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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
God, I hate — HATE — when the ship in a book is overall a 4 to 5-starrer for me but something about the execution of the plot jolts me out of the reading experience. Was loving the fantasy You've Got Mail vibes until the vibes solidified into two or so chapters where Bannen fully lifts (almost verbatim! Beat for beat!) the scenes where Joe and Kathleen have their disastrous café meeting and the aftermath of said disaster. Down to Mercy's family going, "He stood you up??" Ma'am, I certainly hope you're writing royalty checks to the Ephron estate.
Otherwise! Really dug Hart and Mercy's dynamic and the coziness of the story even with the more fantastical trappings of the universe, and I'm always down to clown when it comes to stories about gods and people and magical shenanigans. It's light on the worldbuilding side but since getting bogged down in dense fantastical details tends to be my least favorite part of reading fantasy, that suited me just fine, ymmv.
I was also touched by the way Mercy approaches her undertaking work, the tenderness with which she regards the task of giving the dead a dignified sendoff. I loved her family dynamic as well (the sibling stuff especially was spot on lmao). And I adore a curt hero who tries to and fails to be a lone wolf in a bid to shield his soft heart, which has been considerably bruised. We love love, be it romantic or familial or platonic — and this book has all three.
Otherwise! Really dug Hart and Mercy's dynamic and the coziness of the story even with the more fantastical trappings of the universe, and I'm always down to clown when it comes to stories about gods and people and magical shenanigans. It's light on the worldbuilding side but since getting bogged down in dense fantastical details tends to be my least favorite part of reading fantasy, that suited me just fine, ymmv.
I was also touched by the way Mercy approaches her undertaking work, the tenderness with which she regards the task of giving the dead a dignified sendoff. I loved her family dynamic as well (the sibling stuff especially was spot on lmao). And I adore a curt hero who tries to and fails to be a lone wolf in a bid to shield his soft heart, which has been considerably bruised. We love love, be it romantic or familial or platonic — and this book has all three.
3.5 rounding up. Enjoyed the world, enjoyed the characters, struggled with the pacing. More character driven than plot. Love how many genres this weaves together
This book was a slow start for me. It was hard to wrap my head around the world - but I did enjoy the characters once I did manage to get into it
I don't know, seriously I don't know what to think about this book. The idea to show undertakers and marshals, which are in the daily basis connected with dead, as a love interest was interesting, but the way how it was presented to the reader creaks a bit for me. This book is strongly inspired by "You've Got Mail", but movie was great, book is average.
Mercy and Hart are the most annoying characters ever. She is super dedicated to her family's business and can kill if you will try to say something bad about her profession. Hart is a typical bad boy, who has his own mission and doesn't care what other people think about him. For me the beginning of the conflict between them was a little childish and naive. I had a feeling that two teenagers are angry because somebody told them something unpleasant. The reasons why they are arguing made me shocked sometimes that it can be a real reason to fight.
A lot of things is going on and three main branches of issues cross each other, but non of them is a main one, or at least I don't see it. Ok, maybe romance, will be the first, but still it's a really far-fetched theory. Each of the plot's elements we are touching, but we don't go deeply into it. It's run to the happy ending plot book. I would like to see more details, but the writing style made me tired. Sometimes I had a feeling that this book is too long.
Romance is a very stereotypical with typical "from enemies to lovers" vibe. I really didn't care what will happen with Mercy and Hart relationship, they were tiring.
The best part of this book was dynamic between Mercy's family members.
Mercy and Hart are the most annoying characters ever. She is super dedicated to her family's business and can kill if you will try to say something bad about her profession. Hart is a typical bad boy, who has his own mission and doesn't care what other people think about him. For me the beginning of the conflict between them was a little childish and naive. I had a feeling that two teenagers are angry because somebody told them something unpleasant. The reasons why they are arguing made me shocked sometimes that it can be a real reason to fight.
A lot of things is going on and three main branches of issues cross each other, but non of them is a main one, or at least I don't see it. Ok, maybe romance, will be the first, but still it's a really far-fetched theory. Each of the plot's elements we are touching, but we don't go deeply into it. It's run to the happy ending plot book. I would like to see more details, but the writing style made me tired. Sometimes I had a feeling that this book is too long.
Romance is a very stereotypical with typical "from enemies to lovers" vibe. I really didn't care what will happen with Mercy and Hart relationship, they were tiring.
The best part of this book was dynamic between Mercy's family members.
The bunny stole the show
What a fun fun fun book, enjoyed it a lot!
What a fun fun fun book, enjoyed it a lot!
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book surprised me. I have to say it starts out okay, but it actually really grabbed me the more into the book I got. It has a cozy vibe mixed with introspective characters and also, zombies? Which was a neat twist. I’ve never read a cozy zombie-like fantasy novel before. The relationships were a bit fast-paced but I was still obsessed. The world building was odd. There wasn’t much explanation of their world and I was left confused about how things worked the majority of the time. It seems like the reader was expected to know everything about the world and what things were/meant already. That’s the only major critique I have though. It’s cute, almost made me cry towards the end; would recommend!
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a wonderful, whimsical tale of love set in a fantastical world. This story has such heart and much mercy as we follow two people who feel on the fringe of their lives, lonely & searching, searching for more. These two people who have always been in each other’s orbits never once scratching the surface, not realizing that there’s more than meets the eye. I cried so hard for them, as they found their way to each other, found love, found a life that was worth living in the face of mortality. An utterly romantic story about living your life and fulfilling your hearts desires all with the person you love by your side. I loved this book so very much, gorgeously written, heart-achingly breathtaking, Hart & Mercy will stay with me for a long time.
Taylor Swift Songs: The Great War, down bad, snow on the beach, maroon, sweet nothing, gold rush, long story short, invisible strong, this is me trying, dancing with our hands tied, the archer, afterglow, everything has changed, begin again, message in a bottle, HYGTG, wonderland, YAIL, timeless, foolish one, electric touch, renegade
Taylor Swift Songs: The Great War, down bad, snow on the beach, maroon, sweet nothing, gold rush, long story short, invisible strong, this is me trying, dancing with our hands tied, the archer, afterglow, everything has changed, begin again, message in a bottle, HYGTG, wonderland, YAIL, timeless, foolish one, electric touch, renegade