The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy by Brigitte Knightly
I just finished The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy and, as someone who grew up in the fanfic trenches, this felt like coming home.
For those in the know, this book started as fan fiction based on a popular series, and it carries the chaotic, beloved energy that comes from early 2010s AO3. Think: British witticisms, iconic one-liners (“the specimen had the fortitude of wet quiche” and “you can’t just ask people why they haven’t got nipples”) come especially to mind.
As a romantasy lover, this definitely hit a lot of my marks but, SPOILER ALERT— they don’t recognize their feelings until the last chapter, so the romance was slightly lacking. You definitely get a feel for the yearning that will take over book 2 but, as somoene who managed to evade the spoilers of this book and didn’t realize it was meant to be a duology- I was left bewildered when I turned the page and there was nothing left!
The magic system I found delightful. The concept of seith and how it’s blended with science gives it a refreshingly modern edge. Our FMC, Aurienne, is your classic morally white character who’s slowly (and deliciously) being dragged into grey territory by Osric, the morally black MMC, while working together to solve a deadly disease outbreak. I’m very interested to see where they land in book 2.
3.5 stars from me. Mostly because the tonal whiplash—jumping from deep magic theory to, say, torn-off nipples—kept yanking me out of the story. That said, I’m already antsy for book 2. I need more from this world and these wild, messy characters.
Trigger warnings: this originated from Dramione (HP) fan fiction so for anyone trying to avoid the fandom, stay away! Otherwise: diseases, physical abuse (past tense and not by the MMC), sexual content, death
- Chloé ⚔️
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