel. But honestly? That’s a minor quibble in a book that’s this much fun.

By the end, and that accursed cliffhanger, The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy—Book 1 of the Dearly Beloathed Duology—is a raunchy magical rom-com romp that will leave anyone who loves a good enemies-to-lovers slow burn smitten by its suspense and spice. Just be ready for that fall.

Not what I was expecting, but fabulous non the less.
This had all the banter I hoped for and more!
The moon phases storyline and slow burn romance had me all in.
Bit disappointed that I need to wait for book two; I hate waiting.
Much love to Berkley Romance for my ARC!

I will not be giving a review for this book. I cannot in good conscious review or promote a book that continues to be marketed as fan fiction tied to another author that continues to do irreparable harm to the trans community. I was not aware of how problematic the IP that this story takes inspiration from was until after my request for this title was approved.

I ate this book UP.

Assassins. Healers. Forbidden desire. Slow-burn enemies to lovers. Morally grey mmc. Need I say more?

Knightley delivers a fantasy romance with heart, some heat, and an unforgettable slow burn. If you love forced proximity, morally gray heroes, and enemies who should not fall in love but absolutely do—this is the book for you.

This was just a massive let down on all accounts! The romance.. The plot.... The magic system.... The ending.... For such a hyped up romantasy and for claims of amazing chemistry and tension, I contemplate if I even read the same book that people are talking about. Sure, Aurienne and Osric had some decent rapport and I could get behind their constant death threats, but the way the two jumped from hate to falling for each other in the last 10% of the book was so weird. Not to mention the complete lack of world building and any sort of explanation for the magic and history of the kingdoms. Add in the main plot line that rolled in around the last bit of the book and I was ready to call it quits. Suffice it say this book was not for me; I don't know if I can withstand another one of these even if it means wrapping up the duology.

the audio? simply entertaining. the storyline? i could not stop giggling and loving on Aurienne and Ozric. Their relationship was so fun to witness and I feel like the narrators portrayed the dry humor and their feelings so well.

I can’t recommend the physical book or the audio more. I had the best time and can’t wait book two!!

I really struggled to connect with the characters in this one. It felt very familiar (for obvious reasons) but also like the author was hoping that would be enough to carry the characters through. Since this is supposed to be an 'inspired by' rather than a re-worked story I was expecting more from the characters. The characters had a very dry sense of humor which I normally love, but there was also this sense of whimsy that I felt like didn't really work with the world being portrayed as very dark and in the middle of a pandemic. It also ended very abruptly. Like I actually checked to make sure that was the end because it felt like I was missing a chapter.

I do think alot of people will really like this one, but it just wasn't for me. Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for providing a copy!

At this point in time this author has decided to decline to review this book. Thank you so much and thank you for sending the book.

This makes my Dramione loving heart so happy!!!! The fic was one of my absolute favorites, so to read it in another version was such a treat. All the stars.

5⭐️. 1.5 🌶️

🖤Tropes:

🗡️Nemesis to Mortal Enemies
💉Mortal Enemies to Enemies
🗡️Enemies to Reluctant Enemies
💉Reluctant Enemies to Adversaries
🗡️Adversaries to Rivals
💉Rivals to not yet lovers😂

The first thing that you have to know going into this book is, don’t take this story to seriously yes I just said that! And you may ask, why is that? Well this book has a humorous tone to it. Similar books Assistant to the Villain and Throne in the Dark.

And now to my review 😆 This book was so much fun I love it from beginning to end, the banter between Osric and Aurienne was so entertaining. Their monologues the best.

These two are enemies both belong to different orders Aurienne is a healer while Osric is an assassin whose services are rendered to who ever have the money to pay for his services. Aurienne is let’s say bride into trying to find a cure for a degenerative sickness that affects his body if not cure he will die. So now both will be seen a lot of each other and they’ll have to fight the urge to kill each other in these encounters.

Osric was so vain and Aurienne so grumpy that every time they met chaos was ensured to happen. Their adventures were so fun to read the cricket was one of my favorite let’s say side character 😂
I love to see how along their journey they both started to warm up to each other. Even though both resisted to have nothing but hateful thoughts about the other. This is a super slow-burn.

