I went into this already a fan of the author. Let me tell you about this book. It absolutely wrecked me in the best possible way. The deliciously slow burn, the tension, the YEARNING—pure perfection. *The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy* is the kind of slow burn that makes you want to scream into a pillow because the tension is just *that* good.

Osric, our charming yet lethal assassin, and Aurienne, the no-nonsense healer with zero patience for his antics, are forced to work together—and ohhh, the bickering, the longing, the *barely accidental* touches had me screaming, crying, and kicking my feet.

And that ending??? I am *unwell.* Please, I beg you, release the next book *immediately.*

If you like enemies to loves with banter and yearning, then this one is for you. There is also humor in spades.

The world building could use more fleshing out. It often felt like I was just supposed to "know" things.

All in all a fun fantasy that definitely has a market.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley is an utterly captivating slow-burn romantasy that hooked me from the very first page. Tension crackles between Osric, the dangerously skilled assassin, and Aurienne, the sharp-witted healer, as they are forced into an uneasy alliance. With a fatal disease, political intrigue, and deeply ingrained rivalries standing between them, their dynamic is the perfect blend of enemies-to-lovers angst and undeniable chemistry.

Aurienne’s dedication to her work and her unwillingness to back down make her an incredible protagonist. She’s compassionate yet fierce, standing her ground against Osric’s brooding intensity. And Osric? He’s the kind of morally gray, reluctant antihero that keeps you flipping pages, wanting to unravel every layer of his past and motivations. Their reluctant partnership is packed with tension—both in the life-or-death stakes they face and the growing attraction they desperately try to resist.

The worldbuilding is immersive, with the tension between the assassin and healer factions adding so much depth to the story. The stakes feel real, the mystery surrounding the resurgence of the Pox is gripping, and the slow unraveling of trust between Osric and Aurienne is perfection.

This book gave me the same rush as Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love—not in the sense of being a direct comparison, but in that deeply satisfying, tension-filled, can’t-put-it-down way. Brigitte Knightley is now an auto-buy author for me. I’m already counting down the days until the next one.

Thank you NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, and Ace for this arc!

4/5 stars

Ok, first things first. If you decide to read this, explanations for what the Orders are are listed AT THE END OF THE BOOK. I hope they'll change that, or at least have a note at the beginning, when it gets published, as I was so annoyed with the lack of world building and any sort of info that I nearly dnf'd this until I was like 35% of the way through. There's no explanation whatsoever what their Orders are other than one is Good and one is Bad and that's so annoying lol BUT NOT AS ANNOYING AS FINISHING THE BOOK AND FINALLY GETTING THE EXPLANATIONS I NEEDED 🫠🫠🫠🫠

ANYWAY. This was a super fun book lol, I LOVE the slow burn he falls first touch her and die tropes in this. Excellent. Top notch. Osric is funny, charming, and lethal, and Aurienne rigid, proud, and a stickler for The Rules. He has a fatal disease that only she can maybe possibly potentially cure, so they're stuck with each other for the time being whether they like it or not. Their banter is funny, and watching it slowly erode Aurienne's haughty personality and Osric's pride was so fun. This doesn't end on a plot cliffhanger, more a yearning romantic one that I absolutely love. Their slow burn romance was just so, so good.

Now, the worldbuilding? Pretty much non existent. This really could have used some more time being written and edited so that it has a better, more solid world. Eventually you understand some things, but I'm still in the dark about others. But, I'm here for a good time not a peer-reviewed essay, and this was highly entertaining and I will absolutely be reading the next one.

I went into this already a fan of the author. Let me tell you about this book. It absolutely wrecked me in the best possible way. The deliciously slow burn, the tension, the YEARNING—pure perfection. *The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy* is the kind of slow burn that makes you want to scream into a pillow because the tension is just *that* good.

Osric, our charming yet lethal assassin, and Aurienne, the no-nonsense healer with zero patience for his antics, are forced to work together—and ohhh, the bickering, the longing, the *barely accidental* touches had me screaming, crying, and kicking my feet.

And that ending??? I am *unwell.* Please, I beg you, release the next book *immediately.*

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit Books for an early copy! All these thoughts are my own.

I’m pretty sure I actually INHALED this book and didn’t take a breath until I finished! It was absolutely addicting!

This is a dark romance (check the content warnings) between a healer and assassin. Brigitte wrote a TRUE enemies to lovers with the slowest of burns and YEARNING. Absolutely delicious.

