What a cozy heartwarming book. The friends to lovers story is absolutely perfect. I loved the added complication that spurred them on to address underlying feelings. The dragons 🐉 are lots of fun to read about and the author definitely creates a fresh/unique view on them. The main characters are older, but the way they were written was a bit like they should have been 70/80 rather than only 50. But I can see why the author made this decision as it was more about overcoming their own negative thoughts and having that second chance at love. I would have loved more of Frank, he is a delight. Overall a fun friends to lovers with added fantasy. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

This story follows middle-aged best friends Twyla and Frank, who are either divorced or widowed, as they work together as Tanrian Marshals. Joined by the ever-hilarious Duckers, they investigate the murder of a colleague and soon discover the existence of dragons. The mystery element was engaging, and the villain's identity took me by surprise.

From the beginning, it's clear how much Twyla and Frank care for each other. Their long-standing friendship shows in their willingness to do anything for one another. Frank is incredibly swoon-worthy and romantic, while Twyla is hard-working and dedicated. Her obliviousness to love was sometimes frustrating, but I enjoyed her overall journey. The romance in the story was sweet and a little steamy.

This book continues to build on the unique town of Eternity, introducing both old and new lovable characters. I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. It made me laugh and filled my heart with love. Cozy, beautifully written, and well-paced, I actually preferred it over the first book, which I also loved. I hope there are more stories to come from this series.

I loved this book. Megan Brennans fantasy inspired by When Harry Met Sally was a really fun read. I enjoyed the chemistry between Twyla and Frank

This made me so happy, I don’t know if it was because it was a sequel which I hadn’t expected. Honestly I didn’t even read the précis, I was just so excited to read another book from this author. Or if it was because the female protagonist is 53 and it’s refreshing to find a fantasy romance with a mature woman who is so brave and kind and funny and sexy, and there was just the right amount of spice too.
And dragons! The dragons definitely made me happy.

"The Undermining of Twyla and Frank" by Megan Bannen is a delightful cozy fantasy that blends romance, mystery, and adventure. This stand-alone sequel to "The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy" brings back the beloved world of Eternity, with its quirky characters and enchanting settings. The story follows middle-aged best friends Twyla and Frank, who are Tanrian Marshals. Their journey starts with investigating a colleague's murder and leads them to uncover the existence of dragons. The mystery is intriguing, with twists and turns that keep you guessing until the end. The themes of second chances, love, and friendship are woven seamlessly into the fantasy elements.

Overall, "The Undermining of Twyla and Frank" exceeded my expectations. It made me laugh, warmed my heart, and left me eager for more stories from this series. If you enjoy cozy, mysterious small-town fantasy romances, this book is a must-read. This review has also been posted on Goodreads and StoryGraph.

4.5*
The Undermining of Twyla and Frank was one of my most anticipated books of 2024, and it did not disappoint!
A cosy fantasy read with unique dragons and a refreshing love story with relatable main characters in their mid 50s.
The dynamic between Twyla and Frank is what kept me hooked throughout the story. The friends to lovers trope worked so well for them, even it if was frustrating waiting on them finally confessing their love for one another!
Twyla's insecurities really hit home too, and made her so real and loveable while reading. Body hangups after having kids and her mental state after putting everyone else first for so long just made me love her so much more.
The right amount of references to Hart and Mercy from the first book in the series too. Was lovely to see how they progressed from the first book in an organic way and not just written in as a novelty.

Would definitely recommend this book!!!

What a wonderful second dip into this beautifully written world. I’m so pleased that we got to explore it.

Twyla and Frank were the most wonderful MCs and reading about characters later in their lives was such a refreshing change.

I was so excited to read this after adoring the first book and I’m so glad it lived up to my expectations 🥰

So I really loved the undertaking of hart and mercy and was super excited to get into this one but unfortunately I don’t think it lived up to my expectations. It was cute and I really appreciated the later in life romance aspect as a fresh new take on the genre but I didn’t quite fall in love with twyla and Frank.

The first half of the book was quite slow and there’s a lot of exposition you have to pull through to get to plot points that made me feel like it was going a bit sluggishly. I can tell however that the author really cares about the world they’ve created and I do appreciate the originality of it all.

