For me, the book started with two very unlikeable and arrogant people - not the best start. I would also have preferred if the introduction to the book wasn't an info dump. However, the story was interesting enough for me to keep reading.

I'm a bit disappointed in the enemies-to-lovers aspect - one of my favorite tropes. There was very little tension and progress throughout, but I'm hoping there'll be more in the next one.

The story and the character grew on me after the mid-point, enough for me to be intrigued and want to pick up the next book, but not enough to be 100% sold. Yet.

*Thank you to the author and publisher for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

4⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC!
This gem is out on July 8th, and if you’re a fan of chaotic slow burns with sharp banter and big feelings buried under layers of mutual loathing… this one’s for you.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was genuinely hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud more than once — especially during the yogurt scene and the Randy Unicorn (you’ll know it when you get there). The dynamic between Aurienne and Osric was absolute gold: she’s a grumpy, brilliant healer who has zero patience for nonsense, and he’s a smooth, deadpan assassin who falls so hard, so early, and has no idea what to do with himself.

This is the slowest of slow burns, and I mean that as a compliment. Every little shift in their relationship felt earned. The tension, the bickering, the forced proximity — all of it had me fully hooked.

I love a story where the characters are deeply competent but emotionally clueless, and this book nails that dynamic perfectly. Honestly, I’m still smiling thinking about some of their interactions.

I cannot wait for the sequel. Brigitte Knightley, I’m watching your release schedule like a hawk.

I was so looking forward to reading this book, the cover and blurb was spot on and made me want to pick this book up.

I had a fantastic time reading it. In fact I could not put it down.

Osric the male lead in the story is an assassin, he was very witty and clever and boy did he love to use sarcasm. Aurienne is another well written character by the author, she is strong and has a way of being able to deal with whatever is thrown at her. Being a healer she has views about Osric which are exacerbated when he bribes her to help him.

The conversation and banter between the two is hilarious at times and I found it very entertaining to read.

The romance was very slow burn and didn’t really start till the second half.

The writing and humour from the author was first class and I was fully immersed in the story from start to finish

I am looking forward to reading the concluding book of this duet

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit UK for this eARC copy!

This was the easiest 5⭐️ from me!

This book is like Ten Things I Hate About You except I am sure Aurienne and Osric could easily make that list Ten Thousand Things I Hate About You.

Osric our MMC is an assassin in need of a healer. Our FMC Aurienne is said healer but with an oath to bring “harm to none” why would she help someone who… you know, murders people for a living?? However, Aurienne works for a research centre in desperate need of funds to heal sick children and she accepts his plea; for a price… These two idiots then have to work with each other and the rest is history ..

This a true enemies to lovers story with heavy romantic comedy vibes set in a fantasy world. I’ve seen a quote that the slow burn is so slow you might as well be going in reverse but Brigitte Knightley does this so well, I was utterly hooked. There is a unique magic system in this book and the characters belong to different "Orders" set in alternative version of the UK. There is a thorough glossary at the beginning but I wished there was a little more world building. I would love more of this in the sequel as the magic and the Orders were really intriguing!

I have never highlighted so many quotes from a book before! I have done this so I can go back and laugh at them or share them when this book is finally released. It is genuinely one of the funniest books I’ve ever read if not the funniest. If you’re a woman in STEM and/or work in healthcare like myself you are going to appreciate the medical-related humour a lot. I feel like Brigitte Knightley crawled into my head and wrote a book tailored to my exact sense of humour.

I look forward to reading this again and I am praying the sequel comes out soon for the sake of my sanity (that ending?!!).

Honestly a must read unless you hate being happy or don’t enjoy laughing till you cry??

Was very curious about this, being a huuuuuge fan of the fanfic (I know it’s not a re write but is clearly very heavily influenced) & this sadly did just not hit even close the same. I found the ‘banter’ really cringe and only became invested about 80% in, and then had somehow missed it was a duology and got really fed up it was over just as things got started. This really would’ve been better as a chunky single book

I really struggled with this book mainly because of the formatting of the eArc and I've never struggled with that before. Unfortunately for me there wasn't any world building and struggled with the long chapters, because I dnfed the book at 25% i haven't reviewed this book on my booktok account or goodreads

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is a hilarious and entertaining debut that blends humour, rich worldbuilding, and compelling characters into a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The highlight of the book for me was the humour. The dialogue shines with clever, fast paced banter that consistently lands, and there were several moments that genuinely made me laugh out loud. Knightly creates an impressive balance between real narrative stakes and absurd situations that somehow still feel grounded in the world the author has built.

