Review – The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen (5/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Humor
Length: 449 pages
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: August 23, 2022
ASIN: B09NVSBVCF
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Borrowed ebook from Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
“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?”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I borrowed this ebook from my library.
Thoughts: This was an adorable and quirky fantasy read that I loved every second of. I am not sure how Bannen managed to make undertaking and zombie hunting cute and cozy but she did.
The story alternates between Mercy’s POV and Hart’s POV. Mercy is struggling to keep her father’s undertaking business afloat. Her dad is recovering from a heart attack, her sister is very pregnant, and her brother (who was supposed to be inheriting the business) faints at the sight of corpses. She is at the end of her patience when she gets a letter anonymously addressed to “a friend”.
Hart is a Marshall and fights to keep the drudges (undead, zombie types) from invading the town proper. He is crabby and lonely and randomly writes a letter to “a friend” when he is venting and is surprised when he starts to get letters back. Meanwhile, the numbers of drudges seem to be increasing exponentially and Hart is in greater and greater danger and trying to solve the mystery behind their increase.
If you are looking for a nice cozy fantasy (with dead bodies and zombies) this is a great one. The characters are all likable and engaging. Mercy’s relationship with her family is wonderful fun and there is a lot of humor in here. This is primarily a romance with a couple mysteries and some action woven in. You have the mystery of the increase in drudges and the mystery behind where they came from to begin with. You have some action when Hart is off fighting drudges as well. Additionally, you have the mystery behind why a competitive undertaking business is doing so well.
There are some explicit sex scenes in here and they are well done. The sex scenes manage to be sexy, heartwarming and hilarious all at once. The chemistry between Mercy and Hart is absolutely perfect and, again, just so much fun. This is a book that will have you chuckling out loud and then have you holding your breath in expectation when you turn the page. It was completely engrossing, flawlessly written and so much fun (wait I think I already said that a few times!).
My Summary (5/5): Overall I loved this book. It wasn’t what I went in expecting but that’s not a bad thing. I am not sure how you could expect what this book was, it was just too unique and quirky for any sort of expectation. However, I was looking for a fun and cozy read and this book delivered that in spades. This was highly readable, incredibly entertaining, and just an all out “good feels” sort of book. It left me happy and wanting to read more from Bannen. I will definitely be checking out any previous books she has written and keeping an eye out for future ones as well.
