“But Rosie Fox did have red eyes, and that was no lie. Red. Like the color of apple skins. The color of geranium blooms on a hot summer day. The irises that hugged her black pupils against a field of white were as bright and livid as a tomato.”
Megan Bannen, The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam

The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam is Megan Bannen’s wonderful, delightful swan song to the world of Bushong and Tanria. While I loved it as much as the other books, I am sad to leave behind the characters and this place that I have grown to love over the course of the series. It was another cozy, beautiful romantasy to read, and it was just what I needed this summer. This book takes place ten years after the Undermining of Twyla and Frank, and focuses on four characters: Demigod Marshall Rosie Fox, Marshall Penrose Ducker, Zeddie Birdsall, and Dr. Adam Lee. A mysterious, shadowy plant, which only Rosie can see, is growing through the portals, making them malfunction. As they evacuate Tanria, the four do not make it in time and are stuck until the portals can be fixed, which is becoming increasingly difficult due to the shadowy plant. Making the most of the situation, as they try, along with those on the outside to find a working portal, the four form a bond of friendship and love. I highly recommend not only the Undercutting of Rosie and Adam, but all the books in the Hart and Mercy series. They are the perfect cozy read, and I know you will fall in love with the characters and the world as much as I did.

Rosie is a demigod, who, unlike Hart, is immortal. Her father is the Trickster god. She harbors a great deal of resentment of his absence throughout much of her life. Rosie is now partners with Penrose Duckers, or Pen, who we met in the previous books, and was Zeddie Birdsall’s former boyfriend. Trapped in Tanria, after not seeing each other for 10 years, makes for some awkward situations. Zeddie left to become a chef, and is back now to head the restaurant at the new dragon preserve, which is run by Twyla and Frank. It was great seeing their character arcs fully develop. Dr. Adam Lee is the inventor of the portals, but is not having any success fixing them. The shadowy plant continues to take over not just the portals, but Tanria as well. Pen and Rosie are perfect together. Unfortunately, since Rosie cannot die, she gets into a few situations where she dies, and a few hours later, she is back. This is rather unnerving for Pen, who constantly badgers her to stop dying. Rosie certainly isn’t fond of dying, and immortality feels more like a burden as she must watch the people she loves pass on without her.

“An uncomfortable bitterness squeezed Rosie’s chest as she regarded Roy Birdsall’s kind face smiling benevolently on all who came to grieve him. No one would ever grieve Rosie. It was like that saying about always being a bridesmaid and never a bride, except she was always the mourner, never to be mourned.”
Megan Bannen, The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam

Dr. Adam Lee is as strait-laced as they come. Arriving in an expensive, perfectly pressed, and clean suit, he cannot get any of the portals to work. Rosie is very attracted to Adam, even though he is the exact opposite of her. Ms. Bannen always makes her main characters very relatable. In this case, Rosie is a very tall, red-eyed outgoing demigod, and Adam is much shorter, brown eyed, quieter, and a bit prim. It is so refreshing since many books always have the MMC taller or “towering” over the main FMC. Rosie has no filter and says whatever is on her mind, while Adam is so reserved he either misses her jokes, or is shocked by what she says. He begins to “unwind” and embraces the friendship of the others as the spend more time together. Adam is full of surprises, and I loved his deadpan humor. As always, the banter between the characters, a trademark of Ms. Bannen, was sharp as ever and I found myself laughing out loud many times. Especially when Rosie names the stray cat that visits her apartment to be fed, Blammo Tinky Fartface. There were times I teared up as well, as I felt emotional throughout the story. It was thoroughly engrossing, a perfect balance of romance, humor, fantasy, and intrigue.

