Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing, for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book, inspired by Dramione (Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy + Hermione Granger) fanfic, is a new, suspenseful science fiction/fantasy. Told in alternating POVs, the story follows assassin Osric and healer Aurienne as life and death situations force them into each other’s lives. This is a slowwwwwww burn romance, primarily focused on the science aspects and world building. Expect lots of murder, theory, mystery, and medical talk.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. I really thought there would be more romance, but we had to wait until 90% to get even the smallest romantic action between the characters. I found a lot of the medical talk and murder very gory, and I was confused with a lot of the world building. Subsequently, I wasn’t very invested in the story. The characters weren’t too compelling for me, either, and I thought Aurienne was a bit too mean to be compared to Hermione.

I think true sci-fi fans might enjoy this book more, so if that’s you, give this new release a try!

An exciting ride into a vivid new world. Knightley is no stranger to compelling stories and eloquent prose, and The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is no exception. We follow Osric, a cocky, self-assured assassin for hire, as he searches for the the best healer to safe his deteriorating magic, and in turn, his life. Enter Aurienne, a member of the Haelen Order, who goes against everything Osric stands for (like murdering people for money). The two must work to save Osric using peculiar methods, while Aurienne and her Order also battle an illness plaguing young children.

Knightley displays incredible banter and favours a long, drawn-out and complex romance that festers like an un-scratchable itch. She's created an interesting world, and you can trace the roots of some of her ideas from the fandom from whence she came. It feels familiar just as much as it feels new, and I can't wait to see what she does with the rest of this story.

I understand and admire the idea to draw out the story into multiple books. It gives the world, and characters more time to settle into the story and in the reader, though I do think the plot likely could have been a bit more wrapped up. Don't get me wrong, I loved it and had such a great time reading it, but it also felt like nothing truly 'happened' and that we just kind of drew it out to set up the sequel (again, not complaining, just an observation for people who might not admire Knightley's work as much as I do).

Overall, I rated this one 4 stars! It was full of disturbing imagery, raunchy jokes and yearning. Excited to see where Osric and Aurienne go next, and looking forward to seeing Knightley blow up into author stardom as she deserves!

This book is fun and flirty! It reminds me of Apprentice to the villan but better. I loved the slow burn romance and the tension!

Book 1?? BOOK 1?! Be warned, dear reader. This book is amazing, funny, dark, quick-witted, and perfectly charming. However, I was unaware it was the first book of two, and now I am bereft.

I knew what this was when I went into it; as someone who spent her formative years in the dregs of ff.net, I've seen a lot. But never fear: this author takes the best of Dramione and turns it into something new and fresh. The banter is hilarious. The world building (while a little fuzzy at first) is extensive. The humor is dark and occasionally raunchy. Basically, this book is perfect if you are a true fan of enemies to lovers with a strong stomach for references like "titfuck." Just read it.

Irresistible Urge is a romp of a book. It has good world building, irreverent writing, and fun characters. The characters are based on Dramoine tropes, and while that is a fun and quick shortcut for characterization, readers who are unfamiliar with Harry Potter and the fan fiction realm may find the characters a little underdeveloped on the page.

The strongest part of this story is the details of this magical world. Knightley has obviously thought deeply about what this world is and has filled it with fun details and delights. I would like to see more stories set in this world and am excited to see how this story concludes in the second book.

This review honestly took me a couple days to process, as I am a huge fan of the author's work DMATMOOBIL, and went in hoping for the same kind of banter. Truly I knew this was a completely different book, but her banter always just jumps off the page and that is all I was hoping for again, in this story it's a hit or miss. Either the banter is on point and amazing, or there is just so little of it, you feel it's just there to move the story along but you have missed some parts. I hope in the second book there is more in depth scenes between Aurienne and Mordaunt, I would have enjoyed to know the conversations they had that seem to get glossed over. The magical illness was really interesting, I would have liked to know more lore about the different places they do to each month. The map is on point and as you read the story, it makes much more sense from the first time you look at the map.

