I read this as an E-ARC and loved it!
I felt the world building was so original and refreshing!
The romance did happen all of a sudden but I think this worked given the characters history.
I am only giving 4⭐️ because for me the spice was too nice 😂 other than that I felt it was a great story.
The best part for me was the family story and it was just lovely.

Personal rating:
3.75🌟, rounded up to 4🌟


I enjoyed my time reading this but it didn't fully get me invested. I desperately wanted to be but there's always something pulling me back. Like sometimes I find certain things cheesy, and not in the gooey way I like. For example, the letters are cute but mostly they come off pretty cheesy. And maybe that's the point, since both Hart and Mercy decided early on to not put on fronts and to try to be as honest as they can in their letters. But there's something in the way they write that felt childish to me.

It didn't help matter that the story took a hot minute to reveal their respective ages (H: 35, M: 30) so when I got to the ‘reveal’ it gave me a bit of a whiplash. Like what do you mean they're not in their mid-twenties? And then I had to reconcile that fact with all my preconceived notions for these two characters.

I have other examples but I don't want to sound completely whiny when the story is actually still very enjoyable. I mean, that's why I'm rounding my rating to 4 stars, obv. It's pretty creative, the romance is quite cute too and the vulgar talking rabbit did make me laugh/choke on my saliva a few times.

Oh also, ❗possible spoiler❗ at some point, this story reminds me of The Haunting of Hill House. And I kept being reminded of Taylor Swift's It's Nice to Have a Friend while reading.

Conclusion, I am definitely keeping an eye out for Megan Bannen's future works.


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free digital copy of this in exchange for an honest review.

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.

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.

After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.

If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?

It's a wonderfully weird book.
There are zombies, fantastic animals, demigods, gods, etc.
The world the author creates is detailed and fantastic, and she manages to introduce it without you losing sight of the love story that unfolds in it.
If you like fantasy, enemies to lovers and an adorable romance, this is definitely the book for you.

As soon as I heard about Megan Bannen’s The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy it quickly became one of my most anticipated reads of the year. This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. It’s the perfect balance of romance, charm, wit, whimsy and the macabre.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is the story of Hart Ralston and Mercy Birdsall. Hart is a Marshal who is tasked with patrolling the wilds of Tanria, whilst Mercy is trying to keep her family’s business, Birdsall and Son Undertakers, going. Hart and Mercy loath each other, and after yet another taxing encounter Hart finds himself writing a letter to the unknown, to a friend he hopes to find. Much to his surprise, he receives an anonymous reply, and a tentative friendship is born. Little does Hart know he's baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most…

This book is something else, it’s set in a unique fantasy world filled with Gods, demigods, drudges (zombies) and cowboy Marshals, and yet it’s also full of wonderful small town drama, amazing family dynamics, some mouthwatering food and the best good boy doggo. The world and religious system that Bannen has built in The Undertaking is just exquisite, Bushong and Tanria are as alive on the pages as the characters are themselves. Likewise the religious system with the Old and New Gods, along with the burial processes, are so wonderfully thought out.

I loved both Hart and Mercy and their brilliant enemies to lovers dynamic. They were so snarky and cutting, and yet when things shifted you could tell just how much they meant to one another. This story gets pretty steamy in places too. I adored Mercy’s determination and grit, and the growth and healing that Hart went through. The side characters also added so much to this story, of all of them I think I loved Duckers and the two nimkilim the most - who knew you could love a sassy talking postal rabbit and owl so much!

Overall this was such a great read. I laughed, I cried, I cheered - so many emotions and so much fun. I can’t recommend it enough.

BOOK REVIEW: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by @meganbannen

4.5 Stars

Oh my goodness, I adored this book! I really didn't know what to expect and even half way into the book I had no idea where it was leading but I absolutely loved it!
This book is possibly the weirdest story I have ever read. It was so quirky and random and I loved that because it made it so different. There isn't really much worldbuilding although the world is nothing like ours. Instead you just pick up bits and pieces as you go along which normally would annoy me but it was so weirdly wonderful that I loved every strange detail that popped up!
The story is based around Mercy, a woman who is running her father's undertaking business as he is unwell. There are some slightly gross descriptions in relation to the dead bodies and I quickly learned not to read it whilst I was eating! The other side of the story is a man named Hart who is a ranger that kills possessed bodies (basically zombies) that can only be destroyed by piercing their appendix. There is so much weird and wonderful detail in this story which I won't go into as I don't want to ruin it but I was constantly so intrigued and couldn't put it down.
Hart and Mercy are amazing characters that I connected with really quickly. I loved their enemies to lovers journey and the romance was adorable and steamy too!

