𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘𝐇𝐞’𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞,’

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 is the first installment in a new, slowburn, enemies to lovers romantasy in the 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 duology, featuring a scholarly healer and a gentleman assassin, set in an exquisite fanatsy world, perfect for fans of Assistant to the Villain, The Love Hypothesis and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

I personally have not read any of Kngihtley's fanfiction works but I was very intrigued by the title and cover that I immediately hit request when available. I enjoyed Irresistible completely independent from any form of its original works.

Reading this book was utterly hilarious and fun to flip pages and read as until there was nothing left. The premise of the book was certainly riotious and chaotic, which set the perfect tone to the prose and storyline. The prose was very distinct and easy to follow and the reader can easily make out the intent of the dialogues and the chapter. The pacing was even and took a while to adjust in the beginning, easing us into the new world.

The magic system was certainly unique and introduced prior to reading but the introduction of the unique properties, elements and groups was very well crafted. The distinction between 'good' and 'bad' moral intentions with magic was very evident. The backdrop is set in an alternate version of the British Isles in which the Norman Conquest of 1066 did not happen, which realistically in the present would have a different impact.

The characters are also a very compelling part of this story. Their interactions and immersive dialogues while the mystery is unfolding was engaging and utterly hilarious at many points. The balance between the mystery and characters was intriguing, given the circumstances that had Aurienne and Osric working together, which also made me anxious because I grew emotionally attached to these characters.

𝐀𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐦 is a compelling and strong FMC. She lives through a perfect structure that she baad implemented and follows the morals she's been taught. She does not fear easily and is ready to make a fool out of anyone not behaving properly with her. She's amazingly arrogant in her skills, and knows to read situations where her skills are being undermined. It's brilliant to see this kind of empowering representation in fantasy. She's also not someone who would easily express her emotions or offer itimate gestures or insights in situations in times of vulnerability. Lookign further into her character, she's always caring for the ones close to her or rather --- her tight-knit family and friends. Her choices reflect her nature very well. She's very determined and true to her word, from healing sick children whose virus does not have a vaccine to working with the assassin to heal his ailment.

𝐎𝐬𝐫𝐢𝐜 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐭 is an unapologetic and unhinged assign, with commitment to his nature and line of work. He's nonchalant to almost everything that does not concern him. He's no Robin Hood in this story but he does have softspots of his own. Everything about him is a walking contradiction to Aurienne. This ruthless assassin had me laughing every chapter --- especially his POV. He certainly has a hilarious bone in his body. His assurance to himself about the smallest and ignorable things in the time of grace dangers need to be studied. His poutu inner monologues were the highlight of my week. He's an honest man, and once he comes to care for someone, there is no way that he would not protect them in harm's way. Underneath that vanity and arrogance, there's a charming and soft personality waiting to be unleashed by the right person.

The relationship between the two characters started off rocky with a lot of threats and hilarious onions. They're forced to work together where Aurienne has to heal him. The banter between them is top notch and has me wheezing and laughing the entire time during these interactions. The hate at first sight is evident and it's a true enemies-to-lvoers dynamic, where hate, loathe and murdering each other is on their mind constantly. Aurienne and Osric matched one another's energy to perfection and were wholly unafraid to make their reluctant partnership as difficult as possible for the other. I loved how Osric continued to challenge Aurienne on her morality. The way Aurienne continues to try and heal Osric's ailment despite her personal opinions on the matter earned my respect and I loved her ability to compartmentalise for the sake of greater good. While the romance aspect felt like a sub-plot, their interactions during the entire book made inevitable to fall in love with these two characters. They compliment and constarst each other, but their mutual respect towards the end made it all worth it. This has to be slowest of slow-burn I have read till now and it paid off really well in the end.

The fork and it's symbolisation in sorry was utterly satisfying. I had initially completely forgotten about the fork but I was quickly reminded when the scene came on page and I loved it so much!

I loved this book so much! I did not rush myself reading this and took my own comfortable time reading 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘜𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺. I need more books from this author and in this series! I'm excited for the next and final installment of this duology. The humorsome approach in dark and sinister times when it did not fail to show the seriousness of the situation was very well done. The side-characters and their dynamics, personalities and quirks were unique and hilarious at times.

If you like slow-burn romance in a addictive and hilarious fantasy setting, with a loath to love dynamic, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘐𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘜𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 by Brigitte Knightley is the perfect read. I cannot wait for the next installment!

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞, 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭. 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲.

