Hart Ralston is a ranger, someone who patrols the outer regions for Drudges, ensuring they never stray too close to the towns risking the living, breathing population. Mercy Birdsall is an undertaker, someone in charge of sending the freshly dead on their way to whatever comes after. Both lead lonely lives, though though drastically different circumstances, so one day Hart decides to write a letter to a friend and post it. He figures with no actual address it will get lost in the mail. Instead it get's sent to his worst enemy Mercy. Neither know who their new 'friends' are, but they quickly strike up a friendship, desperate for someone to understand their wants and needs in life. With drudges seemingly on the uptake and hearts at stake will Mercy and Hart be able to reconcile their differences, or will their first impressions be too hard to get over.

Mercy Birdsall is determined, feisty and not afraid of a fight. Ever since her mother died she has become a kind of second parent to her younger brother and sister, looking after them growing up and helping her dad out with the undertaking business, something she loves with all her being, even if it's not a job that associated with 'women'. She's the sunshine girl, always happy and has a smile for everyone... well everyone except Hartache that is. Hart Ralston is grumpy, standoffish and likes to work alone. He's still reeling from the loss of his mentor and the only father he's ever known thanks to his real father being a god who abandoned him at birth. He's got a hard outer shell, but you just have to chip away to get to the soft centre inside.

Bannen introduces us to a wide cast of side characters from Mercy's slightly quirky family to Duckers, Hart's new partner on the job. These all help add depth to our main characters, as well as putting them in some uncomfortable and humorous situations. Though the main relationship we see develop is that of Hart and Mercy, we also see them interact with others and I thoroughly enjoyed all the little interactions, especially those between Mercy and her brother who was supposed to take over the family business but runs away at the slightest sight of a dead body. But my favourite by far was Duckers and Hart. Hart starts off absolutely not wanting a new partner, but through Duckers he gets to work through a lot of the trauma from his mentor dying, as well as learning to open up to others and let them in.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is one of those books that's almost impossible to sum up. Part romance, part western, part mystery... with a healthy does of zombies thrown in for good measure. In the world Bannen creates magic is real, demi-gods exist and if someone dies without passing on their soul tries to find the nearest 'meat suit' to inhabit, thus creating Drudges (zombies). Through the story, Bannen weaves a mystery alongside our romance plot, one that slowly works itself into your consciousness until you get wholly gripped by it. I adored this sub plot and thought it interweaved with the main romance so incredibly well, how Hart and Mercy got dragged into it & how they were pivotal to solving and fixing the problem. I would have liked a little more world building, but I think that's just me being overly greedy because when I find a fantasy world I like I want ALL the information.

The romance, because lets be honest... that's what were all here for... was exquisite. Enemies to lovers, grump/sunshine, as well as a queer side romance that I adored. Through Hart and Mercy, Bannen shows the importance of first impressions and how second chances can make all the difference, but it was also just hilarious and witty in parts. They could not stand one another, calling them' Merciless' and 'Hartache' as nicknames, but all that underlying tension just meant that when they gave into it, it went off with a bang... literally. It was delicious and steamy and filled with tension and I thrived for the scenes when they were able to interact.

I had heard Bannen liked to take her readers on a sort of emotional whirlwind and this was certainly no different,. Thanks to the added mystery we get an extra depth to the story that adds more tension as well as some heavy emotional scenes. As I said above, the world she creates was magical and I would LOVE to read more books set in it, even if we don't get more Hart and Mercy. This is one romance book that is gonna stay with me for a while, thanks to the sheer quirkiness of it and I will certainly be checking out Bannen's backlist.

3.8 Stars

One Liner: Entertaining but go with the right expectations

Hart is a marshal with the dangerous job of patrolling the wilds of Tanria and preventing dredges from attacking the citizens. Mercy is an undertaker, solely managing Birdsall & Son Undertakers despite the obstacles.
Hart and Mercy can’t stand each other. They seem to bring out the worst in the other (do we see sparks flying?). However, they have more in common than they like to think. Both are lonely and pretty much have no life beyond their jobs.
When Hart’s letter to an unknown friend reaches Mercy, she responds to it without knowing the sender's identity. Though a tentative friendship is born between them, things could go either way once the truth is revealed.
What’s more, Tanria seems to be under attack by dredges coming out of nowhere. Why is there a sudden increase in cases? Who is responsible for this? How does it affect Hart and Mercy? What about their feelings for each other?
The story comes from a limited third-person perspective of Mercy and Hart.

