Oh my God what a book!

This is the slowest burn I've ever read, and I NEED the next book now! Osric and Aurienne were so good together, we got so much banter and the crumbs that Knightley gave us had me literally screaming at the top of my lungs! I had so much fun reading this book and it had perfect pace, perfect yearning and such an incredible fantasy plot. I will definitley be reading the next one and whatever this author writes next!

Thanks to NetGalley for sending me a copy to read, I loved this one!

I went into this book blind after hearing lots of people raving about it and unfortunately it just wasn’t for me. I really enjoyed the banter and humorous moments however i just didn’t really connect to the world or characters unfortunately.

Thankyou for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, a massive thank you for receiving this as an ARC. I’ve been a fan of Brigitte Knightley ever since I discovered her work on AO3. Her fanfiction back then pulled me out of one of the worst book slumps I’ve ever had, and this book has managed to do the same.

This was my first time reading a published work that I had previously read as fanfiction, so I was a little worried I might get bored since I already knew where the plot was headed. I was also nervous that the personalities I loved so much in DMATMOOBIL would be changed so much that I wouldn’t connect in the same way. But if you’re worried about this too—don’t be. This is not just a re-work. The plot is quite different, and honestly, I think it’s even better. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE READ HER PREVIOUS WORK TO UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THIS. THIS IS A COMPLETELY SEPARATE BOOK THAT STANDS BEAUTIFULLY ON ITS OWN.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a new adult romantasy featuring a sarcastic, sassy, self-absorbed (diva) shadow-walking assassin and an uptight, mildly snobby, perfectionist, healer (a combo any romantasy girly will eat right up). It reads like a romcom in the best way.

Osric Mordaunt is a shadow-walker, which basically means he can teleport from one shadow to another—so a little different than our usual shadow-wielding MMCs. He’s also terminally ill with a disease called seith rot, which slowly strips him of his magical abilities. Aurienne, being an incredibly skilled healer, is the only one with the knowledge to figure out how to create a cure, wink-wink.

Of course, that’s not the only plot happening—there’s a larger overarching arc in the background—but let’s be real, you can already smell the forced proximity in the air. This book had me giggling and kicking my feet so much it should honestly be illegal.

Yes, the jokes leaned a little silly at times, but that only added to the fun. If you loved Assistant to the Villain or want a cozy, slow-burn, banter-and-tension-filled enemies-to-lovers story, this is it. Osric is one of the funniest, sassiest main characters I have ever had the privilege of reading about, his internal monologue was one of the best aspects of this book for me. In combination with Aurienne, who was so completely unbothered by him and his looks. amazing. I love nothing more than a woman who remains stoic in the presence of a cocky man, she refused to give him any attention (other than the obvious medical attention).

Aurienne was such a well-rounded heroine for me. I can't even pinpoint exactly what made me love her so much. The author really managed to show us how smart she is. Usually, what tends to happen is that characters will speak of how smart the other is, but there is no actual evidence that their IQ is anywhere above room temperature. But my baby Auri, no not her. She was also just so... AHH i dont know, black cat energy.

The combination of these two characters together was just ... a master piece. Her being completely unimpressed, whilst he was going through an existential crisis, was exactly what I needed.

Now, I’ll admit—I’m not usually a big fan of excessive banter, since it often replaces real chemistry. But that wasn’t the case here.

This was probably the smartest, funniest and best banter I have ever actually read in books, from the first page onwards. That said, the banter did get a little repetitive at times, and the pacing slowed down a little in the middle. The worldbuilding also felt a bit fuzzy in some places, since the romance clearly took center stage. But honestly? That’s not a bad thing when the romance is this fun. I do appreciate that the author didn't info dump too much; instead, she chose a more immersive approach, which only led to confusion once or twice. I'm still a little confused as to the world in general, there were several mentions to real-life places throughout the book, but then also fictional ones as well. Either way, it didn't take away from the story too much, so I don't mind. I will also say, I loved every single side character in this book. From Osric´s housekeeper (?), Xanthe, and their little familiars. Especially the genet- oh sorry I meant the cat- weasel .

Overall, this was a solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 (4 stars) for me—the perfect palate cleanser in between big, heavy fantasy series.