It did pick up in the last third of the book but unfortunately this hasn’t been a love 🙁

Review will be posted 4th July on Goodreads linked below.

“I know better than to make you face the day without caffeine, darlin’.”

Middle-aged protagonists
Cosy fantasy
Second chance at love
Dragons & Demi-gods
Best friends to lovers

This is the stand-alone second book to The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, having loved the first book I was over the moon at the chance to read the digital ARC. I wasn't sure if the second book could live up to the first but boy did Megan Bannen deliver!

This story follows middle-aged divorced/widowed best friends Twyla and Frank who work together as Tanrian Marshals. They are joined in the story by the ever hilarious Duckers to investigate a murder of their colleague and soon discover the existence of dragons. The mystery element of the story was interesting and I definitely did not see the villain coming.

You could see early on how much the protagonists loved each other, they have been best friends for years and it's clear they would do anything for each other. Frank is super swoon-worthy and romantic, Twyla is hard-working and dedicated, she was so blind to love it was infuriating at times but overall I loved her journey. Overall the romance was sweet and a little steamy. This story continues to build on the unique town of Eternity and we get to meet some old and new very lovable characters.

Overall, I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. It made me laugh and filled my heart with so much love. It was cosy, beautifully written and well paced, I actually think I preferred it over the first (which I loved!). I hope there's more stories to come from this series.

Thank you so much to the author, Megan Bannen, the publisher Little, Brown Book Group UK and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this book a million stars if I could. I loved everything about it. Especially the characters being in their fifties. I'm only 40 but I'm a mum and I've never felt more seen in a book. It was beautiful and heartbreaking. Every married man should read this book.
I'm also the biggest Duckers stan now and need his book, like, yesterday.

“The Undermining of Twyla and Frank” is a cosy fantasy written by Megan Bannen. A sweet, light and fun book, characterized by effervescent prose, a fast pace and short chapters. The simple, but at the same time enchanting setting captured me with its quaint small town, dragons and much more. The mystery part of the novel convinced me, but most of all I loved the characters! Twyla and Frank are two fantastic protagonists, portrayed in a splendid way, and with wonderful development. But then we want to talk about the fact that they are two middle-aged people? It's not something I read often in fantasy books, so I really appreciated it! I admit that I'm not particularly fond of friends to lovers, but the development of their relationship convinced me! I found it tender, well analyzed, and mixed with a slow burn really slooow that made me sweat on several occasions!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I want to move to Eternity and fall in love and have a pet dragon. Is that too much to ask for?

I loved Hart and Mercy’s story and was a bit doubtful if the second book in the series would live up to the hype, but MY GOD it does! Frank was a swoony MMC and Twyla was our blind to love FMC and I loved both of their characters so much. The character arcs for both of them was spot on. The slow burn (which I normally hate) was written so well in this book.

Two best friends falling in love with each other in their early fifties is my new favourite trope. It was such a genuine and comfy love between them and it made me so happy and feel all the feels.

And DRAGONS!!!! I’m a dragon girl so this was everything. I honestly hope more than anything there are more books in this series.

Thank you, Netgalley and Orbit for providing me an Arc in exchange for an honest review.

4,5 stars*

The Undermining of Twyla and Franks is set a year after the events of its prequel, the Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. We follow Twyla and Frank, who are middle-aged Tanrian marshals, friends and neighbours. Everything has been quiet ever since Tanria has been cleared of the undead. Twyla and Frank miss the excitement sometimes. Everything changes after they find the corpse of a fellow marshal covered in glitter. Together with Duckers, they need to solve a mystery.

After really enjoying the first instalment of this series, this book became one of my most anticipated reads of 2024. I am happy to say this book delivered. I really enjoyed this book. It had me giggling on multiple occasions. I absolutely loved Twyla and Frank together, and their slow burn romance was absolutely perfect. I also loved that both characters were middle-aged instead of young adults.

Even though this story is a standalone sequel, I would recommend reading The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy first. There are a lot of little nods to the first book in this book, and I think it would be a shame to miss those. That being said, I recommend this series to everyone who likes cozy fantasy books.

