I really enjoyed this audiobook! Kacie Rogers did an incredible job bringing the story to life. She gave each character such a distinct voice and kept things fun, emotional, and easy to follow. Jim Frangione also added a nice touch of depth to the narration.

This is the third book in Megan Bannen’s series, and I’d recommend reading the others first to fully appreciate the character arcs and relationships. Duckers totally stole the show for me, and I loved that Adam was a short king. Some of the FMC’s dialogue came off as a little annoying at times, but the overall story still had a lot of heart. The blend of fantasy and slow burn romance worked really well.

The production quality was top notch and made for a smooth, enjoyable listen. Big thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the chance to check this one out! All opinions are my own.

The beginning started off pretty strong, but by midway through I was pretty bored. I had to drag through the last half, and I missed the fun spunky characters that we had started with. There were a few good moments that made the 2nd half of the book redeemable. Not my favorite, but not a total flop either. If you liked the first couple books, definitely keep going with this one.

THE UNDERCUTTING OF ROSIE AND ADAM by Megan Bannen is the third in the Hart and Mercy series (which began with THE UNDERTAKING OF HART AND MERCY, followed by THE UNDERMINING OF TWYLA AND FRANK).

This genre-defying series is a Western fantasy paranormal romance. Rosie is a demigod, and a Tanrian Marshal, guarding the Mist that separates the normal world from the prison of the Old Gods. When the portals start malfunctioning, they need to call in the inventor, Dr Adam Lee. He is a stuffy, uptight, formal kind of man, which is at odds with Rosie's friendly, open, down-to-earth demeanor. Opposites attract, and she begins to try to win his trust, and figure out what's really going on with him.

Much like HART AND MERCY, the themes involve a demigod MC wrestling with the loneliness of immortality, and feelings of abandonment by the gods that fathered them, and the mortal mothers who eventually passed away.

Lest that make the book seem like a downer, it's also very funny and un-put-downable (technical term). The mythology of the Old Gods and Tanria are always interesting. The characters' banter is fun. Characters who are middle aged -- or at least, immortals long past adolescence -- are refreshing when so much of fantasy and romance both have a preponderance of new adults. I hope this isn't the last we've seen of Tanria and the surrounding lands, because the world feels so expansive and intriguing.

The lowdown on tropes:
#ShortKingTallQueen
#GrumpySunshine
#OpenDoor
#CozyFantasy
#SlowBurn
#RomCom
#ParanormalRomance
#MiddleAgeRomance
#DeadbeatDadGods

Thanks to @netgalley for the audio book ARC! The narrator did a fantastic job.

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.

This series is such a good time. If you're looking for a cozy fantasy romance that has dragons and mystery in it look no further. I didn't know I wanted to have a book focused on the character Rosie, but I apparently did. I really enjoyed learning more about Rosie and more about this world. I also felt we got two romance stories in one. The main one being Rosie and Adam and the secondary side romance of Pen and Zeddy. I really liked the back story of Adam and definitely made his character more interesting. The narration was done very well and really captured the characters personalities.

I post reviews on goodreads, Fable, and Storygraph under the username dragonlilly16

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 Hachette Audio for the audio ARC!

Firstly, thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me listen to this before it's officially published.

I'll start with the narration: I absolutely ADORED it! She had a real talent for putting emotion into the characters' words and tones. I really enjoyed that you could tell who was talking without having to wait to be told. Her accents and little quirks added so much to the story. It was a joy to listen to her tell me a story.

The story itself was unique and memorable. I'll admit that I started with this book instead of book one. It works just fine as a stand-alone, but I'll be going back to read 1 & 2 to learn more about some of the characters that were interesting to me. I enjoyed getting to know Rosie and her struggles, and the more I learned about Adam the more I liked him, too. Their instant chemistry (though seemingly one-sided) was so much fun. I'm not ashamed to admit that my absolute favorite character was Duckers, and I want him to get a book all to himself! He had me laughing out loud in almost every chapter.

I love Tanria. I love how a strange little world can bring us such delightful characters and such amazing stories.
I fell in love with this world since Hart and Mercy's story (and I believe in a way they their story will always be my favorite) and kept loving it through the following books.

