Brigitte Knightly delivers a captivating blend of humor, tension, and slow-burn romance in The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy. This romantasy adventure follows Ostric, a sharp-witted assassin, and Aurienne, a principled healer, as their uneasy alliance forces them into a tangled web of secrets, magic, and undeniable chemistry.

The worldbuilding takes a moment to settle into, but once the stakes become clear—the search for a cure, the hidden dangers of magic, and the long-standing rivalry between their factions—the story becomes impossible to put down. Knightly’s dialogue sparkles with wit, and the push-and-pull dynamic between Ostric and Aurienne makes for an irresistibly fun and tension-filled journey.

Fans of enemies-to-lovers stories will appreciate the slow burn, the moments of reluctant trust, and the way their relationship evolves against a backdrop of high stakes and intrigue. Knightly’s fresh voice makes this a standout in the romantasy genre, and I, for one, can’t wait for the second book in the duology.

i am simply not okay

thank you berkley for the arc #berkleypartner

This was FANTASTIC omg. I simply do not have words to describe how good this was. I will admit and say the beginning is very slow and it took me a LONG time to get hooked. This book thrusts you in the middle of their world without any preamble and it's like I was reading a foreign language. But because it thrusts you right into the action—with such ridiculousness—you can't help but be sucked in. This is a fantasy book first. The romance is definitely 5% of the book. While I was expecting more, I am not disappointed at all because the tension between the two was so palpable that I didn't even need more tbh. And by the end... Well. Y'all will see !!!!!

The cast of characters in this book are truly hilarious. They all have senses of humor that are just so ridiculous but I was obsessed with it. Osric is not a good hero but he is so hard to hate because he has the dryest, darkest, self-depricating yet arrogant sense of humor that I personally love. Aurienne is equally as dry and funny and their personalities—while they claim being "opposites"—are so similar that they just work. They clash at every turn but it's like the same poles of a magnet repelling despite them finding frequent commonalities (and wishing they weren't). like hello this is the best recipe ever for my favorite kind of book!!!!!

The whole reason for Osric and Aurienne cross paths is so Aurienne can heal Osric of his degenerative seith rot. This, of course, is irreversible and incurable, but they try anyway. The several adventures (and miadventures) that they go through for each other was addicting!!! Both Osric and Aurienne are from opposing dichotomies of the Order. Osric is a Fyren, Aurienne a Haelen. One kills and the other heals. Yet over the course of the novel, both of their personalities begin to rub off on the other in the best way. It was done so gradually that you barely even noticed when they started working together and not against the other. And I just really loved how Aurienne would not deal with Osric's arrogance. She is by far one of my favorite fmc's. "She could do a kegel and snap your cock off" is by far the craziest way to describe her but also yes it's true. And I know we all love a villain mmc who hates everybody but her... The gradual way he would start to call her "his" haelen had me squealing like a pig.

Osric is dying; this is not a spoiler, it's why he goes to Aurienne in the first place. I loved how even though he was supposed to be the "bad guy", he is humanized so much throughout their interactions. The glimmers of hope that he gets when they try something new to hopefully reverse his condition just made my heart hurt for him so badly. I loved the moral dilemma that healing him brought Aurienne. It made for such an interesting dynamic, a constant tug and pull!

I loved the magic system. I loved the deofol's, the language, the Orders, etc. Each character had their own deofol and they embodied the character's personality perfectly. They, too, were a funny cast of characters. The writing in this book was superb but not over the top. It was glittery when it needed to be and succinct in appropriate areas. It was so well written. The pacing was absolutely PERFECT. The way it ended (I sob) leaves so much for the next book to answer. And the way it ended... UGH. It's not even a cliffhanger. It's the PERFECT ending.

they are so perfect i love them so much!!! I NEED BOOK TWO RIGHT NOWWWW

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for providing a DRC of this title.