Tropes:
Enemies to lovers
Slow burn
Healer x assassin
Cliffhanger
Low spice
Forced proximity
Witty banter

Trigger Warnings :
Violence
Murder
Death
Diseases
Talk about medical practices
sick children
Torture

I feel like I have read the fanfic that this book is based on so it felt very samey but also a bit confusing with a whole new world to try to understand. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get into it the way I had the original. DNF

Unfortunately, the book didn’t work for me — I couldn’t connect with the characters. I also haven’t read the fanfic it’s based on.

Thank you to NetGalley, and Orbit for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t know I was craving this kind of book until I read it and just immediately clicked with it.

The characters were complete opposites yet also not. It was a pleasure to watch them develop on the page.

The author’s vocabulary was absolutely wild and I learnt some new words along the way.

There was a perfect blend of serious plot and silly jokes. They almost felt of place yet it was expertly balanced and somehow didn’t feel that way.

The first thing I did (after rating this 5 stars) was look up when the sequel is out because I need it, right now!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is definitely not a book for everyone, and I think it’s important to go in prepared and with an open mind. It is advertised as fantasy rom com so I knew I should expect something different from what I usually read, but I still ended up very surprised. The book has very specific writing style.The closest comparison I can think of is The Princess Bride, with its very British, tongue in cheek, silly humour. Many readers might go in expecting a typical enemies to lovers romantasy and be surprised when they find more silly comedy than actual romance.

At first, I was intrigued by the writing style. Then I was happy to be reading something a little different for a change, but… it quickly became too much. I really don’t enjoy rude humour, and there was far too much of it for my taste. How many times do I need to read about penises, balls, nipples, anuses, and disgusting diseases? The jokes weren’t even particularly vulgar, they just felt very juvenile.. And how many is too many?

Of course, we all know The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is one of the big three fanfic to novel releases this year. And yes I’m a big fanfiction reader myself and familiar with this author’s work, which officially this story is not based on but we all could see some similarities. What’s important, though, is that I know the author can write stories that are equally funny and deeply romantic. In her fanfic, the humour is witty and playful, sometimes silly, but nothing like what we get here so I really don’t understand some of the choices here. Did we really need a scene where the MMC’s drunk friend asks him to check if his balls are uneven while the FMC hides in a closet, listening to everything? I don’t think so.. No point for the story whatsoever..

What makes this especially frustrating is that between these funny not funny moments, there are some truly stunning passages of writing that made me want to scream and highlight everything because yes, this is exactly what I wanted. Watching the characters fall in love in slow motion, struggling with their feelings for their supposed mortal enemy, and what do you mean their eyes are more sparkly than usual?! And I’m giggling to myself like an idiot until the moment someone makes another off-putting joke about some unfortunate disease of the nether regions.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good slow burn. But I would have been much happier with more actual romance and character development. We only got crumbs! The last few chapters were my favourite though! My two idiots finally start trusting each other and are clearly on their way to falling in love. I’m very excited for the sequel. Now that the world, politics, magic and characters are established, I really hope the next book will focus more on the plot and of course, the romance!

Despite me complaining quite a bit I did still enjoyed the book. It had that wonderful fanfic quality where the pages practically turn themselves, even when I was rolling my eyes at the humour.

I am largely conflicted about what to think of this book, but it definitely wins for originality!
The writing style sways between lighthearted and sarcastic, and it helps to maintain the story not excessively dark despite the themes presented. There are certain scenes that cracked me up, partly because of the cleverness with which they were perfectly orchestrated.
That said, it's also true that I didn't find the worldbuilding explained in a clear and precise manner, and I was quite confused by all this semi-realistic outline between real references and made-up things.
And then there is the plot, which start to be really interesting just at the end of the book. So, the potential is there, but the author should have worked harder to create something more appealing and cohesive. I'll still read book 2 because I'm too curious about where the story will lead us, but I won't have too high expectations.
*Thanks to the publisher for the free arc.

Where do I start with this one? TIUTFFYE was one of my most anticipated reads of the years 2025, mainly because of the author's writing background (if you know you know). And while the worldbuilding was quite detailed and interesting, it for some reason did not fit into this book as well as I hoped it would. It sometimes seemed like the author was writing a parody of sorts hence the humour in this literary piece - I have come to realise that putting side notes in brackets in a book will make it a lot less funny and less enjoyable than it might, if it was just written down as a character's thought. All in all the book was mostly enjoyable, but I really can't say that It's a favourite of mine (though I truly wish I could).

