phoeb02's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Cute enough.
meowlo's review against another edition
2.0
I wrote a whole review but the app crashed and erased it all.
Essentially, I wanted to love this book after seeing people recommending it all over YouTube and tiktok. I did not love this book.
This book feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be. You spend 75% of this extremely long book following two characters struggling in their life, being mean to each other, and lonely in private. Then, suddenly, they’re in love and there’s a back back back seat mystery that is resolved in less than 4 pages total across the entire book.
The world building is lacking for me personally and so nebulous that it literally kept me up at night wondering what I was supposed to be envisioning for the world that this is set in. I’m really bummed because it’s such a cool concept and the book is SO LONG. It’s over 400 pages! 400 pages of what???
I almost put it down the first time Hart talked about mercy’s boobs boobying boobily and I kind wish I had instead of dragging this out into a multi month reading struggle. I finished it though and now I can return it to the library a final time and not think about it again.
Essentially, I wanted to love this book after seeing people recommending it all over YouTube and tiktok. I did not love this book.
This book feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be. You spend 75% of this extremely long book following two characters struggling in their life, being mean to each other, and lonely in private. Then, suddenly, they’re in love and there’s a back back back seat mystery that is resolved in less than 4 pages total across the entire book.
The world building is lacking for me personally and so nebulous that it literally kept me up at night wondering what I was supposed to be envisioning for the world that this is set in. I’m really bummed because it’s such a cool concept and the book is SO LONG. It’s over 400 pages! 400 pages of what???
I almost put it down the first time Hart talked about mercy’s boobs boobying boobily and I kind wish I had instead of dragging this out into a multi month reading struggle. I finished it though and now I can return it to the library a final time and not think about it again.
autumnalia's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow, this one came out of left field. Ok, how do I even describe this book? It’s def inspired by You’ve Got Mail, and indeed one of the scenes in the book almost exactly replicates a scene from the movie. And then, it’s like the author said to herself, ok, since one part of this is sort of a fanfic, I need to make the rest of it WILDLY original. So let’s do it in a fantasy world with a complex religious system, and throw in some corrupt corporate chicanery and enough wild-west action scenes for a Clint Eastwood movie. Oh, and let’s make the main character an undertaker!
You know, yes. It felt clunky in a few spots. Some of the characters’ motivations weren’t super convincing. The plot line got a little angsty toward the end. And I kept thinking … an undertaker?????? But it actually WORKED. It worked like whoa. A few chapters in, I was still on the fence, but by the end I was staying up way too late to find out what the frick was going to happen. The story made me squeeee and laugh and CRY and it has been eons since any book did the latter. The characters were the brilliant heart of this book — there were so many to love. And the enemies to lovers was done so perfectly, with such humor and some really relatable self reflection by both MCs.
What a delightful surprise this book turned out to be. I will certainly be rereading and I’m dying for the next entry in the series.
You know, yes. It felt clunky in a few spots. Some of the characters’ motivations weren’t super convincing. The plot line got a little angsty toward the end. And I kept thinking … an undertaker?????? But it actually WORKED. It worked like whoa. A few chapters in, I was still on the fence, but by the end I was staying up way too late to find out what the frick was going to happen. The story made me squeeee and laugh and CRY and it has been eons since any book did the latter. The characters were the brilliant heart of this book — there were so many to love. And the enemies to lovers was done so perfectly, with such humor and some really relatable self reflection by both MCs.
What a delightful surprise this book turned out to be. I will certainly be rereading and I’m dying for the next entry in the series.
captainozone's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
c100's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
befish's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
violetsto_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
disclaimer: i have never seen you’ve got mail.
whimsical fantasy (with zombies), chaotic family dynamics, and the anticipation of when the hart and mercy will finally cross paths again … you are tossed right into the thick of it. impatiently waiting for hart and mercy to meet again or receive another letter was painful and wonderful.
MCs: very tall and very irritable demigod Hart; and the tall (but less tall), colorful undertaker’s daughter, Mercy.
tropes: opposites attract (grumpy / sunshine), enemies to lovers, workplace kinda
"Know what else I think?" Duckers asked at his elbow.
"No, and I don't want to."
"I think you're afraid to be nice to Mercy, because you wouldn't be able to handle it if she didn't like you back."
likes:
● ok so i realize that the dislike section of this “review” may be longer than the likes section, but please know, i did like this book! i liked it alot! i couldn’t put it down, i read this book instead of attending to my rl responsibilities for a couple days. but i think the hype around this book gave me high expectations that threw me off just a bit. but i do like it, i promise!!!
● the secondary characters are so fun and endearing! duckers is a PRECIOUS babe and his relationship with hart is so so tender and beautiful. zeddie and lil are annoying little siblings that you love and hate. alma, diane, and roy are obviously mom, mom, and dad that have their faults but lots of love to give. all the characters are flawed but loveable.
● ok so mercy’s inability to fucking see hart is so so so exhausting but also so so so good. it drives me absolutely nuts how unwilling she is to see him as anything other than the arrogant brick wall of a man she expects, dear god.
● hart is … truly a mess. the biggest mess. i know many characters are responsible for kickstarting hart’s character growth, including mercy and the anonymous friend, but duckers saved this man’s life and their relationship is so heartwarming. the only time i CRIED like a baby was during . (ok well i teared up a bit reading .) hart really is the heart (hehehe) of this book, truly.
Spoiler
duckers’ goodbye scene and it’s like half a pageSpoiler
hart’s last letter● hehe, the romance bit was good too.
She took his face in her hands as soon as he had stepped into his boots. "Be careful."\
"I always am."
"But now you need to be careful for me."
He went still and quiet in her hands, his pale eyes softened, and the word love expanded and grew heavy in her stomach. "I...." he began, but he didn't finish whatever he was going to say.
steam (nsfw):
● some good open door scenes.
● the one scene with the … 4 special words is short but perfect.
● hart absolutely adores mercy, is how i will conclude this …
dislikes:
● ok let me complain for just a little behind a spoiler about the major improbability i had to really suspend my disbelief for (not fantasy-related):
Spoiler
there is no way in the unknown god’s green earth that mercy received a letter the DAY after a horrific run-in with her nemesis that says ‘don’t you just have that one person you absolutely hate that just pushes your buttons’ and didn’t fucking realize it’s hart … having an archnemisis is not COMMON! it simply is not. and you received it RIGHT AFTER you had a big fight with your enemy … your enemy who’s handwriting you just saw yesterday … OK. idk why this took me out so hard but it did.● hart’s conflict about his (im)mortality was such a meaningful growth arc for him and i did not like the resolution.
Spoiler
the suicide mission and resulting revelation was … not the character growth moment i expected or hoped for. it didn’t need resolving, it needed hart’s acceptance and determination to live his life anyway … which i thought was going to be the ultimate point of his growth.● idk if i like the writing style of this book. i felt a little off for most of this book, which is unfortunate because i did like how the fantasy elements were treated. learning about the world gradually rather than in giant blocks of exposition was great! (i will likely read the second book of this series when it comes out, so i’m definitely giving the style another go!)
● i don’t want to talk about the …
Spoiler
donut pillowi am a little overexposed to grumpy/sunshine at the moment, might be time for a break!
mw_rose's review against another edition
4.0
Cute! I liked the interesting setting and the basis of the plot. Add in the tumultuous love interest and family drama, and you get a quite enjoyable story!
muskoxquarterly's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0