"The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy" by Brigitte Knightley is one of those books that's great to read, but then you finish, you start to think, and then the questions start piling up.

The premise of this book is our two MCs, Osric Mordaunt and Aurienne Fairhrim, are members of two opposing magic orders. Osric is part of the Fyren Order of shadow assassins, and Aurienne is part of the Haelan Order of magic healers. Osric has an incurable illness that will gradually kill off his magic powers (called seith), putting him at risk of being assassinated himself, and only Aurienne (who just so happens to specialise in seith system healing) can help. She doesn't want to; he drops a massive bribe to help her order funds for a cure for Pox, and now she has no choice but to help him.

I liked the switch up with the assassin character being the more jovial one and the healer being strict and no nonsense. While we don't get firm confirmation from Osric (he's a massive flirt with everyone), there's bisexual representation with Aurienne (hooray!). I liked the slow burn between our two main characters, who really give it as good as they got in terms of arguing and being sarcastic with each other, but sometimes it became almost too much with pages of dialogue and one-liners between the two. Emphasis on the 'slow burn' because they didn't seem to internally acknowledge that they might have feelings for the other until RIGHT at the end - and then the book ends. The main plot point of healing Osric and the urgency of healing him seem to suddenly vanish about ¾ into the book, with a different plot point taking over, and then are suddenly re-remembered right at the end.

The ending isn't a cliff-hanger but rather just...stops; we get a 'to be continued' where there's no conclusion to the main plot point and it ends abruptly during an extremely low-tension moment, so there's no sense of urgency to continue onto the next book. Ideally, Healing Osric could have been completed in one book, and then the second book (TBC) could have continued on with them sorting out the other major plot point.
My biggest beef with this book is the magic system, which is not really explained but rather just dropped onto the reader and you just have to try and figure it out. I later learnt the author is known for Hermione/Draco fanfics, and it shows a lot. I really found the deofols a fun idea until I realised they were repurposed patronuses.

There's a list of the various orders at the start of the book with their general functions, but we only see or hear about three of those in the entire book.

The setting is also...confusing. It's London, and we do get mentions of Glastonbury and France, but the rest of London is different and it's never clearly explained if it's an alternate universe or just borrowing some names. I have no idea of the time period either, as there seem to be both old and new technologies and old and modern language. The world having taverns, teleporting way stones, ancient magic, but also that our main female protagonist has a pair of hot pants with 'Make It Bounce' bedazzled on the backside caused a bit of mental whiplash.

Overall, it's a fun read if you don't think to hard about everything going on around the characters.

[This review is based on NetGalley ARC provided in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion]

This might be my favorite book of the year. Pure and utter perfection.

Where do I even begin with this book. This is romantasy done to absolute perfection. There's a strong plot right from the start, which gets more interesting and complex as you get further into the story. Each character has a distinct, well developed, robust personality- whether likable or otherwise. They're smart. They're confident. One of them is unabashedly villainous and the other is law abiding to a fault.

Osric and Aurienne despise one another. Pure, unadulterated loathing. There is no "I hate him but he's hot"- oh no. This, friends, is a true enemies-to-.... well whatever they end up as. The humor, the banter, the proper-but-scathing comebacks- I had tears running down my face from laughing so hard. It was such a refreshingly different, dry, biting British humor that you oh-so-rarely come across, especially in romantasy.

And what's even more satisfying than all of that put together is how naturally the relationship between the two main characters develops. It's slow. It's natural. You don't go from despising everyone with every fiber of your being to wanting to jump them. The progression is done so well here. The "tolerating each other" comes slowly and with good reason. The begrudging realization that "I guess this person isn't the worst thing in existence" creeps up gently after that. Then, only after a slew of adventures, getting trapped inside together for hours on end, and accidentally saving each others lives, does the attraction come through. It's deliciously tantalising!

Both the story and the writing are so intelligent and witty. I had such a great time reading it, and honestly cannot wait to read it again when it releases.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars

Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for this advanced copy!

