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

Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

66 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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smcrain's review

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adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.25

4.5. Man, okay, I got off on a rocky start with this. I couldn't decide whether to DNF or keep going. The setting is kind of so bizarre and non-sensical at times it was throwing me.

They exist in some kind of world that was reminiscent of a zombie western, made me feel like I was playing Red Dead Redemption or watching Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies. It also had some talking mail carrier animals, a whole new pantheon of gods, demigods, funerary customs, and a completely different day names, but at the same time the FMC would pour herself a glass of Pinot Grigio, or wear a sundress with cherries on it, and my mind would be like wtf?

But I decided to give it unto at least 25-30% in to see if more would be explained. By 30%, I definitely could tell the author wanted to tell a correspondence story with lots of misunderstandings. I wasn't super attached to characters or the strange world but kept going out of curiosity. The next thing I knew, I was 80% in, had lost sleep to keep reading, and was reveling in angst. For those who don't know, I am an absolute sucker for angst, and works that tug my heartstrings are food for my soul. I went from saying, 'Why am I reading this' to 'I can't put this down' pretty fast. One of the main themes in this book is mistaken preconceptions and inaccurate first impressions, which funnily enough is similar to what I did to this book. My initial thoughts changed drastically, and it improved the further I got into it. The world is bizarre, and you need to go in with that knowledge and just run with it.

In the end, it was a bit of a grumpy/sunshine romance with some zombie western flare with a heaping spoonful of angst and some sweet heartwarming moments.

I don't know why some places describe it as macabre. I think my opinion of the definition of that word and theirs differs. I also feel I have to award this one another 0.5 stars for just how fast I burned through it. It was not a slog for me, which always merits an extra half, or full star, from me personally. I like to err on higher than lower because I know writing is hard, and anyone who completes a story that held my attention deserves me rounding up.

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dalenora's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was really fun! I found myself really identifying with mercy on a deeper level. In some scenes, it felt like my own life was transplanted onto the page. That being said, the twists were pretty predictable, and I found the final 100 pages to be a bit of a drag compared to the rest of the book, when usually that section should be the most exciting.

Also, to be more personal, I connected most to Mercy’s position as a caretaker for her dad/family, and because of that, their relationship was the books greatest weakness in my eyes. Similar to real life, her dad’s fragility felt like a red herring, every page it loomed over us, as I was waiting and expected something catastrophic to happen. Perhaps this is because, in real life, something catastrophic will always happen, usually sooner rather than later, and I’ve experienced that first hand. I’ll admit, this book didn’t kick up to a full 5 stars precisely because this just isn’t the kind of book to really explore that kind of grief, and I found myself sorely wishing it was as I realized this wasn’t that type of story. Bannen has such a beautiful and personal way of writing what it feels like to be in Mercy’s position, a way that makes the characters jump off the page and into your mind, and I wanted the catharsis of going on the entire journey with her. I usually love a good cozy fantasy, and I know the kind of depth to expect, but I guess I was just so taken by the characters that I wanted it to be a little bit more gritty, a little bit more real. And also, I guess I was just a little jealous she got the happy ending when we don’t in real life, and I longed for just a little bit of the bitter taste of reality in the end. So TLDR, I love this book!

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lizzysk555's review against another edition

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adventurous funny 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

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mk_meow's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

2.75

1.5🌶️
Slow burn = not my fav

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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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miss_berry315's review

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slow-paced

2.5

I never could decide how I felt about this book tbh. I originally DNF'd it bc I had been listening to the audiobook and was just irritated the whole time.
I got the ebook to try it again, and it was much easier to digest, though I was not a big fan of the cheesy and confusing world building. I also just didn't really care tbh. The best parts of the book were about the characters and their interpersonal interactions, which we didn't get nearly enough of imo.