I really enjoyed this super slow-burn enemies to lovers story. The banter between Aurienne and Osric is so witty, barbed, and sarcastic,and adds quite the comical effect. I loved it! The world building and magic system is unique and had me really interested, and the writing was just wonderful. Taking aspects and creatures of myth and mixing them in to the story added a sense of the fantastical (I particularly enjoyed the critique crickets and their sarcastic insults), while setting the story in an alternate Britain lent a sense of the familiar. With the plot leading our would-be enemies to such places as a ruined castle at the apex of magical ley lines to a raunchy hot springs or a cheekily named pub, Aurienne and Osric really got around!
As the pair from opposing factions race against the clock to not only save Osric, but to solve a mystery, things really start to heat up! I thought that this was a stand-alone, but the cliffhanger ending really left me with my jaw hanging and wanting the rest of the story! Here's hoping for another book soon!

This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2025 and it didn’t disappoint! I must admit, I struggled with the world building and introduction of the magic system at the very beginning and found myself repeatedly flicking back to glossary, which made it difficult to fully immerse myself in the story. But within the first 100 pages I was hooked. I thought the character development was brilliant and loved how it weaved in folklore. It’s definitely a slow burn and now I’m eagerly awaiting the next instalment.

3.5⭐️. To sum up my feelings in one sentence: I liked this book but I didn’t love it.

We follow 2 POVs - Aurienne, who is a Healer, and Auric, who is an Assassin. Auric has an illness which is affecting the use of his magic and it seems that Aurienne may be the only one who can help him. However, her order is morally opposed to his, and so Auric offers a vast donation to support research for a vaccination to immunise against Platt Pox, a virus whose current outbreak has resulted in the deaths of hundreds of the poorest children.

What I enjoyed about this book:
- I liked what we saw of the world. It felt like more of a Holly Black-esque fantasy world with the references to the “other world” and hedge witches, but it also had its own uniqueness with the various orders (which are aligned to areas such as healing, engineering etc) and unusual creatures such as critique critics and deofols (which were a type of animal shadow familiar).
- The banter was good and there were a fair few moments that had me chuckling; however, as a word of caution, there’s a lot of English slang (like “boozer”), which might fall flat with non-Brits.

What fell a bit flat for me:
- I love a slow burn enemies to lovers, but this works best when there’s a good build up of tension, which I think was lacking here. The enemies part was done really well but the development towards romantic feelings was underwhelming.
- The world building could have been more fleshed out.
- But my main issue was that not a lot happens, so I didn’t find myself gripped by the story.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

I loved EVERYTHING about this book. Absolutely no notes, I would read this all over again right now if I had the time!

Woman in STEM meets PhD of murders is completely accurate and I loved how at odds Aurienne and Osric are. The yearning hit a little different in this one. Giggling and kicking my feet is an understatement - I was screeching.

I don’t know why but I didn’t expect this book to be funny. I was cackling through most of this book. It was somehow so serious yet so lighthearted at the same time and it just made it so easy to read.

The wait for book 2 will be criminal, especially because this book isn’t even out until July!!

The Irresistble Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy featuring a scholarly healer and a gentleman assassin, set in an exquisite fantasy world!

I had really high expectations going into this book but sadly it fell flat for me.
Whilst I think the premise of the book was really good I found it hard to connect to the characters, I feel like I need more from them and the enemies to lovers didn’t quite hit.
The author has created a very complex magic system which is impressive but often times left me feeling confused as there was just so much new terminology to wrap my head around.
There were some fun moments! And I can see why others would really enjoy it, there’s some great banter and back and forth.
It just missed the mark for me
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

Enemies-to-lovers at it’s ALL TIME BEST. The animosity sparked by a little meet-cute blackmail between Osric and Aurienne was delicious and gave their romance the best tension. The slow burn was buuurrrrning and I was so freaking feral for these two.

I do wish the world was a little more fleshed out from the beginning because it was very easy to get swept up in the fast paced drama of the initial chapters, and then realise I was a wee bit LOSTTTT for a second.

Regardless, I ate this up and am so excited for the next book.

I hate to leave negative reviews but unfortunately this one didn't hit the mark for me. I felt the world-building was a bit clunky and I didn't feel connected to either of the main characters. I know there will be readers that adore this story but unfortunately it just wasn't for me!

Brigitte has served up an absolute gem with this one. This slow burn romance is everything I didn’t know I needed—a delicious enemies-to-lovers dynamic, razor-sharp banter, and the kind of tension that curls your toes and keeps you coming back for more.

It’s clever, cheeky, and oh-so-satisfying. I laughed out loud more times than I can count, and the slow burn? Criminally good. Think: two people with chemistry so potent they could power a small city… refusing to act on it. Until they do—and oh baby, when it happens? Fireworks.

This is romcom gold. Perfect for fans of witty, slow-building tension with heart and heat in equal measure.

Unfortunately, I DNF:ed this book at 49 %. I really tried to finish it as I was incredibly excited to receive this ARC, but the writing and humour was just not to my taste at all.

