Review – The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

Posted August 24, 2022 by Carole in Reviews / 7 Comments

I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review – The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan BannenThe Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Narrator: Michael Gallagher, Rachanee Lumayno
Published by Hachette Audio on August 23, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Romance
Length: 12 hours 15 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Publisher
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four-stars

Hart is a marshal, tasked with patrolling the strange and magical wilds of Tanria. It’s an unforgiving job, and Hart’s got nothing but time to ponder his loneliness.  

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?

This was wonderful! I decided to take a chance on this book after seeing quite a few glowing reviews and I am so glad that I did. I loved the world that this book was set in and the romance was simply delightful. I was hooked by the story shortly after putting on my headphones and didn’t want to stop listening.

Hart is a marshal, spending his time killing reanimated corpses and taking the bodies of the dead to the proper undertakers. Mercy works at her family’s undertaker business and has been keeping the business running since her father’s illness. Hart and Mercy often see each other through their work but don’t get along. By chance, they become unlikely and anonymous pen pals, and things soon start to change. I loved the fact that the letters were a part of this story.

I really liked Hart and Mercy and thought that they were really quite perfect for each other. They both had some baggage and were used to only depending on themselves so it was nice to see them start to lean on each other. Mercy’s family were great supporting characters and I loved that even the dog had a role to play in this story. I thought that the story was exciting and was entertained by the mystery even if I was able to piece things together before the characters did.

I don’t believe that I have listened to Michael Gallagher’s or Rachanee Lumayno’s narration before but I really enjoyed their work on this book. I thought that they were both able to bring the characters in this book to life. I thought that they added a lot of emotion to their reading. I believe that their narration added to my overall enjoyment of this story.

I would definitely recommend this book to others. I thought that it was a really original story that was incredibly entertaining. The narration was top notch and I had a fantastic time with the audiobook as a whole.

I received a review copy of this audiobook from Hachette Audio.

7 responses to “Review – The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen

  1. I actually quite like the idea of a romance blossoming amongst such a dark occupation. It really plays against type. This would make a fun spooky season read!

  2. I have never heard of this book or this author but this sounds really good! I love the connection to enemies and the mix of dark occupation with romance.