⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🎧Song Pairing: Breathe - Faith Hill (I wanted 90s country and I got it)

💭What I thought would happen:

When I hear mercury I think: space, mercury is in retrograde or mercury in my sashimi 😂 this book has nothing to do with any of that

📖What actually happens:

Marley is new to the small town of Mercury. A daughter of a single mother, she is taken pity on by the mother of the infamous Joseph boys. When Marley gets an invite for dinner her life will forever be changed and entangled with the Josephs.

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

AN EXCELLENT BOOKCLUB PICK! I think there are many discussions that can be had around the relationships of all of the characters. Just saying if you need a not-cliche choice

I made it my mission to choose more contemporary literature this year over romance because I genuinely love it more but get sucked in by the pretty covers. DAMN IT! 😂

Speaking of covers…if I hadn’t seen several trusty Booksta friends loving this one I would not have given it a second glance. Seriously that cover has me soooooo BORED! I want to be hot and bothered by the site of a sezzy book (no I don’t mean a man with his nips out on the cover)

Overall, amazing start to the year with this gem! Can’t wait for it to get all the recognition 🤍

3 stars .....as it was a slow burn with deep rooted family drama that I don't think I was ready for.

It's rare that Celadon provides a physical copy, and eArc and Audiobook for a book that doesn't capture my interest right off the bat. It may have been a miss for me, but if you are a fan of dysfunctional family drama and a very character driven story - then this book is for you!

Thank you to Amy Jo Burns, Celadon, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a physical copy, and eArc and an audiobook version of this publication. In return, I have promised to provide an unbiased review.

This was so good! It was a character driven drama with complex family dynamics. It also held elements of romance and coming of age feelings. The characters were realistic and flawed yet likable. It felt as though I really knew these people!

Mercury is a small town in Pennsylvania and the story takes place in the 1990's. I love settings in the 90's; so close yet pre-dating cell phones and social media so communication styles are quite different.

I will definitely be recommending this to people!

I completed this book on January 4th. I rarely give 5 star reviews and here I am, 4 days into the year, giving it all away.

This story will move you on so many levels. From a heartbroken and scared teenager to motherhood and family; to the joy of birth and the grief of loss. Secrets will forever bind some. Secrets will ruin some lives.

This is a coming of age of sort; however, it is also about the changing of a family dynamic. What are you willing to do for family?

I really do not have any words that will do this book justice. It was a beautifully written story that will make you feel all of the emotions. There is something for everyone. There is mystery, love, family, dysfunction, drama, and so much more. Just do yourself a favor and read it. There are multiple POVs and timelines that just all work themselves together in the end.

I received an advanced copy of the book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

When 17 year old Marley comes blazing into the small town of Mercury, Pennsylvania, she seeks friendship and a family of her own. Almost immediately she is brought into the world of the Josephs, a dynamic family of roofers struggling to keep their business afloat.

It is near impossible to not fall in love with the Joseph family, foibles and all, and I found myself so immersed in their world, I did not want to leave it. The author gives us just a taste of small town PA life and the hardships and struggles blue collar workers endure. One important aspect of this story is the concept of found family - the loner who finds their place in the world - and Burns executes it to perfection.

At the end of the day, the driving force of this story are the characters. Each and every one of them are incredibly authentic and wholly relatable. When they are sad, it is hard for the reader to not feel their pain; when they are happy, it’s hard not to feel elated. As I reached the midway point and began to encounter the mystery that is dangled at the beginning, I found myself flying through the pages wanting desperately to know what happens to this family and whether or not they would be okay both physically and emotionally.

I did an immersive read, reading with my ears (via the audiobook) while also reading the physical book, and have to say how amazing this story is on audio with Maria Liatis at its helm. She navigated through a large cast of characters and yet every single one was easily distinguishable. As emotional as this read is already, she ups the anti significantly and is part of the reason I connected on such a visceral level.

*2024 Favorites*

Read if you like:
•family dramas
•character driven
•mystery subplot
•strong MC
•found family
•coming of age

Thank you {partners} Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio for my gifted copies.

Amy Jo Burns brings a working-class family alive in Mercury.

This book was excellent on audio, narrated by Maria Liatis. I had a print copy on hand but kept switching to the audio!

It starts off in 1990, when teenager Marley and her hardworking mom are new to town. There's a discovery early on, but the reader doesn't get all the details until later in the book. Burns kept me turning the pages by introducing several intriguing plot points.

One other thing I really liked about this one is that it's not trite. Things don't all conveniently come together for everyone. It's gritty and real, and brought to mind my own family.

Thank you to @macmillan.audio @celadonbooks and @netgalley for my ALC.

I found the audiobook narrator easy to listen to. I had no issues with the quality of the audio or with downloading the file. All in all, a great audiobook!

The story follows the Joseph family who run a roofing company in small town Mercury, Pennsylvania. The story starts with a body being found and goes back to the beginning of how they came to be so dysfunctional. It’s a close study in families, the trauma they are born into and acquire, and a look at the sacrifices women made/make when raising a family.

I generally prefer more plot driven books but I’m glad I stuck with the book to see how it all wrapped up.
There were a few heavier topics (death, miscarriage, PTSD, coming out) so heads up if those are triggering.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to listen to the audiobook ARC for this book. This book hooked me early and kept me interested. I enjoyed hearing the story from multiple points of view which provided the "full picture" of the family "drama". I continue to think about this one even though I finished it.

This was really good! I was almost immediately hooked by the story of the Joseph family and a young girl named Marley who wanted to belong and connect to someone. Marley and her mother move around a lot so she hasn’t had the chance to make close friendships. When she first becomes involved with this family, she wants a spot at the dinner table more than anything else. It didn’t take long for me to become completely invested in this story.

