I was fortunate enough to be approved for this ARC and omg, I loved this book so much!

before I start my review, I have to admit that while I'm familiar with the Dramione phenomenon and have heard of the more popular fanfics, I've never actually read a Dramione fanfic (though I have plans to do that soon!). however, this didn't dampen my enjoyment of the story at all, because the book has enough original substance to stand on its own and leave its mark.

the world depicted in this book is a fantastical version of the United Kingdom where travel is a seamless affair with the help of strategically placed waystones (in proximity to pubs 🍻), and where you can't escape the iconic Mind the gap. aside from the setting, the magic system is unique and complex without being overly complicated to understand. it was really interesting to read about seith (and what happens when you deplete yourself - I love it when there are actual magic limitations in fantasies), the many different Orders and how each has a specific way of using seith.

and oh, the slow burn 😩 it's as slow as it gets, and I ate it up. the description of the book is very accurate in saying that he falls first and harder and it was a delight to see Osric very (!) slowly start to warm up to Aurienne (I can't wait to read the sequel and not have to settle for literal crumbs haha).

what really shined in this book was the humour! there were countless times when I actually laughed out loud because of the wordplay, the banter or the images evoked. and I'm not just referring to the interactions between Aurienne and Osric - here, every character has some sort of funny streak and the result is a seamless blend of really enjoyable characters and witty conversations.

one thing that I didn't particularly like was the overuse of complicated words. it happened quite frequently for me to be engrossed in the story, and suddenly I come across a word I've never seen before and have to pause and look it up. I understand what the author was going for with this approach, but sometimes it was a bit much, precisely because it can often pull the reader out of the story.

all in all, this was a great book that I think readers of slow burn romantasy will really enjoy!

Let me tell you—Brigitte Knightley has created the perfect fantasy rom-com, with the slowest of slow burns. But fear not—you won’t even notice until, suddenly, you find yourself swooning over a mere hand kiss (guilty as charged!).

The TENSION in this book is everything. The sarcasm and wit woven into the narration will have you laughing out loud.

The world-building takes a little time to fully grasp, but that’s to be expected in a duology that leans heavily into the romance—otherwise known as the “the world would be better off if you were never born” a (almost) quote by Aurienne.

And as for the ending? Don’t worry—it’s not a soul-crushing cliffhanger. Sure, you’ll be desperate for book two in about two seconds, but you won’t be left crying and begging the author for mercy. (That said—if you’re reading this, please hurry! I *need* that sequel!)

4.5 ⭐️

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC!🩷

Osric and Aurienne are going to live in my brain rent free for the foreseeable future 🤭 this book made me cackle and laugh out loud, the puns, the use of slang, the ridiculous situations were just *chefs kiss* the banter was on point and ugh the slow burn was yummy 🧎🏻‍♀️

I also loved the world building and the magic system, it felt very unique and the lore and language translation and semantics scratched by philologist brain so good 🫶🏻 ngl I learned a lot with this book, so well researched
AND the writing omg so witty and fun and beautiful, i basically highlighted every page on my kindle lmao

I can’t wait for July to get the physical version and annotate the hell out of it 🩷✨🧐

p.s. I need the next book asap 😚

This was one of my highest anticipated reads of the year and when the parcel came in the post I *screamed*!!! I love the dry humour that this author does so well, and on many occasions I was laughing out loud. For me, I wish there was just a bit of tension between the two of them, whereas for the first 50% if not more it was just pure hatred. I would have loved “I want you but I can’t have you”.

The book has been advertised as slow burn and enemies to lovers, and both things are very very true about The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy ! The animosity between the MCs allows for beautiful banter and tension all throughout the book, and every dialogue is a lot of fun.

The world building and political intrigue is very well thought out and kept me on my toes, I can’t wait for the next book.

Unfortunately this one wasn’t for me at all. I found characters and world-building to be severely underdeveloped making it hard for me to connect and get invested in the story. I didn't like the use of overly complicated vocabulary and found it overwhelming. I think people who have sentimental attachment to the original fanfic might enjoy this more than me.

i was lucky to receive one of my most anticipated reads this year as an arc and my god that was actually phenomenal. i don’t think i’ve ever laughed out loud so much reading a book. it was the funniest wittiest piece of literature. it was so dramione-coded and i loved every second of it. it wasn’t a re-write of dmatmoobil but it gave off the same exact vibes and it made me feel just like i did when reading the ff. and the heart-shaped sunglasses and the signet ring!!! the way i screamed (iykyk👀). i have not read a proper slow-burn enemies-to-lovers in soooo long and this was exactly that! it was made very clear that they both wanted each other dead very much. but then we got those teeny tiny sprinkles of ‘what if?’ between them, and it was just enough to make me giggle and kick my feet in the air🥹i loved the forbidden aspect of their romance. i ADORED their characters. the banter was absolutely✨chef’s kiss✨the world-building was impeccable. the way we were introduced to the details of this world was truly done so well by knightley. ngl this gave off quite an ali hazelwood-esque vibe in the sense that i felt quite stupid at times while reading it..there were A LOT of words that i had to look up😅i also loved that we had a lot of conversation and not just narration. the writing style was unlike anything i’ve read before and i think it’s one of the reasons why i enjoyed it so much. the only downside was that this book ended!!! how am i meant to wait till the next one?🥲 this has definitely made it onto my favorite books of all time list and i’m not exaggerating❤️

