“ She regarded Osric with a gaze full of wonder. (Such witchery, such witchery in a pair of bright eyes.) “


Rating: 5⭐️

The Irresistable Urge To Fall For Your Enemy was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and i’m so grateful for a chance at reading it early! It was refreshing to read a true enemies to lovers story, Osric and Aurienne were absolutely hilarious together, i found myself laughing so many times between her stoicism and his roguishness. I also enjoyed their many (mis)adventures and their reluctant teamwork to get out of them unscathed.

I was a bit confused at the beginning of the book since there were quite a few vocabularies from Old English and I often had to stop and look up the meaning of words (since english is not my first language), the author’s note at the end of the book gave a reason for this linguistic choice and it’s actually a very interesting!

The second half of the book was definitely my favourite, i loved seeing both main characters in more informal contexts and learning more bits of information about their personal lifes, I’m definitely so very excited to read about them again, i’ll be eagerly awaiting next book!

Thank you Orbit Books UK and Netgalley for an arc, all opinions are my own!

ATE. IT. UP.

This was brilliant, I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you so much for sending me the arc, I literally squealed with excitement.

I had the best time.

This was definitely enjoyable but sadly I wasn’t super invested or in love with the story :(

I think, ultimately, this book is successful for the people who read the original fanfic and I am not one of those people. A lot of worldbuilding really went over my head because it felt rather juvenile and flimsy, but I think if you love the original fanfic, you’d be able to overlook this because you’re just their for the new rendition of your beloved characters. It is not a bad book but sadly not for me.

I adore the cover though! It’s incredibly beautiful.

Unfortunately not for me as a reader. I struggled to connect with the story line, romance and characters. I think fans of slowburn romantasy will enjoy this one, it just wasn't for me.

4.5 stars
This was such a fun and delicious, true enemies-to-lovers slowburn, and I devoured it! The characters actually, truly hate each other and have perfectly valid reasons to, but are forced to work together. Their banter made me laugh out loud a few times, the plot kept me reading well into the night, the worldbuilding feels new and well-fleshed out, and the writing is perfect for the story: witty at times, incredibly poetic at other times. While it does not end on a cliffhanger, the way the plot is being set up, and the push and pull of their relationship had me screaming at the last page because I.need.more! I loved the way Osric and Aurienne’s relationship evolves: their walls are lowered an inch at a time in a way that always feels genuine and never rushed.
Will be recommending this one!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the arc!

This was a very funny and well written enemies to lovers story and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The protagonists were Aurienne Fairhrim, a magical healer belonging to the Haelan Order and Osric Mordaunt, a magical assassin from the Fyren Order. To say these two don’t get on is a massive understatement. They despise everything about one another and only desperation forces them to co-operate! I won’t go into too much detail about the plot as the book blurb does a great job but I will say that the characters a richly three dimensional, the dialogue is hilarious, the world building has depth and the plot was brilliant and kept me turning the page long past my bedtime!

One important thing to note is that this is the first title in a duology and although it doesn’t end on a full cliffhanger, the plot has shifted up a significant gear and nothing has been resolved in terms of either the character or the plot. It’s going to be a really long wait until the next book is published and I’ll be first in line!!!!!

Highly recommended.

*** Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher ***

This was the first time I was requesting an ARC, I even created this Netgalley account to do it. I just couldn’t wait for July!

Since I read DMATMOOBIL, I’ve been dying to read more of Brigitte Knightley.
This woman could have written something about her last trip to the supermarket and I would have begged for a sequel.
Brigitte is probably the funniest author I’ve ever read. But her writing is not only funny — being funny is easy — it’s cleverly funny. Every joke, pun or witty remark are well thought. And the rest is utterly poetic.

The Irresistible Urge was exactly as I expected, cleverly funny (I laughed more times than I could count) and poetic. The world building is impressive. The slow burn is so slow it’s going backward — but that’s precisely what I expect from an enemies-to-lovers. And oh boy, they can’t stand each other!

The only negative is that I'm extremely frustrated. I need Book 2. NOW.

Merci Netgalley & Little Brown Book!

