Mercury, by Amy Jo Burns, is a slow-paced novel of family-driven characters. that you'll come to love. We learn early on of a mystery and as each member shares their point of view on relationships and what they've seen, the answer to the mystery is revealed. Mercury is a novel of relationships, love, and understanding.
Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

This was my first read of 2024 and I was so excited for it. Unfortunately, I just did not connect with the story and characters. I am all for a character driven story, but this story was a little too far-fetched for me

Mercury was one of the best books that I have ever read. The characters are beautifully written, the pacing is perfection, and the family drama is done very well.

As a Pittsburgh native, the odds to the city were subtle but well done. This book captured the reality of living an imperfect life in the city during the 1990s. The characters felt real and the writing style was so natural.

The cadence of this story was amazing. I can't say enough about it- but I am so happy that I picked it up and it made me feel every emotion.

I’ve seen this novel described as “heartfelt” and that is certainly the truth. It’s more dark than light, takes the meaning of dysfunctional family to a new level and has one surprise after another. But the characters are so compelling, so well-drawn with so much depth and hidden, unexpected aspects that they are unforgettable. You might not always like them, but you can’t turn away from them. I couldn’t quite get into the rhythm of the story for the first couple of chapters, but then it gelled and took off and I couldn’t put it down. I was feeling dread rather than hope most of the time, because things just didn’t go right, were always just a bit off, for the Joseph family. And it was heartbreaking to see Marley get sucked into it, although after a while it was clear she had earned and fought for a place in that family. Communication among and between the Joseph Brothers and their parents seemed non-existent, except it was all subtext, all beneath the surface, all secret. And all fascinating.

As always, Celadon Books delivers an excellent reading experience: intriguing, challenging, satisfying. I am pleased to be a Celadon Reader and to receive ARCs of their carefully curated booklist. Mercury was one of the best books I have read recently, a slow build that just rolled on, creating suspense and frustration with the characters and worry that nothing would work out in the end. A very satisfying read, well-written, solidly plotted, skillfully completed. I recommend it without hesitation. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Thank you Amy Jo Burns, Celadon Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC e-book. Well second book of the year down and this was my first 5 star book of the year. This was such an amazing book. As a mother, as a wife, someone who lives in a small town… I related to it so much. It was honest and true. It was not some feel good story to leave you warm and fuzzy it was something that left you raw and vulnerable but absolutely seen. So often do we read books that are so neatly wrapped up but this one will stick with me so long.

This was outside my usual reading genres but I loved it. A slow-moving, mostly character driven family drama in the 1990s Pennsylvania Rust Belt.

“Men do things, and women apologize for them.”

Marley moves to Mercury, Pennsylvania with her mother prior to her senior year in HS. Almost immediately, she’s part of the Joseph family - Mick, Elise, Waylon, Baylor, and Shay - but is she really?

“What did it mean, Marley wondered, to be married to one Joseph, but wife or mother to them all?”

Weaving in mystery, commentary on family roles, motherhood, and loyalty, Mercury is certainly a book that will stick with me for a long time.
I received an advanced reading copy, receipt of which did not impact my review.

❄️ Book Review: Mercury: A Novel ❄️

⁉️: What are some of the most anticipated novels from 2024 that you are looking forward to?

@burnsamyjo’s second novel, Mercury: A Novel, which will release on Jan 2, 2024. This was the second time I was participating in Celadon’s Read Together Initiative and it was so much fun participating in a rolling discussion with @bookmarked.by.Becky,@carol_doscher_reader, @felicity.reads, and @plains_reading.

Set in the 1990s, the story is set in Pennsylvania and tells the story of the Joseph family. It is the story of three brothers: Baylor, Waylon and Shay, their father Mick and mother, Elise, and at the heartbeat of the family, Marley whom both brothers Baylor and Waylon are attracted to. In this immersive, complex family drama, we see how class and gender politics work as both Elise and Marley struggle to find their own position within the family dynamics. For me, Marley and Elise were both relatable in their own ways. I think while the focus was on the family business, it was the narratives of the women in the novel that stood out to me. I also loved Marley’s open and honest relationship with Shay, and his coming to terms with whom he was.

While there was a murder mystery that was the tense situation that the family faced, ultimately, the focus was on the narratives of the characters within the novel. While I initially disliked Mick’s character, the final chapter resolved some of the questions I had and humanized him in many ways. This is a 5✨ from me, and highly recommended if you enjoy novels that are based on small towns and showcase a complex and nuanced stories of families and their trials and tribulations. I also enjoyed the opportunity to talk to the author at the virtual book club meeting hosting by @celadon.

Thank you @celadonbooks and @burnsamyjo for the gifted arc.

#CeladonReadsTogether #MercuryBook #CeladonBooksReader #CeladonBooks #AmyJoBurns

A complex and enjoyable family drama! I enjoyed this character-driven novel. It's definitely a bit of a slow burn. I found the first half to be harder to get into, but the second half was great. I think readers of HELLO BEAUTIFUL would enjoy this one. 4/5 stars. Thank you so much to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was nervous as I had seen elsewhere that this was a slow burn but I was captivated the whole time! Easy five stars for Mercury, the read I didn’t know I needed.

