Brigitte Knightley: On Building the Ultimate Enemies-to-Lovers Romantasy
In this interview, author Brigitte Knightley discusses writing polar-opposite main characters in her new romantasy, The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy.
Brigitte Knightley’s modus operandi is to write what she wants to read: enemies-to-lovers romances that put the unresolved back in “unresolved sexual tension.” Her work is enjoyed by fans of slow burns, tongue-in-cheek rom-coms, and suffering. The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy is her debut novel. Follow her on Instagram.
In this interview, Brigitte discusses writing polar-opposite main characters in her new romantasy, The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy, her hope for readers, and more.
Name: Brigitte Knightley
Literary agent: Thao Le
Book title: The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy
Publisher: Ace (U.S.) / Orbit (U.K.)
Release date: July 8, 2025
Genre/category: Fantasy / Romantasy
Elevator pitch: An enemies-to-lovers romantasy about a chaotic assassin gleefully devoid of a conscience and the uptight healer he bribes to help him. Expect denial, terrible coping mechanisms, reluctant attraction, and, above all, a masochistic slow burn.
What prompted you to write this book?
I wanted to write a true enemies-to-lovers story, with leads that were each other’s opposites on every possible spectrum (professionally, ethically, systemically).
I liked the idea of an assassin x healer pairing for this reason—it sets up a gorgeous opposition from the get-go, and a lovely forbidden romance for when the feelings eventually (after much denial) spark into glorious life. Irresistible Urge stars Osric, an assassin with no morals to speak of, and Aurienne, a scholar-healer with, perhaps, too many morals.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
It took a couple years—I started writing Irresistible Urge in early 2022, I think I wrapped up my manuscript in the summer of 2023, and the book is coming out this summer, in 2025!
The idea didn’t change much—I had a very strong sense of the dynamic I wanted between the characters and this healer/killer dichotomy was the principal driver of the plot, and carried me through until the typing out of the very last words.
One thing I didn’t expect: I set Osric and Aurienne up to be such opposites, but as I wrote, they ended up being more similar than I thought. Arrogant, self-important, highly competent, but, of course, operating in very different fields (one ends lives, one saves them). It was fun to have them navigate this realisation at the same time as I did!
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
It was so fabulous to have the support and input of an expert team (editors, copy editors, proofreaders, production editors, designers) throughout! I’m used to duking it out with Word’s autocorrect and having, maybe, one beta reader’s input on my writing—but now I have multiple sounding boards, whether it’s for a finicky grammatical question or larger developmental edit ideas. It’s been lovely to have access to industry pros who have seen it all before.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
I will consider the job well done if readers are entertained and find within these pages a moment of escapism—and maybe laughter—from the strange times we live in.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
Write what you want to read, you never know what will resonate with others!
