I loved this family drama! I think being a mother and a wife it was easy to relate to the frustrations of being heard and seen and having your own life. The way Marley fit into the lives of the Joseph family was interesting to see evolve over time. I loved seeing the bonds and how each person struggled with their role in the family.

Mercury is a tale of complex family and community dynamics. But it's not just about the typical kinds of family like blood family but also found family, and the roots that bind them. The characters are well developed and grow through a number of years together. I went into reading Mercury with no expectations and found myself feeling all kinds of emptions while reading this. It is at the same time a heartbreaking and heartwarming story. I am not an avid fan of family saga books, but I did enjoy this one.

I love a good family story, and this one definitely stood out.

The Joseph family is both extremely complicated, and also just like every other family out there. The characters will make your heart ache in all different ways, and each time you think you’ve got a sense of the family dynamic, you get another layer. I loved the web of relationships and the individual stories and introspection, too!

Plot girlies, be warned — this is, obviously, more of a character study (my fave). There’s definitely conflicts along the way that drive continual changes in the family’s relationships, but the story is far more focused on the natures of the characters themselves than any particular plot arc.

Really loved this read, and it’s a BOTM choice this month if you want to give it a try too!

I’m not a fan of this one.

Thanks to the NetGalley and the author for this e-arc.

The things I did like about this book was the Western PA setting. I loved reading a book about an area that I live and grew up in. I loved Marley and Jade’s friendship. I also really enjoyed Shay’s arc.

But that was it. The Josephs felt like the Walmart version of the Brennans. This book had way too much going on. If it had just picked one thing it would have been fine. But there were so many random side stories that didn’t get wrapped up at all.

And really there was zero resolution for was Elise did to Hollis. Zero. Nothing. It’s like everyone in the family knew and no one did anything. Even if she didn’t kill him, she left him in that attic and put Marley in a bad position. And like Mick they protected her too.

Maybe that’s the point of the book? I am not sure.

Anyway, if you like family dramas you may like this one. I am glad I didn’t get it for my BOTM pick.

Marley lives with her Mom and they move around a lot without putting down any roots. They move to Mercury and suddenly she is dating one of the Joseph boys and finds herself immersed in their family and she loves everything about it because she’s never had it An unexpected pregnancy; marriage, a struggling family business, helping her best friend start her business and family dynamics she struggles to understand. I got really invested with each character and their good/bad/ugly traits and their story and how they love each other in their own way. I also enjoyed seeing them mature and grow individually and collectively as a family. I truly loved this book!

Thank you to Celadon Books for the ARC! #NetGalley. #Mercury

𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝑅𝑒𝓋𝒾𝑒𝓌

𝙈𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙮
by Amy Jo Burns

I love richly layered family dramas, and if you are like me, put Mercury at the top of your TBR. I will think about these characters for a long time. I read this in 2 days because I fell in love with this family. Amy Jo Burns has a gift for immersing us in the home life of a family striving and struggling as they live together in their great house in Mercury, PA. Joseph & Sons Roofing is the company Mick Joseph started after he returned from Vietnam, and this is the house he renovated after his wife Elise gave birth to their first son, Baylor. Waylon and Shay followed Baylor. Their sons lived with them and worked with Mick roofing. The novel begins as a girl named Marley arrives in Mercury with her mother. From that point on, we follow her and we are introduced to the Josephs.
I loved this character-driven story, and finished it in 2 days. I have seen comparisons to Hello Beautiful, and I think this family drama was even better.
I could see this novel playing like a movie in my mind, and hear the characters' conversations. I found myself becoming emotionally attached to them all.
See trigger warnings on Storygraph.
I can only hope it does appear on screen, even though the book was better.
2024 is off to a great start!
Thank you @netgalley & @celadonbooks for the opportunity to read this incredible novel.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#Mercury #bookstagram #books #currentlyreading #amreading #book #newbooks #JanuaryReads

Read at lightning speed I devoured this sad, emotional, hopeful family saga. I recommend it for anyone looking for an emotional page turner with a bit of mystery!

Mercury is the rural hometown to the Joseph family, where Mick and Elise own and operate a roofing company. Their three sons, Baylor, Waylon, and Shay help with the family business when they can. But when Marley West and her mom Ruth arrive into town, sibling rivalry and jealously threaten to upend the Joseph’s family dynamics. And will it be for the best or worse?

