Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

33 reviews

booksalacarte's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense 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

3.5

The undertaking of Hart and Mercy- 3.5⭐️ 3🌶️


Fantasy Romance
Dual POV
Undertaker
Mythical Beasts
Letters
Rivals to lovers
Demi-gods
Sherif/cowboy vibes
Grumpy/sunshine
Curvy FMC
30’s MC’s
🏳️‍🌈 Side Characters

Tw: death, dead bodies, grief

The plot was a fantasy version of You’ve Got Mail… only with undead, undertakers, sheriffs and funeral homes? But the romance was good. The nicknames were top notch.

Thank goodness the pets didn’t die! 

from the beginning, the story took place in a different world. Instead of introducing the world in little snippets, there was one giant info dump that took up more than half a chapter, around 32% that explained a lot of the history of the world. I really disliked that. But a lot of the world was unique, but because it went so long to give any world building hints, often I was overly confused by what was described with absolutely zero explanation. 

The side characters were all delightful! The FMC was level headed, loyal and it was really nice to see her passion and love for the work she was doing. The MMC was pretty bland, but I like how his feelings developed.

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katiekeske's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is a very well written, unique romance. The world building flows well and is so interesting. The characters all feel real. I appreciate a lot about the book, but the miscommunication and angst made it take longer than normal for me to read. 

I wouldn't describe this as exactly enemies to lovers since enemies seems like too strong of a word. They have a strong dislike for each other before things change. I don't enjoy when the love interests are mean to each other, so it was hard for me to get through. 

This is a romance with a HEA, but be warned that you will most likely cry a lot before you get there. 

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katievallin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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meggy1967's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense 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

This book made me cry hard at 4am but also laugh so hard I nearly woke up my partner. Definitely a darker read at times. *wish there was more sex scenes, but that’s because they were so good. But the sex didn’t take away from the plot.**

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popquizliz's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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


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joiceeg's review against another edition

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dark 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

4.5


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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0


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relin's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Amazing world building. Loved the romance. Made me ugly cry and I loved it.

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ninahuynh's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated

4.75

Such a beautiful book! The romance and the fantasy... just spectacular. I love the world-building and the usage of the fantasy world other than giving the possibility for demi-gods and gods, etc. They bit of mystery in the latter half helped balanced the spicy romance. It would have scored a 5/5 stars if it were not for the handful of grammar mistakes that I caught and stopped me in my tracks. The story itself was great and I like the inclusion of consent and safe sex.

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a_ab's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? It's complicated

4.0

I mostly enjoyed this book, but I also have some mixed feelings. 

Let's start with the negative, so I could convince myself to end on the positive note:

The bad:
- There are scenes and concepts here heavily inspired by (or closer to 'lifted from') the movie "You've Got Mail", and they are charming, but not new. 
- The overdramatization of events feels a lot like emotional manipulation by the author.
- The characters are in they're 30's, but act like hormonal moody teenagers. 
- The obligatory sex scenes, which don't feel natural in the context (and too explicit - mismatched from the rest of the book's tone) play a role in the emotional manipulation, making it infinitely worse.
- The overall length of the book. Not the worst offender in this category, but I felt that the book should have been edited better, and that such editing could easily have gotten rid of about 50-70 pages.

The negatives cover 2 of my personal peeves: characters not acting their age and sex stuck in where it doesn't belong.

And yet, I still found the book enjoyable.
The good:
- The world building. Combining the fluffy romcom inspiration of "You've Got Mail" with the other inspiration, which seems to have come from the 1979 movie "Stalker" (or its inspirations or derivatives) is a bold move, especially when it's layered with the fantasy elements of demigods and complex religious beliefs. The thoughtfulness with which all these elements were integrated into a cohesive reality is rather impressive.
- The secondary characters, friendships and family dynamics. They all felt natural and realistic.
- Mercy - she is smart, strong and nonsense when she is not acting like a sulking 15-year-old.
- The overall cuteness and the nicknames.

It all probably adds up to about 3.5*s, but I will round up for the lovely ending.

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