In this book we have Rosie. She is a demigod, immortal and a Tanrian marshal. She is sassy, funny, has no filter and is the perfect friend with an amazing big heart. She has had so much in her century life that she starts to believe that immortality is just not all that good.
She has a good life, good friends (with her best friend and partner being Duckers), but something's missing.
When the portals to Tanria start to fail and they are having trouble fixing them they have to ask for outside help.
Adam is the inventor of the portals, so that makes him the perfect person to fix them. He is an introvert and kind of grumpy, and has severall walls to not let people get close.
Once he gets to the portals and he realises it will be harder than they though, they get into Tanria to try fixing from the inside.
What they don't expect is being stuck there. And with all that is happening Rosie and Adam can't help being close to each other and realising that they have so much more in common than they think. And their slow, slow burn is so worth the wait!

"No one is better than you, because no one is you."

They work together to release Tanria, and themselves. But at what cost?

Well, I loved Rosie funny inner monologs. And not only the monologs but her perky sense of humor. She was direct, quirky, independent and extremly kind and supportive.
Adam was a little awkward at first. He was so closed off that it took me a while to understand him better, but with time and as the story developed we got to understand and love him better.
And I loved Duckers. I forgot how much of an important and special side character he was. It was so much fun to see his evolution. I loved him even more now!

I listened to this audiobook almost all at once, since I couldn't wait to know what was going to happen next. I was glued to the story and the narrative. I thing the narrator did an excelent job and managed to catch all the characters little details so we could get into those character better.

The only sad part is to let this world go, and know we'll stop being able to come back to it. But if it was to say goodbye, it was the perfect way to do it!

Very interesting universe with great characters. I need to read the other books of the series. Narrators did a wonderful job.

I received an arc from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

⭐4.25. I was so happy to be back in this world again, even if it is 10 years after book 2. Especially excited to see Duckers (my favourite this whole series) and the dragons again! 😆 I really liked the nimkilin in this one.. Gabbo! His hippie-style dialogue was entertaining!

We follow Rosie's story this time around, who is an immortal demigod and a Tanrian Marshall, partnered with Duckers. Rosie is a really fun character. Not being able to die, she fully dives straight into things - "act now, ask questions/think never"... something like that. But she often ends up dying in the process haha (then slowly waking up in the hospital again or wherever else she is). She's a tall woman with a potty mouth, very blunt and direct, who loves her fancy undergarments! Love her! "Fuck it, I'll do it for science!"

Then we have Dr. Adam Lee, a genius inventor and short king, who seems very reserved, quiet, polite, and a bit of a loner, with dry humour, and is nonchalant about things he should be very chalant about! He's very much the opposite of Rosie. Don't worry, we see more personality shine through during the story! We also see Duckers and Zeddie seeing each other again in probably 10 years since they split. It was nice seeing their relationship re-bloom and grow. Being trapped in Tanria, with forced proximity, will definitely help nudge things!

I really enjoyed this story. Written just like the first two books (i.e. very well, and fun to read!). I feel like this may be the last story in this series, and I'm sad. But everything ended so well, and along with Rosie and Adam, we get updates on the rest of the crew and their families as well (Mercie and Hart, Twyla and Frank, Duckers and Zeddie!). Also, special shout-out to Salt Licker! He makes a couple appearances, and we also get to see him years later! Love this equimaris!!

I did this book on audio (first two were e-books), so it was fun to hear the terminologies used through a narrator this time around. Seems I pronounce everything right in my head the last time! haha I really liked the narrator, Kacie Rogers, she did Rosie well! (Jim Frangione spoke for a smidge, but also good!)

Thank you to NetGalley and Hachehette Audio for the ARC!

"I did grow quite hungry after several months, and a shark ate me." "What the fuck?" "You don't want to know." "I super do, though."

Rosie is a tall read haired and red eyed demigod, on top of her striking appearance she also happens to be one of very few demigods that is immortal. Rosie’s immortality has lead her to live a risky life and gained be a bit of a reputation. When she notices something weird going on with a portal, a smudge in the works that only she can see, her boss decides to call in the engineer that invented the portal Adam. When the portals malfunctioning leave Rosie and Adam stuck they try to figure out how they are going to fix it.