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars obviously. i knew i was going to love it but that truly exceeded any and all expectations👏🏼

thank you so much to littlebrownbookgroup_uk / orbitbooksuk for the arc! and to brigitte knightley for writing this masterpiece obvs😌

A true enemies-to-lovers slow burn tale in every sense. I really enjoyed this read! It was well-paced, so funny, full of witty banter, atmospheric and interesting.

I found the world building to be quite immersive and I was able to get a good scope on what I imagine the different settings looked like from the descriptive writing. Coming from DMATMOOBIL, it was so easy to separate the two worlds and magic systems once I had gotten into the flow of the story.

The writing style did catch me off guard at the beginning but I was quickly able to grasp it and thoroughly enjoyed the verbal beatings between Osric and Aurienne — I did actually lol several times.

I’m so invested in seeing what happens next (don’t make me wait too long please!!) and though I wished for a few more intimate moments within this book, I still absolutely loved it. Can’t wait for more within this universe!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this e-arc book ahead of release.

Sadly I was only able to read to 50% before I made the decision to stop reading. There wasn’t enough character development for me personally and the book felt more plot driven. I didn’t like the characters much but I feel this was because I wasn’t given the chance to? I know others will love this and the vibes so I’d still recommend to people to try!

This is the ultimate enemies-to-lovers story, a slow burn that keeps you hooked from start to finish. Osric, an assassin from the Fyren Order, and Aurienne, a scholarly healer, despise each other but when circumstances force them to work together, tensions rise in the best way. She’s the only one who can help, and he makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
This book had me laughing out loud, the banter is sharp, the chemistry is electric, and the story is utterly addictive. The plot is so engaging that you’ll devour it in one sitting. This is the first book in a duology and I can’t wait to read the second one.
This truly will be one of my favorites reads this year.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for the ARC!

Oof, I wish I had realised that this would be a series, rather than standalone, because I'm hanging by my fingertips with the number of loose ends at the ending!
I was a huge fan of Knightley's Dramione fanfic and fell in love with her new characters. At times, I felt the novel was wordy and perhaps a little repetitive, but overall it was rich in humour and paid homage to the beauty of a well-done, torturously drawn out slow burn. I'm really looking forward to the next instalment.

This book was a blast of pure fun and I had such a great time. It is very, very funny and extremely gentle and silly and soothing, which is maybe a weird thing to say about a book that is ostensibly about assassins and poxs and many, many murders, but here we are. The pace is slow, the romance (which is excellent) is the slooowest burn and I thought it was all delicious. I went into this thinking it was a stand alone so I got a bit stressed around the 90% mark when there were so many loose ends still loosening about, but I am already really looking forward to book 2. If you’re looking for a bit of escapism and rich world building then this one is for you.

I haven't giggled this much while reading a book in a long time (if ever). The BANTER, the character dynamics, and the perfectly timed sarcasm just gets the reaction out of you no matter the scene. I think that even if you're not familiar with Dramione or the original text, you'll still love this book—there’s not a deep character arc, but that doesn’t stop you from falling for Aurienne & Osric’s dynamic. Plus, the world-building and exposition are really well done! This is a true slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, and I’m already excited for the second book in the duology.
Thenk you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the opportunity to read and review this book!

Thank you to Little, Brown Book Group UK and Orbit for the ARC copy of this book.

I was ecstatic to have been selected to ARC read "The Irresistable Urge to Fall For Your Enemy," having already being a huge fan of Knightley's fanfic, "Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Idea of Being In Love."

Fans of the enemies to lovers and slow burn tropes will fall in love with Aurienne and Osric, two highly skilled and highly competent members of their opposing Orders, who must work together to prevent a deadly virus from sweeping through historic Britain—if they can stop hating each other first!

This book was incredibly witty with great characterisation, excellent dialogue, and memorable quotes.

Like other reviewers have previously stated, I would also have liked some more world building, and found it difficult to remember the various terminology (which was rectified by the glossary provided at the end of this ARC.

The Irresistable Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is very quickly ramping up to be book of the year for me, and I am very much looking forward to reading the next installment in the series.

This was a super fun, unique story that was an absolute joy to read!

Aurienne is a delightfully rigid character with a cutting sense of humour. She is smart and a rule follower but is forced to bend the rules to assist Osric with his declining health issues after he strikes a deal with Aurienne's superior. Osric is her opposite - a contract killer who she despises as she is a healer and her creed is "Harm to None". The ensuing interactions are hilarious - filled with banter, occasional innuendo and a terrific back and forth that just gets better the further you read into the novel.

