It was amazing to be back in this world. Megan Bannen has created such a unique world with so many interesting characters. I absolutely adored the first two books in this series. I will say this was my least favorite of the trilogy, but I still had a fantastic time.

I didn't feel as connected to Rosie & Adam as I did with the other leads in books 1 and 2. Rosie is immortal and in her mid one hundreds, but I felt some of the things she said were a little juvenile - referring to her boobies, etc. I also felt this book had a bit of insta love - Adam and Rosie didn't really know each other, but spoke after less than a week like soul mates, and how they were in love. I just didn't truly believe in their relationship moving so quickly based on how Adam's character was described.

Duckers & Zeddie are my favorite characters and although I love how we got more of them in this story I would love a full novel about their relationship.

Lastly, I loved the ending of this book - it was the perfect end to the series and made this whole book worth it.

I will read anything Megan writes.

My thanks to NetGalley and Orbit Books for an advance readers copy of this novel to read and review.

This is the third and apparently the final book in Megan Bannen’s sci-fi/fantasy series set in the mostly made-up Federated Islands of Cadmus, with the gated reserve of Tanria, shrouded in perpetual mist, its particular focus. Briefly, Tanria is a magical territory that is meant to protect the outside world from dangerous creatures known as drudges. They are corpses contaminated by the souls of the lost. It is the job of the Marshalls assigned to Tanria to protect the living from their attack and to ensure they don’t get out.

Series followers will immediately recognize its creatively mixed population of human (mortal), animal (real and fantastical, including pink dragons) semi-mortal, Demi god, higher god, immortal and automaton. There are warring Old Gods and New Gods. A number of the earlier installments’ characters are also here, reprising familiar roles or advancing onto different paths from where we left them. It is entirely possible to read these books as stand-alones, but, given the quirkiness of the characters and their storylines, I don’t think that would be as rich a reading experience as reading them each in order.

The two characters featured here are Rosie Fox, a Tanria marshal, and Dr Adam Lee, the scientist who invented the park’s portal. Rosie is the tall, oddly attractive demi-god, born of the Trickster god and his mortal wife, a showgirl, a hundred years gone (though still terribly missed by her daughter). He manifests looking like a stereotypical middle class dad, wearing what, according to his estranged daughter, a dad uniform of checked shirts and chinos. Her resentment stems from the fact that she inherited her immortality from him, alongside the fact that he was simply never around in her childhood. Demi-god lifespans are as extended as those of gods, and Rosie has lived 157 years, though she appears to be in her early thirties. Middle-aged ‘Dad’ predates the world. Bannen is adept at mixing elements borrowed from various mythologies, some made up, as well as actual histories. Her world-building, along with her wry, sardonic and often laugh-out-loud narrative and twisty-turny plot development, make her books lots of fun to read. This one is true to form.

Immortals can also die, and, in Rosie’s case, frequently do. This book opens with another death for Rosie, which everyone takes in stride. She revives in a couple of days, still the same Rosie, but with some memory loss, the toll of frequent resurrection. In truth, Rosie is having an existential crisis. She hates her immortality and so fears not death but return.

That’s the secondary issue, for all that it’s huge. In this book, it seems that there is something amiss with the controlled the all important portal to Tanria. It was Rosie’s attempt to examine this fault—which she describes as a ´shadowy blotch thing’—that led to her demise.

The mystery of the blotch places her at the side of Adam, a ´genius’ of few words , whom she is initially reluctant to work with (because she hates being ‘bossed’). She quickly finds herself attracted to him, however, despite the fact that he is five inches shorter than her.
And despite Adam’s own misgivings, the attraction becomes irresistible. Their developing relationship, as they attempt to define the splotch and stop its insidious threat, is an entertaining mix of sex and sass. Even the Trickster, whom another god describes as ‘hard to love but we loved him anyway,’ redeems himself. As series finales go, this one is very satisfying.

I adore this series and am so sad to see it end. This was another fantastic installment. Fun, sweet, quirky, romantic, and so entertaining. I loved Rosie and Adam’s story and am so thankful to have the opportunity to read and review the ARC. This really tied together all the loose ends and brought the series to a satisfying close.

