Recent Reads: The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley 

Series: Dearly Beloathed #1
Publisher: Orbit Books
Publication Date:  July 8, 2025

 

Format: Hardback
Source: Borrowed from the Library

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Loyalties are tested in this enemies-to-lovers romantasy set in an alternate England following an assassin and a healer forced to work together to cure a fatal disease, all while resisting the urge to kill each other—or worse, fall in love.

When Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, falls ill, he realises he needs the expertise of a very specific healer. As fate would have it, that healer belongs to an enemy faction, the Haelan Order.

Aurienne Fairhrim and her fellow Haelan are inundated by sick children suffering from an outbreak of a long-forgotten Pox. Unable to get the funding needed to launch an immunisation programme, the Haelan Order is desperate for money – so desperate that, when Osric breaks into their headquarters to bribe Aurienne to heal him, she is forced to accept.

As Osric and Aurienne work together to solve not only his illness but the mysterious reoccurrence of the Pox, they find themselves ardently denying an attraction which only fuels the tension between them.

Review: 

I was so excited to hear that Brigitte was releasing a traditionally published book...especially one that might include some of the same elements that made her fan-fiction so addictive. I grabbed The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy from the library, and it turned out to be a really fun read, especially for spooky season.

While not a direct copy of her earlier work, this story carries over many of the tropes I loved: the “he falls first” arc, the delicious enemies-to-something tension, and plenty of forced proximity. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it.

The story follows Aurienne, a healer, and Osric, an assassin, who are reluctantly thrown together to cure a disease that’s disrupting Osric’s magic. Aurienne despises his Order and thinks he is the scum of the Earth, but her superiors force her hand when his payment could fund the research to help treatment of many sick children.

I loved the banter, the snark, and the slow burn between them, especially since I’m a sucker for the 'emo villain who hates everyone but her' dynamic. The chemistry and tension were exactly what I was hoping for.

That said, I do wish there had been a bit more world-building and explanation of how the magic and the rival Orders work. I was also curious if there were people with no magic and if they knew about those with it. Those elements felt like they could have been developed further to really enrich the setting.

Overall, though, this was a fun, laugh-out-loud romantasy with great banter and emotional pull. I’m already looking forward to the next installment. (A little sad to wait... but understand I guess).