Does anyone remember that video game Spyro the Dragon? That’s almost all I could think about throughout the first half of this. Not in a bad way, just in a “I did not expect this” kind of way. That sentiment held true throughout my entire experience reading this. While I enjoy Megan’s writing, and absolutely LOVED The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, this one went an entirely different direction that I had a difficult time latching onto.

Things I loved:
• Humor: There’s a fun quirkiness to these books that I enjoy.
• Duckers: Loved him in Hart and Mercy and love him still
• The Romance: Though it was brief, it was beautiful.
• The Women’s Fiction Aspect: I appreciated reading about a real, flawed main character in her 50s who’s still trying to figure some of her shit out.

Things I struggled with:
• Too much at once: I expected this to be more romance centered and in a similar vein as Hart and Mercy, but it wasn’t. It read as predominantly women’s fiction but mix in Lisa Frank dragons, Monty Python skits, and an odd mystery (with a conclusion and motive that had me shouting, “Really?!”). It all left me a bit whiplashed.
• The pacing: I struggled through the first third of this and almost DNFed. It was a lot of dragons and not enough of the book’s namesake people. That being said, I enjoyed the second half much more, especially when we actually got more Twyla and Frank.
• Not enough Frank: Unlike Hart and Mercy, this story only offered a single POV, Twyla’s, and I needed more Frank.
• Love triangle-esque happenings: In line with my comment above, I did not understand the dedicated page time to another man. I needed more build up of Twyla and Frank so that I could fall in love with Twyla and Frank.

I went into this with expectations based on my obsession with Hart and Mercy, and that, I think, did not help this reading experience. If I can offer a suggestion, go into this with the understanding that Hart and Mercy and Twyla and Frank are completely different approaches. Had I gone into this anticipating women’s fiction with a hint of romance and eccentric fantasy, I may have been less disappointed.

Twyla Banneker is a 53 year old Tanrian Marshal. While on patrol, she and her partner discover the body of their work colleague covered in a strange substance. Although the main plot of the book was the solving of this mysterious death, this plot was second (to me anyway) to the story of a middle-aged woman trying to negotiate her career, family and love life. I adored reading about a woman MY OWN AGE who had adventures and was as interesting as the women who I know and love in real life. Bravo author Megan Bannen for this delightful book. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Net Galley for my advance reading copy.

thank you to net galley and orbit books for this eARC!

this book was cute as hell. i really loved the dynamics between all of the characters. i think the exploration of parent/child relationships was really well done and the different dynamics in this book were really interesting to read. i also was really interested in the idea of finding love later in life because i hadn’t really read any romance novels like that, and i think it was done very nicely. i also really love all the side characters. i think they add a lot to the book and they’re very well written and lovable. i also liked the scooby doo feel to the mystery aspect of this book. i think it fits the style very well, this very serious topic being dealt with kind of comedically with a kind of comedic ending. i really did enjoy this book and i’m glad i was able to read it!

This was delightful! I adored The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy so this was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it lived up to my hopes! Cozy, fun, and sexy, with characters to root for (poor Twyla; she is so clueless) and some fun action scenes--this is everything I want in a book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am so glad to be back to the world of Tanria! Cozy fantasy is such an underrated subgenre and Megan Bannen weaves a wonderful, colorful world in The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy(I was very glad to see their cameos in this book), and I'm happy to see her go more in depth with the lore and creatures of Tanria. I think mothers are criminally underutilized in the world of YA/NA Fantasy because...you know...they're usually killed off or not featured at all. And thinking about it, it's crazy to me why we don't want to feature mothers. They're strong, resilient, intelligent and brave people; perfect protagonist material!

I wish we had gotten Frank's POV like we did with Hart in the first book, because this book is only from Twyla's third person limited point of view. He has such a steady, reliable presence in Twyla's life and I can't help but get the warm and fuzzy feelings from him right from the start. My favorite part about this book was the emphasis on seeking happiness and never feeling like you just have to settle after a certain part of your life. You can always find excitement, passion, and joy as long as you keep your head up!

I had really enjoyed the first installment from this series with Hart and Mercy, but something about Twyla and Frank just didn’t hit the same. It was nice to see a book about a couple 50+ getting their second chance but it was also the sloooowest burn ever and left me a little unsatisfied with it at the end. I missed the dual pov, and the writing got repetitive with certain things. It felt more of a book about Twyla and less Twyla and Frank.

