❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥Oh my bloody GOODNESS THIS BOOK !!!!!❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

I can confidently say that ‘The Irresistible Urge To Fall For My Enemy’ has been one of my favourite reads of 2025 so far - the banter ?! Brigitte’s writing style?! It truly is the epitome of a slowburn-witty-enemies-to-(somewhat 👀 )lovers. Absolute chefs kiss.

I 👏🏻 COULD 👏🏻 NOT 👏🏻 PUT 👏🏻 IT 👏🏻 DOWN 👏🏻 like genuine laugh-out-loud moments and I NEED TO DEBRIEF WITH SOMEONE BECAUSE HONESTLY THIS BOOK HAS ME IN ALL THE FEEEEEEELS AND GIDDINESS AND JUST 🤯 !!!

Themes covered in this book;
🥼 Smart, badass, self-assured FMC Aurienne who is a Haelen (Order of healer-scholars)
⚔️ Witty, literally-an-assassin, self-assured MMC Osric, who is a Fyren (Order of Assassins and also may happen to be Good Looking)
🥼 Different Orders
⚔️ SLOW BURNNNNN DONE BEAUTIFULLY (we are talking high interaction AND slow burn - 10/10 execution - take the assassin puns as you will 😉 )
🥼 Laugh-out-loud-and-maybe-even-some-snorting moments
⚔️ Enemies-to-lovers but like we are talking proper enemies 👀🫶🏻

I am anticipating the release of book 2 as though my life depends on it. THANK YOU so much to the team at Hachette Australia & New Zealand for access to an ARC of this absolute GEM and Brigitte - wowee I cannot WAIT for the book community to experience ‘The Irresistible Urge To Fall For Your Enemy’ - I know they will fall in love just as obsessively as I have 🥹🥹🥹

Thank you to Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the eARC.

Dramione girlies we are being treated this year. First things first, this is not a rewrite of Draco Malfoy and the Absolute Mortifying Ordeal of Being in Love. It’s a whole new story with a fresh plot and different character personalities, and it absolutely delivers.

The slow burn is so slow, Mariana Zapata levels of drawn-out tension, but it makes every moment worth it. The banter is snarky, sharp, and actually funny, mixing intellectual humour with just the right amount of vulgar wit. It also gives major STEM romance energy, like Ali Hazelwood but with fantasy elements.

The worldbuilding is solid, with a unique magic system, a map, and a glossary (which I honestly immediately forgot). The writing is complex, so it took me a while to get through, but it’s so well done. Plus, it’s part of a duology, which means more.
And the cover? Incredibly obsessed.

Thank you to the publisher/ netgalley for the ARC!!! <3

A thoroughly solid 3 stars!! BUT LIKE HOLY WOW THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERFECT COVER ART I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFEEEEEEE?????????? Damn okay. They did that.

Wow okay wow. This was... SO different to what I was expecting... but that is not necessarily a bad thing at all!!

Firstly; I did not realise this was going to be a series at ALL!!! I feel cheated!! I thought I was going to have a perfect little standalone with no LOOSE ENDS!!!! but what a phenomenal and perfectly fitting series name.

Secondly; some of the best writing, technical-wise, that I've read in ages. I consider myself to be someone with a very decent vocab, but there were so many fun words that I didn't know (especially in the first third) that I didn't even bother looking them all up. The writing was SHARP!!! So sharp!!!! Very very witty, very very clever, very very well done.

Thirdly; NOW THAT!!! IS A SLOW BURN!!!!!!! none of this 'advertised-as-slow-burn-enemies-to-lovers-and-then-they-have-sex-by-page-200' crap. Phenomenal pacing from a slow burn perspective.

