The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

Probably more of a 3.5 but I'm rounding up.

I had been seeing this book everywhere and my friend Shazzie was also reading it, but tbh I never had plans to pick it up. Then Libro.fm gave me the audiobook advance copy and as I'm always looking for something new to listen to, I thought why not give it a try. And turns out it was quite good.

I went in with no expectations, so I was immediately taken in by these two characters who are antagonistic towards each other but also have their own personal issues. I can't say I was always a fan of the banter here because it bordered on mean a few times, and I kept wondering how their dynamic will change to romantic at some point. But the author does a great job with the transition and I started enjoying the book more once their interactions became friendlier and intense. Mercy is someone who seems to have dedicated her life to her family and their business, without ever thinking about herself and while there were hiccups, I was glad to see her speak up for herself as well as realize what she wanted to change in her life. Hart on the other hand is also a workaholic but there's this deep loneliness within him that tugged at my heart and it was awesome to see his transformation when he realized he doesn't need to be so lonely.

I enjoyed the contrast between the way they communicated in letters and then in person because there is a level of understanding that develops between them in words but it's also obvious that they are mostly presenting one side of themselves in the letters. It really was an interesting parallel to our social media lives which are sometimes way different than our actual lives. I also enjoyed that they were quite considerate and thoughtful with each other once they developed a relationship.

Other than these two, their individual relationships with others were also very well written. Mercy's sisterly dynamic with Lilian was fun, her initially skeptical but quick acceptance of Zeddie's career choice was sweet and I loved how they all tried to protect their father. I didn't think Hart would warm up so quickly to his partner Pen but it was such a lovely father-son kinda dynamic and I adored their scenes together. Alma and Diane were also good friends to Hart and I liked how they called him out when he was being mopey.

The other interesting part of the book was the very intriguing world that the author created with its gods and their mythology, the death rituals, the zombie like drudges etc. It was fleshed out enough that it gave us context and rounded off our characters' personalities but the author still managed to keep the focus more on the relationships and romance, with fantasy just feeling like a necessary backdrop.

Overall, I thought this was a fun book with its serious moments and exploration of grief and loneliness and the audiobook narrated by Michael Gallagher and Rachanee Lumayno kept me hooked all the way through. Do check it out when you are in the mood for something lighthearted and not fantasy heavy.

What is not to adore about this book and characters?!! A must read for fantasy cozy, there I said it! Also, I will never think about the appendix the same. I like the world created, though not sure we can do the enemy to lovers bit again, but would like to see the world visited again. I'd also like Mercy to see me off into the next world...Books and reading can be strange connections, my dog Gracie went over the rainbow last week, and Hart's dog was Gracie, so it caught in my throat when I read about her.

This book was super solid. Unique world and such great plot and characters! Hart has my well... heart. I loved the the way he was written. Such a sad little puppy that just want acceptance and love but comes off as a jerk because of his gruff exterior and closed-off attitude. I did have some issues with the way the misunderstanding trope was written though. The conflict felt weak and didn't seem to hold up under scrutiny. If characters are going to have beef, at least make the conflict believable. I just didn't really feel like some of Mercy's reactions were warranted and it made her come off a little abusive and mean.

Het verhaal begon voor mij iets te chaotisch. We maakten nooit echt kennis met de wereld, maar werden er letterlijk middenin gegooid, waardoor het wel verwarrend lezen was, gezien ik moeite had te begrijpen waarover ze het hadden.
Sommige van de nieuwe termen, deden me ook ineenkrimpen, omdat het voelde alsof de auteur te hard haar best deed om excentriek te doen. Dit werd versterkt door het feit dat ik geen idee had waarom schijnbaar gewone dingen zoals een auto of een paard een nieuwe gekke naam nodig hadden, zoals a duck en an equimaris. Er was niets in de tekst dat deze dingen beschreef, dus ik had geen idee dat ze anders moesten zijn dan onze standaard auto's en paarden. Vooral het eendengedoe werkte op mijn zenuwen, aangezien een van de hoofdpersonages ook nog eens Duckers heette, wat dus aanvoelde als een overdaad aan eenden!

Pas toen ik al ver over de helft van het boek was viel mijn frank dat deze dingen inderdaad anders waren dan onze standaard auto's en paarden, omdat deze wereld vereiste dat je tegelijkertijd over land EN water kon reizen, wat deze nieuwe termen plotseling helemaal logisch maakte.
Toen ik dat eenmaal mee had, irriteerde het me natuurlijk een stuk minder, maar toch heb ik nog steeds geen idee hoe deze dingen eruit zouden moeten zien en het voelde nog steeds als een ENORME nalatigheid om dit in het begin van het boek niet beter te duiden. Want de ganse wereld die de auteur probeerde te creëren klonk toch echt wel intrigerend, met zijn verschillende goden en connecties. Ik heb het gevoel dat er iets groters van dit verhaal had kunnen worden gemaakt dan alleen een romantisch verhaal dat zich afspeelt in een fantasiewereld.

