Sunday, April 9, 2023

#AmReading

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Published by Orbit Books on August 23rd 2022
Age/Genres: Fantasy, Romance
five-stars

Goodreads

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.
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.
After yet another exasperating run-in with Mercy, Hart finds himself penning a letter addressed simply to “A Friend”. Much to his surprise, an anonymous letter comes back in return, and a tentative friendship is born.
If only Hart knew he’s been baring his soul to the person who infuriates him most – Mercy. As the dangers from Tanria grow closer, so do the unlikely correspondents. But can their blossoming romance survive the fated discovery that their pen pals are their worst nightmares – each other?

This book kept me up until 4 AM reading the ending and I have no regrets. I do, however, have a massive book hangover. I can see how a book like this might not be for everyone, but I absolutely loved every second of it.

Right from the start, I was absolutely giddy – grinning and giggling to myself. Hart and Mercy came in hot with the mean nicknames and being low key obsessed with each other despite their “hate” for each other. I loved all their quips and seeing their relationship develop throughout the story. Their longing for connection and easy mutual understanding of each other was like fire in my veins – it made my heart ache and felt like everything I could possibly want.

Aside from the romantic plotline, there are so many lovely characters in the supporting cast. These characters all had their own full lives and motivations, and in some ways I think their relationships with the main characters were a larger part of the story than the romance. My absolute favorite pairing from these characters has to be the grumpy / sunshine of Hart and Ducker. Ducker was so adorable and he really brought out the best of Hart.

I think what I loved the most was Hart and Mercy as independent characters though. Hart and Mercy are both characters who I found extremely relatable. Throughout the story, they both struggle to face things like loneliness, isolation, mortality, and their own desires. While there are a lot of lovely, cute, fluffy parts of this book, what stood out the most to me with their characters was their exploration of grief and what it means to truly live. In between all the giddy grins and giggles mentioned previously, this book absolutely wrecked me and had me ugly crying – especially near the end (tbh I’m kind of crying just writing this review).

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed diving into the world of Hart and Mercy, learning the mythology of their world and slipping into their lives. As soon as I finished reading, I missed them already, and 4 sleeping hours and 3 waking hours since then has not changed that. I completely and irrevocably fell in love with The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy and hope others will give it a shot and feel the same way.