Saying goodbye to Tanria is a difficult thing to do. This cozy fantasy trilogy wraps up with the story of demigod Marshall Rosie Fox and portal inventor Adam Lee.
As always humor and snappy banter liven up this slow burn romance filled with the quirky characters of this land. Duckers and Zeddie, Hart and Mercy, Twyla and Frank and other gods and creatures appear to round out this adventure. Even the adorable glitter snorting dragons!
Megan Bannen writes about Tanria like a warm hug. It has been through so much from the undead to the mischief caused by heedless gods but these unconventional characters care deeply for this world between worlds. This time it is up to Rosie and Adam to save the day. Many thanks to Netgalley and Orbit Books for this copy

She's an immortal demigod who has spent her life patrolling Tanria but when her latest death has her stuck in the portal that killed her with the portal's creator.... things get unexpected as she is trapped in the mist and she just might be falling for this slightly uptight immortal with a secret of his own. This is the final book in the world of Tanria series and is another cozy rom com featuring a tall woman who is as quirky as she is brave and a shy inventor who is learning to open his heart again. It's a sweet ending to the overall series and I had a delightful time reading about this final journey set in the world. I've adored this series from the first book I read and getting to see cameos of the previous couples was really nice. Overall, it's a charming cozy fantasy romance that I would absolutely recommend for anyone who wants to read a good cozy fantasy romance.

Release Date: July 8, 2025

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Orbit Books | Orbit for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam
Book #3 of Hart and Mercy

By Megan Bannen
read books #1 & #2 gave 5 *

Format
Kindle 432 pgs.

Publication date
7/8/2025

Genre
fantasy, paranormal, rom-com, mystery

Tropes
law enforcement, dragons, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine,

⚠️ accidental death

POV
3rd person

Summary
On a mission Rosie is electrocuted in a portal to Tanria and she dies. Dr. Adam invented the portals that people can travel through the Mist to other towns. He comes to town to fix the portal. He is uptight with his expensive car and suits. When he and Rosie are trapped in the Mist, they bond together to make it back home.

Heroine:
Rosie Fox- 157 yrs. old immortal demi-god, a Tanrian Marshal

Hero:
Dr. Adam Lee-an engineer who created portals

Side cast:
Penrose Duckers- Rosie's partner
Mercy and Hart-the undertaker and demigod couple, Rosie's friends
Zeddie Birdsall-Mercy's brother, Ducker's ex- boyfriend, broke up 10 years ago.
Alma Maguire-the chief, Rosie's boss
The Trickster-Rosie's father
Eloise-a dragon

My Thoughts: This was a great adventure for Rosie and Adam. I loved seeing the characters from the previous books and they formed a found family with each other. I did feel bad when everything was over and Rosie and Adam came home because everything changed. They felt like fish out of water learning that everyone else moved on with life. It was a great end to the series.

Thanks to NetGalley, Orbit Books, and Megan Bannen for this ARC! I voluntarily give my honest review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Rating 5/5*

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is one of my absolute favorite romances and I have loved getting to return to their world time and time again.
The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam takes place about ten years after Frank and Twyla’s book. Rosie Fox is a statuesque 157 year old demigod who has always found joy in the small pleasures - good music, a cozy home and luxurious undergarments, to be specific. Lately, she can’t seem to stop dying. When the portals into Tanria start malfunctioning, Rosie notices something strange that only she can see. Portal creator Adam Lee is called in to help, but the problem is more complicated than expected. Somehow the pair find themselves trapped in Tanria alongside exes Penrose Duckers and Zeddy Birdsall.

I’ve been curious about Rosie Fox since she was first mentioned in TUOHAM, and I’m so glad her story is that one that wraps up this trilogy. Rosie and Adam are definitely opposites, but I loved their connection. Who doesn’t love a bashful short king? This book is different from the others in the trilogy in that we spend the majority of the novel in Tanria, and I’m so glad the author decided to do that. Tanria has changed a lot since the defeat of the Drudges in book one and I loved seeing how the lands have changed over the past decade. We also learn more about the lore of the land, and meet a few more of the gods who have only been mentioned thus far. And the dragons are back! I’m so glad we got to catch up with all of our favorite characters from previous books (Zeddy + Duckers forever 🩷), and while I’m sad to see this trilogy end, I think this was the perfect way to end it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for a review copy. I can’t wait to see what Megan Bannen writes next and I look forward to rereading these books in the future.

