A review by violetsto_
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

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
duckers’ goodbye scene and it’s like half a page
. (ok well i teared up a bit reading
hart’s last letter
.) hart really is the heart (hehehe) of this book, truly.
● 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):
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.
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
donut pillow
…

i am a little overexposed to grumpy/sunshine at the moment, might be time for a break!