Overall, this reminded me of a more... scholarly (?) Assistant to the Villain? Similar sort of humor and that feels-low-stakes-and-slightly-cosy-because-of-said-humor vibe, but much sharper writing (and that's not to say that the writing was better or worse than ATTV, 'sharp' just feels like the most accurate descriptor that I can find). This book is one for the writing-focused girlies; I don't know if I LOVED the characters or plot alone enough to keep me glued to the page, but it was a fun little ride!

I was really excited to get this ARC. The cover. The blurb. The title. Brilliant - let me at it!

It took me while to sink into this world which can be common with fantasy worlds. What makes this novel different is the very quirky writing of Brigette Knightley. She has an intellectually wicked sense of humour which I appreciated and, while it had moments that made me think of 'Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries', it's very original and really quirky.

The characters are great. The brooding enemy. The intellectual healer.

I just found the plot didn't hold me once I reached 65% through the book. What made it endearing to start with became a tad frustrating. In the lead up to this I was chuckling away (particularly during the brothel scene). I really wanted to love this book but sadly it was a great experience but not in my top reads for the year.

I’m a little torn with this one! This was one of my most anticipated reads for the year - as such I had REALLY HIGH expectations.

I feel like the characters and the banter and the SLOWWWWW burn really were incredible, I thoroughly enjoyed, however - the writing was a bit clunky for me? I struggled at times to get into it and it took me days to read where I’m usually a very fast 1/2sitting reader.

I will say though - the last page?! Immaculate. I need the second book IMMEDIETLY.

I found IUTFFYE quite hard to get into, the story starts immediately but there's a lot of language to get used to. I found at several points I had to put it down and pick back up again. After finishing the book, I found that Brigitte did a great job on this Dramoine story! It was just hard to get a good run with it. Maybe from comparing it to the other stories with Dramoine as the premise. I did end up loving the relationship between the two, the banter really took a lot of the limelight and I liked that? If you love a slow burn, a great magic system with houses of their own sorts, a bit of our favourite villain type (aka Draco) and banter, this is the one for you!

GUYS. Okay, please be aware this review is going to be incredibly biased, I have read the fanfic that this story originated from multiple times and I knew I would like it before I started reading it.

IN SAYING THAT, this book is not a carbon copy of the fic, it's written to be entirely its own thing, with a unique magic system and the characters are expanded on to the point where we get the vibes of the original but it all feels new. I enjoyed the witty banter, the goofy as heck jokes and cry laughed more than once while reading this.

Also, if you're like me and enjoy slow burn that spans multiple books, to the point where you're 300 pages in and gasping out loud at the touch of pinkies then this book will not disappoint. I didn't realise this was going to be a duet until after I finished it and I'm so glad that it is and that we get to see fanfic style pacing in romance books!

I do wish we got a little more world building towards the beginning and that it was a bit more fleshed out by the end, but I did thoroughly enjoy what we got (and wish I could slip a critique cricket into some peoples pockets).

Overall it's a super fun read that doesn't take itself too seriously (there is a candy called "clitoris clusters") and won't disappoint if you've read and loved DMATMOOBIL.

Thanks to Hachette Australia for providing this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review <3

no one warned me that this was going to be a series, but also considering the fanfic it's based on is 200,000 words long, i also feel like no one should have had to.

this unexpectedly SLAPPED. i never read the original fanfic, so i was going into this completely blind, and honestly requested to read it just because i am always morbidly curious about the quality of writing that manages to escape from the confines of ao3. and this read was truly a sheer delight.

it was completely not what i was expecting, being quite vulgar and funny, but with a really strong enemies to lovers arc that had real and solid reasons for being enemies to lovers. osric and aurienne especially had really distinct character arcs that i really enjoyed, and also had personalities that immediately distinguished themselves from the fanfiction characters that they once were. this made this read stand out to me compared to some of the other fanfiction turned tradpub novels ive read (the love hypothesis not looking at anyone in particular), because now i really got to enjoy the story on its own merits, not tying the characters back to someone else's creation.

