Megan Bannen brings her trilogy of stories set in the strange, magical world of Tanria to a close with her affecting new novel, The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam. Rosie Fox’s life has been a lot less interesting since her friend got rid of Tanria’s biggest danger (see The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy). The discovery of adorable dragons by another pair of friends (see The Undermining of Twyla and Frank) has rendered the formerly lethal territory into a tourist destination. There’s just not enough danger in these parts for Rosie until the portals that provide the only safe route into Tanria go on the fritz.
Rosie has been chaffing in her much more restricted role of Tanrian Marshall for years. She hates that she has to wear a boring khaki uniform and actually follow regulations these days. It doesn’t help that Rosie is immortal and has been growing a bit weary of routine in general. She’s pretty done with her occasional deaths, too, especially since her resurrections weird everyone out. Her latest death came from smacking a malfunctioning portal (it works about 50% of the time, she declares). To make things worse, Rosie wakes up to the news that Dr. Adam Lee has been summoned to work on the machines. The last time Rosie encountered Adam, she caught feelings.
I expected romance and a magical mystery from The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam. This book certainly delivered. What I didn’t expect was a trickster. I’ve always loved a trickster story. Who doesn’t love a character who mocks the elite? Who upsets the status quo? Who has a ribald sense of humor? Who teaches unexpected lessons on top of all that? The trickster in this novel is one of the darker ones. (No one is getting the god of thunder dressed up in a wedding dress here.) Rosie’s father is this world’s trickster, a very narcissistic trickster who pops in and out of his daughter’s life on a whim. That said, this character kept me wondering if he was pulling strings in the background or if he was going to get tangled up in his own webs.
I love a trilogy that not only delivers amazing episodes but also builds to a big conclusion that ties everything together. This makes summarizing The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam tricky because there’s quite a bit of lore baked into the plot. Readers should definitely start with The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy and read the series in order to fully understand what’s going on with Rosie, Adam, and the mysterious, shadowy plant that seems to be destroying Tanria. Not only is there lore, but characters from the first two entries in the series reappear in cameos (which I love). Now that the last book in the trilogy is due out next month, readers can binge all three—which I am certain a lot of readers will want to do.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.