Reviews with content warning for Cancer - The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

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The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

12 reviews

organizedxchaos's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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renpuspita's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

To quote Horatio, " I do love a happy ending!" and amended what Bassareus said while he wept in the end "F*cking beautiful."

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy (quite a handful title, eh?) is my first book by Megan Bannen. The cover hooked me up. The premise of enemy to lover that become secret pen pal without realize each other identity at first sold me out. Nope, I don't watch You've Got Mail and while other readers said the vibe is like Ghibli, I admit I also never watch their anime movie. For me, I have a warm and fuzzy feeling reading about Hart and Mercy. Especially Hart. Bannen seems like want to incorporate grumpy x sunshine, although while like a yellow color, Mercy is not that sunshine, lel. Her struggle to maintain the family undertaking business seems plausible. Her first fight with Hart that lead to their animosity for 4 years maybe a little bit silly at first and you can said that Mercy was overreact facing Hart's barbed venom, not knowing that Hart was grieving after his dog died. Not an excuse for Hart, tho. I admit, he was a jerk too. But, what can you said about hate and love is the different side of same coins? Although 4 years is a LONG time to hold a grudge, lel.

I'm very sure that the MVPs of this book must be granted to both the nimkilim, Horatio the Owl and Bassareus the Rabbit (he's my personal favorite with his unapologetic cursing toward Hart, lel); and also to the unfortunate drugde (aka zombie like creature that roams Tanria) whom attack Mercy so Hart can be her knight (or Marshal) in shining armor, therefore giving chance to their blossoming romance. My favorites scene is of course the letter exchange between Mercy and Hart, cute but also endearing to read, although I read it with a sense of dread knowing that finally they will know their real identity. Sure their fighting in the "enemy phase" can be too tiring to read, but well, that 4 years of grudge did to you. While reading their budding romance make me grinning from ear to ear and said "awww" for many times. The angst also well written and boy.. the scene when Hart crying after he thought that his chance to have a romantic relationship with Mercy vanishing when Mercy finally knowing that Hart is her secret pen pal make my heart feel a little bit pained. I did like with the way Bannen write about Hart, his hard personality in the surface is seems pretty hard to crack, but deep inside he's a softie. His emotions were well written, show that even it's okay for a man to crying and show his emotions.

The family theme is a delight to read, especially from Birdsall family. I can't emphasize how much well written the struggle that Mercy had. She love the undertaking business but her family think she deserve other and well, what a surprise that it was Hart that understand her. Yep, I know, this is a romance written by woman author, lel. But, hey, I read romance for escapism! The secondary romance between Mercy's brother, Zeddie and Penrose Duckers whom happen to be Hart's apprentice is so CUTE, with capital C. And its funny to read how different Zeddie and Duckers compared to Hart and Mercy, but they also help our MCs in their own way.

If I have a complaint, then it's the fantasy setting. THERE'S NO MAP. That, I said it! No map whatsoever so I don't know where is Tanria, where is Bushong, or Eternity? Is it England? But, there's no queen??? I think maybe Bannen didn't want to info dumping in the first and my patience got rewarded after hundred pages of so when through Mercy I learned the mythology behind the world. A little explanation in the first will be nice. A MAP will be better. The fantasy time setting also seems like mismatched. I got a modern feeling, since there's a cab called autoduck but also have a medieval feeling too? Lol, I can't explain well so I assume the time setting happen in modern times but with fantastical elements. Though, Hart said there's no dragon in Tanria, I think otherwise!

If you like your fantasy light with a pretty much low stake (heh, if drudge attacks can be categorized into low stake) and heavier on romance, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a must read! Also, it make me grinning and sad, also have adorable nimkilim, although the fantasy settings is a little bit weak.

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allingoodtime's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I listened to the audiobook version of this book and I feel I have to give two separate reviews here—one for the actual story and writing and one for the narration. In many ways, it wouldn’t be fair to tie them completely together. If you’re coming to this review to try to decide if this book is worth reading, the short answer is yes, but not in audiobook format.

Let’s start with the good…the actual story and writing. This story flowed well and kept me engaged. Mercy and Hart are both lovable characters, even if Hart is a curmudgeon in the beginning. It’s obvious he is a good person even though he’s cranky. Mercy is a caring person who borders on having a sunshine personality, yet I could tell that persona was often a way for her to make it through the day. Poor Mercy had a lot on her shoulders and though her family thought they realized how much they put on her they really didn’t.

This book starts years after Hart and Mercy meet, but their initial contact is shown in a short flashback. These two definitely got off on the wrong foot and have been sniping at one another ever since. While I wouldn’t say they are enemies because there is no central point they argue over, I would still classify this story as enemies to lovers. Once the letter writing started, my heartstrings were tugged. These are two lonely individuals who are so much alike that they cannot see what is in front of their noses. The path from foes to friends to lovers is my favorite part of this book. I am not a fan of big secrets, but the secrets these two keep from each other and their loved ones made sense and weren’t kept from the reader. Every time I would start to think one of the secrets was going on too long, it would come out. Not always in the way I would have liked, but the secrets were revealed no matter what.