The worldbuilding is rich and layered, with a magic system and setting that feels fresh. I really appreciated the guides and extra material at the front of the book.

Aurienne and Osric were well developed and entertaining protagonists. Each felt fully realised on their own, with distinctive voices and motivations. The slow burn pacing was done incredibly well, and watching their relationship shift and develop over the course of the book was incredibly satisfying. I can’t wait to see more of them in future books.

I highly recommend The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy to readers wanting a fantasy romance that will make you laugh out loud.

The writing style in this is genuinely hilarious and so so unique! It was the main thing that kept me turning the page, rather than the plot or characters. Its snappy, witty, and sarcastic in a way I've never read before - so refreshing!

Unfortunately the plot and characters just weren't for me! I thought the logistical back and forth travelling lasted for too long without really leading anywhere, and I just didn't really believe the chemistry or supposed 'enemies to lovers' plotline between Osric and Aurienne. I never warmed to either of them.

It definitely picked up towards the end for me, but I don't think I'll be picking up any future books in this series.

This was very different to romantasys I have read before. A unique concept and interesting plot with some hilariously quirky characters! This served me well as an easy holiday read.

The humour in this book is its biggest commendation. I found the characters super funny and it actually had me laughing out loud on multiple occasions. The banter between our FMC and MMC was brilliant. I loved Aurienne’s plain speaking nature and how she just doesn’t stand for any nonsense she is given by Osric. She felt very iconic to me as a character.

I love a good romantasy with a mystery embedded in its plot so I was definitely onboard as these two tried to uncover the mystery behind the resurgence of the pox. The story was heaped in clever twists and fantastic banter throughout.

This is a very slow burn romance with almost little to no pay off at the end so if that’s not your jam, I don’t think this will be the book for you. Some incredibly sweet moments between Aurienne and Osric though and I’m anticipating things to heat up in book two.

My biggest draw back with this one is the world building - or lack thereof. I spent a lot of the time when reading this wondering when and where we were. I just couldn’t capture a clear picture of the setting or magic systems in place. A lot of jargon that could be confusing at times as well.

Holy moly, I think this is my fave of the year so far!?!

Thank you to NetGalley, Brigitte Knightley and the publishers for this ARC, (my first NetGalley ARC!), and it did not disappoint!

I had no idea going into this book that it was originally a Dramione fanfic and had discovered it around halfway reading, but if I had never found out until after, I honestly don't think I would have connected any dots (but the character art should have maybe hinted this to lil old me, whoops!).

We really do find ourselves a TRUE enemies to lovers, which builds EVER so slowly (did it ever end!?) but I think was done so well. I LOVED the witty and sharp banter so so much, I found myself giggling away to myself so many times. I have no idea if the author is British, but the dry and witty banter definitely read like a Brit had written it, and I think this to me made it even the more enjoyable. I was yearning SO badly towards the latter half of the book, and especially at the end, and to leave it on that cliffhanger has got me needing the sequel asap!

Our MMC, Osric (our Draco coded fellow), to me reminded me lot like Flynn Ryder from Tangled, and I am not complaining of that at all! Our FMC, Aurienne (our Hermione coded gal), was also really enjoyable to read and wasn't overly portrayed as being stuck up in comparison to Osric, but enough to create wit and banter. This was my first experience of reading an MC in STEM, which I did enjoy and didn't feel like I had jargon being shoved down my throat of which I didn't understand, and was also able to be pulled into some of the humour as well as the darker subjects.

I enjoyed the world building and how there were magical elements within the world but also within a 'normal' world. And of course I appreciated the Cumbria mention 🙂‍↕️🫡. There was a lot of world explanation at the beginning in the glossary, and although it may have been a bit overwhelming, we didn't visit all the Orders/areas of the world just yet but enjoyed the world building we did experience.