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book at around 20%. I went into it knowing very little, other than the fact that it appeared on many readers’ most anticipated lists this year. However, it just didn’t work for me. I felt the world-building was lacking, and I found the characters very unlikable.

Osric is an assassin, Aurienne a healer. The former needs a cure for the degenerative disease that has befallen him, while the latter's order desperately needs funds to develop a vaccine for a disease that is affecting slum children.

This is one of the wittiest, sharpest, and most deliciously antagonistic romances I’ve ever read. I'm giving this infinity stars and honestly, that still isn't enoug

Upon leaning this was based on a Harry Potter fan fiction, I was put off. I cannot support any semblance of Harry Potter content.

I requested this before I found out that it used to be a HP fanfic which gross I absolutely will not be reading it or be associated with it

Set in a fantasy version of the UK, this story follows a healer and a hired assassin that reluctantly work together, even though they are meant to hate each other due to the nature of what each of them are and they orders they belong to.
I will say the prose in this book is beautiful, there is a bit of a mystery aspect to the story too.
This was a very quick enjoyable read, it has a lot of elements that tend to attract me towards books like enemies-to-lovers, witty and comedic banter, semi-low stakes plot, slow burn romance, he falls first.
On the other hand there was one main element in this book that did put me off just a little and that is the fact that there is very very little plot and not a lot happens throughout the story, outside f=of our two main characters interacting and Aurienne healing Osric again and again.
Lastly, the story was a little too info-dumpy in the beginning and took some getting used to.
With such a complex and rich societal structure with the orders etc, I wish that aspect of the story was explored a bit more, I am hoping that will happen more in book two.

Rating 3.75/5

Having read the original fanfic, picking up this book felt both familiar and fresh. Brigitte Knightley has polished the story into something that stands beautifully on its own, but I could still feel the heartbeat of what made the fic so addictive in the first place, the sharp banter, the irresistible tension, and the sense that you’re always one step away from sparks turning into fire.

I really enjoyed how the characters were fleshed out here. Compared to the fanfic, the novel feels tighter, with cleaner pacing and more focus on emotional growth. That said, because I knew the roots of the story, a few beats felt a bit predictable for me, but I think new readers will be completely swept away.

Overall, it’s a witty, smartly written enemies-to-lovers romance that delivers on the promise of its title. For me, it was a delightful mix of nostalgia and discovery, a story I was glad to revisit in this new form. I look forward for book 2.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for giving me the chance to read this book! ♥︎

I was so curious about this title since I heard it was originally a fanfic about Hermione and Draco. I haven’t read the original story, but I really enjoyed reading this one, that was changed and adapted to be published, creating a new world and magical system and that I found really interesting. I also liked the main characters and the dynamics between them, with all their banter and the slow burn (and I really love slow burn when I read a romantasy book!). English isn’t my first language, so sometimes I had to search some words that I didn’t understand, because I’ve never heard them before (but I enjoy learning new terms so it wasn’t too bad and it was obviously my problem: I guess I found out that I’m not as fluent as I thought). Overall it was a very nice and fun read and I can’t wait to reread the italian edition of it to enjoy it even more!

With this book I think some people will adore it however it's definitely not for me sadly.

I think the magic system was so interesting but I really wish we learnt more about how it works - Hopefully more is revealed in the sequels!!

I did enjoy most of the banter/back and forth between the main characters (Aurienne and Osric) and I did enjoy the difference in their morals as it added such an interest arc to following knowing this is an enemies to lovers story.

I do think unfortunately I did struggle not not see this as just an AU Dramonie fanfic which may have impacted my perception of it but overall I don't think this is for me and I wont likely pick the rest of the series up. But it will definitely be adored by others where its right up their street!

A fun, silly read with good banter and romance. It took me a while to get into it, however. I think the beginning is quite slow

This was a fun read! I enjoyed the style of humour that Aurienne and Osric thought and talked in, and it was great to be able to read in both their viewpoints. There were definitely some laugh out loud moments, and lots and lots of banter, wittiness, and snarkiness. He falls first!!
I do think the book felt a bit dense at first and took me a while to get invested in the story because of the medical and fantasy language used. I wish the world building would’ve been stronger at the start.

I’d recommend if you’re looking for a humorous slow burn book with enemies to lovers.

Thank you Little, Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Enjoyable enough but cringy at times. Good premise but was too bogged down in humour to balance out the seriousness.