Then everything went downhill at the 80% mark. I almost DNF'd there, but skipped that chapter bc I couldn't read it through my sobbing. Honestly, I'm pretty angry that's the direction the author chose to go in. I think most people have some hard limits on what they want to read abut in their books, and there are expectations set prior when it comes to romance novels. I'm not sure how nobody thought it was important to mention what happens at the 80% mark in any content warnings I had read prior (was not on storygraph then, but I should have been!). The 80% mark is one of my hard limits and it completely ruined the book I was already undecided on.
Unfortunately, things just got even more cheesy somehow and I was cringing through the last few pages feeling like I was watching a sitcom. I cringed and rolled my eyes through the entire last chapters.

The letters between the characters, the middle 15% of the book, and the background relationship were the only good parts of the book.

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Medical content

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Suicide attempt and Pregnancy

The following spoilers are things I wish I knew going into this book, because I probably would not have read the book had I known these things happened.

Right around the 80% mark, Hart decides to go check out a mysterious house that only he can see. It is a known dangerous mission that he had attempted when he was new to the job, which is how he lost his mentor. He decides to go on this mission alone, and this chapter is written with heavy implications of it being a suicide attempt. He has been depressed and lonely since the breakup with the woman he loves and suddenly feels like he knows what to do, so he goes about his day saying kind things to the people he interacts with, returning library books without checking out new ones, doesn't tell anyone where he is going with a bunch of weapons, goes alone to a place that he knows he will be overrun by the enemies, and writes one final letter to Mercy, but keeps it in his pocket. As I said above, its not explicitly written as a suicide attempt, but it's so heavily implied, it doesn't need to be stated outright for it to read that way. He does not make it, and sees his heavily injured body as his spirit floats away. Unfortunately for literally everyone involved (including us readers) he had purchased a funeral package at Birdsall and Sons and Mercy is the acting undertaker. Meaning, while these two are in their third act break up, he dies, his body is found, and it is brought to this poor woman who then has to go through the process of preparing his body for burial while processing all the emotions that lead to this point, both related to their relationship and related to the other stressful parts of her situation. The author dedicates an **entire chapter** to Mercy doing the necessary prepping of a body for burial. This is the only time the author chose to drag out this process. Every other time it is mentioned, they are salting the bodies for preservation and following their will for type or burial. With Hart though, the author slows down the process and puts every single bit of emotion into it as this is the climax of the story. I could not read this chapter. I almost DNF'd the book at this point. I skipped the chapter completely to figure out what happened. Mercy finds the letter in Hart's pocket and he's confessing his love for her in what is very clearly meant to be a suicide note. The chapter after this is Hart in a place of limbo where we learn that because of his demigod status, he has two lives to live and gets to go back to his body. Luckily, because Mercy is exhausted and emotionally distraught, she did not get too far in the post-death process. He ends up coming back to life and the ending is horribly cheesy and does not (imo) make up for the absolute heartbreak (no stupid pun intended ugh) of *that* chapter.

imds's review against another edition

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Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

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bibliomich's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

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

3.5

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a romantasy adaptation of Norah Ephron's 1998 classic rom-com You've Got Mail (one of my favorites). The references to the film were by far my favorite parts of the book. I loved the back and forth banter in the MMC and FMC’s letters, as well as the enemies-to-lovers arc of their relationship.

The fantasy elements didn’t quite capture my attention in the same way. There wasn’t very much world building, so I didn’t really engage with the fantasy elements of the story; but mostly, I also didn’t really care to understand them. I was much more invested in the relationship plot than the action.

I enjoy reading books that push me out of my genre comfort zone, which Hart + Mercy definitely did. I’d be interested in reading Bannen’s companion novel, The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (a nod to When Harry Met Sally), when it comes out this summer.

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luckykosmos's review against another edition

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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? Yes

4.5

They're so stupid and I'm obsessed with them

Bannen did an amazing job setting up a world that felt so plausible without infodumping the worldbuilding at the beginning, and slowly interjecting the characters' interactions with the world to build why they are the way they are. This is very much what I want from 'romantasy', a world that molds the characters instead of just putting them in a situation for the sake of the drama.

(Also worth mentioning, this is very much a zombie book, and while the zombie logistics DID crack me up, that wasn't something I expected from the synopsis! here there be zombies i guess!)

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