Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Perhaps it is my fault that I didn't like this book as much as I had hoped, because I had such high expectations after Bannen's The Bird and the Blade (which is an amazing book—go check it out). But Hart and Mercy just ended up falling flat for me.

In the first few chapters, I was sure I was going to love this book. Hart and Mercy's bantering was setting up the perfect enemies-to-lovers romance. The world seemed interesting and unique, and I was excited to be immersed. But both of these aspects fell short. The pacing was all off and even after finishing this book, the world is still a little blurry.

I'm staying spoiler-free, so I won't go into too much detail on the things that bothered me about the book, but the romance was definitely one of those things. Give me slow burn! Give me more than one scene where they realize the other is not what they seem! SHOW me that they are in love, that they secretly like each other—do not, I beg of you, do &*not*, TELL me that!

Also, please authors, can we just all agree that it is okay if your character doesn't overreact to the thing that causes the 75% point break-up?

(I'm sorry Megan Bannen. I still love you and everything you did with The Bird and the Blade. Forgive me!)

I will say that the book did get better in the second half. The pacing was better thought-out. And my favorite character was Duckers. I liked Hart and Mercy well enough, but they aren't going to stay with me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a fun mix of romance and fantasy. I tend to read mostly fantasy so I liked having some fantasy elements to the book. It isn't as detailed as most fantasies, especially those in series, so definitely go into knowing you are reading a romance book (I find they have very different feels and that being prepared for what I am about to read is important).

I do think I would have liked a little more at the ending to wrap everything up, everything seemed to end in a rush but at least everything did get wrapped up and there weren't any loose ends.

Delightful, lighthearted supernatural romance between a seemingly tough zombie-hunter and a dimpled undertaker.

3.5 stars

This was a weird book. I liked some things and was left wanting for others.

THE UNDERTAKING OF HART AND MERCY gets points for being a very quirky book filled with sarcastic humor. Everything about this book is very unique: the world, the romance, the characters, the plot, the magic. I laughed and smiled a lot while listening to this one and overall really enjoyed it. Bannen's writing is fearless and one of a kind in that regard. Arguably, this book's strength is the push and pull of the romance between Hart and Mercy, two people who begin the novel hating each other to lovers at the end of the story. It's definitely a fun enemies to lovers, anonymous penpal dynamic which was really fun. I loved hearing their thoughts and seeing both of their characters grow. And the chemistry and steam between them? SO great. This read like a romcom at times which was a lot of fun as a reader. I was really invested in Hart and Mercy. I also loved all of the side characters, all of whom are unique and quirky and colorful as the book itself.

The big issue I had here was that with the world-building, if I am being frank. I know its there but I just couldn't wrap my head around it while reading. And that did have to do with some of the randomness. Like what did this world look like? Is it western? Is it a total fantasy world? Is it some component of our world? What was up with the gods and the mail carriers who were apparently large animals? And what's up with the soul being located in the appendix? Idk. I enjoyed the quirkiness but that worldbuilding was lost for me and I struggled with that. But overall, with a romance to die for THE UNDERTAKING OF HART AND MERCY was an endearing read for me and I largely enjoyed it.

I’m not sure that I fully understood the dynamics of this world, but I loved the romance and would read more books with these characters.

Aaahh! Such a great story! It felt so unique and I loved it! I loved the letters and the love-hate relationship, all of it! Bannen is so clever

Netgalley book for review~~! 3.5 rounded up generously.

I found the letters more than a bit derivative from You’ve Got Mail (same beats almost exactly, it felt like) and the switch between enemies/lovers was so fast I had whiplash.

The setting and plot is imaginative but by around 50% I was thinking, ok, that’s wrapped up neatly, and so’s that—what else is she going to use to extend the page count? Anyway that’s probably mostly on me for reading a digital copy and not having a physical copy in my hands.

I loved all the side characters in this. Mercy’s family is in particular hilarious and I was glad they featured so much!

Overall though, I had a fun time with this and I’ll be on the lookout for more books by this writer in the future.