“A tenderness in Rosie’s chest pulsed, growing larger by the second. She wanted to sit across from this short, slender, near-sighted man with less-than-pristine teeth and hard outer coating. She wanted to look at his face in the candlelight…She wanted to share a quiet corner with him and take time to appreciate the amalgamation of supposed imperfections that somehow added up to a man that was achingly beautiful to behold.”
Megan Bannen, The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam
I always thought Tanria was a fascinating concept, a strange, mist shrouded place the marshals patrol for the safe-keeping of the towns, where no modern technology works inside It was created by the Old Gods and it is both beautiful and can be terrifying. In the last 10 years, the adorable, glitter spewing dragons are now permanent residents in Tanria. A preserve has been set-up and a restaurant will soon open, with Zeddie as chief chef. People come from all over to visit Tanria and the dragons. We get glimpses into the lives of the Bushong residents we have come love from the previous books. Hart and Mercy now have 2 children, Zeddie was away becoming a Master Chef, Twyla and Frank run the dragon preserve, as previously mentioned. Chief Alma Maguire is tough as ever, with her wife, Diane still the one that calms her. The LBGTQIA+ representation is an added plus, and flows so well with the characters.

The pacing and prose of this book were beautifully done. There was never a moment that I was not totally engrossed in this novel. As the mysterious plant continues to grow and take over Tanria, it’s a race against time to get out before it is completely overrun. On one page I was laughing out loud from the barbs the characters were making, and on the next page, my heart was breaking for all of them possibly never getting out of Tanria and seeing their loved ones and friends again. Pen and Rosie were amazing as partners and added the perfect amount of levity to the story. There were so many aspects of this book to love. Rosie was a strong female protagonist, but as an immortal demigod, there is an underlying element of sadness and loneliness. Adam, despite his distant exterior, belies a man who may be just as lonely as Rosie, and the undeniable attraction grows between them. Pen and Zeddie have grown over the past the ten years, and the forced proximity makes for a very touching and amusing reunion. It was just a feel-good story and getting lost in it was a joy.

“Adam’s face crumpled with misery. “Go,” he begged her one last time.
She took his face in her hands and gazed at him with love and outrage. “Dream on.”…
He finally came to a stop in front of her…”Why?”
“Because I’d rather be stuck in here with you than stuck out there without you, you fucking asshole.”
Megan Bannen, The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam

This was my final time going back to visit my Bushong family, and I am sad to say goodbye. Ms. Bannen has written another perfect romantic fantasy in The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam and I cannot recommend this book enough. If you typically do not read cozy, romantic fantasy, I urge you try The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam, and all the books in the series. I know you will love them as much as I did.

My thanks to Orbit Books and Oliver Wehner for providing me with an ARC copy of the book.
My thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eBook.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I would read ten more books set in this universe. While I'm sad that this seems to be the conclusion of the series, it was another amazing entry to the universe.

Both Rosie and Adam were such great characters and played off of each other so well. I loved how their overall stories contributed to the lore and backstory of the world. Their chemistry and connection was also off the charts. I really enjoyed seeing them grow together. I also really loved getting to spend some more time with Duckers and Zeddie in this book. I adore those two.

In this installment of the series specifically, Bannen does some really clever storytelling. A big theme of this book is Rosie struggling with her immortality. As one of the only immortals in the world, she struggles with outlasting everyone she grows to care about and time passing her by quicker than she realizes. This is especially difficult for someone who feels and loves as big and deeply as Rosie.

Bannen clues the reader into this feeling by beginning this book a full ten years after the previous one concluded. I found myself shocked by how much time had passed in-world, and then felt like I understood some of what Rosie was feeling. Also, this allowed "The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam" to act as a bit of an epilogue to the series as a whole.

Compared to the other two books, "Rosie and Adam" has the emotional gut punches and high notes of "Hart and Mercy" with all of the coziness, love, and found family of "Twyla and Frank". What a phenomenal way to end such a creative and heartwarming series. I can't wait to see what Bannen writes next.

5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam was a breath of fresh air. It was a quirky, heartwarming, cozy fantasy set in the delightfully bizarre world of Bushong and Tanria where glittery pink dragons roam the skies and mail is delivered by immortal animals. It had humor, witty banter, a bit of a mystery, complex characters, and the cutest opposites-attract romance I’ve ever read.