Gelukkig voor mij slaagde het verhaal er zelf in om me naar binnen te trekken voordat ik deze dingen volledig had begrepen. Bovenstaande is dus absoluut niet bedoeld als kritiek op het romantische genre, ondertussen weten jullie al wel dat ik dat ook wel kan smaken.
Hoewel dit verhaal mij wel kon bekoren, was het uiteindelijk maar een heel alledaags romantisch verhaal. In mijn notities beschreef ik het als een Hallmark film dat interessant werd gemaakt door zijn setting, wat ik dus echt wel accuraat blijf vinden. Zonder zijn fantasy wereld blijft niks echt origineel over.

Dus over het algemeen heb ik dit boek wel graag gelezen, maar blijf ik wel wat bedroefd dat de wereld niet meer was uitgewerkt, want deze klonk echt uniek en intrigerend. De auteur had een aantal uitstekende ideeën en een origineel concept, maar helaas bleef het meeste hierbij enorm vaag, ten gunste van een meer alledaags romantisch verhaal.
Er is hier zeker potentieel, dus ik kijk dan wel weer uit naar de verdere evolutie van deze auteur.

I loved the book and I did enjoy reading it but I wasn't passionate about reading it for a bit. I loved the characters but there was point when I was only feeling neutral towards everyone. The characters were the best part of this book. The plot was good and the romance was sweet but the enemies/rivals to lovers didn't make sense because there was no real conflict they just didn't jive together when they first met. I found myself more invested in the no romance plot than the romance plot and times because it was more exciting and it was a major part of the book until the romance started and then that kind of took over with the main conflict being fixed easily in the end. I would definitely recommend this if you're looking for a digestible fun book that has a decent plot but isn't overly complex.

 What It's About:

• Hart is a marshal who patrols the dangerous land of Tanria. Any corpses he finds (or creates by the slaying of zombie-like drudges) he has to deliver to an undertaker. 
• Mercy is single-handedly keeping her family's business Birdsall and Sons Undertakers running. 
• Mercy and Hart have never hit it off and every exchange they have is more trading of barbs than civil conversation. After a bad day and a run-in with Mercy, Hart pens an anonymous letter he addresses to a friend and posts it. Mercy mysteriously receives it, not knowing who it is from, and the two start up an anonymous correspondence.

“It annoyed Mercy to no end that after years of putting up with that insufferable marshal, some primal inner instinct continued to think he looked good enough to eat.”

My Thoughts:

• Content warning: This book contains depictions and discussions of death and grief.
• I felt like I warmed to Hart much more than Mercy – I'm not sure if this is because he was more loveable or because he felt more developed, I felt we saw a lot more of Hart's inner world than Mercy's, despite them both being POV characters.
• I adored Hart's apprentice Pen, and I liked the development of his dynamic with Hart. He was good for him.
• (Trying to word this carefully to avoid spoilers) – Hart spends the whole book convinced he is alone and friendless when we see that he is not at all. This is shown most clearly following a certain plot event toward the end of the book. I felt it was an accurate depiction of how self-esteem and mental health struggles can warp how we perceive our relationships with and value to others.
• At the start of the book it took me a while to get to grips with the fantasy setting & I'm still not entirely sure I understand the history and lore of Tanria and the old gods. In the beginning the fantasy elements & romance plot felt disconnected to me which had me wondering why it wasn't just a contemporary romance novel. This changed and the fantasy elements were integrated into the wider plot and romance plot further into the book, it just took me a while to get.
• On that note, I was a bit thrown by some of the fantasy terms used – maybe I was too distracted while I was reading the parts where these things were introduced and I missed some descriptions but it was a while before it was clear these weren't just weird fantasy names for cars, horses etc. Also, I was never quite sure if the land I should be picturing was supposed to be swampy marshland or Venice-like canals or what, but there was definitely water and lots of docks everywhere.
• The pantheon of gods and different names for days of the week confused me, especially when given as a reference to the passage of time, as I had no idea whether two days were supposed to have passed or six. These let it down overall for me, as I really enjoyed the romance plot and characters but I was often jarred out of the narrative by puzzling over these things.
• -A lovely romance that is definitely worth reading, although be warned I did sob heavily through the third act!

“I don't want to hear ‘I'm sorry, Mercy' or ‘I don't deserve you, Mercy' or ‘I hope you find someone else, Mercy'! I want to hear ‘I love you, Mercy'!” 

A unique take on a fantasy immersed world, with talking animal posties, a grumpy marshal x sunshine undertaker and zombies all rolled into one.
 
The world is interesting, with the drudges and the force set to deal with them. The little lore we discover behind Tanria itself is also nice to know. There is a decent bit of setup, which may put some off, but it added to what was to come.

