The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy

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.

I’m beginning my review by clarifying that I didn’t read Brigitte Knightley’s Draco and Hermione fan fiction story before reading this book. I didn’t even read the HP books, except for the first two, because once I saw the movies, I couldn’t read the books. Actually, when the books were first released, I was in my early teens and I was too obsessed with vampires, thanks to Anne Rice and the TV shows and movies, to care about HP at the time. 

Now, with that out of the way, I could see the similarities of The Irresistible Urge of Falling for Your Enemy to HP, but it wasn’t like it at all, if that makes sense. My primary reason for reading this book was that it had an Enemies to Lovers storyline, and that is one trope I will never pass up, plus the cover drew me into reading. I also enjoy finding new authors to read, and Brigitte Knightley is a new author to me. 

A little bit about the story before going into what I liked and didn’t like. The MMC, Osric Mordaunt, needs help after becoming ill, and he needs a healer asap. The only one who can help him is Aurienne Fairhrim, but the issue is that neither one trusts the other, especially since Osric is an assassin who unalives people for a living. The more time they spend together trying to figure out a cure for Osric, the more feelings get involved, even though they are trying not to fall for one another. 

Now, my thoughts about this book and what I liked and didn’t like. The book is marketed as a Romantasy, but while reading, it reminded me of a Steampunk Romance, which I didn’t mind. I loved getting to know the characters, especially since they hate each other at first and are opposites. Their constant back-and-forth banter was entertaining, and it definitely stuck with the Enemies to Lovers storyline. The romance develops slowly, but the back-and-forth banter kept me engaged. Just don’t expect anything between Aurienne and Osric until the very end. 

The main issue I had while starting this book is that I felt I should know what was going on already, since it seemed the world-building was already established. It left me confused at times, and there were times I had to step away from the book and pick it back up. The pacing also seemed off a times, especially when it came to the characters trying to figure out the cure and other issues coming to the surface, like who actually was the antagonist in the book.

Despite these issues, I give the book 3 stars, and due to the ending, I’m still interested in the next installment. I’m too invested in the characters and finding out what happens next to not read it. 

This book is written in British English, so some slang and phrasing are much different from American English, which can be confusing, and you may need an expert to help you. I’ve read books from UK authors before, but there are times I need the expert in my house to help me decipher certain things. My expert is my husband, who was born in Scotland and still watches UK TV shows. 

Single/Dual POV: Dual POV

Would I recommend this book? If you enjoyed Brigitte’s fan fiction story, or if you like Romantasy or Steampunk Romance with Enemies to Lovers and Forbidden Romance tropes, this book may be something you enjoy reading. 

Audiobook Recommendation: I ended up borrowing the audiobook from Libby and enjoyed the narrators, Heather Long and Thomas Judd, for this book. If you enjoy listening to your books, then I recommend the audiobook for this book.

What to Expect:
✔️Enemies to Lovers
✔️Slow Burn
✔️He Falls First And Harder
✔️Forced Proximity
✔️Healer vs. Assassin

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FranJessca

Owner/Reviewer at A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog

I guess I should type a bio here. I'm FranJessca, or Fran for short. I'm the owner/reviewer behind A Book Lovin' Mama's Blog. I've been reading and reviewing books on my blog since leaving the Navy in 2011, and I will keep doing it as long as possible. My favorite genres will always be Romance & Fantasy, and I read every subgenre underneath those two genres. (Sorry, not a fan of nonfiction, so don't try to convince me to read it.)
My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)

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