I've since preordered a special edition, and maybe this will be the first book I actually tab and physically highlight, I loved it THAT much! I highlighted many quotes on my kindle, one of my favourites being 'he looked at her as one who wished to worship, and one who wished to defile', like my LORD! I am in LOVE.

I had a thoroughly fun time reading this book, I loved our main characters, along with their deofols and a backlog of other characters, and the worlds we visited.

Well done Brigitte, thank you so much for the opportunity of the ARC, I am chomping at the bit for the sequel!!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley
DNF

I really wanted to love this one, but I struggled right from the start. The glossary and the way the magic system was introduced just felt super overwhelming and hard to follow. I kept trying to push through, but I just couldn’t get into the flow of the story.

I think this could totally work for readers who enjoy deep, detailed worldbuilding right away, but sadly it wasn’t for me this time.

It’s taken me a little while to decide how to start this review… For the first 20%(ish) of the book, I was growing increasingly more certain that I was going to DNF this and that I couldn’t possibly give it more than 2 stars. There is a unique magic system and world that we are immediately thrown into, with very little explanation or information about it to help our understanding. Add to that the fact that this author’s vocabulary is unlike most books that I have ever read. For each sentence, I felt like I spent much of my time debating whether to search up the definition of at least one word, try to work it out from the context or just forge on regardless without actually knowing what it means. Honestly, it was pretty hard going, throwing up words that, for the most part, I was sure were pretty made up. BUT, I stuck with it because the characters intrigued me and the enemies-to-lovers banter was pretty darn good. And do you know what? I am SO glad that I did stick with it to the point that when I finished it, I immediately searched up to see when book two is going to be released!!
After it all, I absolutely loved this (even though the ending is a MAJOR cliffhanger) and eagerly await the sequel to this.
Thank you to Brigitte Knightley, Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for allowing me to read this ARC in return for my review. All opinions are my own.

2.5 stars rounded up.

Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, is in dire need of healing. Naturally - such is the grim comedy of fate - the only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and member of an enemy Order.

Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick - so desperate that, when Osric bribes her to help him, she accepts, even if she detests him and everything he stands for.

As Osric and Aurienne work together to heal his illness and investigate the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction, which only fuels the heat between them.

Unfortunately, I believe this book should have just stayed a fanfiction. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it as fanfiction. As a result of this, there is no world building whatsoever. London and Kent are mentioned, French words are sprinkled without and there is the mention of the Norman Conquest. The magic system isn’t really explained either so I don’t know how it works.

I agree, this is a slow burn, enemies to lovers and nothing really happens until you hit the 90% mark but then it falls flat. I felt really detached from the characters, I wasn’t rooting for them or cared what happened. I am really disappointed as I was really looking forward to this book and I genuinely tend to enjoy everything I read, whereas unfortunately I feel as though I wasted my time reading this book.

The humour was really hit and miss for me, there were so many dick and ball jokes, piss was mentioned a million times as well as the word anus. Some things I did smile at whereas other things I cringed at. Also so much unneeded complex vocabulary was thrown in, it very much felt like a thesaurus had been used every couple of words.

Perhaps you would enjoy it if you have read the fanfiction before, but it really wasn’t for me (which is saying something as it takes a lot for me not to enjoy a book!) I actually came close to DNFing.

Again, thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for allowing me to read this ARC in return for my review. All opinions are my own.

This book was not for me.
I felt like the world building was missing, with the exception of the info-dump before the book even started which was a lot to absorb in a few pages with no context. There was huge potential here but it seemed to be skipped over.
I also just could not cope with the constant toilet humour, it was just way too much for me and i didn't find it funny or endearing at all.

There were a few times throughout the book where i chuckled at their banter, and the story started to get a bit more interesting right at the end. I feel like it could have been done in one book rather than two.
But the toilet humour just made it a no for me personally.

