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Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'
The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley
4 reviews
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I picked this up because I was excited to see an author of Draomine fanfiction pen a novel.
"The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy" is a novel that follows Aurienne Fairhrim, the best healer of her time. She is in desperate need of funding to help her heal the sick, so when her enemy, Osric Mordaunt tries to bribe her to heal him, she finds it difficult to say no.
There was something about this novel that I found difficult to get into. I never felt super invested in the story, and truthfully it felt like I was watching it unfold from far away. I was curious to see how it all played out, but I also did not really care what happened to the characters.
The tension between Aurienne and Osric felt forced to me. I felt like their connection and the inevitable enemies-to-lovers trope lacked any build up, so their connection felt almost entirely unexpected and out of left field. Consequently, I did not feel like they had any authentic chemistry.
I felt like this novel lacked some crucial world building. I do not know if I missed something, but I never felt like I had a clear vision of what was happening in the world. Along with this, I think the magic system needed some more work.
I think this romantasy was fine, but I was not blown away. I might pick up the sequel in the future, but it is not at the top of my list.
"The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy" is a novel that follows Aurienne Fairhrim, the best healer of her time. She is in desperate need of funding to help her heal the sick, so when her enemy, Osric Mordaunt tries to bribe her to heal him, she finds it difficult to say no.
There was something about this novel that I found difficult to get into. I never felt super invested in the story, and truthfully it felt like I was watching it unfold from far away. I was curious to see how it all played out, but I also did not really care what happened to the characters.
The tension between Aurienne and Osric felt forced to me. I felt like their connection and the inevitable enemies-to-lovers trope lacked any build up, so their connection felt almost entirely unexpected and out of left field. Consequently, I did not feel like they had any authentic chemistry.
I felt like this novel lacked some crucial world building. I do not know if I missed something, but I never felt like I had a clear vision of what was happening in the world. Along with this, I think the magic system needed some more work.
I think this romantasy was fine, but I was not blown away. I might pick up the sequel in the future, but it is not at the top of my list.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm flopping between 2.75 and 3...but let me give pros and cons.
PROS
- the indie bookstore I bought it from put the sales of this book to a trans organization.
- deofols.
- the MMC was quippy and really what kept me reading.
- artwork on the cover is beautiful.
CONS
- it's not a cliffhanger if you feel like there are pages missing.
- for a story based on fanfiction...that is not actually fanfiction... you sure are expected to just know a lot about the world.
- though the overall idea is interesting...most of the plot is boring and repetitive.
In the end, I would probably read the second one to find out what happened to the children, but I would just wait for however long on Libby.
PROS
- the indie bookstore I bought it from put the sales of this book to a trans organization.
- deofols.
- the MMC was quippy and really what kept me reading.
- artwork on the cover is beautiful.
CONS
- it's not a cliffhanger if you feel like there are pages missing.
- for a story based on fanfiction...that is not actually fanfiction... you sure are expected to just know a lot about the world.
- though the overall idea is interesting...most of the plot is boring and repetitive.
In the end, I would probably read the second one to find out what happened to the children, but I would just wait for however long on Libby.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Vomit, War
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Aurienne is a healer sworn to “harm none” and Osric is an assassin dealing harm to anyone for the right price. They belong to opposite magical orders but have to work together when Osric needs help from the best healer, Aurienne, in order to save his life. As they journey across the realm they must work together not only to save Osric but to solve the riddle of the Pox ravaging hundreds of young children, which Aurienne and her Order tirelessly attempt to save.
I was really into this book for the first third. There is a lot of dark, sarcastic humour and tension between the FMC and MMC. I didn’t like how the author jumped into the story without world-building and instead started with a glossary, which is just lazy writing. Then the whole “slow burn romance” just made the whole book tedious as their quest and “slow burn” just dragged on and on and on. There were a lot of superfluous scenes and interactions that could have been cut and still made the story decent.
AND THEN WE GET THAT LAME ASS ENDING. Are you effing kidding me?? It’s like someone sent the hook on stage and slammed the curtain down mid-act. There’s no HEA or HFN. The book just ends. I’m just glad I got this as an ARC for free and didn’t pay for it.
I was really into this book for the first third. There is a lot of dark, sarcastic humour and tension between the FMC and MMC. I didn’t like how the author jumped into the story without world-building and instead started with a glossary, which is just lazy writing. Then the whole “slow burn romance” just made the whole book tedious as their quest and “slow burn” just dragged on and on and on. There were a lot of superfluous scenes and interactions that could have been cut and still made the story decent.
AND THEN WE GET THAT LAME ASS ENDING. Are you effing kidding me?? It’s like someone sent the hook on stage and slammed the curtain down mid-act. There’s no HEA or HFN. The book just ends. I’m just glad I got this as an ARC for free and didn’t pay for it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror