Hilarious banter between the two main characters, comedic writing overall, loved the world building and am so excited for book two!

First and foremost the banter in this book was just perfection, this wasn’t everything like I thought it was going to be in the best possible way. The MC’s are polar opposites for good reason. Your standard type A and the bad boy with a semitrailer load of trauma.

The plot and the world building was just chefs kiss, my only gripe is I have to wait for the next book in the Dearly Abel other series. I’ve never read HP, so the fanfic was wasted on me. In saying that I’ve you’ve never been on that train you’ll still thoroughly enjoy this novel, the hype is real!

“I’m perfectly hinged,” said Mordaunt. “You, on the other hand, have got the survival instincts of a crumpet.”

In a lush fantasy world where science clashes with shadows, renowned healer and scholar Aurienne Fairhrim finds herself making an impossible bargain. Osric Mordaunt, a refined assassin from the rival Fyren Order, is gravely ill and only Aurienne’s expertise can save him. She wants nothing to do with the morally grey man responsible for bloodshed in the name of balance. But when he offers enough gold to fund her life saving research, she reluctantly agrees to treat him.

Forced into close quarters, Aurienne and Osric begin a reluctant partnership to cure his affliction and investigate the disturbing resurgence of a long-banished pox. Sparks fly, tempers flare, and their undeniable chemistry simmers beneath sharp words and stolen glances. As they navigate treacherous politics, scientific puzzles, and the weight of their pasts, denial gives way to desire and maybe something far more dangerous.

With rich worldbuilding and delicious slow-burn tension, this romantasy is perfect for fans of enemies to lovers, intellectual stand-offs, and emotional gut punches wrapped in elegant prose.

Firstly I want to thank the publisher for sending me an eARC of this book to review early.

Unfortunately, the book was not for me. I did try to give it a go however, this book was not the type of book I had initially thought it would be when I requested it.

There is nothing wrong with the writing, the author has a great craft. I am just not a Dramione fan and this book felt very similar to a book following that style and loose plot. It was very disappointing because I had been so excited for this one. As I request more books I am learning each time what books I tend to navigate towards more and this time I had made the error of choosing something that was unfortunately not my reading preference.

Again, I am so grateful for the opportunity and know that there is a huge fan base for this kind of story/plot and I am sure when it finds its readers it’s going to be a great success! Thank you, again.

I will not be reviewing on my instagram at this time as I do not want to hinder the book reaching those who will love it. I will however upload my Goodreads review in two weeks once release has settled and is truly finished.

The Irresistible Urge To Fall For Your Enemy
Brigitte Knightley

“I'm just going to die? What can I do?"
"Put your affairs in order," said Aurienne.
"Your bedside manner could use some work."

Oh boy, this wasn’t at all enjoyable for me. I found this a very confused storyline with little groundwork given to aid in context. The world building and magic system weren’t clearly explained, just numerous mentions of sicknesses.

"You're far more polite when you need something," said Aurienne.
"I know," said the deofol with more tooth-baring. "I'm manipulative like that."

I knew it was supposed to be Dramione coded plotline but even that, I didn’t really see. They are enemies to lovers and Aurienne is a good girl healer with morals and Osric is an assassin who’s broody. They are enemies in opposing orders, but that world building felt lacking in that we only learnt about those orders and just vague reference that there’s around 8 additional orders. That was as much as I can compare Dramione wise.

‘Aurienne, sick with convulsions of guilt, wished she could be as lackadaisical, but no - she was highly daisical.’

The banter and jokes weren’t good. The ongoing onion jokes weren’t funny and then it progresses to even more obscure and niche jokes like torn nipples. I don’t know. Finding a kitten was a highlight. But this whole book was a struggle to read for me.

‘The Haelan maxim was Harm to none, but private fantasies couldn't be policed, and Aurienne indulged in one involving the Fyren slipping and drowning, and thus putting an end to both of their miseries.
He was regrettably surefooted.’

This is released July 8th. Thank you Hachette for the arc.

"It's very vague. I'd rather tell you when I've got something tangible."

(Review posted on my Goodreads 7th July)

I was really looking forward to reading The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy but I put it in the DNF pile at 41%.

I found the writing style took me a little bit to get used to initially but as I continued to read I was getting very confused with terms and unable to stay focused on the story. I felt there was a lot of dialogue back and forth and not as much world building as I was expecting. This book is one that I may come back to in the future, but for now it wasn’t for me.

Thank you to Hachette Australia and The Bookish Type for gifting me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I had the absolute best time reading this! This book had me smiling, laughing and giggling like a madman -no book has ever made me react out loud in public like this one.

