While this one did take me a bit to get into, I did really enjoy it. I loved the family drama, the mystery subplot and the found family theme so much. I also really enjoyed the coming-of-age aspect as well as the strongly written characters. Very enjoyable.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

4.5. utterly dysfunctional family that never actually holds itself together, and this works very well. i just felt at points the writing style was a hair too disconnected? thanks for the arc

"Head on straight, heart on straight." Mercury is a powerful, moving exploration of grief and what it means to be part of a family, whether it's the family you're born into or the family you choose. Full of deeply flawed characters, it will leave you aching and thinking about the most important people in your life, and what you would do to show your love and devotion to them.

When seventeen year old Marley moves to Mercury, PA, she becomes involved with the Joseph brothers. They and their roofing business quickly become her whole world.

This is a great family drama story that gets you so involved with the family and characters. The Joseph brothers are all so different and make the family dynamics drama filled. There were several twists and incidents that I was not expecting. I felt for all the characters, especially Elise, as a fellow mother of boys.

“When it came to allegiances, these men would always choose each other.”

Mercury comes out 1/2.

I loved Shiner by Amy Jo Burns and so I was so excited to read this one. A dysfunctional family drama with a side of mystery sounded so appealing. Burns does a good job of immersing you into the Joseph family and you get to know each of the brothers deeply, secrets and all. Main character Marley is at the center of it all and her relationship with each of the brothers is explored . There were parts of this book that I loved and I love Burns’ writing. The mystery part definitely takes a small role and some of the characters I think acted in inauthentic ways that didn’t seem believable, especially Marley in her marriage. I will continue to read this author but this story didn’t work for me the way that I hoped.

The story of a dysfunctional family with plenty of drama that plays out with the focus on Marley who has moved to Mercury, PA with her mother and is in her senior year of high school. She meets the Joseph brothers and their mom invites her to dinner and tells her she is welcome anytime even if she isn't dating one of her sons. There are 3 sons - Baylor, Waylon and young Shay. Events play out and she is soon married into this family and tries to help her mother-in-law who seems overwhelmed and even a bit lost, her youngest brother-in-law whose parents don't have time for him, and the family roofing business which isn't being run well or making enough money.

Sometimes what you see that you don't like and want to fix turns out what you are headed for full steam ahead and you are soon in over your head. I think Marley felt like this. A compelling story and one I liked a bit more than her first book, Shiner. But you can't help but admire Marley's indomitable spirt.

My thanks to Net Galley and Celadon Books for an advanced copy of this e-book.

An absolutely stunning, character driven drama about the Joseph family who run the roofing business in a small blue collar town and a young girl who moves there and changes the trajectory of their lives. Despite how slowly the plot moves over many years, I never lost interest in where things were going. This is a deeply memorable book with incredible storytelling.

4.5 stars. Mercury is, simply put, the story of a family. But as we all know, families are anything but simple.

Amy Jo Burns' second novel takes us to Mercury, Pennsylvania, home of the Joseph family. When 17-year-old Marley West arrives in Mercury with her mother, she finds herself directly in the path of the Josephs, dating one brother and then marrying the other, and becoming a mother figure to the third. The Joseph brothers, who live with their complicated parents in a great house, become her life, as she finds herself part of a family in ways she's always wanted. But the Josephs have secrets like festering wounds, and when a troubling discovery is made in the church attic years later, they must all decide how steadfast their devotion and loyalty to one another really are.

Luminous and profound, Mercury is a slow-burning character study about flawed people, complex family dynamics, and the damage of unaddressed trauma and unhealed psychological wounds. Burns pillages the psyches of her characters, laying them completely bare for the reader, which makes this a devastating and emotionally resonant read. Burns' characters are as frustrating as they are sympathetic, because we want them to make better, healthier choices.

At the center of the story is Marley herself, caught in the whirlwind of the Josephs and not always doing the right thing herself, but who anchors the family all the same, with all-encompassing, sacrificial love. And it's the story of Elise, her mother-in-law, a woman doing her best with what she has been given -- even if her version of love can only be prickly and resigned at best, neglectful at worst.

I really enjoyed Burns' first novel, Shiner, and with Mercury she is cementing herself as a writer of heartfelt, incisive family dramas -- stories that on the surface seem simple, but are told with such moving complexity. Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the early reading opportunity.

I enjoyed the premise and the setting of the book. It was a captivating and realistic read that made me feel like I was part of the town. I admired Marley’s strength, her resilience, and her growth.

This is my first book by this author, and I LOVED it.. This book tied together beautifully at the end, and I couldn’t have loved this journey any more than I do. You know a book is good when you think about it for days after

Thanks to Celadon for the copy of this book!

Mercury is a solid family drama, featuring a working class family in a small town (Mercury, PA). Told from multiple POVs, this is a slow-paced, character-driven story that features a coming-of-age narrative and the changeover of generations in a family. This is a perfect read for fans of Tracey Lange!

(𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 @𝘮𝘢𝘤𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯.𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘰 𝘢𝘯𝘥 @𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 #𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬.) Like many others, 𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗬 by Amy Jo Burns was high on my winter reading list and one of my first 2024 books. It’s the story of two incredible forces. The first is the Joseph family, a family of roofers in Mercury, PA. The lives of its three sons revolve around the rigid rule of their father and the unspoken longings of their mother. No one in the family is quite happy, but all three sons show unwavering dedication to their mom. ⁣
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Into this world walks Marley West, the other force, a 16-year old who has never lived in the same town for more than a year. Marley quickly falls under the spell of the Joseph family and they under hers. Over the years, Marley and the Josephs tangle, growing both close and distant, needing and pushing away. Secrets are held, as are hurts, and through it all, need and love struggle to find a balance.⁣
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I really liked this book. It was a perfect combination of character and plot driven. There were characters to root for and those who I wanted to shake. It felt authentic in the things that happened…until the last 10% or so. Then things got a tad hard to believe and the ending was a little neat and tidy for my tastes. Never-the-less, my time spent with 𝘔𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘺 was a pleasure and it’s a book I’ll definitely be recommending. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

When trying to decide whether I wanted to read this book or not, I kept seeing the words “slow-burn” to describe it. Now that I’ve finished it, this was no slow burn for me. Mercury is a powerful look at one family’s dynamics, what makes them work and what tears them apart. It’s beautifully honest in drawing out each character’s flaws while also highlighting their redemptive qualities.

While the synopsis talks about the Joseph boys, I think this story revolves around the women in the Joseph family, who are the overlooked glue of the family. Marley is a high school senior who shows up to town and quickly starts a romance with one Joseph brother but ends up marrying another. As she works to gain acceptance into the family and her mother-in-law’s graces, she entwines herself into the Joseph brother’s lives, giving them each something they need. Meanwhile, Elise Joseph gives all she has and more to her husband and children with little acknowledgment. She sees how her life has fallen away to the whims of her boys and wishes more for Marley.

What’s beautiful about this book is we get to see into the hearts and minds of each character, seeing both the good and bad that lives in each of them. Each Joseph boy is extremely complex internally even if his external actions seem simplistic. Just when you are ready to write off a character, the author goes inside their mind to help you understand where they come from and why they deserve redemption.

I could not put this book down, which is why this was not a slow burn for me. At first I wanted to see how the story enfolded, and then I could not stop learning more about the characters in that story. By the end of this book, I felt so connected to each character, flaws and all, that I was sad to say goodbye to them. This will not be a story that I will easily forget.

** Thank you so much to NetGalley and Celadon books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.**

I didn’t know what to expect going into this novel. I thought it might be a family drama, slow and super character-driven. But it started with the discovery of a dead body… and I was hooked.
This story is about a family. But more than that, it’s about how who we are in our families shapes and is shaped by the others. It’s heartbreaking and hopeful- all at the same time. I found it thought-provoking and highly recommend!
Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wasn't expecting to love this one as much as I did but I enjoyed it so much that I went ahead and also grabbed a physical copy to have on my shelves. Highly recommended!

Approximately a year ago I saw @burnsamyjo interview @backmansk at @princetonpl, knowing nothing about her but loving her interview/conversational approach.

When Mercury was released earlier this month, I knew I’d enjoy this novel since I’m a sucker for a sprawling family drama, but I think I underestimated how lyrical and beautiful the book would be.

This morning, I woke up early to read more before work and basically bawled from the halfway point of the book until the 75/80% mark.

Mercury is a town but also a metaphor for the love that keeps slipping through the cracks in the Joseph family. It’s clear that they all have big feels and bigger hurts and while they’re one unit, they struggle to balance their own needs with that of the others in the family. Like the element mercury, their ability to respond with hurt shifts quickly and rather unpredictably. (And I’m certain that naming the town MERCurY was an intentional hint to the mercy that each of the characters needed to learn.) I loved each character, even when they were at their most unlikeable. Burns crafts strong, well-developed characters and an engaging plot. She manages to hooks us early with the discovery of a dead body in a church attic, yet this book is not a whodunnit. It’s about how people find themselves, even as they’re entangled in complicated relationships and even more complicated expectations.

This family saga is beautifully written and engaging. My only critique is that toward the end I thought some of the characters’ verbiage was too indistinguishable. Also, the book ended with one of my least favorite POV’s, which felt a bit jarring. and frankly depressing.

An absolutely beautiful, thoughtful, and, at times, heartbreaking story about the families we choose, create for ourselves, and all of the expectations, disappointments, fears and gratitude that come along with both. I cannot recommend this one highly enough, especially for fans of authors like Ann Patchett, Barbara Kingsolver, and Ann Napolitano. This one will likely land in my list of favorites for the year!

I received an ARC of this novel from Celadon Books in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own. I haven't read anything by Amy Jo Burns but after this novel I am a huge fan! This is a character driven novel that tells the story of Marley West- an newcomer to the town of Mercury, Pennsylvania, where she meets the Joseph brothers. Little did she know how her life and the lives of these brothers would become so interwoven in very different ways. Family secrets are also a theme that is woven throughout this novel. This story is beautifully written and it was great way to kick off a new year of reading!

“Head on straight, heart on straight.”

I really didn’t know what to expect going into this book, as Amy Jo Burns is a new author for me, but I was glad to be so entranced by this deep and complex novel.

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns is a gritty coming of age story based in the small Pennsylvania town of Mercury. Our MC, Marley, is learning how to navigate the choppy waters of rough family dynamics when she’s suddenly thrust into the Joseph family as a young adult with a new baby and a new husband. I found each member of the Joseph family, along with Marley’s best friend Jade and her mother Ruth completely captivating. This is definitely a character-driven novel with really well thought out character traits and histories. This book honestly has me so excited to read other works from this author!

Huge thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for this eARC. I loved it!