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.
THE UNDERTAKING OF HART AND MERCY
by MEGAN BANNEN
Series: n/a
Publication date: August 23, 2022
Published by: Orbit
Genre: fantasy romance
SYNOPSIS
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?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Megan Bannen is a former public librarian whose YA debut The Bird and the Blade was an Indies Introduce Summer/Fall 2018 pick, a Summer 2018 Kids’ Indie Next List pick, and a Kirkus Best YA Historical Fiction of 2018 pick. While most of her professional career has been spent behind the reference desk, she has also sold luggage, written grants, collected a few graduate degrees from various Kansas universities, and taught English at home and abroad. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and their two sons.
REVIEW
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan BannenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy is one of the most original fantasies I've read in quite some time. The synopsis mainly focuses on the relationship between the two main characters, Hart and Mercy. Going in, I didn't have a clear picture of what the non-romance portion of the plot would be about, but I was pleasantly surprised by the concept of the drudges. Drudges were basically lost souls or spirits that would possess a human body through the appendix (this is where a soul is housed in this world). The only way to remove the spirit and free the re-animated corpse is to slice through the appendix. This is where Marshals like Hart come in. They have the dangerous job of hunting and these drudges and bringing the rescued bodies to the undertaker to be put to rest at last. Mercy is an undertaker working at her family business who comes into contact with the taciturn Hart on a regular basis.
These two couldn't be more different if they tried, and perhaps that plays a part in why they rub each other the wrong way from their first meeting four years ago. Mercy is cheerful, optimistic, and overtly nurturing towards her friends and family. She's the type who's always looking out for other people's happiness before her own, and leads every situation with her compassionate heart. Hart, on the other hand, is a loner who isn't liked or understood by many. He had two close female friends, but they had a falling out years ago and now their interactions are tense and uncomfortable. He lost his mother, his dog, and mentor/partner Bill all close together which left him pretty much all alone in the world. He isn't mean and nasty, he's more like a wounded animal that snaps out of self-preservation instincts if you get too close.
Hart is a demigod (meaning fathered by one of the Gods) who may or may not be immortal, and that causes him to fear making attachments with people. Eternal life is the stuff of nightmares in his mind, and the thought of endlessly aging into an unrecognizable shell of himself leaves him terrified. There is a bit of a mystery involving Hart's history with Bill and the events surrounding his death which brings him quite a bit of turmoil as well. You are given pieces here and there as the story progresses and it involves his demigod talent and a strange, dangerous place filled with lost souls. Hart is a character that is easy for the reader to like, despite his stand-offish demeanor. He never comes off as hateful, he is simply a lonely man silently yearning for human companionship. He, like Mercy, is a very giving person, as he puts his life on the line every day in order to keep everyone safe. It's a thankless job that leaves no room for error, and he has worked tirelessly in it for twenty years.
In the beginning of the story, I even thought that Mercy was being needlessly harsh in her interactions with him, until the flashback explaining their first meeting. There was awkward misunderstanding piled on top of awkward misunderstanding that quickly flared into animosity. Once I read that, I could understand why these two never got a chance to truly get to know one another.
Why should she or anyone elsefor that matter be so sunny,especially at an undertaker’s?She had no right to be full of lifewhen she was surrounded by death.
Mercy and Hart are both lonely people who want someone to share their innermost thoughts and worries with. While Hart is physically isolated from people, Mercy is emotionally isolated. When he pours his heart out in a letter that has no recipient, he never imagines that it will end up in his sworn enemy's hands and that they will forge a fragile friendship as they become anonymous pen pals. They share things about themselves that they can't share with anyone else in their lives. Their letters were sweet and filled with light-hearted banter. It's really quite sad that a bad first impression and the inability to be open denied them the opportunity to get close.
She had always thought of those eyesas cold and reptilian, but here,in the gaslight of the lobby,everything about him softened and warmed.
She wanted his breath.She wanted his heartbeat.She wanted to feel the warmth of his living body,to know that he wasalive and well and hers.She kissed him and he kissed herin return with a tendernessthat made her chest ache.
The world building was a bit ambiguous for the first 50 pages or so which led me to read certain paragraphs with confusion. The fantasy terms were almost like reading another language when you have no context, but it didn't cause me to disconnect from the story. The characters were so well fleshed out and vivid that I was motivated to read on. There were unusual creatures like the purple, scaly, horse-like Equimaris, creatures that resembled frogs with fur called graps, and nimkilim which came in the form of different types of animals that talked and delivered mail. It was quite the fantastical, odd assortment of beings. There was a crazy, whimsical world created by the Old Gods where portals were needed in order to visit or leave. The system of how Tanria worked and its Old Gods vs. New Gods religious concept was the most baffling at first. However, the overall atmosphere was bizarrely fascinating with a bit of a dark feel. I mean, Hart is essentially a "zombie" killer and Mercy deals with putrid corpses and yet it doesn't read overly creepy. The characters great sense of humor really lightened the storyline that could have otherwise had a much more somber tone.
In summary, I think this was an exceptionally unique story that kept me on my toes. There was nothing predictable or stale about it. If you're a fan of the enemies to lovers trope or the sunshine/grumpy trope, this is probably a good fit for you.
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