What I Like:
The narration is lighthearted and sprinkled with some bittersweet moments. There isn’t any descriptive prose or lyrical imagery. Though I’m a fan of both, I like that the narrative style suited the storyline and the cover.
The side characters are an absolute treat. No kidding. I love them (except for Nathan and another guy). The main characters are decent, though they sometimes act less mature for their age.
There’s food in the book, sweet treats and desserts (which is always a plus). It’s the men who cook while the ladies enjoy the delicious servings.
The letters could have been better, but I preferred the toned-down version. It also helps that I didn’t even think of You’ve Got Mail. The letters suit the characters (who aren’t philosophical), so no complaints.
There are quite a few weird, funny, and eye-roll-inducing moments. The overall effect is satisfactory, which is important to me.

What Didn’t Work for Me:
The pacing is super slow. A 336-page shouldn’t feel like a 450-page book. It took me four days to read this book (even when the prose is easy). I deleted 0.2 stars for this.
The world-building goes a little on and off, and the same happens to the terminology as well. The contemporary slang doesn’t always suit the unidentifiable fantasy period. After all, they are writing letters to each other, and there’s no mention of phones (wired/ wireless).
The shift from enemies to lovers is a little too abrupt. Sure sparks are flying, but the transition needs to be smooth.
A few threads didn’t seem to conclude properly, especially the Bill part. I won’t elaborate, but it could have been handled better.

To sum up, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is an entertaining read if you plod through the slow pace and ignore a few bumps. Don’t compare it to You’ve Got Mail or expect heavy stuff.

Thank you, NetGalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK, and Orbit Books, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

*****
PS: The book has steam of 2ish level and cuss words (including F-bombs).

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for approving my e-ARC request.
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, to me, was perfection. With its 90's Rom-Com vibe (You've Got Mail but with undertakers, demi-gods and zombies!) It kept me entertained from beginning to end.
I found that the characters despite being quite abrasive were still likeable and as the story progressed I could understand the reasons, and even sympathize somewhat.

Reviews will be posted on Goodreads, Twitter and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/melanie.reads_/)
on August 11th

4.25 ⭐️

Let me first preface this by saying that fantasy romance is not generally my go to genre, and whilst this was at its core a romance, it was SO much more!

This was a bit like You’ve Got Mail but with “zombies” for lack of a better explanation. I loved the characters, both main and side, and really cared about what happened to them. My one complaint was around worldbuilding - the world the book is set in isn’t explained fully and you’re sort of plunged head first into it without any real explanation. It didn’t really detract from the story and I never thought for a second “wtf I don’t have the foggiest what is happening here” but I would have liked to have a bit more information.

This book has it all; enemies to lovers, zombies, corpses, mystery, banter, queer representation, sexy times and a whole lot of expletives and mention of Mercy’s tits. Living. For. It! I was near bawling towards the end.

If you like some spice with your fantasy (I mean it’s not a Carolina Reaper on the Scoville chart so don’t get TOO excited, but there’s definitely some schmexy scenes) then give this a go. It gets a resounding thumbs up from me and has opened up my horizons to possibly reading a few more within this genre.

Thank you to the author, Orbit Books and to Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

*Public review to be posted on Goodreads 2 weeks prior to release as per publisher wishes*

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy was an enjoyable read, set in an fantasy world with some really unique perceptions of religion and death. Despite it being a fantasy setting, the antagonism between the main characters was believable (which is sometimes overlooked in your standard enemies-to-lovers trope!), as were their relationships with their families and friends.

I liked the blend of old and new in the world building but it could have done with more, as sometimes the lack of description meant that you were pulled out of the flow of the story by details that seemed anachronistic.

Overall I would recommend the book to readers who enjoy fantasy-romance.

𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖
𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫: Megan Bannen
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Romance, Fantasy, Adult
𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Admittedly, I was hesitant to pick this up as it sounded too quirky for me. However, I can say that I’m glad I picked this up!

Okay I’ll say it: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy has won my heart and soul! (Sorry I just had to).

I would say this reads more of a romance book (the romance is central to the plot and has a… satisfactory ending) in a fantastical world mixed with a hint of a modern world with the typical fantasy elements.

𝐆𝐔𝐒𝐇:
• Fun and quirky world-building—I liked how it mixed the ‘old’ with the ‘new’: there’s lore of the Old gods and the New, there’s gods and demigods but then there’s also sneakers and snickerdoodles…
• Flawed characters you can’t help but love and cheer for! When there’s dual POV, I usually prefer reading one POV than the other. Yet I can say I equally enjoyed each characters POV.
• the last 20% had me on a chokehold! I hadn’t realised I cared for the characters until I read up to that.
• The mail delivery service and Leonard the dog alone deserves 5 stars (originally this was going to be 4 stars but I decided to add another star for these characters).

𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐏𝐄:
• Wish there was more world-building as it was interesting and unique, however, it didn't feel as fleshed out as it could've been. I’m usually a reader that can just go on and ignore such technicalities, however, I can imagine some readers may struggle with this aspect.
• I never full understood why Hart and Mercy hated each other due to few misunderstandings but hey it be like that sometimes…


𝐈𝐧 𝐚 𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥, 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
✔ enemies to lovers
✔ pen friends with hidden identities
✔ rom-com with zombies!


𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬: grief, loneliness, family, and love

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫: fans of romance stories with more fantasy, enemies to lovers

𝐂𝐖: Death (mentions of parental death from cancer, mentions of dead bodies), grief, violence, gore, sexual content


Thank you to @NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 𝐌𝐲 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠: 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐣𝐨𝐲.𝐜𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐮𝐩𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞

I really did enjoy this book! Hart and Mercy were both great characters, and I enjoyed reading from both perspectives. However, I felt like the plot was a tad lacking. Everything was quite predictable, and sometimes that works for me, but in this case I would have loved to be surprised a little more. Nonetheless I can definitely recommend this book!

This is a book everyone should read! It's sweet, fun and dramatic.
The characters are realistic in thier responses and reactions to thier world and situations, this is true of the romance element too which just makes you devour the pages and root for the main couple. The plot is sweet but still has dramatic surprises that make you fly through the pages wanting to know how the twists end.
I just fell in love with this world and the people in it, I really hope the author revists this world and its people as I really need more!

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy was such a unique read!
When I first saw the book cover I knew straight away that I will love this book! And the premise proved it! But I did not expect it to be so good!
Hart and Mercy had such a strong dynamic and I couldn’t get enough of them! The plot of the story was really adorable,the letter exchange between them had no right to be this cute!!! I really liked the mail exchanging aspect of the book and the mail service was hilarious.
World building was really original and I would love to read more stories from this setting. The whimsical fantasy vibes of this world were amazing.
Overall it was a great romance read like no others and I would highly recommend it to all fantasy romance readers!
I cannot wait to pick up a physical copy of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy!

I remember seeing this on Orbit’s Twitter and I have to be honest, I ended up adding this to my TBR based on the cover alone. I know you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but the bright colours are certainly eye catching (and to be fair, the blurb had me intrigued too!) Based on the premise of this, I had a feeling that this was going to be little bit out of my comfort zone, but that is in no way a bad thing (especially as I’m trying to be a bit more adventurous with my reading).

I liked a lot of things in Hart and Mercy, but the characters were the real stand out for me. I found myself really liking Mercy and her family - I empathised a lot with Mercy herself and she felt real and honest. I really liked her younger brother too and his storyline was enjoyable. There was something about the warmth of Mercy and her family that was just really wholesome.

Hart, on the other hand, is Mercy’s complete opposite at the start of the story, but I loved watching him come out of his shell as the story progressed. I also really loved the gruff teacher and sunshine apprentice trope that made up some of Hart’s storyline. Duckers is a lovely character and I loved how he brought out the best in Hart.

While I enjoyed the story as a whole, I did have a couple of quibbles:
1. I kind of wished the exchange of letters had lasted a little bit longer. Given that this is emphasised quite a bit, I’d expected there to be more, but it felt like that section of the story was over quite quickly.
2. I wished that the plot line involving Cunningham (a rival undertaker) wanting to buy Mercy’s family business was developed a bit more. I felt like there were a couple of jumps that I missed, but I did read this fairly quickly so it’s entirely possible that I skipped past them without realising.

These are tiny quibbles and they definitely didn’t detract from how much I enjoyed reading this.

This is one of those books where I can’t quite put my finger on why I enjoyed it so much, but was definitely the right book at the right time for me. Maybe because it was the change of pace or maybe it was something else. Either way, this is one that worked for me.

So this was a cute book but it wasn’t very gripping. I felt like I could have put this down at any moment and completely feel okay with not reading the rest. The relationship was the cutest part but the side plot of the mystery of what Cunningham’s is doing was a little flat. Even when they “solved” it, it didn’t feel like a big revelation or achievement. I’m giving this book 3 stars for the romance alone (but even then the fight they had was a little too overdramatic) because the rest of the story was a little underwhelming.

Lovely, original and page-turning! Really happy I got to read this and will be recommending it to my friends & students.

I could easily give this book 3 stars - I was at least compelled enough to finish it! - but I am so IRKED by it I refuse to rate it so highly. Firstly, I know that comparisons are never accurate. I <b>know</b> this. But some comparisons hit you in the feels so much you can't help it - like Howl's Moving Castle, and You've Got Mail. (To be clear, I'm talking about Howl's Moving Castle the book, and it turns out the person who made the comp meant the film which I wish I'd noticed BEFORE I read this because I would never!) Needless to say this book fell WELL short for me. I love both of them with my whole heart and the comparison feels almost libellous!

Secondly, this is a ZOMBIE book? You need to make that clear because it's not even slightly implied in the UK blurb (I don't know about other markets)! I <b>despise</b> zombies, they're an instant 'oh never mind then' if a book/film blurb mentions them, and I appreciate the intended audience is much wider than just me but I can't be the only one who feels that way!?

Thirdly, just taking the book on its own merits - the romance is...fine I guess. Describing it as a fantasy is really pushing it though. The world building is the barest minimum and mostly at the level of 'the postal service is anthropomorphic, lolz; your soul is in your appendix just because; they have revolvers and pistols but they only shoot arrows just for shits and giggles; and you know how we kept the gun names the same, well give them cars but call them autoducks for no fucking reason'.

I'm going to be low level annoyed at the mere existence of this book for the next couple of days and then probably forget all about it!

Sadly for me, this book didn't live upto the hype. It wasn't cute or whimsical like Howl's Moving Castle. It was even hard to imagine the setting. The prose wasn't descriptive or lush or whimsical. The characters flat. The...ah intimate scenes (wasn't expecting from a whimsical book) came out of nowhere and wasn't earned. There simply should have been more yearning and adults should have behaved like adults (the characters are in their thirties but hold grudges like teens).

A big thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this eArc!

I loved this! Such a unique world with loveable characters and great banter!!

LORD THIS BOOK.
I was screaming throughout the book because of its cuteness! To be clear it is slow burn with the good cuteness only coming about 50% in BUT the world building/ character building was SO WORTH IT up until then. After that point it was pain (the good stuff) and I absolutely loved every moment of this dang book. Girl just inject this into my veins because this was EXCEPTIONAL. DELICIOUS. STUNNING.
Look, if you want a smut filled filth fest this book probably isn't it for you. BUT if you want a CUTIE PATOOTIE (with a sprinkle of smut) filled book, READ THIS. Anyway off to look for my Hart (forgot to mention this man isn't afraid of emotion and I love him Siri where can I find Hart I really want Hart please give me har-)

A Delightfully strange five-star read. I honestly don’t know what to put as the review for this one, it made me laugh, it made me stop and think, and I really enjoyed reading it, it unfurled as you read so keeps beautifully fresh all the way through. Definity a must read, even for those who wouldn’t normally pick it up.

Headlines:
Grumpy-grumpy-together we make sunshine
Brilliant fantasy world with easy world-building
Who said the appendix was a moot organ?

I completely vibed with this book from the first few pages, I knew I was going to love it from the moment I first set eyes on the main characters. Mercy and Hart were completely memorable, completely unique and incredibly loveable, flaws and all.

This world was pretty quirky, zombie-laden, a world of water and land but everything about how the world was written was brilliant. There was no world-building as such, the author just slowly sowed seeds of how things were, worked and operated in a way that you naturally put the pieces together.

Hart and Mercy took centre-stage and kept your focus for every moment. The barbs these two threw at one another were like acid burns but how they came to be friends through letters was everything. The chemistry was onnnnnn (fans face) but the connection was so damn deep.

The humps in this story's road were painful and I cried hart-broken. I just felt so much as I rolled with the lives of these two, I felt their frustrations, their amusement, their affection, love and deep sadness.

This book swept me off my feet and I hope Megan Bannen has something of a similar ilk in store for us in the future. She wrote the socks off this book!

Thank you Orbit Books for the early review copy.

This book was everything!

When I read the blurb I wasn’t sure how I’d like the book, there’s a lot going on in that blurb! Don’t let that put you off, this story was phenomenal. So unique. Funny, romantic, fantastical. Everything I want and expect from a fantasy romance and more.

The characters are flawed, the relationships and the side characters are beautiful. The enemies to lovers is 🔥🔥🔥. It’s a must read!

I adored The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, it has easily become one of my favourite reads of the year so far. The book is a fantasy romance with brilliant world building that makes the story feel fresh and unique; I have never read anything quite like it. Our two main characters are Mercy, an undertaker working at her family’s business Birdsall & Son Undertakers, and Hart, a marshal in Tanria keeping people safe from drudges. It is:
• Enemies-to-lovers with dual POV
• Pen-pals and hidden identities
• Found family
• Gods, demigods and mortals
• Exploring themes of grief, loss, loneliness, and expectation
I found the book successfully weaves together funny moments, with tender and emotional (I cried). And I loved the exchanging of letters.
I read this book as an ARC through #NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. But I want to highlight that I loved it so much I had pre-ordered a print copy by the time I finished chapter 2! I know this will be a book that I keep going back to and re-reading.