The first book in the series definitely took me by surprise with how much I enjoyed it, so I was lining up to read this one for sure

Set in the same World as Hart and Mercy, we now follow Twyla and Frank, who became each others support following the ending of their previous relationships years prior. Now colleagues, and best friends, they have a retirement plan for a couple of years time... but neither could have anticipated how this most recent investigation would go

Since Hart solved the Undead issue, being a Marshall has been a pretty quiet job, however, a body is found covered in glitter and next to a massive set of footprints... could the Mythical Dragon thought to be extinct be the culprit

Enter dragon expert, Quill, who catches Twylas eye. But what does this mean for her and Frank's friendship, and what does it mean for their world if dragons turn out to be alive and kicking

This story was great, and I loved Twyla and Frank's dynamic. It was also great to catch up again with characters from the first book and see how they are doing a year down the line.

If you loved the first book, or love a cozy mysterious small town fantasy romance, you'll love this. Out July and thanks to NetGalley and Little Brown/Orbit books for the early review copy, as always, all opinions my own regardless

The first book of this series was such an instant favourite of mine. I couldn’t wait for this one! And it’s just as good! Perfect balance of a cute romance in a fantasy setting. I hope there will be more :)

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy was already such a fun little read and this second book was no exception. First of all, I loved the characters. Reading about middle-aged protagonists was so refreshing, they should be represented more in fantasy literature. Their development was also really touching. Second of all, the plot was really entertaining, I mean dragons? I’m always here for it (even tho those ones are pink, yes, pink, you heard me!) The pacing was good and it was nice to read more about characters that were introduced in the first book (Twyla, Frank but also Pen). I also loved the fact that we get to meet Hart and Mercy again at a given point in the story. Overall, I would characterize Megan Bannen series as fun as particular!

I loved Frank and Twyla's story. Did I love it as much as Hart and Mercy's? No, but it was a very close second.

It was so obvious from the off how the two felt about each other and I felt like yelling at them both sometimes to get a clue.

I didn't like Quill, I wondered if he had a second agenda and also I did not like Twyla's family. I found them very demanding and unappreciative of Twyla and her time.

I found the book to be a little slow in that there wasn't much action until the last few chapters but I loved seeing Twyla and Frank navigate their friendship and explore their feelings for each other.

The easiest 5 star read of the year so far! I loved Hart & Mercy and tbh didn’t think the author could top it so I went in with lower expectations, but it actually turned out to be everything for me. I have never related to a book character so much as I do Twyla. Just everything she thought about motherhood, middle age and marriage was completely me! 😂
I laughed so hard at times because it was a true reflection of life after marriage and children. But I also loved the second chance at love and even more so the decisions they made in their relationship at the end. Frank is my new hero!

I have such fond memories of the first book: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, that when I saw this book, I squealed. Audibly. I could not WAIT to read this book and boy did it deliver on all fronts.

It just made me so happy and I was left with such a warm fuzzy feel good, immediately wanted to go back and relive it. It took me a few chapters to truly sink into it, but once I was in, I was absolutely hooked! It was super addicting and I always looked forward to cosying back up with this fantasy and getting stuck back into the pages. I just love the world this is set in!!

And I adore the characters. Twyla and Frank’s relationship was so wholesome and their dynamic was perfection. And also - dragons! Need I say more?!

Couldn’t give it less than 5/5 if I tried!

3.5/4🌟

Having absolutely adored the undertaking of hart & mercy I was so excited to get an arc copy of this book!

I loved getting back to this world and finding out about Tanria after what happened at the end of the previous book. It was nice getting more Duckers who was a favourite from the first book, and the little glimpses of Hart & Mercy.

I loved Frank & Twyla’s friendship and how you could feel how comfortable and happy they were just being with each other even though they didn’t realise they were in love for ages. Their banter was so funny and how they were with Duckers too! The dragons were also such great characters and I love that they ended up making a sanctuary for them.

Some things I didn’t massively like was that it was a very very slow burn with nothing really happening romantically until at least 60/70%, and then the third act breakup which I just didn’t see needed to happen at all - I do get where Frank was coming from, but I feel like he would’ve sat down and spoken to her about it rather than doing it how he did. I guess I just felt a little less into it by the end because of how long it took.

Im not sure what other stories could be told in this world now that Tanria is so different from how it was before, but I would still be very excited to come back to it!