Megan Bannen's writing was exceptional and her imagination blew me away. I cannot wait to read more from her.

I highly recommend this book to all fantasy fans and hope you love this quirky story as much as I did.

Please note that I was #gifted this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is such an original, quirky, fantasy romance, and I loved every page of it! I was instantly invested in Hart and Mercy's world and their enemies-to-lovers dynamic. Hart and Mercy are very different people in very different situations - Hart is a grumpy marshal, who spends his days alone hunting zombie-like creatures, while Mercy works at her family's struggling undertaking business and likes bright colours and warmth - yet, both are lonely. The two have hated each other ever since their first encounter, but they end up unknowingly forming a pen pal friendship...

If you like fantasy romances with epistolary elements, this is the book for you! Not only does it have a great romance plot, but the secondary characters are utterly charming (I love the mail workers!) This book also made me think a lot about death and how we view it.

This book was just delightful! It's funny, it's quirky, there are some random bits which added to the fun (like the talking animals that deliver the post), and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. I loved the world, with all the various gods and terminology going on - it did get a bit confusing at times, but I think there is so much potential for more stories set in this world! It was so original, I don't think I've read any book quite like it and it was such a breath of fresh air! The book is pitched as 'The House in the Cerulean Sea' meets 'You've Got Mail' and as a hardcore lover of both of those, I can confirm this book is very much that.

I really liked the main characters, they both felt real and genuine, and I absolutely loved the little nicknames they had for each other, it was adorable. I really loved Hart's storyline in particular, I was so fascinated by his backstory and his development throughout the novel. I was shipping Hart and Mercy like crazy, I loved their dynamic and the way the romance developed felt perfect.

However, you have got the classic miscommunication trope (or rather, where one character is hiding something from the other character for literally NO GOOD REASON), which did tamper my enjoyment. Also, while there were moments where I really liked her family, there were other moments where they really got on my nerves, particularly her brother. Throughout the book, Mercy is asked by each member of her family (so her dad, sister, and brother) to keep a secret from all the others, but when those secrets come out, it's all Mercy's fault and not the people whose secrets they actually are? It was just weird, but I mean, not totally untrue to what being the eldest sibling/daughter is like!

Oh my goodness me I did not expect to love this book as much as I did - I was obsessed from page 1! This book feels like it is my perfect cup of tea and was written just for me! I can honestly say there was nothing I didn't love about this book.

I loved the fictional world, the aesthetic of it, the world-building, the details, the creatures - everything. The world was so well written and fleshed out and felt totally real and the way this world was crafted really transported me there. The story was fast-paced; there was great world and character world-building and development, but also the book moved quickly and got me into the story really fast so I was soon invested. I loved the unusual setup for the pairs' jobs - dealing with dead bodies. There was a sort of irony that despite their jobs being really sad and dark, they were both really soft, kind and loving people - I suppose you do need to be that kind of person to do the jobs they do! I also find despite their jobs, the book felt quite lighthearted to me, and the book made me so happy!

It is very rare I will read a book and not dislike any of the characters, but I loved all the characters in this book! I loved seeing how different our lead two were on paper compared to in person, and how as the letter correspondence continued, that affected their relationship in real life. I don't even like romance as a plot that much but I loved reading this one - their relationship felt natural and authentic and I fell in love with the main pair's story.

The writing style was easy and quick to read and I flew through this book in 2 days, unashamedly. If I didn't have work and to eat and sleep, I know I'd have read this book in one day easily.

A heartwarming, inventive and creative book, I loved this and I cannot wait to re-read the finished copy when it comes out!