The last 25% was unputdownable! The action, the reveals, and the yearning between the characters was so, so good that I ignored my entire family until I finished the novel. I had hoped that the slow burn would start earlier as it barely started as the book ended and I felt that it fell short in that regard.

Thank you Orbit and Netgalley for the early review copy.

unfortunately i really didn’t enjoy this which breaks my heart as it was a highly anticipated read! i really wanted to love it after loving previous fan fiction form the author but i just couldn’t gel. i found the world really complicated and the characters unbearable

I was so estatic to receive this ARC after absolutely devouring the original fan fic.

What to expect:
Hyper competent idiots
The slowest of slow burn
Enemies to Lovers
Animal 'sidekicks'
Wit & Banters

The first thing I think about when reading this book is just how hilarious it is. The humor is just so bloody witty and dry. I loved it. I was highlighting so many sentences on my kindle and I spent the majority of this time chuckling away at the book.

The plot was multi layered and didn't feel formulaic. There was multiple things happening at any one point, and I loved the mystery element to the story. The love story aspect was the slowest of slow burn, this made the enemies to lovers aspect feel more real too.

The MCs didn't feel quite as likeable as Draco and Hermione but I still enjoyed their characters none the less especially as their story went on. If you've come from reading the fan fic you won't find much the similar here.

My only negative is I would have loved some more worldbuilding, I felt like I couldn't picture the world quite as clearly. The glossary at the back is definitely a huge help so a physical copy would potentially be more helpful. I hope we get a map too!
This book is going to make an excellent audio book, and I can't wait to be able to listen to the banter all over again.

Highly recommend for any fans of the fan fic or if you're looking for something a little different fantasy wise. I can't wait to see how this series develops - yes it is a series, and I didn't not know this. But it does make sense when you thing about the length of the fan fic.

Thank you so much to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Alas this book was personally not for me.

I like more plot in my romance, and with a good third of this book, if not more, dedicated purely to banter and the two hating each other, the plot took a back seat. When the plot did emerge, it was a very good one, one I wanted to know so much more about. The two of them begrudgingly working together as they tried to uncover a plot while slowly feeling more for each other meant that the last third of the book was a delight to read.

I struggled to take the MMC seriously as a deadly assassin at first. With the MFC utterly unafraid and his behaviour hardly the broody danger of other books, I couldn't understand why I was supposed to take him or his order seriously. As time went on, his threat level certainly raised and I know its a comedy book but still. An assassin asking someone to climb inside a bag for their own kidnapping is not scary.

The side characters were all entertaining, well rounded ones and I felt their motivations clearly. The world was an interesting one, although I would have liked a little more clarity on what was actually the setting. But I loved the idea of the sickness and all the pieces slowly being moved as we learnt more and more.

~Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review~

4.5 ⭐️

THIS👏IS👏HOW👏YOU👏DO👏ENEMIES👏TO👏LOVERS.

I can’t remember the last time I’ve had this fun with a fantasy but this was just great! This pacing and the humour were top tier (I literally laughed so hard at one point that I had tears streaming down my face) and the characters were great.

I’ll admit I’ve never read any dramoine fanfics and I knew going into this that the author was popular in that community but I have to say this was its OWN thing!

The story was fresh, unique and didn’t feel formulaic in the romantasy sense. There was real turmoil going on which is a necessity when it comes to enemies to lovers that never ever gets highlighted in most books but that I can appreciate in this one.

The slowburn (which is exactly what you need when you’re writing two characters who hate each other fyi) is just fab, I feel like authors who had a past with writing fanfic just GET that aspect of a story and they understand that the payoff will be worth it.

The only reason this wasn’t a 5 star was that it felt kinda contained, I’d have liked to have seen more explored regarding the world around them, and maybe a little more lingering in the moment they weren’t together but other than that it was fantastic and I can’t wait for the second book.

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for sending me the arc!

This was another fun fanfic-y romance (kinda) for this year. I have read my fair share of fanfic over the years and I loved wondering which pieces of this were from the original and what had been changed and developed!
I loved the magic system in this: fascinating blend of magic and science, but somehow also still having a heavy reliance on British folklore (my fave omg). We even had a load of old english etymology which was a wonderful detail to accompany the historical differences (no Norman conquest in 1066 would have prevented the loss of anglo-saxon). Speaking of language there was also some very sophisticated vocabulary in here - loved it!
It's also so refreshing to find characters in an enemies-to-lovers who actually hate each other (you wouldn't think it would be so hard). Osric and Aurienne have literal opposite moral compasses and I liked that this wasn't just thrown away to further a romance plotline - they inherently disagree with other ALL THE TIME. And the insults they levelled at each other were honestly impressive.
The only minor qualm I have with this story is the pacing felt a bit strange - I thoroughly enjoyed each chapter and the drama that unfolded, but when we reached the end of the book I felt a little like I'd been cheated out of a dramatic culmination of plot - you know the kind of thing: a battle or a suddenly revealed secret etc.
Was so excited to have an ARC for this and will be eagerly anticipating book 2.