Osric (our assassin) has an illness that is threatening his magic and requires the only healer that might have a chance of helping him. The problem? Their orders HATE each other so he comes up with a plan she can’t refuse…or kidnap her. Whatever it takes.

This is filled with SO much banter, snark and dry humor. The writing style is so quirky and can see where it might not be for everyone but it absolutely was for me.

It was dark but humorous-I can’t believe how much I was honestly giggling and kicking my feet while they were doing some very questionable, murder(y) things.

I do wish we had more in depth world building but I was still able to understand the basics of the orders, magic and politics.

Final thoughts: I won’t know peace until the next book is in my hands 🥲

This book had me SWOONING. The banter!! The actual enemies to lovers!! The intrigue!! The syntax!! It's so gorgeously and hilariously written, I was practically kicking my feet and giggling the whole time. I'm bereft knowing I not only have to wait for THIS book to come out but also the NEXT one. This will be one I read over and over for sure. Dramione girlies NEED it.

I was READY to read this after I saw B.K. Borison post about it, and I would trust her judgement with pretty much anything.
I had such a good time! I haven’t read a ton of fanfic, and I feel so lucky that all the ones I have read feel fresh and invigorating instead of repetitive. This was so unique and captivating. I’m excited for the release later this year!!

Hands down the funniest book with the most LOL moments I've read in a hot minute! Factor in the 2.5/5 spice and this is a marvelous and entertaining read you absolutely can't miss. Highly recommend and can't wait for the next! Please make me a BETA reader for Knightley for life. I volunteer as tribute!!!
If this book is not on every readers TBR list, then we can't be friends. JK! But seriously, this book has something for everyone: a bit of mystery, enemies to lovers (me thinks), snark, sexual humor, regular humor, dark gothic castles (think Mr. Rochester from "Jane Eyre", if he were also a bad a$$ assassin and didn't have a secret wife hidden upstairs...just saying that WOULD be hell of a plot twist). I also got or a Heathcliff from "Wuthering Heights" vibes. Sorry, I do digress!

In all seriousness, add this book to your reading list for when it releases, or heck pre-order if the option is available. You will not be disappointed!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, & Berkley Publishing Group for the eARC in return for an honest review.

No Regrets!!!!
5/5 stars

I'm a fanfic girlie and especially a lover of the OG story. I ready to HATE this especially since I loved the original so much, but by about one-third of the way through the book, I was in it. I couldn't wait to read what would happen next and I finally stopped waiting for all the beats from the fanfic and started to appreciate the story on its own. It's a little rude because it's a duology and I want the second one RIGHT NOW!

This is written like a fanatic in a complimentary sort of way. Knowing the book originated as one makes a lot of sense though I have not read it as I refuse to touch a certain boy wizard based franchise with a ten foot pole.

It is really funny even if it most definitely gives the energy of British people being written by an American.

The worldbuilding starts off running far too fast, so while it is interesting it's integration and explanation to an unknowing audience is heavy and frustrating at first. I also don't necessarily mind the anachronistic style of humor since it is well executed. I can excuse a lot of nonsense so long as it is funny.

I think some readers will be confused and overwhelmed by this read. It almost felt improv-ed how elements of the world get thrown in for either a joke or plot.

Words and concepts are flung at the reader far too fast in the initial chapter which makes it difficult to be hooked once the narrative sets in though it eases up and allows readers to be more invested.

The characters and humor are the shining stars of this read. People will definitely have fun with it, as it uses the medium well to have comedic moments only possible through text.

I’m obsessed! This book has officially taken the top spot as my favorite enemies to lovers book this year! The slow-burn romance, the banter, and the chemistry between Osric and Aurienne is perfection. Osric is swoony, sarcastic, and impossible not to love. Aurienne is everything I love in a heroine she’s strong and brilliant. If you’re into enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, and two sworn enemies battling their attraction, this is an absolute must-read!

This was perfection. I loved every minute of it and it fast became my favourite book of the year so far. It has everything I wanted from a enemies to lovers and the banter is perfect! I cannot wait for the second book to find out what happens next.

As always, thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this early. All the good tropes in this one. Enemies to lovers and touch her and die (with a fork!). It was just so fun and them working together was very sweet. Was NOT expecting for this to be the set up for another book but that's OK, I'll read it too. 3.5 if that were possible.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is a captivating novel full of magic, humor, and wit.

