By: Megan Bannen
Genre: Romantic Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit Books
“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.
Book Summary
Immortal demigod Rosie Fox has been patrolling Tanria for decades, but lately, the job has been losing its luster. When Rosie dies (again) by electrocution (again) after poking around inside a portal choked with shadowy thorns, she feels stuck in the rut that is her unending life.
The portal’s uptight creator, Adam Lee, must come in person to repair the damage. But when all the portals break down at once, Rosie and Adam wind up trapped inside the Mist. And the reticent inventor in his bespoke menswear seems to know a lot more about what’s happening than he lets on.
Maybe two people who have found themselves stuck in this thorny, tangled life together can find a way to unstick each other … just when their time on this earth seems to be running out.
You can find out more about Meggan Bannen on her website at: https://www.meganbannen.com/
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.
Purchase The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam at Mysterious Galaxy Books
Purchase on Amazon
Review of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
Review of The Undermining of Twyla and Frank
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Megan Bannen is a former public librarian whose YA debut The Bird and the Blade was an Indies Introduce Summer/Fall 2018 pick, a Summer 2018 Kids’ Indie Next List pick, and a Kirkus Best YA Historical Fiction of 2018 pick. While most of her professional career has been spent behind the reference desk, she has also sold luggage, written grants, collected a few graduate degrees from various Kansas universities, and taught English at home and abroad. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and their two sons.