Oh this book. I wasn't expecting it to be so good as it was! It was a 5 star read for me. So so good. I totally recommend everyone to read this book as fast as they can because it's really good.

i absolutely love this book. it's fun, ironic and sassy, and the plot is so intriguing. i adore the characters, and how for once we actually have enemies that don't fall for each other after two chapters. a new favorite, for sure!

You can tell when someone has had fun writing something and this gives that vibe! I truly laughed out loud at some of the witticisms between A and O.

We jump right into the story without being inundated with exposition, which I greatly appreciated.

The powers and mythology at play is intriguing and a combination of norse/gaelic as far as I can tell, and feels fresh.

The story itself moves forward with purpose, and the focus slowly moves from our central problem into our central relationship. I was sad when this ended so soon!

Definitely recommend for those who enjoy Lemming or Hazelwood or Kingfisher, as this has similar style and/or character building.

Ohh how dare you hook me like this Brigitte Knightley. I was obsessed with this entire read and the whole book was just mwah, delightful. And as I see it’s the first in a (what sounds to be an amazing series) I will be eagerly awaiting the next one!

The world building was amazing and it was so well put together. With the different orders and the magic element giving it a fantasy feel, the romance aspect too was so addicting.

I love a slow burn and all the tropes in this were made to hook me and keep me coming back for more. We have a stab happy dashing scarred hunk and a clever but takes absolutely no bull female MC who I identified with immediately. I seriously loved all the characters and the standoffish banter between them both was both so funny. The way they bounced off each other made for great reading and that coupled with the fab writing made it an easily enjoyable read.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2025 and I'm here to - gleefully - tell you, that I was NOT disappointed. I had read Brigitte's work before (DMATMOOBIL, hello) and I had loved every second of it, but she managed to be funnier and wittier in this book (something I genuinely didn't think was possible because I was already giggling and kicking my feet then). The writing is delicious, witty, funny and hilarious (I understand I'm using synonyms, but it is needed). The plot was interesting and it moved on a natural pace, to the point where I finished the book and I'm perfectly happy with how everything turned out (even if, yes, I am foaming at the mouth at the thought of the next book, because I need it. Bad.)

The banter between these two was delicious, their arcs beautifully done (I genuinely can't wait to see what happens to these two as they unravel in the next book), and the chemistry had me BLUSHING. I mean, I am always down for a "MMC fell first AND harder" kind of situation, but Osric really saw it as a challenge. This man is a loser for her, and I am delighted.

All this to say, that if you're looking for a witty, original and funny fantasy read with lots of clashing and pining, please pick up this book. You won't regret it.

Just a little quote that I loved:
"He no longer owned his own heart. The thief was unconscious of her crime. She asked, 'Is something the matter?'"

This book was a lot of fun. The dry, dark humour in this stole the show for me. I laughed out loud multiple times. They were so direct, so blunt and so crude, at times. I really enjoyed it. It felt like a dark satire. The critique crickets were excellent, I only ever wanted more from them!

I loved the dynamic between Osric and Aurienne, how they both needed each other but yet both hated each other. The reluctant growth that Osric starts to go through is great. You can feel the pain it’s causing him to develop any form of feeling.

The storyline was interesting, I’m very much bought into needing to know who is doing what and why! I got used to the terminology and characters quite quickly, which as a novice to the fantasy world, is a definite positive.

The only thing I wanted more of was chemistry and tension between Osric and Aurienne. For me, they go for too long where they only hate each other. I felt like needed more of a push/pull earlier on. I wanted more of a forbidden lust feeling between them to really hit that spot.

This was such a good book and I can’t wait to recommend it!

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

Brigitte Knightley has absolutelt no business being as witty as she is.

I absolutely adored DMATMOOFBIL so I went into this book with high hopes and was absolutely not disappointed. Brigitte was able to write this story in a way that felt new and fresh but had a lot of nice nods to the original work.

It is the slowest of burns which I am a big fan of and I have seen the main characters described as highly competent idiots which sums them up perfectly.

The story starts with Osric, an assassin from a dark order, learning he has an incurable condition and his only hope is to convince Aurienne an incredibly talented healer to find a cure for him.

