Thank you to MacMillan for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review! Mercury is the story of Marley, new to Pennsylvania, and her life as a new member of the Joseph family. As soon as she moves to the town, her life begins to revolve around the dysfunctional Josephs - first Elise, then Baylor, then Waylon and Shay. When a secret is uncovered in the church attic early in the book, the story almost back tracks to take us through the story of how it got there.

At first, I wasn't sure I liked the writing as there was a lot of (what I would call) explaining instead of dialogue. Within a few pages, it resolved itself and I found the writing quite gripping.

It's character-driven, its dramatic, it explores dysfunctional families working together and falling apart, its well written, and it kept me captivated until the very end.

Marley and her mother breeze into Mercury, where Marley catches the eye of Baylor Joseph, who is the oldest son of the town’s roofer Mick and his wife Elise. She also ends up catching the eye of the middle son, Waylon, and finds herself entering into a family dynamic when she unexpectedly becomes pregnant at 18.

I did not expect to love this book as much as I did. Holy cannoli. I loved how it was told in parts. I loved the family dynamic. I loved Marley and how flawed she was. I loved the found family turned family. I cried at the end. Family drama stories always get me. But this one.. there were a couple of poignant quotes. I saved them in my Kindle:

“Do you think it’s possible to spend your life loving the wrong people?”
“I think it’s more likely that we love the right people in the wrong way”
“Loving someone isn’t a sin, no matter who it is.”

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I had a little trouble starting out with this one the voice was a little spare a little rough and not that descriptive, but soon I found my rhythm with it and became a part of mercury, of the Joseph family. It's not a plot driven book but it has good pacing where some books might be slow. The characters are flawed but they are characters you root for and who make you proud. A nice family saga I could see this book being made into a TV series that captivates in the way of six feet under, parenthood, this is us.

I was gifted a complimentary copy for review, all opinions are my own. Thank you netgalley and the publisher!

I really enjoyed this book, and having graduated high school in 1992, I really enjoyed the references to the 90’s. Great family drama, and mystery thrown in! Highly recommend!! 4 stars!!

There’s something alluring about this book that caught my attention from page one. Mercury is a character driven family saga weaving snippets from the past and present into the expertly woven story of the Joseph family.

It starts off closer to present day with a mystery corpse found in the attic of the town’s church. The story quickly changes direction as the reader is thrust back in time to how the Joseph family began before finally returning to the mysterious corpse and it’s unexpected demise.

Marley arrives in Mercury along with her mother, Ruth, and immediately is introduced to Elise Joseph, her husband and their sons. The complicated relationships between all members of the Joseph family suddenly emerge. Along the way, family secrets are unraveled and each member of the Joseph family struggles with the family obligations they are destined for and the deep longing to pave their individual paths.

It was hard not to warm up to each character despite their flaws. I enjoyed every character and the message they each told.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celadon Books and the author, Amy Jo Burns.

More literary than mysterious, but I still really enjoyed this one! Characters were well developed and this was a great family drama.

As a Celadon Reader, I was so happy to receive an arc of Mercury especially after I saw some rave reviews! And I loved it! It’s a character driven book with characters who you will get to know intimately and despite their faults and imperfections, they will touch your heart.
Joseph and Sons is more than just a roofing company. To the Joseph family, it's their identity, their lifeline and their purpose. The three sons think they know their place in the business and family, until Marley comes into town and catches the attention, and soon becomes part of, the whole family. Family drama and secrets threaten to break the family apart and destroy each of them individually. They are each only trying to find their purpose and their place, wanting to love and be loved.
And, understandably some might say the undercurrent of the book is sad, it’s also a beautiful story of found family, acceptance, survival and strength. Bravo to the author for introducing such faulted characters but bringing them to life in a way that you will still care for them, root for them and even love them.
I absolutely loved this book and can’t wait to read more by this author!
Thank you so much NetGalley and Celadon Books for gifting me this ebook!

The Josephs are well known in town of Mercury as they have a busy roofing business, Elise, the mom, is a pillar of the church and community, and the boys are popular athletes in school. In the 90’s, Marley and her mom move to Mercury. Marley begins to date one of the Joseph sons and soon becomes a part of their family. Fast forward to about 10 years later and some of the family secrets are exposed. I enjoyed the writing style and getting to know each character. I feel like in some books, the more you know the character, the more you don’t like them, whereas in Mercury, even the problematic characters have redeeming qualities or at least an explanation for who they became. I loved the story, the small town setting, and especially the time period as I was also in high school in the 90’s. Definitely recommend! Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon for the ARC!

Amy Jo Burns does it again with this beautiful story of found family and broken dreams. The small-town setting was perfect for this family saga. I found myself left with so many thoughts about the family you're born with and the family you create, particularly with Marley.


This was a truly extraordinary read. Thanks to Celadon, the author, and NetGalley for my advance digital copy!

"Head on straight, heart on straight."

Mercury is a character-driven drama about love, marriage, and the complicated relationships that make a family.

When 17-year-old Marley moves to the small Western Pennsylvania town of Mercury, she is enamored with the Joseph family. Soon, she is married and pregnant and holding up the family she once admired from afar. The burden is deep, and the secrets she holds are even deeper.

Marly is the primary character, but the Joseph brothers play large roles, and Marley's mother-in-law's story is constant. I didn’t love Marley’s character, but I felt like I should have. I was drawn to Baylor, Marley’s brother-in-law, and Elise, Marley’s mother-in-law. Their stories were fragile and complex. While I didn't love or even like the characters, I kept thinking about them.

The Josephs are a family of roofers, and Burns shares her family's connection to this element of the novel, which was a lot more interesting than I anticipated.

Amy Jo Burns writes with a sense of sadness, a quiet whimsy, and strength. She captures the essence of a family on the verge of crumbling at any moment. This is as much a story about family as it is about the women who hold families together.

Mercury is one of those books that I really liked but didn’t love. Burns keeps the characters at a distance, making it hard to connect. On the other hand, the atmosphere and her writing called me back in.

I love stories about imperfect families and Mercury is no exception. All the Josephs has flaws and when Marley arrives in town, she upsets the status quo they had been living in. Secrets are revealed through the span of several decades, moving between the present, the past and into the future. The cracks widen and threaten to split the family apart. I wouldn’t say it has a happy ending, but it wraps up with the Josephs learning what it truly means to be a family.

“It’s 1990 and seventeen-year-old Marley West is blazing into the river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. A perpetual loner, she seeks a place at someone’s table and a family of her own. The Joseph brothers become Marley’s whole world and soon bonds of loyalty will be tested when they uncover a long-hidden secret at the heart of their blue-collar town.”

This one started out a little slow, but halfway through, some things were finally revealed and that certainly helped quicken the pace.

Normally I would fall head over heels for a beautifully written, character-driven family drama. And while I very much enjoyed and appreciated “Mercury”, I never had a strong desire to pick it up. Other reviews stated you would fall in love with the Joseph family, but I found that to be a difficult task. There was just too much toxicity and family secrets, in my humble opinion. Quite frankly, they annoyed me most of the time and I had a hard time believing Marley would still be so drawn to this dysfunctional family after years of being stuck on their merry-go-round. However, there is no denying there is a great story here and my patience paid off with an overall rewarding read. This would be an excellent book club selection to discuss with friends!

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for this advanced copy!

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.