[first of all thank you so much to netgalley & the publisher for letting me read this early in exchange for an honest review]

for me this book had both pros and cons aplenty, so I did find the star rating a little difficult, but I’ll try to explain with as little spoilers as possible.

to begin with I want to say this book did actually have me giggling out loud at points, I’m a suck for enemies-to-lovers with delicious banter and we got plenty of bickering banter. And if VERY VERY slow burn is your jam then you’ll be all over this (unfortunately not one of my fav tropes).

one thing that I found I struggled with the entire book though was the writing style, the author used unnecessarily complicated vocabulary alongside made up words which I found confusing and I don’t remember that being the case with the original fanfic.

overall this was a fun read and I’m glad I read it, but the fanfic will still reign supreme.

The story started off a bit slow for me, I must admit. There are lots of fantasy words that I had no idea what they meant. I felt like the world and magic isn't explained too much but the story IS good and I eventually got wrapped up into it.

There was good humour the whole way through, very british, which I appreciate.

I do like the language used and then other times I dont know what they are talking about. It made me feel a little bit thick that so many big words I have never come across before were used.

There is an interesting style of writing the author uses where instead of using speech marks to show a discussion, sometimes when they are arguing they just describe in a paragraph what the back and forth is (I hope that makes some kind of sense) and I liked that.

Also, I have crazy respect for this author originating on AO3!

I loved this one!
The banter and snark and sarcasm where ON POINT!
Might be excessive for some readers but it was exactly what I was in the mood for so it worked for me. It was also quite funny, which I was not expecting!
I would have appreciate a bit more depth when it comes to the worldbuilding.
I liked the slow burn between the characters, how their feelings kind of sneaked on them. The spice was hot.
Overall I had a great time and I can't wait for book two!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in Exchange for my honest opinion.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. The title and the synopsis had me desperate to read it. Unfortunately it just wasn't really for me.

It was almost a DNF at 34% in but then I heard that it picks up, which it did to be fair, so I kept going.

So for the positives:

- I did feel like the book was genuinely funny at times. The scene when they talked about the fork and there was occasional banter between the love interests that did make me at least smile.
- I also liked the deofals, particularly Cíele's scathing criticism of Osric whenever they crossed paths.

But unfortunately I just didn't really find Osric or Aurienne very likeable and so I didn't really find myself caring about them or the romance. I found the writing overcomplicated, so I wasn't able to fully immerse myself in the story - it almost felt like the author threw in every complex word they knew into the story, which okay fine, but it didn't flow very well for me. And while the story was funny at times, there was definitely a lot of times where I felt it was trying TOO hard to be funny.
There were also two points where the story was telling rather than showing, where I wanted to read dialogue between characters rather than just be told about the discussion, and I found that frustrating.

I know there's a lot of love for this book and I can see why, it just wasn't personally one that I enjoyed.

Thank you to Netgalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit and the author for the review copy, provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was so fun! The humour was amazing, I found myself giggling at least once a page. Brigitte has such a fun and fresh voice, I cannot wait to read what's next! It took a little bit for the story to pick up, but it was worth it. Now I am going to be sad while I wait for part 2. Will have to go read her fanfiction and this over and over in the meantime.

Why, oh why, did I read an advanced copy of the first book in a duology? Someone explain this madness to me because it can only be madness. The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a wonderful book. It's funny, charming, intelligent, witty, swoony and every other good word I can throw at it. It is a silly, wonderful book and that I binged in a day. Osric and Aurienne are my new favourite slow-burn couple. A true enemies to lovers wrapped in a whimsical package. Read it now and suffer the wait for the next one with me.

Absolutely in love and when is book 2 coming out?
The writing was excellent, loved the banter and the constant inner dialogue of the characters.
Their feelings for each other sneaked up on me and I have to say it was delightful to see them fall in love and realise the impact they each had on the other. The spicy scenes were a beautiful touch, and their kiss, intoxicating!
I need more of their past to be portrayed, especially the Hedgewitch story...and Mordaunt and Mrs Parson better be together more in the next one.
The wonderful characters from the Haelan Order were a breath of fresh air, especially Xanthe and Cath and Elodie.
I am extremely excited for this series!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Ennemy is a hilarious, adult romantasy, slow burn enemies-to-lovers story, where you follow Aurienne Fairhrim, a healer, and Osric Mordaunt, an assassin. Osric suffers from an illness that will lead him to certain death and he bribes Aurienne by donating a huge amount of money to her work place so she has the necessary funds for her research on pox. In exchange, he gets Aurienne’s help to figure out how to save him.

I absolutely loved the relationship development between Aurienne&Osric. Those two truly cannot stand to be in the same room in the beginning, but a few full moons, quick remarks&arguments later, they start to see each other differently&their relationship evolves in a very sweet way.

The banter in this book is chef's kiss! I absolutely adored it and laughed out loud so many times. The chemistry between the main characters is amazing&it's a true slow burn, which I highly appreciated.

The fact that they were both surprised (and in denial for a long time) about their respective feelings towards each other was very sweet and gives the reader lovely scenes, where they both open up about themselves and their pasts.