I have not chuckled to myself so many times reading a book ever, the humour is dry and just so well done. I often find humour in books can feel forced which was not the case here at all. As I said Brigitte has no business being this witty!


My only (very petty and extremely minor) note is that the chapters are quite long and this is something that I personal struggle with as I tend to have to find a few minutes here and there to read and don't like putting a book down mid chapter. So if you're like me and struggle with longer chapters just something to keep in mind

I had the best time reading this!
A hilarious take on a high stakes dramatic fantasy romance. I was hooked on every sarcastic comment. The wit and humour was brilliant, I’ve never laughed so much reading about death and debauchery.
I didn’t realise how special the experience would be to read a book written in British English, with the typical dry humour and ridiculous choice of insults and swear words which are quintessential of our native way of offering each other. It gave the book such a unique and special quality.
The story itself was addictive and I am desperately hoping there are more to follow after THAT ending!

As this book is inspired (but as I understood it, it’s not the same story; I haven’t read the fanfic, though) by the author’s Dramione fanfiction, I will take this into account for my review because it has affected my reading experience.
Speaking as a long-time Dramione reader, this was a fun story with a lot of nods to this familiar-feeling character dynamic and references to other aspects of the HP world, but twisted to be able to publish this story. Looking at this story from a reader’s perspective that doesn’t have this specific fanfiction-reading background, I’m not sure, they will have as good of a time here.
The thing with fanfiction is that there’s already a world and characters established. The reader already loves both. The writer doesn’t need to endear the reader to the characters or do a lot of explaining of the world.
So the problem with this book is that the characters here work all right as Dramione stand-ins, but they are not fleshed out enough to make one care about them beyond that, in my opinion. The world-building felt more like window-dressing as well, which is okay, I think, because it’s not a fantasy book first.
I got the impression that there was put a lot of focus on making this story as witty and banter-filled as possible. The story doesn’t take itself seriously, which helped me to put into perspective my expectations. It almost read more like a parody than a romantic comedy. I suggest giving the sample a try to see whether you vibe with the humour or not. There’s a certain kind of pattern to how it’s delivered that I can image can come across as repetitive or even annoying after a while when you’re not into that. For me, all the witty-ness, no matter that it sometimes felt forced, was what I enjoyed most about this book. I wanted to know what the author would come up with next.
Unfortunately, the romance and whatever stakes there might have been, got smothered by the comedic elements for me. I wish there had been consequences for Osric as an assassin because of his illness, but it didn’t really cause him any significant problems, so it was hard to feel the urgency for a cure. Maybe that’ll be shown in book 2. Aurienne and Osric also didn’t feel much like enemies because they came across as annoyed with each other rather than full-out hating each other. And while they have opposing ethics as healer and killer, the killing aspect is not really presented in any serious way whatsoever. Quite the opposite, actually.
After having finished the book, I don’t think much has happened after all. There was a bit of mystery surrounding the pox situation that was mildly interesting.
All in all, I think Dramione fans with a love for banter will likely have a good time with this story. It worked as the palate cleanser I wanted it to be. I appreciated the creativity in the comedic writing. I laughed a lot, for sure. I might consider reading the sequel.

Characters: 3.5/10 x4 (Bad-Mediocre)
Relationships: 3/10 x4 (Bad)
Atmosphere/Vibes: 8/10 (Great)
World-building/Setting: 4/10 x2 (Mediocre)
Writing: 8/10 x4 (Great)
Plot/Pacing: 3.5/10 x3 (Bad-Mediocre)
Enjoyment: 7/10 x5 (Good)
Total: ~5.2 = 2.75*

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

*ad/gifted* Thank you to the Little, Brown Book Group for sending me an e-arc of this novel in exchange for my honest thoughts.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley is a highly anticipated read for me and many other fans of Knightley’s previous work. For those who may not be aware, the author previously wrote a very popular fanfiction, DMATMOOBIL. Having read her earlier work years ago, I decided not to revisit it before diving into this book, so that I could approach this story with a fresh perspective.

