Never have I laughed so hard over a bag of onions 🧅 but here we are …. 4.5🌟

If you are looking for the ultimate slow burn 🔥with witty banter that will have you cackling, this book is for you!

Healer Aurienne is blackmailed into helping heal Osric who is a deadly assassin. They are opposites in every sense of the matter, she heals, he kills, she has morals he is moral-less …. Or so they think!

‘Might we,’ asked Aurienne, ‘go anywhere without subtracting from the population?’ ‘Would you prefer,’ asked Osric, ‘that we add to it?’

A word of warning to help with expectations, at its core, this is a romantic comedy with low stakes set within a fantasy world. Don’t expect heavy world building or an explanation of the magic system. Go into this with the intension to kick your feet and giggle at the EXCELLENT banter!

>True enemies
>Forced proximity
>Witty banter
>Slow burn 🔥

‘One day it’ll be over and we can forget each other.’
‘You’re going to forget me?’
‘I hope so,’.
‘I’m heartbroken.’
‘You haven’t a heart, Besides, isn’t forgetting you preferable to continuing to hate you?’ 
‘I’d rather you hate me than not think of me at all.’ 🔥

———

‘What did you do?’
‘He fell…on the fork’
‘He fell on the fork, 20 times!?’
‘You’re utterly unhinged’
‘I’m perfectly hinged…you on the other hand, have got the survival instincts of a crumpet’

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC & Hachette for a physical ARC in exchange for an honest review

Coming from a reader of the fanfiction this was (I say now, VERY loosely) based on; I can't help but be disappointed. To begin with it was because of how dramtically different the plot was, which is obviously just a me issue and not something that would plague new readers; but, then it became an issue of I think leavning far too heavily on certain narrative/stylistic choice until they became exhausting, or Exhausting if you will. Having 'things' be 'Things' all the time does lose a bit off its comedic punch when it is every page and even good banter wears thin when it is basically all we're seeing in the interactions of the leads that we're supposed to read a developing attraction blooming between. This probably wasn't as much of a concern in the ff as the author was placing the story into a context where the lead characters have an established canonical history together to help move this along but I think when treating it as an original story in an original world it needed more fleshing out.
Similarly the constant just banter, banter, banter, I think did impair the flow and pacing. I think things (plot wise) definitely could've been moving at a faster clip and the book needn't be as long/could've had the next book merged into it.
I would read this author again because I really love DMATMOOBIL so I do believe there is good writing there but I don't think I will continue with this series as I was far to disengaged by the end.

Thank you Hachette Australia and New Zealand for providing this ARC for free via NetGalley! All opinions are my own.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is a low stakes fantasy romcom. I repeat 🚨A LOW STAKES FANTASY ROMCOM 🚨 It is character-driven and comedy-heavy. If you know this going in, I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy it (like I did) 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

The book was the slowest of slow burns, but one of the most entertaining. We were given genuine enemies to lovers with plenty (and I mean plenty) of blunt banter. I was blushing by the end and I am desperate for the next book!!! The tension has well and truly been built.

I will say, I was a little overwhelmed by the glossary at the beginning. There’s a lot of new, obscure information. However, Brigitte did well to incorporate the world building throughout the story. Looking back at the glossary now, it makes perfect sense. I was left wanting to know a bit more about the kingdoms, but I think we’ll learn more in the second book.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It’s a unique read that I’d recommend to anyone wanting a break from more intense fantasies. I gave it 4 stars!!

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is out on the 8th of July, 2025 🥄

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy may be the most memorable book I have read so far this year. I certainly found myself thinking about it during the day while I was reading, longing for evening when I could get home to read more, and I am still dwelling on it now. I loved the characters and their portrayal, I adored their acerbic banter and, most of all, I appreciated that it really was as 'enemies to lovers' story in the truest sense, as lately I've read books where the 'enemies' part has been tenuous at best. This was a really, really slow burn on the romance side, with not much happening until the final quarter of the book when the characters began to recognise their attraction to each other. (I'm in love with Osric too.) In terms of the rest of the plot, I found it interesting, and the world building on the whole was good. I read this as an ARC, but I have already decided to buy a copy for my shelf as soon as it releases, and I am hoping we won't be kept waiting too long for the sequel, as I am dying to know what happens next. The one note I would make is that there is some violence and sexual content, so it's for adults, not younger readers. I am giving it 5 stars.