Rosie Fox is a Tanrian Marshal and immortal demigod who’s been alive for more than 150 years and is chaos in human form. She does whatever she wants and never thinks about the consequences, is brash, loud, and takes up a lot of space at 6 feet 5 inches tall. Adam Lee is the inventor of the Tanrian portals, and is Rosie’s opposite in every way. He’s quiet, soft spoken, mild mannered, wears bespoke suits, is a brilliant scientist and inventor, and is only 5 feet 3 inches tall. I absolutely adored them together. When the portals begin to fail, they are trapped together in Tanria, the abandoned prison of the Old Gods, and have to rely on lore and ancient history to save themselves.

This was the perfect ending to the series and had cameos of all our favorite characters from the first two books. The audiobook was narrated by Jim Frangione and Kacie Rogers, and I had a blast listening to it! The way they brought the characters to life only added to the charm and whimsy of this story and made me love it even more. Definitely add this series to your tbr!

Thank you to Orbit, Hachette Audio, Hachette, Megan Bannen, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC.

📔The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam
✏️ Megan Bannen
📆 July 8, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🥀 quirky, whimsical world
🥀 cozy fantasy
🥀 gods, immortals, dragons
🥀 delightfully lovable characters
🥀 opposites attract
🥀 great banter
🥀 mutual pining
🥀 forced proximity

4.5 - “If there is a smidgeon of like or love there, you may as well go for it. Those smidgeons can be hard to come by.”

This series has been such a joy to read, and I think this one is my favorite. I love how unique and interesting this fantasy world is, making it feel like nothing else I’ve read before. It has such beautiful relationships and grapples with heavy topics in a great way.

Rosie is so much fun as a character and I loved her immediately. She has such a spirited personality that feels like it literally jumps off the page. Adam is her completely opposite in nearly every way, but there’s this subtle tension between them. She’s so bubbly and he’s stoic and serious. But the circumstances they find themselves in force them into close proximity in an effort to save Tanria.

The romance and underlying plot of what’s happening to Tanria play off of each other so well. Everything is connected which keeps the plot together and makes their circumstances feel dire. So much happens, especially between Rosie and Adam, that I couldn’t stop reading. I was excited to see more of Duckers, who is just as sweet and lovable as he was before, plus the bits of other characters from the previous books. It was great to see more into their lives even after their stories were over.

I don’t want to spoil a lot, but the mystery of what’s happening in Tanria and what connects Adam to it is fascinating. It’s compelling and emotional, making for a fabulous ending to this series. There were a few times it felt a little slow and long, and I wanted just a bit more from the epilogue. But overall this was so wonderful and I’m sad to be saying goodbye to this fantastical world and its characters.

3.75/5⭐️ (happy publishing day! 7/8/25)

I am so sad to be finished with the delightful world of Tanria. What an absolute joy it has been. It’s unique, fun, cozy, and thought-provoking. While these are interconnected standalones, I do highly recommend reading in order. The story flows beautifully between the 3. There does feel like a hidden 4th book within the 3 - and that’s, you guessed it, crowd favorite Pen Duckers. One of, if not, my favorite secondary character of all time. Pen is the absolute best and this is a must read for his story too.

This one was my least favorite of the series (I mean not by much because I genuinely enjoyed all of it), I still adored Rosie and Adam’s story. Rosie is such a fun character and Adam is your typical quiet grump. We love to see it. Their love story is adorable (we love a short king); I like the unique take on discussing immortality and death/dying throughout the whole series. It’s beautifully heartbreaking.

I absolutely recommend this entire series. It’s wonderful.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this, even though I couldn’t get through the first book in the series. That was more about the story not grabbing me than the writing, which I actually liked a lot. Megan Bannen’s writing is witty and fun, so I figured I’d give this one a shot. The premise pulled me in right away, and the characters had me laughing out loud. There’s a lovely found family element adding a wholesome vibe to the story, and if you’re a fan of the tall FMC and short MMC dynamic, this is definitely one to check out. I hadn’t read that kind of dynamic before, and I’m honestly kind of obsessed. The step stool kiss moment? Adorable. I also found myself invested in the Duckers and Zeddie side plot. They might have even stolen the show a bit. That said, I did feel the romance between Rosie and Adam was a little underdeveloped. I usually prefer single POV, but in this case, the story might have worked better with dual POV or at least a few scattered chapters from Adam’s perspective.