I think there’s a clear divide in reviews for this book based on whether people have a connection to the original fanfic or not. I really tried to separate the two while reading, and I think without the background world knowledge provided by the original IP this work does suffer a little.
That said, it’s still a lot of fun, the enemies to lovers is still really well done and if you’re a fan of cheesy tropes and witty banter (I am, I say this as a compliment!) I think you’ll like this book :)

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Going into this I did not know that this is was basically fan fiction and after finishing reading it that makes sense.
There was literally no world building at all and I felt quite confused at certain points, if there was an extra 50 pages that contained world building that would have made the book a bit better. I feel like the character and storyline fell flat as well for me. For these reasons it had me questioning if I should DNF this book, but I carried on as I received this book as an ARC.
This book also has a glossary so as soon as I saw that I kind of knew I would not get along with the book.
I think this book was just not for me but I can see a lot of other people liking this book.

Loved loved loved it. The banter between the two main characters is perfection, great to have two characters so sure of themselves while navigating their feelings and interactions with each other. The world building felt embedded and understandable and made for seemless reading. I loved it.

*Thank you to the author and publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.*

I really enjoyed this! I had read her Dramione fic earlier in the year seeing the buzz that it was being published and was interested to see how it would be prepared for publishing. However this is basically a completely different book!

The plot follows Osric (draco coded) who has been diagnosed with a terminal magic illness which will result in him losing his magic. The only person who can potentially attempt to heal him is Aurelia (hermione coded). However Osric and Aurelia are in opposing magic guilds, Aurelia in the healers guild and Osric in the assasins, and they are sworn enemies. Osric will go to any dirty and twisted length to be healed and in an enemies to lovers slow burn plot he gets Aurelia’s unwilling assistance.

What I liked:
-I really like the way she writes.
-The witty banter between characters is so fun and laugh out loud.
-The plot is really creative and interesting and I liked the world building (although I found it a bit confusing at times).

What I didn’t like:
-10 pages of glossary in the front to explain the world building, i prefer world building to be within the book and found there were maybe too many fantasy words with not enough in book explanation.
-the world building was very cool but very extensive and confusing, I still don’t understand the different magic guilds and countries. How did they come to be? Why are they so seperate? Is this magical world on top of reality or is this a completely different fantasy world?
-it felt too short? or not fully wrapped up. we have three plots/arcs started (medical cure, attacks/political/plague, romance) but only the romance reaches a vague conclusion. Very set up for a sequel

Overall I would recommend it and read a sequel. The entertaining prose and plot and fun romance banter makes up for the unfinished arcs and confusing but cool world building.

Congrats on the debut!!!

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐲
~ 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒅 #𝟏

The first in a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy duology featuring a scholarly healer and a gentleman assassin, set in an exquisite fantasy world, perfect for fans of The Love Hypothesis and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

This book was utterly hilarious and fun to flip pages and read as until there was nothing left. The premise of the book was chaotic, which set the perfect tone. The magic system was certainly unique and introduced prior to reading but the introduction of the unique properties, elements and groups was very well done.

I found the plot to feel purposefully slow-moving as every action was created with intent to build up towards something that was yet to be realised. The banter between them is top notch and has me wheezing and laughing the entire time during these interactions. The hate at first sight is evident and it's a true enemies-to-lovers dynamic, where hate, loathe and murdering each other is on their mind constantly.

Aurienne and Osric matched one another's energy to perfection and were wholly unafraid to make their reluctant partnership as difficult as possible for the other. I loved how Osric continued to challenge Aurienne on her morality. The way Aurienne continues to try and heal Osric's ailment despite her personal opinions on the matter.

Can't wait for the next installment!

This is how slow burn should be done!

I absolutely loved the irresistible urge to fall for your enemy, it was slow burn at its finest. In the book we follow Osric, a member of the order of assassins and Aurienne who is the best scientist in the country, and a member of an enemy order. The whit and banter in this book had me genuinely laughing out loud. Osric has an unknown illness, and Aurienne has a Pox outbreak and thus the two are forced to work together despite hating each other, Aurienne is of the highest morals while Osric cannot understand anyone with a conscience. There is a beautiful fantasy setting with political intrigue and even a dance or two, some scenes had me smiling so much my face hurt.

I did feel the ending was a little rushed but that may be due to me not realising it was the end, I couldn't put the book down and I could have read a lot more!

This is a fantastic debut and I cannot wait for the next book in the series to see what happens to our two main characters.