You may remember that we absolutely, 100%, without a doubt looooooved The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. Well, Undercutting takes us back to Tanria with one new couple, one second-chance romance, and one epic quest. I'm not going to spend a lot of time giving you a summary of this one, since it would involve explaining a bunch of world building and back story. Let's just say that demigod Rosie (6 feet 5 inches of bombastic immortal woman) and scholar Adam (5 feet 5 inches of introverted inventor) get stuck together in a doomed world and have to figure out how to escape. And maybe they also set right a wrong in the garden of the gods along the way?⁠
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If you know this series, you know it's an incredibly appealing world of macabre whimsy with its own mythology and a 1950s aesthetic. Laine and I both felt that this book was a return to the micro love story + macro theme of mortality we loved in Undertaking. While the romance was a little less compelling, we both (!) teared up while reading this one. And yes, Duckers and Zeddie make a more-than-cameo appearance. ⁠

This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC :)

CRRRYYYYIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG!!! why is this series OOOOOVERRRRR?!? something about me is I LOVE BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I've been intrigued by Rosie ever since we briefly learned about her in book one. I love that Rosie and Adam had been partners for quite a awhile and were the most important people to each other. Always the best foundation for a relationship if you ask me hehe. After 20 pages I was like okay enough of this now kissssss. Also I LOVED Adam. <3 I will miss this world </3

This was the perfect ending to a lovely series! A tall glass of water and her short king! I wish this was a little more romance focused, but that’s ok! I still had a blast reading this one. I am curious to see where Megan goes from
Here.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! I have been obsessed with Tanria since The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy and while I am so sooooooo sad to see this series come to a close, Rosie and Adam have my whole heart. Bannen is an incredible author who wove such beautiful characters and the FUNNIEST dialogue into this incredible world. This series continues to be one of my favorites and I recommend it all the time.

I am so sad that this is the last in this series! I could get lost in Tanria for many more books. This is, however, a wonderful and fitting end to this incredible series.

Rosie and Adam have an incredible adventure, fall in love and save the world all at the same time. What else could you ask for? This book manages to be whimsical and full of jokes while also exploring the downsides to immortality (it sounds sad but I promise it’s not).

Thanks to NetGalley and Orbit for the free eArc!

This book was such a good ending to the series, it closed up a lot of the stories and conflicts of the series while also increasing the tension and suspense as Adam, Rosie, Duckers, and Zeddje are trapped on Tanria with no one else, after they evacuated the whole city. I love seeing these four spend time together, and just connect on a deeper level, and have fun even when the world was ending. The pacing of this story was a little slow, but added some good humor and communication to the rest of the group on Eternity that it keeps you hooked and wanting to know what happens next.

I also feel like this book really came full circle with Hart’s story as well, adding in the Warden and the door, and making the Gods and active part in their child’s lives, we see some heartwarming moments between everyone and I loved it so much. Adam and Rosie have a slow burn, and it’s real slow but omg it’s adorable. They both fall way before they’ll acknowledge it and I loved when they finally just spoke freely and let the other in! I also loved the second half of this book and their travels!

This book was just the perfect ending to this series!

Out of this series, this book was my least liked. I really liked the romantic dynamics, but I just didn't feel as much connection with these characters. I also don't know that I care for the ending. Overall, a good wrap up to a series, but somewhat disappointing.

4.25 / 5 Stars
I really enjoyed this book! The world in this book and series is vivid and unusual, so a quick layperson synopsis: Rosie is an immortal demigoddess. At 157 years old, she has lived a long life and seen many people come in and out. She is always a mourner never the mourned. And having lived this long, she is unapologetically herself. She loves a good bra and panty set. She is direct, sassy, has the flimsiest filter, and lives by the motto “act first, think never” because why follow social norms when you outlive them?

When Rosie notices a shadowy thorn thing in the portal that lets mortals pass in and out of Tanria (where Rosie lives), her team calls in Dr. Adam Lee. Dr. Lee has “an oppressive lack of personality” and has “never known an emotion he can’t quash.” And yet, there is something not so boring about him, perhaps a secret? One that Rosie very much wants to discover.