There are dragons, gods, demigods, and myths woven throughout the story, all of which add to the fun, messy magic of it all. If you enjoy books set in urban-adjacent fantasy worlds with chaotic but entertaining plots, quirky characters, and sharp, witty writing, this could easily be your next five-star read.

Thank you, NetGalley, and Orbit Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Going into this book I didn’t expect to question my own mortality so much, and to inspect what it looks like to view the circle of life from an impartial outside perspective-but then again I also didn’t go into this series expecting glitter shooting dragons, invasive shadow vines, stoner mythical creatures and whatever the hell an autoduck is.
Who could’ve guessed that such an uncharming short king would utterly charm me? (Me)
Who would’ve thought that the father/daughter relationship would make me weep so hard? (Also me)
Will Duckers and Zeddie ever get their shit together? (You’ll find out)
4.5⭐️
2.5🌶️

The journey through Tanria has been one of my favorite. Tanria is a bonkers world, but one I would love to visit.
These books have so much heart in them, and I've cried at the end of each one. This book was no exception.
Rosie and Adam's story is about loss and hope. It's a story made for those of us who have a difficult relationship with a parent. And it's a story for those who feel like they get left behind.
Both of these characters had a lot to unpack, and it was done in a very gentle way. As with all of the Tanria books, their relationship was soft and comfortable, and I loved watching them unfold around each other.
It's hard to review this book without giving anything away, but I have to say this is a perfect end to the series. As the last pages closed, I felt like I was driving away from home as I set out on a new adventure. But I know those old friends will still be there waiting for me in Tanria.

4⭐️ This was so cute. I love that Adam was kind of awkward and clueless. Rosie was spicy and fearless. 4.5⭐️narration from Jim Frangione and Kacie Rogers. When I tell you Adam was weird in the best way, Jim made that work. Kacie did a wonderful job bringing out Rosie’s spunk while keeping her real with the hurt from her past.

Rosie is getting bored of patrolling of Tanria. She is a demigod after all. One day a man named Adam Lee comes to check on one of the portals. Unfortunately, the fix turns into a big problem as both Rosie and Adam get stuck in the Mist. Will they be able to handle each other. What happens with they find a way back. Will they both get back or one have to stay.

Thank you @hachetteaudio, @orbitbooks_us, @netgalley, and Megan Bannen for the advanced listener and reader copy. #hachettepartner #theundercuttingofrosieandadam #meganbannen

The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen is a fun story about an immortal demigod named Rosie working as a marshall in Tanria and Adam the creator of the portals that allowed people access to the Tanria in the first place. When the portals start breaking down Adam is sent to fix them but him and Rosie get trapped in Tanria instead. As they work to find a way out, you find out there is more to Adam then meets the eye and Rosie likes what she sees.

This is the third book by Megan Bannen taking place in Tanria and while this book can be read as a stand alone it definitely helps to read the first two to pick up on all the details that come up. They add another layer of depth to the story and characters and tie in nicely.

I have read all three books in the series and this was my favorite. Rosie is a funny, complex character. Her concerns about immortality and her relationships to people had a universal relatability. Her relationship with Adam was cute and enjoyable to watch unfold. They had an opposites attract vibe.

Another thing I really enjoyed was just how unexpected element of this story were. Even when I thought I knew how things would go this story threw in a twist that while unexpected made perfect sense.

This was a great series and I can’t recommend this book enough to people who enjoy a bit of fantasy and a lot of romance.

Thank you Megan Bannen, Orbit Books, and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley, Orbit, and Hachette Audio for both the ARC and ALC

**edited to add my review of the ALC- 7/7/25**

Story 5 ⭐️
Narration 4 ⭐️

It feels like an ending and a goodbye, but a beautiful one. I have loved all three of the Hart and Mercy books, but this one felt different, it hit harder. Rosie and Adam, their story felt special and I loved both of them so much. Rosie with her lack of restraint and filter, and Adam with his dry humor and endearing quirks. And of course, you can never have enough Duckers. If this is truly the last of the Hart and Mercy series, it will have ended in the most perfect way possible.

