2.5 stars. This book took me awhile to get through. There was nothing really pulling me in or connecting me to the characters. I also feel like the attic secret was a bit of a let down.

“Sins are like butterflies. They all become something else.” Of all the quotes in the book, I feel that this one sums it up perfectly. This is a slow-burn character driven story with a plethora of family drama. Everyone in the family has been hurt and in turns hurts someone. You can’t help but feel the pain and regret that radiates from each character and empathize with them as their story unfolds. The author does a wonderful job of tackling so many topics and yet does them seamlessly – teenage pregnancy, forbidden love, family loyalty, and chronic illness.

Through it all, Marley emerges as unique protagonist with a strong inner compass and unwavering strength. I appreciated how the author made her an integral part of each character’s growth. I also really loved how Burns showed Elise, the wife and mom who lost her self-identity, in contrast to Marley, the teenage mom and young wife struggling to maintain it. This has been women’s struggle for centuries but was well explored and detailed in this book.

I originally thought the mystery would be a bigger part of the story and have to admit I kept waiting to find out how that connected to each of the brothers. So those that love fast-paced thrillers, this one is not for you. However, if you enjoy a well-crafted literary fiction that tugs at your heartstrings, pick this one up today!

Solid drama about a woman who marries into a complicated family and how she ends up saving them in many ways.

This was such a good book! I loved the characters, and their story. The dialogue was realistic and enjoyable. I was very surprised by the ending!

When I started reading this book I assumed I would love it. Complicated family dynamics? Check. Some kind of love story? Check. New adult come-of-age? Check, check, check. Unfortunately it fell short for me.

Seventeen-year-old Marley West is the new girl in Mercury, Pennsylvania, a town where few new people come to live. She gets noticed quickly by Baylor Joseph and eventually gets her place at the table of the Joseph Family. She's attracted to Baylor but when football season calls him away, it's his younger brother, Waylon, that Marley falls in love with...

I enjoyed the family dynamics of this story. I think Burns did a good job of showing how different personalties and different tolerances can allow a family to fester. How family businesses can do the opposite of bring a family together. How if one pillar of the family is broken the rest are sure to crumble. I enjoyed the nods to motherhood, especially early motherhood, and how difficult they can be.

Unfortunately, the elements of the story I liked couldn't overcome the rest. The relationships are not believable. The 'growth' each member of the family experiences was very much 'told' to us and not shown. Because family dysfunction is the basis of the story, and I did not believe the relationships, it was hard to want to keep reading. I never wanted to DNF but I also had to force myself to pick the Kindle up and get back to the story.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns was a family drama that had good writing and character development. It was an interesting coming of age story with a few unexpected twists. There were times I started to dislike a character and the author then revealed some of their past which helped see them in a new way.

However, I feel it was slow and spacey throughout a lot of the book and almost didn’t finish it but am glad I stuck it out.

Thank you NetGalley and Celadon Books for the Advanced Reading Copy.

This novel explores the Joseph family and the intricate inner design of the family dynamics and drama. I really loved each of these characters, despite all of their flaws. The writing was gorgeous and the characters were so deeply developed in a way where I both ached and rooted for them.

I loved how they each deeply cared for each other in their own way, despite how different that may have looked for everyone. I can appreciate a story that reflects a family that works hard and has true grit and determination. Many books I read feature families with superficial values and plots, so it is rare to come across a story where I am so invested in the inner workings of the family.

It was a quiet read, but one that I felt deeply immersed in. This will resonate with me for awhile!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Celadon Books for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review!

When Marley was seventeen her mother and she moved to Mercury, Pennsylvania where Marley quickly met the Joseph family. Baylor, the oldest brother, may have talked to her first, but it’s Waylon who really catches her eye. Marley soon finds herself invited to dinner at the Joseph’s home by Elise, the matriarch of the Joseph family. Before she knows it Marley finds herself immersed in the Joseph family and their roofing business–Joseph & Sons Roofing–a company started by Mick, a company that he expects each of his sons to join, even the youngest brother Shay. Before she knows it she is married and a mother, not only to her own child but to the entire Joseph clan, but when a discovery is made in the attic of a church family secrets begin to threaten the life that she has created and those she has created it with.

Mercury is not the typical genre that I find myself reading; that being said I did, for the most part, enjoy this novel. The writing style greatly allowed me to immerse myself into the lives of Marley and the Joseph family. I felt as though I could understand their feelings and emotions, along with their decisions and motivations. I was also able to experience, along with the characters, their personal growth and development. Mercury is a raw, honest novel that contains some significant themes, such as family and loneliness, regret and redemption, and forgiveness. Overall the novel was a little slow for my tastes; it took too long to get to the discovery in the church and the resulting effects, but I still enjoyed it.

This book is so many stories. It is a story of how generations impact generations. It’s a dysfunctional family story. It’s a story of womanhood. It is so many stories rolled into one and done so well.

Marley arrives to the town of Mercury at a time in her life when she needs a family the most. She runs into the Joseph family. A family that is comprised of three sons and a mom and dad. The overbearing dad owns a roofing company and the sons work for him. Their mom loves Marley and welcomes her. She told Marley she always has a place in their home. However, she is growing feeble and Marley starts to take over the responsibilities as the “woman” of the house.

This story shows the true complications of a family. Chock-full of emotion and self-doubt, mystery and secrets, love and hate, this story brings out the deep feelings that each of us will experience sometime in our lifetimes.

Marley is a great character. We are allowed into her head and get to know her well. We navigate with Marley as she finds her way through life with all four men and realizes her place with each of them.

I enjoyed this book and look forward to future books by Amy Jo Burns. Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. Look for it now in your local and online bookstores and libraries.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. A 2024 BOTM top-pick, and rightfully so. This book has been on my radar and does NOT disappoint.

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

I want to start by saying I fully recognize that as a reader, I have a hard time with family dramas. Most of the ones I’ve read are so drawn out and half the time just boring.

That being said, for someone who doesn’t love family dramas, Mercury is one of the best I’ve read. The characters are really well-developed and overall, the book is well-written. Some of it is a little too on the nose in my opinion but if you like family sagas, you’ll love this one.

Thank you so much to the publisher and Netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mercury was a beautifully written family centered masterpiece. The Joseph family along with Marley were all well developed characters, each flawed and with motives. Throw in a bit of mystery and I was completely invested. Several plot twists unfold over multiple timelines.

There were some hard topics as this family struggled to make ends meet while dealing with issues of PTSD, dementia and gay relationships. It's certainly not a light read, but handled well with its writing. An unforgettable cast. I will hold Marley in my heart for a long time.


Read if you like:
Complicated Family Drama
Multiple POV's
Small Town Settings
Mystery/Secrets

A family drama set in the blue-collar town of Mercury, Pennsylvania and centers around the Joseph family - a mother, a father, three sons, and a daughter-in-law. A story about the struggle between reaching for your dreams while managing the expectations of others. Ultimately, secrets are revealed that shake this family to the core. Can this family be saved?

I enjoyed the development of the characters and the pacing of the story.

This was a slow burn. I loved the coming of age of Marley and the parallels between her and Elise. A generational saga, I loved how the pieces fit together in the messy puzzle of family.

I loved this book so much! I didn't know much about it when starting, and was surprised how much I loved the characters and the unique family dynamics.

As a teenager, Marley moves to Mercury - a small town where her mom has just gotten a job. Very quickly she starts dating one of the Joseph brothers, and just as quickly a different one. As time goes on Marley becomes a close part of the Joseph family, and means something different to each of the three Joseph brothers and their parents.

I could not put this book down -- the way that it's written I just had to find out what was going to happen. The book starts with a dramatic event, and then goes back in time to lead up to that event.

I loved Marley, and I loved Shay -- both such good characters who are truly trying their best but things don't always go their way. I loved seeing their growth, and seeing them become adults.

I loved all the descriptions of Mercury. I could picture the Great House, Jade's salon, the church -- all of it was so vivid. I loved all the dynamics between the brothers and between them and Marley.

Parts of this book are so sad, I felt completely heartbroken at times -- always the sign of a good book if it can impact me that much.

I would recommend this book to anyone -- especially if you love messy family dynamics and small-town workings. I look forward to reading Amy Jo Burns's backlist and cannot wait to see what she writes next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

Good stories arrive like a whisper, and linger. You long to share the moments that reveal each characters flaws, depth , true meaning to the storyline. Mercury like its title character Marley, entangles and moves with an ease and swiftness through your heart to unleash emotions that leak like the roofs that Joseph and Sons mend and repair. Marley comes to town, knows that her time her is determined by a mom who moves around the country as their fortunes dictate. Here in this space she finds one Joseph brother, only to marry another, and be captivated by the mother,Elise that has managed this family of men and bound them to a town that depends and defends their father. It is Mick that set the pattern that holds these men to this place, and each son must find their own moment of liberation. Happy reading

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

At first I absolutely felt this could be one of the best books I had read in a long time. Marley moves to Mercury with her mother when she is about 17 years old. She is smart, independent, and attractive it seems. She immediately gets swept up into the Joseph family, who have three sons - Baylor, Waylon, and Shay - aka Bay, Way, and Shay. Baylor and Marley date kind of for a bit, but then Waylon and Marley fall in love. This book tells the story of Marley's relationship with all three boys, their mother Elise and their father Mick. The first half of this book read quickly for me and I loved learning about the family and their relationships. However, the second half of the book felt repetitive to me, sharing things we already knew from a different character's perspective, and it got boring for me and almost turned into a slog to finish the last 25% of the book.

The writing is good, the character growth is definitely there. All of the characters feel unique and fully formed. And the 1990's setting worked for me too. I thought this was a unique story and not like much I had read previously, but wish it hadn't dragged in the latter part of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amy Jo Burns, and Macmillan Publishing for this digital ARC. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this novel. Reading the synopsis on the back, I was intrigued to see how this plot would play out. I loved the characters and enjoyed the family business dynamic. I wish there were some clear answers from this quirky thriller. I feel like it’s not finished yet and felt like it was climaxing and then just plateaued. I may try one of her books in the future, but won’t be jumping at the seems. :/