The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy

By: Megan Bannen

Narrated by: Michael Gallagher, Rachanee Lumayno

"A uniquely charming mixture of whimsy and the macabre that completely won me over. If you ever wished for an adult romance that felt like Howl's Moving Castle, THIS IS THAT BOOK." —Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient

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?

Set in a world full of magic and demigods, donuts and small-town drama, this enchantingly quirky, utterly unique fantasy is perfect for readers of The House in the Cerulean Sea and The Invisible Library.

"Truly outstanding romantic fantasy." —India Holton

"An unabashedly offbeat adventure." —Freya Marske

"I cried twice and smiled plenty." —Olivia Atwater

"A little sweet, a little spicy, a little sharp and entirely moreish!" —Davinia Evans

"I showed up for the fantastic, fun fantasy setting but it was Hart and Mercy that kept me reading." —Ruby Dixon

Surprisingly Good...for me.

My wife picked this out for our bookclub this month. She was nervous because is comes off as a cheesy romance, which it is, but is also so much more. I really enjoyed the world building here and the characters are well developed. The plot, although pretty predictable and formuliac is quite enjoyable. The narration is my favorite part, though. These two absolutely killed it. I listened to it basically two sessions and it just flew by.

I wish someone had warned me….

The story was sweet and cute (although I do wish the female narrator was a little less flat). BUT PLEASE BE WARNED! The last 2ish hours… Jesus. What started as a welling in my eyes quickly turned into full-blown sobbing so bad that I had to leave work early. I listen to books/podcasts all day everyday at my job, thankful my line of work allows for it, and I have NEVER had such an emotional reaction. MAKE SURE YOU’RE IN A SAFE SPACE 🥲

Cute, light romance

This is a fun book. I love the characters. The dialogue is clever. It was a nice break from the romantacy books I’ve been reading where everyone is constantly in peril. There’s enough action to make it interesting, and a good mystery. I laughed, I cried, I was moved by Hart & Mercy’s individual stories. If you liked Divine Rivals you’ll love this.

True love

I adore this book - the audiobook was great as well! Five stars! I highly recommend it!

GAH! My Hart!

If I die, please send my body to Mercy’s Undertakings. I’d like a Viking boat. Please and thank you.