Olivie Blake strikes again! In fact, I would argue even stronger if that's possible. I devoured her previous books The Atlas Six and The Atlas Paradox but One For My Enemy was absolute brilliance in a book.

The gradual building of the characters was spectacular - I absolutely loved the way we were shown the feuds between the two families through the POV changes that revealed what each of them was thinking and doing individually. Lev and Sasha are possibly my favourite characters that Blake has given us readers, which is high praise considering my love for the Atlas characters. I was truly invested in each of their storylines as we continued through the book.

The pacing of the book felt just right, I stormed through it quickly but it was just enough to make sure that I relished what I was reading without forgetting everything that was happening. The narrative of the book being set like a play with scenes helped the narrative progress quickly and also made it an easy read to immediately pick up and be invested in.

However, most importantly, the writing itself was beautiful. I haven't read a book in a long time that has made me want to write down quotes, but this book was exactly that. Blake's depictions of love, both the good and bad, is stunning and captivating - you immediately feel invested in the characters and want to experience it for yourself! The book's links to Shakespeare felt fitting given how Blake's writing seemed to be just as lyrical as the excerpts that were chosen.

Overall, this was a truly brilliant book and is certainly one that I would recommend to anyone. You'll be astounded at how quickly you become invested and will never want to let these characters go. Side note, the drawings in this book are yet again incredibly done and add an extra element to the book that really draws it all together.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for access to this book - I can't wait to see what Olivie Blake has in store for us next!

Despite already owning multiple Olivie Blake books, this is actually the first one I've read and I absolutely loved it!

Olivie Blake has a complex but beautiful writing style that completely draws you in and keeps you hooked on the story. One For My Enemy is definitely a strange book but in a very good way! It is full of drama, magic and so many twists and turns that get your heart pounding! My only complaint would be that the world building was slightly confusing at first.
Overall, a phenomenal book and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Oh Olivie Blake... What have you done to us...

I can't stop thinking about this book. THE PROSE? The opening scene? The absolute TRAGEDY that is this story? Ugh... I can't think straight, Olivie!!

If you haven't heard of this it's an urban fantasy romance and a Romeo + Juliet re-telling, but, make them Russian witches living in New York. Like how incredible does that sound??

If this is your first Olivie Blake, get ready to read through the most lyrical, romantic, poetic style of writing I've seen in a long time! (S T Gibson is also a genius at this) The good thing is that because this isn't an academic story, it doesn't come off as pretentious like I know The Atlas Six can (yet, still amazing).

This is also very character based rather than plot/action, so do take that into account. You spend time with them going through an emotional roller coaster and witnessing the dynamics between everyone that has led them to this point. Both the romantic and sibling relationships are strong and well done in my opinion. Masha was a personal favourite because of that big sister energy.

I am truly in awe of this book and that ENDING? Stop. Absolutely heart wrenching. I smiled through my tears.

As I'm writing this I'm just loving it even more but I can't fail to recognise that at one point during the end, it did become quite dense and really slowed the pace down to where I got a -little- confused so that's what caused the half a star but other than that... PERFECTION.

Olivie I love you and... kind of hate you? (sorry) because I'm emotionally distressed and this book will now haunt me forever...

4.5 / 5

What can I say this is what Olivie does at her finest!

Set in New York you are thrown into an alternative underground magical version of the city we know and love.
You jump into a Romeo and Juliet esque timeless story of rival warring families between the magical famalies the Fedorovs & Antinovas.

“At best, Dimitri Fedorov was Marya Antonova's
greatest weakness. At worst, she was his.”

I love an urban fantasy and one for my enemy brings totally realistic magic to a more modern feeling setting.

Like a magical gangster film inside your head there’s so much tension and drama.

What Olivie does best is bringing characters to life with so much depth and real visceral moments you are so attached that every twist and turn cuts you like a knife.

Overall this is one of the top reads of the year for me I cannot wait for the book tour!

