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?
Obviously, romantasy is having a moment.
I know romantic fantasy is not new, but it certainly seems to be enjoying a massive surge in popularity. Look no further than Goodreads adding a romantasy category to the Goodreads Choice Awards (while mysteriously/questionably dropping middle grade/children’s/poetry categories), and the new romance imprint, Bramble (from TOR/Macmillan).
I think when I hear “romantasy,” my mind tends to picture sweeping, epic fantasy, with romance at the center of the story. Megan Bannen’s THE UNDERTAKING OF HART AND MERCY is most definitely not epic fantasy, though! This is a book that kind of plays by its own rules, and announces itself as something of an unpredictable, quirky gem of a story early on.
Prior to reading this, I had never seen the movie “You’ve Got Mail” (a movie that HART AND MERCY is at least in part inspired by/based upon). I watched it recently though, so it was fun to see how some of the scenes from the book were like riffs on scenes from the movie! Additionally, I’m currently on my third viewing of the fantastic “Dash & Lily” show on Netflix, so it’s just now dawning on me that the whole idea of two characters who don’t know each other writing back & forth is…A Whole Thing™️
I’m a relatively new(ish) reader of romance/romcoms, and can’t claim to know the genre terribly well. To that end, I think some of the more popular tropes can feel a little unfamiliar to me, and that was certainly the case with this book. The “enemies to lovers” vibe is strong in this book, and while I overall really enjoyed this one, there were some moments where I just felt like…WHY DO THEY HATE EACH OTHER SO MUCH? I’m not sure I was ever super clear on the levels of animosity between our two main characters, Hart Ralston (grumpy) and Mercy Birdsall (sunshine).
This is a fantasy world that doesn’t really adhere to a lot of rules, and there’s a lot of in-world mythology baked into the story. Sometimes this felt a bit overly complex to me. But there’s a lot to do with death in this world, and with how people choose to be handled after their own death.
Mercy is the (currently-by-default) undertaker at her family’s mortuary, providing thoughtful/bespoke after-life care. This, as compared to some of the bigger, more impersonal places… the “big box stores” of mortuaries.
Hart is a marshal who patrols the wastelands of Tanria, collecting the remains of drudges (basically zombies), and bringing them back to the different mortuaries to be properly handled.
This brings him into frequent contact with Mercy, who he dislikes. It also brings him into frequent contact with Mercy’s dog, Leonard (a very good boy). Hart’s love for this dog & the reason behind it was certainly the thing that most endeared me to the character.
Hart & Mercy have the whole banter/disdain thing locked down, and we get to watch their relationship unfold in two completely different ways: via the letters they are anonymously (and sort of magically) sending to one another, and then in real life.
I was definitely feeling this kinda silly sense of dissonance maybe, reading this. Getting to the spicy scenes and then looking at the spine of the book & seeing the Orbit logo! Surely, there’s sex scenes in plenty of Orbit titles I’ve read, but this was a whole other vibe. And hey, I know there are spicier romance books than HART AND MERCY on the shelf, but this was definitely spicy compared to what I’m usually reading from Orbit!
I had a few quibbles with this one, but I found it really enjoyable overall. I especially liked Mercy & her extended family. I loved all the scenes where her family was together…even when they were not being the best versions of themselves, they are just a lovable & authentic group.
I was also a big fan of the dynamic between Hart & his new partner (who is kind of forced on him), Duckers. Duckers is relentlessly earnest & naive, and I liked the way he brings Hart out of his shell a bit. There’s some incredibly humorous and sweet moments between these two!
This was really fun! Definitely looking forward to the second book, THE UNDERMINING OF TWYLA AND FRANK!
Many thanks to Orbit for sending a copy my way!
Grimdark Dad 