one key issue i had with this book that really stems from its fanfiction roots is the first seven pages, where the author provides the reader with a map, a glossary of terms and a list of the orders, effectively doing telling not showing world building. one of the things that makes fanfiction stories so easy to consume is the fact that the reader is usually already immersed in the world that they are reading in, and that assumed knowledge means that the author does not have to spend the first 30 or so pages doing any sort of establishing exposition. with a complicated magic system like this one, having the terms explained outside of the story made it hard to follow, and putting that glossary before the book had even started meant that i had no context to anchor those explanations onto, so they just vanished right out of my mind.

but as this was a romance book at its core, thinly veiled over with some fantasy, my missing understanding of the world as it slowly revealed itself didn't have a huge impact on my enjoyment of the story, because my focus remained pretty fixed on the romance. yet again, the worst part about getting arcs for series' is the fact that now i have a longer wait time than everyone else to read the next one.

I absolutely adored this book! It was difficult to start at first because there was so much rapid world-building and a complex magic system to learn. However, I appreciated the glossary at the beginning, which helped me figure everything out. Once I grasped the details, the characters, magic, and plot fused together seamlessly.
I loved the dedication Brigitte put into the medical aspects you can tell she did her research to make it as realistic as possible while adding her own unique twist. Her characters were all incredibly well-written, each with distinct traits and personalities. Most of all, the banter and wit woven into the dialogue had me laughing out loud and feeling giddy at times. The plot itself runs smoothly and is mixed with a bit of action which I really enjoyed!
What a cliffhanger to end on I cannot wait for the next book!

The wit and hilarity of Oscric's inner monologue makes this book worthy of a 5 star automatically - I LOVED this. The magic system is so unique, the enemies to lovers is elite, and I LOVED the banter. Their first meeting had me in stitches with the onions (iykyk) and I recommend this to anyone who loves a bit of magic mixed in with their banter!

Thank you netgalley for the ARC, I will definitely be getting a trophy for my shelf and rereading this!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers romance with fantasy elements. The story follows Aurienne, a healer, and Osric, an assassin. Osric is dying from a magical disease known as Seith Rot, and his only hope for survival is Aurienne. The problem? She despises him—and everything his assassin order stands for. After threatening kidnapping and torture, Aurienne reluctantly agrees to help him in exchange for a sizeable donation to her research facility.
I went into this without having read the source material, knowing only that it was adapted from a Dramione fanfic for traditional publishing. I ended up giving it 3 stars—a solid read!
What I loved: When they say slow-burn, they mean SLOW burn. This is one of the few books I have recently read that truly does it well. The excitement I felt over even the slightest brush of their hands was crazy. The banter was also fantastic, with plenty of witty, sarcastic exchanges between Aurienne and Osric. Some of their back-and-forth had me laughing out loud—it was the perfect example of enemies-to-lovers.
What I didn’t love: I was expecting more of a fantasy romance than a romance with fantasy elements. That’s more of a personal preference, and not the book’s fault, but I do wish I had done more research beforehand. I also found the pacing a bit slow. While there was another plot running alongside the romance, we didn’t make much progress on it until the very end.
Overall, I enjoyed it and will definitely pick up a physical copy, as well as the sequel when it comes out.
A big thank you to Hachette and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy of this book!

This book was captivating from the start. A unique magic system, true enemies and so, so much snarky banter. The machines being named after female scientists and mathematicians was the icing on the stem cake that is the underlying investigation Aurienne and Osric are undertaking together in this story.

The consistent snarky banter between the characters echoes the writing we love from the Author..iykyk

There was barely a page that didn't have me laughing.

Critique crickets that follow people and criticise them was ingenious.

The lingering moments between them built such a delicious tension, on which quashing had no effect.

Cannot wait to have a physical copy of this in my hands.

I will start by stating this cover is stunning! It is so eye catching, it’s what immediately drew me to this title and made me request the ARC.

