I enjoyed reading this book. The characters were amazingly done and helped me to really see them in my mind. I enjoyed this books setting was the 90’s since I was growing up in the ninety’s too. You do an amazing job writing and I will definitely read other books written by you.

I really wanted to like this book in part because it was set in the 90s, but I just couldn't stay with it. The characters, the premise, the setting - none of this interested me and I just kept finding other things to read while sitting on this. After about 10% in, I opted to DNF.

This was a beautifully written, quiet but impactful story about the Joseph family - a roofing family consisting of the dad Mick and his three sons Baylor, Waylon, and Shay as well as the matriarch Elsie. The dynamics of this family are so interesting and complicated - they are filled with family secrets, hurts, betrayals, and love. Then Marley West comes into town and becomes an important part of each Joseph's life in different ways.

I was fascinated by this family and the ways they are there for each other and the ways they hurt and destroy each other too. The characters were so well written and I really felt the sense of place in this novel. It is a quiet and sometimes slow story - but never dull - each characters grows and changes in different ways and there are some heavy themes and emotions throughout.

And oh yeah, did I mention there is a dead body found in the church attic!? So there is a mystery element weaved throughout the book as well. I enjoyed the layout of the book to with some flash backs or different perspectives shown later in the book - it really kept me invested.

If you loved Hello Beautiful (which I did) for it's sister and family dynamics as well as how an outsider becomes a part of their lives and family in different ways - then you will love this one too.

I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to Netgalley & Celadon Books for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

📚Book Review - Mercury by Amy Jo Burns 📚
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Published: January 2, 2024
Celadon Books
336 pages
Goodreads rating: 3.93⭐

Set in Pittsburgh in the mid-90s, Mercury tells a multigenerational story of the Joseph family. Mick Joseph married his wife, Elise, shortly after returning from the Vietnam War. Without being directly labeled as post-war PTSD, Mick became eccentric in his hobbies and pursuits, only ever considering his own wants and needs. Elise gives everything to her husband and eventually her three sons but wishes for more for her sons and the next generation.

Marley, the daughter of a single mom trying to make ends meet, moves to Mercury as a teenager and soon is mixed in with the two older Jospeh boys. Elise never shows Marley affection and doesn’t learn why until it’s too late.

I loved this complex family drama. I find it fitting that I am writing this review on International Women’s Day, as the novel features three independent, strong women: Elise, Marley, and Jade. The Joseph men repeatedly think of themselves and have selfish actions. At the same time, the three women continue to do everything for their friends and family, sparking a change in expectations and mindset for the generation that will follow.

This story is beautifully written, and I’m glad I chose it for my January BOTM. It was a unique read with excellent character development. Although it is contemporary fiction, it has elements of mystery woven throughout.

Thank you, @netgalley and @celadon books for the ARC.

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns
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The town of Mercury is home to the Joseph family, who run their own roofing business. When the town church has a roofing emergency it forces the family to talk about their past and come to terms with with some hard truths.
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What I liked:
-I thought this was a really good family drama. No family is perfect and the Josephs had lots of their own issues to learn through the course of this story.
-I loved learning more about each character and how I felt completely different feelings towards each of them by the end of the story. When you know a persons past you can understand how they became the person they are.
-The story slowed a little in the middle but I liked how it ended.
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3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 This was my first book by this author but I would like to read more.

This book is part lit fic, part romance, part family saga, and part coming of age fiction. There are secrets and mysteries that I never expected to be woven so well into the lives of a few people. This is a study of a family and the people they depend on as they try to grow a roofing business and hold their relationships together.

I love complicated characters. This book takes it to a new but completely realistic level. These characters feel like people pulled out of real life and portrayed accurately on the page, with all their flaws and all their successes.

Mercury discussed who we are and who we’re meant to be. It remembers the members of families that are typically forgotten and pays homage to the roles they play in our lives. This is a close look at an imperfect family who frequently makes the wrong choices but in the end make the right ones.

I loved the ending and the hope for the future of each character it showed.

Such a fantastic story! I was so sucked into this family and all it's secrets, highs and lows. I loved how it was written and I would love to read more by Burns.

The family drama that I’ve seen make its way across bookstagram the past few weeks definitely lived up to the hype for me!

Told in alternating POVs and timelines, it’s the story of the Jospeh family - their wayward father, their steely mother and the 3 boys. When Marley moves to town and becomes irrevocably tied to the family, she sees just how dysfunctional their family ties are.

This one really worked for me, as family dramas usually do. The alternating POVs gave so much insight to this little family and I couldn’t put it down! The story explores so many things - family dynamics, family trauma, small towns, loyalty and duty. The characters were INCREDIBLY flawed - all of them - and it made for such rich storytelling. I highly recommend!

The *one* thing that irked me the entire time is that the characters were all VERY self aware - but they were young and naive. It would take decades of therapy to get to their self actualization that they achieved at 18-25 years of age😜. Being in their heads propelled the story forward, sure, but it annoyed me that they were so well spoken at such a young age.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this one. Character-driven books are hit or miss for me, and it really depends on the format I use (audio vs. physical), my mood, and the writing style.

I think I’m just at a time in life where this family drama hit hard and moved me. I loved the author’s writing style and how she developed each character so well. You loved (most of) them, but knew they were flawed.

I really enjoyed the brothers - all different, but all likable in very specific ways. The parents weren’t great, but you understood what demons they were struggling with.