You will probably like this book if you like:
🐉 Cozy, whimsical fantasy books
🌹 Grumpy x Sunshine
🐉 Found family
🌹 A magical world with gods/demigods and extensive myths
🐉 Only one horse but instead of one horse it’s a pink, adorable dragon
🌹 Funny and playful prose
🐉 A tall queen (6’5”) and short king (5’5”)

I loved Rosie and Adam. Rosie is just not afraid to be herself at all times and it was really refreshing. She was funny and wild but was also navigating a complicated relationship with her father (a narcissistic god). Adam was quiet and introspective and I love a grumpy man who comes out of his shell for the lady that he loves. Their banter, once they realize there might be a flicker of something between them, was so charming. And the side characters were so fun and one-of-a-kind (obsessed with the chain smoking chief marshall).

I also think that if you find yourself in a reading slump where you feel like you are reading the same type of writing style over and over, you should pick up a book from this series. I found the prose to be so unique, playful, smart, while also being very silly. How often do you get to read a book where you see the words “susurrus” (great SAT word) and “turd” in the same paragraph?

This may have been because I was coming into this series at the third book (most definitely a choice), but it sometimes took a hot second to figure out what each of the magic things were. Like it took a second to fully comprehend that an autoduck was a car that could also drive in water. And some of the rules of the magical world are still a little unclear to me (don’t ask me what you can and can’t do in The Mist), but the vibes were good so I just went with it. The mix of the magical world with the mythology of that shaped the world was super interesting though!

I found that the ending was a tad slow and long at times, but it also had incredibly poignant moments that I really enjoyed. I will definitely go back and read the other books.

Thank you Orbit Books and NetGalley for providing the eARC! All opinions are my own.
Publication Date: July 8, 2025

I do not want this series to be done! I absolutely loved following along with the new pairing while also getting to see what was going on with previous couples. I actually really enjoyed that this one was a bit more fantasy plot oriented than the previous ones, and not as heavily governed by the romance. This is a series I will come back to again and again!

Thank you Orbit Books for this arc.

I don’t want to say too much more about the plot. It’s best to sit back and enjoy the ride, although the general trajectory is pretty well telegraphed for those who are paying attention.

There’s much more to Adam Lee than first meets the eye and as he and Rosie work to try and solve the problem their connection grows and they tumble into love. Their relationship was delightful. I appreciated Adam’s dry humour almost as much as Rosie did. (Though I admit I didn’t get the sandwich joke.) Working so closely together in a pressure cooker environment means that their relationship moves forward quickly in terms of time but they spend so much page time together it didn’t seem fast at all. And when they finally do get it on, well. Hot. I expected it of Rosie but Adam was a surprise packet.

Rosie is a wonderful character. She has basically no filter because she’s been around for too long to bother and she’s pretty reckless what with all the not being able to die stuff. She’s also kind and funny and has a deep love of expensive intimate apparel and her ostrich skin boots. She has also been adopted by a cranky cat which Rosie has named in a way only Rosie can.

The latter portion of the story becomes more serious as the stakes get higher and Rosie and Adam risk their new found love to save Tanria. This provides the opportunity for some poignant moments between Adam and Rosie which were just perfect and for both of them to be heroic and brave. I was all in for this pair to get their HEA.

The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam is fabulous end to the unique and extremely entertaining trilogy, with excellent worldbuilding, wonderful characters and great writing. There’s a lot of humour in the book, often served up with light-hearted back and forth banter and this only makes the more profound parts of the tale hit harder. The TL;dr is: I recommend, definitely read this book (the whole trilogy!).

What a fun, quirky, hilarious world Megan Bannen created! I so loved being back in this world with all my favorite characters. I had such a fun time with this. I adored Rosie and Adam. With all the hilarity and funny quips, the dialogue is fantastic and her use of words is like none I’ve read. As always, the endings always leave me teary and they pack a real punch. Loved!