Olivie Blake can do no wrong for my students and I, and in this newest title, that trend continues. One of the most phenomenal writing styles I have ever witnessed.

I had to stop reading this just a few pages in as the formatting of this was off and some words were missing letters. This made it quite difficult to read and actually get into the story. I was constantly having to guess what some of the words were.

I get a few pages in and already had a couple of negative notes so I don’t know how much I would enjoy the whole book but here are my very early thoughts:

1. The character description list at the start will probably be good for a lot of people, but personally I don’t do well with having a lot of information thrown at me in one go. Also, as the formatting for this was also off I ended up skipping most of it.

2. This is definitely the type of book that acts like you already know the world it is set in and who the characters are. I get that this is why there’s a character description list at the beginning, but you can’t guarantee that people are actually going to read it.

Genuinely the description sounds really interesting and if this file had better formatting I’d probably give it a good try, but it’s unreadable in this state. I will rate 3 stars though as the plot sounds promising and I really like the cover!

— 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 —

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: One For My Enemy
𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: N/A
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫(𝐬): Olivie Blake
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fantasy Romance
𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 6th April 2023
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 4.5/5

“Don’t be a gentleman right now.” She pronounced the word “gentleman” like “idiot.” “We might not have time for an entire book.”
“Don’t say that,” he managed, mouth dry. “Please don’t say that.”
Sasha leaned forward, lips against his cheek. “Write me a tragedy, Lev Fedorov,” she whispered to him. “Write me a litany of sins. Write me a plague of devastation. Write me lonely, write me wanting, write me shattered and fearful and lost. Then write me finding myself in your arms, if only for a night, and then write it again. Write it over and over, Lev, until we both know the pages by heart. Isn’t that a story, too?” she asked him softly.
He hesitated. “This isn’t the story I wanted for us.”
“It never is,” replied Sasha, who knew better.”

I want Olivie Blake to write my wedding vows.

In One For My Enemy she writes forbidden love as though it’s burning up her very soul. This book depicts a violent, all-consuming, cursed love based on great fictional figures: Romeo & Juliet, Koschei & Marya, and Baba Yaga who poses as a menacing, feminine force in this story.

But, these are just influences, this book stands all on its own stage of originality, infusing it’s cast with magic, and secrets, and deals. The cast in this story is powerful and destructive, leading the story with compelling captivating.

“I’m your enemy in the morning,” he whispered. Fair warning.
His hand traced the shape of her scapula, ngers brushing the length of her spine and then curling upward, possessive.
“I’m your enemy tonight,” she said, and kissed him again.”

I am so enamored with Blake’s writing style. She can be quite tangential in her prose but I love that. I love how her dialogued declarations of love between characters isn’t this structured movie-moment, they sprawl across the page and read like stomach-clenching desperation. I love how I can fall into her stories and climb back out in a bittersweet state.

Story wise, I loved the premise of two witchy criminal families warring against each other. Matriarch against patriarch. Whilst their kids fall in love. Even though I’ve just finished this, I wanna read it all over again.

“Imagine thinking something is cursed simply because others would die for it. What’s love, then?”

𝑲𝒂𝒚𝒍𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉 @ 𝑾𝒆𝒍𝒔𝒉 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝑭𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒚
🧚‍♀️🤍

If you like a book in the style of Romeo and Juliet with witches then this is the book for you. The female characters were strong, feisty, driven and darn right fearless and that's what kept me reading .For me the book would have been better without the lovers. This is just my opinion.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Unfortunately, I had to DNF this around 50%. I really liked The Atlas Six by this author and therefore wanted to check out the author's other works as well. However, this book just didn't work for me. The story felt too insta lovey and the world and magic felt vague and directionless. After reading half of it, I didn't have any interest to read further.