Amy Jo Burns returns with another fantastic novel that is part coming of age, family drama and a little mystery!
The book focuses on the Joseph family who are roofers in the rust belt state of PA. I am usually not one that loves to read about family drama but I was drawn into this story right away as the first chapter starts off with a mystery! There is something so lovely about the writing, it is paced perfectly! I loved how the author delved into each character's POV and back story in a way that made sense and was cohesive. The sense of place is fantastic, I could picture the town and I loved that it was set in the 90s.

I loved Shiner but I think I might like Mercury even more! I ended up reading it in one sitting and was almost on the edge of my seat the whole way, just did not want the story to end.
Thank you to netgalley and Celadon book for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest opinion.

I love a slow burn family drama, and MERCURY delivered. Marley was a completely relatable character even though I've never been through any of what she went through. Burns' character work is just fantastic. I was hooked by this family. I had thought it would be more of a mystery, considering the book opens with the discovery of a body in the church attic, but it took a back seat to the family drama. I had wanted more of that element, but I was also happy to simmer along with this dysfunctional family.

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns
Genre: literary fiction
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Format: eARC

This book follows the Joseph family, who runs a roofing business in the small town of Mercury.

- Slower paced
- Character driven
- Complicated family relationships
- Small town setting in the 90s
- 3rd person writing with multiple POVs

I’ve figured out that I really like family dramas. Family dynamics and relationships can be so complicated and messy at times. My heart ached for Marley, who didn’t realized quite what she was getting into when she joined the Joseph family for dinner one night. This book is multiple POV, but I’d say it mostly follows Marley. It’s about women holding a family together - the author wrote this in a way that you really see the parallels and differences between Elise and Marley. It’s also full of secrets, pain, and growth.

Shay, Jade, and Marley were my favorite characters. Marley and Jade’s friendship was beautiful - the trust they had in each other was so strong and they leaned on each other when they needed to. I wish we got to see Jade’s point of view! When we got Shay’s POV, I felt his pain so deeply. I’m also the youngest child, and I empathized with his feelings of being misunderstood. He also is trying to find himself and his place in his family. He is a lot more observant than everyone thinks, but he hides secrets of his own (as everyone does in the Joseph family).

Something about the writing really hooked me! I thought it was compelling and well written. My only complaint is that at times the pacing felt a little off and the book felt disjointed at times due to the POV switches. Overall, I really enjoyed this, though!

There are several content warnings, so be mindful of those!

Content warnings: infidelity, death, miscarriage, mild violence, dementia

I liked this book so much that I ended up buying a physical copy since it was a Book of the Month pick!

Thank you so much to Celadon for my eARC of this book! Mercury is out now!

This is a slow burn family drama which is definitely my jam. Marley is a force of nature when she comes to the small town of Mercury as a teenager with her mama. She soon finds herself a seat at the table in the Joseph family, a roofing family with 3 sons, a reckless father and a fierce mother. In the Joseph family, Marley finds herself mothering one son, wife to another and the ex of the oldest. She works her way into the family business, cares for all the Joseph boys and yet still finds herself lonely and figuring out where she truly belongs.

If you enjoyed Shiner, you will love this one. I especially enjoy characters that are real and raw and flawed like the ones in this novel. Do the characters make poor decisions? Yes. Can the reader empathize with them? Also yes.

Thank you to @netgalley and @celadonbooks for an early review copy

Mercury follows the story of Marley who, as a teenager, moves to the town of Mercury and finds herself getting caught up with, and marrying into, the Joseph family. As the story progresses we learn more about each of the members of this dysfunctional family and the secrets that bind them together.

Slow burn, character driven reads aren’t always my cup of tea but this one blew me away, I was completely hooked by it. The author’s writing was just so beautiful and I found myself completely immersed in this family and their dynamics.

I adored the character of Marley and had so much respect for this young girl and how she dealt with everything that life threw at For me though, despite my love of Marley, it was the Joseph brothers of Shay and Baylor that have really stuck with me. I adored Shay’s character right from the start while Baylor grew on me so much as the book progressed and we discovered more about him.

This is one of those quiet books that sneaks up on you and you don’t realise quite how special it is until you finish and then think, how am I possibly going to say goodbye to these characters??

I cannot wait to read more from this author! If a beautiful, slow burning, character driven read is up your street then I urge you to add this one to your list!

I was so excited to receive this one. I loved the 90s when the world was a little bit simpler, before cell phones and social media, and thought the author nailed the feeling of the time. This one had a little bit of a trigger for me that would not apply to most, so I started this one then started it again.

I felt like I knew the family as I read the book. My feelings changed for each of the characters as I learned more about them. I really connected with Marley, what I would consider the central character, her life growing up and how she found the family she was missing. I loved that this epic family drama also had a mystery interwoven in the story. While it wasn’t the focus of the book, it wasn’t ever far from my thoughts and I did not see the solution coming.