Its fan fiction roots are definitely still visible— and I personally could have used a bit more plot to give structure to the narrative— but I think lovers of the Dramione ship and slow burns will love this inventive romantasy. For sure feels like it could be a next big thing. Will be interested to see where Knightley goes next with this story!

I really enjoyed this. I think it kept with the spirit of the original story but was able to pivot into something else. I wish that there had been a little more development into the world. I was really confused about where they were and what time period it was. I think a little more establishment of how the world worked would have been really helpful. Overall though, it was a wonderful read and I will be purchasing and recommending.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this arc! This is first off a slow-burn fantasy romance, like didn’t even realize they liked each other until the last chapters, haven’t even admitted they like each other when the book ended. That’s how u love my fantasy romance series though, I want that pining, the banter which I’m so hoping for in the next book. This book has a lot of world building but it’s not complex, it’s easy to navigate. This was really good, highly recommend everyone check this out once published.

Knightley is a bright new voice in the romantasy space. Her language is whimsical and clever and her characters feel fresh, and very, very funny. Irresistible Urge draws a lot of attention from the authors history with a certain fandom, but this story is new and exciting and will leave new and old readers wanting more.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a hilarious enemies-to-lovers romp about two dastardly assassin and plays-by-the-rules healer who come together to try and cure an incurable disease. Their adventures in discovering the clue lead to a myriad of...compromising positions, and ultimately point them to an undeniable truth: something much stronger than hatred is brewing between them.

TikTok you lied to me again. All of these early 5 star reviewers here and on TikTok I swear y’all are the biggest fibbers. First off, I was pitched as this for the girlies that wish Draco & Hermione ended up together. I don’t know about y’all but Osric & Aurienne have nothing in common with Draco & Hermione, period. Don’t y’all come at me either. But oh Lexie, Osric has a tragic past and douche father like Draco. And oh Lexie, Aurienne is so smart and has a high moral compass like Hermione. No no no. Do you know how many other Romantasy characters have that same personality trope. Literally freaking all of them. Are Osric & Aurienne enjoyable to read yes, are they anything special no.

Also while I’m on my rant rampage. Why is this book not a standalone?!?! I heard this was originally fanfic that got reworked and acquired by a publisher. But this does not need to be a doulogy. So much of book one could’ve been cut out. The main characters went through the same argument multiple times and they both wasted so much time running in circles looking for information that got them nowhere. The only redeeming thing about this entire book was the banter and slow burn nature of their romance. But even that to me wasn’t enough to redeem it because I wanted to DNF so many times.

My final verdict: Would I recommend? Will I continue the series? To the first part even though I went on a review rampage weirdly enough I’d still recommend. However, I wouldn’t recommend to everyone. I think the diehard enemies to lovers girlies will eat this up. I also think the slow burn girlies will also eat this up. If you don’t fall in either of those categories choose a different book. Lastly, will I continue the series? I honestly No. I have way too many other books to read and I don’t think I can be forced to watch Osric & Aurienne do the same thing for another 400 page book.

Lastly Big Thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for an ARC! These thoughts and feelings are my own.

I was intrigued by this quirky and snarky, enemies to lovers, slow burn fantasy. It has an assassin versus a healer and I lost myself in their world of intrigue and magic. Some of the world building in the beginning took some time for me to understand, but once I figured out what was going on, it was addicting and I couldn’t put the book down.

Ostric from the Fyren Order of Assassins has a problem. He needs help from Aurienne, a healer, who is a member of his enemy’s order, the Haelens. He has a seith (magic) degenerative disease and his magic abilities are weakening. He goes to see Aurienne in secret to beg for her help. Aurienne desperately needs funding for research to find a cure for a terrible pox that is making their children very sick. Ostric agrees to fund her research if she will help cure him of his disease.

In the beginning of the book, we see Ostric’s life as an assassin and it is pretty morbid. He is involved in espionage and intelligence gathering and thinks there could be an enemy behind the Haelens Pox. He and Aurienne investigate rumors and threats together and begin to learn more about each other.