Aurienne Fairhrim is a Haelan (healer) and Osric Mordaunt a Fyren (assassin-for-hire). Their respective orders do not get along and never interact with each other. However, Osric becomes injured and when the only person who has a shot at healing him is Aurienne... blackmail, threats, insults, murder and shenanigans ensue.

Osric is such an amusingly arrogant, self-absorbed character, living a conscience-free life as a murderer, whereas Aurienne is an intelligent, determined healer with a ‘harm-to-none' motto and a dry sense of humour. They are truly enemies and have real reasons why they loathe each other; I really appreciated that this book was not the usual trope of ‘they are enemies but are lusting after each other by chapter 5’. Aurienne and Osric clearly have nothing in common but as the story continues, their relationship grows into a reluctant partnership and forced tolerance. Their slow burn was truly a SLOW BURN. Neither of them even thought of the other as a possible love interest until the very end, and their hilarious dynamic was just so perfect.

It deserves to be said that their banter was some of the best and funniest I have ever read;, both Aurienne and Osric were mercilessly and unapologetically insulting each other in the most creative ways imaginable. It was truly the most entertaining aspect of this book and I hope the author had as much fun writing these witty quips as I had reading them!

It is very much a low-stakes cosy plot and felt more like a romantasy blended with a rom-com in the best way. There was no big evil villain to defeat, just the journey of Aurienne trying to heal Osric and figure out a cure for ailing children, whilst also coming up with razor-like insults. This was honestly so light and refreshing, and it seems like the plot will amp up in book 2.

The perfect book for a light-hearted, hilarious and fun read with some of the most entertaining characters you will ever meet.

I didn't want to put this book down! It's absolutely hilarious whilst still being incredibly clever and witty. The world building is fantastic. The slow burn and banter between Osric and Aurienne is next level. I found myself giggling out loud at some of the lines in this book. I loved how even the side characters have entire personalities displayed.

My one disappointment is not knowing this was a duology and now having to wait for book two to find out what's going to happen next!

The backstory is quite complicated and hard to get used to but once you understand it’s pretty enjoyable. Wouldn’t recommend for people who don’t like deep world building.

The Irresistable Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was a really fun read! The dynamic between Osric and Aurienne was very entertaining, it was romantasy but not in the typical way. The plot, magic, polotics and world building was all cleverly developed, and I enjoyed the playful writing and witty banter. I genuinley laughed out loud in moments. Can't wait to read book 2!

Thank you for this arc, it was an interesting read, it took a lot for me to understand the world and what was being built.

A true romantasy novel with hints of adventure, politics, and undeniable tension, this hilarious read follows a desperate assassin who bribes a highly esteemed healer from an opposing Order to attempt to heal his otherwise incurable predicament. The world building was unique and I was super entranced with the plot and the playful writing. I ADORED the witty banter and sharp insults that Osric and Aurienne threw at each other. They both had so much personality and I couldn’t keep it together whenever he attempted to charm her and undoubtedly failed. I loved how this duo progressed as the story unfolded. The writing truly was exquisite - not only was it entertaining, Knightley was able to blur the lines between a reluctant partnership to something unspoken beautifully and I didn’t want it to end.

“𝙃𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙩.”

This book was originally a Dramione fanfic (Draco Malfoy and the Mortifying Ordeal of Being In Love) and was rewritten beautifully! It wasn’t very similar to the fanfic and was definitely transformed into a world of its own. However I loved how Osric and Aurienne still very much reminded me of Draco and Hermione with their dynamic. The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy will seriously have you laughing and kicking your feet! This was probably the most fun I’ve had reading a book…

Tropes 🦢⚔️💞:
- enemies (opposing orders) to lovers
- the slowest of slow burns
- he falls first
- assassin x healer

This is such a wild blend of dirty jokes and intelligent, sophisticated wordplay. Expect Pratchett-esque multi-level puns, off-kilter toilet humour that somehow manages to feel cosy and uniquely British, and moments of knife-to-the-heart, transcendental romance. Every single line has been crafted to perfection—the cleverness of the prose is worthy of repeat reads. The worldbuilding is light but decisive and I never felt lost or like I was reading something that was missing a backdrop.

I confess, I have not read any Dramione fanfic, but I am deeply grateful for its existence since it has given us this author!

I would read anything Brigitte Knightley writes, and I mean anything—a manual on how to operate a coffee machine, a recipe for chicken soup, dot points on a meeting about stationery supplies…
Book 2 cannot come soon enough!

Thanks to Hachette Australia & New Zealand and NetGalley for the ARC!

Edit: I also love a Bi 4 Bi pairing and this has that!

In a surprise to absolutely nobody who knows me, this book has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year. We, the dramione stans, have been waiting with baited breath since the day Brigitte Knightley announced her publishing deal.

