There's a lot going on in this 'Romantasy' featuring zombies, undertakers, demigods and plenty of silly banter. Despite this I found it a little slow at times, rolled my eyes a bit (mostly at the dragged out miscommunication bit) but overall thought the balance between romance and fantasy was about right.

(ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley)

In a Nutshell: A romantasy with shades of light and dark. Loved the lead characters, liked the story, found the world-building decent. Didn’t expect zombies! Good for those who enjoy this genre and don’t mind spicy and/or paranormal content.

Story Synopsis:
Hart is a marshal patrolling the wild lands of Tanria. Mercy is handling her family’s undertaking business almost alone after her father suffers a health scare.
Hart hates Mercy. Mercy hates Hart. But their paths keep intersecting as his work makes him visit the undertakers often. Both don’t realise how lonely they are in their situations.
One day, feeling quite low, Hart finds himself penning a heartfelt missive to “A Friend”, not expecting that the magical postal system will ensure that he gets an anonymous letter back. Guess whom it is from? (No marks if you got that right!)
Thus begins the open-hate-secret-love relationship between the duo, at the same time as Tanria is battling a dangerous threat. Will their romance survive as survival itself seems at stake?
The story comes to us in the alternating third-person perspectives of Hart and Mercy.

Bookish Yays:
😍 The main characters: Hart and Mercy both are unusual leads in various ways. Hart’s being a demigod is already a huge (literally!) point in his favour. But what was even more special was Mercy’s being an undertaker, and even being passionate about her job.
😍 The storyline: Quite interesting, especially in the second half when all the romantic build-up is finally over and the romantasy action begins.
😍 The secondary characters: Mercy’s family – comprising her father, her sister, her brother-in-law and her brother – as well as Hart’s colleague Pen Ducker all are amazing. Some other minor characters are leave their marks, including the two “postmen”. Can’t forget Leonard the dog!
😍 Through Mercy’s family, we also get to see many gender stereotypes shattered, whether in business or in personal life.
😍 Many sweet moments and loads of banter, courtesy various characters. This balances the seriousness of the danger.
😍 There’s a lot happening in the book, and I mean, a lot! Not in terms of themes, but in terms of events. The threat to Mercy’s business from a rival, the drudges, the romance, her brother’s secret desire, her sister’s pregnancy, Hart’s new partner, his grief over his past, his demigod status, the new threat to the town – all of this could have got overwhelming, but the author keeps a firm control on everything and doesn’t get any track get out of control.
😍 The first half of the book is somewhat slow, but there is enough to keep our attention and we also get to see the characters develop well. The second half truly shines, and enhances the overall experience.
😍 The spice level gets pretty intense, but to the credit of the author, she handles the scenes quite gracefully. (This level of steam would have been a direct Nay for me, but I have been so traumatised by ‘The Lady Thief of Belgravia’ that I read just a few days ago – with its ubiquitous and crass spicy scenes – that this felt like a classic in comparison.) This will anyway not be an issue for those who like spicy content in their books.
😍 The ending is awesome, and made me ignore most of the mixed bags.
😍 This is the first book of a planned series, but it completes all its arcs well. No cliffhangers!
😍 This book has zombies. They are called “drudges” herein, but they are still zombies. I read a book with zombies and I survived. Yay!

Bookish Mixed Bags:
😐 The epistolary content is sweet, but it is not as impactful as in some other epistolary romances. (I recently read Rachel Fordham’s ‘The Letter Tree’, which handles the epistolary part much better.) That said, I still enjoyed the friendship developing through the letters and the way the letters were delivered.
😐 I loved the connect between Hart and Mercy right from the start. This enemies-to-lovers romance isn’t as much grumpy vs. sunshine as it is grumpy vs. grumpy, which is a lot more fun. To see the two of them bond over their letters, and later, bond personally was a delight. However, I didn’t like that the conversion from enemies to lovers was so instantaneous – such a drastic change of feelings within a day???
😐 The fantasy detailing was great in some ways, with the locational setting and the varied characters such as demigods and non-human postal workers living alongside the humans. However, the world itself wasn’t clear. Many fantastical concepts such as the equimare and the autoduck weren’t described well enough for us to picture them. The process of sending the dead in a boat also was not detailed out properly. I liked the world but I wish we got to know it better.

Bookish Nays: (These are Nays for me but might not be an issue for others.)
😒 I always hate it when romantic pairs obsess more over their partner’s looks than their nature. Both Hart and Mercy are too focussed on the anatomical attributes of each other, especially but not only at the start.
😒 There’s too much of the miscommunication trope in the second half. While this doesn’t get as annoying as in some other romances, it is still frustrating.
😒 There are far too many cuss words, which don’t suit the overall tone of the book.

