I'm for sure going to be in the minority here, but I just wasn't a fan. The first 3/4 of the book felt so slow and repetitive (and overwhelming at times with the jargon). When I wasn't reading it, I had no desire to pick it back up. There were way too many conversations and circumstances that involved balls and other intimate parts and, for me, it stopped being funny after chapter 5.

I appreciated the characterization of our FMC and MMC and their very distinct voices, but that was really all I enjoyed for a great portion of the book. The enemies dynamic was meant to give us tension as the attraction grew, but I felt more like there was momentary attraction between them due to circumstance rather than actual interest (or denial thereof, for that matter). So when we finally got to the last quarter and the dynamic began to change, it felt forced and sudden more than organic.

That last quarter was also really the only part I genuinely enjoyed. We saw action, we saw stakes, and the pacing greatly improved compared to the incredibly slow pace of the rest of the book. It brought the rating up from where it was sitting for me at about 2.5 stars to 3. I was, however, jarred by the abrupt ending. I think I would have liked a short epilogue of some kind to soften the blow a bit.

I won't say that reading the sequel is off the table for me, but I don't know that I'll rush to read it either when it comes out.

I loved this book from start to finish. The language kept me on my toes, the banter yielded true laugh out loud moments, and the gravity of the plot line kept it compelling so that it ended up being the kind of read I devour, much to the chagrin of my household having to navigate around my laser focus and my ever growing TBR which would also like some attention.

I do not read a lot of romantasy but this one is so good! Full review to come soon though!! Thank you Berkley for the early gifted copy.

Osric Mordaunt finds himself in desperate need of a healer. Aurienne Fairhrim is tasked with helping him. He is an assassin, she is a healer, and they are members of enemy Orders. They are diametrically opposed in every way, yet have to learn to work together.

🖤Enemies to lovers
🖤Slowww burn
🖤Hypercompetent idiots
🖤Shadow daddy vs ice queen
🖤Magical animal companions
🖤Really unique magic system
🖤Women in STEM
🖤Touch her and die
🖤Banter for days
🖤Dry witty humor
🖤Mystery solving

Reading this book was an absolute delight. It's witty and funny and clever, and I couldn't get enough. Brigitte Knightley has such a way with words and with crafting characters that I can read about endlessly. I enjoyed every single interaction between the two main characters, who start out despising each other. They slowly become more friendly, and this transition is done seamlessly and feels earned, which I feel very few "enemies to lovers" books manage to do successfully. I am so invested in this story, and can't wait to get more of!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really loved this iteration of this story. I could see the threads of what I already loved in the fanfic along with the new magic system that was interesting and fit the story. Of COURSE the enemies to lovers was delish.

Everything about this was perfect. No notes. The banter, the wit, the characterization. I would say my heart is full but it's not because I need more. Give me the sequel NOW.

5⭐️

**my eternal gratitude to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group, Ace, and the one and only Brigitte Knightley - you are single handedly doing the Lord's Work™**

I know a lot of people have been raving about this book, but this really is a great book! I can see this blowing up MASSIVELY once this is released. The tension, banter, and chemistry were HOT!

I was really excited for this book, I love an enemies to lovers storyline. The healer and assassin route was fun in theory BUT I was really disappointed in this. I never felt the pull to pick it up. It makes sense being a fanfic turned mainstream publish, because the world building was only about 20% of the way there. I also HATED the pacing. The ending is so so abrupt, that I legitimately thought it was a misprint. With all that said, it wasn't the worst thing I've read and I could be tempted to try again with a second book in the series.

A wonderful adaptation! This book was SOOOO funny, I couldn't stop highlighting phrases while I was reading. I loved the banter and the dynamic between Osric and Aurienne, and thought that they had the perfect blend of humor and romance in their relationship. I thought that the stakes were built up well in this book, and I am eagerly awaiting the next installment! My only critique was that the medical jargon was a bit too heavy-handed throughout the book. I understand that it was fantasy medical jargon, but there was still a lot of it, and clogged up the narrative at points.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley was a fun read. As a fan of the author’s fanfic Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love, I was beyond excited to get my hands on this one.

I really enjoyed the protagonists, Aurienne and Osric—especially Osric. The witty banter between the two was absolutely perfect. I was literally laughing out loud at some of their exchanges. I also thought the dual POV was a great choice; the perspective of both characters was definitely needed.

The slow-burn romance was, well, very slow. I enjoy a good slow burn, but this one took its time—there’s very little romance or spice in this first installment. I’m eager to see how their relationship develops in the next book.

The pacing felt a bit slow in the beginning, but by the halfway point, the story really started to pick up. Honestly, I think this book would have worked better as a single novel rather than being split into two parts. The ending felt a little abrupt. Additionally, the heavy use of medical terminology throughout felt unnecessary at times.

Overall, Knightley’s debut novel did have issues with pacing, but it was still an enjoyable read, and I can’t wait for the next one.

If you are a fan of books that tackle serious plots in the most unserious way (think of the tone of Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries) and/or you love a handsome, self-interested antihero who falls for the girl a la Flynn Rider, then you're going to love this book.

The Irresistable Urge to Fall for your Enemy is an absolute delight. Osric is a member of an order of assassins who is forced to team up with a member of an order of magical healers in order to hopefully save his life from a degenerative condition that threatens his ability to use magic. The twist? He has to get her help in secret, because if his order finds out he has this condition, they will kill him.

Aurienne is a highly capable healer who takes her order's creed of "harm to none" very seriously, and she is incredibly torn about using her skills to help Osric, who is basically harm for hire.

The tone and the dialogue of this book are both so funny. Osric and Aurienne.are both incredibly smart, so their banter is both intelligent and hilarious. I love them both, and the slow burn build up of tension between them is fantastic.

I would not call this book enemies to lovers. I can imagine that being the arc of the overall series, but this book itself is more enemies to reluctant allies to maybe friends-ish.

The one thing that I didn't love about this book is that the story arc feels more like a "part 1" than a "book 1." I don't feel like there is a specific in-book story arc that comes to a satisfactory close by the end of the book. It feels like the entire book is the setup for a bigger story, which it is, but I prefer for each book in a series to have a dedicated arc that comes to a close within that book, and this book doesn't do that for me.

Even so, I greatly enjoyed it and I think you will, too.

If you love smart humor, strong worldbuilding, and the slowest of slow burn romances, you'll love The Irresistable Urge to Fall for your Enemy.

Wickedly funny at every turn, even in the minutiae. I found the magic system to be incredibly well developed and totally absorbing. The vocabulary is stunning (did you know an abattoir is a slaughterhouse? I didn’t) and, generally, the whole book is whip smart. I want every romance I read to be like this.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is in fact an irresistible read with a slow burn romance that will leave readers clinging on every word said between the two main characters.

Ermahgerd! What is this amazingly fun, unique joyride?!! I hate that I now have to wait for a continuation. Such torture! The world building, the characters, the witty banter…chef’s kiss. Iso happy that reading devices have their own dictionary because I’ve never had to look up so many words. Did I have fun while doing it? Yes.

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 🥲