I enjoyed this for the most part! Both characters were likeable and I enjoyed their chemistry. The reason for their relationship is really interesting and I think will lend itself to a lot of emotion in the second book, which I’m really excited to get to!

There were times I got on with the writing style and others I didn’t - I’m not sure if it was to do with a lot of the fantasy magical jargon but I found myself struggling through it on occasion despite enjoying the whimsical nature of it. The humour of the writing was one of the highlights, however. I rarely laugh at loud at books, and I actually did in this.

I found the first half far less interesting than the second. The plot felt rather mundane and episodic and there wasn’t enough tension between the characters in this half to generate interest instead, only mutual dislike that I didn’t find overly entertaining to witness without tension to undercut it.

As the tension did ramp up and I found myself excited for what was to come, there was a sudden realisation by the characters that they cared for each other to some extent, and it felt rather abrupt. It would have been nice if there was some kind of bridge that could lead from the tension between them to even a short period of yearning. I think the culmination would then feel more earned.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Group UK for providing a complimentary digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would like to start by saying this book is one of my most anticipated for the year - I wanted to give it a much higher rating, but where do I even start unraveling my issues with it?

Pacing and writing:

The first 70% are extremely repetitive, with a very abrupt shift to the B plot becoming the main plot of the book in the last 30%.

I felt it was too repetitive even scene-to-scene - I read the same description every time they attempted to help the MMC (she disinfected her hands, he removed his shirt, she touched his neck, etc). It started feeling tedious really fast. If the actions during these scenes were repetitive, I at least expected something to be happening internally or to see some sort of progress in their relationship through dialogue, but that didn't really happen.

There was a story in here that could have been really powerful - a man with a incurable disease and a woman who is being challenged on her black and white idea of morality (which tbh, for being a healer for 10 years, it should have happened much earlier).

A story that could have been emotional and fun and memorable, but it was buried under toilet humour (jokes about “piss, dicks, nipples, pubic hair”, etc were so excessive and out of place, I have no clue who the target audience for these was, god knows they felt crude and immature) and almost artificial insistence on keeping the “enemies” enemies at the expense of character growth.

I did enjoy the last 30% of the book and wished this was a bigger part of the book, but the ending itself was very abrupt (after which, I realized this would be a series).

The Characters:

I really liked Osric’s character - he felt more layered and pleasant to read about.

I expected more from Auruenne’s character - she is in a position where she has to help someone, who embodies the exact opposite of what she stands up for - there could have been a very complex internal journey here. For 70% she hated him intensely and genuinely with no nuance to their circumstances. Her internal monologue was a repeat of the same thought of how “because of his deeds he is basically a waste of human space and should just die, so she wouldn't have to dirty her hands”. Seeing people unwell (even people who do bad things) should provoke some sort of empathy. I don’t know if it’s because of her cold reaction, but she came across as very morally superior, unempathetic and frustrating for the majority of the book. I was not particularly intrigued by her backstory either. I warmed up to her around the last 30% but she never once acknowledged the fact she endorsed murder when it helped the people she deems “good” while at the same time thinking of Osric as scum for committing the acts.

The Relationship:
There wasn't one for the majority of the book with both characters having similar revelations around the last 20% of the books, at which point, even if I enjoyed their interactions, it felt too late.


Conclusion:

This was not the tense/emotional journey I was hoping for and in the end, I’m not sure who I can really recommend this to - the sarcastic humour could have made this a fun read but the juvenile toilet humour on top of it stops me from recommending this widely.
If you are interested in this book and don't mind what I've listed above, give it a read - you should make your own mind and while this book is okay at best for me, you might enjoy it.

I realize this review may come across as very harsh, but I really feel there was a potential for a really special book here.
Despite all the issues I had, I felt attached to the characters, particularly to Osric and his plot. I am curious how the finished book defers from the ARC story and if any corrections are made prior to publication.
I am also curious about how this story ends, so I am likely to read the sequel.

