4 Stars

I mean, it’s a traditionally published dramione fic (well, I mean it’s dramione coded and the author is a celebrated dramione fic author) that is a slow burn and hilarious and whimsy. It is a bit dense and slow paced in the middle but the ending sets us up for a delightfully romantic and epic ending to the duology.

It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trope. Therefore, this recent boom in Dramione-inspired fiction is right up my alley. I was thrilled to be approved to review an ARC of The Irresistible Urge to Fall In Love With Your Enemy and was prepared for all of the witty banter, will-they-won’t-they and a touch of angst. I had high expectations, as I’m familiar with the source material, and though this is not a “rewrite” per say it’s very clearly inspired by DMATMOOBIL. While I overall enjoyed the author’s trademark posh yet irreverent tone and writing style, I did ultimately find myself a bit underwhelmed.

The story follows a healer (Aurienne) and an assassin (Osric) who are from two opposing magical factions, who team up together to try and find a cure to a condition normally thought to be fatal that is afflicting Osric. Saying they have a hate-to-love journey is probably an understatement, especially on Aurienne’s side, as she absolutely detests him and everything he stands for, as it goes against her ethical and moral code and values. Reading their scenes is a real treat because the banter is hilariously full of vitriol, and tone wise it definitely echoes the bright spots of the dialogue from DMATMOOBIL.

However, this is the slowest of slow burns. Normally I can get down with a slow burn if the relationship building is good and the world building is intricate but honestly both felt jumbled. Aurienne and Osric’s interactions (meet up once a month, try ancient healing ritual, it doesn’t work, rinse and repeat) started to feel stale after a while and I didn’t feel like much emotional growth was happening between them. The world building felt overly complicated yet too simple at the same time. I left the book with a vague understanding that there’s two magical paths with orders within each and you have a brand on the palm of your hand that marks which one you’re aligned with, but I’m still scratching my head as to how one determines if they even have magical powers, how they manifest, etc…and there’s alluding to political tensions, a war brewing, etc but not enough details for me to feel invested.

I must have missed the memo that this was a duology because I thought my arc had missing pages- it ends very abruptly. I think pacing wise this would have read better as a longer stand alone novel, as I felt like right when the couple was finally gaining some momentum it ended.

Overall: I don’t mean to be overly critical, because there were a lot of things to enjoy: the hilarious chapter titles, the sassy patronous-like entities with a personality of their own, some badass side characters. However, given my experience with the author’s previous work, I was hoping this would be a five star read for me.

This was an interesting read that has the enemies to lovers tension building in the most aching way. Going into this read entirely blind, I found the growth of the characters believable as we learn more about the world and the characters and the complex magic system. Their mistrust evolving as they settle into an uneasy alliance. The humour is going to be a hit or miss with people, adding a dose of levity to an assassins dark endeavours. I however struggled to connect with this story, perhaps because I tend to connect more with the more typical romantasy style. The last few chapters however, had me in a chokehold and have me desperately needing to see what happens next.

I had to DNF @ 68%. This book just wasn't for me and it was taking me way too long to get into. I am so sad because I was looking forward to this read *so* much. I know others are going to absolutely love it though! :)

Oh Lordy! I don’t know what Knightly put in this book, but this magic concoction WORKED for me! This was a very highly anticipated read, and it did not disappoint.

We all know by now that this story is inspired by her hugely successful fanfiction story. I personally had not read the fanfic before jumping into this one and I had no troubles at all. So, in case you were worried about if you have to have any previous knowledge of her other works, you do not.

This story. These characters. The HUMOR. All just worked together so flawlessly, and I ate it up. As a former nurse, I especially loved the medical backdrop and tidbits. It took everything I love about learning about medicine but with a magical twist. It was so well executed.

