The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen
Publisher: Orbit
Pub Date: 7/2/2024

Thank you to Hachette Audio for the free copy on LibroFM in exchange for my honest review. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The town of Eternity is surprised when Twyla Banneker, a widowed middle-aged woman, teams up with her neighbor and best friend, Frank Ellis, to become Tanrian Marshals. Eight years later, they stumble upon a mysterious murder and a baby dragon, which leads them into a dangerous conspiracy and makes Twyla realize she might have deeper feelings for Frank.

I enjoyed The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, so I was really excited to read the second book in the series, The Undermining of Twyla and Frank. This was an action-packed and unique rom-com fantasy and it was refreshing to see both main characters in their 50s. The marketing describes it as “When Harry Met Sally” but with dragons, which I’m not sure I completely agree with, but it definitely follows a best friends-to-lovers trope. The world-building, revisiting old characters, and being introduced to new side characters were a few highlights. However, I wasn’t a big fan of how the romantic plot played out and the “mystery” was rather flat and uninteresting. The author’s writing style was entertaining, but it didn’t feel as impactful as her previous book. I was also expecting both main characters to have an equal amount of depth. Twyla’s character was well-thought-out and felt like it was mostly told from her perspective in the third person. Frank was a great love interest, but overall, fell a bit flat. This was a fun read, but it just wasn’t for me.