I absolutely loved The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen.
I just loved every character and plot. The side character's were hilarious.
The world was super interesting and very unique, unlike anything I've seen before.
A unique romance I didn’t know I needed!

Thanks Orbit for an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!!

Usually I don’t care about not understanding Megan Bannen’s world building and I’m here for the relationship building but this was very lust to love within what felt like 4 pages. I still had fun, but it is my least favourite out of the trilogy.

THIS SERIES IS TOP TIER!!!!!

I cannot share enough superlatives to properly express the love I have for this remarkable series. Every book just keeps getting better & better and the connections feel like family whenever I revisit these characters that have become so dear to me.

If you’ve already read the first two books then you don’t need any convincing - this series is for everyone who loves quality fantasy. These characters always send me on a rollercoaster of emotions and this final installment was no different. I laughed, I cried, I swooned !

Thank you times a million to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. I can’t wait to see what else Megan Bannen creates!!!!

I was really hoping for a dual POV like we had in the first Hart & Mercy book, so that disappointed me a bit. It was nice to see old faces though! And Zeddie and Duckers stole the show— I really love them!

Even though this is a low rating, I actually liked it way better than the first two books.
I really feel like the writing improved and there were a lot less cringey moments. I loved the setting and the world building—I actually thought it was incredibly well done!
I think this series would actually be a lot better if it was just focused on a group of friends and not romances.

Every time I think about this book It makes me smile. I love this series so much but I think this one was definitely my favorite! Rosie is such a breath of fresh air. I loved how witty and tenacious she was. Adam took me a while to like but i think that that made me like him even more. His past and story were fascinating I loved that the old gods were a big part of this one. And it felt really good for Rosie to get the closure that she so needed when it came to her dad. It was fun to see how their actions caused the ripple effect for the Eternity crew. And of course I love that with all these books it's all hands on deck and we still get to see how the other couples are doing. This is the feel good book of the summer that i needed!

I absolutely adore this series; it is one of those cozy romantic fantasy series with gorgeous world building set in a world of gods and dimensions that celebrates culture and inclusivity. In this next installment we see demigod Rosie, stuck in an immortal existential crisis as she partners with the quiet and mysterious, Dr. Adam Lee, to figure out why the portals around Tanria are breaking down. While investigating the faulty portals, Rosie and Adam end up stuck inside the Mist as the rest of Tanria’s residents evacuate to safety. As they work to figure out why the mysterious and invasive plants are quickly taking over the Mist and breaking the portals, they discover that their lives are more tangled than the thorns that have trapped them.

This is a sweet slow burn romance that will warm your heart. I love that we get glimpses into the lives of the other Tanrian residents we have met earlier in the series. I was given the opportunity to review an advanced listener’s copy of this book and I really liked the narration. The narrator did a fantastic job with Rosie’s spunky energetic spirit and Adam’s reserved and guarded personality. She was able to capture so many comedic and romantic scenes and pivot seamlessly throughout the story.

Thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for my copy; all opinions are my own. The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam is available today!

Being able to read the advanced copy of the 3rd book in the Hart and Mercy series was very bittersweet for me. I recently binged the first two books so I was very excited to get back to Tanria and read about Adam and Rosie! This book fits perfectly with the first two as it was just as beautiful and magical! I LOVE this world so so much!!!
Megan’s writing and story building are unmatched. This book had love, fantasy, emotion, and so much more!! Truly a lovely read for me! This was so amazing, I’m thinking about reading through the series again!!

I’m so sad to say goodbye to this series! Megan Bannen never fails to bring a tear to my eye. I was really looking forward to reading Rosie’s story and I loved her every bit as much as I thought I would. And Adam, my short king. I loved his dry sense of humor and watching his walls slowly come down. He & Rosie were pretty much complete opposites but were perfect for each other.

I’m also thrilled that Duckers remained a constant throughout the series and that we got more of him & Zeddie. The story itself was really good as well with the four of them getting trapped in Tanria with some mysteries to solve along the way. The ending was absolutely perfect and had me getting emotional. This definitely makes my list of favorite trilogies!

Thank you to Orbit and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.