It’s a fun read for something low stakes, and if you’re looking for a couple that have a lot of history and emotional and familial baggage, but I don’t know if it’d be a book I return to.

I would have to agree with the claims that this is When Harry Met Sally with dragons

This was a delightful cozy fantasy with a slow burn, friends to lovers romance between two people in their mid-fifties. I found their ages to be refreshing. I thought I would hate it, but I surprisingly didn't. This is certainly injected with serotonin and worth the read.

I mean, there were dragons. Did I mention that already? It was so fun.

This is a 3.5 stars for me. Enjoyable read, but I found myself at times not connecting with the world building. It's just the high fantasy reader in me. I had the same issue in the last book.

Another great book from Megan Bannen. Although I didn't like this quite as much as The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (which is only a reflection of how much I adored that book), I loved that Twyla and Frank were seasoned characters navigating life and love in middle age. Also, bonus points for the best dragons I've ever read.

Delightful romantasy with mature characters and adventures galore. Couldn't have been more satisfied with the world building and realistic portrayal of love for older people. Overwhelmingly recommend.

Thank you to Orbit Books | Orbit and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest reveiw.

I received the arc via NetGalley for an honest review.

OMG this story! First of all, I absolutely loved coming back to Eternity and seeing all of the fun quirky people who inhabit there. I honestly think my favorite part is the relationship between Twyla and Frank. It is something so pure and so beautiful, and it is SO obvious he fell first but is too scared to say anything. I enjoyed seeing some familiar faces and checking in on how their life has been since we last saw them. I also loved the addition of DRAGONS!
All in all, this is the cozy rom com fantasy you're looking for.

I was obsessed with this book, there aren’t enough books that have “older” people as the love interests!! This was also PERFECT execution of the friends to lovers trope, perfect amount of secret pining and devotion to one another.

Highly highly recommend to anyone that likes this trope, wants to see more age range in romance books or just wants another glimpse at Hart& Mercy!

This is easily one of the best books I have read recently. I have not read the first book in the series and I still THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book. I am in love with Ellis.

I am looking forward to reading what else Megan Bannen will create.

This was a real miss for me. I had such an impossible time getting into it and it felt incredibly slow. I liked the characters but I was just so bored. DNF @45%.

Thank you to Orbit books and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review

I loved this book so much. I love the world Bannen has created that is a mix of whimsical, fantasy, and fun. Top tier banter, friends to lovers, just an all around a fun time. The characters and their relationship to one another is developed beautifully. The exploration of women’s role in a marriage and self identity in your fifties was handled expertly. I wanted the epilogue to go on forever. Twyla and Frank for life!!

Megan delivers another whitty, fantasy rom-com. I fell in love with the love story of Hart and Mercy initially but oh Twyla and Frank are a whole different level. I truly appreciated the maturity of the relationship in the story and I think I found a new trope thanks to Megan. This was a first for me reading a middled aged romance and what a way to step into it. A best friends to lovers, in between navigating and keeping order to a fantasy realm, also deal with more related things to real life. YES I said it, fantasy characters dealing with real life struggles of retirement and menopause! I honestly never thought I would relate to an older aged fantasy couple but here we are and I absolutely loved it. Maybe not the menopause part yet but it was refreshing to connect about dealing with the reality of normal changes to life and how at no matter what age it can still be scary and unsure! Their care for each other , their banter, and their whit throughout the story is everything. Gosh I’m ready to read it again it just made my heart so happy. No spoilers here but it is still a fantasy and we get DRAGONS in this book!

I received this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.


This was such a cute follow up to Hart and Mercy! It gave me all the feels and expanded on the superb world we were introduced to in the first book. While it’s not really required to read the first book, I would recommend it otherwise you will miss out on a lot of cute moments and Easter eggs from the first book.

I absolutely adored the dragons in this book as much as I adored the couple. I am a total (self-appointed) dragon connoisseur and absolutely loved how they were written in this book. Totally refreshing after reading higher fantasy dragon books, but with way more plot and intrigue than a typically rom com.