I really enjoy this whole series, it takes place in one of the most unique fantasy worlds I’ve seen to the date and I’m always happy to dive back in. In the first boom we spend a lot of time with Hart struggling with the possibility of being immortal and in this one we actually see the pain that immortality has caused Rosie. I adored Adam watching his character open up and warm to everyone around him was really special. The twist was pretty satisfying even if I saw it coming pretty early into the book.

Kacie Rogers does a really wonderfully job bringing Rosie to life.

3⭐️

C'est bien dommage mais je n'ai pas accroché ...

Déjà, il faut préciser que j'ai découvert la saga avec ce 3e tome. Est-ce que ça a entaché ma lecture ? Pas vraiment. Je pense que c'est bien mieux de lire les tomes dans l'ordre mais il est possible de les lire indépendamment.

Côté histoire 🖊
Le roman commençait bien, on découvre Rosie qui est un personnage haut en couleur avec un caractère bien trempé, je l'ai beaucoup aimée. Le lecture est plongé dans un univers unique avec un fonctionnement bien particulier qui est intriguant mais tout retombe rapidement à plat.

Ce tome est plutôt un huis clos où Rosie et Adam se retrouvent enfermés dans le "Mist". On perd donc le côté intriguant de l'univers créé par Megan Brannen ainsi que la found family. Les actions tournent en rond et j'ai au final trouvé le tout assez plat. Seuls Duckers met du peps dans cette histoire.

La romance tombe un peu comme un cheveux dans la soupe. L'attirance entre Rosie et Adam est soudaine au milieu tout cet imbroglio avec le Mist, je vous avoue ne pas y avoir trop cru ...

Côté audio 🎧
Là par contre j'ai adoré ! La narratrice est incroyable et a su donner vie à Rosie. J'ai aimé son accent, ses intonations et le tempo qu'elle utilisait. Rien à redire, sa voix a bercé mes oreilles 😌

I read the ebook while listening to the audiobook. Kacie Rogers did a phenomenal job telling this story. There was also a brief story told by a different narrator, Jim Frangione. Kacie's voice fit the character of Rosie and she did a great job voicing the male characters when needed. She definitely helped elevate the experience.

Regarding the story, 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.

4⭐, 2.25🌶️

As a non-fantasy loving girly (I can enjoy one every few months) Ive really enjoyed the Hart and Mercy trilogy! I love the crossover of this book with Hart and Marcy and Twyla and Frank's charcaters and just thought the drynamic of Rosie and Adam was so fun! The forced proximity for these two at first creates a fun found family group, but then we get MORE forced proximity with the two of them and thats when the chemistry kicks in. I will say I didn't feel the romance as a major plot in the book since the "trapped" plot was more present, but I really enjoyed Rosie and Adam's characters, their background stories, and how this book ended. It was a fun journey to follow along and I had a blast listening.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for an ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I really enjoyed this adorable third book in the Hart and Mercy series. I just adored the sunshine/grumpy dynamic between Rosie and Adam and it was really fun to see many of the characters from the other books make appearances in this one.

Kacie Rogers does a really nice job of narrating the story. She has a nice voice and really does a good job with the other character’s voices as well. There were a few times that I felt like her voice got a little to young sounding for Rosie, but not enough that it really bothered me. I just sort of noticed it, especially toward the end of the story. Jim Frangione only had one chapter, which told the story of Adam’s life, but he did a solid job with it.

I loved Rosie and thought she was a great character. She is immortal which she finds lonely and depressing at times, especially after one of her deaths. But I loved that she had such a sunshiny disposition most of the time. I adored the fact that she was really into expensive intimate apparel. The descriptions of that apparel were wonderful and I could really picture them in my mind.

Adam was also a great character that I really enjoyed. I loved how unemotional he appears at the start of the story, but you soon realize that he is just very guarded around others. He also has a great, although very dry, sense of humor. I loved learning his backstory and how it was related to the old gods in the story. I just wish, as I always do with romances, that we got to see what was going on in his head during the story. I would have loved to see some of his thoughts about Rosie.

Even though I still want Duckers and Zeddy to have their own story, I was so glad to see them both in this book. They are just so cute together and they both really shined in this book.

