Amid rival magical orders and a romance as intense as it is dangerous, author Brigitte Knightley makes her literary debut in Brazil with The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy, published by Plataforma21. The first volume of the duology Fueled by Hate combines fantasy, sharp humor, and the “enemies to lovers” romance trope, narrating the unlikely alliance between Osric Mordaunt, an assassin from the Fyren Order, and Aurienne Fairhrim, a healer from the Haelan Order, who must overcome rivalries to face a mysterious disease in the magical universe.
The premise of the book revolves around two characters from opposing orders who are forced to coexist and collaborate. What draws you to this kind of conflict, and why did you choose the “enemies to lovers” trope for your debut?
When I started writing THE IRRESISTIBLE URGE TO FALL FOR YOUR ENEMY, I had a blank page and a question: “What happens if the irresistible force falls in love with the immovable object?”
I wanted to write an enemies-to-lovers story with two leads so opposed, so repellent to each other by nature, that even I, as the author, couldn’t be certain that they’d end up together. Osric, the irresistible force, came cheekily to life as an assassin of immense charm and little integrity. Aurienne, the immovable object, followed: a haughty, self-righteous healer so full of integrity she’s positively rigid with it.
Enemies to lovers is my trope of choice because I love my happily-ever-afters earned through blood, sweat and tears – and heaps and heaps of yearning. Yearning and pining are my favourite form of torture.
Osric and Aurienne have completely different worldviews, yet they’re forced to trust each other. What was the process like for building this bond between them without falling into clichés?
Osric is an assassin, Aurienne is a healer. He thinks she’s an uptight, insufferable do-gooder, she thinks he’s the scum of the earth. This healer/killer dichotomy and its built-in animosity was the principal driver of the story. In terms of process, this set up Osric and Aurienne up to be one another’s antithesis on basically every plane possible (professionally, ethically, systemically) – and left me loads of space to develop a delicious, slow burning bond between them when feelings (forbidden!) start to emerge.
Funnily, I set Osric and Aurienne up to be polar opposites, but as the story progressed, I discovered that they were also very similar: highly competent in their respective fields, and consequently arrogant and self-important.
The sharp language, well-placed insults, and tension between the protagonists are standout features of the book. Is there a particular scene you had a lot of fun writing?
This story poured out of me, the entire thing was my favourite part! But if I must highlight a favourite scene, I will say the lighthouse scene and the balcony scene (fans of forbidden yearning will, I think, enjoy these too).
The duology is still ongoing. What can readers expect from the second volume: redemption, more chaos, or a little bit of both?
A bit of both, as well as a healthy dose of angst!
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