“Onion Boy, the Eternal Optimist”

4.5 stars. Thank you to Hachette, NetGalley and Brigitte Knightley for the ARC.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is endlessly hilarious, a whirlwind of adventures travelling to and fro for cures and a slowwwwww burn romance.

I was highlighting so many funny quotes, there was never a chapter in this book where I wasn’t laughing. The banter is perfection, so much back and forth and the sarcasm is too good.

“What do you suppose he does with it when it’s not erect? - Drapes it round his neck, like a feather boa.” 🤣

“Might we, go anywhere without subtracting from the population? - Would you prefer, that we add to it?” 🙌🏼

Special mention to the critique crickets 🦗
Highly recommend adding this to your TBR!

A banter filled, slow burn for the ages.

For the year of the fanfics we are starting on a bang, 12 year old me is quaking in our boots at the fact we got to read and review this before it's release.

Lets firstly ignore everything else amazing I this book and talk humor. Not only are Osric and Arienne just hilarious when they are together but comedy seems to be Brigitte's superpower, every character had me CACKLING! Also this queen gave me a glossary - I never thought I'd say this but I LOVE A GLOSSARY. The romance was perfection, chef's kiss, could not have been better! Of course it took it's time but when it was burning it was HOT. Osric is my love sick man of course he falls first, it was addictive. And the KISS - crying throwing up loving it!

Tropes:
Enemies to Lovers (OBVIOUSLY)
STEM Queens
Banter - seriously if the chapter headings aren't making you giggle the many insults thrown between our two love interests will.
This is OPPOSITES ATTRACT at its core.

As a Dramione lover, this really hit the spot. Full of that angsty banter that makes for a great enemies-to-lovers tale!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 3.75/5 🌶️ 0.5/5

Tropes:
🗡️Enemies To Lovers
🧪Slowburn
🗡️Opposites Attract
🧪Forced Proximity
🗡️ He Falls First

Osric is suffering from an unknown illness that is slowly suppressing his magic and Aurienne is the healer he’s going to blackmail ( and potentially kidnap) into curing him.

The banter between the two main characters was witty and I really enjoyed the scenes where the back and forth ensued. The banter really enforced the enemies aspect and the dual pov really highlighted the internal struggle that was pushing the characters towards lovers.The Deofols stole every scene they were in and I thoroughly enjoyed their personalities and how they interacted with the main characters.

Overall I think more world building was needed to contextualise the magic system, wars and the overall state of the world they existed in. The world building suffered because the romance surpassed the fantasy aspect which is fine but when information was brought up regarding other characters and places I was left needing more context to understand how significant it was.

I also found the ending as feeling unfinished rather than it ending on a cliffhanger, almost like the book ended prematurely. It is important to note there will be another book in this series so this may have been the best position to end it in without having to draw it out too far.

I ultimately enjoyed this book a lot and cannot wait for the next one in the series and despite the aspects I didn’t enjoy, the banter and character progression really saved the day and I hope we get more world building in the next instalment so I can really immerse myself.

A big thank you to Brigitte Knightley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand | Orbit for the ARC, I can’t wait to read the next one ( I hope we get it soon 🤞🏻)

With a title like this, and a love of enemies to lovers tropes, why would you not pick up this book? I’ve had this book on preorder for well over a couple of months and I am so glad I got a change to read an ARC of it. This book definitely has the slow burn enemies to… kind of tolerating each other… I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens.

The main reason that they started interacting definitely got pushed to the back a little bit while they got caught up in the intrigue of another problem, but it all came together in the end and turns out that everything is actually connected.

I appreciate the glossary that was provided in the beginning of the book - but I also think that that is going to be a lot easier to use with a hard copy of the book, so one can flip back and forth to refresh what certain words mean. Aside from that, it was a fun read, I look forward to the next book.

4.5⭐️

I'm calling this book a "cosy-crude high stakes romantasy". I know so many people are gonna EAT this one up!!
This is the most fun l've had with a book in a while. The banter was BANTERING. The hate was palpable. And the world building was so immersive I really forgot I was reading. Brigitte is so witty! The plethora of quirks and quips in this book had me audibly giggling and made the characters that much more charming. (The pub names are hilarious!)

