The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy Review

Rating: ✨4.5 stars✨

Review Updated: 7/18/2024

This book was not at all what I was expecting! I was starting to see a lot about this book, so I decided to pick it up, and I was not disappointed!

Hart and Mercy are the definition of insta-hate. They can hardly stand each other, and Hart only begrudgingly deals with her when his job, as a marshal, requires him to drop off bodies at Birdsall & Son, the undertaking business Mercy runs. Then one day, Hart sends out a letter, addressed only to a "Dear Friend" and somehow, it makes its way to Mercy. From there, a connection is formed between the two 'friends', a tentative connection, where they can be their true selves in their letters. Yet neither knows that they're writing to their enemy...and neither knows what dangers approach, as they strive to be together despite misjudgments and circumstances.

I really enjoyed reading The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. It was certainly an original and imaginative story, with magic, undead, undertakers, appendixes, and a little touch of mystery. Of course, I loved the enemies to lovers romance, complete with the exchanging secret letters trope! Mercy and Hart are perfect together, both in their letters and in real life! I just wish there was more time for their relationship to develop before they went from enemies to lovers, in their letters and in real life, as I felt they made that progression a little too quickly.

I also really liked the characters, from Mercy's humorous and fun family dynamics to the couple times we got to interact with Alma and Diane, to the nimkilns to Pen, to of course, the main characters themselves and the adorable dogs.

The ending, or should I say what happens right before the ending, definitely had me in tears! This book was a little emotional throughout, but especially near the ending, and I almost lost hope in the Hart and Mercy happily ever after. Keyword: almost :D

While I did really enjoy the magical elements - certainly one of the few times I've read something like this, I did wish that they had been explained a little more. The concepts of new gods and old gods, the mist, and the undead were explained a little bit through the book and mostly near the ending, but I would have liked a little more explanation sprinkled throughout the book.

Overall, an interesting enjoyable read that I would highly recommend - there's magical elements, fun characters, secret letters, and an enemies to lovers romance!

Book Title: The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Year Published: 2022

Genre: fantasy, romance

Kindle Unlimited: no

Series: yes

Book Information

More Books Like This

Looking for book recs similar to The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy?

Take a look at my Secret Letters and DMs Book List. Hart and Mercy exchange letters throughout the book, not knowing who their letter writer is, but those letters not only help us (the readers) learn about the main characters, but also the mc's learn about each other. And this book isn't the only one with this trope! Find more book recs, in fantasy and contemporary fiction, with this list.