A review by booksarethenewblack
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

5.0

 

I want to thank Julie for buddy reading this with me. We both enjoyed this tremendously! I am so glad I was able to read this with someone. This book was amazing and exceeded my expectations! We both flew through this book! I just couldn’t put it down and found all kinds of ways to try and fit in reading time. I got sucked into this story rather quickly.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is one of the most unique books that I’ve ever read. Honestly, it’s so hard to even explain to you what this is about. There are so many different genres mixed into this one book! There are a lot of zombies, part western, part romance, and kind of a mystery. It makes for one of the most beautiful blends and Bannen executed it so perfectly! There is a heavier romance leaning but I am not complaining at all.

Mercy is an undertaker, who has become overwhelmed, but she’s trying to keep the business afloat. Her patience is running really thin and she doesn’t have time to deal with grouchy marshals. Here comes Hart, who is a big grouch and a demigod. They both were short with each other one day and it starts a long feud. It’s just a big misunderstanding on both sides but it gives for a lot of great banter that makes you laugh out loud!

The romance in this book is fire. It was the best part of this book. I didn’t realize it was so heavily romance focused. I’m not complaining though because it was just perfect. The letters in this book just made me so happy. I used to write letters with my husband in High School and college when we were 2.5 hours away. I treasure those and there just is something so special about letters! I loved this aspect very much. I’m a sucker for enemies to lovers and this did not disappoint, at all. Gosh, I just loved Hart and Mercy so much. There was a lot of spice in this too, which I didn’t expect!

There’s a side queer romance that I was invested in too. I loved watching that grow and those two characters brought a lot of fun and much-needed lightness to the story. There are relationships on both sides that I loved. Mercy’s family was the best and I enjoyed getting to know all of them too. I love how they all seem so self-involved but then can come together when they need to. Sometimes, I think that’s a pretty normal thing with families.

I was not expecting to be on such an emotional rollercoaster with this one! Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun and light at times, like many romances. There are a lot of deeper things going on and times that it got dark. Are there some predictable things? Yes, I think most romances are. The great thing about this is that it felt so real and my emotions experienced all of it.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book! It will be a top book of the year for me. I loved every minute of this and I think that Bannen created a very unique and crazy world that I was glad to be a part of. Hart and Mercy are characters and a romance that will stay with me for a very long time. I urge you all to give this one a chance and pick it up!

Many thanks to Orbit Books for providing me with an ARC for review!