Mercy’s family is very loving, but they frustrated me beyond belief. The way these people thought they knew Mercy and knew what she wanted and needed, yet never truly listened to what she was saying. Mercy has been taking care of her father and siblings since she was a teenager so I understand them thinking it was her time to be free and stop holding everything up for everyone else, but they never really asked her what freedom and happiness meant to her. I love that the author included a family blow-up along with some conflict resolution instead of glossing over what happens between them all.

As for the narration, it wasn’t great. The female narrator barely changes her tone of voice for any of the characters, even Mercy’s dad. She did an okay job at portraying Mercy, but her dad and brother should not have sounded the same as Mercy and her sister. It didn’t seem consistent either. The male narrator was much better and I kind of wish he had narrated the whole thing. I honestly think I would have had a different rating for this story had I read the eBook instead of listening to the audio. There were too many times I didn’t know who was supposed to be talking because of how much alike the character’s voices were portrayed.

Overall, the world-building and storyline are spot on. And even when I was annoyed with the things they were doing, the characters were all well-written and fleshed out. This was a very hyped book (and still is) in the book blogging community so I tried to go in with my expectations in check. I’m glad the story lived up to the hype.

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booksalacarte's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The undertaking of Hart and Mercy- 3.5⭐️ 3🌶️

Fantasy Romance

Dual POV

Undertaker

Mythical Beasts

Letters

Rivals to lovers

Demi-gods

Sherif/cowboy vibes

Grumpy/sunshine

Curvy FMC

30’s MC’s

🏳️‍🌈 Side Characters

Tw: death, dead bodies, grief

The plot was a fantasy version of You’ve Got Mail… only with undead, undertakers, sheriffs and funeral homes? But the romance was good. The nicknames were top notch.

Thank goodness the pets didn’t die!

from the beginning, the story took place in a different world. Instead of introducing the world in little snippets, there was one giant info dump that took up more than half a chapter, around 32% that explained a lot of the history of the world. I really disliked that. But a lot of the world was unique, but because it went so long to give any world building hints, often I was overly confused by what was described with absolutely zero explanation.

The side characters were all delightful! The FMC was level headed, loyal and it was really nice to see her passion and love for the work she was doing. The MMC was pretty bland, but I like how his feelings developed.

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katievallin's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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breadwrenner's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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fritopie's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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ninahuynh's review

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adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Such a beautiful book! The romance and the fantasy... just spectacular. I love the world-building and the usage of the fantasy world other than giving the possibility for demi-gods and gods, etc. They bit of mystery in the latter half helped balanced the spicy romance. It would have scored a 5/5 stars if it were not for the handful of grammar mistakes that I caught and stopped me in my tracks. The story itself was great and I like the inclusion of consent and safe sex.

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zarhara's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

wilybooklover's review

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adventurous medium-paced

2.0

I’m so disappointed. I went into this book expecting to love it! Cosy fantasy romance is basically my brand and I was highly anticipating this one. Sadly, it fell flat for me (and really wasn't all that cosy IMO).

The worldbuilding had some really interesting customs, but it also felt kind of clunky and not well-explained. Parts of it seemed very modern and distractingly American. Like, not being able to legally drink alcohol at the age of nineteen is a distinctly American thing. Why exactly is it in this fantasy world with zombies and demigods and souls that live in the appendix? And it just felt like it was trying too hard to be cute and whimsical which was discordant when combined with the angst and the high stakes of the plot. I thought the nimkilim were an especially interesting addition though!

The other issue was that it felt like the story was constructed around the enemies to lovers and epistolary tropes rather than them developing as a natural part of the story? Like the tropes themselves felt kind of forced and thinly plotted. Don’t get me wrong, I love tropes but I need a book to offer me more than just tropes. The plot device that involved the letters ending up with each other was just way too convenient. And not realising who the letters were from, especially when they were describing their own nemesis situation in said letters right after seeing each other, was just too unrealistic to suspend disbelief. These people know each other's handwriting! The relationship development was rushed and all over the place; one minute they’re enemies (with extremely flimsy reasons for being so) and the next they’re in love, there’s no real gradual progression (literally, it’s like ten pages! At least on Mercy's part it is). They were apart for most of the book dealing with their individual problems, so we hardly get to see them interact meaningfully. Hart crossed the line into cruel too many times while constantly objectifying Mercy in his head — I didn't like him at all. He came across as pathetic and not in a good way.

Hart knowing the truth about the letters and not informing Mercy before sleeping with her also made me very uncomfortable.

The ending just felt so melodramatic and unnecessary.

I did like the family dynamics and the side characters, especially Penrose Duckers. I just wanted more cohesion of all the various plots and more romantic development. Just... more in general.

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