Longtime neighbors and best friends foil a plot and fall in love in The Undermining of Twyla and Frank, a cozy, feminist fantasy romance novel by Megan Bannen (The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy). Twyla Banneker, 53 years old, keeps busy as a Tanrian marshal and grandmother, but something is missing. After more than three decades of tending to everyone else, it's time she finally does something for herself.
When Twyla and her marshal partner, Frank, find the glitter-covered body of a dead marshal, they uncover an illegal mining operation--and a bunch of dragons long thought extinct. Frank inadvertently picks up a dragon egg and when it hatches, the adorable baby dragon imprints on him. Add in a bookish dracologist, a nervous mail-delivery hedgehog, and some bombs, and Tanria is ripe for whimsical chaos.
There's enough danger and intrigue to keep the plot moving, but the heart of this novel is Twyla's later-in-life coming of age. Determined not to be a "chair" to another man--useful and always there when wanted, but otherwise unseen--Twyla has eschewed romantic relationships since her husband died, even as she continued to cater to her adult children's wants and needs. Bannen conveys Twyla's motivations and connections so well that it's truly rewarding when she realizes that her closest friend, Frank, has loved her for years. And that she might just love him, too.
This charming, restorative romance is perfect for fans of cozy fantasy novels such as Travis Baldree's Legends & Lattes. --Suzanne Krohn, librarian and freelance reviewer