The world building was pretty light, although we do learn a bit more about the gods in this story. This is the third book in the series and we pretty much know all there is to know about the world at this point. This could be read without reading the first two books, but I really don’t recommend it. You would find the world very confusing if you started here. The dialogue and the story were fabulous. I was really happy that the dragons got to play a role in this story as well.

If you have enjoyed the first two books in this series then this one is probably already on your TBR. I am pretty sure that you will enjoy it. If you haven’t yet started on this wonderful cozy romantasy series, you really needed to go read the first one, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. This is a wonderful series that I highly recommend to any who loves a good romance.

Three stars ☆☆☆

This was a tough rating choice for me; on one hand the characters were great, the writing was fun and the plot was good! But, on the other hand, it was way way too insta lovey for me. It all happened so quick and it felt rushed and not natural (in a make believe world, I know). If the timeline was more realistic it would get a higher rating as it is one of my personal pet peeves, but otherwise I enjoyed it! The conflict and conflict resolution was tense and kept me wanting to continue the story, and the side characters were lovable. Although, I do wish they were just a tad bit more mature as the bickering seemed childish, I did forget that it was years in the future from the first book.

The narrator was fun and really embodied the character, I would definitely look out for more of their work. The narration was fluid and I felt I was really immersed in the story, so that gains a star from me. Also the switch to the male narrator for the story really made it immersive.

tt rtc!

I loved this book! And it was so much fun to return to the world of Tanria again and see what happened to the others from the previous books. While it is absolutely possible to read this standalone book, you get even more out of it if you read the other two first. I love the relationship between Rose and her work partner Duckers, the lighthearted banter, but especially their care for each other and all their friends. The romance between Rose and Adam was also nice. The whole book gives me a cozy feeling, even though they need to solve the problem of being stuck in Tanria in a pretty drastic way.

The audiobook narrator was really good, with different voices for the characters, it suited the book well.

I highly recommend this one!

Thank you so much to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for this ALC of The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam.

Whoever does the cover art for this series seriously does a phenomenal job. It always gives the perfect insight to what the book will be about. As for the story, I love this series so much! I’m kind of sad that I’ve finished it (at least until we find out if there will be more.)

I loved how the author brought back a huge part of the first book to help solve this problem they were facing. I knew Adam had to be involved somehow, I just couldn’t figure it out. Finally, Duckers is the literal best side character ever. He cracks me up! I’m glad he found happiness as well.

I listened to the audiobook and loved it as always.

I hope that this isn't a cap on a trilogy, I feel like this world is just starting to hit its stride. Picking up 12 years after Hart and Mercy's story, we are treated to a further dive into the world of Tanria, the history of the gods, and how their actions rippled over tow thousand years. Not to mention Bannen's humor is top-notch here, only added to by Kacie Rogers amazing narration. Rosie's somewhat careless attitude helped to cushion the blow of the story, adding additional much needed humor.

Everything about Rosie and Adam is bittersweet. Their pasts, their personal grudges, and their relationships with mortality (or lack there of). Opposites attract is an understatement but from the start yet these two fit each other so well and naturally. Their relationship felt natural, and as I have always loved since Hart and Mercy, like adults. Sometimes some of the language used felt a little too modern or seated too firmly in our reality, but for Rosie (and Duckers) it fits very well. With a focus on their shared loss, grief, and resilience they found in themselves and in the other, they feel more real, if not a tad emotionally painful.

As always the side characters almost stole the show. Gabo is a fantastic little stoner, Duckers and Zettie will always have my heart, and I'm glad we got a little more time with the other leads as well. Seeing their happily ever after's was very heart-warming and got me a little misty eyed.

We can't stay in the world forever, and while I'm hopeful for more stories - prequels or otherwise - to expand the lore of this world, I am so happy to have found it and been given the time we had. This series will never fail to make me happy in the most bittersweet way. Rosie and Adam were so much fun, and I'm already looking forward to reliving all the stories in Tanria!

Another great addition to the Hart and Mercy series. It delivered on all of the best parts of the series. Cozy, western, and fantasy. It really fleshes out this world more. Hopefully not the last but if it is the it's a good note to end on.