Now, let me lay one of the pervasive misconceptions about this novel to rest. Is this a pull-to-publish of fanfiction? No. These are unique characters who stand on their own merits with utterly convincing strength. They inhabit a world Knightley has built with a great deal of thought and authenticity. This is, in summary, something delightfully new.

Osric is an ailing assassin with the kind of flouncy, self-absorbtion of Howl Pendragon coupled with an incredibly delicious competency for killing things. Aurienne is a haelen (healer) with little patience for flouncing and so much boss bitch energy that she intimidated me from several universes away.

When Osric finagles his way into becoming a patient of Aurienne's by nafarious means, she finagles (steamrolls) him right back into becoming a useful tool in her struggle against a suspiciously tricky disease decimating the young and poor.

As you might imagine, this makes for one of the most juicy enemies-to-lovers narratives I have ever read.

Alongside all of Irresistible Urge's strengths as a debut original novel, we are still treated to the same wit and humour that fans of Knightley's writing will be familiar with. The entire work was peppered with feet kickingly, snort laughingly hilarious moments, as well as the banteryist banter that ever did bant.

I fully embraced the two prissy, eminently lovable and intimidatingly competent blorbs that she has crafted in the form of Aurienne and Osric. Their chemistry is undeniable and masterfully written.

They inhabit a world that is compellingly realised, an amazingly engaging intersection between magic and science that never seems anachronistic and is only bizarre in the most deliberate and very best way.

I will be thinking about this book on my deathbed and I hope to be entombed with the multiple copies I have headed to me like some sort of derranged bibliophillic pharoah.

You should probably read this book *shrugs like she’s normal about it*

I have been so highly anticipating this book and I have so much to say about it. I want to start by saying that this book absolutely delivered on what I was expecting - mildly spicy entertainment. If you’re looking for a romantasy that’s a guaranteed enjoyable read that will have you super engaged and laughing out loud, look no further. I’d describe this not as a light read, but as something that you don’t need to think too much about and can really sink your teeth into (think premium escapism material.)

However, while I really enjoyed this book, there were a couple of things that stood out to me that I want to mention to you guys as potential readers. As I don’t have a large appetite for high fantasy this doesn’t bother me personally, but I did notice that Knightley leans very heavily on a glossary for her world building and I do think that the book would have benefited if some of this was done organically. Aditionally, this book is a super slow-burn, which isn’t an issue for me, but I do feel that the pacing was a little off, as feelings seem to develop a little randomly towards only the last 10%.

Despite these issues, I had to rate this one highly because I just really enjoyed it. I find it rare these days to find a book that I don’t want to put down and this is one of them. I’m looking forward to some more character and relationship development in the next book, as I feel that it’ll really make or break the duology as a whole.

Personally, I enjoyed Knightley’s witty and honestly a little unusal writing style, but I have heard a few people voice that they dislike it. I always love a fresh voice and style, and I can confidently say that I’ve never read something written quite like this book. In a world of oversaturated romantasies and romantic fantasies, I would recommend this book. Make sure to check TWs before reading. 4/5

Review   (Spoiler free)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5  
  
I going to preface this and say I’m biased, if you want a non biased review you’ll have to look elsewhere, I’m sorry I couldn’t put my critical hat on for this one. While this is not the Dramione fic we all know and love, it did read like a Dramione fic for someone who regularly reads them (not mad about it). Osric and Aurienne were insanely Dramione coded and I was here for it (remember that aforementioned bias). The work is beautifully written, it’s lyrical and while there is a bit of medical jargon, it doesn’t take away from cleverly crafted character driven storyline. It’s marketed as an enemies to lovers romantasy, and while I knew the entire time I was reading a romance it didn’t read like a typical romantasy. The romance wasn’t shoved down your throat, it was subtle and picked up towards the end, with the healing of Osric and other aspects of the plot being the focus.   
The banter is what will draw you in, the chemistry and retorts between our two leads is clever, sassy but sweet at the same time.   
I think in terms of the plot, world building, and magic system, it was well developed, though once again am I wearing rose coloured glasses? Take that as you will.

I tore through this book faster than a goblin hoarding Galleons at Gringotts.

The character banter? Absolute top-tier sass, I was cackling like a sleep deprived gremlin surviving on espresso shots and bad decisions. Their internal monologues were hilarious. It’s like their brains were hosting rival comedy specials while simultaneously plotting each other's downfall. Iconic.

Now, let’s talk about Osric. That man is unhinged in the most entertaining way. He’s not morally grey, he doesn’t have time for that nonsense. He fully acknowledges the evil, gives it a high five, and moves on. But he wouldn’t hurt a single fluffy creature, so in my books, his soul is pure and possibly scented like Irish coffee.