Before going into detail about what didn’t work for me, I would like to say that the banter between the two main characters has its moments, I liked the deofols (basically messenger familiars) and the general idea of the book is genuinely good.

But there are two major things that frustrated me. The first is that nothing is fleshed out (characters, world building, romance, magic system etc.). The second is that it wasn’t funny and tried way too hard to be. It felt like every other sentence was a joke or an attempt at humour, and a lot of it was very tasteless. One or a few crude jokes can work, but when it feels like they’re coming every other page I just cannot keep going. It was way too much and ended up not being funny at all. In general, most things with this book just fell flat to me.

I’m sure there are many people who will love this book, and humour especially is something very subjective. It’s rather clear to me that this was me not meshing with the style of storytelling in this book, and not that it’s an objectively bad book. But it was not for me and I will not be continuing this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Group UK for the eARC, you really made my day when I was approved for it.

When Osric the magical assassin gets an ailment that might be the end of him (in more ways than one), he asks (or bribes or forces) a doctor, sworn to do no harm, to help him. That is Aurienne. Rule-following, straight-backed Aurienne, who shouldn't put much effort into saving a man who profits off of literal murder. But...

Emoji-Aesthetic:🌜🥂🏥🔪

Listen to
🎶 The Alchemy - Taylor Swift
🎶 Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene - Hozier
🎶 Daylight - David Kushner

This book is such a fun, gory read. The writing doesn't take itself too seriously and I laughed so much while reading. I'm sure the humor is a bit juvenile for some, but I feel like it was just really fun and fit the tone well. I also really enjoyed the banter between Aurienne and Osric, especially the way it changed subtly with their relationship. The book is hella slow burn and it burns so goooood. I'm already looking forward to the way their relationship will continue to develop in future novels. Even though the relationship between the two isn't exactly explicitly romantic throughout the book, it's still pretty spicy. The humor in the prose and the banter and longing really play together for this.
The book has a relatively extensive trigger warning, but it does miss one thing I thought was missing: there's a noncon/dubcon(?) scene in here (he doesn't touch her), which I'm more than happy to discuss, including the way it influenced my rating, in my DMs (I want to keep this spoiler free). I feel like that's a pretty hefty oversight.
Generally, Osric really, really is morally grey. We're not talking secret hero here. He has an opinion and he has boundaries, but he also has a price. I thought this made the dynamic between the characters really interesting, especially as the story develops.
I thought this was a fun story that really could have used one extra TW (or a tiny scene edit literally it would have been one detail and it's not longer an issue, but I digress).

I received a complementary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The world building and magic system in this book had me hooked from the get go. A witty, badass FMC with a morally grey MMC - sign me up. And this book did not disappoint.
Cannot wait to get myself a physical copy to adorn my shelves!
Loved it!

This was unfortunately not for me.
Very much dialogue based, which then makes the world building lack in information and feel underwhelming. There’s no character development and the banter between characters is unrealistic and, at times, boring.
It tries to be too funny which of course leads to be just plain cliche and unnerving.

This book has the funniest banter between MCs.
The MCs cannot be more enemies, and their back-and-forth is everything.
I acknowledge that the world-building is not smooth, and we are just dropped in this universe that I still do not understand. But I don't care. I laughed so hard...
It was brilliant!

Thank you @NetGalley for the copy!

Loved this! It's cozy and actually made me laugh out loud at times. It reminded me slightly of Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries with more of a romantasy vibe. One thing is that I do wish the side characters had been fleshed out more and that the MCs hadn't been carbon copies of Draco and Hermione. This is a great slow burn and the end left me dying for more

Thank you NetGalley and little brown book for letting me receive an e arc of this.

At first when I started reading I wasn’t sure it was for me. But when the mmc basically forced the fmc to treat his illness and instantly realised he’s gonna be a morally grey mmc I was hooked.

This is very slow burn enemies to lovers, the banter was funny and it wasn’t too much.

I feel like this book was such a breathe of fresh air as sometimes I think some books are very samey nowadays but this was unique and I thoroughly enjoyed it all.

The storyline was really easy to follow and oh did I forget to mention that he’s an assassin?🤭

Also the cover of this book is incredible, easily stand out on everyone’s bookshelves!!

I can’t wait for everyone to read this when it’s out in July!!!

Unfortunately this book was a DNF for me, I enjoyed the characters & plot, however, I really struggled with the writing style, leaving me confused most of the time.

3.5 stars.

For those Dramoine lovers out there, I'm assuming this book is already high on your TBR; however, if it is not, you might want to add it!

Being a huge Harry Potter a fan, I was itching to pick this book up. And, honestly? I enjoyed it! I am a sucker for an enemies to lovers trope and this book delivered on that front.