While told as a dual timeline, I wasn’t sure which brother I liked more. The deep characterization allowed all of the Joseph men to show their best and worst at times.

When I started the book over, I also listened as well as read and thought Maria Liatis nailed the narration and brought the Joseph family to life. All their ups and downs. Their trials and tribulations.

If you love a strong literary plot filled with family drama, you need to check this one out.

As a teen, Marley moves with her single-parent mother to small-town Mercury where she meets the Joseph family, consisting of three boys and their parents. She’s taken in by the family and slowly becomes an integral part of all of their lives. Fast forward a few years into the future, a marriage and a child later, Marley and the Joseph family’s world is shaken up by the discovery of a body in the church attic.

Mercury will lend itself very well to the continued trend of popular family dramas Bookstagram adores. It features a large cast of characters, an exploration into intentions, actions and repercussions as well as a look at how vastly different personalities function within a family.

For me at least, this book felt rather mundane despite at times trying to be the complete opposite. There were so many different incidents of drama that happened to each member of this family that it started to feel unbelievable, yet little seemed to actually affect them. It was a family drama and yet somehow the drama felt incredibly ordinary and mundane, which I guess is probably the entire point. Each character is messy and complicated yet relatable despite their individual drama’s.

It is a rather character driven novel and the mystery of the body in the church attic and the discovery is the most unimportant thing to be revealed in the novel. Perhaps I was just looking for something “bigger” but in the end nothing particularly stood out to me about this.

Thank you to Celadon Books for providing an ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This book is super buzzy right now and making all of the lists of books to look out for in 2024, so I was excited to get my hands on this! Not my usual genre, but I found myself drawn in. Lived up to its rep!

I can see why people have enjoyed this character study, but to be honest I struggled with the writing style from the very first page. I had to put it down almost immediately as I found the writing wordy and awkwardly structured, though others may not find issue with it.

Many characters in Mercury are living with secrets. One main character thinks “his own secrets were the worst in the Joseph family, but he was wrong.”

This was my first time to read a novel by author Amy Jo Burns. She does a good job of maintaining the pace of the plot and the ever-evolving character development, so I wanted to continue to turn pages. Readers will appreciate that characters in this book have to resolve their problems on their own or reach a point where they are willing to accept compromises or can tolerate the compromises they must endure if they remain with their family or even remain within that town. There are no wealthy benefactors turning up with a trust fund or successful friends who suddenly step forward with an offer of a coveted job in the Hollywood movie industry. English teachers would easily assign an analytical essay, asking students to explain why a previously common ingredient in thermometers is a fitting name for this very small town. (Think danger, contamination, long-lasting toxicity.)

Some other aspects of this book which I liked were the importance of female friendship between Marley and her high school friend Jade as well as the example from Marley’s single mom and Interim Pastor Lennox to provide emotional support by remaining calm and caring and above all non-judgmental. There is good advice that readers could apply to every day life. For example, if people feel that they need to move to a different location to start over, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. As Pastor Lennox says, “Not all leaving is running away” (page 289). This book is never preachy or heavy-handed with religion. It simply is realistic showing houses of worship as playing an important part in small towns. Lennon could be a caring and accepting leader of any religion

The book covers more than a decade as it starts with rising- senior Marley moving to Mercury with her single mom the summer before she finishes high school and carries her through a life time of experiences. The years go by effortlessly as one reads, and as Marley learns many lessons, the most important one is that she thought someone knew the secret for having confidence, but learns “as soon as I got [that person’s] secrets, I wanted to give them back.”

I have rounded up my rating to a 5. The reason it was not a perfect five for me was that around Chapter 25 I initially felt the novel should segue into a denouement for Marley and everyone in her life. I thought the story was starting to repeat, nut the ten chapters that followed introduced new character studies that will help the book to appeal to a wider audience. I really like literatry fiction and a couple of times I wondered if Mercury was going to turn out to be romance book (not my go-to genre.) I’m pleased to say that was not the case; scenes with romantic involvement were handled with class. Nothing against heated passion; I just don’t need lengthy graphic details to enjoy a story. I believe I would enjoy going back and reading earlier works by this author. Thank you for my copy of this book. This review is my honest and unsolicited opinion.

Mercury is the story of Marley, a young girl moving into a small town in Pennsylvania with her mother. She quickly meets a boy and is ushered into his family by way of family dinners. As she gets to know the entire family, her role differs greatly from person to person. When Marley becomes pregnant, she has to quickly grow roots in the town and challenge herself to build a life of her own.

Mercury did not disappoint. Highlighting deep-rooted family dysfunction and very much character-driven in its multiple POVs, we are given a glimpse into the family dynamic at different points in time. The characters are all complex as they strive to serve their role in their family.

Secrets of a small town do not stay buried for long and the mystery in this book is likely to surprise and confound.

Beautifully written, I highly recommend this book. Amy Jo Burns will definitely be added to my must-read list.

Special thanks to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts in this review are honest and my own.

P.S. – My mom is a huge fan of this author and has been telling me to read her books for a while now. Note to self: Listen to your mother.