4⭐️ A gorgeous sweet and spicy contemporary romance set in a unique and fantastical world. I laughed, I cried (like legit sobbed) and overall I loved it!💖

Thank you to @netgalley and @littlebrownbookgroup_uk for an eARC in return for an honest review✨

This was definitely up there for me as one of the most unique books/book settings i’ve ever read, mostly because I honestly couldn’t think of a single book like it or to compare the world to, the closest thing being that it felt like something from Studio Ghibli (Helen Hoang said it gave Howl’s Moving Castle vibes and felt more like an anime- it did!)🥰

I also found that I haven’t read many books where it’s primarily a romance, and it feels like a contemporary romance ( it’s very you’ve got mail!) but exists in a fantastical world with undead creatures and talking animals who (very sassily) deliver the post. ✨

I absolutely devoured this book and read it in one sitting. I liked Mercy as a MC and was very happy to see a mid-size MC. The romance was really lovely and sweet and the spice😍

I did also SOB for a good few chapters like I’ve never sobbed before- my husband walked in the room and wondered what on earth was wrong🤣

Honestly, the only thing that would have improved it for me would have been to have had a map at the front of the book so that I could visualise the world/town a lot better because I found it difficult to place it with it being so unique- really not a big deal at all!📖

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy was one of my most anticipated books of the Summer and I’m so sad I didn’t love it. The characters were likeable, the dialogues made me smile and I was intrigued by the world at first, but I kept starting and stopping it a few pages later. As it happens sometimes, I was interested but it couldn’t keep my attention. Was it me? The book? In this case, I’m pretty sure it was me.

Honestly, that’s why I never read romantasy novels—weird as it can be, I enjoy romances in fantasy books and romance novels but romantasy books often frustrate me :

either I want to learn more about the world
or I’m only interested in the romance so I couldn’t care less about the world,
or—as it was the case here— neither aspect manages to win me over fully at first : the balance between the two is so hard to find tbh?

I think I finally understand why some of my friends—whose preferences go to romantasy rather than fantasy—often tell me that they don’t care about the rest of the plot/the world-building. It’s probably because sometimes, we can tell what’s given the most importance and care, and let’s face it, in many romantasy books it’s *not* the rest of the plot or the world-building. Be assured by the way that I’m not judging what kind of books is “better” or something ridiculous like that : it’s all a matter of personal preference and you won’t find me belittling romance novels : they’re great and wonderful and make so many people happy (me included, when I’m in the mood for them).

What I’m not saying is that this book hasn’t got a world-building, though, because it does: it just never pulled me in. I think what frustrates me the most is the fact that it should have : it takes place on a magical island, there are talking animals (!!!!!) and ghoulish creatures. It sounds fantastic!!!!!! sadly I didn’t care and felt the urge to skim whenever the book was trying to teach me something about the world. Perhaps the fault lies in the writing rather than the world-building per se, I don’t know. What I do know is that even now, I don’t quite understand why it didn’t work for me, but it didn’t, and I was bored.

Anyway, it took me a while to find my rhythm but around 30% I started to care about these characters so. much !!!! Mercy and Hart are both imperfect, stubborn and so damn lovable. Their loneliness moved me and I felt very invested in their happiness 🥺. This book deals with family and belonging and these plots always get to me, you know?

... and then I reached the halfway point. I was very happy, so happy in fact that I kinda felt satisfied enough to stop reading. I think it’s safe to say that it was not the intended effect? *smiles awkwardly* I did keep reading, but honestly? If I hadn’t been reading an arc, I might have stopped there and called it a day.

This review is so messy—the truth is, I keep coming back to the fact that I really, really loved Hart and Mercy as persons and I’d like to be their friends, thank you? but I was so bored whenever they weren’t together and it breaks my heart that I couldn’t enjoy the book more. Because the overall plot, both on Mercy and Hart side? Couldn’t care less 🙈

In the end, I just have to accept that The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy simply wasn’t for me, but I’ll definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoy cozy romantasy books with well-rounded characters, great humor and a light mystery to follow.

I'm not much of a romance reader, but it turns out that all I need to enjoy it is the addition of zombies!

Within the relatively normal Bushong lies Tanria - a land enclosed by a magical barrier, once the prison for the Old Gods. If someone dies within Tanria, the lost souls floating about take over the body &they become a drudge aka zombie.

Enter the Tanrian Marshals! A kind of border guard that keep out those who shouldn't be in there & stop drudges getting out-returning bodies for proper burial. Oh, and most of them are demigods.

