Book Review: The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley
Published: July 7, 2026
Series: Dearly Beloathed #2
Genres: Adult // Romance, Fantasy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Explicit Open Door)
Quick Thoughts: Words really can't describe how much I enjoyed The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy. Highly recommend for those wanting a slow-burn romance with really well-done characters, tension, banter, and comedy.
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What is The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemyabout?
Osric is a member of the Fyren Order, a guild of assassins who gleefully murder for money. Aurienne is a Haelan, a scholar-healer whose Order’s motto is Harm to none. Clear-cut absolutes separate them: good and bad, right and wrong, light and dark . . .
Until they don’t.
When Osric first bribed Aurienne to heal him, he never imagined those lines would begin to blur. But every healing session draws them closer together. He finds himself developing unwanted feelings for Aurienne as her capable hands heal his body—and his heart.
Aurienne’s perfect life has been flung into chaos in the form of a devastatingly handsome assassin. She should be in her research lab, not illicitly healing a Fyren every full moon—nor wrestling an attraction to him that threatens to slip into something else.
Things go superbly sideways when Osric and Aurienne discover more about the deadly Pox deliberately unleashed through the Tīendoms. The plague may be the work of another Order—an Order far nastier than either of them can handle.
As the lines between Osric and Aurienne continue to blur, the balance between peace and war, and love and hate, trembles, shifts, and hinges on a heartbeat.
The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy Review
When will I learn that the books I put off the longest are always the ones I end up loving? The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy was everything! It made me laugh, cry, and kick my feet — sometimes all within a few pages. This was the perfect conclusion to the duology, and I'm at a loss for what to read next.
Plot
My chief complaint about the first book is that we never got a full picture of how the world works, so there were parts where I felt a little lost. I didn't have that feeling reading this one. This book picks up right where the last one left off, so we're already in the thick of the plot, and it was easier to settle into the story quickly.
Romance
I fear this has ruined a lot of other romances for me because this one was perfect. It was a true slow-burn so there were plenty of will they/won't they moments, pining, yearning, and everything in between. While there was a little bit of the miscommunication trope, especially in the latter half of the book, I think it was less annoying because the book was in dual-POV and their reasons for not being forthcoming with one another were explained to us as readers. This duology is definitely not for those looking for a fast-moving romance, but the pay-off is SO worth it!
I am so sad this duology is over; I definitely could have spent many more books with Aurienne and Osric. While the romance is all figured out by the end, there are some open questions and curiosities, which gives me hope we'll get additional books in this world, even if they're not starring Aurienne and Osric.
So, should you read The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy?
Overall, I had the best time reading this book. Words really can't describe how much I enjoyed it. Highly recommend for those wanting a slow-burn romance with really well-done characters, tension, banter, and comedy.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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Potential spoilers ahead ⚠️
Alcohol use
Blood and gore
Bodily harm and injury detail
Death and murder
Illness and plague
Profanity
Trauma and violence
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Potential spoilers ahead ⚠️
Forbidden love
He falls first
Reluctant allies
Slow burn romance
Dual POV
One bed scene
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Yes, it’s the second and final book of the Dearly Beloathed duology.
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Two. The series is officially called Dearly Beloathed, and it consists of The Irresistible Urge to Fall For Your Enemy (book 1) and The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy (book 2).
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Yes, it’s noticeably more spicy than book one. It’s a 4 🌶️ out of five or explicit open door. That means the spice scenes are described on page and in explicit detail.
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The spice scenes occur in Chapters 12, 21, and 24.
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As the writing of this post, her next book hasn’t been formally announced, but she’s hinted at another novel focusing on one of the other Orders and set in the same world.