I absolutely loved this book. I adore how much Fairhrim and Osric loathe one another. It's very Dramione coded, but, oddly, at the same time completely original.

Every word that comes out their mouths is dripping in distain. They're both arrogant, vain and self-proclaimed geniuses in their own fields and even though their moral compasses are pointing in completely opposite directions, there's no denying the irresistible pull towards each other.

I could listen to them argue and insult each other endlessly. The dialogue is cutting, fast-paced and absolutely hilarious.

It did end really abruptly. I felt a little cheated considering the delicious slowburn that had bubbling from their very first meeting was finally overflowing. I honestly thought there was something wrong with my copy! My disappointment that it was over really is a testament to how much I was enjoying it. I need more!

The Irresistible Urge To Fall For Your Enemy was a fun & lighthearted read that follows two pov characters. Aurienne, a healer, and Osric, an assassin. The two are in polar opposite orders who are forbidden from helping one another. However, injuries that have occurred before the story begins lead Osric to try and force Aurienne into healing him. Things don't go quite his way and he ends up assisting in the cure for a Pox. In return, Aurienne assists in trying to cure the incurable for him. This leads to her trying to investigate how mythical means may help.

The book is absolutely jam packed with humour and the banter between the two characters will have you laughing. It's very much a slow burn enemies to lovers relationship between the two that will lead into the next book. Speaking of, it does end somewhat abruptly not so much a cliffhanger but you'll be desperate for more. Hopefully we won't have to wait too long to continue their story!

Thanks to Netgalley & Little Brown Book Group for this arc.

This book is ✨ divine ✨ I don’t think I could love it more if I tried. I will leave a disclaimer that it is very different to most books - the writing style is narrated, and I think jumps into the story like a fanfiction, but the difference here is that we’re building a whole new world with no existing characters or backstory. Apart from that, the book itself is so much fun and I genuinely loved it, partly because of how different it was.

First of all, there is agonisingly slow burn to this story. I was screaming by the end of it for the pair to get it on. Brigitte does an amazing job of writing the character’s emotions, and how they hate each other but perhaps they’re not the worst human being in the world but also that thought is utterly preposterous and how could they possibly think that. You get the point. It goes around and around in circles and I hated it but it made it so much better and I squealed in delight towards the end of the book.

This is a slow read to get into. The world building is great, but explanation of the magic system isn’t there. Not that much happens in the first half of the book, so we get a really good look at the characters and the buildup of the complication of the plot. I loved the plot and I think it was a fantastic story. Brigitte made such a great story out of what starts as a small issue in the book, and then turns out to be a giant conspiracy that becomes life or death.

I absolutely adore Aurienne - I’m a huge geek with a penchant for big words and witty humour, and she’s a girl after my own heart. The juxtaposition with Osric was so much fun, their desperate need for what the other could give them outweighing the absolute disgust at needing to work with one another. Their banter was hilarious, and I giggled out loud quite a few times when reading. There are so many crude jokes, big words and utterly ridiculous statements made, and it was a pleasure to read them. Aurienne’s deofol (messenger spirit animal thing) was the highlight of my reading experience and I must have a plush version or art print, because I adore it.

All in all, 5/5 and I’m so excited to have been able to ARC read for this book.

“Irresistible Bastard Meets Immovable Bitch”

When chapter 1 is named this you know you’re in for a fun time! This book had the most hilarious banter I have ever read.

Not only was the banter hilarious, I found myself highlight whole pages of funny notes, the names of things and places were so clever.

Aurienne, a healer & Osris, a shadow assassin are forced to work together, enemy orders… there is murder and healing and hate, so much hate!

True enemies to… not quite lovers, it’s the slowest slow burn and I was screaming for something, anything to happen between the two main characters.

This was FUN. 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4 because it genuinely made me laugh out loud at times (a your mum joke in 2025?? I'm lowkey sold)

I'm the girlie living under a damn rock who didn't know this was a D/H fanfic until halfway, but I'm not mad, lmao. It was very nicely crafted into its own world and vibe and only a few things I felt carried a connection.

I felt it lagged a bit in terms of pacing because the banter took front stage, and whilst it IS very witty, sometimes it felt over-edited and therefore lacked a natural flow, especially in the dialogue.

Overall, this was a fun read and I LOVE how it was actually a slow-burn!!

I had seen this hyped up all over my socials! I've never read any Dramione fanfic but the cover for this one drew me right in! Plus the title and the premise of a slow burn enemies to lovers.

The wit and banter in this book is elite and downright hilarious. Many times a chuckle sailed past my lips involuntarily at some of the cracker lines.

However, I hate to admit it because I've seen such fabulous reviews, but I just couldn't connect to the characters. I didn't feel the chemistry between them. The insults and verbal sparring though were excellent!

I know so many will love this book and I think for me it's because I generally tend to prefer first person pov in romance, especially when it's dual character pov chapters.

