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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
funny
mysterious
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
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3 stars.
“If only it was old age,” said Tristane. “The reality is far worse: it appears that he’s developed a conscience.”
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I love Brigitte. She’s incredibly witty and sarcastic without being annoying, her writing flows beautifully and she has a very whimsical writing style.
Aurienne is an incredibly clever and well-respected healer. Osric an assassin, is suffering from a horrible (very incurable) disease and his only hope is our very stoic healer. It won’t be easy to convince her to heal him, since their ethical stances on what they do for a living diverge tremendously. But after a very convincing donation to the cure of a terrible ailment that seems to be preying on the young, Aurienne embarks on an adventure to try to save our little murderous friend.
I really liked the story. It was interesting to see how the orders worked and go on little trips with our main characters. Their banter was entertaining and seeing them start to care for each other was sweet. There’s a lot of potential for the story and how it will conclude all of the plots that it started.
Sadly, I did feel like the world building was lacking. We get the general sense of who does what and how they cohabitate (and a nice little summary of the orders at the end), but I feel like we had to infer so many roles, and places. I can tell this happens somewhere in the UK, but we aren’t offered any kind of explanation or description for it. Is it a kingdom? An alternate world? London was mentioned so I’m guessing it follows current geography. There’s also bits and crumbs of the hierarchal order. Osric even makes fun of Aurienne for not going out much and understanding how it works. I understand she does not care for the politics of the world (which is surprising since healing is political, but go off indifferent queen). Even from his POV, we are offered no explanation so just like Aurienne I understand nothing, nor do I have cause of concern for a war that’s coming?
Now, the thing that annoyed me the most is how the theme of ethics is handled. Sighs. I feel like if you want to use that word, you should probably do some research. I see this often in fantasy whenever someone wishes to outline the “purity of it”. The thing is, healing isn’t selective. You don’t get to choose who deserves to live and who deserves to die. You examine, you treat and you hope. Yes, personal convictions are allowed, but never to the detriment of the life of someone else. Yes, there’s a grey area somewhere in between, but then you have to accept it exists. Aurienne loves to remind the reader that healing is sacred and shan’t be wasted upon "filthy souls" such as Osric, but then again loves to remind us how she swore “harm to none” and how unethical it is to kill (which you do, by refusing to tend to people because of what they do)
Fairhrim with raw opprobrium, which made it clear that she thought him deficient in brains as well as morals.
Sighs. Sure. Killing is bad, but letting someone die isn’t top of the moral chain.
Aurienne wasn’t cruel
She was, actually.
...and beyond anything else, a Fyren didn’t deserve to be healed.
…..which is why in ethics and good morals, you don’t discriminate who you heal.
“You can’t play god and accelerate it,” said Aurienne.
….or choose who to cure and help, but okay.
She muttered, “Harm to none,” through clenched teeth.
…don’t think it stuck.
They took their oaths for Harm to none and swore to be worthy of the privilege of bearing the title of Haelan
Rolls eyes.
It should’ve been the best thing in the world to see him suffer, but it had been the worst thing in the world to see him suffer—so where did her peace lie?
Mind you, this after she had developed feelings for him. So no, there was no growth in that regard. She just felt something for him and suddenly it was okay to heal him. Over and over, it was mentioned. Had it been just once or twice I would’ve ignored it. But she made it her whole personality trait.
I did enjoy the book, like I said it was entertaining. Her writing style is very pretty, even if some uses of words felt a bit off. There’s also so many dlck jokes I can take. Maybe if I feel curious enough I’ll pick up the next book.
“If only it was old age,” said Tristane. “The reality is far worse: it appears that he’s developed a conscience.”
This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I love Brigitte. She’s incredibly witty and sarcastic without being annoying, her writing flows beautifully and she has a very whimsical writing style.
Aurienne is an incredibly clever and well-respected healer. Osric an assassin, is suffering from a horrible (very incurable) disease and his only hope is our very stoic healer. It won’t be easy to convince her to heal him, since their ethical stances on what they do for a living diverge tremendously. But after a very convincing donation to the cure of a terrible ailment that seems to be preying on the young, Aurienne embarks on an adventure to try to save our little murderous friend.
I really liked the story. It was interesting to see how the orders worked and go on little trips with our main characters. Their banter was entertaining and seeing them start to care for each other was sweet. There’s a lot of potential for the story and how it will conclude all of the plots that it started.
Sadly, I did feel like the world building was lacking. We get the general sense of who does what and how they cohabitate (and a nice little summary of the orders at the end), but I feel like we had to infer so many roles, and places. I can tell this happens somewhere in the UK, but we aren’t offered any kind of explanation or description for it. Is it a kingdom? An alternate world? London was mentioned so I’m guessing it follows current geography. There’s also bits and crumbs of the hierarchal order. Osric even makes fun of Aurienne for not going out much and understanding how it works. I understand she does not care for the politics of the world (which is surprising since healing is political, but go off indifferent queen). Even from his POV, we are offered no explanation so just like Aurienne I understand nothing, nor do I have cause of concern for a war that’s coming?