**I was lucky enough to get the ALC as well as the ARC, and being able to listen to the final chapter in this trilogy that quickly became one of my favorites. Kacie Rogers does an excellent job, and I loved her Rosie, and the production quality made this a fun listen. It made this being the goodbye to this series even more special.

I just love this series, and this book is no different. We had previously met Rosie and Adam in the previous books, so I was looking forward to reading their story, and I was not disappointed. I love the characters, I love the world, and I just love the tone of the book. There is just something addicting with Megan Bannen, and I always have a good time reading her books.

Rosie and Adam were just too fun to follow. I absolutely love Rosie, the immortal demi-god, and Adam, the genius inventor that kind of keep people away, were a great duo, and it was so much fun to see them get to know each other and face the challenges of Tanria and the broken portals.

Honestly, there was something about this book that got me, with the romance, the world, but also it does deal with the question of immortality (and in many ways being left behind). I’m going to miss this world, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Megan Bannen will bring us next.

I adored the first two books in this series: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, and The Undermining of Twyla and Frank. So it was an instant yes for this one! That’s why I was shocked to find that this book fell flat for me. It honestly hurts to say, because I love this series. But the magic that made the previous books shine seemed to be missing here.

The biggest issue I had was the relationship between Rosie and Adam. Adam had no personality, he was as boring as watching paint dry. I didn’t feel any chemistry between him and Rosie. Rosie was over the top, and it felt worse being paired with someone so flat. The relationship moved into “love” way too fast. There’s even a moment where Adam says, “You don’t even know me.” I was shouting, EXACTLY! It just felt rushed and there was no tension. Honestly, I was more invested in Duckers and Zeddie’s relationship!

Normally, these books are delightfully quirky and a little unserious, which is something I love about the series. Unfortunately, it felt forced and corny rather than fun. That said, the plot was interesting enough to keep me turning pages. The gods and lore were explored a bit more this time, which I appreciated. In fact, I think the Trickster ended up being one of the most compelling characters, and he’s barely in the book! I felt more for him by the end than I did for anyone else. There’s also a plot development toward the end that I wasn’t a fan of. I won’t go into spoilers, but I typically dislike when it pops up in books.

Overall, this was just okay. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either. It’s definitely the weakest in the series. I’ll continue to read Bannen’s work because I truly enjoy her writing. Maybe it’s just time to leave this world behind for a bit. Although, I wouldn’t be opposed to a spin-off about the Trickster, or one that follows Duckers and Zeddie!

Thank you, Orbit and Netgalley, for the e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

I loved getting to take one last trip into Tanria with Megan Bannen’s last in her series. Our main characters this time are Rosie, an immortal demigod who we’ve met before while she worked with earlier characters. Since she’s immortal, she’s her fair share of friends and loved ones come and go, and her work is getting a bit dull.

Our other main character, Adam, comes onto the scene when the portals into Tanria, a magical adjacent realm, start breaking down, and he’s called in to repair them. Rosie and Adam have met five years earlier, and Rosie’s discovered that seeing his uptight self unwind a bit is the best kind of distraction.

She really gets to see the real Adam when he and Rosie, (along with her partner Duckers and his ex Zeddie!) get stuck inside Tanria after the portals break down. There’s a lot to love about Tanria, but being trapped there forever isn’t appealing, and they all work together to try and find a way out. (Also — they fall in love!)

It was a lot of fun to be in this world again, and I definitely recommend the series, and reading the series in order. I loved getting a peek into the lives of characters we’d met before, and getting to know more about the gods and fascinating world they all live in.

Readers of Bannen’s Tanria fantasy series will enjoy this sweet ending to our time in Tanria. While I loved the Duckers and Zeddie moments and also really enjoyed the tie-in with Tanrian lore (and of course all of the cameos by our favorite human and non-human characters), this was my least favorite of the three. The romance felt forced and the insta-love was not believable. I did like the short-king representation but Adam as a character fell flat. Rosie’s anachronisms were also off-putting and felt jarring, especially since her age should have had her speaking more old-fashioned if anything. I did love this series overall and am glad we got to go back one more time, even if it didn’t 100% hit the mark for me. 3-3.5/5 stars

I tandem read the eARC with the ALC and the narrator did a fine job, although the male voices did start to blend together a bit by the end. The production quality was great, though, and the audio kept my attention as it started to flag with the eARC towards the end. 4/5 for the audio.