We are back in the world of Tanria with this time, immortal demigod marshal Rosie, and Adam, someone we don't know anything about, who has just come to town to fix faulty portals. Each book there is a new adventure through the portal in Tanria, where this time that adventure has something to do with being trapped and no way to get out of Tanria.

To be honest this book was really hard for me to get in to. I felt the drain of Rosie's immortal life as I was struggling day by day to pick up this book and finish it. I did enjoy the last 30% of the book, but I would have been fine with just the first two books in this series. I loved them so much. I do love how all the titles in this series have U's in them and the fit so well with the story they tell too.

Thank you Orbit Books for the eARC, I very much appreciate the opportunity for reading an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

i thoroughly enjoyed book 1 of this series and was keen to read about rosie and adam. for me, this book fell a bit flat. i found the beginning to be SO fun and interesting, and reading glimpses from characters in previous books was chef kiss. my problem was how slow the book became after that - reading the day-in day-out antics of them stuck in Tanria was incredibly slow and it just would NOT hold my interest. i ended up dnfing around 55% because it just wasn’t getting easier to read.

thank you orbit books & netgalley for the arc!

Thank you so much NetGalley and Orbit for an eARC of the Undercutting of Rosie and Adam!
4.25 ⭐️ Sadly we came to the end of our time in Tanria with this novel, and I’ve loved my time here! Rosie admittedly is a character with a HUGE personality, but over her 100+ years of life she truly has become unapologetically herself which is something to be admired. It was bittersweet to see her grasp with her own immortality, and battle with the idea of never truly having someone who ultimately was able to love her for the duration of her entire immortal life. She truly is such a fierce and loyal friend and partner to everyone in this entire book. Watching her be able to bring quiet and reserved Adam out of his shell was so fun and cute and I was giggling and kicking my feet the ENTIRE BOOK (when I was stressed or crying)

Series Info/Source: This is the third book in the Hart and Mercy series. I got this ebook for review from NetGalley.

Thoughts: This is the third (and sadly final) book in the Hart and Mercy series. I have absolutely loved this world, the characters, and the adventure in these books. This book was absolutely spectacular. I wasn't sure how I was going to enjoy a book that focused on Rosie since she has always been a bit wild for me, but I shouldn't have worried. This ended up being an amazing read. Not only does this tie into the previous books beautifully plot and world-wise, I absolutely loved getting to know Adam and Rosie.

Rosie is an immortal demigod who is getting tired of immortality. However, when the portals between worlds start breaking down, Adam (the creator of the portals) is called in to help fix them. Rosie knows Adam as a buttoned up stick-in-the-mud. However, when Rosie and Adam get trapped with Ducky on the other side of the portal, Rosie starts to learn that there is a lot more to Adam than she ever could have imagined.

This is an amazing world with such rich history. Each book in this series has seen major changes happen to the world and allowed the reader to learn more and more about the history of this world and how it came to be. There is also an element of adventure to each book as our characters venture into the unknown.

I wasn't sure about Rosie at first; I wasn't a huge fan of her in previous books. However, I quickly grew to love her as a character. She has a love of beautiful things, an adventurous spirit, and is tired of being immortal. Rosie has no filter when it comes to saying what's on her mind and is rash. She is a fun character to get to know. Adam was also a bit hard to read at first, but as I learned his history, I also grew to love him. He made some bad choices a very, very long time ago and is living with those consequences. To distance himself from people, he keeps himself very contained; physically and emotionally. He was another awesome character to get to know, and I really enjoyed him.

