Mercury by Amy Jo Burns was part mystery combined with family drama but written with strong literary style. I was impressed with the depth of characterization and beautiful prose.

When Marley West arrives in Mercury, Pennsylvania, the Joseph family will never be the same again. She dates one brother, marries another and becomes de facto mother to the third brother. She forges a complicated relationship with their parents, too. Marley's character was strong, independent and fierce. I loved how she grew and developed. Although she is our protagonist, the three brothers are also fleshed out deeply. I enjoyed getting to know and understand each character's motivations.

Although there is a mild murder mystery, the story is told gradually and is more of a character study involving family loyalty, secrets and finding your place within a family. The writing was eloquent and I highlighted many passages. I can't wait to read more from this author.

I will recommend this to readers who like literary family dramas.

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars! This book was an intimate look at a family and their struggles and triumphs. I loved getting to know these characters and seeing them grow. Even though this plot didn’t feel super fast paced, I enjoyed how each event really shaped the characters and their relationships with each other. This was truly such a human story, and I loved it.

A story of family, love and loss.
The story follows the Joseph family each with their own issues and secrets.
I enjoyed reading the growth of each character or lack there of.

For an ARC, I agreed to give my honest feedback

Mercury has everything a small town has.....everyone knows everyone's business, the new girl gets herself in trouble, mystery and twists, a character to love to and one to hate.

The story is about a family and their struggles. The new girl fitting into the family causes more problems. The estranged dad, the dementia afflicted Mom, the strong-willed and stubborn older brother, the mild-mannered middle brother and the younger brother everyone loves. But when it comes time to cover up a death in a small town, it is hard to say what can happen.

It is a slow burn yet I was invested in the story and characters. I would recommend it for those who like the slow burn for a read.

I recieved a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mercury started with a tantalizing premise; a body is found in a church ceiling, but after this excitement the pace of the novel slows.

This reader loves a family saga, yet this one droned on and on with only minor character development. Shay's arc was nice, yet seemed unfinished and the other characters seemed one dimensional. A promising book that falls a bit flat.

Amy Jo Burns seems like an author to watch, as the prose held a lot of potential, this story just wasnt this reviewer's cup of tea.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC copy of Mercury and to Celadon books.

I just love having to opportunity for these books to expand my reading palate for new authors to me. I wasn't disappointed with Amy Jo Burns and will read more books by her.

This coming of age story takes us through the challenges of growing up, crushes, school life, peer pressure, and fun of being a kid. This story takes us all the way into adulthood with Marley.

This story is about family drama and secrets. Can everyone move on or will this tear everyone apart?

Family drama at its finest in this small town.
Many thanks to NetGalley, The Publisher and the author for an ARC

Thank you to publisher for ARC. This was family drama at its best. If you like Tracey Lange, Claire Lombardo, Anne Patchett and Dani Shapiro, this is a book for you. Available now. Buy it or borrow it.

In this slow burn story of a family of men, grounded by one woman and then later two. Elise and Marley are similar in that they love, but what do they give up to do so when those around them don't see them but expect all. But Marley learns a bit more as she watches Elise and sets never to end up like her. In this character driven story, Marley is the central character, trying to find a sense of belonging and self-worth, wanting so bad to put down roots. Waylon, her husband is trying to build a future but forgetting the present and what is important. All the men have a certain role in their family which is hard to live up to and harder yet to let go. It reads like a saga that is hopeless but you still can't help that there might be a happy ending. What I didn't care for was as the author attempted to tie it up at the end, it seemed a bit rushed trying to explain parts that were purposefully and previously left out so that the story becomes whole. Respect the reader and allow them to form their own ah-ha moments. But still, all in all, it was interesting to read and kept me fairly engaged. Many thanks to #netgalley #mercury #amyjoburns for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did. I'm not usually a fan of the slow burn, character driven plots - but this one was beautifully done. I enjoyed the style of the novel - with the seemingly erratic timeline shifts that play out beautifully as the story progresses.
I also really enjoyed that Marley was our main protagonist, but as needed other characters stepped into the role of storyteller and we heard their side of things for a few pages.
I found myself deeply committed to the Joseph's family plight and engrossed in how their story unfolded.
I would definitely read other works by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy. I wasn’t sure about this one when I started it but ended up loving it. Kinda wish I had chosen it for my January BOTM pick.

