After some series of events, I thought the story was going to end up being predictable, but Bannen surprised me with other details about the world and the life of the characters, and the ending was beautifully wholesome. Mercy is fully dedicated to her family, but not truly seen by them. Hart is profoundly lonely, and struggling with grief, but he is also brave and committed to do the right things. They both live to work until they find their way to each other, and more reasons to live. Hart’s bad-boy persona is obviously a very attractive part of his character. I liked him right off the bat because although he was rough around the edges, it’s easy to see that he’s just lonely. He just wants to be loved but has his guard up so high no one can get in. With its wonderfully unique setting, lovable characters, and engaging mix of humour and spice, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a truly outstanding romantic fantasy. I loved both its kookiness and its deep authenticity. An instant favourite!' - India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels When a friend described “The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy” by Megan Bannen to me as an “enemies to lovers who are unknowingly pen pals with each other,” I knew I had to read it.

Hart adores Mercy’s dog, Leonard (who is a very very good dog) but he does not like Mercy on sight, merely because she’s an undertaker. He’s got the same negative opinions about the mortuary industry in his world that I do in mine: Content notes for discussion of parental death (occurred prior to the story), mild violence and gore, and lots of (compassionately cared for) dead bodies. With its wonderfully unique setting, lovable characters, and engaging mix of humour and spice, The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is a truly outstanding romantic fantasy . I loved both its kookiness and its deep authenticity. An instant favourite!” India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels I showed up for the fantastic, fun fantasy setting but it was Hart and Mercy that kept me reading.” —Ruby Dixon

Balancing fantasy and romance, the latter comes through stronger. As a reluctant romantic hero, Hart is compelling in his self-consciousness; it’s understandable why he would hesitate to come clean to Mercy, unable to trust that she could reconcile the friend in the letters with the man she’s starting to tolerate. The Birdsall family is the kind of charming, chattery brood that bring texture to a romance; Mercy’s relationships with her siblings (aspiring chef Zeddie and pregnant sister Lil) versus with gruff teddy bear Pops help amp up the tension around what she wants compared to what everyone else thinks she wants. And when the undertaking of the title turns romantic, it’s as steamy as Mercy’s favorite bathtub read, Enemies and Lovers. Hart, alas, has a problem: he is fascinated by Mercy as much as he is frustrated and infuriated by her. Yup, yup, yup, folks. We have got a SOLID and HEFTY amount of “I don’t wanna like you, I don’t wanna like you, I can’t stop thinking about your hair DAMMIT” here. Step right up for yearning and grumpy smoldering.

Horatio is a snooty, know-it-all owl that delivers Mercy’s mail and isn’t afraid to speak his unfiltered mind and help himself to the tip jar. Bassareus is a foul-mouthed alcoholic rabbit with chipped teeth and an earring that delivers mail to Hart and challenges him every second he gets. Ultimately, he helps Hart break out of his shell. I was absolutely psyched when I read the description for this book. Make romance weirder and more imaginative! Make fantasy have more romance! I was hoping that this would be true love, but both the romance and fantasy parts fell under the “good, but not great” category for me. I had fun reading it, but it didn't sink its teeth into me like a ravenous zombie.Thank you, Hachette Book Group/Orbit, for a copy of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy for an honest review.

Mercy never has a moment to herself. She’s been single-handedly keeping Birdsall & Son Undertakers afloat in defiance of sullen jerks like Hart, who seems to have a gift for showing up right when her patience is thinnest. The side characters are an absolute treat. No kidding. I love them (except for Nathan and another guy). The main characters are decent, though they sometimes act less mature for their age. What was he supposed to say? I’m here to see your daughter to tell her that I’m her secret pen pal and I’m hoping against hope that she won’t hate me forever and might even want to have sex with me tonight? And speaking of dogs, Leonard does get into the action at the end, and Leonard is just fine. Leonard is a very, very good dog.Hart is a six foot nine marshal that stabs zombies and drags their rotting corpses to Mercy, an undertaker who salts her dead and sings incantations over them before respectfully setting them off to their final destination. And they absolutely HATE each other. *cheers in dystopian* I fell hard and fast for Hart, I loved Mercy’s commitment with her family and her passion for work. I admit I was mainly on Hart’s side, and I think he deserved more most of the time, but I still loved their romance and was on the edge of my seat for their happy ending. A truly outstanding romantic fantasy’ India Holton, author of The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels

The beauty of the romance genre can be found in its timeless narratives—countless stories that successfully manage to tug at our heartstrings (and sometimes run our emotions through the wringer) because of their promise of an ultimate happy resolution, even if the journey to the end never takes the same path twice. Thrust any combination of tropes, plot elements, and character types into the hands of ten different authors, and the journey to true love across the resulting books will be delightfully varied. But Hart is wrong: Mercy is trying to run an ethical, stable business that doesn’t price gouge, and hand crafts each funerary boat, unlike a rival business that indeed buys wholesale and sells egregious markups. Megan Bannen has found her voice with this incredibly smart, and hilariously weird debut. A must read!"Nisha Sharma - award winning author of YA and contemporary romance Is this a romance or is it a dystopian about stabbing appendixes and wrapping decaying bodies in salt and ghosts taking possession of dead bodies? Somehow it’s perfectly, wonderfully, BOTH! I had some trouble picturing this world, which made it more difficult for me to feel immersed on it. However, the characters are spectacularly well developed, and they make the story shine.

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There is a side story on why there are so many Drudges coming out of the woodworks and why Mercy's undertaking business is so attractive to the competition that they want to buy it out. I liked how all of those items played out on the side of the romance to keep the story going. Hart's eventual meeting with his dad was really well done and made perfect sense to who he was and the gifts he had. I also wish the bleak moment weren’t as predictable as it seemed, as I could see the Big Drama coming and knew what would happen. Similarly, I was frustrated by the dialogue that resolved that bleak moment, because it read as if the harm and hurt were one-sided in a way that didn’t feel true to either character. I liked Mercy Birdshall very, very much. Sure she's the protagonist, she's supposed to be lovable, and in this case, cute. Also, she has a dog and I'll love anyone with a dog. I mean, who wouldn't? Even so, Mercy was very well written, she was pretty complex as a character, strong-willed, and I don't know of any other character that could actually make the position of undertaker (mortician) look cool. I loved her compassion, loyalty, and her determination in the face of adversity. The premise is this: Mercy Birdsall is an undertaker in the land of Tanria. Technically, she’s only supposed to be taking the reins of her family’s business until her brother can step in and assume his rightful place as the head of Birdsall & Son, but between her father’s recent health scare and said brother’s reluctance to continue in the family tradition, she’s been keeping the lights on all by herself. Naturally, it’s when she’s the most rundown that she just has to cross paths with her personal nemesis, Hart Ralston, a marshal who finds himself at the undertaker’s place more often than not thanks to the bodies he’s responsible for dropping off there. The Princess Bridemeets You've Got Mailin this enchantingly quirky, completely refreshing fantasy with a rom-com-worthy premise, perfect for readers of T he House in the Cerulean Seaand The Invisible Library.