Never have I laughed so hard over a bag of onions 🧅 but here we are …. 4.5 🌟 rounded up

If you are looking for the ultimate slow burn 🔥with witty banter that will have you cackling, this book is for you!

Healer Aurienne is blackmailed into helping heal Osric who is a deadly assassin. They are opposites in every sense of the matter, she heals, he kills, she has morals he is moral-less …. Or so they think!

‘Might we,’ asked Aurienne, ‘go anywhere without subtracting from the population?’ ‘Would you prefer,’ asked Osric, ‘that we add to it?’

A word of warning to help with expectations, at its core, this is a romantic comedy with low stakes set within a fantasy world. Don’t expect heavy world building or an explanation of the magic system. Go into this with the intension to kick your feet and giggle at the EXCELLENT banter!

>True enemies
>Forced proximity
>Witty banter
>Slow burn 🔥

‘One day it’ll be over and we can forget each other.’
‘You’re going to forget me?’
‘I hope so,’.
‘I’m heartbroken.’
‘You haven’t a heart, Besides, isn’t forgetting you preferable to continuing to hate you?’ 
‘I’d rather you hate me than not think of me at all.’ 🔥

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review

If you like jokes about balls and banter x 1000, then this is for you. Unfortunately, it's not for me.

Enemies to lovers, cosy romantic comedy. Nothing too serious and an easy read if that is what you are looking for.

4.5 STARS

What an incredible talent Brigitte Knightley is. This book was an absolute delight and I will be thinking about it incessantly for the next year.

I don't think I have ever laughed as much at a book. The humour was very 'Princess Bride' and who doesn't adore that book/ movie?!

The characters were very well written, and depsite being almost entirely (and deliberately) ridiculous, I found them very believable. I feel that we got a lot more character development from Osric in this first book, despite him being technically a villain, but I am looking forward to seeing how Aurienne's character arc progresses over the series.

This is one of my most anticipated books for 2025 and I was so excited to receive an advance copy from Orbit! I love an enemies to lovers trope, slow burn and an interesting magic system, this book is all 3, the ultimate trifecta ✨

If you’re looking for an action packed romantasy or a spicy read, this book may not be the book for you, but if you love character and relationship focussed books, where you end up fully invested in the characters journey, then definitely pick this one up!

The banter Osric and Aurienne have is just perfect, the snippy little comments and jibes which slowly turn into something more familiar and playful is excellent. It reads very British humour/banter, which I absolutely adored, but then later on there were moments of pure poetry that honestly was probably some of the most beautiful sentences I’ve ever read, The way their relationship evolves throughout the book is perfect, it’s a believable timeline and evolution and I think that’s something that’s so hard to get right in a book like this, but it has been handled so well, the best I’ve read in a while!

The plot is definitely on the lighter side, but there was enough happening that it kept me engaged and I was eager to know what was going to happen. Knightly’s writing instantly grabbed me, I binged this book in 24 hours, partly because I was engrossed in the characters but also because the writing flows and made it so hard to put down.

Already can’t wait for the next book and it’s not even been announced yet! I love when I finish a book and instantly want the next book or to read it all over again, this book gives me that!

Thank you to Orbit UK for the opportunity to review this ARC.

When I tell you this is one of the best things I’ve ever read, I cannot even begin to describe the happiness I had while reading this. I had a smile on my face the entire time and that’s not an exaggeration. The banter between the characters is phenomenal. A beautiful enemies to lovers and I cannot wait for the next instalment.

Thank you for the advanced copy @netgalley and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk
I can’t wait for my physical copy to arrive July 8th!

Thank you to Netalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this book.

Although I didn’t enjoy this book I think it will be popular when it’s released.
I went into it with interest hearing it’s a slow burn and originally a fan fiction.

Sadly I just couldn’t get on with the writing style, the wording that was used I was confused majority of this book. Even though there was good banter between the characters sometimes it fell flat and the interactions between them seemed like it was just done to get words down.

The world and the magic system was overcomplicated. Usually if it’s explained very well and dumbed down I can keep track but this wasn’t. It spent little time explaining things before going on to very little explain even more complicated things.

With its humorous tone this book is quite engaging and fast paced. In general the world plays a secondary role, while the relationship between the mcs is very much the focal point (which is what you would expect). The plot is a bit repetitive, but I mainly want to be entertained by bickering mcs and the book definitely delivered that.
You can't really tell, that the characters were once based in fanfiction.
3,5

Dark, bloody and delicious.
An enemies to lovers slow burn romantasy that really does tick all the boxes.
I adore the banter in this book, I find it hard to laugh out loud at books but this had me smiling so much, which I was not expecting from our assassin and healer duo. The fact that I found it funny throughout as well as the plot being so engaging was so much fun.
I want more of Osric and Aurienne as soon as possible, but I guess for now I will just have to be content with a reread or two.