This is the first book I have read by this author and it was a totally unexpected book. I loved the structure and the characters. It's a bit strange, with a lot of metaphor and more lyrical descriptions, but at the same time magical and very emotional. The story draws you in from the very first moment and it was a wonderful read.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for allowing me an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I feel like i need a re-read before rating this. I'm very much undecided, not because i didn't love it because i did, but because Olivie Blakes writing does make me work for it and makes me engage my brain as its beautiful.

After a re-read i will most likely have far more to say as i do love a good story retelling. I will most likely use audio next time too to tandem read!

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the EPUB of One for my Enemy by Olivie Blake in exchange for an unbiased and honest review.

This is not a love story for the faint hearted, it's Romeo and Juliet caught up in a dark, drug dealing, blackmailing, witchy world where magic has no limits; featuring illustrations by littlechmura that are a magic all of their own.
One for my Enemy is my first Olivie Blake novel but, to partially quote my favourite mermaid, let me be part of your world! There are so many mentions of “old world laws” and “My daughters… know their history… what makes them witches” but these laws and histories are never explained to us readers - and I’d love to know! I would fall over backwards for some world building, an explanation on how their magic works, or even one of Baba Yaga’s bath bomb recipes. The focus is so heavily on the characters and dialogue that the world is left behind, location descriptions are brief at best and I only knew it was set in New York as we're told in the first few pages; although a few boroughs are name-dropped throughout.
I loved that the Antonova sisters each have a magical talent but it's a shame that they were overshadowed by the bigger names in the family. They had a lot of potential but were sadly only used to further the plot. Speaking of plot, I understand that the family politics are an essential part of a Romeo and Juliet retelling but the enmity between the families throws off the timing of the romance. When we come to the star-crossed lovers the majority of their relationship has already happened. We don’t really see them falling in love, or given a reason why they still feel this maddening passion after a decade apart; we're so removed from it that I felt distanced from the characters and relationship altogether.

I did appreciate the call backs to the original text, especially how Blake took Romeo and Juliet talking in metaphors when they first meet and brings it into a modern world by having them text each other. It's simple, effective, and it's still two people reaching out to each other while cautiously hiding behind wordplay. But alas, I don’t think this is the Blake novel for me, I have however purchased The Atlas Six and look forward to seeing how Blake has grown as a novelist. I will be posting a more spoiler-y review to Goodreads, but you can find this review on Instagram, Twitter, Waterstones, and also on Amazon on the release date.

One for my Enemy is available for pre-order now and on sale April 6th in the UK.

4.25/5

Love. Power. Magic. Betrayal. This book has it all.

With all the drama of Shakespeare, this modern day retelling with a magical elements was captivating from the start.

This book was exceptionally written. Blake has a way with words that just makes the story come to life, with prose that makes you fall in love with the universe created. I really loved the blurred lines between the prose and playwriting style. It added a unique flair to this book that I personally haven’t seen before.

I did think that this story would focus on Sasha and Lev but I loved how we got see see so many other plot lines and relationships. Using the perspectives of different characters really portrayed the rivalry within this story and showed just what these characters thought of each other. At times I found myself wanting to pick sides but struggling to do so.

I loved watching the progressions and changes through not only the romantic relationships in this book, but also the family relationships. With all of the betrayal and revenge it was clear that it would cause some turbulence within these relationships and it was interesting to see how these changed between all of the characters throughout the book.

The illustration in this edition were stunning and really helped to paint a picture of the characters in my mind alongside the written descriptions of them.

This book is perfect for any urban fantasy lover who loves a Romeo and Juliette type of romance.

Thank you to Netgalley, Tor, and Pan Macmillan for this eARC.

Olivie Blake is a phenomenal author! Ever time I read a book by her, I feel like I know her a little bit more. It's like she gives a part of her self to every book she writes!

One for my Enemy is a Romeo and Juliet retelling. I'll be honest I haven't read Romeo and Juliet but I know what the gist of the story is. I might go read it now but I'm not sure it's fair on Shakespeare.

