Any Romeo and Juliet inspired book is an instant read for me and this one and this did not disappoint. It was my first book by Olivie Blake and and I will definitely be reading more in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me this arc!

I requested this book because I love Olivie Blake’s other books ‘The Atlas Six’ series and I wanted to give her other books a go.

This did not disappoint!

I think I need to admit to myself that Olivie Blake is not for me. It's the writing style. It just doesn't draw me into the stories, and I find that instead of being invested and wanting to read on I just get easily distracted by the overly descriptive, waffly pretentious paragraphs that provide no substance whatsoever. The world building is nonexistent. I also didn't like the characters, which I found to be very one dimensional and lacking in chemistry - both in the past and present.

One For My Enemy is a Romeo and Juliet retelling, but with Russian folklore. You have the Antonova sisters and their mother Baba Yaga, and the Fedorov brothers and their father Koschei the Deathless. These families are rival witch clans – but then a chance encounter challenges everything.

Olivie Blake really does like to write morally grey or frankly unlikeable characters, morally grey can be interesting in that it creates a complexity, but an unlikeable character is difficult to spend time with especially when you just don’t care what happens to them or feel like you understand them enough to try. Unfortunately, for me, One For My Enemy is riddled with unlikeable characters that I really struggled spending time with while reading this book and didn’t make this a particularly enjoyable read. I do fully respect an author not filling a book with happy, good characters because it can be boring time, but also, there are a lot of insufferable people in this book – Sasha and Lev I’m looking at you!!!

Sasha and Lev are in rival witch-clan families and the babies of their families, they instantly fall in love after meeting when they shouldn’t (you just have to accept they fall in love straight away and nothing and no one else matters (don’t try to understand it). Then there’s Masha and Dima, the older siblings of the duel families who have loved each other for 12 years but from afar, Masha is married, Dima is broody, but they’re all about family responsibility. Oh and the parents, Baba and Koschei, even have a thing, a complex love-hate thing with misunderstanding and bitterness. Basically both families are petty and bickering throughout the book.

A lot of characters die, a lot of characters are brought back from the dead so there doesn’t really feel like there’s a lot of threat or high stakes because of it. Of all the relationships I did enjoy Masha and Dima the most but it was still a struggle, any time spent with Lev or Sasha made me want to pass out. The concept of witch clans is interesting but not really explored enough for me for it to feel fully developed enough to be a plot point.

I never know how I feel about Blake’s writing, sometimes I find it beautiful and almost poetic, other times I find it a little overwritten and self indulgent. There’s no denying Blake is a great writer but I still sometimes feel that I am being spoken at rather than to and it leaves me outside the story at times.

Thank you NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story of two rival witch families whose fragile truce is shattered when one of them discovers that the other has been making a profit off their back. How can a family's fate be defined so terribly by the hatred between two people that carries on through the ages? So much miscommunication! Makes for a frustrating, but fun read.

I did struggle to get into the book initially, but it was worth powering through.

First I would like to say thanks to Netgalley for giving me early access to this book prior to release. (Apologies it took me so long to get to it….)

This book is something else, never did I think I would read a reimagined mash up of classics (Romeo and Juliet + A Midsummer Night's Dream) with a hint of magic and a splash of faerie and a drop of Russian folklore and actually enjoy it.

One for my Enemy, Brings together 2 magical families who are from 2 different worlds, with 2 very different timelines of Love, power and absolute betrayal.

There are quite a few characters because of this to keep track of, but once you understand who the important Antonova Sisters are it is pretty clear who the Fedorov Brothers are.

It is harrowingly romantic throughout this story, but because of this the books pacing felt like it dragged on forever, struggling to find the plot (this is where it lost 1 star), it sometimes felt like a slog to get to the part of the plot that was important and then to see how this would neatly come together to build the conclusion of the book.

The character development was something that kept me going, and I am aware with most of Blake's books this is what is most important. Marya and Dimitri were definitely my favourites - their love story was so tragic but came to a satisfying conclusion. Sasha and Lev I loved from the beginning their initial banter and small interactions were what made me fully invested.

I'm not normally one for lyrical prose but Olivie Blake does this so well that it really sucks you in, and if you don’t annotate your books want to get a highlighter at the ready to revisit all the romantic quotes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and cant wait to see what Olivie comes out with in the future.

Another absolute masterpiece from Olivie Blake. I’ve read every single book by them so far and I hope they continue to write for years to come.

I can’t describe how obsessed I am with the stunning and atmospheric writing, the interesting characters, and fast paced plot.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for a chance to read and review this boo&.