Mercy is an undertaker, desperately trying to keep the family business afloat, feeling a bit lonely and left behind. Hart is a marshal, a demigod and a lonely, miserable man (with a squishy interior). They hate each other.
A letter addressed simply 'To a friend' starts a You've Got Mail situation between them. (The postal workers in this world are Nimkilim, taking animals that used to be messengers for the gods. They tend to have an attitude - I love them.)

This isn't solely a romance. There's a bit of a mystery & some interesting world-building with gods, religion & burial rites
It also explores other relationships. Mercy's family-the ill health of her father, her siblings not wanting to continue the family business. Hart has a lot of guilt & anger related to the death of his mentor, & has pushed away all of the people he cares for.
There's a great cast of characters who, despite the fantastical setting, feel like real, normal people.
Some of the world-building is a bit slight - if you want a fully realised fantasy world then this isn't for you - but it's developed enough for the story being told. This is a book that is very much focused on people & their relationships to each other - the normal parts of life.
It feels strange to call a zombie book heart-warming but this one definitely is. A nice, slightly spicy romance, great supporting characters and good character development.

I had conflicting feelings about this book. The synopsis drew me in and made this one of my most anticipated reads of the year. On the one hand, I liked the writing - it was descriptive and evocative without being overly flowery or pretentious. I also appreciated the richly-decorated world created by Bannen, which provided a fresh setting for a rom-com.

On the other, I couldn’t have cared less about the characters. Mercy and Hart and their friends and family (and their respective relationships) didn’t make me feel anything and I was not invested in their fate at all. Moreover, the world-building, whilst detailed, was also heavy-handed and executed through lengthy info-dumps which bored me throughout. The main conflict between the leads didn’t make much sense to me either. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me - but I would certainly recommend it for anyone interested in a cosy, low-stakes, romantic fantasy comfort read.

I LOVED this book so much. It’s such a charming mix of endearing and macabre, with characters that you just want to keep reading forever.
Set in a world where part of the land is cut off by a mist, behind which the old gods were imprisoned, this fantasy romance was such an unexpected joy. Hart is a marshal, patrolling the land of the old gods, and Mercy is an undertaker, which is more of a calling than just a job. They’re two lonely souls, who hate each other basically on sight, but when they unknowingly start exchanging anonymous letters, both find they actually may have misjudged the other completely.
There’s also found family, a sinister mystery to solve, the most unique postal service I’ve ever read in a fantasy book, and a load of humour and wit - it’s just the most cozy romance and I loved it so much! My heart is so full! I can’t wait to have it in store so I can recommend it!

This book made me so happy. I adored the characters and I had a big grin from when the nimkilim made their first delivery, to the final page, it was perfect. I’m not normally a fan of enemies to lovers but this was done so well and with an empathetic humour.
I loved Mercy’s wonderfully chaotic family, and her obvious passion for her work. I also loved the fact that Hart was so grumpy, and understandably so, but that he was actually the kindest soul. He was so wholesome.
This had an old time western vibe, and I loved it.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a retelling of Nora Ephron’s You’ve Got Mail movie with zombies, in an original world of islands, complex mythology, and a wild-west vibe. The movie is one of my all-time favourite romantic comedies, so I had high hopes for this book.

There were some changes with the premise. In the movie, the romantic pair are business rivals. The bigger business eventually forces the smaller to close, a cause for permanent animosity between the pair in real life, while they become close through correspondence without knowing the identity of their friend. The romance hangs on whether she can forgive him for putting her out of business.

In the book, Hart, a marshal keeping a frontier town free of zombies, and Mercy, an owner of a funeral home, don’t have such a logical cause for their dislike. They hate each other at sight for no reason, which makes them rather unlikeable and weakens the premise. They too start corresponding, and find the other a kindred spirit while continuing to dislike each other in real life.

The pivotal moment, the attempt to meet for the first time, is copied from the movie. It doesn’t work as well as the author maybe hoped, and only managed to yank this reader out of the world of the book and remembering the original, which won the comparison. As the premise is different, the consequences of the meeting are different too. The romance basically hangs on whether she can forgive him for lying.

The book was at its best when it relied on its own worldbuilding and original story. For most of the book, the characters had their own stories going on that didn’t really touch. He had an apprentice to teach and needed to get over some trauma of his past, and she had the funeral home to save from a random jerk. She didn’t write to him to ask business advice, for example, like in the original (basically asking him to work against his own company).

Hart and Mercy improved on acquaintance. For the first part of the book, which follows the movie, the romance grew through letters. For the latter part, the romance was a rather run of the mill series of heat and heartache. Mercy handles her business problem with the help of her family. Hart handles the zombie problem with self-sacrifice. The latter brings the romance to a point in a rather forced fashion. It’s tear-inducing, but I didn’t find it terribly romantic.

The book was a mixed bag for me. I liked the world, which was much more complex than the story required. I liked Hart’s storyline, especially the parts with his apprentice, but it didn’t need to be that long. Mercy’s storyline with her family was nice, but much, much too long as well, and it took too long for her business trouble to solve. Put together and added with the romance, the plot was a mess that could’ve used chopping. I would’ve left the movie retelling out and gone with the author’s original story. It worked for the characters and the world best.

Loved this. In essence, a romance but set in a different world with Demi-gods, drudges and marshals. There was a little bit of a cowboy vibe too.

I really appreciate a romance that has a good plot and characters. This had it in spades. The romance didn’t sit separate but was well meshed with the plot. There was a good bit of humour running throughout too.

It did take me awhile to understand the world as it was very different but it was all explained as you went along.

Though it followed a very familiar romance plot, it was done in a way that just worked and didn’t feel like it was the same old thing done again. The main characters dealt with life and death daily and there was that theme running through but it didn’t feel heavy; rather it just threaded through with the plot.

I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this.

I'm not sure what I was expecting going into this book but I don't think I anticipated loving it as much as I did! I'd say at it's core this is a romance style book set in a slight fantasy world, and because I don't tend to go for romance's I guess it's not my usual read, but from the first few chapters I was drawn in and got through this book in one day.

Hart and Mercy were the perfect enemies to lovers, and I loved how beautifully their romance grew throughout the book. This book had me laughing, frustrated, and bawling my eyes out at one point. You know a book is good when it can take you though a range of emotions! I'm excited for whatever MB publishes next!

I'm not a rom com fan for the most part, but I will make exceptions, and this being set in a fantasy world, rather than contemporary had me intrigued. The funeral home setting also gave me Six Feet Under vibes so that was also a plus point in deciding to read.

The romance was cute and well done, slightly a bit cheesy at times but that was the point so it was done well.

I loved the magical animal mail couriers with attitude and I liked the world where Gods exist and souls can try to come back by inhabiting other bodies. I feel there wasn't a lot of world building, modes of transport had be a bit thrown, but there was enough to get the gist of what was going on, as that also wasn't the main focus, the characters were.

Where the enjoyment level of the book increased for me was when we got past the You've Got Mail scenario and see development with the characters and the world as a whole. Loved the way this went and enjoyed as a whole because of this

I was so excited when I first heard about this book - I'm a sucker for a riff on the Parfumerie story, and I love a good escapist fantasy. In theory, this should have been right up my street, and for the most part it was.

I enjoyed Hart and Mercy and reading their letters to each other was probably my favourite part of the book, I was a little disappointed at how thoroughly that aspect was dropped once they got together in real life, without Mercy really wondering where her letter-writing friend had gone, or Hart considering trying to write her another letter.

All the details of Mercy's undertaking and of what their culture believed around death I found very moving, and I did tear up a few times. I would have liked a little more from the fantasy world building regarding the gods and Tanria, though, I never really felt like I knew quite what was going on there.

Overall, this was a cute fantasy romance (heavy on the romance - it's not really a book I think fantasy lovers who aren't also romance fans would enjoy), and I'm glad I read it.

What isn’t there to love about Hart and Mercy?
Classic enemies to lovers, slow burn romance and a closer look on what it takes to be an undertaker.

This book gives insight into not only the ins and outs of running a business such as birdsall and sons, the strain it can put on a family but also show the love, care and compassion that takes precedence in a place like birdsall & sons.

I loved every word of this book and would happily recommend it to anyone who is looking for a heartfelt romantic comedy with a sci-if twist.

If the romance genre isn’t your thing, this book just might convert you.