Pub Date: 7/8/2025
Review Published: 7/7/2025
eARC and ALC provided at no cost by NetGalley and the publishers (Orbit and Hachette Audio, respectively) in exchange for an honest review.

🗓Pub Date: 8 July 2025

This is the third book in a trilogy, but it can be read as a standalone, each book follows different characters. Still, I recommend reading them all!

In this one, we’ve got a very tall 157 y.o demigoddess😩🤌🏻 Honestly, if that doesn’t make you want to start reading, I don’t know what will!

This installment felt more magical, more fantasy-heavy than the previous ones (at least to me). There are even more dragons, sea horses, portals, and adventures!

Honestly, I’m writing all this while tearing up, completely cried my eyes out at the end. Thank you for that...

I just love the atmosphere of this world. A magical Wild West? 5/5 just for the concept! Add in the found family and the way all the characters are so beautifully connected, it made me tear up in the softest, most sentimental way. I adore the humor and the lightness of this series. I’m definitely reading everything this author writes!

The awkwardness between the main characters was so funny, and their chemistry was a perfect slow burn. Plus the side characters? Total cinnamon rolls!

And I couldn’t stop smiling at how much Rosie adored quality lingerie, girl, you’re not a demigoddess, you’re a goddess.
Adam? Also a cinnamon roll. I just wanted to protect them all!

I listened to the audiobook, it was pleasant, easy to follow, and added so much to the atmosphere! I felt like I was right there with them.
⭐️4,5/5

• She’s tall, he’s short
• Age gap (honestly, a gap in everything)
• Found family
• Gods and demigods
• Saving the world (as always)
• Dragons

Thank you NetGalley and Orbit for the ARC!

4.5 stars! Another cozy, quirky, romance from Megan Bannen. I just adore the characters of Tanria!

This is the third book in the Hart & Mercy series and follows our FMC Rosie Fox, who is an immortal demigod with a bad habit of “dying” during her years of patrolling Tanria (much to the dismay of her partner, Duckers—who is the absolute best side character). During one of Rosie’s unfortunate dying episodes she manages to short circuit one of the portals to Tanria and the inventor of the Tanrian portals, Dr. Adam Lee, is called in to repair it.

Adam Lee is a stoic character but Rosie finds herself immediately attracted to him. When the other portals start to have issues, a mass evacuation out of Tanria takes place and leaves Adam and Rosie (and Duckers and Zeddy!) stuck with limited resources in the Mist with no easy way out.

As our characters problem solve the mysterious failing of the portals, we are taken on a journey with sparkling dragons, great banter and the sweetest found family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the eARC

Cozy romantasy
Dragons
Found family
Height difference (FMC is the tall one!)

***Thank you to Orbit Books for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam was the weakest book of this series, but it still had a lot I enjoyed. Two things kept me from enjoying this book as much as I’d hoped. First, this story should have centered around Duckers. He’s been the throughline for the entire series. It would have made more sense for the story to wrap up from his perspective. Don’t get me wrong. He had some wonderful moments in this book despite not being the main character. I would have just loved to get even more insight into the repair of his relationship with a certain someone rather than a story about two new characters.

The second thing that didn’t work so well for me in The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam was the plot. The characters were trapped in Tanria alone for most of the story. They didn’t really do much except wander around and cook meals. This did leave space for plenty of fun interpersonal entanglements. However, the story just felt so slow. The mystery was really drawn out while also being super obvious from very early on. I get that the characters being stuck in Tanria was supposed to imitate the feeling of Rosie being stuck in her immortality. It just did it so well that the story suffered for it.

Despite those flaws, I still had a good enough time with The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam. The writing and world-building were great. Bannen is always really good at writing fun character interactions and snippy dialogue. I liked getting to explore a bit more of the history of this world. The way that the myths were entwined with this particular story was interesting and kept me wanting to learn more. I also always love getting to meet the new nimkilim in each of these stories, and the stoner dik-dik didn’t disappoint.

