By Mattie Lugar
One of the internet’s newest romantic fantasies, “The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy” by Brigitte Knightley is full of witty, dry banter, complex characters, and a slow-burn romance that will leave you giggling and kicking your feet while reading. In short, this was everything I was looking for in a book.
Now I’m not usually one to read romantasy; I prefer to read strictly fantasy with a dash of romance thrown in for the drama, but something about this book pulled me in from the very first chapter. The chemistry between the two main characters, Osric and Aurienne, is extremely captivating and makes the book hard to put down.
Along with terrific chemistry, what really drew me in the most was the humor.The banter between Aurienne and Osric is witty and sharp, and there’s clever use of wordplay throughout that really requires you to think. There were times when I had to stop reading due to laughing too hard, so if you’re a fan of dry humor then this book is definitely for you.
The story follows our two main characters as they hunt for the cure to a seemingly incurable disease. With each belonging to a different Order, or guild, tensions are high as the two are forced to work with each other.
Aurienne, a healer, is bribed to heal Osric under the assumption that her Order will receive more funding for their research. Osric is a suave, arrogant assassin who will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it’s from an enemy.
With a deadly new virus sweeping through the kingdoms, Aurienne is tasked with the impossible. We see this internal battle going on inside her head: either stick to her duty as a healer and try to help as many people as she can, or pique her curiosity by sneaking around every full moon to try and heal the assassin that won’t seem to leave her alone.
As the two of them slowly dance around each other and continue to deny feelings that are clearly there, a romance slowly starts to build under the surface. Knightley creates a captivating version of our world that’s filled to the brim with magic and adventure, undeniably pulling readers in.
Even though this sits at 416 pages, this is a very fast-paced book and will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I highly recommend you check this book out as the end of the duology, “The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy,” releases Tuesday, July 7, 2026.