I also am a big fan of dual POV's, so having both of their point of view was absolutely perfect.

I really wasn't ready for the book to end and will definitely be reading the sequel. I also for sure will need a physical copy of this book as soon as it's published.

I can’t recommend it enough to everyone!

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Brigitte Knightley&Little, Brown Book Group UK for the digital copy of this book ♥️

Fantastic... I need book 2 now!

The enemies to lovers was hitting. They are genuinely enemies but that eventually turns into a sort of friendship/situationship.

Banter was hitting all the right spots! And made me giddy. I loved Osric and his banter.

I can't wait to read more from Brigitte

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy - Brigitte Knightley ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Out July 2025 ✨

My first five star read of the year!! This book was one of my most anticipated reads for this year and I literally screamed when I got the ARC.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is a hilarious, suuuuper slow burn enemies-to-lovers that ticks every single one of my boxes.

Osric and Aurienne are true enemies (he’s an assassin, she’s a healer - it’s the stuff of fairytales). They’re forced to work together when Osric realises Aurienne is the only one who could save him from losing his magic and Aurienne realises her new patient with deadly hobbies might help her cure the pox that’s wreaking havoc in their lives.

Their banter is amazing, and so funny you almost forget that it’s a book about impending doom and death. As they work together, you can see wrestling with their emotions and their clashing ideals and desires and it’s so ✨angsty✨ but so entertaining and just fun at the same time. I like how the romance isn’t the main focus of the plot, but you see it slowly simmering under the surface, and you know it’s going to explode at some point!

Brigitte Knightley does a fantastic job with the world building as well. I loved the idea of different Orders of magic that specialise in various uses of it. The concept of deofols is also very interesting and the animals themselves are so sassy and loveable. They’re true extensions of their creators but also somehow their own personalities and I found that very, very cool.

This book made me scream and squeal and laugh out loud and I genuinely cannot wait for Book 2 to see what happens with Osric and Aurienne and the world that Brigitte Knightley has created! Read this, and I promise you will not be disappointed!

a true slowburn done so well you cannot escape being captivated.
an ending that hits so hard and deep you yearn for tge sequel to tell you what will happen to fix your feelings.
sharp-tongued, quick witted and heartfelt banter done just right.
i was intrigued to read this because it was based on one of my favorite Dramoine Fanfiction and it did not disappoint.

Thank you to NetGalley & Orbit books for this eARC. I haven’t read any fanfic before so went into this with fresh eyes and really enjoyed it! The snarky banter was hilarious, I’m not a highlighter but I couldn’t help myself with this and some of the one liners!. Definitely a slow burn and I love the way things are developing with Aurienne & Osric, I cannot wait to see where this goes with book two! I had a lot of fun reading this

OMG this was everything I wanted it to be and more. Thank you so much for approving me, NetGalley and Little Brown Books!

The banter, the plot, the tension, the humour. It was just brilliant. I loved every single word and can't wait to have a copy for my shelf. And for the next book obviously!

It took me a little while to get used to the magic system used here, which is completely unique. There's a really unique and distinctive tone to the voice of this book as well. which was very refreshing.

Aurienne was everything she should be - a strong, determined, clever woman who is at the top of her field. Osric bought a lot of the humour, the casual attitude to so much murder made me laugh!

LOVE LOVE LOVE.

the irresistible urge to fall for your enemy’s the perfect example of a book with real enemies to lovers set in a unique fantasy story very well portrayed!!

brigitte knightley thank u for bringing back real slow burn with an hot powerful couple 😙

when i started this book and understood the set up and the story background then it was the end for me because i ended up devouring it and if i have to be honest i would have probably ended it in a day if i didn’t have other things to do…

our two main characters were effortlessly funny and hot their bickering was everything to me and for me it was a surprise because i would never imagined myself to stop myself from reading sometimes just to reread some of their scenes but i did and here i am writing about it! 😁

the banter,the chemistry,the characters,the setting was 🔛 🔝 in the end and can we talk about the ending??? i know u know ;) and if u don’t just pick this book up and be ready to be catapulted in this magic realm with a lot of humor and love :”)

now i need book 2 seriously what was that ending just give me more because it’s a need… i’m serious…

least but last i would like to thanks a lot netgalley and little,brown book group uk for sending me the e-arc of this amazing book in exchange for my honest opinion!!

4.5/5 — I knew I would love this book with my entire heart, because I am utterly in love with Brigitte Knightley’s writing since I’ve had the immense pleasure of reading her perfect fanfiction, «Draco Malfoy and the mortifying ordeal of being in love».

The Irresistible Urge to fall for your enemy is an amazing debut novel. The writing is deliciously funny and distinctive, I found myself laughing out loud a LOT.

The characters are obviously Dramione coded and it was exquisite.
I may not be completely objective, but this book was everything I wanted to read : the enemies to lovers is well done, the main characters are funny and sarcastic, the side characters are hilarious (Xanthe my queen really), and overall, it was just on point.