I haven’t had so much fun in a while reading a book by the time I got to the ending I was wishing for more pages. So if you are looking for a fun read this bestie is it for you!!

I want to preface this by saying that I read this ARC back when I was so excited to receive an early copy and before I took the time to educate myself on the negative impacts of publishing HP fanfiction on the transgender community and how it continues to keep JKR relevant. I really enjoyed this book and am including my review below to honor my commitments as an early reviewer, but I will not be actively promoting this book as I believe it is important to listen to the communities impacted about how it harms them.

It took me a bit to get into this book, as the humor and writing style isn't normally what I look for in a romantasy. However, I reread this book after almost dnfing it the first time and during my reread, I enjoyed this a lot!! The humor definitely isn't for everyone, but once I started understanding the characters humor more and their dynamic, I started connecting more with the romance.

The Irresistible Urge is definitely an enemies to lovers fantasy and a SLOW BURN. I mean you literally get very few glimpses of romance, a lot of flirting and lots of hating, and then at the very end you get a CRUMBLE of romance. Aurienne is someone who has to heal Osric from his illness that is slowly killing him. They are on two different sides of the Order. You can tell how much these two hate being together, but every time Aurienne is forced to come to Osric to help save him and stop his degenerative illness, you can tell how much they enjoy being in each other's presence. Osric is snarky, dark. Aurienne is wicked smart and also brash.

Personally, I thought the romance was a bit too slow for me, but I loved the banter and the dark humor throughout the book. The world needed a bit more detail and substance I think to feel like a fully new fantasy world, but I appreciated what the author tried to do with creating a new fantasy world. Overall, a very fun romantasy read.

Thanks to Berkley Romance for the free book!

I think this is a great example of a slow burn romantasy book. Based off the fact that this is book one in a two book series, I was hoping that the characters would not explicitly be together by the end of book one. I find that once characters get together, the author tends to write them differently and no longer writes the tension that the "enemies" once had. I liked the the chemistry between the characters grew as the book went on and felt like natural growth given the circumstances. It wasn't instant love or lust, the characters took months to realize that maybe there were feelings growing between the two of them.
The world building needed work, as with other fan fictions that have gotten picked up for publishing, when things are removed to avoid copyright infringement, a lot of the world building is taken out and not fully adapted to this new story. Having read the original l story before trad publishing, I could pick up a lot of the gaps, but for the average reader I could see the world building being confusing.
I did really appreciate that Knightley took the time to rewrite the story into something completely different from what she had originally posted online. I just wish the world building had been more thought out because the whole magic system was very interesting.

This was a great introduction to this world! Looking forward to the rest of the story and to see how everything unfolds.

This was a lot more unserious than I thought it would be. I did think it was really funny and I loved the constant banter and wittiness. The enemies to lovers vibe between Aurienne and Osric was obviously great and I loved all of their creative insults. It was super slow burn and I thought the development was well done. I also loved getting both of their POVs.

I do think this could have been a little less over the top. I feel like a lot of the time I was more focused on the silly language than the story. I really enjoyed the Aurienne healing Osric storyline but it seemed like it was kind of abandoned after a while. It was mentioned again at the end so I’m looking forward to more of that in the next book. Overall I had fun reading this and will definitely continue the series.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to netgalley and ace publishing for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this was my first DNF of the year. The world building in this book was nonexistent. While I caught on easy enough, you are just sort of thrown into the world as if you should know every detail rather than be shown what the world consists of. I found this rather disappointing as one of my favorite aspects of fantasy & romantasy books is discovering the new world around you. This book skipped entirely over that. I wanted small details to help me become one with this new world, and make it come to life for me.

The characters also felt really flat and became predictable almost instantly. Because of this I found myself not caring about what happened to them and isn’t that the whole point?

I did enjoy the enemies to lovers aspect and the banter, before it just seemed to lose its appeal and become repetitive. Overall, this is cleverly written, just missing some components I find important in a fantasy. I do think this book will appeal to other readers even though it wasn’t for me.