When Ostric is injured fighting an enemy headed for Aurienne’s stronghold, she takes him to her parent’s home to recover. They are smitten with each other and I loved the scene when they dance together.

Brigitte Knightly has a unique voice and I think we will be seeing good things from her in the future. I can’t wait for book 2 of this duology. This book was addictive and truly irresistible! My grade is 4 and 1/2 stars. My full review will be at All About Romance closer to the release date.

“Suddenly the eye was not satisfied with seeing; suddenly the mouth wished to taste” 
I’d  like to thank NetGalley and Berkley for the opportunity to read an ARC of the irresistible urge to fall for your enemy! 
I was THRILLED when I got the notification of approval. I know that so many people were itching to get their hands on it. But, I unfortunately really struggled to connect with this one. 
The book has a great concept with the magic system and familiars but lacked an exciting plot to keep me truly interested. I found myself oftentimes drifting away to do other things. 
If you’re looking for true enemies to lovers with low stakes and banter then I suggest picking this one up! However, I really wish that there as more to this one. There isn’t even a spark of romance until 68% in and even then it’s more of a one sided edging. 
I would absolutely not recommend this one but I think you have to be in a very specific mood to enjoy it. And unfortunately, it just wasn’t the right one for me. 
Tropes:  enemies to lovers  healer x assassin for hire  banter  unique magic system  low stake fantasy 
Thank you again to NetGalley and Berkeley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ok, let me start by saying I wanted to love this. But was left feeling very meh. I am newer to the Dramione fan fic world, but have heard a lot of great things about Draco Malfoy and the mortifying ordeal of falling in love.

You can definitely tell this book follows the Dramione vibe - morally grey confident MMC? Check. Intelligent, cunning and sharp healer FMC? Check again. In this universe, they are Aurienne and Osric. Standing on opposites sides of right and wrong, their worlds only collide when Osric needs a healer to save his life. Thus ensues the enemies to lovers trope and all the witty banter.

The issue I take is with lack of depth in the characters - I didn't feel you got much development into either, so it's hard to connect to them and root for them. My bigger issue is with writing - using over complicated vocabulary that constantly makes you stop and have to look up words is frustrating. I think some authors think it conveys intelligence and maturity in writing, but sometimes it reads more like a swap out of words found in a thesaurus.
Following are examples of words used (and not just once) : jejune, daguerreotype, gnu, adamantine, obeisance, repudiation, quixotic, obsequious, opine and etc

OK SO this book was amazing!!! I am probably one of the few people who hasn’t read the original dramione fan fic. These characters didn’t feel like a rewritten Draco and Hermine at all!

The main characters were entirely their own and made so much sense together. As someone who loves banter in a book I found myself laughing out loud during their conversations. Oscric stole my heart with how much he cared for Aurienne (and his dog rescue). Aurienne was so quick witted and I fell in love with her dry humor.

I also loved the medical terminology in this book, as someone who was never interested in the medical field I learned so much! 🫢

I would recommend this book to fans of slow burn romances and quick witted main characters. Beyond excited for book two! I truly didn’t want this book to end 🥰

This book was incredible, containing everything you could possibly want in a fantasy and a romance. It is filled with adventure and yearning, set in a well-developed and interesting world with fully realized characters that you genuinely root for. The mystery in the plot and the character development pulls you in and takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions— laughter, frustration, intrigue, tears, and swooning. It features the staples of many beloved stories but presents them with a unique voice and spin. I cannot recommend this book enough and can't wait to have a copy on my shelf at home and in the library to suggest to all my patrons. I am already highly anticipating book two!!

*Spoiler ahead*—the cliffhanger at the end truly shook me to my core, and I am deeply, deeply unwell. Again, it's an absolutely fantastic book, but also, who should I send my therapy bill to?

I loved this book so much! The chemistry between the two took a little while to get going, but I loved the banter! The world building took me a second to figure out, but I can't wait to find out more.aboht the rest of the kingdoms!