The author created such a beautiful and poetic writing style. The world and character building was good. The characters were complex, you couldn’t love or hate them. Definitely recommend this

Romeo and Juliette but with magic and witches - I thought I would absolutely love this, anit did start out really strong. But I quickly felt it was very repetitive, boring and predictable.

Having read Atlas six and loved it, I looked forward to this and I was not disappointed. If anything I loved it more.
A witchy tale that is character driven, rich with its complexity. A truly wonderful read.

Olivie Blake delivers yet again with this complex, character-driven saga. Filled to the brim with betrayal, pain, and clever witches, this was the utterly perfect fantasy for me: heavier on the families, legacies and betrayals than intricate workings of the magic universe. If you loved The Atlas Six or any character-driven fantasy, you'll no doubt love this too! Impossible to put down, richly imagined, utterly unmissable.

Sasha and Lev forever <3

Thank you NetGalley for an e-arc of this book. Olivie Blake is my all time favourite author at this point and this was the only book I haven't read at the point of requesting it. There is no surprised I loved it!

This is the author that made me love a Romeo and Juliet retelling, wonderful! I love the world, the interesting family dynamics, the beautiful writing, everything! This is just so precious to me!

In the year 2023, Olivie Blake stands out as a master of conveying longing, yearning, and angst through her unparalleled storytelling. Each of her works, with their diverse concepts, leaves me in awe of the eloquent prose and compelling one-liners she effortlessly weaves. She is undeniably a gift to the literary world, especially for those who appreciate lyrical storytelling.

Her latest creation is a captivating blend of Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, an audacious combination that she navigates with skill. The narrative unfolds through the lens of two distinct families, worlds, and timelines, exploring themes of power, love, and betrayal. At its core, the story delves into the intricacies of family dynamics and sibling bonds, portraying a love that often feels overwhelming. Yet, woven into every aspect is an enchanting tapestry of magic, fae, and well-guarded secrets. I found myself thoroughly enchanted by this meticulously crafted tale.

The narrative introduces a myriad of powers, each contributing to the story's richness. As the final pages turned and the epilogue unfolded, I couldn't help but be impressed by the depth and complexity of the story. In its entirety, "One for My Enemy" is a spellbinding journey, and I can't help but feel that a part of my own heart was left behind within its pages.

This book was amazing! Inspired by Romeo and Juliette it takes on its own life. There were some heart achingly beautiful scenes and descriptions and the characters and their motivations felt so real they almost stepped off the page.

This was my first foray into Olivie Blake’s writing and I have 0 regrets.

Thank you NetGalley and Tor for allowing me the opportunity to read the arc.

All opinions are my own.

I appreciate it's taken me a while to review this, but I was having difficulty reading it due to the way it's formatted on the proof version for Kindle.

What I have read so far is great, and I am loving it! I have since purchased a hardcopy of the book and will continue to read it physically, and review it on online platforms once completed!

Absolutely captivating and beautiful. I have attempted to read The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, and it wasn't one of my favourite reads. However, I was excited to give One for My Enemy a go and boy I was not disappointed. It's beautifully written, with an original and engrossing plotline. The characters where solidly developed, and interesting. I did find that the multiple POVS quite difficult to keep up with, but I did appreciate them.

I am a huge fan of Olivie Blake and her style of writing. This story which is a supernatural and modern day retelling of Romeo and Juliet is possibly bordering on the wordy side in parts and the characters names have a few variations depending on the familiarity of who they are talking to means it can feel quite intense and lng winded, something you need to concentrate on a little more but I think is certainly worth t. Maybe not my favourite book of hers but I really did enjoy this New York based witch mafia style drug trade family war mixed with not one, or even two but three cross family love / relationships. T shows what some are willing to sacrifice in the name of family or live but equally what others can be too selfish to ver truly understand

I received this book as an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I received an e-copy of One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake from Pan Macmillan and Netgalley. Even though I have been gifted this book for review, all opinions are my own.

This urban fantasy story is a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. These types of tales are hit or miss for me. But the authors style of writing is poetic and engaging. I loved that how the author has taken the familiar tale and made it her own. The new location and setting with witches as the main protagonists. If you enjoyed other works by the author, then I am confident you will enjoy this novel.

Thank you to the publishers for gifting me this novel to read and review.

“You are not incomplete because a piece of your heart is gone. You are you, an entire whole, all on your own. If you have loved and been loved, then you can only be richer for it- you don’t become a smaller version of yourself simply because what you once had is gone.”

this review is not spoiler free

This was my first Olivie Blake book even though I own most of her books and it was a very strong place to start. Her writing style is absolutely gorgeous and she has a real way of pacing and describing drama that makes it so enthralling. I loved this book so much!

