Brigitte Knightley
Hachette Australia
8 July 2025
416
eBook - PDF
Fantasy
ARC via NetGalley
Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, finds himself in dire need of an expert healer. As fate would have it, that very healer is Aurienne Fairhrim, a member of his enemy Order, the Haelen.
Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick, so desperate that when Osric breaks into her office to offer her a bribe for her healing services, she must accept. Even if she loathes him.
A forced collaboration ensues: the brilliant Woman in STEM is coerced into working with the PhD in Murders - much to Aurienne's disgust. Despite being enemies thrown together, as Osric and Aurienne work together to solve not only his illness, but the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly Pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction which seems to only fuel the heat between them.
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.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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