I honestly don't know what to make of this. Is it fantasy? Yes. with good world building. Is it a rom-com? Yes, with lots of tropes. Is it fun? Yes, but it takes a bit to slide into the rhythm (at least it did for me). Mercy is an undertaker in Tania while Hart is a Marshall charged with keeping the population safe from drudges, the bodies of which he brings to Mercy for, ahem, disposal. He's lonely and so he starts writing letter. which make their way to her and, when she gets them, she writes back but neither knows who their correspondent is= shades of You've Got Mail- except it's not. It's fun to watch the barriers break down between Mercy and Hart. They are definitely unique characters in whatever genre you choose to place this. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. An entertaining read.

Hart is a marshal patrolling Tanria, where drudges - lost souls inhabiting dead bodies - gather. When Hart kills the drudges, he must take them to an undertaker. Mercy has been working as undertaker in her fathers funeral home, and hates no one more than she hates Hart. Hart equally hates Mercy. But when Hart lets the loneliness of his lifestyle get to him and writes an anonymous letter to a friend, little does he know that the pen pal he soon makes is none other than Mercy. This book was pitched as The Princess Bride meets You've Got Mail, and that is the most accurate description I can still think of for this story. I loved every bit of it! There was romance (slowest of burns), there was action, there was a ridiculous family interfering, but most of all it had heart. Watching the interactions and the changes that occurred for both Hart and Mercy was an amazing thing and the dashes of humour made the story feel authentic. There is nothing more I could ask for from this book.

While this book as a whole and the entire world within it was so wonderfully weird, I wish I had liked it more.

Don’t get me wrong, it was good. It just wasn’t great.

For me it suffered from two problems, parts of the pacing dragged, and other times things happened too quickly.

Since the “anonymous relationship” trope is my absolute favourite trope of them all, it let me down a little bit.

It’s still worth the read if you’re looking for something different in the world of romances.

Normally, I stick to reading horror, but something about this book intrigued me enough to give it a chance, and I was not disappointed.

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a love story, but it's a love story set in a fictional land where reanimated corpses and possessed armadillos roam free, so... it's not TOO sappy.

The story centers around Mercy Birdsall, who is running herself ragged trying to keep her family's undertaking business afloat, and Hart Ralston, a marshal who spends weeks at a time patrolling the no-man's land of Tanria, where zombie-like creatures called "drudges" cause trouble. Mercy is a six-foot tall buxom lass who dresses like a fifties pin-up girl, and Hart is a six-and-a-half-foot tall demigod cowboy who may or may not be immortal.

The two think they hate each other, but then they strike up a sort of pen-pal correspondence without realizing that they're actually writing to each other. This, of course, turns into an enemies-to-lovers scenario, but in a land which is reminiscent of the Old West with a beautiful and fascinating mythos.

So if you're not opposed to a love story which is also a fantasy story complete with gods and corpses and giant talking rabbits who deliver the mail, check this one out. It was a fun read.

“The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy” by Megan Bannen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Paranormal RomCom. Location: The town of Eternity on Bushong Island near wild, magical Tanria.

In a universe where the human soul is located in the appendix, anything can happen. Imagine Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan from “You’ve Got Mail”, with zombies. Or Elizabeth/Mr. Darcy from “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies”, in the Wild West.

6ft 9in demigod Marshall Hart Ralston (35) is lonely. He patrols Tanria for drudges (zombies)-who are increasing. Mercy Birdsall (30) is lonely. She single-handedly runs her family’s business in Eternity. Birdsall & Son Undertakers process indigent drudge bodies dropped off by Hart.

When Hart arrives, he irritates Mercy’s last nerve. (She calls him Hart-Ache) She irritates him right back. Hart thinks Leonard, the best dog, is owned by the worst woman. (He calls her Merciless) One day, feeling extra lonely, Hart writes an anonymous letter to no one. He addresses it “Dear Friend”, and gives it to the magical Nimkilim. Unknown to him, it’s delivered to Mercy. Thus begins a sweetly anonymous penpal friendship. But true love doesn’t come easy-not with zombies nearby.

Bannen’s whimsical, weirdly humorous book touched me. It’s sweet, fun, a bit snarky, there’s drama, tragedy, action, and a steamy romance. Her easy narrative style reads quickly, similar to “House on the Cerulean Sea”. And there are zombies-it’s a merciful sweet-hart of a book and it’s 5 stars from me.🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️. Thank you to Orbit Books/Hatchett Book Group and NetGalley for this early copy! Publishes on 8/23/2022.