Unfortunately though I had to leave this book DNF at 35% this is mostly due to the fact that I found the magical systems in this book incredibly complex and they put a large amount of expectation on the reader to grasp them with little to no additional world-building. What this book would really benefit from is a map at the start and a basic infographic about how the magic systems work in this universe.
I myself struggled with the omniscient narrator but that is a personal preference for me.
The characters were interesting but I felt like we met them where the story starts and we get almost no background for their motivations and choices. So they at time can felt very 2 dimensional.

I think this book would likely fit a reader that potential reads a lot of highly complex fantasy based novels and also have a natural interest and knowledge of the workings of the human body (from my personal background I have a fair amount of biological knowledge and found these sections of the book interesting).

While not a book for me it might be the right read for you!

4.5 stars!! this absolutely SLAYED omg, i am in love with the intelligent wit and dry humour throughout the whole book!!

please allow me to preface this by saying i haven't read bridgitte's popular fanfic, draco malfoy and the mortifying ordeal of being in love - after disassociating with the *hp author*, i completely disassociated myself with everything hp and i haven't read hp fanfiction in many, many years. HOWEVER, if *that* author's work paves the way for new authors and helps with their success, then i am all for reading their published works - there are SO many coming out and i'm excited to support as many of the authors as i can hehe.

ANYWAYYY i have heard from many people wonderful things about brigitte's fanfic, and i was SO excited to read the irresistible urge to fall for your enemy since hearing that it was going to be published! as i understand it, this is a completely new story instead of being a rework of the fanfic, but again i haven't read the fanfic so i've only heard this and can't confirm for myself of course.

i was approved for an e-arc on netgalley by the incredible team at hachette australia (THANKS BESTIESSS!) and held off for as long as i possibly could as it publishes in july, before caving and beginning it. i think i read this in maybe 3 or 4 sittings?! i chose to read my e-arc on my computer instead of my kindle due to the pdf formatting being way better on the computer, so i had to read it a bit slower than i normally would, but i still ate it UPPPP!!

osric mordaunt is a fyren - an assassin who's VERY good at his job, the only problem is that he's quickly losing the ability to channel his seith, or his magic, which is very necessary so that he can remain good at his aforementioned job. he has the INCREDIBLE idea to blackmail (or kidnap) the best of the best haelen, aurienne fairhrim, to heal his seith rot and to fix him. one incident of wrongful identity, an egregious donation and one case of mild blackmail later, aurienne is forced into attempting to help osric try and reverse his degenerative condition, even though he stands for quite literally the opposite of everything she does.

we're immediately THROWN into the action and even from that very first page, the characters absolutely ooze charisma. i'm not going to lie, i didn't fully understand the world for a hot minute, but the characters themselves were just so damn charming that it didn't matter at all for me, i continued to follow their journey and assumed i'd figure out the rest as i went along (which is exactly what happened). i LOVE how brigitte tells a story, she has such a unique and clever way of writing, i had to pause and look up many, many words and found myself laughing out loud so many times! the passive-aggressive (and straight up aggressive) wit and banter was so incredibly sharp, the humour was so very dry and the characters really grabbed hold of my heart very quickly.

the enemies-to-lovers are very much enemy-ing here and i LOVEDDDD seeing all of their interactions and how little they gave each other. aurienne and osric's banter was HILARIOUS and i loved how aurienne continuously knocked osric's ego down a notch when it got a little too big for her liking. this is a SLOWWWWW burn romance, and you really know it's slow when the mere touching of ARMS gets you get a little overexcited and you begin to spiral at 1am. everything about the two of them had me in a chokehold, and i am in desperate need to know more!

i truly think this is going to quickly become of my favourite duologies, and i cannot wait until it releases in july so i can scream to people about it!! thank you so, so much again to hachette australia for the e-arc, my opinions are entirely my own <3

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a debut novel by Brigitte Knightley, from fanfic to traditionally published! Osric, a member of the Fyren Order (assassins) is in desperate need of a particular type of healer. That healer is Aurienne, a member of an enemy Order who is as good as you can possibly be. Osric bribes Aurienne’s Order in exchange for her discreet healing services, but it has never been cured before. The two work begrudgingly together to find a way to heal Osric, while also unravelling the mystery behind the increase of Pox. They find themselves passionately denying any attraction between them. Which only makes it worse.

