I borrowed a copy of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, by Megan Bannen, from Libby for a solo road trip.
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?
If anyone is ever out there looking for books with softly broken, non-toxic men, I would offer up Hart. He’s lonely, gruff, and problematically hung up on past traumas. But he’s also kind, introspective, and full of emotion. I liked Mercy well enough. But I also found her to be a bit more of a generic romance heroine: snarky, loyal to family, and quirky in all the expected ways. Then there was Penn and Mercy’s family, who were the comedic relief. But Penn stole the show for me.
The world was interesting, but it’s small. We get a feel for it and its magic, but see very little of it, and much of it is just sketched out. There’s an appreciatively varied cast, and a thread was left open for book two without a cliffhanger. Michael Gallagher and Rachanee Lumayno did a good job with the dual POVs. Though some of Lumayno’s reading annoyed me for completely personal, not quality-related reasons.
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