In this novel, we are immediately submerged in the action, learning about the worldbuilding as the story unfolds. Although the beginning starts off slightly slow, I found this approach to be an effective way to gradually reveal information about the plot and characters. Reminders of the world and its magic system can also be found in the glossary, which I found very helpful. The magic system and its explanations are also fascinating and unique.

We follow the story of Aurienne, a healer, and Osric, an assassin, as they are forced to work together to search for a cure to an incurable degenerative condition. Their rivalry (they come from opposing orders), adds tension to the sloooow-burn romance which is absolutely swoon worthy. The clash of these two characters is incredible. I loved how the third-person perspective allowed us to hear their inner thoughts.

This was, hands down, the funniest book I have ever read. Brigitte Knightley expertly interweaves dry, witty banter, snarky characters, and tongue-in-cheek humour in the most perfect way. I’m quite particular about humour in books and films, but this is exactly how it should be done. The ability to write humour in this way is an absolute skill and I am here for it!

I believe that this romantasy will be part of a duology so I can’t wait to read the next instalment of the series. This book was absolutely charming in the best way, with lovable characters, a great plot, and an intriguing world.

Publication date: 8th July 2025

I didn’t know a lot about this book going in, simply that it was based on fan fiction and that was enough for me to be interested. I didn’t read the original version before this book got official published, but I though this book was a perfect mix of well thought out original universe while still having elements of fan fiction.
I had a bit of Love Hypothesis vibes because of the sort of academic settings. I was also not expecting this sort of writing style and it definitely reminded me of the Emily Wilde’s series. That being said, I did find the first 30 percent of this book a little hard to get through because of the writing style. I felt like I needed to get used to this writing style but also to the specific terminology of the universe.
Overall, a really great book !

I should have known better than to read this so far in advance of publication date but I couldn’t help myself!! When is book 2 coming?! Absolutely loved this slow burn enemies to lovers book. It was funny. Like ACTUALLY laugh out loud funny. Arienne is a healer from the GOOD order and Osric is an assassin for hire with seemingly no moral compass from very much the BAD order. There was such development from both main characters, the situations they found themselves in flipped from the sublime to the ridiculous. The side characters-my goodness Xanthe-I loved her, want to be her when I’m 200 years old, Leofric-bonkers and definitely one to avoid but hilarious and Parson-basically the current keeper of our MMC, easily flipping between compassion and brutality. I’m so sad it’s over I can’t wait for the next part!!

This was DELIGHTFUL. I always say that it's incredibly difficult to write enemies to lovers in a convincing way because it requires the slowest of slow burns. But this book—it's perfectly done. And it's also VERY funny.

I’ve never read a Dramione fanfic in my life, and while I know this book is an original story, it definitely gives off strong Hermione/Draco vibes. Both characters are sassy, bossy, and very self-aware. It was great to follow Osric and Arienne’s journey as they get to know each other and soften a bit. Their banter is just fantastic—this author has a true talent for writing dialogue that is both funny and feels incredibly natural. I was kicking my feet all the time.

And about the slow burn—the tension it builds is so thick, you could probably cut it with a knife. Impeccable. But it also makes me crave book 2 ASAP.

The worldbuilding is very interesting and well done, which I think is important for books by authors transitioning from fanfic to traditional pub. The setting takes place in an alternate UK in the 19th century, where the 1066 Norman Conquest never succeeded. I believe the published book will include a map, but for now, you can find it on the author's Instagram, and it really helps visualize the world.

You do need a moment to fully grasp the magic system and its rules—it’s quite particular, as it includes a lot of 'body magic' elements. But once you do, you realize how it seamlessly incorporates a regular STEM romance dynamic into the fantasy realm. Plotwise, the book gets the job done. The story itself works well within the boundaries of this world and its rules. Yes, it’s all quite tropey, but still well done and not forced. When I read the premise I was like—how can a fantasy book be promoted as something for fans of Ali Hazelwood? Yeah, I get it now. 🙃

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. After reading numerous novels about soft heroines with troubled pasts, I was craving something different, and this one truly delivered. The sequel will be one of my most anticipated reads and I'll definitely grab it as soon as possible.