The Undermining of Twyla and Frank - Megan Bannen - ★★★★

AUTHOR: Megan Bannen

SERIES: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, #2

GENRE: Romantasy

PUBLICATION DATE: July 2, 2024

RATING: 4 stars.

In a Nutshell: An entertaining romantasy featuring a middle-aged lead pair and dragons. Second book in the Hart & Mercy series. Can be read as a standalone but better if read in series order. Not as dark as the first book, but enjoyable enough. Recommended to cosy fantasy lovers.

Plot Preview:

Twyla & Frank, both fifty-three-year-old Tanrian Marshals whom we briefly met in the first book, have been best friends & neighbours since ages and job partners since eight years. Motherly Twyla finds her job a welcome change from her domestic life, though no one can picture her as a tough Marshal. Frank, though, is somewhat bored of his work. With the dangerous drudges eliminated, it has become far less exciting. Or that’s what he thinks.

When the body of a Tanrian Marshal turns up covered in glitter, the last thing Twyla and Frank expect to pop up is a dragon. But that’s not the only danger they have uncovered. Soon, their friendship is tested in more ways than one.

The story is written in the third person perspective of Twyla.

This book is the second in ‘The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy’ series. While the story is standalone, there are several characters who continue their arcs from the earlier book. I’d recommend reading this series in the right order.

Bookish Yays:

🐉 Twyla is not a model character. She’s a traditional mom who would rather be quiet about her needs and silent about her doubts than vocalise her protests and confront her loved ones. Her journey of self-realisation over the course of the book is mostly great. Though she isn't always likeable, she's always believable, and that makes her journey convincing. Her thoughts on "the invisibility of being a middle-aged mother" really resonated with me. I also love how her mom habits come into play even in her role as a marshal. Then again, those who want likeable FMCs might not connect with Twyla.

🐉 Frank is a more loveable and sensible character, albeit with his own foibles. The strong silent type, the best friend with secret feelings, the grumpy marshal who does everything necessary for his “foster child”. He was the perfect counterfoil to the impulsive and underconfident Twyla.

🐉 Fabulous to see a lead pair in their early fifties still rock their jobs as marshals. The portrayal of the two felt very realistic. They are mature in some ways and naïve in others, and often bumble and stumble their way through the trickier aspects of personal and professional life, just as we do.

🐉 Romantasy is considered a young reader’s genre. I honestly don’t know how the YA/NA crowd will feel about a middle-aged couple getting it on in a fantasy setting. But I love the age rep. It is a pleasure to see middle-aged romance being depicted without treating the characters like they are in their sunset years. There is a proper build-up to the romantic feelings, there are other relationships along the way, there is lack of confidence about their physical attractiveness, there is even steamy passion. In all honesty, I am not at all fond of steamy scenes in fiction, even when the couple is younger. But I just appreciate the true-to-life depiction of all aspects of a relationship in this book, including certain things that aren’t my cup of tea but still realistic.

🐉 The first book had insta love based on the enemies-to-lovers trope, which isn’t my favourite. This book has a slowburn friends-to-lovers romance. No wonder I liked this better! Slowburn love always works better than insta romance for me. Moreover, this is also a second chance romance, so the uncertainties of the couple’s feelings added further depth to the love story.

🐉 Wonderful to see characters from the earlier book! Mercy is in a limited role, and Hart gets a slightly longer page space. But Alma Maguire and Pen Duckers have a strong appearance. Duckers especially makes a mark as he is away from under Hart’s huge shadow.

🐉 There are a few new characters as well, some of whom are entertaining. The nimkilim (postal worker) in this book is a vast improvement over the alcoholic rabbit from Book One.

🐉 Twyla and Frank being best friends means that their relationship is full of banter. There are many funny scenes as well.

🐉 The worldbuilding is better in this book. There’s more explanation about the autoducks and the equimares, and also a clearer detailing of the Tanrian geography.

🐉 Dragons! I'd have considered the mention of dragons to be a spoiler but if you've read the first book, you would remember that it hinted at the presence of dragons in the next one. Plus, the blurb mentions dragons, and the cover also has dragons! So I happily announce: the book has dragons! I love dragons! Moreover, the portrayal of the dragons in the book is not at all like you see in typical fantasy; that’s a bonus. I wish there had been even more of the dragons, but there’s another book coming in the series, so there’s always hope.

Bookish Mixed Bags:

🔥 The book takes a while to get going, but once it does, the proceedings are entertaining. That said, the core plot is somewhat weak. The book is marked as a fantasy romance, and both those aspects are handled well. However, the first book felt much darker and more complex because of its themes and also because of the zombies. This book is very easy-going in comparison. There is a minor mystery in the book, but its resolution felt almost cartoonish (which, I think, was deliberate.) I didn’t mind all this much because I was looking for a light and entertaining read when I picked this up, and it delivered.

🔥 I have mixed feelings about the epilogue. I loved the kind of HEA depicted for the couple, but the “Look-at-us-all-We-are-like-the-Brady-Bunch” scene felt like an overkill.

🔥 This book is about 60 pages lengthier than the first book, even though the plot isn’t correspondingly intricate. Some part of the book could have been trimmed without any issue. However, I didn’t find the book dragging at any point, so the extended length wasn’t a major problem for me.

Bookish Nays:

💥 The title gives equal billing to Twyla AND Frank. Then why do we not have any chapters from Frank’s perspective? I get that the book is more a journey of Twyla’s self-development,, but even a few interludes from Frank would have made a difference.

💥 As with Book One, there is a generous sprinkling of cuss words throughout the book. I ignore cuss words when they are required to establish the characters’ personalities. In this book, they weren’t required at all.

All in all, despite some reservations about a few writing choices, I enjoyed the book to a great extent, even more than Hart and Mercy’s story. Though the “cosy” is far greater than the “fantasy” in this cosy fantasy, it creates a unique experience by having middle-aged romantic leads and making them feel convincing. The book isn’t just a romantasy but about the self-realisation journey of a middle-aged woman who finally learns to let go and also to live life on her own terms.

If you have already read the first book, I suggest you don’t compare this with the first book nor expect a similar reading experience. The two novels might have the same Tanrian setting, but have very different, almost contrary vibes. Better to read each as independent books.

Recommended to romantasy lovers looking for cosy fantasy vibes through a middle-aged love pair.

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit for providing the DRC of “The Undermining of Twyla and Frank” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

Book Three – The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam – has already been announced with one of the minor characters from this book. I am not that excited about it because I can see it going the more predictable and typical larger-than-life-fantasy-romance way. But I will still give it a go because the male love interest hasn’t popped in the series yet except by name. So colour me curious!