I'm a bit confused about rating this one. The story starts off well - you get banter and unnecessary name-calling. It's comedic. The tension between our main characters is fuelled from the very start - so the trope of enemies to lovers begins well. The reliance on butt jokes is high but it does work most of the time. However, it is just that. There's no world-building - no POV given to us except that of the two main characters. It's like being slid into a part of a book where we need to see a relationship unfold and the rest of the world can go to hell. So the fantasy romance tag doesn't work for it - I would rather classify it as romance comedy/banter.

Two words : THE BANTER.

This book was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it did not disappoint at all.

It starts a little bit slow (and I think it is needed to set up the whole story) so it took me a little while to get into it but once it happened, I could not stopped reading it. The whole magic/order system is a lot to take in so it does take a little while to get used to it but it’s also very interesting and I really hope we get to know more about it in the next book.

The banter is OUT OF THIS WORLD. The amount of time I was cackling while reading this book (very often in the tube so people probably looked at me weird); I absolutely adore the relationship between Osric and Aurienne and see it develop slowly throughout the book was such a wonder. I also really liked the dual POV - being able to see things from both their perspective made the book even better.

It’s a slow, slow burn but so well done that it doesn’t feel like it’s taking too long. Again, it just goes very well with the story and everything makes sense. I loved how the story grew, specially at the end and became bigger than just Aurienne trying to heal Osric.

Honestly cannot wait to read book 2. This book was such an amazing read!

YES! I loved this one! It was so fun and some scenes made me laugh out loud. It reminded me so much of assistant to the villain (which is one of my fav series) and i had the best time!

A delightful enemies-to-lovers romantasy that is brimming with banter.

Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, is in dire need of healing. The only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, a member of an enemy Order.

Desperate for funding to create a vaccination, when Osric bribes Aurienne to help him, she accepts even though she despises everything he stands for.

It is obvious from the title what you're in for, but who is going to fall first?

It is a slow burn with minimal spice, yet the verbal sparring really heightens the tension.

The detailed magic system and world-building takes a little getting used to but it isn't overbearing. Little bonus is the glossary and pronunciation guide at the beginning. Saved me from making up the pronunciation like I usually do!

Osric has now joined my ever growing list of book boyfriends.

If you liked the idea of Hermione and Draco then this may be for you.

The only part of the book that I can critique is the cover. I'm not partial to covers which feature the characters. I prefer to forge the images of the characters in my mind's eye. I appreciate this is not the case for everyone, and this is my own personal preference.

Thank you to the author, Little, Brown Book Group and Netgalley.

DNF 52%
I was really looking forward to this one, but unfortunately it didn’t deliver for me. I knew it was a fanfic to begin with, but despite being picked up by a publisher it read as an amateurish work.
The dialogues are snappy, but the world building around them is poor, it’s not giving enough context or backstory. Yes, the two main characters bicker all the time and hate each other, but that’s all I got!
I really struggled with the language used as well, it really didn’t work for me, probably it’s not my kind of humour but I couldn’t bring myself to finish it.

Having read the author’s previous work, this book was among my most anticipated releases this year and I wasn’t disappointed!

It absolutely flew by, it was such an easy read. It’s lighthearted and quirky, the author has created a really unique world and I had so much fun spending time in it.

I loved both of the main characters. Osric was very endearing, the perfect combination of cocky with a hint of pathetic, and I was happy to forgive him for casually murdering everyone as long as he was rescuing their dogs. Aurienne’s dry humour was a highlight. I really enjoyed their bickering and how gradually they went from hating each other to begrudging attraction. By the end I was completely invested in their romance and I’m very much looking forward to book two!

Did I enjoy reading this? absolutely. Does the story only consist out of fun banter, non existent worldbuilding and a very vague plot line? Also yes.

It was asking me to care about the life of a man I do not know, about powers that I do not understand and a war with history behind it that is just never explained. The magic system isn’t explained beyond vibes. Half the words I couldn’t even understand. Sometimes they were randomly French. Or medical. Or made up.

The banter between the main characters and the promise of something more were the only thing that kept it going. By the end I was just kinda wondering what exactly the point was of the entire book. It truly felt like it started out as one massive book but they just cut it up in a few parts to create a series. But then also didn’t give each book their own goal.