Rosie and Adam have amazing chemistry together; watching them dance around each other was killing me (in a good way). I absolutely loved watching them get to know each other, fall in love, and unravel each other's mysterious histories. I also really enjoyed the puzzle of the shadow vines and how that tied into the portals and Tanria as a whole. It was impressive how well this tied together into the other two books. I really appreciate how well this whole series was put together. It is a wonderful balance of excellent romance, intriguing characters, adventure, and world-building.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I adored this book and this series as a whole. This book was wonderful all on its own but also did an amazing job of tying in with the mysteries and the world presented in the first two books of this series. Rosie and Adam were intriguing characters that I was worried were going to be hard to engage with but ended up absolutely loving; the chemistry between them was off the charts. I love the world of Tanria and how much it changes throughout the series; I also love the adventure in these novels. This whole series has a cozy and heart-warming feel to it while also having excellent world-building, an intriguing mystery, and a steamy romance. It is just very well balanced. I am eager to see what Bannen comes up with next.

Loved this book and great conclusion to the series. The whole book is told from Rosie’s point of view. She’s an immortal demigod who’s really struggling with grief and the lonely life she has ahead of her. It’s been ten years since the events of the last book and she’s starting to see her coworkers and loved ones age. She’s also been somewhat pining over inventor and all-around genius Dr. Adam Lee for the past five years and not willing to do anything about it or get to attached, since she’ll live forever and everyone around her dies. But we get all sorts of forced proximity when we find that the portals in and out of the Tanrian mist have malfunctioned and need to be repaired. The romance is the slowest of slow burns while we work through our malfunctioning portals. We also get our favorite sidekick Duckers throughout this story and revisit the adorable dragons.

The third in this fun, magical romcom series, we’re now getting Rosie’s story (with appearances from series’ past faves). Rosie is a 6’5” immortal demigod in Tanria but is in desperate need of change. When she dies again in a portal and is brought back, she meets the portal’s inventor (and her opposite), Dr. Adam. As the portals begin to shut down, they’re stuck as the community evacuates, having to leave them behind. In their quest to escape the “Mist”, they start to fall for each other and the stakes are higher than ever.
I enjoyed the opposites attract style of this book and loved the reappearances of past favorites, but also didn’t connect quite as well with this novel as I did with Hart and Mercy. Still really enjoyed reading and am curious if we will get a book 4!
Thank you to Orbit Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

“The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam” by Megan Bannen was a fun way to end the series. Rosie is immortal and feeling the weight of that reality after she dies again due to electrocution. Something is happening with the portals into Tanria and this brings Adam, the inventor, to help the Marshalls to fix the only way in and out of this place. They find themselves stuck in Tanria when they fail to fix the portals and it is a race to save the living creatures and themselves from the danger that seems to be invading the land.

This was such a fun end to the series, I loved Rosie as a character. She was unabashedly herself and embraced her quirks. I felt a connection to her being taller then my husband myself and how that can be perceived as socially awkward but I loved that this was discussed in the novel as often the girl is tiny and the man massive in romance novels. Rosie was significantly taller than Adam but that didn’t stop her from going after what she wanted. I really liked Duckers and Rosie’s friendship and how we had a side second chance romance with Duckers and Zeddie who he had broken up with in book one. Adam was a bit of a wild card for me, I liked him but I didn’t love how he kept pushing Rosie away for her “own good.” By the end I was fully rooting for them though. Great book and great series, I must admit I am a bit sad to see it end.

I've adored this series so much and was sad to let it go. Rosie and Adam's story was a little bittersweet and left a little bit more for me to want but ultimately I think it was a great way to end such a whimsical story.

We got to see our favorites, including Duckers and Z which made my little heart so happy and learn a lot about Rosie and the creation of this world.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It is due to be published July 8, 2025.

4.5 stars rounded up! Such a wonderful conclusion to one of my favorite series! I’m so sad that this series has come to an end but I can’t wait to see what Megan Bannen does next!

I obviously don’t want to say too much since this is the third book in a series but this book follows Demigod Rosie Fox on her adventures as a marshal in Tanria, about 10 years after the last book. The portals in and out of Tanria are malfunctioning so one Dr. Adam Lee is called to fix them. Shenanigans ensue and Adam, Rosie, and a couple of faves from previous books end up stuck in the mist and have to find their way out.

