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.

I went into this novel fairly blind, only knowing there was a family drama, and it did not disappoint. I found the characters compelling and stubborn, which I sometimes found irritating but came to accept by the end of the novel. I did find the pacing too be off, and because of that, the story seemed to drag on, especially when the author did psychological deep dives into each character. Overall, it was a fine read, but not one I would return to.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon books for the eARC.

This book.....

The multi POV. The family. The pain. The secrets. The love. The hurt. The town. UGH.

I didn't want it to end. And although I wish I had more closure for them all, I think Burns did a great job giving us an idea of where each of the Joseph's would end up.

Beautiful. What a book.

Very deep, coming of age, character driven writing that explored very intricately a dysfunctional family.

The first half of this novel gripped me and was so enthralled I had a hard time putting it down, that did die down in the second half. The writing breaks up and delivers thorough developments with all of the Joseph family, including five members other than the father Mick, gets a little lengthy at times and was a bit much at times, did some skimming in second half. Had some surprise developments within the relationships that I did not see coming and would have rather a longer prologue about the aftermath than quite so lengthy relationship issues myself and even less about the woe is me from our main fender Marley—hard to describe my exact feelings here but by the end I was over this particular soap box. But to each their own here. Overall I would recommend and very happy for the opportunity to read this novel!

Thanks to Netgalley and Celadon books for my electronic advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Would recommend for fans of…
🏠 We Are The Brennans
🏠 Ask Again, Yes
🏠 The Leftover Woman

I can be really picky about my family dramas — I don’t like stories that are too character driven or run heavy on internal monologues — but throw in some beautiful writing and a dash of mystery and I’m sold!

Mercury combines all of those things into a surprisingly fast read. The story opens with a discovery in the church attic and flashes back to when new girl Marley arrived in town, setting off an unexpected chain of events. I was instantly hooked by her story and connection to all three Joseph brothers — Baylor, Waylon, and Shay — as well as their intimidating matriarch, Elise.

The characters are the bright spot of Mercury. They’re all human and very frustrating at times, but Burns does an excellent job of using POV changes to illustrate that each character’s motivations are rooted in love for the others in their life.

It’s a truly beautiful story and the only drawback is that it ended far too quickly in my opinion. A couple of extra chapters could have provided some additional closure on certain plot lines. But overall, this was a great read!

Mercury is out now. Thanks to Celadon and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a thought provoking family drama! I wasn't sure I would like this one, but after rave reviews I decided to check it out and I'm so glad I did! Touching and relatable, this is one you don't want to miss.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this for my honest review. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I really enjoyed this book and the journey the author takes us on with this complicated family. Marley is a beautiful person and it was wonderful how she grew into an adult and mother at such a young age while keeping a family together. Highly recommend this book to others.

When I first read the synopsis of Mercury I new it was a book I needed to read. And guess what?! I loved it. It is definitely a top read for me in 2023!

The story takes place in a small town in the US called Mercury in which Marley and her single mother have just moved to. When they arrive in town Marley’s path crosses with the Joseph brothers, Baylor, Waylon and Shay. And by the end of the first day, 18 year old Baylor Joseph brings Marley home to dinner setting fate in motion. The lives of Marley and The Josephs, become intertwined through a marriage and a baby. But it’s not all a bed of roses. The Joseph’s are a family of roofers led by their father Mick, a rather crass, unreliable and eccentric man. The matriarch of the family, Elise tries to maintain order in their chaotic family while the two oldest brothers try to keep the business a success. When Marley joins their family this only adds to the chaos and uncertainty of the family.

I absolutely loved this book. It focuses on family connection, loyalty, love, struggle, dysfunction and a bizarre mystery. The Joseph family is far from perfect and that’s what I loved about this book. Each character was flawed yet perfectly imperfect. The family was complicated and dysfunctional but also there was love. I felt like I could connect and relate to the characters, in particular Marley. I really enjoy a good fiction book that focuses on family relationships, dynamics and dysfunction. Mercury was full of all that and more.

This is my first time reading a book by Amy Jo Burns and I have to say I connected to her writing style. It was refreshingly transparent and raw and had me feeling all kinds of feels.

Speaking of feels, Mercury reminded me of two of my favourite books; The People We Keep by Allison Larkin and We Are The Brennans by Tracey Lange. I don’t mean to say that the plots were similar, yes all three books deal with family and drama, but it is more how the books made me feel. Highs and lows, love and anger, despair and happiness. My feelings were all over the map. Which to me is the sign of a good writer and a great book. A definite 5 star book.

Thank you Celadon Books, Netgalley and Amy Jo Burns for my arc of Mercury in exchange for my unbiased review.

Pub Date: January 2, 2024

Superb character building and layered family dynamic. One of the bests even.
10/10 for how all of the Josephs were fleshed out. There were both things to hate and love about each of them.
Great read to reckon the unrecognized and free care labor these women provide for their family.