Unfortunately I am DNFing this book, it just isn’t for me! I think I was sold this more as a romantasy but it is very science and sci fi heavy. I made it 25% of the way through, most of which consisted of page after page of dying children and lab work. I understand the story will evolve and eventually get to the romance but as a bookseller, this will be a hard one to recommend without the customers feeling mislead. I think the promo needs to highlight how STEM heavy this book is as that will appeal to fans of Ali Hazelwoods STEM novels.

3.5
I’m not quite sure what to think of this book and feel kinda torn.
The first 20% and the last 10% were great! Everything in between is a bigger “?” for me than I would like to admit.

I loved the humour and the banter! It was a quick and witty back & forth, more on the dry side and hit that sweet spot for me.
There was a level of repetitiveness in the actions of the characters and the writing itself, which I guess is to be expected when the characters do the same thing several times over the course of roughly 400 pages.

The plot started off good and actually was a great way of introducing the characters and the world. At some point, the plot shifted and the subplot became the main plot which I think turned out to be more interesting to follow along.

There is a glossary in the beginning (or end, depending on the finished copy) and I would recommend reading it, or at the very least take a look at it, before diving into this book. Otherwise you will end up like me, a tad lost and a tad confused.
Even now I can’t say I completely understood the world or anything about it.

The characters themselves were fine. Aurienne is a healer with a black or white view on things, while Oscric is the sort of character with barely any morals, unless it’s about animals.
I can’t say I grew some sort of fondness towards both main characters, but I did end up kinda liking them, especially Osric, and I do think it’s because their personality benefited a lot from the writing & humour.

Now, the slow burn..maybe my definition of a slow burn romance is different from everyone else’s, but to me it was more of a *very* slow motion development. Like listening to an audiobook at 0.5x speed. (I’m more of a 1.8x - 2x kinda girl)
Their relationship can be described as a mutual agreement on disliking each other until they suddenly decided that they, in fact, do kinda like each other. So the burn was rather a spark that really came to light somewhere in the last 20%.
And it’s not like I minded their non-existent romantic relationship, I actually enjoyed it. But the change from no romance to full on throwing the word “love” around was too sudden and felt rushed.

(I was also on a personal mission to find out why the people received a fork with their physical arcs and now that I know why, I approve.)

I can see this book getting all sorts of reactions and I can totally understand why people would like it and why they wouldn’t.

Will I be reading the sequel? Yep.

Thank you Orbit for providing this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Little Brown Book Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

This book was so much fun to read! From the first few pages, I knew what to expect. The dry witty dialogue and exasperating characters kept me hooked. Some authors who got their start in fanfic tend to miss the mark when it comes to world-building, but I think the author has done a remarkable job at creating a world and a magic system that kept me hooked. I was desperate for every mention of the healing magic and I was so interested in the seith system.

Aurienne and Osric utterly despise each other but agree to help each other for their own reasons. Their scenes together were so much fun to read! The inner monologue and dialogue was so dry and witty and utterly British and some moments had me genuinely laughing out loud. I also adored the side characters, the dogs! the Kitten! Mrs Parsons! Xanthe! I think my absolute favourite character was Aurienne. She was so determined to do the right thing, she's focused on her work and is doing her absolute best to be a good person and heal children.

While I did enjoy this book, I did find the pacing to be a little off. It was written that some weeks would pass before Osric and Aurienne would see each other again, but it felt like days? Or even hours? I also found the ending to be a little rushed, but I am eager to pick up the next book!

Highly recommend picking this one up for the magic system and the real enemies to lovers!

Sadly this book just wasn't for me, however, this doesn't necessarily mean others won't enjoy it.

I've heard this was originally a Dramione fanfic, slow slow burn enemies to lovers which is usually something I would enjoy and I was excited to read this

For me, I just felt no connection to the characters, this is a slow burn, so there's no romance right away, which I'm fine with, I dont need romancein my books, but the characters just lacked depth and felt very one dimensional, I was not invested in their story.

The writing style wasnt enjoyable for me either. The mixture of really over - complicated big words, then almost juvenile made up names for places and names was confusing and didn't flow.

