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!