All in all, this one did take me by surprise. I rarely enjoy steamy romances and half-baked worldbuilding, but the appealing characters and the action-packed second half made the book mostly enjoyable. The ending added to the charm.
Recommended to lovers of somewhat spicy romantasy novels. This one has a good balance of fantasy and romance, so it ought to work well for the right reader.
There’s a sequel coming up, based on two other marshals mentioned in this book. I am definitely on board to see how the author develops this series further through their arcs.

3.75 stars. (3.5 stars for the first half, 4 stars for the rest. Averaged.)

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK, Orbit, and NetGalley for the DRC of “The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This isn’t the usual type of books i read but it was highly recommended so I thought i would givenit a read and it was actually really fun. I loved the characters and their banter.

I really enjoyed The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. I like the world that Bannon created and the way that the characters make their way through it. I loved Hart and Mercy. The way that they interacted with each other and how the relationship progressed was great!

I can't wait to read more from Megan Bannen

The Undertaking Of Hart And Mercy captured

me right from the start with such witty dialogue.

I feel like it's more romance than fantasy, though both aspects are done really well here and I loved the world-building. It's so creative, immersive and left me wanting more! Now combine that with a 700 cast, some spice, snark and banter, plus action and adventure

Don't forget the letters! The representation!

I also really enjoyed the family dynamics, found family theme, all the side characters and their arcs.

The climax was slightly underwhelming for me as I found it predictable and with low stakes. Nevertheless, the epilogue is perfection and I had a wonderful time with this very lovable novel. No wonder it's a Booksta darling!

Yes. Simply put, yes.
Every review I have seen compares this to You've Got Mail and I get it. It's that meets western meets anime vibes meets macabre...with zombies? This has three things I love - original plots, quirky characters, and solid writing.

I enjoyed this so much. Adult fantasy, quirky, funny and a romance to boot. It ticked every box for me and I cannot wait for book 2.

Epistolary romance set in a fantasy world with enemies to lovers? It's like this book was tailor made specifically for me. I absolutely loved, loved, loved this story so much! And, I'm so glad that a new book in the series has been announced because I definitely need more of this world and it's characters. Hart and Mercy have my heart and I adore them so much. This has become a comfort read for me and I will be re-reading it a lot!

I would like to thank netgalley and little Brown for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful look at love and loss.

DNF at 15%

I read the great reviews, I saw the high rating, so I decided that I also wanted to read this book.
Sadly I just couldn't get into it. I would pick it up, read a little but just feel bored or no interest at all. The world they live in is a little confusing, the characters weren't for me.
I don't get why everybody hates/is awkward with Hart, and I'm sure we will find out later, but I'm not invested enough to want to find out.

Fantasy-based romance either focuses on the romance or the fantasy world-building with the people coming in a close second. In this case, the story is more about the growth arc of the two people at the centre of this plot.
Mercy is the daughter who wants to be an undertaker, a men-only profession (at least thus far). She is struggling to keep her brother in line, her family business profitable, and do the thing that she enjoys - giving people an appropriate and dignified send-off.
Hart is a marshal who patrols the more dangerous areas. He is a demigod who does not know about his 'God'parent. This lack of information as well as the loneliness in his life, are only part of his struggles.
Although this is a standalone book, there is a satisfying conclusion that actually provides us with a much more complete picture of their lives than I would have expected.
Two lonely people write each other letters without actually knowing who the other is until it is almost too late. The tug of war, the war of words, is entertaining and familiar in a romance of this sort. Throwing in the complexities of the issues that they have to handle, this was a great read.
It is quick and filled with a lot of distinct people making it one that I would recommend to even people who are not as familiar or comfortable with fantasy.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I was supposed to despise this book. I'm not entirely sure why I even picked it up.

I typically don't enjoy the following two tropes: miscommunication and enemies to lovers. Miscommunication drives me nuts - just have a conversation already! And enemies to lovers just seems so far fetched; if I had an enemy, seeing them naked would only appeal to me if it involved their public humiliation. This book has both of those things (the tropes, not the naked public humiliation), and I bloody loved it.

Hart and Mercy have known each other, professionally, for some time. Think "The Hating Game" but instead of sharing post-it's in an office, Hart and Mercy share dead bodies. Mercy works for her father's undertaking business - essentially tidying up and preparing dead bodies for their families. Hart brings her the bodies - as a marshall for the city he's required to kill off any undead wandering the streets to free the souls within. Their regular interactions mostly entail figuring out who has the best snarky insult worked out that day, whilst exchanging dead people.

So when Mercy begins to receive anonymous letters in the mail addressed "From A Friend" she decides that she has nothing to lose in sending one right back. It's obvious to everyone that Hart is the one sending letters, although he doesn't know he's sending them to Mercy, and neither of them appear to be able to figure out within the first 25% of the book that it is most abundantly clear that the two of them are the ones sending letters. It's painful, the letters have "it's me!" all over them to be frank. But you'll get over it.