However, I felt a little overwhelmed by the world-building ; I loved the vibes, the magic system and the overall dynamic, but I felt like I needed more background to better understand everything.
It didn’t make me like the book any less, and the intrigue was so good and so well done that it allowed me to immerse myself in the world.

I also need to pinpoint the fact that I was literally feral everytime there was a little implied reference to the fanfiction 🫠

Brigitte Knightley is extremely talented, and I am so glad she decided to grace us with this gem.

It is a surprise for like no one ; this story is a new favorite for sure 🤍 I cant’ wait for this book to be out in the world and received the love it deserved 💗

Thanks again to Netgalley for the ARC 🥰

I was overjoyed when I received that email informing me that I had been approved to read this book early! As a huge fan of Dramione and romance, this book was a highly anticipated release for me. I’m thrilled to share my early review with all of you. I hope you’ll consider purchasing this beautifully written book!

This is an absolutely incredible slow-burn romantic fantasy novel! It revolves around Aurienne, a magical healer, and Osric, a magical assassin. The story follows the duo as they strike a mutually beneficial deal. Aurienne agrees to fix (or try to!) Osric’s magic dying in exchange for him providing a substantial amount of money to her operation, to combat a deadly infection that is affecting children in the magical realm.

What unfolds is a fantastic tale of enemies to lovers! I loved this story so much, the magic realm, the characters, the banter. It was perfect. Everything you could ask for. The slow burn was slow burning. And the ending👀 I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE SEQUEL, I need more. Right.

This was such an interesting read! The writing was incredibly witty and personable, I laughed so many times whilst reading this as the humour was very silly which was right up my street. The magic system in this book was really different and loved getting to know the characters who I loved. This has enemies to lovers and the biggest slow burn ever - but I was living for it.

I can’t wait for book 2 already to see where this goes next and how the story / characters develop. Such a fun read, will be telling everyone to read it when it comes out in July!

This book was everything I could have imagined and more. The banter between these two characters, well really everyone was top tier. It was funny, smart and engaging. I am excited for book 2 to come out

To me, this book fits into the same category as Bride, by Ali Hazelwood. It's the silliest, most unserious piece of literature ever, but it's aware of that, and plays on it. And so, I had just the best time with those characters and their adventures. I did find the story very repetitive, she tries to heal him, she fails, they banter, rince, repeat, and it was sort of strange how that got pushed aside in the second half for the other side plot happening, I think it should've been more evenly distributed throughout the book, and it also ended up dragging a little because of that repetitiveness.
The world building could've been more elaborated upon in my opinion, I understand the more restrained focus on our two characters and their immediate environment, but I wished we'd gotten a bit more of a bigger picture on the geopolitical situation in Great Britain, and Europe as a whole: is magic a thing throughout the world? What are the relationships between the Tiendoms and Ireland, France, etc? I do hope we'll see more of that in book 2, as well as a bit more depth to the characters. I wouldn't call them flat or shallow necessarily, but I wished they'd had a bit more meat to themselves, and I guess this would've been achieved through more scenes of them alone, interacting with their environment, which we didn't get enough of in my eyes.
After all this, you may be wondering "but Emilie, why then did you give it 3.5 stars? It's still a pretty good rating!", that, Ashley, is because this was HILARIOUS. I make dick jokes all the time (maybe not ALL the time, but often) so yeah, I laughed at all the balls and penises and anuses in this book, because deep down, I'm still 13, snorting at the mere mention of sex. Sue me. So if sex jokes aren't your cup of tea, no, this won't be funny. I, on the other hand, had a field day with this because I like rowdy humor. And if you have me laughing out loud for several pages straight, you deserve at least 3 stars. Honestly, the humor was also this good because of the pompousness of the language used, too. The crudeness of what they were saying, next to the very high brow vocabulary made for a contrast that absolutely worked for me.
I'd say this isn't for everyone, if Bride was your cup of tea, this will be as well, but you need to have the right expectations for this book, and don't go into this story expecting something it isn't. 3.5 stars.

A renowned healer and a deadly assassin are drawn into a mutually beneficial deal that’s worth enduring even your worst enemy for. Aurienne agrees to heal Osric’s illness in exchange for resources to combat a deadly pox epidemic spreading across the land. As they collaborate to reverse his terminal diagnosis and investigate the mysterious pox, it comes clear sinister schemes are afoot. As they inch closer to the truth their attraction to each other intensifies, blurring the lines between love and hate…

This book wasn’t what I was expecting when I picked it up, but it was utterly brilliant and such an enjoyable read!

The writing is so crisp and witty, it had me laughing out loud! Aside from the humour, I was captivated by the magic system in TIUTFFYE, the different factions are really intriguing - I loved it. It immediately drew me in and I can’t wait for the next book to delve into it more.

The book finds a good balance between being cosy and lighthearted on the whole, with a few darker moments interspersed throughout. It’s a slow-burn romance and the spice is reserved which suits the plot well.

The pacing was a bit slow, but the brilliant writing made up for it. I didn’t mind that the plot moved at a more relaxed pace.

The ending is not quite a cliffhanger but well set up for the sequel. I already can’t wait to read the follow up!