TIUTFFYE was an easy 10/10 fun. The writing style had me entrapped and sinking under quicksand I didn’t want to get out of. If I could describe the writing style it would be glittery. Many takes but beautiful to look at. The characters are so wildly loveable regardless of who they are. Osric is not a hero, lets make that very clear. He has the darkest sense of humour, with the highest level of arrogance that it makes it impossible to hate him. Aurielle is so dry and equally funny and I just know we’re going to get more from her.

The dynamic between the two is just perfect, the amount of loathing they have while dragging their feet having to work together and just arguing made me laugh so many times. Then finding tiny little common interests that they absolutely hate that the other likes.

I had so much fun in the world and the magic system. It was a new concept (for me at least), and I found it so easy to follow along. The pacing was perfect, I loved the third person dual pov. Highly recommended to anyone who loves:
- He falls first
- Bisexual MCs
- Forced proximity (my favourite)
- Enemies to lovers (but actual enemies and not yet lovers)
- Slow burn (do not expect much romance, but the crumbs are delicious)
- Romantasy

Thank you, Hachette ANZ, and NetGalley for this ARC, I had the best time reading this book! All opinions are my own

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy was one of those books I instantly knew would be one of my top reads of the year, and after finishing it in under 24 hours, I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint. I can’t remember the last time I laughed this hard while reading—not just chuckling, but genuinely bursting into laughter. This book is hilarious. It’s also one of my favourite enemies-to-lovers stories, packed with back-and-forth banter that lasts for pages and still leaves you wanting more.

From the very first chapter, the personalities of the main characters are clear and compelling. And don’t even get me started on the chapter titles—each one had me eagerly anticipating what the next one would be. The humour in this book is contagious, and I loved every moment of it.

One of the toughest challenges fanfiction authors face is reimagining the world they’ve created, and Bridget Knightley does this effortlessly. She crafted a stunning magic system centred around different guilds, which I couldn’t get enough of. The fact that the glossary was at the start of the book, instead of the end, was a thoughtful touch. I loved how the two main characters (Osiric and Aurienne) belong to opposing guilds that can’t stand each other—true enemies-to-lovers material with a perfect slow-burn romance. You’ll be desperate for more after each chapter, filled with witty banter and subtle yearning. This slow-burn is something fanfiction authors excel at, and Knightley nails it.

The characters are fantastic. They have so much in common, but their core beliefs about right and wrong create tension between them. Aurienne is desperate to avoid violence as a healer, while our Assassian, Osiric, struggles to resist his darker instincts in her presence. I loved how they genuinely disliked each other at the start, but the change in their dynamic was so subtle that you could almost miss it. By the halfway point, their antagonism begins to shift into mutual admiration, and the transformation is beautifully done. There were even moments where Osiric imagined future arguments with the healer, and I was completely hooked.

The plot is expertly woven together. There are multiple storylines that come together in a stunning and satisfying way. I couldn’t get enough of it.

This is one of the few books I've ever read that gets the 6 star perfect rating from me!!! I cannot wait for more.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐔𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐲 ✨

As soon as I saw this book was available on NetGalley, I immediately applied, and I was SO EXCITED when I was approved for an arc! 😍

‘𝘼 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙧, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙠𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 - 𝙮𝙚𝙨.’

I don’t even know how to BEGIN describing how much I adored this enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, romantasy. First and foremost, the writing style is impeccable. It’s quick-witted, often hilarious, vivid and full of so much character. It painted the world of orders and seiths so brilliantly, and I found myself laughing out loud over and over again. While also gaping at the abilities of the characters, gasping at the moments of tension, and begging for more.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙠-𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙢𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝.”