Now, I love a spicy book, so let's talk about it; Let’s just say if looks could kill... we’d all be dead. 🔥 And if kisses could heal? Well, this book would be a full-on hospital. Hot, hot, HOT.

Unfortunately though, I couldn't rate this higher than 3.5 stars. For me, I found the world building to be extremely complex and confusing. Usually, I'm pretty quick at catching onto original terminology and references within books, but this just lost me. I found myself going back to the glossary to identify what each term meant. Sadly, this had a huge impact on my reading experience.

I do feel that Brigitte Knightley is a great author; I loved her writing style and I can see where she was trying to take us in the book, however it lost me time and time again.

Thank you, NetGalley and Little Brown Book Group UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Is this book good? Not really.

I haven't read the famous fanfic of the author, but this book is supposed to be something entirely new anyway. I can't confirm or deny - however, this book reads very much like a fanfic.

The writing style is very typical. There are some truly awesome phrases, but unfortunately also quite a few in need of serious editing. Awkward dialogue, weird stylistic choices. At the beginning, I loved the banter and the humour, but it got boring. The book ended up full of crude jokes that stopped being funny after the first few times. Yes, we get it. Genitals are funny. As I'm not a fifteen year old boy, I might not be the right audience for this kind of humour.

The world building was all over the place. It somehow takes place in our world (we've got England and France, for example), but everyone is magic. How does the magic work? No idea. It's kind of cool though. The deofols were basically a mixture of HDM-daemons and patronuses, but they were cute.
There are certain magical orders you can get into. How do you do that? No idea. You can choose your own. But you don't have to. Each order has an extensive education and is very exclusive. Some of the orders hate each other. Some are literally evil. But it's still kind of legal? No one talks about it. Assassins seem to be something entirely acceptable.
Electricity exists. But it's not everywhere and fireplaces are common. People use carriages instead of cars, but we rarely see them, as there are more efficient magical ways of travelling.
As Aurienne is a healer, we've got quite a bit of medicine in this book. And it's modern and quite advanced. I honestly can't tell what age this is supposed to be. It's a mess.

Same goes for the conversations. The characters use a wild mixture of Victorian era sayings and modern slang. We've got a "mind the gap"-joke, that simply doesn't make sense without a subway system or another setting with a gap that needs minding. Yes, it's supposed to be funny. It actually kind of is. But it makes no sense and I prefer my jokes to make sense in the setting they're in.
There are also random French sentences and words in this. Sometimes it makes sense, as a couple of French characters exist, but sometimes it's entirely random. Maybe because French is supposed to sound fancy and sophisticated?

The characters are very cliché. Brooding assassin, stern healer. Enemies to lovers, no explanation needed.
Unfortunately, they are very one dimensional. Osric is arrogant and self-obsessed and sometimes plain stupid. I don't see his "educated" side. He mostly behaved like a spoiled child. Aurienne on the other hand has no time for humour or other emotions and she especially dislikes Osric. That's most of their character traits and unfortunately, neither of them really went through character development. I would've loved to see Aurienne turn softer and Osric get more serious.
Their relationship does change, but only barely. And they themselves are basically sill the same at the end of the book. I did enjoy their relationship, but I wanted more. It's very slowburn, which I like, but at the same time too sudden. After disliking each other, they suddenly seem to simply... stop. And start liking each other. With no apparant reason. We don't really feel the emotions. I couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when they started to change their opinions, but with the amount of hatred at the beginning, we need some obvious signs for change! Otherwise, it doesn't make sense.

As for the plot - it was nice, but also underdeveloped. There are a handful of different plot points and not one of them got solved in a satisfying way. There is some progress, but I feel like the author should've brought something to an end. It feels unfinished. And while it's fine to write multiple books, every instalment needs to be able to stand on its own.
Also, while the stakes were high, it didn't feel that way. Just like the relationships, I was too distanced from the characters. Give me all the emotions! Let me be terrified for them!

Overall - as I said, it reads like a fanfiction. Not exactly good, but still very much fun. I laughed a couple of times and I'm curious how this will continue. It does feel a bit like a parody, that doesn't take itself seriously, which is refreshing. But it didn't blow me away.

absolutely loved this read. I loved being able to pick this book up after a long day of university or work and going back to this world. I LOVEDDD the humour. I will die for a book with humour and this was just it.

The slow burn made me DIEEEE i was laying down and kicking my legs and giggling reading this book! I also love how strong the fmc is, she is amazing and i LOVED this world.

i will be recommending this book to all my friends to get them to read it, everyone needs to experience the amazing writing by brigitte and the amazing story and world. this is definitely a book i would reread just to revisit.

thank you so much for letting me read this book. absolutely loved it.