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A review by autumnalia
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
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.