If you’re fine with just vibes and banter to carry the book, you might love this one. If not, I would put it on hold for now.

This is going to be short but bittersweet, as I had super high hopes for this one. Especially with its comparison to Assistant to the Villain. However it was a DNF for me at 35%

I really struggled to vibe with both of the main characters alone and together. Their chemistry didn’t really add up, and the banter, although it was funny at first, it just felt a little boring. I also really struggled with the lack of world building.

I knew that this work was originally a fan fiction when I went into it, but it still felt more fan fiction than novel.

Thanks for the opportunity to read an early copy for an honest review.

Oh my god!!
This book exceeded my expectations. It was witty, funny, romantic and very well written. When I reached the end, I was so shocked because it left me reeling and feeling incomplete. That's how good this book is.
The banter is top notch. I was giggling and kicking my feet in the air the whole time.
The way the author has kept us in this limbo of will they won't they and the twist and turns the story took got me so invested that I didn't even realize I finished the book.
I can't wait for book two!!
**Thank you Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the ARC**

I am absolutely head over heels for this book and cannot believe I will need to wait for the sequel! I was not expecting to love this as much as I did. I am a fan of *certain fanfictions*, and the fact that many of them are now being re-worked and traditionally published is amazing. However, my preference is usually for the more gothic type of vibe, so I wasn’t sure this would be for me. How wrong I was!

I have never read witty banter done so well between characters. It was so funny, so intelligent, and so very British, that it had me giggling away and reading long in to the night. Brigitte Knightley’s writing is absolutely outstanding, too - far better than many authors who have been in the game for a long time. The language is possibly overly flowery for some, but it fits the characters perfectly, and I quite enjoy the challenge of learning some new vocabulary.

The slow-burn was also spot on. I know lots of us are sick of ‘insta-love’ or even a slow-burn that isn’t really slow-burn at all, but this is the real deal. There isn’t even an inkling of liking each other until at least two thirds of the way in to the book. I would hesitate to even describe this as enemy to lovers, because we haven’t really gotten very past enemies just yet.

If I had to offer any critique, I would note that the world-building is maybe slightly lacking. I was a little confused about the setting and how the locations (or tiendoms) worked, and a bit more set up of this in the beginning would have helped. I also had to flip back to the explanations of the orders etc. at the start of the book a few times too, which is slightly annoying on kindle, but honestly no big deal.

I also found Osric to be a more enjoyable character than Aurienne - he felt more well rounded and developed to me, whereas Aurienne at times felt a touch flat.

Overall, this is easily one of my favourite books of the year so far, and I cannot wait for it to be published.

I was kindly provided an arc by the publisher through netgalley.

There will be spoilers!

The copy I was provided was not complete. It ended pretty abruptly, which is pretty sad for me. Osric and Aurienne just kinda accepted that they care for each other and had a beautiful moment and then it just ended. The mystery hasn’t been resolved yet too.

So far I liked it a lot, it was a fun read. Some of the jokes are on the line of edgy and it had me laughing. Their dynamic was interesting and they have a lot of chemistry.

💕🧪The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy 🧪💕

- Brigitte Knightley

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a from a well-known Dramione fanfic writer, and this story evolved from one of those. Osric Mordaunt is a member of the Fyren Order of assasins. When he develops a serious illness, he has no choice but to turn to an enemy Order, healing. There ensues a lot of bribery, blackmail and other illicit activities in order to recruit the help of healer Aurienne Fairhaim - much to her own contempt and disdain.

Aurienne read as quite one-dimensional to me. Aside from being uptight, neat and an unapproachable Woman in STEM, she didn’t really have much personality. However, I really enjoyed her and Osric’s banter, and their relationship (can I even call it that?) CARRIED this book. Let’s normalise the main characters hating each other for the entirety of Book One - if you’re someone who is constantly begging authors to bring back yearning, bring back slow burn, this is for you.

The humour wasn’t personally for me, although I can definitely understand this being an attractive part of the book for a lot of people. It was definitely unusual and a breath of fresh air, to inject such humour into fantasy, a genre that typically doesn’t see a lot of it.

Something that bugged me was the world building, or the lack thereof. It seemed to be set in some alternate universe of London, judging from the vernacular, but little else would ever be explained. Had there been slightly less page-time spent on the humour and the banter and a bit more on the worldbuilding, I don’t think this would have been an issue.