The story itself is enjoyable, with lovable characters, including the main characters themselves. There is actually a lot of development for them, which is nice to see. They're also of an older age (early to mid 30s) so things didn't seem as juvenile. I love Duckers, with his unique surname and even more unique forename.

A shame that the side plot with Cunninghams wasn't utilised as well. It felt like there were two side plots fighting for words and this one was eventually sidelined. Overall though, it was very cosy (minus some areas surrounding the drudges) and nice to read.

My first big hurdle with this book was that there was no clear sense of place. The author off-handedly mentions “equiponies” (or whatever they were called) but provides very little description of what they looked like. At one point she mentions blue webbed feet. Okay... that's something. There's also no clear indication of a time period – dungaree and glasses but a gramaphone and an autoduck? Are we past, present, future or some hybrid? I couldn't get into the story for the first half of the book because I didn't know where I was – Old West with a dash of fantasy? The 1950s-esque with less technology and more magic? I just got whiplash from the lack of clarity as to what this world was. And it took FOREVER to be able to piece some of the story together. Its not that I want a story spoonfed to me but sheesh – this is supposed to be fun and I had to white-knuckle through this book trying to figure out WTF was going on. Oh, and there was some romance but I don't really feel like it was central to the plot.

The first half of this had me kicking my feet and giggling (5 stars!), while the second half...did not (2 stars). So I guess that comes out 3.5 stars?

This is heavy on the romance, but the fantasy side is definitely there, which I appreciate. The world is absurd and I still can't figure out if an autoduck is a car or a boat, but somehow it worked. And the characters and romance are great (for the first half). They both have their own problems and they're interesting characters. But halfway through it feels like the story needs them to fight, so they do.

Overall, all the little questions get answers in a decently satisfying way, so maybe I'll round it up to 4 stars. But I didn't end up loving like I thought I would.

An interesting world and very strong characters! I saw a quote calling this “a romance wrapped in a western wrapped in a fantasy” and I think that is exactly right. It was actually a tiiiiny bit too “gritty” for my cozy tastes sometimes, but I am a self-proclaimed wimp with an overactive imagination, so my opinion should be taken with a grain of salt. ;)

The letter element (and the mail deliverers!) was cute and insightful. I did kind of wonder why they never exchanged names at least . . . I mean, that would have cut short the plot, though ;) The characters' reflections and developments were the best part for me, definitely.

Overall I'd particularly recommend this to people who like that somewhat apocalyptic or western/cowboy flavor to their fantasy & romance. It's not my personal jam, but I did still enjoy the characters' growth!

If someone told me I would love a romance happening in a world full of zombies, I wouldn't believe them. Yet, here we are, and it was fantastic!

Hart hunts bodies to avoid them turning into drudges, and Mercy is one of the available undertakers. They started on the wrong foot and every interaction is fueled with hate, but Hart loves dogs and keeps coming back for more.

“She had no right to be full of life when she was surrounded by death.”

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.

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.

The secondary characters are wonderful, and give a more cosy and lighthearted vibe to the book.

He pressed his forehead to hers, and because it would be absurd to tell her that he loved her, he poured everything he felt into one word: “Mercy.”

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.

“I was afraid you wouldn't feel for me what I have felt for you since the day I walked into Birdsall & Son and found a woman there who was color and light and joy in a world that had come to seem colorless and dismal and lousy to me.”

I cried a bit, which was unexpected, and laughed a lot. This is one of those books that remind me why I love romances, and it goes straight for the list of my favorite ones.

Lots of love with some light zombies and a thought provoking look at death and grief.

This was a delight. It reminded me of a Miyazaki movie in the best way, while also being a little steampunk and a little western. The world Bannen created feels new and old at the same time. The characters are likeable. The setting is unique.

My only complaint is that I would have loved more description. It has a lot of that thing in fantasy/sci fi novels where you take a familiar object and adapt it to fit the world you're building while it still serves the same function, but without descriptions of what that's supposed to look like I had a really hard time picturing things. My brain jumped all over the place trying to decide what people, places, and objects looked like only to have to start over 50 pages later when we got another small detail. Everything ended up just sort of fuzzy around the edges for me.

But the heart of the story is pretty solid and by the end tears were shed. I enjoyed it from the start but by the halfway point I was truly hooked.

I absolutely adored this book! Everything about it drew me in, the banter, the tension, the longing and the world itself was so interesting! The book follows Hart, a grumpy demigod who works as a police/military type of role, where the bad guys are souls that reanimate the dead (if they still have a normal appendix). Mercy is works with her father as an undertaker, preparing dead bodies for their last rites which puts her in constant contact with Hart as he lugs the deanimated corpses to the undertakers.

This book has everything, grumpy/sunshine, enemies to lovers, miscommunication, anonymous letter writing, tension, angst, smut, a mystery, Magic used in unusual way, and a really cool world. It is a stand alone, but I saw that the author is going to write another book set in the same world and I'm so excited! It's too cool of a world to leave it to one book! I highly recommend you read this book before her next one comes out!