I also felt like the world- building and the magic system could have done with more explanation, I was just confused and therefore wasn't invested.

I would say if you love a really slow burn enemies to lovers, and silly banter/ lots of d* jokes to give this a go, but I just couldn't get past the lack of connection between the characters.

Ce livre ne sort qu'au mois de juillet mais j'ai eu l'opportunité de le lire en avance et j'ai passé un bon moment mais il y avait quelques bémols! Il faut savoir que ce livre est issu d'une fan fiction sur Dramione et qui a donc été complétement retravaillé pour pouvoir sortir en librairie!

On va suivre Osric, un assassin de l'ordre Fyren, qui va devoir faire appel à Aurienne Fairhrim, une scientifique de l'ordre ennemi du sien pour essayer de guérir de sa maladie ... Ils se détestent mutuellement mais à force de se côtoyer, ils vont se rapprocher sur le plan professionnel mais pas que...

J'attendais avec beaucoup d'impatience ce livre et que j'ai eu l'acceptation de le lire en avance, j'ai sauté partout! J'ai beaucoup aimé ce livre qui a un univers vaste et complexe mais parfois il y a aussi un peu trop de longueurs, ce qui a hachuré un peu mon rythme de lecture! J'ai aussi beaucoup les personnages qui sont bien construit et attachants par contre on est sur du slow burn, slow burn, il ne se passe quasi rien dans ce tome donc il faut vraiment prendre son mal en patience! Mais je lirais avec plaisir la suite pour savoir ce qu'il advint de nos protagonistes avec plaisir!

En bref, un bon premier tome malgré quelques longueurs!

I gave this book 2⭐️.

I didn't get on with the authors style of writing however I did really enjoy the plot line. As I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped I ended up not finishing it.

This was enjoyable, I liked the humour and definitely warmed to the characters. The vibe was fun, and Mordaunt is a swoonworthy MMC (even if he is an assassin for hire). I didn’t connect as much to Aurrienne - I found her rigidity hard to connect to.

My only criticism is that I believe this is a duology, and I just don’t feel this had enough substance to be two books you could quite easily have made this a faster pace and wrapped it up in one book.

That being said, I will definitely read the next book and I’m hoping that they will be more of a team in that one, compared to this one where they were both using each other as a means to an end etc.

I will also definitely be looking out for more of this author - I liked her writing style and humour.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the e-arc!!

it would appear that i am in the minority who didn't like this book. i requested this solely because the cover was cute, the plot promised enemies to lovers and i wanted to hop on the Dramione traditionally published fanfic bandwagon. i'm not a Dramione shipper or even a big HP fan (only watched the movies) but i have to say this is Not It.

let me start with the writing. oh god this badly needed to be edited. the capitalisations threw me off so much it feels like how i text my friend sometimes and it feels like nothing i've seen in a book or even on ao3.
"suddenly, Mordaunt looked as though he'd experienced a Thought." what??? no way. this is not the only instance of such capitalisation because this is throughout the book. this is the one that threw me right out of the story first.

and from my understanding, this is a fantasy book with factions and kingdoms and war. why is Aurienne "clutching her pearls"?? there's no way these slangs exist in such a world. why do they sound so gen z?? even i, a gen z, do not say that.

and the 'flannana' joke...

the plot was messy, i feel. it starts off as Osric bribing Haelan Aurienne to cure his incurable seith (magic) rot. the first half of the book was so repetitive. i believe there were five (5!!) failed attempts at finding a healing spot and actually him. and then suddenly we have infiltration and behind the scenes plot regarding a Pox outbreak being orchestrated. the book sorely lacked focus.

amidst all that, we have the weird attraction between the two main leads. i mean i get that it's romantasy so i should suspend by disbelief, but their attraction for each other really came out of nowhere and did not work for me. i'm not sure how much this changed from the original fanfic, but it felt very much like year 1 Hermione (still annoying and obnoxious) and idek some random dude because Draco doesn't act like that. (or least movie Draco didn't) but that's me.

i admit my favourite part of this was the last 50 pages or so between the two where the romance finally had a bit more of a spark to me, hence the 2☆. still i am curious to see what book 2 has in store after that major cliffhanger.

