Book Review: The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy (Dearly Beloathed #1) by Brigitte Knightley

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Brigitte Knightley
Publisher: Orbit Books
Release Date: July 8th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The first in a slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romantasy duology 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.

WORKED FOR ME.

I didn’t know what I would be getting when I picked this up but I was hopeful for a good enemies to lovers romantasy. I think that mostly delivered and I’ll read the second book because this did leave me curious about where that would go.

Some of the humor/innuendo/spice didn’t work for me and just wasn’t funny. That was my biggest gripe throughout that kept taking me out of the story.

On the other hand we have another case of a man falling first and falling head over heels so hard we doesn’t even realize it and GOSH I LOVED THAT. The banter is snappy and witty and it has a very unhinged level of antics that played off well for the plot. All of the wild things he’d do for her really worked for the characters.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: multiple open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: high violence, on page torture, loss of life, medical content

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Off Base by Haley Warren

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★.75
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 324 pages
Author: Haley Warren
Publisher: Simon Maverick
Release Date: June 2nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He’s trying to find a way out.

She’s trying to find herself.

Miller Colson-Burke has only ever been good at three things: flirting his way out of anything, being the best shortstop in the league, and playing baseball side by side with his best friend, Matt.

Until an accident takes Matt from him forever, leaving him haunted by a memorial banner and a sport he used to love. The only things he’s really interested in being good at now are avoiding the press and figuring out how to run away from a rumour he can’t seem to escape.

Ren Jacobs has spent the last four years building a new life and trying to remember all the reasons to love the person she used to be. But when someone from her past comes along and steals her dream job, she finds it hard to love anything about herself at all.

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

IT GREW ON ME?

I immediately had to have this book because *dinosaurs*. Little did I know there was almost too much dinosaur content? As if the author was trying to make sure I knew that Ren was paleontologist. DON’T WORRY. I got it. She loves dinosaurs. The museum content was good though and I loved how the musuem and baseball team were working together.

Matt, I adored. He was a man broken by grief trying to find pockets of joy. There’s a soft fake dating angle to this that kept sending Matt and Ren into each other’s orbit and I think that worked well. I did like that banter and converations between them too. They were definitely a match.

Buuuut. The third act made me cranky. Which wouldn’t surprise anyone that has read this too. Not to mention there was way too much ex related content. I hate when the ex takes up too much time and overshadows the main romance. Just go away.

This was my first book from Haley Warren and I would read another!

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: mild – moderate
  • Romance: 3ish open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: loss of a friend, grief depiction, absent parent, gaslighting ex

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ALC Book Review: The River She Became (River & Salt #1) by Emily Varga

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Emily Varga
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: June 30th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A high stakes, action-packed romantasy from bestselling author Emily Varga where a relic-hunter searches for an ancient fae object to restore the magic to her world, but must learn to trust her own powers—and her heart.

I’m going across the River. And I’m going to save us all.

Yaseema is a brilliant scholar and loyal servant of the Empire—or so they think. By day, she catalogs the fae relics of her conquered kingdom. But by night, she reclaims the artefacts in secret to restore magic to her dying land.

Until she finds the long lost key to cross the River into the fae world and save her people. But a ruthless realm awaits her there, ruled by monsters wearing beautiful skin—especially the cold-eyed captain who sees through her lies. But even he isn’t what he seems—under the guise of upholding a cruel regime, he works to overthrow it from the inside. To succeed, he needs the same lost relic Yaseema seeks: the crown of an ancient Fae Queen.

With magic that is a mystery even to her, Yaseema can help him find the crown and save his family from a fate worse than death. Unless she steals it first to help her own.

To survive, they must work together to outwit ancient curses, battle creatures born of nightmares, and find a power that could resurrect their worlds. But as secrets unravel and loyalties blur, they face the greatest danger of losing their heart to each other.

Perfect for fans of The Cruel Prince and The Mummy, this thrilling start to a new fantasy duology bursts with dangerous romance, heart-stopping twists, and a heroine who dares to steal back her future.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the audiobook and CPBT and Wednesday Books for the gifted copy.

TIS A GOOD BOOK.

After loving Emily Varga’s debut I had to get my hands on her sophomore book. It did not disappoint. And I’m so excited we’re getting more books in this series!! (duology??? I never know.)

This felt like the kind of young adult fantasy I’ve been missing. The little pieces that can be frustrating fell into the back because I was enamored by this story. Emily Varga does a great job of writing feminine rage that fuels the FMC without overwhelming the plot. I enjoyed Yaseema’s journey. It has the coming of age vibes and a woman who knows what she wants.

And I liked the world and magic too!! Magical objects, there’s fae! There’s a river. I mean, it just all worked. I appreciated the flow of the story and the side characters we met along the way.

The romance?? Solid. An enemies to lovers flare who realize they are actually reluctant allies?? Please. I’ll eat that up all day. Our captain is holding secrets of his own and was incredibly endearing. Bonus points because we got his POV too!!

Ending was cliffhanger heavy and I’m here for it. GIMME BOOK TWO.

Overall audience notes:

  • Upper YA fantasy romance
  • Language: mild+
  • Romance: vague fade to black
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: loss of loved ones, battle themes, torture, kidnapping

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: June 2026

GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

It is summerrrrr!

A fairly even mix of contemporary and fantasy as I did my best to stay busy, stop doom scrolling and enjoy the season!

  • Unloved (The Undone #2) by Peyton Corinne
  • Ruling Out Robyn (Men of the Isles #3) by Deborah M. Hathaway
  • She Knows All the Names (Throne of Khetara #2) by Michelle Jabes Corpora
  • Broken Dove (Silver Elite #2) by Dani Frances
  • The Heart of War by Olivia Snow
  • The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook (Dungeon Crawler Carl #3) by Matt Dinniman
  • The Setup Man (Catching Feelings #3) by Kate Watson
  • If You’ll Have Me by Esther Hatch
  • Their WIll Undone by R.J. Valldeperas
  • Behind Five Willows by June Hur
  • Man of My Dreams by Olivia Worley
  • [ARC] Prince of Swords (Arcana Academy #2) by Elise Kova
  • [ARC/ALC] Ancient History Between Us by Kaitlyn Hill
  • Curse of Shadows and Thorns (The Broken Kingdoms #1) by L.J. Andrews
  • The Enemy of the Book Keeper (The Secret of the Book Keeper #2) by J.A. Hemingway
  • Brighter Than Before by Courtney Walsh
  • White Rose Rising (The Alayan Series #2) by Kimberly Pearl
  • A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham
  • Us Dark Few (Us Dark Few #1) by Alexis Patton
  • [ARC] Daybreak (Sorrowsong University #2) by Autumn Woods
  • The Ballad of Falling Dragons (Moonfall #2) by Sarah A. Parker
  • Off Base by Haley Warren
  • [Reread] Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [Non-fiction] No Dumb Questions by Jason and Travis Kelce
  • The Antiquarian’s Object of Desire (Love’s Academic #3) by India Holton
  • The Summer of Lost Things by Jenn Bennett
  • The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego
  • [ARC] Of Venom and Vengeance by Mikayla Bridge
  • [ALC] When Dealing with Dragons by Dana Swift
  • Unbound (The Undone #1) by Peyton Corinne
  • [ALC/ARC] The River She Became {River & Salt #1) by Emily Varga
  • [Reread] A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ARC/ALC] Into the Fading Twilight (Starlight Grove #2) by Catherine Cowles
  • The Tapestry of Fate (Amina al-Sirafi #2) by Shannon Chakraborty

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph