A little sweet, a little spicy, a little sharp and entirely moreish!' Davinia Evans, author of Notorious Sorcerer Despite my qualms expressed above, I was still swept up by Mercy and Hart’s relationship when Megan Bannen wasn’t trying to fit them into marketing bullet points. There is such genuine affection and tenderness expressed throughout this book. Actual tears might have leaked from my Sahara-dry tear ducts?? It was easy to root for these characters and their happy ending. I enjoyed the general flavour of the world Bannen constructed. It’s a fantastical setting with contemporary vibes—a place where underwire bras, bubble baths, and sneakers exist alongside portals to other realms, zombies, demigods, and talking animals who deliver the mail. But I hesitate to call what Bannen accomplishes world-building. It’s more like world-blueprinting.

CWs: There is extensive talk about a dog who passed away in the past, death of loved ones, forensic type corpse descriptions I always appreciate having multiple narrators when there are different PoVs Michael Gallagher and Rachanee Lumayno felt perfect for their respective roles. Rachanee captured both Mercy's strength and loneliness even through she is surrounded by family and Michael Gallagher was able to perform Harts PoV so the reader empathized with the decisions he made and his longing and fear to belong to something or someone. I was able to listen at my usual 1.5x speed. Ever since first finishing The House In The Cerulean Seaby TJ Klune, I’ve searched for a love story that made me feel both hopeful and cozy with characters so well-established that they felt like old friends. In 2022, the book closest to that was The Undertaking of Hart and Mercyby Megan Bannen" 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. Romantic, wildly creative, and utterly charming, The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy is a fantasy unlike any I’ve read before. Come for the banter, chemistry, and flawless enemies-to-lovers vibes, and stay for the gorgeous worldbuilding and beautifully depicted emotional landscapes. An absolutely stunning story.”The shift from enemies to lovers is a little too abrupt. Sure sparks are flying, but the transition needs to be smooth. Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest. I think I kinda loved it though, even though I feel like I can’t explain why. Maybe I don’t need too 😂. Hachette Book Group is a leading book publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest publisher in the world. Social Media 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.

When Hart and Mercy are writing to one another, the words flow so easily that arranging a meeting to learn each other’s true identities is a foregone conclusion—but the difference between knowing you should tell someone the truth and actually confessing it proves to be one of the book’s most absorbing emotional arcs. ( Undertaking also thankfully avoids the professional conflict element that You’ve Got Mail falls prey to by placing Hart in a different field from Mercy, relegating the storyline of a superior competitor trying to elbow Birdsall & Son out of business to a minor character instead.) What appealed to me the most about The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy was the comparison to You’ve Got Mail. Epistolary romances are my JAM. I may or may not have shamelessly begged the lovely publicist for a copy simply because of that. I just knew that I would inhale every word of this book and I DID. Both Hart and Mercy are lonely individuals and that loneliness seeps into every chapter of this book. When Hart, in need of a connection, writes an anonymous letter that winds up being delivered to his real-life nemesis, Mercy, it sets off a chain reaction that permanently alters his life. Their anonymous friendship was delightfully humorous and heartachingly sweet. Through the letters, they bond over their shared loneliness and loss, forging a deep connection. As a fellow lonely person, I was touched by the way Megan Bannen wrote about their alienation. I can’t even begin to describe the pangs felt reading some of the quotes in the book because they are that resonant. The enemies to lovers aspect was just delicious and the worldbuilding was fascinating! It kinda gave me Ilona Andrews levels of crunchy, deep-dive worldbuilding mixed with the super-satisfying romance. It's not out for a few months but if you like your romance with really intricate world building and plot, and you love a penpal romance mashed up with enemies to lovers and and and JUST ADD THIS TO YOUR LIST, SERIOUSLY. Now take those and set them in a fantasy world. Perfection. Utter perfection. The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a fantasy rom-com that promises to take you on a wild ride while having you fall head over heels in love with the novel’s main characters. When we first meet Hart and Mercy, they can’t stand each other. Hart is a grumpy Tarian Marshal demi-god who takes his job very seriously. As he should since it puts him face to face with supernatural creatures that are akin to zombies.A lovely, macabre fantasy romance about life, death, and Actually Living. I cried twice and smiled plenty’ Olivia Atwater, author of Half a Soul A uniquely charming mixture of whimsy and the macabre that completely won me over ‘ Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient Well, I adored everything about this. Mercy and Hart are adorable, most of the side characters are hilarious and lovable and a constant nuisance in the best way, the world is fun and unique, the drudges (AKA zombies) are just present enough to keep things suspenseful without ever over-shadowing the romance, and the entire story is a mash-up of so many genres that I never thought it would work, but guess what? It works. With its wonderfully unique setting, lovable characters, and engaging mix of humour and spice, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a truly outstanding romantic fantasy . I loved both its kookiness and its deep authenticity. An instant favourite!” India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

Megan Bannen remains the queen of swoons upon swoons upon swoons! The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a playful, quirky gem-full of feels and guaranteed to deliver the perfect grumpy/sunshine fix!’ Sierra Simone 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. I had some trouble picturing th

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Each minute I spent with The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy endeared it to me further. It is a complicated premise examined with brilliant scrutiny and a character story with a lot of depth and hot action to boot. I had way more fun with this standalone than I thought I would and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fantasy romance that is a little different. The closest thing I can compare this to is The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels meets You’ve Got Mail. The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy isn’t like The Wisteria Society at all but they’re also absolutely the same. Doesn’t make sense? Perfect. I want you confused, intrigued, and ready to risk it all for these two morbidly hot cinnamon rolls. A lovely, macabre fantasy romanceaboutlife, death, and Actually Living. I cried twice and smiled plenty.” Olivia Atwater, author of Half a Soul

The premise is this: Mercy Birdsall is an undertaker in the land of Tanria. Technically, she’s only supposed to be taking the reins of her family’s business until her brother can step in and assume his rightful place as the head of Birdsall & Son, but between her father’s recent health scare and said brother’s reluctance to continue in the family tradition, she’s been keeping the lights on all by herself. Naturally, it’s when she’s the most rundown that she just has to cross paths with her personal nemesis, Hart Ralston, a marshal who finds himself at the undertaker’s place more often than not thanks to the bodies he’s responsible for dropping off there. Is this a romance or is it a dystopian about stabbing appendixes and wrapping decaying bodies in salt and ghosts taking possession of dead bodies? Somehow it’s perfectly, wonderfully, BOTH! no, but truly, if you enjoyed hold me by courtney milan but wanted to read a fantasy romcom, you definitely need the undertaking of hart and mercy. the way this book had me in a chokehold!!!! enemies to lovers who suddenly become anonymous pen pals but still hate each other in real life. yes sir yes sir. I showed up for the fantastic, fun fantasy setting but it was Hart and Mercy that kept me reading.”—Ruby DixonI showed up for the fantastic, fun fantasy setting but it was Hart and Mercy that kept me reading.” —Ruby Dixon Absolutely the cutest zombie book we've ever read. Not a single word of that is written in irony. Not only is this a zombie book, it's an enemies-to-lovers epistolary romance set in a fantasy world that is just different enough from our own to make it wonderfully familiar and at the same time skewed. This is the first book in a long time that made us stay up past our bedtime to read. It's funny, it's cute, it makes you think about the inevitable mortality awaiting each human being's existence, AND there is some mild spice. Apparently it is exactly what we wanted to read right now. Megan Bannen has found her voice with this incredibly smart, and hilariously weird debut. A must read' Nisha Sharma, author of Dating Dr. Dil A Love Letter to I’m Sorry and a Tribute to Funny Moms in 3 Bits By Annie Berke September 6, 2023 | 11:48am I showed up for the fantastic, fun fantasy setting but it was Hart and Mercy that kept me reading."—Ruby Dixon