I wish to thank Netgalley and Author Brigitte Knightley for the advanced e-reader copy of this work.

When I started the book, I was impressed by the world building, especially the description of the different groups of people. their powers, meaning and weaknesses. I can clearly see that the author has sat down, conducted research and completed a well-done introduction to the reader that is also easy to understand.

When I began reading, I struggled to come in contact with the characters and the story. By other reviews, I have noted that some absolutely loved the book, and I'm happy for them! However, I was not able to enjoy it myself!

dnf around 50%.
I had trouble getting in the book. It lacks worldbuilding a lot but the magic system is complexe with a lot of vocabulary not familiar. The interactions were lacking realism and maturity.
Not for me but I'm not a slow burn reader

Dnf at 50% unfortunately because of the lack of worldbuilding and immaturity of the characters and writing.

Let's start with the fact that I had no idea the author was a fanfic writer or that this may or may not have been a dramione fanfic. Why? Because I never got into Harry Potter, or dramione so I'm a clean sheet with this book. Is that why I loved it so much? No bias? Maybe. I don't know but I sure did adore it. This was so wickedly hilarious with quick dialogues and speedy banter, I really freaking admired every word. I laughed so much and the book just made me read without even realizing I got to the end. This was one of the most entertaining books I read recently, definitely recommend it.

----ARC REVIEW----

Oh my God!!!! It was amazing, I loved everything, Aurienne's sarcasm, Osric's charm, this Is literally THE enemies to lovers, but they are still enemies, and that cliffhanger ending OMG!!! I loved the world building, also that at the beginning of the book it includes a glossary and the definition of the orders that will be seen in the book, I couldn't be more delighted, it was definitely a great read 💖🙂‍↕️

Many thanks to Net Galley and the author for allowing me access to this e-ARC

This is all a bit mad, and mad in a pleasurable and fun way. Adrienne and Osric dislike each other intensely, their jobs aren’t compatible, their culture nor their language and yet they have to work together. The world almost needs saving and armies stopped and only through Osric and Aurienne working together and getting close can this happen. There is a slow realisation that there is heat between them and a madcap plot as they try and both move forward.

I was so torn what to rate this book becuase I LOVED the bickering and banter between the main characters and was rooting for them both the whole time, however to get a 5 star I feel as if I just needed a little more world building and explanations (which I can understand were lacking a tiny bit due to this being a traditionally published fanfic with a pre-made world). In terms of the new words there was a list at the start so this was helpful however it would be much easier to read in paperback as flicking back on a kindle isn’t always ideal!

I loved how this was a romantasy based in Britain, I found this so cosy and relatable and the British/dry humour in this book was PERFECT! The author is so clever to be able to write a full novel full of jokes and quips that have you giggling the whole way through.

This was such a slow burn enemies to lovers with genuine reasons for why they hated each other and I loved watching their walls come down to the point where they felt safe with each other.

I’m so excited for the next one to come out, especially after that ending!

I admit that I had more than a few difficulties at first between the language intermingled with vocabulary that moves between the courtly and the outdated and these two particularly different characters. World Building is also not easy to grasp at first, but after a while (past about 35 percent) I began to enjoy it so much that the end disappointed me not so much because it doesn't really has an ending, but because I suddenly had to stop laughing.

Ammetto di avere avuto piú di qualche difficoltá all'inizio tra la lingua frammista di vocaboli che si muovono tra l'aulico e il desueto e questi due personaggi particolarmente diversi tra di loro. Anche il World Building non é facile da afferrare all'inizio, ma dopo un po' (superato il 35% circa) ho cominciato a divertirmi talmente tanto che il finale mi ha deluso non tanto perché non finisce quanto piuttosto si interrompe all'improvviso, ma perché ho dovuto smettere repentinamente di ridere.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.