The only downside? It’s a duology. Which is great… until you realise you’ve already finished book one and now you're stuck waiting like an abandoned puppy for book 2. I needed the sequel by yesterday!!!

YES! YESSSSSSS!
I ate this up, absolutely brilliant I am OBSESSED. I will be talking about this book for the foreseeable future and will be absolutely insufferable.
Aurienne and Osric are fantastic characters to follow, I love that this is a genuine true slow burn. Caught off guard by the fact that this book is unexpectedly FUNNY - like genuinely giggled. (Osric and his opinion of himself get me every time).
Thank you Hachette for early access. My heart is already racing thinking about the next one.

4 Stars

The thing that I enjoyed the most with this book was the witty, funny and very thoughtful way it was written. It wasn’t a passive read, it required me to be fully engaged the whole way.

That in mind, at sometimes it was tough - at times the plot seemed to lull, it felt quite repetitive through the middle, but came back around in the end. I had no idea where the story was going and I wasn’t expecting how much of a slow burn it actually was - though the clues were all there woven throughout.

I never read the fanfiction that this originated as, and if I didn’t know it was Dramione I’m not sure that I’d have necessarily realised (outside of Osric and Aurienne’s physical appearances). Having known though I can see the hints of the story’s origin here despite how well a job the author and publisher have in filing the serial numbers off. This feels like a comfort read and a brand new world at the same time.

I really loved the historical revision in that Normandy, particularly William, had never conquered and that the former kingdoms of England had remained divided all this time. I haven’t read a story that approached that idea before and I was excited by the prospect. I’m even more interested to see where it goes into the next book.

Being a whole new world, there were some things I found I didn’t quite understand throughout. I admit that I skipped over the glossary at the beginning (which would have helped) and as I was reading digitally I wasn’t able to refer back to it whilst I was reading (at least not easily). I hope that the glossary becomes available online or suggest maybe it’s an easier read ‘the old fashioned way’ - but it didn’t really bother me all that much or take away from my experience. Some things I could pick up with the context clues or get the gist of enough to make my own sense of it.

The romance was delicious and quite possibly the slowest burn I’ve read for a long time. There was zero spice here and the enemies portion of the enemies to lovers lasted well throughout. I think that really works here though - the vicious banter and clever snarking was so much fun that I almost never wanted it to end. I do think the actual romance could have been a little more pronounced though as it was often so subtle I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of people missed it (given that reading is not a visual medium and that we aren’t technically getting the full internal monologue of either character). Dramione fans, and other enemies to lovers fans, will still find plenty to feast on here though and when the first real moves come they are delicious.

Though there were times that I struggled, with the slowness or the world building or the intellectualism of the writing (which doesn’t make for quick read), I did really enjoy this and am eager for the second part of the duology.

*special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the eARC - this is my honest review*

I am incredibly conflicted by this book.
There were elements I enjoyed, but I think the writing style just wasn't for me and it was seriously lacking depth in both the characters and world building.

It's a very slow story; I wasn't really that interested in the plot until around 75% in. It definitely picked up, and my issues with the writing decreased as it progressed. I felt the writing was of a younger style(?) but the author would randomly include long words I have never heard of before. There were times when instead of writing out the characters conversation as it happened, she would just write what had been said. As in, 'Osric said blah, so Aurienne said blah'. I prefer to read the conversation actually happening.

I haven't seen a book use as many brackets as this one either (honestly, so many brackets). It felt excessively wordy at times too.

The romance was the slowest burn I've seen. And sadly not the good kind. I feel absolutely nothing for these characters, and so their romance fell flat. I think it had real potential but was poorly executed.

There is also very minimal world building. Literally none. You get a bit of a summary at the start which explains the basics of the magic system, the different orders. But besides that, its really not explored much. I understand there's different kingdoms and orders and thats pretty much it.

As I said before, the storyline really picks up in the last quarter. There was a good reveal at the end, but I feel it could have ended a bit better. I may pick up the 2nd book to find out what happens, but would also settle for a basic recap from someone else too.

Thank you to NetGalley for the early copy of this book.

Warning: don't read this book with a full bladder. You will pee yourself laughing.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is the kind of book you don't read in public because how do you tell someone you’re laughing at the most ludicrous sort of humor all while being absolutely enchanted by the main character's banter and wit. I really don't have much to say on this book other than you need to add it to your tbr because between all the seriousness of the universe it is important to laugh.

It is refreshing to read a romantasy where you struggle to expect how one would go from enemy to lovers as they generally, to begin with, would gladly escort each other to the guillotine. By the end of this book, I was not only swooning but immensely satisfied with the lack of cliques you find in a typical romatasy novel.

Again, I really am at lost for words in this book. 10/10.