The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy

A bit of a complicated one this one. A very interesting premise. Very much enemies and complete opposites. The characters were brilliant but it took a long time for me to get into it. I loved the idea of the price of magic. Worth a read.

Amazing! Full of fabulous banter, hilarious arguments. I cannot wait for the next one!

I wanted to like this book so bad. I really did. I wanted to enjoy it and laugh at all the humour/banter I was expecting from this author.I think if you say enemy in your title, you need to follow through. The MMC and FMC are not enemies, though that’s cleared in the blurb of the book.I guess the story wouldn’t take such a casual tone—which is required as the author needs the casual tone to make the “funny”names of places she created to work—if they were actual enemies, at best these two have morals of the extreme categories though that’s questionable as well, as the FMC who supposedly has high morals doesn’t really stand on them and the MMC who’s an assassin has a soft spot for all the pups in the world. Well if that’s the redeeming quality that the author wanted us to swoon over this MMC, it’s really not enough. In the end both characters don’t shine. Both are grey characters, I wish there was more of a contrast to even give us the feeling of them being in the enemy category.Still going to read the next book as want to support the author as her “online work” made me laugh and giggle and absolutely fall in love with the smug MMC.Hopefully book 2 is worth it.

Brigitte Knightley’s debut romantasy is a delicious slow-burn enemies-to-lovers tale, brimming with wit, yearning, and absurdly sharp banter. Set in a richly imagined fantasy world, it follows Osric Mordaunt, a morally grey assassin, and Aurienne Fairhrim, a brilliant healer from a rival Order. Forced to work together to cure a deadly illness, their reluctant partnership sparks tension, snark, and undeniable chemistry.Knightley’s writing is clever and theatrical, with dialogue that dances between hilarious and heartfelt. The characters are delightfully flawed, Aurienne is prickly and righteous, Osric is charmingly insufferable and their dynamic is pure chaos in the best way. The world-building leans Victorian with a twist of magical academia, and while the pacing is slow, the payoff is worth it.Some of the humour is dark and the prose occasionally dense, but the emotional beats land beautifully. It’s a story of grudging respect, reluctant admiration, and the kind of hate that feels suspiciously like love.

4.25⭐️Wow! What a story - this has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year (the ao3 girlies get it) and it didn’t disappoint.A true enemies to lovers (which we don’t get often) with some fantastic banter and humour throughout. I simply adored our two main characters and the dual POV really made this story for me!It took my a few chapters to get myself fully emerged into the world (more of a me issue that a writing style) but as the story developed I felt myself stepping back into that world more and easily each time.Would recommend for anyone who loves, detailed world building, magic systems, enemies to lovers, banter and a heavy dose of sarcasm(I caught myself laughing out loud numerous times). These characters really do have my heart … already waiting for the next instalment!Thank you NetGalley & Little, Brown Book Group UK for this arc.#netgalley #littlebrownbookgroup