Marley and Way’s marriage was so well done. It’s hard. Period. But their love was so evident.

Also a huge fan of the mid-1990s and small-town Pennsylvania setting. (Side note - is the 1990s historical fiction? Please say no because I was born then. Thanks. 😅).

While this dramatic family saga initially took some time to draw me in, I found that somewhere along the line I couldn’t put it down. The author does such an amazing job of letting you feel one way about a character before introducing a new perspective and suddenly turning everything on its head.

The way the story is told, starting with the ‘eerie discovery’ in the church attic and then rewinding to Marley’s arrival in town years earlier, really exemplified how so many decisions make up a life. And how things could be so different if we were to choose different paths, like that Charles Dickens quote: “...think for a moment of the long chain of iron or gold, of thorns or flowers, that would never have bound you, but for the formation of the first link on one memorable day.”

Marley is, in many ways, that first link. Will she be the downfall of this family or its salvation? And the same can be said of the Josephs to her.

It left me thinking about how love, from just one person, has the power to change someone’s life, and also, how the lack of it can shape their very existence; the person they become and all of their actions from that point forward. By the end of this story, I felt compassion for every character, even the ones I had previously felt nothing but anger and resentment towards. The ending felt very cathartic and I was genuinely pleased with how it all turned out.

I really can’t say if the Josephs were the best thing that happened to Marley or the worst; I think the author would leave that up to each person’s interpretations. But I can say that the story felt very genuine, in all of the gritty and beautiful and heartbreaking moments that make up a family. And a life.

“There’s more to this life than just trying to survive it.”

Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for allowing me to read this title in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first book by this author and I DEVOURED it. I loved the family drama, SECRETS, suspense / mystery aspect. It kept me wanting to know more and engaged. The ending broke my heart and I literally cried. Just loved the way this book was written and I highly recommend it!!

I loved this literary fiction book! It was definitely character-driven, but unputdownable at the same time. Normally character-driven books can be a bit sluggish for me and while I enjoy them, they aren't always quick reads. I flew through this book and found myself not wanting to read anything else. I loved the complicated Joseph family and of course, Marley.

I loved this story and it's accuracy in how easy it is to become stuck in a small town. I grew up in a small town myself and never really left (moved about an hour away). A sweeping novel of family and family relationships in an area like this. Despite our flaws, we tend to still have each others backs and generally, there is at least one family member who acts as the glue and keeps us all connected. Beautiful story.

I really liked this book. It fulfilled a challenge prompt of book with multiple viewpoints. I liked reading about the family dynamics and also the things we keep private even from those closest to us

Loved this story of a roofing family in Pennsylvania and the young woman who comes to town and becomes a part of the chaotic group. Well-drawn characters and a plot that seamlessly takes readers from the present to the past and back again a few times without missing a beat. I love small town novels where interesting things happen beneath the surface and Mercury is one of those books. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an advanced readers copy. Amy Jo Burns is a writer to watch.

Seventeen-year-old Marley is new in town, but quickly becomes part of the Joseph family. She first dates one brother, then marries another, then mothers the youngest. Throughout it all, she strives to make a family out of them all.

This is a slow moving coming of age story. I feel like it could have been better served by spanning more time actually. I had a hard time reconciling the actions of all the characters with the fact that most of them were just in their very early 20s.

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns was a book I was so sad to finish. From the time I got to the last page I was already missing Marley and the Joseph brothers. Set in 1990's in the small town of Mercury, Pennsylvania-- seventeen year old Marley and her mom come into town and turn the world of the Joseph family upside down. Caught in a sort of love triangle with Baylor and Waylon, the elder Joseph brothers, and becoming a mother figure to Shay the younger brother. The Joseph brothers own a roofing business and dad Mick is quite a character. Elise Joseph, the mother, is cold to Elise but has many secrets of her own. The characters in Mercury were flawed but fabulous and this was a really outstanding literary fiction novel.

I enjoyed this literary fiction book. It was heavily character driven, but easy to read and hard to put down. I found myself flying through the pages. I loved the complicated Joseph family. I highly recommend this book!

I was immediately entranced by Marley West's journey in search of belonging and family in the small town of Mercury. The Joseph brothers add depth to the story with their enigmatic presence, keeping the narrative rich and engaging.

Burns' writing is beautiful and poetic, with each sentence crafted with care and emotion. While the book's first half held my full attention, I found the pacing slightly slower in the second half, with some minor disruptions to the flow of the plot.

Despite these minor drawbacks, "Mercury" remains a compelling read that I highly recommend. Burns' talent for creating vivid characters and evoking a sense of time and place shines throughout the novel, leaving readers eager for more.

In conclusion, "Mercury" is a beautifully written story and will linger with me. I eagerly anticipate exploring more of Burns' work.

I adored this book. Please give me all the family drama, all the dysfunction, all the poor communication, hurt feelings. disappointment, throw in people so desperately longing to love and be loved but unsure how to do it and I am here for all of it.

I was immediately drawn into the Joseph family story. I cared about each of the siblings and wanted to see if Marley could save them from themselves.

I have so many thoughts - is this book a reverse gender Little Women? Marley, like Laurie in LW, is beloved by all the siblings. The roofs they built provided what the Josephs were looking for: stability, security, comfort. The Great House is Mick: broken, disheveled, pieced together. I could go on all day.