Brigitte Knightley’s Dearly Beloathed duology comes to a close with The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy. Full of action, intrigue and a slow-burn romance that finally ignites, Osric and Aurienne’s adventure will leave readers breathless.
Osric is part of the Fyren Order, a morally gray guild of assassins who only answer to money. When a terminal illness threatens to rob him of his magic, he seeks out the talent of famed healer Aurienne, who wants nothing to do with him. But Osric makes it hard to say no when he both threatens her with death and also agrees to fund her hospital, which is currently struggling to figure out the cause and cure of a deadly pox afflicting children.
In the previous book, The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy, Aurienne and Osric were repeatedly thrown together in intimate scenarios (late-night physicals, secret research trips) as the two of them investigated ways to cure Osric’s illness. Their developing closeness and Osric’s condition are still present in The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy, but there’s now an additional complication as they learn more about the source of the aforementioned dangerous plague.
This book is equal parts medical mystery, dark fantasy and a romance bursting with tension and yearning. It’s everything readers loved about book one, cranked up to 11, especially as tensions come to a head. Those who were desperate for more romantic developments between Osric and Aurienne will have their wishes granted, but be warned that this romance is aptly named. Expect to discover new levels of agonizing patience while enduring Knightley’s “exquisite torment.”
The conclusion of this duology is so satisfying, worthy of dreamy, misty-eyed sighs. It will likely turn readers into forever fans of Knightley, who has set the bar high for her future works. A fantasy romance that is both darker than the norm but also adorable in its grotesqueries, the Dearly Beloathed duology is a must-read for enemies-to-lovers aficionados.