There's so much to love about this book. The dynamic between Aurienne and Osric was so perfect and the pacing (despite the time skips) was really well done! This is also a true enemies to lovers which is so rare nowadays and the slow burn is utter perfection❤️‍🔥

I will admit I was a little confused for the first third of the book cause there's a LOT of terminology to retain and most times I just used context clues cause I couldn't get to the glossary very easily on the e-book. But I think this is one of those books where you just jump in the deep end and eventually you start to understand. The ending is also very abrupt, but I think a next book has been sent up really well.

Even though parts were confusing, the vibes were SO good that I didn't even mind. The writing is also unlike anything l've read which was REFRESHING. WE LOVE UNIQUE ROMANTASY👏🏼

I WILL be needing the second one ASAP cause this one set it up so perfectly.

I devoured this book in a way I haven’t in a very long time. Such a delightful read which feels like a romcom in the humour and Moments it has, the slowest of burns with the best kind of banter between the 2 main characters *chefs kiss*. Brigitte has such a wonderful way of writing, I’ll read anything she writes. For fans of DMATMOOBIL, everything you love about the fic is here but in a different story so wonderfully told absolutely loved everything about it and can not wait to read the next part!

Pspsps

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Australia for the eARC!

I was so excited to read this book and I did love it, I just didn't know it was going to be a series so the ending caught me very off guard!

Aurienne and Osric's dynamic was really fun to read because of the dual points of view in the book. The pining, the bickering all of it I loved. The opposing professions of healing people and killing people mixed with warring moral compasses, were very entertaining to read.

The only thing that takes away from the book being a 5/5 for me was that I felt like nothing was resolved by the end, which felt like it ended out of nowhere for me. After learning it's not a standalone makes more sense as to why it was open-ended but it left me feeling cheated of a satisfying ending at the time I was reading it.

I NEED the next book ASAP, I need to know how this ends!!

This book had soooo much potential for me and I was so so so excited for it. And there was honestly so much about it I absolutely loved. The banter was incredible, the world was fascinating and the magic system felt interesting and unique. But my biggest issue was how long the chapters were. I personally cannot stand long chapters as I tend to lose focus or lose interest. So while I was so excited to find out what was happening next and even with the end of the book, I’m excited to find out what will happen in the next one, it got to the point of feeling like it was a chore to read because of how long each chapter was. And it just felt unnecessary too. There were so many sections of each chapter where they could have ended but just kept going. Anyway, a lot of everything else of this book was enjoyable and I do look forward to the next book but that really threw me off from enjoying the story fully.

THE IRRESISTIBLE URGE TO FALL FOR YOUR ENEMY
Release date: July 8, 2025

I. am. OBSESSED. I had the absolute time of my life reading this, and I’m heartbroken it’s over (for now). Knightley created such an immersive world; it is one of those books that fully transports you to another space and time, where you fall in love with the characters in the very first pages. I’d call this an enemies-to-lovers, slow-burn and I mean SLOWWW burn, cosy(ish) fantasy, I didn’t want to put it down once. Our two main characters Aurienne Fairhim and Osric Mordaunt are in each other’s presence 90% of the book, and I have discovered a new favourite trope because of this. I NEED MOREEEE ugh!

I have countless quotes highlighted between these two. I was gasping, laughing, and swooning at their hilarious banter. Aurienne and Osric are true enemies to lovers; they hate each other SO much and are in denial that they’re anything more than each other’s ‘Means to an End’ and ‘Point of Leverage’. The crude, dry humour between them is insane and unmatched. I’m on my hands and knees begging for the next one already (yes, I know this one isn’t even out yet) because I could honestly read about Osric and Aurienne forever. I love these characters so much, and the tension and burn that grows between them is EVERYTHING!!! I fear this altered my brain chemistry.

TROPES⁀➷
𐙚 Enemies to lovers (no, but for real.)
𐙚 High-interaction slow-burn (new favourite trope??)
𐙚 Hyper-competent idiots (god, I love them hahahah)
𐙚 He falls first-and harder (screeech)
𐙚 Slaughter as a love language (go off Osric!! <3)

If you’re reading this put in your pre-order NOW‼️

*Clutches pearls*

I devoured this book🤌🏻once I started, there was no stopping! Absolutely addictive from beginning to end.

This is a true enemies to lovers with the slowest burn and the most delicious yearning. When I say SLOW I mean SLOW and I LOVE IT. Brigitte masterfully crafts the tension between a healer and an assassin, making every interaction sizzle with intensity.

Osric, our dangerously charming assassin, is battling an illness that threatens his magic. The only one who can help? Aurienne, a brilliant healer. Their orders despise each other, so Osric gives her no choice, either she helps him… or he takes her.

The banter? Sharp. The chemistry? Off the charts. The writing? So quirky and fun mixed with some dark elements which I think worked great! And the humor? It was everything to me. I laughed so hard-maniacally, to be honest. It’s probably the book that has made me laugh the hardest in quite some time. The dry wit, the snark, the absolutely unhinged back-and-forth? Perfection.

Tropes you’ll love:
💕Enemies to lovers (one of the best I’ve read!)
💕Forced proximity
💕Kidnapping (almost)
💕Magic and healing
💕Tension so thick you could cut it
💕SLOW BURN

Osric is swoony, sarcastic, and impossible not to love, while Aurienne is strong, brilliant, and refuses to back down. This is just a must read full stop. Cannot recommend enough!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC!

This was EVERYTHING, it was so fun to read, i absolutely ADORED the banter between them and just literally couldnt get enough. Brigitte choice of language and dialogue really rounded out the entire experience.
This was a true enemies to lovers piece, and I am so grateful for that.
I need more, I cant wait to get a physical copy to stare at lovingly once its released!

3.5/5 stars!

It took me a little bit to get into the writing style of this book. I could (and did) happily put the book down and take 3 weeks until i picked it back up and continued on. It is VERY character based, with the plot kinda pushing along in the background? I think there are three different plot lines happening all at once with no real connection.. It is also book 1 in a duology. So do not except to get any answers in this book.

I enjoyed some of the witty lines, the banter and the high egos of the two main characters. They truly are enemies are not looking at each other lovingly by 3 chapters in. So its advertising of enemies to lovers is true, this making it a slow burn.. a very very slow burn.

There is no world building. I honestly have not much idea on who is what order, where its set, where their magic comes from or anything really.. Just that there are some kings and a healing and an assassin order and maybe a war brewing? I also have no idea how much time passed over the course of this book??

Will i pick up book 2? yes, most likely. The last 15% did leave me wanting to see what happens next as the plot kind of moved along a little and left us on somewhat of a cliff hanger.

Thank you Netgalley & Hachette Aus for an ARC in exchange for a review.

This was absolutely amazing! The two main characters are very evocative of their origin, but that is where the similarities end. The magic was unique and deadly and the budding romance is a tease! I need the second book now!

I am absolutely here for the dramione fanfic turned trad published.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy is so good, it's the BEST kind of slow burn enemies to lovers. The thing that I enjoyed the most about this book (keeping in mind that there is PLENTY to enjoy) was the sense of humour and wit. I actually lived for the banter that the two MCs had. It was witty, funny, and completely on brand for the slow burn enemies to lovers.

Aurienne and Osric are two extremely different people, with seemingly nothing in common. As they spend more and more time with each other, they find some similarities (albeit reluctantly) and start to find each other's company somewhat tolerable.

Honestly though, thank goodness I read this on my e-reader because I used the definition option so many times throughout this book. The use of capital letters to emphasise particular words or comments was an interesting choice to me. I felt as though I read it as intended, with the inflections on the particular words/comments, but that style of writing is something I would expect in a YA novel, not an Adult romantasy. There are some spicy scenes throughout too.

Very grateful to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read an eARC of this!

As one of my most anticipated reads of this year - like many, I started my journey with this title in its original fan fiction format - I have to admit this fell a little short of the high pedestal I placed it upon.

I loved the intricate world building the fleshed out glossary gave and was a little disappointed that we didn't seem to move far past the immediate circle of the main characters. I was prepared and ready to delve into the different Orders and a more robust plot line and found myself a little disappointed in the almost cosy, slow burn, enemies-to-lovers story that unfolded. It felt like I was supposed to be invested in the high personal stakes of the main characters from the get go but with no real background to give an insight into their motivations and choices, it took multiple attempts at diving in for me to get on board with it.

That being said, the witty snark between the characters was to die for and watching their enmity slowly but surely be dashed upon the rocks of unwitting attraction and, dare I say, begrudging respect, as they navigate through some gleefully discomforting circumstances ultimately made this book enjoyable.