Overall, I had a few complaints, but I will still be continuing the series, because I am invested in Osric and Aurienne. I feel like I could very easily be swayed if perhaps the worldbuilding is stronger and dwelled upon further in the sequel.

Have you read any dramione fanfic? Are you excited for the ones being traditionally published this year?

Thank you NetGalleyUK, and Little, Brown Book Group UK/Orbit for an eARC of this book in return for an honest review.

In The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy we follow Aurienne, a hard-working, brilliant scientist, and Osric, a hard-working, brilliant assassin. These two are both near the top of their game in their respective orders, but with Aurienne being from a light order and Osric being from a dark, they are enemies before their paths even cross, and oh man do their paths cross. They find themselves in a position where they both need something from the other, and so begins a journey in time of us following the two, in this ultimate enemies-to-lovers romance/fantasy.

I found the world building interesting, the characters fascinating, and the language between the two humerus. I was hooked by the story; I couldn't turn the pages quick enough to find out if they could achieve their goal. I was let down a little, as I didn't realise that this is going to be a part of a series (maybe a duology, I can't remember), and I feel as if the ending wasn't an ending, which left me feeling disappointed. Of course I'll read the next book, but I was still left feeling dissatisfied.

I would recommend this book, but only if you like witty crude come backs between characters; if this isn't your thing I would skip this one. Since reading this I have also found out that this is fan fiction, based on Draco and Hermione, which I can now absolutely see in the main traits of the characters; but I do feel as if the author has taken these characters and developed them in a way in which they suit well in this fantastical world.

I look forward to seeing what happens in the next book in this series.

I don’t even know if I liked this.

Knightley’s writing had me split - on the one hand, the language she used was utterly pretentious and I hated it. On the other hand, her ease at writing flirtatious, witty banter had me laughing out loud. Her scene setting and imagery was great, but the story just went nowhere.

Both main characters were flat and under developed. Both completely dull, except in their ability to tear the other down a peg or two.

Other than banterful sexual tension, nothing actually happens in this story. One arrogant guy meets one arrogant girl, and they manipulate each other to meet their own needs. And. Nothing. Happens.

Neither party gets any answers or solutions to their ongoing dilemmas (you know, the reason these two “enemies” are forced together). At one point, I actually forgot that the guy was, technically, dying.

I’d wager that about 80% of this book is the two MCs bickering. Yes, it was funny, but it was not worth committing to 400+ pages (and a sequel?).

Honestly, don’t bother.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy centres around healer, Aurienne and assassin, Osric, who, despite their differences and dislike of each other, work together to try and find a cure for Osric’s magical affliction.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was already one of my most anticipated reads for this year, as I was a big fan of Brigitte’s earlier fanfic, so was excited to dive into her debut novel. And boy, it did not disappoint!

The relationship building between Aurienne and Osric was the absolute highlight of this book. I am a sucker for enemies to lovers, so the enmity and tension within their relationship was everything. This was definitely a slow-burn, which I’ll be honest is not always my favourite, but, oh was it worth it! The witty banter and sharp exchanges between Aurienne and Osric was *chefs kiss*. As their relationship evolved throughout the book it had me laughing out loud with a silly smile on my face, and even moments of kicking my legs with joy!

Brigitte has created a truly immersive world, complemented by a fascinating and well-developed magic system known as seith, which immediately drew me in. The deofol characters were also a standout, each possessing distinct personalities and a wonderful sense of sass (Cíele, I'm looking at you!).

There was also a great nod to DMATMOOBIL, which had my fanfic heart squealing with joy.

Overall, this debut novel is a must-read for fans of fantasy romance with compelling characters and intricate world-building. I truly cannot wait to devour more of Brigitte’s work in the future, especially the second part to this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

Oh boy, so this is another DNF. And I know this will probably feel controversial, as this book has a lot of hype going for it. Everyone knows this is basically Dramione (apparently, the author wrote Dramione fanfic at some point), so the era of Kylo Ren/Rey is obviously over, and we're back to the basics.