I adored this story. Rosie is such a fun character to follow. She is a six five fiery demigod who has lived over 150 years. Adam is a mysterious and enigmatic pocket sized man who only seems to soften as his relationship with Rosie blooms. I do think, like the previous book, the romance suffers from being a singular perspective. But from a narrative perspective, it makes sense why Bannen made that choice. I think this is also a wonderful conclusion to the series. We get to see what all of our favorite characters are up to and I think the storylines are all wrapped up really nicely. Have the tissues handy, I cried multiple times but I loved every second of it!

The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam features, crazily enough, Rosie and Adam. Rosie is a marshal in Tanria, and Adam is an inventor. When the portals that allow entry to (and more importantly) exit from Tanria start having issues, Dr. Adam Lee, inventor of the portals, is called to troubleshoot. Rosie is assigned to be his aide and is also very happy to moon over the gorgeous Dr. Lee.

The world that Megan Bannen has created in this series is truly magical. For all three books, I have loved the unique magic and gods system, the fantastical flora and fauna and the true heart behind all the characters. This didn’t disappoint in those aspects either. Spending time in Tanria with dragons and graps and equimaris’ is always the most fun.

I enjoyed both Rosie and Adam and enjoyed their very subtle flirting. I found it maybe too subtle and I just wanted a little more flirting/longing in the romance department. Did it work? Yes. But was it as magical as Hart and Mercy? No. Is it fair to compare the two? Absolutely not but once you’ve been completely destroyed by a love story, it’s hard to not expect it every time. The pacing of the romance was just altogether too slow for me.

As always, Penrose is one of my faves.

Overall, good, such amazing writing, but just fine overall for the story.

I loved The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy and was very excited to get the ARC for Rosie & Adam’s story. I quickly listened to The Undermining of Twyla & Frank and was smitten and even more ready for the third installment.

The Undercutting of Rosie & Adam was a great final trip to Tanria. Megan Bannen has created a beautiful fantasy world that still feels accessible. Here we get to spend time with Rosie, an immortal demigod who is grappling with what it truly means to outlive everyone you care about, and Adam, the reserved, tweedy inventor that created the gates into Tanria. We also get a lovely wrap-up for Duckers and Zeddie and more dragon adventures.

I loved this series, including this third book. Thank you to Megan Bannen, Orbit Books and NetGalley for letting me hop into this world a little early.

I have loved the first two books in this series by Megan Bannen, and this one was also good. It helps to know the fantasy world that Bannen creates with Gods and demingods, magical mail delivery beings, and the "Mist," which is a land characters can get stuck in. When the portals between lands start to break down, Rosie gets stuck in Tanria with Adam (the portal engineer), her partner Penrose, and his ex-boyfriend Zeddie. They are all trying figure out why Rosie can see mysterious shadows in the portals, and what they have to do with the portals not working. The friendships are funny and cute. The lore is very similar to folktales. Rosie and Adam seem to fall in love really quickly even though it's a very slow burn with most of their relationship consisting of staring at each other secretly. I wish there had been a little bit more character development between the two of them. Still, this book is a sweet escape.

Thank you NetGalley for the free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

🙌🏻 What worked for me:
• DUCKERS!!!! Over the three books, he has become my favorite character, and I'm glad that this final book in the series wrapped his story up, too.
• The mysterious Adam. I loved learning about him through bits and pieces throughout the book. There was a good bit of foreshadowing written into the book on who he was, which I clearly didn't catch until Megan wanted me to.
• Rosie was a great FMC. Out of the three Tanria books, she actually might be my favorite of the three lady leads. Her personality, her backstory, I loved everything about her.
• The plot in this one felt more akin to book one than book two. It was a little more on the serious side (though still some humor thrown in), but the end to the mystery was definitely more somber, which I think worked really well.
• The romance pairings: Rosie/Adam and Duckers/Zeddie...LOVE!

🚫 What didn't work for me:
• That this is the end of this series. I'm so sad to leave Tanria. 😭😭😭

🤜🏻 Would I recommend: YES! Please read this series! I love it so much!

Read if you enjoy:
✔️ Cozy romantasy
✔️ Immortal sacrifice
✔️ Gods being gods
✔️ Satisfying endings