I would have liked to have see a bit more character development and development of the character dynamic before we really got thrown into the thick of the drama, I especially would have liked to have seen Lev and Sasha’s relationship develop a bit more because whilst I was rooting for them and it was devastating for Sasha to have to experience Lev die like that, I would have liked to have seen a stronger bond develop first. I guess it’s just me being cynical about how quickly people can fall in love that makes me want that. The drama did also help with the character developments tbf, especially where Dima, Masha, Sasha and Roma were concerned, I feel like all the events that unfolded gave us a real glimpse into their characters and we got to see them change and suffer and grow from what happened. I also think that that helped me grow more attached and sympathetic to characters that I had not been as impartial to before.

The feuds between the families and the reasons behind the hatred was very interesting to learn about it and it was so unsurprising to find that it all boiled down to points of pride more than anything else. Pride is many people’s downfalls.

My favourite character was absolutely Lev. Was it because I kept picturing him as Lev from Haikyuu?? Perhaps. But also, he had such complete and utter golden retriever energy. He made me laugh. He was loyal. He was loving. He was just the absolute sweetest character, and I really felt for him being torn between his loyalty to his family and his brothers, and his feelings for Sasha as the enemy. I was absolutely distraught when Stas killed him because wtf. No. You can’t do that to my boy. But thank every god that his “enemies” brought him back. It was really sad though that he thought that Sasha was still dead when she was the other half of Masha’s plan and I was so happy when they finally got to reunite again. I also loved the fact that Lev had faith and belief in Masha simply because she reminded him of Dima and the way that he thought and planned, and because he worked out that the two of them had been in love with one another.

I also loved Dima a lot. I wasn’t sure about him at first because ofc we don’t really see much of him before BAM he’s put in a magical coma. But reading about his history with Masha and the two of them being (briefly) united before Roma stabbed Masha made me really warm up to him. It was extremely clear just how much he loved her. How much he would have sacrificed for her. And I mean, tbh, bit far to cut out her heart when she was dead to keep it safe, bit of a literal interpretation of what she said to him all those years ago, and I cannot imagine how vile it must have been to have been going to bury her heart and seeing it beating right there out of her chest, but I’m glad it made it clear to him that she was alive and that he could stop hurting. Dima’s story is as tragic as Masha’s tbh, and the fact he would have chosen her above his family if she’d given him the choice all those years ago shows how much he loves to, and to be able to do what he did in the end, to stab both her heart and himself, to follow her into the afterlife, was devastating, but it was clear he could not live without her and he would have blindly followed her anywhere.

Masha was a very complicated character for me. I didn’t love or hate her. She was a very complex character to understand and very interesting as she always had motives on top of motives and kept her true intentions hidden at every turn. She was extremely smart and calculated in the risks she took and worked everything out to a tee. She was also very ruthless, even before Dima carried her heart and it wasn’t in her chest, she was always trying to swallow her emotions and refused to show a single one of them on her face despite being in constant pain. I do truly believe that she always acted with her sisters in mind though and her hope to find Dima again. It was literally heartbreaking when the two of them died together at the end, but getting to see them reunited and together on the other side made me sob so hard. The two of them had been in so much pain their entire lives due to their parents and I’m glad that they finally got their peace and to be together. It’s what they deserved.

I also had very mixed feelings on Roma, I wasn’t his biggest fan to begin with, but I started to feel bad for him as I imagine it would be hard to grow up in a household where eit is clear that you are not the favourite or cared for as much as your siblings and to always live in their shadows. I absolutely called him being the one behind what had been happening to aggravate the feud, especially as he was so pushy about Lev getting involved and it was pretty much confirmed for me the second that Dima refused to tell Masha who was actually behind it because “she would kill them” even though we didn’t get actual confirmation that it was Roma until a bit later. I also thought it was hilarious when Sasha was “haunting” him and gaslighting him into believing his father was responsible, it was pretty funny tbh and he did deserve it given that he killed Masha, killed Stas and was, by extension, responsible for Lev and Masha’s deaths too. I did end up feeling bad for him though as it was evident that his guilt about what happened was really weighing on him and driving him to insanity. It was nice in the epilogue too to learn that he’d worked with the faery whose name I can’t remember in his law firm, twas nice to know that he was beginning to turn things back around for himself.

I have more to say but my brain has officially left the building so yes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book; it had witches, it had interesting family and character dynamics, it had drama and suspense, and I could certainly see the Romeo and Juliet element. Was it my favourite retelling? No. Would I read it again?? Absolutely. And you can guarantee that if Fairyloot ever bring back their special edition of it, I’ll be buying it in a heartbeat bc the colour scheme has a chokehold on me.

I feel like Olivie Blake’s writing can be hit or miss for some people but I really liked this one!! It was a perfect quick read and the storyline was great! 100% recommend