I really enjoyed Mercury. The novel was a little depressing at times as it portrayed a rural family struggling to make ends meet while also dealing with modern/contemporary issues such as PTSD, gay relationships, and dementia. It is not a light read due to the subject matter. And as a family drama, it did get a little intense at times. With numerous plot twists that unfold over multiple timelines, Mercury kept me engaged and captured till the end.

The characters are well developed and genuinely portray a rural family of the 90’s. I liked all of the characters as they all added flavor and color to the narrative. But it is the main character of Marley that really made the story come to life. I watched Marley grow from dependent teenager, to loving mother and wife, and into an independent, strong businesswoman that persevered through thick and thin.

Overall, Mercury was an excellent family drama well deserving of five solid stars.

I received a DRC and ARC from Celadon Books through NetGalley and the Bookish First Raffle. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

This book. Wow. So tragic and beautiful and full of truth.
The complexity of these characters was intoxicating. I was completely immersed in their life and their love and their pain while reading.
Marley’s character is everything. When she moves to Mercury she is noticed by the town bad boy. He belongs to the Joseph family, known for their roofing company. The tangled and complicated relationships that evolve after, make for one of the most beautifully honest books I have ever read.
Mercury was fearlessly written and Amy Jo Burns has my attention completely.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

I really wanted to love Mercury and I know that a lot of readers will, but it wasn’t a huge hit for me. I love character-driven books and family dramas, but there were two aspects that I struggled with: I felt like it stalled a bit about 2/3 of the way through, and I have a hard time believing a story with so many deep, introspective characters — especially especially teens/young adults. That’s a personal pet peeve of mine and might not bother other readers, but I think I would have liked this story better if the whole story was told from Marley’s perspective. I can believe one mature, old soul, but I have a hard time suspending disbelief for a whole town full of contemplative, wise young adults.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy of this book.

This book was amazing. The relationship between mother and daughter in law was so enraging and admirable and everything in between. The words were written to make me feel everything Marley was feeling while trying to fit into this family that was hers but wasn’t.

When I had the opportunity to choose this book for my book club last year, I declined because, who wants to pick a book about a western Pennsylvania family in the roofing business? Sounds boring, right? Well, I immediately got involved with Marley and her mom when they relocated to the small town of Mercury and teen Marley meets the Joseph family. Amy Jo Burns creates such real characters that I felt like if I drove through this town, I'd see the Joseph's fixing a roof and would have to go get a haircut at Jade's place. Woven throughout this story is the mystery of how a decomposing body ended up in the church's attic and that's all I'll say about that!

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns is a love story. It’s the story of life shared in a family, between each member of a family. It was one of the best family dramas I’ve read lately.

Marley is an only child of a single mom. She arrives in Mercury, PA and is quickly engulfed by the Joseph family. Mercury tells the story over 9 years.

Baylor, Waylon and Shay are the Joseph brothers. Each will impact, and be impacted by, Marley and their love for each other, as they grow from teenagers to adults.

But this isn’t a perfect love story. Things aren’t wrapped up in tidy bows at the end. These stories are messy, and there are hurts that go unacknowledged, and unresolved. But I loved my time with the Joseph family—all of them.

Thank you to @netgalley and @celadonbooks for the e-copy of #mercury. This book published 1/2/2024 and is available wherever books are sold.

First and foremost I want to thank Netgalley and the publishing company for allowing me to read this ARC. Thank y’all so much!

What I loved the most about this book is that it showed how important one person in your family can be and how they become the glue that keeps everything together, even though she may not get the proper response she’s looking for.

Marley stepped into the Joseph family knowing that it was going to be hard to feel accepted and loved.

The family goes through rollercoaster of emotions: lust, greed, love and anguish.

Such an amazing read showing that it’s ok to break a cycle.

Family sagas will always be my favorite. This was a very slow burn and told over 10 years. I really enjoyed it and I’m so happy that I saw it everywhere or else I’m not sure that I would have picked it up. It starts with a dead body and it goes through what all happened to lead up to that. And it was so beautifully done. This one will stick with me for a long time.

What an amazing story filled with all the feels! Mick Joseph is the owner of Joseph and Son’s roofing business in Mercury, Pennsylvania. Mick and Elise have 3 sons; Baylor, Waylon and Shay Baby. Their lives change drastically when Marley, the new girl in town, meets them at a baseball game and starts joining them, at their dinner table, on a regular basis. Marley will date one brother, marry another, and be a mother figure to the youngest. Simply put, this story is about an imperfect family struggling to run a business, make ends meet, and love each other over the years. But it is so much more that; I just can’t explain. It is rich, and heartfelt, and an intricate tapestry of an extraordinary family. Amy Jo Burns has such a skillful and lyrical writing style that she made these characters come to life in a big way. I became so attached to them that I hated for the story to end! If you’re looking for a great character driven story to soothe your soul after the chaos of the holiday season, I encourage you to pick this one up soon! Thank you Netgalley, Celadon Books and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book is available NOW!

TW/CW: Death, injury, sexual assault, teen pregnancy, emotional abuse, infidelity

REVIEW: I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and Celadon books and am voluntarily writing an honest review.

Mercury is the story of a working class family of roofers in Pennsylvania, and how that family deals with their generational trauma.

This is a very heavy book, and not one to read if you’re looking for something fun or light. It’s well written, and sometimes the prose is almost poetic, but unfortunately for me it was also pretty slow and I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters. It seemed that they all were terrible people in their own way who all made enormous stupid mistakes and it was difficult for me to sympathize with any of their plights.

I wouldn’t call this a bad book, but it’s not one of my favorites.

I wish I could say this was a charming book about life in a small Pennsylvania town. I can't, because it isn't what we would call charming. It's a story of people living real lives in a small town.
Marley and her mother Ruth arrive in Mercury during the summer. Ruth is a nurse who moves from hospital to hospital for work. All they own is in the trunk of their old car. Marley is between her junior and senior years in high school. The first thing she sees that really catches her eye is three men on a roof and an old van with a roofing company logo parked next to the building with the men on the roof. The next day she meets two of the men, boys her age really, in the park. She doesn't know it yet, but these people will become her family.
Almost immediately we learn about a mysterious dead body. Is this the start of a murder mystery or a thriller? No, sorry to say, the body doesn't show up again for most of the book. I might think this is a trick to keep me reading. Maybe on some level it is. I really didn't need that. Marley's story is interesting enough. This also isn't a coming of age tale. What I think it is, is a woman's literary novel. We spend a lot of time in Marley's life, getting a best friend, graduating from high school and getting married in the same week, learning to manage a business and a father-in-law who treats the business funds as if they were all his to spend as he wanted, dealing with a mother-in-law who develops early dementia and taking over her tasks in running the household whether Marley wants to or not.
I found I rather liked the book. We all have moments of doubt if we are doing what we should be doing how we should be doing them. Marley is constantly second guessing herself. She wanted a family, and she had to admit she got one. It might not have been perfect, but it was hers. I think you may enjoy watch her journey.
I want to thank the publishers who gave me this book first through Netgalley and then through a Goodreads contest. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

Family DRAMA! What a story! This author did a fantastic job with character development, weaving each character together to make a family dynamic that keeps you reading!
Some characters you love and some you hate. Each member has their own agenda, dreams, and failures. Together they weave a web of love, lies, and scandal. Will they stay together or be torn apart?

I love family drama. The way this book flows keeps you invested in the story and the writing style was my cup of tea for sure!

Thank you to the author and to NetGalley for this ARC!

My notes for this one are long, ranting and incoherent, and I hope my review is not. I loved The Connellys of County Down and We Are the Brennan’s even though I’m not really a domestic family drama reader, so I probably should have steered clear of this one, but I didn’t. So, if that’s your jam, ignore my review. Those families appealed to me, filled with flawed characters that I came to love. I think that’s the difference here. I came to appreciate Marley and a couple of the members of the Joseph family but for most of the book, I couldn’t for the life of me understand why anyone not obligated would put up with these assholes.

Ultimately, I think the format was probably the biggest problem for me. The story is told in third person in several parts moving back and forth between characters and jumping back and forth through time, parsing out little tidbits about the characters across the entire book. Unfortunately for a few of the problem characters, those tidbits came too little, too late for me because by 80% when I’m finally learning why two of the characters acted the way they did, I didn’t care anymore.

I switched back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook. The audiobook was narrated by Maria Liatis and she did an absolutely fabulous job otherwise I wouldn’t have such strong feelings about these characters and their actions, or non-actions.

I found Marley’s journey to finding a family of her own and the mystery to be good, but if I had been introduced to this family, I would have run for the hills in the first scene. Even though this was not my jam, I think a lot of readers will enjoy this book.

Thanks @netgalley and @celadonbooks @macmillan.audio for a review copy