I really enjoyed this slow burn family drama. The first few chapters, setting up the characters for the reader were a little hard for me but by about 10% in, I was hooked. This family is so dysfunctional and I was fascinated by the way they handled things.

Set in Pennsylvania in the 1990s, this emotional drama tells the story of a family of roofers and a young woman who comes into their lives and changes them all. The Joseph family is a mainstay in the rural small town of Mercury when teenage Marley and her mom breeze into town in their battered old Acura. Marley catches the eye of one of the Joseph brothers and soon finds herself with a standing seat at the dinner table and an integral part of the family. As the years pass, she becomes a wife, a mother, an older sister, and finds herself enmeshed in the roofing business and all of the family’s secrets.

I was so moved by this intricate story full of complicated characters and dysfunctional family dynamics. Although I often lean more toward plot-driven books, Mercury is everything I could want in a character-driven story. Each character is nuanced and richly developed, complete with their own hopes and dreams as well as flaws and blind spots. I absolutely loved Marley as a protagonist, and she’s written with such tenderness that I felt her joys and hurts and yearning in my own chest as I read. I was completely invested in her journey from a tentative teenager into an independent and assertive woman. Highly, highly recommended for fans of heartfelt complex family dramas.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me an advance copy of this book. If you loved other Celadon family dramas like The Connellys of County Down and We are the Brennans, you won’t want to miss Mercury!

If you enjoy a slow-burn family drama with rich character development, you will love Mercury. Marley moves to Mercury with her mother when she’s in high school and meets the three Joseph brothers: Baylor, Waylon, and Shay. Mick, the father, runs a roofing business and their mother holds things together in the house. The Joseph family is called in to help with a bad leak in the local church’s roof and a long-dead body is discovered in the attic. From there we go back in time to understand the dynamics of the family and what happened with the body. The audiobook was beautifully narrated by Maria Liatis.

I felt things reading this. Immediately I was pulled in by the story of a dead body and a high school girl. For a second, I was thinking this would be a thriller? Alas, it was the story of a complicated family, complicated relationships and even more complicated love. 3 generations under one roof. After the death of their matriarch, they learn to find themselves beyond the mold that the matriarch built for her sons.

Not my usual reading so it took a little for me to get into. As I was reading it, I started to enjoy it more and more. Interesting story and I enjoyed it.

Being able to write characters and explore them in the expert way that Amy Jo Burns does is a great feat. As is writing dialogue that does not read as frivolous or forced. Burns combination of both of these things makes Mercury unmissable and unputdownable.

Mercury follows the lives of the Joseph family in the small town of Mercury in Western Pennsylvania. The Joseph’s are roofers and well known in their town. Enter Marley, the new Mercury resident. A newcomer to a town that doesn’t get very many visitors let alone new inhabitants. Marley meets the Joseph’s and slowly and I won’t say how, but surely she becomes a part of them.

This story is an exploration of characters bound by blood, duty, sacrifice and love. It is an examination of all the ways in which we love and how our languages mould and change from one reality to another but our core remains the same.

Mercury is about living in a man’s world and trying to do more than just survive it. It is about digging your toes in and standing your ground, making a place for yourself and embracing it. It is about having a home that feels like a home.

Perhaps the most poignant takeaway from this beautiful story is about life and the fact that is meant to be lived not survived. You are here to leave your mark, not to live under someone else’s. You don’t need to continue doing as per the status quo. When you change and embrace and question, you become. And living is in the becoming and always the loving.

Marley and Waylon are characters that I won’t soon forget.

Read this if you’re looking for a beautiful character driven story set in a small town with relationships you will ache for.

Thank you to Celadon Books for an ARC of Mercury which upon finishing, I promptly ordered my copy.

What a beautiful way to start my new year! Family drama/small town secrets meets a lovely character driven story of three brothers, and the girl that changes them all. The brothers Baylor, Waylon, and Shay were written beautifully, but Marley has my heart. Book would make a great companion read to Empire Falls by Richard Russo.

This is a beautifully word

This novel is a well written, thought provoking family drama. The prose was beautiful and the characters were well developed The story kept me engaged until the last page. Highly recommend this book.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance digital copy.

Going into this book I didn’t realize how emotional of a book it would be. It has some very intense family issues.
It’s a coming of age novel following Marley and the Joseph family. The Joseph family is a very dysfunctional family running a roofing business.
I feel this book has it all. It has laughs, drama, mystery, emotion, and family.
Thank You NetGalley for a chance to read this.