Here's why: Hart and Mercy are perfectly constructed characters. I loved both of them, even when they were being hateful, and I was really rooting for them as individuals regardless of their interactions - they're just likeable, imperfectly perfect characters. The writing style is soft, easy and really quite funny - Hart has some fantastic one liners, as do some of the magical creatures sending the not-very-hateful mail for him!

There is a backstory entirely separate from their letter sending, which was a nice touch really because quite often books sold as romance novels are just that - romance, but no story besides person falls in love with person. And both Hart and Mercy, but more so Hart, have interesting backstories which make you quickly invested in who they are.

It's just a really great book. I'm not usually that fussed about romance - I might read it from time to time to have a bit of a break from something heavier, but this was just a really brilliant blend of funny, quirky, magical and romantic without any of those things taking centre stage too often to make it boring.

I loved it. I'm so glad I read it. What a perfect February read.

ARC provided from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review (although in the meantime I received a beautiful copy from Fairyloot which I would highly recommend trying to get your hands on if you enjoyed it too - it's stunning!).

Please note that this book is not for me - I have read the book, However I had to DNF and because i do not like to give negative reviews I will not review this book fully - there is no specific reason for not liking this book. I found it a struggle to read and did not enjoy trying to force myself to read this book.

Apologies for any inconvenience caused and thank you for the opportunity to read this book

A romance book that made me swoon!

Enemies to lovers, or is it rivals to lovers? it was done so well! The main characters had chemistry right from the beginning and I enjoyed their interactions. The writing made this even more fun. It was truly a wild ride and the romance was so so swoon-worthy!

Highly recommend this fantasy romance!

Absolutely loved it! It was a fun and quirky read! And of course the cover is just amazing! I can’t wait to read more from this author 😁💕

I read this book some months ago but I didn't write the review right away because I didn't know what to write. This book was a case of the right book at the wrong time. I was hoping for a lighthearted and funny book and this book sounded like the perfect candidate but... it didn't deliver fully. It is not that it is not funny, because we have some really good banter in there, and I love banter (also, I usually love banter because it is funny so it is a win in my book, sorry no pun intended), and it is also quite sweet in some parts. And we have some interesting characters too, and some really imaginative too. I loved the mail service there, for example. It is pure genius!
But it is also quite heavy on the world-building part, and it is an interesting choice for this kind of book. Not a bad one, not at all, but unusual. And the world we get to know is full of interesting things, for sure, but it is also heavy on the dark side. And again, it is not bad. It is different, and it is also well-developed.
On paper, I should have loved this one. But... but it wasn't what I needed at the moment so the reading didn't go as well as I was hoping. It is for sure a good book, and it is original and there are a lot of good things going on in there, so if you are even remotely curious about it, well, go for it! Really!
It is just that I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping (and yes, I know that expectations can be your worst enemy) so I needed some time to collect my ideas and try to write something that can make justice to this book.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy has been such a hyped up book on my TBR but unfortunately it just didn’t do anything for me. Plenty of reviews, and the synopsis, will go into the plot so I’ll just focus on how I felt about the book and I went from underwhelmed to confused to just plain angry, despite how much I loved Mercy as a character, or maybe that’s just why, because I thought she deserved better than this romance.

To start, I didn’t understand the world-building re: the gods, I don’t know if I was just being dim here but I couldn’t get my head around it and then felt like I’d missed something crucial. Similarly what even is an equimare?? That said I did enjoy the nimkilim post animals including Bassareus the whiskey drinking bunny, they were an amusing, cute feature that showed the (frustrating) promise in this book.

