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

This was a beautifully written book which is largely character driven; those who are primarily interested in plot laden texts may not be interested in this. While there is a plot, I would say it is not prominent, especially in comparison to the show-don't-tell characterization and the relationships between them.
I would say that there is a good chance that I will read this again because I think there is more I can get out of this. I loved getting to know the characters even when I did not love all of them and the author did a good job of making the ones who are not sterling also not redeemable. This was a small town blue collar world that I did not know yet I wanted to immerse myself in it, even as bad things were happening to the characters.
I took longer to read this than some other books, not just because I wanted to savor it (though I did) but also because it was not a happy book. So, the reader should be aware that this is not a light book with comedy and romance and pace themselves accordingly. However, it is well worth the time and effort.

I enjoyed reading this book. This is my first book by this author which I enjoyed their writing skills and look forward to seeing what is next for them. I found this book to be well written and hard to put down. A fast paced story about a young girl looking for a family to be apart of. What she finds is three brothers, one she marries the other two she becomes mother figure to them all. What will happen when secrets are found and a family's survival is hanging in the balance? You don't want to miss what happens with this family. I enjoyed how the author used details to pull me into the story from the start. They are connectable and kept me coming back for more. I enjoyed watching their growth throughout the story which made the story easy to read. This is an entertaining story that takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride and one that adds so much entertainment. I really enjoyed reading this book. I highly recommend this must read story.

Part family drama, part coming of Age. The family members (both by choice and by birth) grow and develop through the book. I felt like I wanted to know them more after this. The story does a great job at depicting how different people can see the same situation differently and just because you think you know how someone is thinking or feeling, there may very well be something more going on.
Without giving spoilers, my favorite parts where when we discovered at different stages what different characters had thought through different times. I like that some of this came as "little surprises" later.
Everyone has their secrets and sometimes people are holding the same secret and don't even realize it. What secrets are we willing to keep to protect those we care about?
This is a book that I believe will stick with me and I will remember the Joseph family. That's how I know this was a good book. I tend to forget a lot of what I read and this is one that I think I'll remember when looking back.

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns ⭐

I just finished my first book of 2024 and I'm already regretting my new year's resolution to finish all of the advance copies I get approved for. What I really need to do is be more choosy about which books I request. I've said this before: I wish there were previews for all these books on NetGalley.

I fell for the cover on this one, and it did sound like it could be a good story – “a roofing family’s bonds of loyalty are tested when they uncover a long-hidden secret at the heart of their blue-collar town” – but the writing was not remarkable.

Mercury is excruciating. It reads like a plot summary. This book was a slog, and here's why:

1. It’s not believable. For example, everyone is supposedly scared of Mick but he doesn’t do anything to prompt it. Whenever anyone confronts him he just sulks. His son tells him to “suck it up, Buttercup” and his wife hisses “Mick, don’t you dare!” and he does – nothing! So scary! And he’s supposedly so terrible because he never does the dishes, but the first time they ask him to he just gets up and does them. I think Mick got a really raw deal in this novel.

2. All of the important events happen off-page.

3. Irrelevant details (I don't care what colour her slacks are when she's in the middle of a big conflict.)

4. Too much backstory-dumping.

5. Too much explaining and philosophical pondering by the narrator about all of the characters' motives and “sudden realizations”.

6. Repeating a scene from several points of view

7. Clichés and platitudes

8. Too many words. So many unnecessary words. It was like reading bad poetry. Read the description below of Baylor getting a haircut. If the writing style appeals to you, then you might love this book.

“His hair fell far past his ears now, gathering along his nape, and as Jade massaged the hair on the back of his neck, Baylor had to keep himself from sighing. He had known privilege in his life, but not much kindness such as this. He opened an eye to peer at Jade as she rinsed. She was so focused, so intent, so skilled at her job that Baylor could not tell whether all her clients experienced this euphoria. It made him wonder about his own faulty notions of men’s and women’s work—one defying danger, the other providing refuge. With Jade at the helm, Baylor no longer knew which was which, or why it had mattered at all.”

It didn’t work for me.

I had both the audio and ebook of this one, and enjoyed both.

This takes place in a small blue collar Pennsylvania town.

The Joseph family is definitely dysfunctional. Each family member has their own issues, secrets and burdens to bear.

When Marley moves to town with her single mom, one of many many moves in her life, she finds herself being swept up into the Joseph family. She builds different relationships with each of the three Joseph brothers - Bay, Way & Shay. She finds herself first drawn to Way, then Bay, and then torn between them. The decision ends up being sort of made for her. But is it the right one?

She also forms a bond with Elise, the Joseph mom. It has ups and downs through the years. As Elise drifts and struggles, Marley becomes like a mother to the youngest brother, Shay.

This family struggles through the years, and I felt Marley was really the glue that kept them together.

The Josephs are a family comprised of deep, complicated characters and it made for a great story. There was a little mystery thrown in there as well.

I enjoyed the narration on the audio and felt it gave depth to the storyline.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Celadon Books and MacMillan Audio for both an ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, first book of the year is coming in hot with 5 stars! I will admit that this book started off a little slow and didn’t initially capture my interest - but please do not let that deceive you because this book is PHENOMENAL. You will have no choice but to fall in love with this messy, tumultuous, family who is all heart.
I always thought I was strictly a thriller lover, but I have found that most of the books that I score 5 stars are the ones that tug at my heartstrings, whether that be relationships, friendships, or family dynamics. And let me tell you, heartstrings were tugged, if not completely ripped apart.
If you have not picked up Mercury by Amy Jo Burns, please do yourself a favor and purchase it immediately.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Celadon Books for gifting me an arc so that I could devour and fall in deep deep love with this book.

MERCURY ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. In 1990, Marley and her mother move to the town of Mercury, PA. When she meets the Joseph family that owns the local roofing company, her entire life’s trajectory is forever changed and blended into them. Years later, when a body shows up, how are they all involved? A very heavy, character drive book. I truly enjoyed it, although some may feel it’s slow if you don’t want to stop and smell the roses. This is a book where the last page makes you see the appreciation of the novel more. A good way to start off 2024!

I LOVED this book! If you love character driven stories that take their time to be told, stellar writing with sentence after sentence worth highlighting, you'll adore Mercury. This is the first book I've read by Amy Jo Burns, so I wasn't sure what to expect, and sure didn't expect to be blown away on so many levels. Burns has given us a deep look at characters to fall in love with, a family riddled with problems, set in a small town with everything that comes with it, takes hold of reader's hearts and doesn't let go. 5/5 stars. Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this amazing book.

When seventeen-year-old Marley moves to the small rust belt town of Mercury, Pennsylvania in 1990 she soon becomes part of the Joseph family for better or worse. Marley, an only child of a single mother, is enamored with the Josephs, a roofing family with three sons, she begins joining the family for dinner and eventually ends up dating one brother, marrying the other, and becoming something of a surrogate mother to the third. Years on a discovery in the church attic will test the bonds of this family like never before.

Mercury is a small town family saga full of complex relationships, secrets, loyalty, perception, roles, and expectations, those prescribed by others and ourselves; it's a story of the complicated web of family dynamics, dynamics which both shape us and are shaped by us. I just loved this story and truly fell in love with the characters as the story unfolded. It's told in a way that allows the reader to know several of the characters both as others perceive them and then it shifts allowing a more intimate perspective as to how they see themselves. There's love, mystery, coming-of-age, trauma, and quite a bit of reflection on women's roles in family. Really a lot to chew on and appreciate.

Recommended for fans of Hello Beautiful.

I liked this - definitely a slower character driven story but overall very good. I think I thought the ending would be a little more profound, but for the most part, I enjoyed how it all wrapped up. Would recommend to fans of literary fiction and more character-focused novels. 3.5-4 stars

Thank you NetGalley.
Family saga, a mystery, great writing and so much more. Loved this book. Highly recommend.

Family drama at its finest in this small town story set in the 1990s — When Marley arrives in Mercury as a teenager, she sees the silhouettes of 3 men on a roof and unbeknownst to her, she will quickly become an integral part of their life and their family. ⁣
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The story follows Marley and the Joseph brothers — Baylor, Waylon and Shay — over several years, along with their parents, Mick and Elise. When a secret in the church attic is revealed years later, it may be enough to bring the Joseph family and all they’ve built, down, permanently. ⁣
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Mercury had great character depth and while I didn’t always like each character, I loved how authentic they felt. I couldn’t get enough of this story — 4.5 stars

Thank you so much to @netgalley @celadonbooks and @macmillian.audio for the ARC and ALC!

🔹 𝙈𝙮 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 🔹
This character-driven story about a tight-knit dysfunctional family in the small town of Mercury, Pennsylvania was a nice change of pace to start of my 2024 reads.

This story begins in 1990 with Marley and her mother moving to the small town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. Almost immediately, Marley meets the Joseph brothers and desires to be a part of their family and unique little circle. Marley soon becomes an official part of the family as a young wife to one Joseph brother, the one who got away to another brother, and an adopted mother to all of them.

This story goes back and forth in time a little bit as pivotal pieces of the story are uncovered, and different perspectives are shown. This book really is one you could sit and analyze all the different characters, their personalities, and where they fit in with the family. I enjoy seeing the complexities of a characters personality shown in the writing.

At the end, I was left wondering what more would happen to the family in the future, after the story in the book ended.

🎧 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚:
🔹 Character-Driven Narrative
🔹 Dysfunctional Families
🔹 Small Town Drama
🔹 Well-Developed Characters
🔹 Multiple Timelines