The magic system consists of seith, which everyone is able to access, but can be mastered through advanced study following initiation into an Order. Seith is such a UNIQUE, impeccable magic system because it’s rooted in science - it is its own body system, which runs alongside, and works closely with, the nervous system - and if I could study it like it was true anatomy and physiology, I would. I ADORED the science of seith, as someone who has a BSc in human biology and a masters in nursing, I was so in my element.

“𝙄’𝙢 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙨,” 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙞𝙧𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙢. “𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙗𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙚𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙝𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙, 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨.”

Then we get to our incredible characters. Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist and member of the Haelen Order (known for their healing ability), and Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins (known for their sneaky murderous ways). These two impeccable characters, from enemy orders, find themselves in an uneasy alliance, which leads to so much quality banter, and a true enemies-to-lovers, VERY slow burn story. And, when I say slow burn, I mean slowwwwwww, simmering, delicious. It’s was SO GOOD and actually so refreshing.

‘𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨. 𝙋𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨.’

I can’t wait for more from this world and I already need the next book 🤩

Honestly, this is a perfect, witty, hopeful, STEM-centered, romantic, clever story. I’ll be picking this book up over and over again.

Thank you @NetGalley and @hachetteau for the arc of this lovely book!

This was SO fun. Brigitte’s writing that we all love from her Dramione works is brought fully across in this new world. Aurienne and Osric’s relationship is so fun to watch unfold. I love them both so much. I had a fantastic time reading this. Would definitely recommend!!

The writing is sublime, the tension is delicious, the banter top notch. This book was both hilarious and beautifully written. Cannot wait for book 2!

reviewing this feels odd because it feels as if i’m reviewing fanfiction and i am morally opposed to doing that. that said, i got the arc so i’ve literally been asked to give my opinion (thanks there to netgalley etc).

firstly, there is a lack of world building in this novel. i felt like i had to lean on my knowledge of the harry potter magic system to make any sense of how magic worked in this world. if the reader needs to rely on the original fandom to make sense of a story, is it really original fiction or just fanfiction with the names changed? (this is a rhetorical question.)

secondly, dramione is dramione-ing. the classic signposts, tropes, and characterisations of that particular ship are the driving force behind this novel and, honestly, the reason why any of us are here. if one were to remove this aspect, there would be a very shallow plot with shallower characterisation. for example: are they even enemies? me thinks not—a bickering pair doth not maketh an enemies to lovers duo, they literally start off with old-married-couple-who-stopped-sleeping-in-the-same-bed energy, and there is no real animosity shown, only annoyance or apathy due to their supposed opposing morals and factions (but this is never a point of tension in the relationship except to reiterate that tHeY aRe eNeMiEs). in essence, i have more feelings about the marketing than the actual characters.

thirdly, the stakes were never so high as to have me concerned or anxiously gripping the edge of my seat. i love a good high-stakes subplot or dastardly twist or heart-wrenching moment to remind me that im alive, but the reliance on reader having read DMATMOBIL meant the tension i usually look for in a piece of original fiction wasn’t there for me.

at the end of the day, i read this book because i am a fanfiction reader and, from that perspective, this is a good fic. i pictured my dramione headcanons as i read it and the familiar signposts and banter and low stakes had me giggling and kicking my feet. there will be a lot of readers who read this novel for this purpose and, for those people, enjoy and don’t forget to leave a kudos!

from a non-fanfic standpoint, this novel does not holds its own as an original piece of fiction. there’s no world-building, shallow characterisation, and low stakes/tension. for those wanting a substantial piece of fiction: what are you even doing here? there is enough published fanfiction for you to know what you’re getting into. go back to your brandon sanderson.

tl;dr—i support womens rights, specifically their rights to publish great fanworks as mediocre original fiction.