In all I will never not recommend this series and this author is an instant auto buy for me. With these two books it proves to me that she can’t miss! I can’t wait what she does in future books, #JusticeForDuckers

In this book you will find: Second chance romance, friends to lovers, jealousy, baby dragon, relationship issues, kidnapping, on page violence, off page death, the most romantic man you will ever hope to meet, and so much more!

Firstly thank you to Orbit Books & Netgalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review!

4.25 stars rounded down. Heading back into this world was so fun. I have never read a romance book about anyone above the age of 40, so reading a middle aged best friends/ coworkers/ neighbors to lovers was so fun & interesting. It definitely opened up the genre for me a lot!

What I liked about this book: nearly everything. The friendship and banter is so good. I love the world Megan Bannen has built within this series and it’s so unique while also feeling like a normal romance novel. I found myself giggling and kicking my feet.

What I didn’t like: the ending involving the illegal mining & how abrupt it happened. I feel like we barely spent enough time figuring out who was doing it, and sometimes Twyla got frustrating to me.

I was so happy to be back in the world. I enjoyed reading about Twyla and Frank's story, and loved seeing snippets of some of the Hart & Mercy characters. I loved that Duckers was included in so much of this story, as he provided lots of comedic relief and generally just made me smile. Twyla and Frank's story, while I still enjoyed it, didn't have the same punch as Hart & Mercy (my god, they're both so dumb sometimes). I felt like the book was more about Twyla than about Twyla & Frank. It heavily emphasizes her character, what she's been through, how she thinks, and how that history impacts how she interacts with the people and world around her.

Duckers/Zeddie next....?

₊ ⊹”here’s the thing: i love you. i mean, i’m in love with you, not just in the friend way, but in the gooey, romantic, soulmate way.”₊ ⊹

*:･ﾟmy thoughts┊ wowza! megan bannen does it again. i had pretty high hopes for this, considering ‘the undertaking of hart and mercy’ is probably one of my all time favorite books, and while this didn’t hit that exact feeling, i still really, really enjoyed this one! leaning more towards 4.5 on my rating!

this was very different from previous romances, aside from the fact that it’s set in a fantastical world with chicken-like dragons. it focuses on an older couple, with both frank and twyla being in their fifties. they’ve had a solid background of friendship for years, though both have been repressing any real feelings to not mess up their friendship.

i think this may be the only friends-to-lovers book i’ve really enjoyed, which is really saying something! frank and twyla’s friendship was so deep and genuine, and i loooved how much they supported the other. it was so obvious their connection ran deep, and i just really adored their companionship.

this also felt different in the sense that the romantic aspect between frank and twyla didn’t occur until almost 60% of the way through the book! and when it happened, it was a hard dive into it. i thought it was a really interesting approach to their romantic connection, but i honestly really enjoyed it. it felt really realistic and gave off a lot of angst and emotion that was fun to navigate with twyla.

besides the romance, the story itself felt really cozy and just so whimsical. tanria is such a magical, intriguing setting, and i loved learning more about the lore of this setting and the different elements attached. this book also dives into familial relationships and twyla’s struggle with being her own person outside of being a mom. even though i haven’t experienced anything she has, it was really inspiring to see her put herself first and figure out what she wanted and needed in her life. i loved her character so much!

i think my one little complaint is that i wish this had been dual perspectives, like the first one was. i would have killed to get into frank’s head throughout this journey, to see the turmoil he faced when realizing he had those romantic feelings for twyla and feeling like he had to push them down. i think it would’ve added such a good element to this book that tied it in a little better to the previous one.

overall, this was such a good, solid read! i absolutely loved this journey and cannot wait to grab a copy of this when it gets published! i hope that there’s more books set in this world coming in the future, too <3

3/3.5
I liked it, didn't love it. I must confess I have not read The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy previous to reading this book. Although, this novel is billed as a standalone (I did check before starting), and it's certainly easy to follow plot-wise without having read Hart and Mercy, I do think you lose a little impact of some of the setting and side story if you don't have that background. There were some scenes and tangents that felt like wasted time when its probable they actually really hit for returning readers. This particularly chafed because my biggest complaint was that this story dragged a bit. I am no stranger to a slow burn, I like a slow burn, but there were times where I felt like just nothing was happening. And I wonder, if I came into it with a greater fondness for the world, if I would have had more patience for it. Overall though I enjoyed myself and am happy to have received this advanced copy.