In these pages you will find:

-True enemies-to-lovers vibes
-Laugh out loud humor
-Excellent Banter
-The background of a medical mystery
-An effortlessly diverse cast of characters
-An attraction that feels so raw and real
-Just the right amount of world building
-An ending that left me fulfilled but at the same time desperate to find out what comes next

I loved it. It was just a grand ol' good time.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and it lived up to every single one of my expectations. It was a comedy of errors filled with droll humor, verbal sparring, a slow-burn, enemies to lovers romance that is bursting with angst, and a vibrant fantasy world that was wildly imaginative and tons of fun.

Aurienne is a prim and proper healer with a strong moral code and a dislike of nefarious behavior. Osric is an assassin for hire with no morals to speak of and who only behaves nefariously. They couldn’t be more opposite, and watching them forced to work together to save Osric and children from the Pox was wildly entertaining. They are both very intelligent, highly competent professionals and the biggest idiots you’ve ever met at the same time. It was glaringly obvious to everyone except for them that they liked each other, and watching them bumble around denying their feelings was so good it was almost painful. This is the slowest of slow burns. They spend 98% of the book engaging in dramatic declarations, petty arguments, and snarky banter, and they’re only nice to each other for maybe half a chapter. I ate it up.

I cannot stress enough how funny this book is. The chapter titles are snarky and witty, the place names are ridiculous, and there are crickets whose entire purpose in life is to critique people. It was chaotic, playful, absurd, and had an alarming amount of body fluids. I couldn’t have loved it more. Go read it immediately!

Thank you to Ace Books, Berkley Publishing Group, Penguin Random House, Brigitte Knightley, and NetGalley for the ARC.

📔The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy
✏️ Brigitte Knightley
📆 July 8, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🦗cozy romantasy
🦗enemies to lovers
🦗assassin x healer
🦗witty banter
🦗slow burn enemies to lovers
🦗he falls first and harder
🦗dual POV

Unfortunately, I DNFed this very early. I got 1 chapter in before I hit my breaking point with the writing and made up words. My 2 star rating literally means nothing, I'm rating it based on the 30 pages I read. I probably would've enjoyed the story because the synopsis was intriguing and interesting, but I don't know if I could've gotten past the writing/ storytelling.

Personally, I really dislike when authors make up words and lingo. I hate when the meaning of the words isn't self-explanatory, and I hate having to flip to a glossary. I had to flip to the glossary multipleeeee times on every single page. In this book, you're thrown into the world with little to no explanation.

I doubt the book is confusing all the way through, but the idea of (myself) being confused for the first half or having to constantly flip to the glossary at the front and explanation pages at the back was too daunting of a task. I just thought the synopsis sounded fun, so I wasn't willing to put in the work to understand it or willing to suffer through until everything started to make sense. It was also British, so the British slang on top of everything I just mentioned was fully too much for me. TOTALLY ON ME THOUGH I know people have been absolutely loving this.

I'd recommend reading the first few pages or sampling the audio/ebook before committing to this. It's not a confusing concept, so if you get immersed into the world, I assume it would be an enjoyable read. But I read for fun, and I was simply not having fun reading this.

Although this book didn't work for me personally, I think there is definitely a certain audience for it. I don't love being dropped into a story with no world building first if it's in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, because there's so much context that is missed, and it makes for a more confusing reading experience. There were a lot of terms that were used that were not given context until later in the story, which also added to the confusion. That being said, some people really love to be dropped into a sci-fi/fantasy world like that and figure out the lore for themselves over time, and people will definitely enjoy the enemies to friends to potential lovers dynamic between the two main characters.

Short Synopsis: Osric (an assassin) is in desperate need of a healing miracle, so he visits Aurienne the best healer around.

My thoughts: What worked: I enjoyed the enemies to lovers, humor (but was somewhat crass), and the slow burn romance overall worked for me. I liked watching them slowly acknowledge their feelings for each other.

What didn’t work for me: I felt like the characters weren’t well developed and the world building didn’t really exist. You get a sense that there’s some sort of war or something happening on the outside (I mean he’s an assassin) but that’s about all we get. I also felt like the author used big words to sound smart, but most of the time they weren’t necessary.

I did do part of this on audio, and part physical reading. The narrators did a great job, but overall the story made more sense to me reading with my eyeballs.