Onion Boy will forever and always be my new favourite nickname 🧅

What can I actually say about this book? How can I possibly put this into words??

Favourite read of the year so far 🙌🏻 hands down, I LOVED this! Why Erin did you love this so much? Well, dear reader, let me tell you!

The banter? Unmatched.
The characters? Multilayered.
The plot? Mysterious and dense.
The romance? GODS THE SLOW BURN ROMANCE 🥵

Brigitte has crafted one of the funniest, sweetest, twisty, page turning books out at the moment, and I simply could not put this down. Except the moments where is as spamming her DMs with my thoughts 😂 The magic system is so well described with so much depth for more to be explored in further books, I love how each Order has a signet and not only that but they have familiar type animals (can we all stan my darling sassy Cíele) which I just adore! If you are down with enemies to lovers, secret missions, betrayal, magic and slow slow slow burn romance then you need to pick this up on release.

Some of my fave highlighted quotes:

‘He hasn’t got any nipples,’ noticed Osric. To Widdershins, he called: ‘Why haven’t you got any nipples?’ ‘You can’t just ask people why they haven’t got nipples,’ said Fairhrim.

‘Tadpoling. Obviously.’ ‘It’s the middle of the night,’ said Fairhrim.  ‘Best time for it. Also, fuck off.’ 

‘My merkin,’ gasped Osric. (This line SENT me 😂)

Aurienne and Osric’s story has me in a literal choke hold and I will not sleep until book two is in my hands.

A 6 star read which is so uncommon for me to give but this was truly stunning ✨

Thank you to @netgalley @orbitbooks_uk and @brigitteknightley for my e-ARC

After reading reviews on this one I must admit I went in very hesitantly - but I honestly fell in love with this book.

There is quite a lot of vulgarity so if that's not your thing then you might not have a good time with this one. I personally found it really funny and it added to the absurdity of the characters.

I genuinely laughed out loud so many times, the witty banter in this one is honestly so on point and I loved that it's a true enemies to lovers. These characters truly despised each other which I loved, I'm so sick of books being labelled enemies to lovers when really they have been in love the whole book it's so boring.

As a huge fan of the Apprentice to the Villain series, this book felt very similar but with a lot more profanity and our MMC is truly a lot more villainous.

I was left wanting more and I'm definitely looking forward to the next book and returning to these characters.

I know this was a original a publish fanfiction of Hermione and Draco but as this is supposed to be a published book now, I found if lacking in every department.
The only really good thing about this book was teh banter ...WAS AMAZING !! I could read more of they talks.
The writing in this book seemed very forced to seem more than the writer was capable of.
Love the cover and readlly fell exited for see a enemies to lovers ...but the attraction between the two characters didn't seem to go beyond physical attraction and I didn't like that at all.
I not gonna give up and maybe the second book is gonna be better so i will wait .
Thanks Netgalley for let me read this ARC.

The banter in this book is e-ve-ry-thing! I could happily read 10 more chapters of Aurienne and Osric’s dialogues and never get tired.

The yearning truly builds a perfect slow burn. But, I had problems to connect with the story at the beginning…it was a little slow.

Can’t wait for the next book to have answers!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

"Hate could feel strangely like something else"
I knew I would love this book as it was based on a Dramione fanfic and I did love it completely. Osric was such a good morally grey character and some of his one-liners had me laughing so much.
Example: Aurienne "You ate the yoghurt?" Oscric "After he was dead, yes. He'd hardly touched it."

The writing in this book was unique and I loved the worldbuilding and can't wait to explore more into this world that Brigitte has created. I was swooning one minute, and dying of laughter the next. I also loved the dynamics of Osric and Aurienne's relationship and how it developed throughout the book. The mutual loathing (and pining) throughout the book was so fun, and Brigitte wrote the enemies-to-lovers arc perfectly.

Aurienne is such a brilliant and bright character and I loved seeing such a strong female character (in STEM). Seeing her character grow more relaxed towards the end of the book was written perfectly.

Osric is a charming, arrogant assassin (we love) with a wickedly dry sense of humour. The banter between both him and Aurienne was so good and had me so hooked.

I adore the character Xanthe she put Osric (Onion boy) in his place many times which he deserved. I need more of Leofric he was hilarious and only appeared for a short amount of time but he made himself known and now I need to see him appear more often.

The romance is a SLOW burn but was so worth the wait, although I craved more it was realistic in the way it was developed. I'm so excited to see how it progresses in the next book and how the mystery they face is unravelled.

I would definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a fun, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romantasy that is so well written with amazing characters.

OH MY GOSH
This book was SO GOOD. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much while reading a book. The banter between Aurienne and Osric was 10/10. This was a delightful enemies to lovers read and it’s actually a proper enemies to lovers where they ACTUALLY hate each other, not just dislike and then *boom* they’re lovers. It’s a slow burn that will make you want to scream, but I enjoyed every single part of it. Love love looooved it!!