The only problem is that this is so obviously based on dramione in my opinion. It's obviously not fanfic anymore, and it does have its own world, but...I mean, look at the cover. It's obvious. Osric is broody, charming, witty and completely confident in himself and his money. Aurienne is an impossibly smart woman who is the best at what she does and clashes with Osric frequently. She works as a healer, whereas he's an assassin for a dark Order (lol), so they don't even get on in terms of jobs either.

Despite this, Aurienne agrees to try to heal him when he bribes her with what she really cares about—helping the sick.

I quickly realised in this book that I didn't like the writing style. Everything felt too forced, like the author just had a big thesaurus open next to her in an attempt to make her book sound more fantasy, but instead it just made everyone sound pretentious. There's also very vague world building - it's based in London, and some vague wars or something are happening? I don't know, it wasn't properly explained. The humour felt lacklustre and like Osric was trying too hard - I immediately didn't like his character. I don't mind a confident character, but he felt slimy.

Either way, I stopped reading this and said I'd come back to it, but I had no inclination to, so I'm unfortunately writing this off as a rare loss for me in the romantasy world! Don't worry, though, it's got plenty of lovers already!

Thanks to Little Brown Book Group I was able to read this on Netgalley already.

And I loved it so much! The banter, the humour, the wit, the sarcasm, the story, all the side characters…I don‘t know how often I laughed out loud or giggled while reading it.
Do I want a criqitue cricket or not though? They could come in handy sometimes.

The magic system is so cleverly made up and so easy to understand. Also the author explains it and it has a glossary at the end.

It also combines some nordic and celtic history which I loved. Time between times. I really love that this is something others will read about now too!

And then the little plot twists that you kinda see coming but still makes you gasp. Especially the one at the very end 🤭

This book is worth 5 stars and more and I will not tire recommending it to my friends!

4.5 stars.
If you’re looking for a book with Dramoine coded MCs, then you’ve found some top notch “I hate you so why do I want to kiss you” vibes in this one! Everything about these two are entirely believable (fantasy setting aside of course) - their reactions, their disdain for each other, even the way they slowly start to appreciate each other and - gasp - start to rely on one another.

The storyline is fun, the side characters are great and the tension between the two builds deliciously. Where the story truly shines for he is in the dry, slightly absurd humour and laugh-out-loud banter. However my one small gripe is that I didn’t feel our FMC’s character evolution in the same way I felt our MMC’s. I’m not sure if that’s because she’s on the side of “good”, or if it will develop more in book 2, but our MMC is humbled (and recognizes this) far more than she is. As a result, her arrogance is still firmly in place whereas he starts to feel more human and more relatable.

All said, I am impatiently waiting for the second installment, and have no doubt Knightley has a long career ahead.
Thank you to NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group U.K. | Orbit and Brigitte Knightley for the opportunity to read and honestly review The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy prior to its release.

Let’s talk about The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy.

First off, thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for providing me with this Advanced Reader Copy. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read and review one of my most anticipated reads of 2025.

Now back to it… Did I fall for it? Kinda. Did I rage-text my book besties because the pacing tested my patience? Also kinda. Would I read the sequel? Probably.

Aurienne is a hyper-focused scientist, Osric is too charming for his own good, and their reluctant partnership is deliciously tense - but the actual story moves slower than a snail. The world-building is full of potential, but instead of exploring it, we get pages and pages of intellectual sparring. If you love slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, worlds with intrigue, Dramione vibes, and stubborn characters who refuse to admit their feelings until the last possible second, this book might be your thing - just prepare for a long ass journey.

(4.5/5⭐️) 📚 Thank you to Net Galley and Brigitte Knightley for the eARC of ‘The Irresistible Urge to Fall for the Enemy’. This book has me in a chokehold. I ate this up! This is enemies to lovers done perfectly. No instant love. Pure hatred to potential feelings towards the end. And the plot…there’s murder and mystery and an unknown threat. There’s so much going for here plot wise that the romance honestly isn’t even necessary but sure is appreciated. If anything, the lack of romance, slowly developing despite of the mayhem that occurs in the second half of the book, only adds to the anticipation! To say I am now sitting here twiddling my fingers, not knowing what to do with myself, is an UNDERSTATEMENT. Please tell me what I have to do to get my hands of the next book right this second? I must know what happens next with their relationship, can Osric be truly healed, and more importantly why has the Pox been manufactured?!