Read if you love:
* Enemies to lovers
* Morally grey men
* Women in stem
* Slow burn
* Cozy romantasy

I loved the banter in this book and the magic system. It was a unique and enjoyable story. Can't wait for the next book.

I liked this book but being transparent, I enjoyed the original work by Brigitte more. The pacing felt off for the first 40-50% but things did pick up. I did love the tension and the sarcasm throughout and I am always going to fall for anything that has to do with forced proximity. I did enjoy Osric and Aurienne and their dynamic. The ending did leave me wanting more. Again, all in all I enjoyed the book and I thank Netgalley and Berkley for my ARC!

OKAYYYYYY! I absolutely loved this one! I have been very much watching for this book as it was set to come out and I was not disappointed! I will definitely be watching for more by this author!

4⭐️ i’ve been WAITING for this one! draco malfoy and the mortifying ordeal of being in love is a fan fic that is so near and dear to my heart - beautifully written and fucking hilarious. you can only imagine how much i’ve been GRINNING waiting for the traditionally published book to drop.

osric and aurienne couldn’t be more different. osric is an assassin, and aurienne is a healer. off the jump, they hate each other. but they also have something from the other person that is imperative. oscric’s seith (aka magic) is depleting and will kill him if not treated, and aurienne is the only person who can help. and why does aurienne accept? because osric donated a substantial sum to pay for a vaccination that will prevent a pox that has been affecting thousands of children. dream team right? not so much. they LOATHE each other.

knightley once again says “oh you want british banter? i’ll give you british banter.” she does it like no other. england has a special place in my heart and every time i read her work, she reminds me of my friends over there and their sarcastic way of joking.

osric and aurienne are morally opposed, but their banter is like no other. they have quick wit, sarcastic pros, and (against their better judgment) begin to enjoy each others company. this is the slowest of burns, eek! my fave.

i did have a hard time understanding parts of the world, specifically the order. i didn’t understand how the order related to the tiendoms. sadly for me, the end of the book had a breakdown of each order - i wish i read this at the beginning! either way, this didn’t take away from the experience. i need book 2 stat!

thank you netgalley and berkley for this e-arc!

3.5 stars rounded up

Buckle up! Very honest review coming:

Yet again we have a supposed Dramione fanfic, but I’m telling you—if that wasn’t being pushed, I would not have made the connection. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Very little of this reminds me of those characters, so do with that what you will.

I had a very difficult time getting into this book. I initially tried listening to it (I listen to a *lot* of audiobooks), and I stopped after maybe three pages. It was very difficult to follow, so highly recommend eyeball reading this one.

Brigitte Knightley’s writing style took time for me to adjust to. While I eventually did, I still think she slaps words on the page just for the sake of doing so. I would gather I didn’t know the meaning of like, 20% of the words in this story, and I lacked the patience to look them up. 😂

However, what really makes this book shine is the wit and humor. It doesn’t have an exact parallel, but it has a little bit of The Office’s dry humor that I’m basically obsessed with. And I’m sure some of the jokes went over my head, but I’m not sure I’ve laughed out loud so much while reading a book. My favorite part was definitely the Critique Crickets. 🤭

The world building does feel underdeveloped, as if you’re just tossed into the deep end and expected not to drown from the get go. There’s a glossary but—honestly—I never feel like I should need to rely on that to understand a plot. 🤷🏻‍♀️ For the most part, I understood everything by the end, but the lack of explanation + overly vocabularized (made that word up) writing made me almost dnf this at the beginning.

Knowing this was a super slow burn going in did help me enjoy the plot more. I liked their slowly developing relationship and the plot more than I was expecting. I actually appreciated the slow burn and the fact that this is a *true* enemies to lovers. We’re talking no mention of even attraction to one another until like, the 60% mark.

The characters themselves were equally likable and insufferable at times, but it added to the overall vibes of the story.