When the assassin Osric Mordaunt falls ill with an incurable illness, he realizes his only hope for survival is to employ the finest healer in all the Tiendoms, Aurienne Fairhrim of the Haelan Order. Unfortunately for Osric, convincing Aurienne to heal him may be even more challenging than curing his incurable illness, as the two are members of enemy factions.

When Osric comes knocking on Aurienne’s door, she is absolute in her refusal to work with someone of the depraved Fyren Order. However, when Osric makes an offer Aurienne cannot refuse, she is forced to oblige…Aurienne and her fellow Haelan have been overwhelmed trying to heal sick children suffering from the Pox, and sadly they have been unable to secure the funding needed to develop an immunization. Osric is not above a little bribery, so he offers a sizable donation to the Haelan Order in exchange for Aurienne’s expert healing services. Unable to refuse his “donation,” Aurienne begrudgingly agrees to treat Osric.

What ensues is a laugh-out-loud funny narrative full of witty, biting banter and simmering tension as the assassin and the healer work together to cure a fatal disease and fight the urge to fall in love—as long as they don’t kill each other first.
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I really enjoyed this book. The main characters were well-developed and I loved their ever-changing relationship. Aurienne and Osric had great banter and although this slow burn was much slower than I usually prefer, I really appreciated how the author did not rush their growing attraction. This novel was a true enemies-to-lovers, and I enjoyed seeing their relationship transform over time from one of pure hatred to one of love/hate.

The reason I did not rate this book five stars is because I found the world-building confusing at times. Especially in the beginning, I found it difficult to follow along with the explanations of the magic systems and the divisions of the factions. The magical world of this novel seems very complex, but I felt that it was not explained in enough detail for readers to fully grasp. I also found the language a bit difficult to follow at times, which affected the pacing. It seemed the writing was trying to replicate an older style of English, making the text feel a bit dense and slow-paced.

Overall, I found this title to be a fun read and I am looking forward to the sequel!

Thank you to NetGalley for the free digital copy of this book!

I am in love, sooo refreshing and the banter is to die for and talk about a slowburn because it was sooooo slow, I was yearning behalf of them!! Absolutely cannot wait until the book is out and to get my copy in my hands and Brigitte you are off to a killer start!

Slow burn, enemies to lovers romantasy where she is a healer, with a focus on research (STEM vibes are strong) forced to with an assassin to cure his illness.

What’s to love…
- slow burn
- enemies to lovers
- morally gray (really dark gray, almost black) MMC
- smart academic FMC (a STEM girlie for sure)
- a ton of banter**
- slower, cozy style plot with slice of life scenes
- mystery plot
- forced proximity

What not to love…
- The author really goes all out with word choice and language in this one and while I can understand where she was going with this I think it missed the mark. Instead of feeling smart and witty it was clunky and awkward.
- the world & magic is underdeveloped.
- there is a ton of **banter and back and forth, almost too much - the quips got a little overwhelming and detracted from the story for me at times.
- the humor wasn't to my taste. Quite a lot of crud jokes that just didn't work for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Absolute Perfection

Aurienne is a healer. Osric is an assassin. They are diametrically opposed but working together to heal Osric’s degenerating magic. What happens when feelings other than loathing start to creep in?

I can’t say enough how much I adore this book. I’m still basking in the afterglow of the story. The characters are on point. The humor is amazing (pretty sure I never stopped grinning and laughing through the whole book). The side characters are great! The pacing is perfect. I don’t know what else there is to say except I am so ready for the next book!

While I'm absolutely certain this book will find an eager audience, I am decidedly not part of that target audience. It was so cutesy and over-the-top *delightful* that it felt a bit saccharine at times. With the combination of random capitalizations, British slang, academic language, and Millenial/Gen Z speak, the voice felt like a hodgepodge of things that didn't necessarily gel. I love a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, but I need a bit more motivation to stick with the story.

This book, while well-written and with potential for a dedicated fanbase, didn’t quite hit the mark for me personally. The pacing felt slow, and I struggled to stay engaged as I read. The story begins in the middle of an ongoing situation, which left me feeling a bit lost and confused initially.

While I can see how many readers might enjoy the depth and complexity of the characters and world-building, I found it difficult to connect with the narrative. It’s clear that the author has a strong voice and an interesting story to tell, but it just didn’t resonate with me.

That said, I think there are many people who will find this book captivating, especially if they appreciate slower, more intricate plots. While it wasn’t a fit for me, I’m sure it will find its audience and be a hit for many others.