Loved this book. Really interesting new world, complex characters & hilarious dialogue.
I can’t wait for the next book in the series, but thank you for introducing me to a new author. I can’t wait to devour her other books.

The amount of times I laughed out loud while reading The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is multitudinous. I truly love Bridgette Knightley’s writing style. For one my vocabulary vastly increased. I was honestly looking up words in the dictionary every chapter. I think my favorite word in this novel was obstreperous.

In addition to her increasing my lexicon, Knightley is also able to write the most natural hilarious banter between her characters. The back and forth between our two main characters, Aurienne & Osric, is so well written. Osric is an unapologetic assassin and the details of his job are increasingly grim & Aurienne is a brilliant, rule following healer who hates everything Osric stands for. You can truly feel their hatred towards each other.

Lately a lot of books are pushing an enemy to lovers angle with just a few chapters of mild dislike and then a sudden case of insta-love. This fortunately is not the case in this novel. The yearning was perfectly executed and I am already anxiously awaiting the sequel.

DMATMOOBIL fans will not be disappointed with this book. While this is not a direct retelling it certainly has all the marks of what made the Dramoine fic so endearing to the fandom. There are of course a few fun references that are woven into the story that brought a smile to my face.

ARC provided by Netgalley & Berkley Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

This book was everything I needed and wanted. The humor? Perfection. The writing? Stunning. Brigitte Knightley has this way of weaving words together that makes every sentence feel like pure magic. I laughed, I gasped, I fell completely in love with this story.

If you loved Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love, you’re going to eat this up. It has all the Dramione themes we know and love (see: tension, banter, longing) but it also stands completely on its own. The adventure, the stakes, the journey, it’s just all so well done.

And we need to talk about Osric because I swear he walked straight out of the pages and took over my heart. He stole every scene he was in, and if I don’t get more of him in the NEAR future, I will simply perish.

This book was an experience, and I already want to read it all over again. I can’t wait until everyone gets their hands on this because it was simply the best. And also WHEN IS BOOK 2 BRIGITTE??

I really enjoyed this book! The plot kept me hooked, and there’s so much more going on in the background than just the relationships between the characters.

What I loved most was the banter – it was hilarious. The enemies-to-lovers dynamic was perfectly done, they really hate each other in the beginning.

Also, can we talk about Osric? He looks incredibly hot on the cover, and I couldn’t stop picturing him! Lonesome, murderous mmc who has a soft spot for fmc (and he doesn’t like it).

Aurienne is the perfect FMC for enemies-to-lovers plot line —witty, smart, sharp, their dialogues were so fun to read.

The tropes:

•he fell first,
•sloooow burn,
•political intrigue,
•enemies to lovers,
•banter,
•awesome magic system.

I definitely need the second book now!

Writing style: impeccable. Characters: fully fleshed out and perfectly imperfect. Their chemistry: leaps off the PAGE. A perfect enemies-to-lovers romance with its own individual magic system. 10/10. If you loved Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries, this book is for you! Remind me…when does the second book come out??

Absolutely love loved this book!
Gave me all the dramione vibes and I am here for it !!
This debut as exceeded my expectations and more and I’m truly grateful that I had the opportunity to read it early♥️

Thank you for the chance to read this book early! I didn't know anything about the author's prior fanfiction work and how popular she was. I just saw this and thought it sounded fun! And it was! It was a really fast read and I loved the tension and chemistry between the leads. There was humor (body humor and sexual humor) sprinkled in. If the characters didn't have such strong chemistry, I think some parts could have read slow, but the writing style and characters kept the pacing fast and even, but they really never did. I was interested in the world, the different orders and of course most interested in if the cure would work. The last quarter of the book flew by and when I reached the end, I couldn't believe it was over. I thought I'd have at least a couple chapters left. I WANTED to have a couple chapters left. I will eagerly be anticipating the next book