The characters and their interactions were really the heart of The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam since the plot was lacking a lot of forward motion. I liked the opposites attract dynamic between Rosie and Adam. Rosie was crass, impulsive, and super in your face. She did get on my nerves a little sometimes, but for the most part I found her character fun to follow. Her struggle with immortality and the prospect of losing everyone she loves over and over for all eternity added depth to her character. On the other hand, Adam was an adorable little “pocket man.” He was reserved, intensely focused on his work, and kept people at arm’s length. The two characters couldn’t be more different. Yet they worked really well together, and I enjoyed seeing their relationship develop.

Overall, The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam wasn’t my favorite book in this series, but I always have fun returning to Tanria. I’ll always feel a bit slighted that this story wasn’t told from the POV of Duckers. However, I did enjoy the main pairing despite constantly wishing for MORE DUCKERS. lol. The story added to the world-building in interesting ways despite the plot feeling like wading through molasses at times. With all this in mind, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Things I love about @meganbannen ‘s The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💕

Publishes July 8th !

🦆Duckers is all grown up
😭I was crying by chapter 3!!!
💕Hart & Mercy and Frank & Twyla cameos
🤷 “Maybe Dr Lee was just a shy dickhead?”
🙀Best cat name ever
🍳 Zeddie’s cooking
💕Persuasion allusions
🧍‍♂️ Adam’s nickname “pocket man”
👙Rosie’s wardrobe
🤌🏻Zeddie and Duckers banter
🐉 Mary Georgina ✨

👨🏻Cycle breaking and healing from a dead beat dad, but make him a narcissistic God
💘”I’d rather be stuck in here with you than stuck out there without you”
😭 Losing track of how many times I cried by the end
😥 Feeling the anxiety of the stakes while knowing there has to be an HEA

In Short:: The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam is a perfect, full circle conclusion to a ridiculously cozy and profoundly heart-wrenching story that finds all the beauty and joy in life and in death.
🏠😻💗

Rating: Really Enjoyed It, 4 stars

I had a really good time with this last installment in the world of Tanria! I was super excited that we were going to get Rosie's story because she seemed like a really fun character to follow, and I was not wrong!

Rosie is an impulsive, goofy character with very little filter who also happens to have the tiny problem of being immortal. This explains some of the choices that she makes and the way that she reacts to different things. She tends to use humor and goofiness to deflect from more intense or personal things. She has been a marshal in Tanria for a long, long time, and one day she spots a shadow in the portals into and out of Tanria. The inventor, Adam Lee, is called in to take a look after two of the four portals through the Mist stop working. Rosie and Duckers are assigned to work with Dr. Lee as it is partially Rosie's fault that the one portal stopped working. When the situation starts to deteriorate, a complete evacuation of Tanria is called for, and shennanigans occur from there.

Adam Lee is a straight-laced professor type who has a very stony exterior, but as he and Rosie start growing closer with their backstories slowly being shared, he starts to open up more as a character. Obviously this is a love story, so we spend a good amount of time developing their relationship. However, I also loved all the Duckers content that we get in this one, and of course Zeddie is back! There is about a 10 year jump from the end of Twyla and Frank to the start of Rosie and Adam.

Overall, this was a good time. Rosie is a fun character and I was rooting for the romance between her and Adam. I think that the tropes and general setup of Hart and Mercy worked the best for me out of this series. I feel like the stakes in both this and the second book felt a little bit manufactured rather than truly being high stakes. Which I don't really mind, but I just wasn't as fully invested in them as I was in Hart and Mercy.

I love the world of Tanria, and I enjoyed some more of the background and backstory that we get from the world in this one. I felt like the tension and pacing was done really well for the most part. In the last third/quarter of the book, there were about 50-75 pages where the story lost me a little bit, but then it pulled it back together for the ending. My favorite part by far was the Duckers content that we got!

Overall, this was a fun story and I'm glad to have returned to Tanria one final time with Rosie and Adam. I recommend this if you have read the other entries in the series and enjoyed them.

Thank you to Netgalley and Orbit for an eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam releases on Tuesday July 8, 2025.