Set in the 1990’s, the book spans quite a few years and we see the family grow and change. This is not a perfect family, not at all, and they have plenty of secrets, but they also share a powerful bond. The two oldest Joseph boys work in and help run the family’s roofing business and eventually, Marley becomes a vital part of the company. When the secrets start to unravel, they have to learn how they can move forward.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Maria Liatis did a great job with this story. I don’t think that I have listened to this narrator’s work before but I was very impressed. I thought that the voices that she used for the characters in this book were incredibly well done. I found her voice to be pleasant and easy to listen to. She added just the right emotion to her reading to really help the story come to life. I am certain that her performance added to my overall enjoyment of this book.

I would recommend this book to others. This family was a complicated one, as most are, but I loved this journey that we take with them in the pages of this book. I hope to read more of this author’s work very soon.

I received a review copy of this book from Celadon Books and Macmillan Audio.

*4.5 Stars On My Instagram Account*

"Do you think it's possible to spend your life loving the wrong people?"

"...I think it's more likely we love the right people in the wrong way."

Just one of many profound moments that left me stunned into contemplation while listening to the quiet slow burn world building created in the deeply felt family drama Mercury by introspective author Amy Jo Burns.

In 1990 17 year old Marley slowly drove into the small blue collar town of Mercury never suspecting her life would change forever. She spots the Joseph brothers on a roof working to repair it. She meets older Baylor first. He's exciting, good looking, a bad boy oozing sex. But it's Baylor who runs away from the younger Marley. Then she's with middle son Waylon; he's cute, kind and keeps her safe. Their eventual union will cause his mother to push Marley away, wanting the girl to have more than a life raising sons in a dead end town. But the first son Marley raises is the youngest Joseph son, Shay. A surprise baby he feels the indifference from his parents but Marley loves this boy.

Through hard financial times, health issues, and well harbored resentments these six people somehow become a family but the taut tightrope they walk with one another is holding on by a thread when a body is found in the church attic; especially since at least one of them already knew it was there for a long time.

I became an instant fan of voice actress Maria Liatis who brought all the angst, anger, regret, sacrifice and love that all families deal with through life.

Like the liquid chemical Mercury, these lives can be heavy but when it flows with love it sets the right temperature.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from #macmillanaudio via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

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 character-based family saga has all the small town drama, secrets, and dysfunction that you could ever want. Although this was a bit of a slow burn, the wait was worth it to see each character fully develop throughout the book. Amy Jo Burns successfully makes you feel like you know each character personally. I listened to this on audiobook and thought Maria Liatis did a wonderful job. It was perfectly paced and filled with emotion without taking away from the beautiful writing. Great debut novel!

Calling all family drama fans….Mercury should be on your TBR.

A roofing family’s bonds of loyalty are tested when they uncover a long-hidden secret at the heart of their blue-collar town.

The very beginning of this story gripped me! I had to get to the bottom of it but you have to start at the beginning. The dual timelines were seamless and multiple POV’s gave so much insight into the family dynamics. Once you figured out the hidden secret though not much else happened after that. As with most character driven stories the pace was slow so my interested waned a bit towards the last third of the book. Overall this book was alright for me.

If you like character driven family sagas be sure to check out Mercury!

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.

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.

🎧 𝙉𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 🎧
Maria Liatis did a great job bringing Marley to life and narrating this story. Her character was very believable and the emotion behind the people in the story was spot on. I would enjoy listening to her narration again in the future!

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

I devoured this audiobook. I really liked We Are The Brennans and this book reminded me of that. It’s a bunch of layers to this family that we slowly learn about them throughout the story.

Short synopsis: At the age of 17 Markey moves to the small town of Mercury and meets the Joseph family, falling quickly for Waylon. Now, a body is found in the attic of the church.

My thoughts: Such a great family drama with well developed characters with completely relatable stories. This is a story of family, loyalty, work, and ultimately love.

I completely binged this one, I couldn’t help but immerse myself in the life of Marley and root for her growth. I really enjoyed the different relationships she forged with each person in the Josephs family.

The family as a whole was so flawed and complicated, starving for attention and love, but not quite sure how to show it or ask for it. I was completely enamored with the small roofing business and watching how each character worked to better (or diminish) it.

Read if you love:
- Complex family stories
- Slow burn
- Mystery
- Small businesses
- Character driven stories

The narration was so well done in this! The narrator told the story so beautifully and i felt completely hooked with the characters due to the voice acting.

I am sure I am going to be an outlier on this one as it was beautiful written with interesting characters. However, it was just missing something for me which made it good, not great. This is a character-driven story and each character had excellent growth and unique journeys. I did enjoy the individual POVs towards the end of the story to show how the Joseph family handled the events throughout the book but wish we got more from them sooner.

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.

Mercury is a slow burn family drama and coming of age story with a touch of mystery to keep things interesting.

This character driven novel is centered around Marley who moves to the small town of Mercury, Pennsylvania with her mother. When they arrive in Mercury, Marley is cautiously optimistic that this might be the place they finally put down roots. One night she is invited to dinner at the home of the Joseph family and this will change the course of her life forever. Over the years Marley plays many roles within the Joseph family. She is a wife, adopted mother, caretaker, secret keeper and the one that got away.

The audiobook is narrated by Maria Liatis. I loved her portrayal of Marley and she brought the town of Mercury to life. This is the first novel by Amy Jo Burns that I have read but it will not be the last! Mercury is a great pick for fans of small town fiction with endearing and memorable characters.