The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy cover art

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy

Dearly Beloathed, Book 1

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy

By: Brigitte Knightley
Narrated by: Heather Long, Thomas Judd
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $26.99

Buy Now for $26.99

About this listen

 'Utterly unique, hilarious, swoony beyond my wildest dreams! This book is an instant classic and a true masterpiece, it took my breath away and made my heart explode' Ali Hazelwood

***THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ***

A slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy featuring a scholarly healer and a gentleman assassin, set in an exquisite fantasy world, perfect for fans of The Love Hypothesis and Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries.

Osric Mordaunt, member of the Fyren Order of assassins, is in dire need of healing. Naturally - such is the grim comedy of fate - the only healer who can help is Aurienne Fairhrim, preeminent scientist, bastion of moral good, and member of an enemy Order.

Aurienne is desperate for funding to heal the sick - so desperate that, when Osric bribes her to help him, she accepts, even if she detests him and everything he stands for.

A forced collaboration ensues: the brilliant Woman in STEM is coerced into working with the PhD in Murders, much to Aurienne's disgust. As Osric and Aurienne work together to heal his illness and investigate the mysterious reoccurrence of a deadly pox, they find themselves ardently denying their attraction, which only fuels the heat between them.

Tropes include:
Enemies-to-lovers
High interaction slow burn
Hypercompetent idiots
He falls first and harder
Slaughter as a love language

Praise for The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy:

'Sworn enemies, underhanded shenanigans, dazzling magic and delicious romantic tension make this a witty, wonderful gem. Whether you're Team Aurienne (she of the incandescent brilliance) or Team Osric (he of the magnificent cheekbones) or just Team Would You Two Just Kiss Already, I promise you'll love this' Sangu Mandanna, author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

'Brilliant and wildly imaginative, with a delicious forbidden romance set in a fascinating fantasy world. Knightley is a remarkable talent, weaving together witty comedy, slow-burn longing, and heart-wrenchingly poetic imagery' Sarah Hawley, author of A Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon

'With the most wickedly delicious banter, Brigitte Knightley is sure to become your next favourite author. This had all the things I love most: a slow-burn romance that hurts so good, truly agonizing enemies-to-lovers, with a twisty mystery at its core' Julie Soto, author of Forget Me Not

'Brigitte Knightley is such a wonderfully talented writer with a unique voice and a real genius for banter. Anyone who loves enemies-to-lovers romantasy, will surely adore The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy!' India Holton author of The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love

'The slow burn romance of my dreams. Whip smart, creative, and brimming with banter and wit . . . both the hero and heroine had me laughing and shouting to just kiss already. This one is a rare delight' Isabel Ibañez, author of What the River Knows

'Utterly unique and delightful, this is the perfect romantasy for those who like their villains (and heroes) with a touch of murder, thievery, and questionable morals. Sexy and hilarious with dry-as-bone humour, Knightley's writing is not to be missed' Elissa Sussman, author of Funny You Should Ask

'This debut boasts gorgeously-written, vivid settings, a unique magic system and fresh fantasy world, razor-sharp wit, and graceful characterization. In short, Knightley's debut is nothing short of irresistible itself' Isabel Cañas, author of The Hacienda©2025 Brigitte Knightley (P)2025 Hachette Audio UK Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Fantasy Humorous Enemies to Lovers Funny Heartfelt Witty Magic
All stars
Most relevant  
Dear Brigitte, I devour your brilliant writing through every sentence. Every arc. Every orchestrated chuckle. xox

Bloody Brilliant Book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great narration from Thomas and Heather. The story and characters are so well thought out, I was hooked from the beginning. The banter and witty remarks is beautifully crafted. Huge congratulations to Brigitte Knightly for this amazing work. Can’t wait for the next book! Please keep the same narrators!

It’s no DMATMOOBIL but it’s a great story in itself

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was one of my most anticipated reads for this year and unfortunately I feel it didn’t quite live up to the hype. I did think it was fun and witty, the banter was good (although too much at times, it really dragged on), I was laughing and sometimes invested but the story was slow which made me lose interest and struggle to focus. The slow burn is too drawn out, it’s excruciating in the worst way and I finished the book thinking “is that it?”. We had enemies to maybe mild tolerance at best. I wanted more depth to the characters, there was no real character development. There is barely spice, more just ribald language. It felt very much like just a long winded set up for book two. However I really enjoyed the world and the magic system, I would have really loved if the book just gave us a little more of what we were promised

A little underwhelming

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Honestly took me until half way through the book (and checking the blurb) to realise the names of the characters. The narrators either have different pronunciation or use different names.
Confusing.
Also very slow, don't read if you are after romance (there is barely any flickers of anything between the characters).
Okay story to listen to though. loved the vulgar language and humour.

Slow story with weird dual narrators

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Lazy fanfic writing with almost no world building within the story or explanation of the magic system (but golly don’t worry they jam it all in at the end in a glossary??) and how they have phrases from the current workd in London? More positively - there was excellent banter between the characters but I agree with most other reviews that whilst it was a nice read, it’s just a setup book for an actual story inclusive of any romance to boost the sales for the next book.

Lazy writing and prequel in disguise

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.