My goodness. What a delightful, creative, positively weird, mystifying, otherworldly piece of ART this book was. Truly, the love story of Hart and Mercy easily claimed a spot in my top 5 reads this year, if not the very top spot.

A little bit Welcome to Nightvale, a little bit Hercules, a lot of everything wonderful, this world pulled me in and I became completely absorbed by page 2.

Imagine a place based loosely on Australia, that’s got a hint of western, a touch of the paranormal, and a whole lot of quirk thrown on for good measure, and you’ve stepped through the door into the world of Hart & Mercy. I wish I could’ve stayed there forever.

Read if you love:
❤️‍🔥enemies to lovers with *peak* witty banter
🦬 a western setting with a paranormal twist
🤍strong family dynamics + found family
☀️ grump + sunshine
🐇 lovable supporting characters

Truly, this book should be on everyone’s shelves as summer slips into spooky season. I was in tears for a solid 5% of the last 10% of the book (like, gasping sobs) but it was worth every tear. I wish I could erase this book from my brain solely so I could have the delight of reading it all over again for the first time!

3.5/5 stars

This was a really cute novel with some fun world building. Enemies to lovers set in a steamy-punky world filled with zombies and gods. I found the setting and side characters to be the most enjoyable parts of the novel, the main romance was fun but was pretty standard. My mine gripe with this novel was pretty weird pacing, much of the book was very slow to read, but pivotal action was glossed over.

This was a fun, heartwarming fantasy romance! I did find the world to be rather complicated, and since the romance was the primary focus of the story, there wasn't a ton of worldbuilding. I would've liked to have gotten a little more insight on the world, the religion, and the magic system, since it all sounded really interesting, there just wasn't very much depth. I liked Hart and Mercy a lot, and I loved their enemies-to-lovers romance. Their interactions were the best parts of the book, but if there had been a little more depth to the world particularly from Hart's perspective, I think I would have liked the scenes where they were apart a little more. 3.5/5 stars.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book, and both of the narrators were excellent choices. This was a fun story about enemies falling in love after being secret pen pals. I didn't go into this with any expectations of the story, but after seeing a lot of buzz pre-publication I wanted to give it a chance. I don't normally read books that are heavy on the romance, but this one was a lot of fun. A very inventive setting and good characters. Loved it.

Thank you so much to Net Galley for giving me an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! I'm still wavering on if this is 4.5 or 5/5 stars. I would describe this as You've Got Mail meets Dread Nation meets Percy Jackson.

This is a historical romance in a western (as in, wild west) fantasy setting with what are essentially zombies. There are gods and demi-gods, political corruption, and interesting family dynamics. There is LGBTQIA plus rep in this book, and a plus size main character. I think this leans more into the romance than the fantasy, but the world building is also great.

My biggest complaint about this book was the first chapter, and if you can push through it, it does get better. Essentially, in the first chapter there is an interaction between the main male and female characters and the male's inner-dialog describing the main female character is very "men writing women (badly) - I actually double checked that the author is female. I'm not sure if she was trying to make him seem more "male" but it was cringe-y. To be fair, the female's inner-monolog description of the main male isn't much better.

Overall, if you like fantasy romance, I would highly recommend! I've already purchased the STUNNING Fairyloot edition of this book for my own shelves, and I will be checking out anything this author writes in the future.

This book creates such a vivid fairy-tale-esque world, and the writing itself is gorgeous. This story wasn't really for me because, as an avid fan of fantasy books with romance subplots, I felt that both the "enemies" and the "to lovers" stages of the main relationship could have been more compelling. Still, this is one of the most unique books I've read this year! 3/5 stars.

Absolutely loved this one! The first half is a loving ode to You've Got Mail, done with demigods and talking animals (and the love interest not being the corporate bad man!). The second half cracks the fantasy elements open wide, pairing them with incredible romance and deeply touching meditations on death, family, and purpose. This book was the best kind of adventure. Truly truly adored it!

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is You've Got Mail with demigods and dead bodies.

This book is absolutely phenomenal! I laughed out loud. I bawled like a freakin' baby. I will definitely be buying a physical copy on Release Day and giving it a place of honor on my Favorites shelf.