I loved every minute of reading it, I loved the way it was written. The chapter structure, the tension and the relationship (both intimate and family). I fell in love with Lev and Sasha. The illustrations throughout the book made me happy.

The story is full of interesting characters with intertwined story's.

I will read anything Olivie Blake writes! anything!

I love retellings so I was keen to read this and it didn't disappoint. I was hooked right from the start and couldn't put it down. I read it so quickly.

As far as Romeo and Juliet inspired writings go - this was by far, the most perfect I could have expected. On one hand, the trope is familiar to us all but can sometimes come across as cliched and forced.

However, One For My Enemy used so many layers to bring this story to life in a really compelling way.

Using familiar settings of New York and underworld crime families, magic is weaved in to create this love story that focuses not just on our modern-day Romeo and Juliet, but their families.

The writing is stunning, it's extremely plot driven but the insight into the characters is just enough to choose favourites.

This is my first read of Olivie Blake and now I am SO excited to read Atlas Six because her writing is stunning.

And whilst it's completely unrelated, I'm glad that I'd previously read The Witch and the Tsar because it gave some of the Russian family names and terms so much more meaning.

Thank you to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for the arc of One For My Enemy by Olivie Blake in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

I’ve read a few books by Olivie Blake now and I can truthfully say that to date, this is the one I have most enjoyed, which is probably more of a surprise to me than you. This is a Romeo and Juliet retelling, nothing new there you might say but, the there’s a twist that truly bring this retelling to life…and for the record, I haven’t really been a fan of R&J retellings previously.

Set in an alternative current day New York, Blake sets the scene, magic is currency, two rival witch families rule criminal society, and nothing, not even death can put an end to their rivalry.

Baba Yaga head of the Antonova family, and her seven daughters (yup, that mystical seven,) oversees her empire managed by her eldest daughter Marya, from their elite beauty and treatment store. The Fedorov brothers operate under the watchful eye of their father, Koschei, (God of death,) collect favours and deal in shadows and spirits from their furniture warehouse, open by appointment only.

Amidst this dark, stormy, and striking rivalry lies the past lost love of the eldest from each clan, Marya and Dimitri, and the new storm that has struck the hearts of the youngest, Lev and Sasha.

This book delivers complicated relationships, romance, serious plot and machinations, alongside heartbreaking loss and devastation. This isn’t just a teenage romance or Insta love, this is truly a bitter vendetta, tension and plans within plans, and of course love…I know I should quote Shakespeare here but, IYKYK. Add in the beautiful illustrations by Little Chmura and, this reprint of One For My Enemy truly delivers a beautifully written and illustrated, fantasy romance that will have your heart racing!

I loved it! The atmosphere was so well written! Every character was original, deep a'd useful. The idea is so great. I loved seeing the two families, their adventures. It was really great.

To be completely honest, I'm not a huge fan of Romeo & Juliet story. However, I'm a sucker for its' retellings, especially if they are written by someone as talented as Olivie Blake. Her prose, beautiful but not unnecessary pompous, dark and melodic, holds a special place in my heart and the part of a brain that determines what things I find truly satisfying and just right, how they're supposed to be. 'One For My Enemy' is an emotional story but written in a way that somehow you can relate to. So I'm (not) sorry Shakespeare, but Olivie bested you.
What's more, I deeply believe that women in my family are descendants of the legendary Baba Yaga (yes, my mom is a witch) so when I saw her name in the book blurb, I knew in that moment that I'll never not take advantage of an opportunity to read about Slavic families feud - I guess it's just in my nature.

This is my favourite of Olivia Blake's books yet! Each character is beautifully written, with all their flaws and strengths on full show for us to fall in love with. The New York setting was atmospheric and captivating, mixed in with politics and the rivalry between two witch families as they fight for power. I'm a sucker for a good Romeo and Juliette retelling, and am now very intrigued by the lore of Koschei and Marya. My only complaint was that the ending felt a little dragged out, but I still highly recommend this book!