Overall, I didn’t love this one but I did end up liking it, even though I was very unsure in the beginning. I think it will only appeal to a specific audience and that it’s certainly not for everyone. I would consider this to fall in the cozy fantasy category and could definitely be used as a romcom palate cleanser.

It fell short for me, unfortunately. I was really looking forward to this one. I attempted to start in back in May and I could not get into the writing style. Fast forward to being able to listen to the audio, and it still did not flow. I did enjoy the banter and humor between the MCs.

3.5!

Ok, let me start by saying... If you are a fan of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries, and Tress of the Emerald Sea, I think this book is for you.

What hit me first was the humor, sarcasm and punchy tone. It is definitely witty. And there were so many times I was laughing to myself. The characters immediate banter is pretty fun.

To love this one, I think you have to go in knowing it's going to be completely different than what you're used to.

I found myself wishing I connected with the characters more. I think a lot of the depth was hidden behind the sarcasm (which could be perfect for some people!!). The emotions and romance started come into play, at least seriously, a bit later than I would have liked.

I think it could be the perfect book for the right readers! It just didn't especially land for me.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is an entertaining enemies to lovers romantasy centred on a healer Aurienne and assassin Osric. Osric's magic is being drained by a mysterious illness only Adrienne can heal. Can she heal him and resist him at the same time?

My only request of the publisher: maybe next time we don’t feed into the HP marketing material and keep a cruel individual relevant who seems to care less about human beings. This book could have stood on its own without leveraging HP.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was exactly what I thought it would be: fun, and full of that fizzy, light-hearted energy that makes for an easy and enjoyable read. The romance was adorable, with just enough tension to keep things relatively interesting and a satisfying emotional payoff as the characters slowly unraveled their differences (and their denial).

What really stood out was the comedy. It gave the story a buoyant, playful tone that balanced the enemies-to-lovers angst nicely. There were several laugh-out-loud moments, and the banter was sharp without ever feeling mean-spirited. It made the relationship feel more like a slow dance of mutual teasing than all-out war, which worked well given the overall tone.

The characters had great chemistry, and while some moments leaned into familiar tropes, they were executed with charm and confidence. If you're in the mood for something fun, sweet, and just a little chaotic, this book is a great pick. Not earth-shattering, but definitely worth the read.

A fascinating start to the series!

I went into this one blind and ended up loving it! The premise is refreshingly unique, unlike anything I've read before, and I was hooked after getting to know the characters, curious to see how it would all unfold.

The main characters are enemies with serious "I want to unalive you" energy for most of the story, which kept me completely on edge in the best way. The tension is palpable, and the stakes feel real.

There are plenty of twists along the way that almost make you forget the original mission: finding a cure for Osric. The plot layers keep things engaging and unpredictable.

That cliffhanger? Brutal. I need the next book ASAP. I'm especially excited to see how the world-building expands with so much potential, and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

Thank you SO MUCH to netgalley and berkley for this arc!

I will admit, it was initially hard to get sucked into this book. The language used was new and took a bit of time to get into, but the last third of the book really picked up, and the romance became way more believable. I will say this is a TRUEEE slow burn, with two love interests who GENUINELY do not like each other. I was so curious to see how the heck feelings could possibly surface for the two of them with how they acting so hostilely towards one another. They are incredibly reluctant allies, and watching their relationship develop through book one was comical to watch (in a good way, I promise),

The humor in here was fun, and I enjoyed the constant banter between Osric and Aurienne. Osric's personality was fun, and his dramatic-ness was refreshing. He was just a little softie at heart, and I hope he gets the love he deserves in book 2!!! I will not lie, Osric had me incredibly stressed. I kept worrying he was being followed or he would be found out, but I had worried essentially for nothing, because while I wouldn't say the stakes are necessarily low here, I think there wasn't any real harm towards the main characters, and the main focus was the humor? Does that make sense? Maybe think of Assistant to the Villain vibes in terms of the tone, because it was quite similar here.

Overall, this was a fun read! It did drag a little at time, and my only real complain is the pacing, but everything was executed well. I am super excited to see how everything plays out in the next installment!