I enjoyed this book so much, I didn't want it to end! I loved the irreverent tone, the language, the worldbuilding, and the characters. There were several pages where I just had to sit and hold my kindle close to my heart, so I could really soak up the words! There is delicious tension, the plot is unique, and I was so disappointed when it was over.

I am utterly obsessed with this book.
I LOVED LOVED DMATMOOBIL, honestly my favorite ao3 fanfiction and I JUMPED at the chance to read this.

It’s way different because DUH but it still was the absolute beauty that was the fanfic. Brigitte is immediately an auto buy author for me and I’m just so damn stoked. I can’t wait for the next one!

Brigitte Knightley's <i>The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy</i> follows Aurienne Fairhrim, a healer and researcher from the Haelan Order, and Osric Mordaunt, an assassin from the Fyren Order, as they race against time to find a cure for Osric's incurable illness, "seith rot.” Alongside this, they are attempting to unravel the mystery behind Platt's Pot, a deadly disease claiming the lives of children.

The story progresses through periodic meet-ups between Osric and Aurienne as they work to combat his seith rot. However, I felt the narrative could have benefited from more scenes in between these encounters to further develop them as individual characters. While the book captures the tension and chemistry between the leads, I wished for more exploration of their personal journeys beyond their shared mission—sprinkling character backstory into the last 15% didn’t quite suffice.

I’m also conflicted about the ending. They kissed, and suddenly they’re in love? It feels like I missed a few chapters that should have explored their deepening connection. For example, the author mentions they stayed up all night talking, but I would have loved to actually read those conversations to better understand their relationship.

Additionally, the dialogue and word choices were occasionally jarring. The author alternates between overly sophisticated phrasing/issults and casual slang, which sometimes pulled me out of the story. The dialogue and banter often came across as cringy, and much of the humor in the book didn’t quite resonate with me.

Despite these critiques, the novel offers an intriguing premise and a unique take on the enemies-to-lovers trope. However, in my opinion, it could have benefited from a bit more polishing. In the end, while I can appreciate the enemies-to-lovers dynamic and the puzzle-solving mystery, this one just didn’t work for me.

This book offers an irresistible blend of tension, intrigue, and romance set against a rich fantasy backdrop. The healing and assassinating worlds collide in a way that is both thrilling and heart-wrenching. With every page, the push and pull between Osric and Aurienne keeps you hooked, making you root for their inevitable romance while also holding your breath to see how their dangerous loyalties will ultimately shape their fate. I can’t wait for the next instalment already.

Full disclosure: I am MASSIVELY biased, given that I was a fan of the original fic that led to Knightley's discovery.

That being said, it's not MUCH of a bias; I dare anybody to read her prose and not be delighted. Exquisite banter, delicious pining, this book has something for everybody. I'm also completely fascinated by the world she's created in a way I haven't felt in some time... I'm impossibly impatient for the next installment already!!

Listen, I loved many fanfictions turned tradition publishing; I read and loved The Love Hypothesis so much, I basically started a fan club at my store for it. I love and read fanfiction all the time. And I love seeing so many well loved stories get a new shine.

HOWEVER, I do expect some fine tuning with characters, stories and writing... in my personal opinion, there was not enough of that done here. I knew right away this was fanfiction and not in a good way. The ridiculousness of the writing was hard to deal with and then we had other items that lucked luster; The dialogue felt cringey, the banter was not it and the information dumping was a bit much in the first chapter. The fact that both of these characters gave an air that we should love them right away, rubbed me wrong and I did not enjoy this book.
On the (only) positive side: the magically sickness plot actually interested me. The fact that this was a r0mance but I truly wish it had been a fantasy/science focused on the cure to a magical disease is sad.

I know many people love or will love this but this was NOT for me!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was a knock out of a debut! I absolutely adored Brigette's DMATMOOFIL and I just knew I would love her completely ORIGINAL work. While the characters feel very Draco and Hermione coded they are also so very different from those characters. I love that Brigette is explicit that these characters are queer and Aurienne is a woman of color. The fantastical medical mystery was so intriguing and the magic system was so new and fresh-- I really have never read another like it. I cannot wait for the next installment. Bravo Brigette!