Now, the thing that annoyed me the most is how the theme of ethics is handled. Sighs. I feel like if you want to use that word, you should probably do some research. I see this often in fantasy whenever someone wishes to outline the “purity of it”. The thing is, healing isn’t selective. You don’t get to choose who deserves to live and who deserves to die. You examine, you treat and you hope. Yes, personal convictions are allowed, but never to the detriment of the life of someone else. Yes, there’s a grey area somewhere in between, but then you have to accept it exists. Aurienne loves to remind the reader that healing is sacred and shan’t be wasted upon "filthy souls" such as Osric, but then again loves to remind us how she swore “harm to none” and how unethical it is to kill (which you do, by refusing to tend to people because of what they do)
Fairhrim with raw opprobrium, which made it clear that she thought him deficient in brains as well as morals.
Sighs. Sure. Killing is bad, but letting someone die isn’t top of the moral chain.
Aurienne wasn’t cruel
She was, actually.
...and beyond anything else, a Fyren didn’t deserve to be healed.
…..which is why in ethics and good morals, you don’t discriminate who you heal.
“You can’t play god and accelerate it,” said Aurienne.
….or choose who to cure and help, but okay.
She muttered, “Harm to none,” through clenched teeth.
…don’t think it stuck.
They took their oaths for Harm to none and swore to be worthy of the privilege of bearing the title of Haelan
Rolls eyes.
It should’ve been the best thing in the world to see him suffer, but it had been the worst thing in the world to see him suffer—so where did her peace lie?
Mind you, this after she had developed feelings for him. So no, there was no growth in that regard. She just felt something for him and suddenly it was okay to heal him. Over and over, it was mentioned. Had it been just once or twice I would’ve ignored it. But she made it her whole personality trait.
I did enjoy the book, like I said it was entertaining. Her writing style is very pretty, even if some uses of words felt a bit off. There’s also so many dlck jokes I can take. Maybe if I feel curious enough I’ll pick up the next book.
Voy a admitir, este libro terminó muy de golpe. Él se da cuenta que siente cosas y de la nada, boom, créditos. Wtf.
El plot twist final no me lo vi venir. Pero tampoco le preste mucha atención a la trama cuando no estaban interactuando.
Anyway, tremendo.
Ni te das cuenta que está basado en dramione. Se siente súper original.
Solo voy a decir que fui profanada por el audiolibro. Hacía falta describirme tanto su me-time? Ew
El plot twist final no me lo vi venir. Pero tampoco le preste mucha atención a la trama cuando no estaban interactuando.
Anyway, tremendo.
Ni te das cuenta que está basado en dramione. Se siente súper original.
Solo voy a decir que fui profanada por el audiolibro. Hacía falta describirme tanto su me-time? Ew
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
I’m beginning my review by clarifying that I didn’t read Brigitte Knightley’s Draco and Hermione fan fiction story before reading this book. I didn’t even read the HP books, except for the first two, because once I saw the movies, I couldn’t read the books. Actually, when the books were first released, I was in my early teens and I was too obsessed with vampires, thanks to Anne Rice and the TV shows and movies, to care about HP at the time.
Now, with that out of the way, I could see the similarities of The Irresistible Urge of Falling for Your Enemy to HP, but it wasn’t like it at all, if that makes sense. My primary reason for reading this book was that it had an Enemies to Lovers storyline, and that is one trope I will never pass up, plus the cover drew me into reading. I also enjoy finding new authors to read, and Brigitte Knightley is a new author to me.
A little bit about the story before going into what I liked and didn’t like. The MMC, Osric Mordaunt, needs help after becoming ill, and he needs a healer asap. The only one who can help him is Aurienne Fairhrim, but the issue is that neither one trusts the other, especially since Osric is an assassin who unalives people for a living. The more time they spend together trying to figure out a cure for Osric, the more feelings get involved, even though they are trying not to fall for one another.
Now, my thoughts about this book and what I liked and didn’t like. The book is marketed as a Romantasy, but while reading, it reminded me of a Steampunk Romance, which I didn’t mind. I loved getting to know the characters, especially since they hate each other at first and are opposites. Their constant back-and-forth banter was entertaining, and it definitely stuck with the Enemies to Lovers storyline. The romance develops slowly, but the back-and-forth banter kept me engaged. Just don’t expect anything between Aurienne and Osric until the very end.
The main issue I had while starting this book is that I felt I should know what was going on already, since it seemed the world-building was already established. It left me confused at times, and there were times I had to step away from the book and pick it back up. The pacing also seemed off a times, especially when it came to the characters trying to figure out the cure and other issues coming to the surface, like who actually was the antagonist in the book.
Despite these issues, I give the book 3 stars, and due to the ending, I’m still interested in the next installment. I’m too invested in the characters and finding out what happens next to not read it.
This book is written in British English, so some slang and phrasing are much different from American English, which can be confusing, and you may need an expert to help you. I’ve read books from UK authors before, but there are times I need the expert in my house to help me decipher certain things. My expert is my husband, who was born in Scotland and still watches UK TV shows.
Single/Dual POV: Dual POV
Would I recommend this book? If you enjoyed Brigitte’s fan fiction story, or if you like Romantasy or Steampunk Romance with Enemies to Lovers and Forbidden Romance tropes, this book may be something you enjoy reading.
Audiobook Recommendation: I ended up borrowing the audiobook from Libby and enjoyed the narrators, Heather Long and Thomas Judd, for this book. If you enjoy listening to your books, then I recommend the audiobook for this book.
What to Expect:
✔️Enemies to Lovers
✔️Slow Burn
✔️He Falls First And Harder
✔️Forced Proximity
✔️Healer vs. Assassin
✔️Enemies to Lovers
✔️Slow Burn
✔️He Falls First And Harder
✔️Forced Proximity
✔️Healer vs. Assassin
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated