Thanks to Celadon Books & NetGalley for this free ARC in return for my honest review
A thoroughly enjoyable novel about a family of roofers, that's right roofers, and a young lady who came into their life and the experiences that they had together. We basically follow the exploits of the Joseph family, father Mick, and his wife Elise. And then we have the three sons:: Baylor, Waylon and Shay. It's a rather dysfunctional family and the story is set back in the 1990s when Marley and her mother arrive in the small town of Mercur,y, PA where they have come for Marley's mother to begin a new job. Marley spots the roofers on her way into town and before you know it, she is interacting with two of them after a baseball game. All three of the brothers, love Marley, each in different ways just as each of the brothers, have secrets, which no one knows about except themselves. We slowly unravel the twists and turns of the family, as a body is discovered in the steeple of the local church. Marley eventually married the middle child Waylon and moves into the family house, but she was never really accepted by Mick & Elise. The book peels away the layers of the family, as well as the secrets that they hold. We are drawn into this world of small town life with all its simplicities and all its difficulties. It is a very well written book. It has a wonderful plot, and I was immediately drawn to the characters. One of the things I enjoyed most about this book is that you see certain events unfolding in the first half of the book, and then, in the latter stages of the book, we see the points of view changing, and now we understand why these events happen, and what was behind certain things. The secrets and the motivations behind all the actions that take place in the beginning of the book are all revealed bit by bit as we go through the 2nd half of the book.. Amy Jo Burns has written, a wonderful novel, a novel filled with joy, disappointments, family, intrigue, and small town USA! A definite 4.5 star in my reading scale.

Mercury tells the story of a dysfunctional family over the course of ten years, going back and forth in time. It also shows the deep love, sacrifice, and courage that were part of this family despite the dysfunction. I thought it was an interesting story, but I also wish that some parts would have been fleshed out a little more. I did the audio and enjoyed it.

Title: Mercury
Author: Amy Jo Burns
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.50
Pub Date: January 2, 2024

I received a complimentary eARC from Celadon Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Curious • Absorbing • Layered

📖 S Y N O P S I S

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 first thing she sees when she arrives in town is three men standing on a rooftop. Their silhouettes blot out the sun.

The Joseph brothers become Marley’s whole world before she can blink. Soon, she is young wife to one, The One Who Got Away to another, and adopted mother to them all. As their own mother fades away and their roofing business crumbles under the weight of their unwieldy father’s inflated ego, Marley steps in to shepherd these unruly men. Years later, an eerie discovery in the church attic causes old wounds to resurface and suddenly the family’s survival hangs in the balance. With Marley as their light, the Joseph brothers must decide whether they can save the family they’ve always known—or whether together they can build something stronger in its place.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Mercury, a small town family saga from author Amy Jo Burns, was my very first anticipated release of the new year. It did not disappoint. Rather it quite possibly surpassed my expectations. What this tells me is that I have become very aware of my own tastes and what will work and what won't.

There is just something about the combination of a relatable small town community, a cast of flawed and messy characters, and long-held family secrets that sucks me in. Every. Single. Time. This multi-layered novel certainly has all of these characteristics and so much more. From the start to the finish, I continuously felt absorbed into their family life. Some of their choices and actions are highly questionable, yet there is a redeeming quality in all of them. The underlying mystery of the body in the attic takes a back seat, yet it is expertly weaved into the foundation of the storyline, reveling small pieces of the puzzles bit by bit.

If I had to choose one element that truly stood out for me, it would have to be the unlikely bond between Marley and the youngest brother, Shay. Their bond unfolded so organically making their interactions come across genuine. And it truly helped each of their characters to really shine. I just felt for both of them and the book would not have been the same without their special relationship.

Mercury was a pleasant surprise with heart and real-life family problems. I was impressed with this author's writing style, and it reminded me of Tracey Lange's novels. I can say with 100% certainty this will not be the last time I read Amy Jo Burns. I am curious to explore what her backlist looks like and will be looking forward to news of future projects.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Tracey Lange
• family drama
• multigenerational stories

⚠️ CW: toxic relationship, physical abuse, emotional abuse, injury/injury detail, blood, cursing, mental illness, PTSD, drug use, drug abuse, overdose, alcohol, dementia, pregnancy, bullying, miscarriage, death, death of parent, grief, homophobia, infidelity, misogyny, suicide, sexual content

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"What could love become once compared?"

"...and that often, life didn't make any sense when you lost someone you loved."

"He saw people at their worst and didn't flinch because he knew how devastating it was to have to hide."

"Loving someone is not a sin, no matter who it is."

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the ARC of Mercury by Amy Jo Burns.

I found this one to be a bit of slow start. Almost to the point of I was going to add it my DNF pile. However, I hung on for a bit as the description really did catch my attention as a book that I’d be interested in. Ultimately, the Jospeh family and Marley weaving herself into it really did hook me in. I found the layers to be part of what I enjoyed. The relationships between Bay and Way, Shay and Patrick, Marley and Elise, Mick and really everyone. And the ending that loops you back to the beginning. Let’s not forget the bit of mystery that pulls back the layers of how almost all of them are connected to some degree. Enjoyable read, but if you like a quick out the door, give this one time!

Teenage Marley and her mother have recently moved to Mercury. A small town where everyone knows everything. Shortly after moving Marley becomes involved with Baylor Joseph - one of the three Joseph boys belonging to Mick and Elise. Baylor, Waylon and Shay all end up working for their father at his roofing company.

When a body is discovered in the roof of their local church, layer upon layer of the Joseph family secrets begin to unravel...

This was my first title by Amy Jo Burns and I really enjoyed it. I loved the layers and complications in the family dynamics. The emotions the characters were feeling were conveyed wonderfully. The character development was flawless. This book will definitely hit you in the feels.

Thank you to Amy Jo Burn, NetGalley and Celadon Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really loved this book. I loved the main character, Marley, and everything she had to endure. It was a great book and one I will definitly be trying to adopt into the curriculum at the high school I teach at!

I don’t think any words could do this book justice. After seeing so many glowing reviews, I was worried about having my hopes too high, but I quickly knew it was a new favourite. I deliberately stretched it out over three weeks because I didn’t want it to end.

This is very much a character-driven story with a focus on Marley and the dysfunctional Joseph family. We get into their heads and get to know them on such an intimate level. And it’s one of the most beautifully written books I’ve read in quite a while. I wanted to highlight and tab so many portions and found a need for a physical copy before I was done. I loved Marley and the three Joseph brothers so much. Most of the story is from Marley’s side of the story, but we get portions of the story from their perspective as well, which adds so much depth to the experience.

I guess my love for stories that explore family dynamics can be attributed to how much I adored this book, but that would be undercutting how genuinely wonderful it is. I think, even if I didn’t love multi-generational stories, this would be the one that changed my mind.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Celadon for my copy!

My very first book from this author. Mercury is thick with family drama and one I ended up enjoying more than I initially thought I would. When I started it, I was having trouble getting into the story. And that's not to say that it wasn't a good story, it's just not a story I would normally pick up for myself. Once I got into the story, I couldn't stop reading and ended up finishing it in one sitting. I wasn't sure what I was expecting or where the story was really going but it ended up being a touching story. Definitely a slow burn and I think there's a right audience for it.

✨Mercury by Amy Jo Burns✨

Genre: Fiction
Pages: 336

📚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 first thing she sees when she arrives in town is three men standing on a rooftop. Their silhouettes blot out the sun.

The Joseph brothers become Marley’s whole world before she can blink. Soon, she is young wife to one, The One Who Got Away to another, and adopted mother to them all. As their own mother fades away and their roofing business crumbles under the weight of their unwieldy father’s inflated ego, Marley steps in to shepherd these unruly men. Years later, an eerie discovery in the church attic causes old wounds to resurface and suddenly the family’s survival hangs in the balance. With Marley as their light, the Joseph brothers must decide whether they can save the family they’ve always known—or whether together they can build something stronger in its place.

📝If you’re looking for a character driven story about a dysfunctional family, then this is the book for you.

The Joseph family has a whole host of issues and Marley finds herself in the middle of all of them. The parents, Elise and Mick, have a troubled relationship and that ultimately has an impact on their boys: Waylon, Baylor and Shay.

My only complaint is that the characters seemed to be very self-aware and introspective (once we got to read their side of the story). This made the character analysis interesting, but a little unbelievable.

💫Thank you @netgalley @celadonbooks for my egalley 💫

Families are complex and this book is a great example of this. It was intriguing with a little bit of mystery, but ultimately centers around complicated family dynamics. It’s very character-driven and the layers of the characters delivered a deep, impactful story of family and the “beautiful and messy” ways they show up for each other. This was a great read and I’d definitely recommend it!

When Marley arrives in the small town of Mercury, Pennsylvania, she doesn't realize how profound an effect she will have on the Joseph family in Mercury by Amy Jo Burns. She's a teenager and moves to the town with her mom who never stays in one place for long. She craves the structure and comfort of a solid family and thinks she's found it with the Josephs who consist of brothers Baylor, Waylon, and Shay. After getting involved with the family, she also inherits their secrets and makes some of her own.

I really loved this book. The spare yet descriptive prose, the subtle twists and turns of the story, and the intricately woven plotlines won me over. I would compare this author to some of my favorites, including Anna Quindlen, Ann Patchett, and Tracey Lange. Incidentally, Tracey Lange is thanked in the acknowledgements. If you like any of these authors, put this author on your list.

The author's portrayals of these characters go into character study mode with the sensitively drawn portraits of every one from the father damaged by the Vietnam war to the youngest brother who cannot be himself. I felt like I really knew the characters by the middle of the book yet they still surprised me with their actions. They're all flawed in their own ways, and it was interesting how they reconciled those flaws with their stronger attributes.

Another star of the story is the town of Mercury. You get to know the town and how it operates and how the Joseph family fits in. The small town atmosphere feels perfectly rendered. You know the streets and the people and what's important. It's just as much of a character as Marley and the Joseph family.

Although I cannot see a sequel for this book because things feel pretty wrapped up at the end, I would love to revisit this family or another one within town. By "wrapped up," I don't even mean that the characters are not in a place of contentment with everything going their ways. I just felt satisfied with the trajectories of their characters.

So, this leads me to say that I hope the author revisits the town or invents another one with an equally intriguing family. This book stayed with me, and I look forward to reading her other books and any subsequent ones that she publishes.

Such a deep, fascinating, well written story. I’ll be thinking about this novel for a while! A drama filled family story that really puts life in perspective.

I really enjoyed this story. I love stories set in small towns, as well as, family dramas. I liked following the female character's life and the bit of mystery.

3.5 rounded up

Thanks for the ARC Netgalley! I was really excited for this one after seeing it everywhere. While well written and pretty compelling, I didn’t fully love this one - but admit that it may have been my timing in reading it.

Marley’s an outsider to Mercury, PA and immediately gets caught up in the drama and allure of the Joseph family. The men of this family are infamous because of their closeness, troublemaking, and their roofing business. Each brother means something different to Marley. She’s judgmental of the patriarch and has a complicated alliance with the matriarch of the family. Decades later, a body is found in the town’s church which has ramifications for the Joseph family and Marley.

I found the mystery of this book compelling (especially with the timelines and multiple viewpoints.) I love messy, complicated family dramas but there were A LOT of similar themes to Ann Napolitano’s “Hello Beautiful,” which I read right before this and it worked much better for me. This was a bit dragged out and the brothers blended a bit too much for my taste. I think if I read this at a different time it probably would have been a 4⭐️ read for me, but it didn’t quite get there at this time.

✨Trigger Warnings: Miscarriage, Death of a Parent, Murder, Dementia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Suicide Attempt

I loved that this novel revolves around a family of roofers, although their passion for their work was hard to understand until I read that the author grew up in such a family. There is the mystery of the dead body found in a church attic at the beginning of the story, and there is the relationship of Marley to three brothers, and the tension of a tyrannical patriarch and strong-willed (adulterous) matriarch. The author moves around in time to develop the characters and plot. There is much to empathize and situations to identify with in this book, and I hope the author's style becomes more polished in time.

This is for you if you enjoy a character-driven story about a dysfunctional family. I really enjoyed this one, although it didn't fully capture me enough for a full five stars.

I was very excited for this read! I did love the twisted family elements and I was guessing towards the end!

I did find the story to drag a bit at parts. But there was lots that kept me reading.

Thanks for the ARC!!

3.5⭐️

I have never read a book by this author previously. I thought this book was very intense and deep. Not bad, just deep.

I received an advanced copy of Mercury by Amy Jo Burns from the publisher Celadon via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

What It’s About: In 1990, seventeen-year-old Marley West moves to a small river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania with her mother. Constantly moving and often lonely when her single mother is working, Marley becomes enchanted with the Joseph family, and becomes entwined with the brothers and constantly working to prove herself to the matriarch Elise. Now it’s ten years later and Marley’s life has changed. She is a young wife to one, The-One-Who-Got-Away, and an adopted mother to all, helping to keep the business running. But when a discovery is made, everything is threatened to fall apart.

Shiner is one of my favorite reads, so I had really high expectations for this one. I can tell you write now, my favorite part of this is the writing. I know it sounds a bit high browed to say that the writing was my favorite part, but I swear I love the way that she uses her words and her style, it kept me going even when I wasn’t necessarily in love with the story. In this book, Burns writes the story of women behind the men and the cost that go into supporting the men they love and helping them achieve their success. Burns captures the feel of rural Pennsylvania to a T and I thoroughly enjoyed the character of Marley. She is flawed but strong and determined.

This book is for people who love family sagas and thoughtful writing. I don’t know that it was my favorite, I am honestly a bit surprised by my reflection, because I didn’t always enjoy my reading. This book stands as an excellent character study and family saga. The mystery for me wasn’t very intriguing but was needed to kind of provide us the story. Overall, this is a strong sophomore novel and I will continue to read Burn’s work.

I think if you enjoyed Shiner, you will appreciate this book.

What a lovely novel.

Marley moves to Mercury, PA with her mom at 17 years old, and immediately falls into the Joseph boys. Between her relationships with th, and her parents - through trials and scandals. She grows up.

This story was very charming and enjoyable. I loved the style and pace of the book, the small town feel, and the depth of the characters. Simply put, it’s the story of family. Definitely recommend!