My main issue with this book though is I’m tired of troubled men taking out their issues on women becoming a romanticised thing. We get all this tragic backstory for Hart, the mysterious love interest who is unnecessarily antagonistic and smirky, who grow on the page but at the expense of the woman on the page.
Hart and Mercy start this book hating each other, dreading seeing each other, and ultimately they can’t remember why, but as a reader you’re reminded of their first encounter.
Hart was not a nice person - their entire nemesis relationship came down to him entering her home/business when they first met with preconceived ideas and prejudices (whether he inherited them from his father figure or not I don’t care) that he let show, about her and her occupation being fake and opportunistic - and when she got tired of his judgment and rude condescension, she stopped being nice and friendly and gave it back. In fact I got the vibe that Hart is just the problem starting it all, Mercy reacts off his behaviour, past or present, but it’s his behaviour that has no instigation to be cruel, he’s just made her feel defensive because he attacks, refuses to see that he does that or apologise, then resents her for hating him as a result of his behaviour. I also hate the idea that a guy likes you if he’s cruel, no, sometimes guys are just cruel and it’s not ok for them to do it while they work out their issues or feelings, you’re not an emotional punching bag. Readers, it’s please don’t accept this from your loved ones. In this case it’s for a man in his late 30’s! For example at one point when Mercy is feeling particularly vulnerable after a long day at work and looking after her poorly father, he arrives and first assumes she’s been having sex and been unprofessional because she’s unkempt (in fact she comes out sweaty and flustered because she had to walk a mile both ways to help her sick Dad and got sexually harassed and bullied by her ex along the way), then he sees she has some sugar on her so he snipes and looks down at her for that. Eventually he makes her cry, when she stated she wasn’t up to a fight hence her bluntness to keep things brief between them. He doesn’t apologise, despite feeling bad briefly and therefore knowing (and being told) he’s gone too far and yet the next time he sees her, the fact she isn’t polite or warm baits him enough to be purposefully cruel to hurt her feelings some more. Literally this guy is an asshole to this woman and then feels a victim when she thinks he’s an asshole and has no time for him. This is not someone I’m rooting to be with any woman, he’s kinda emotionally abusive and very emotionally immature! And let’s not even get into him just sexualising her, a key red flag line being that he “resented her body for making him feel like a pervert” - yeah that’s not healthy, that’s something predators say. But we hear A LOT how curvy Mercy is, most of it from Hart’s gaze.
Hart has no growth, he goes from an asshole to a perfect guy like a switch, the switch being he realises he loves Mercy after all, however his prejudices towards her profession (and her family’s) are never addressed despite him spending a lot of time with them, neither does he really reflect on his previous poor behaviour or his misogynistic attitude. Mercy is told to give him a chance, guilted into it even, but why is the ball in her court to see beyond his behaviour? I can’t enable that by supporting this couple.

I started off thinking Mercy’s family dynamic is cute but then even that annoyed me. Her Dad guilts Mercy about getting married etc because he won’t be around forever, but he is no help while he’s still here, just sneaking cakes and cigars against the Drs orders while she picks up the work he can’t do because of his health. Oh and he stops talking to her for 2 weeks straight because she kept family secrets - even though HE made her keep a secret from the family. Then there’s Zeddie, free spirit Zeddie who calls Mercy the “best sister” but doesn’t think about anyone but himself. and doesn’t do anything to help his sister behind sulk if she acknowledges her own feelings. Or there’s Lilian, who again lives out her dreams and whims while freely acknowledging that Mercy gave up so much and continues to do so to raise this family.
The family chastise Mercy for not saying what she wants but also don’t listen to her, guilt her when she speaks up and enjoy their freedom precisely because she didn’t show her desperation in a clear enough way, despite them all knowing they don’t pull their weight.

I’m sorry, it’s all just too frustrating how many people Mercy is supposed to take care of in this book.

Maybe if you like Hart, you’ll like this book than I did. If you like the dynamic of the 2 characters, with the romance playing a huge part of his story, your opinion will be a lot different. There’s just a certain type of male character, the smirking asshole with a hidden pain and soft side, that I personally struggle with. So while I appreciate the copy in exchange for a review NetGalley, I wish I enjoyed this book more.

Loved this fantasy/dystopian romance novel! Dark themes but a surprisingly light way of writing and a great sense of humour! It took me a while before I fully understood the situation and world-building, as it is quite unique and there is a lot going on. It's a multiple POV book, written from undertaker (basically someone who conducts funeral/burial rites) Mercy, and Hart, a hunter. This book gives off wild west / dystopian vibes with zombies, yet is surprisingly cosy and wholesome.

4 stars: the book was great and I enjoyed reading it, but sometimes it felt like there was a bit much going on with one too many themes. Overall, highly recommend if you want to read a quick light-hearted and funny fantasy romance (very light on the romance), and it's a standalone book :)

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

I loved the sound of this book as it was described as a fantasy version of You’ve Got Mail, one of my favourite films. We meet Hart, a serious Marshall who also happens to be a Demi-god. He hunts down bodies that have been possessed by evil through the dead bodies spleen, no less! Think fantasy sheriff.
We also meet Mercy, a cheerful undertaker at her fathers firm, she ensures that everyone’s loved ones are respected and honoured.
Hart and Mercy hate each other.
Then one day Mercy receives an anonymous letter from a lonely person and they strike up a friendship swapping letters.
Will they realise that they are perfect for each other? You’ll need to read to find out, no spoilers here!!
This is a perfect enemies to lovers, You’ve Got Mail with a bit of 🌶🌶 thrown in. A great romance but enough storyline still if that’s not your thang 🌟🌟🌟🌟

I absolutely loved this book, the romance, the plot, the characters. Everything, I wasn’t sure I was gonna like it but I devoured this book in a few hours!