I truly wanted to love this one, with all the raving reviews. Unfortunately it just didn't do it for me. I found myself disconnecting totally from the story, I wasn't truly invested i made it to 30% but it's truly dragging for me and I had to stop.

A beautifully crafted drama about a family of men, at the center of which is the women who are the beating heart of it all. The Joseph men run a roofing business in the blue-collar town of Mercury, Pennsylvania, but the predictable future they've always envisioned is disrupted when a seventeen-year-old named Marley moves into town. She becomes the love lost to one brother, the wife of another, and the steady solace to all of them. The family that Marley walks into is one where Mr. Joseph, the father of the house, runs the business to fit his own pleasures and pad his own arrogance. And Mrs. Joseph, a fierce, yet subtle, firm, yet unreadable woman invites Marley into the family, while also keeping her at arms length. A buried secret in this tiny town will test the family's loyalties and force the Joseph brothers, with Marley leading the way, to choose the future they are going to build for themselves. This book had immensely engaging characters, a town that despite its lack of curb appeal became its own character, and commentary on motherhood and family that was amazing. Amy Jo Burns did a fabulous job crafting this narrative of loyalties and life's choices into a deceptive, redemptive, and honest story of families at their best and at their worst. I highly recommend!

“Marriages were not measured by time. They were tracked by disappointments, by hurts. Betrayals and apologies.”

“Was it the same to be desired as it was to be seen—to be wanted, and to be understood?”

4.5 stars rounded up! Loved it. Just loved it. The Joseph family is broken, doing everything they can just to keep it all together. But every family is broken in their own way, aren’t they? So it’s the loyalty. The sticking it out during the rough times. The underlying love. That is what defines it.

This is a book about blood family, found family, and the roots that bind them. It’s so easy to judge another persons marriage or home life, as Marley frequently does to the Joseph’s. But once you learn their backstory it all falls into place. And I commend Elise, the matriarch of the Jospeh clan, for holding her family together and doing her best to support her husband through his demons from the war, despite what outsiders think of her actions.

I love character driven stories like this, especially when they revolve around a family. I felt like I was in that big beautiful house with these roofers, watching their lives unfold. I very much enjoyed the character arc of each of the three Joseph boys, too. If you enjoyed We Are The Brennans or The Connellys of County Down, as I did, then you will love this one.

The audiobook was done so well! The narrator really captured the angst and emotion in these characters, bringing them to life for me. I highly recommend this one!

Thank you to Netgalley, Celadon Books, Macmillan Audio, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Mercury by Amy Jo Burns.

This is one of my favorite kinds of stories, a rich story for story's sake. Mercury is a small town and at the center are the Josephs, a family of roofers, a mom, dad, and their three sons. When Marley comes to town, the Josephs completely swirl around her, offering her romance, a seat at the table, and a lifelong of heartache, romance, and responsibility. But at the center of the story resides in the roof of a church, along with it's long suffering secret about the Joseph family, a family that continues to unravel.

This was written so well, and is just a literary banquet for the reader. It's rich plot and compelling characters, even the unlikable ones will help you slice right through this book like butter.

This is not the typical genre I would pick up and read, but I am so glad that I did.

I had the opportunity to read this book while I listened to it, which is one of my favorite ways to read. I thought the narrator was perfectly suited to the main character. She really captured the essence of Marley, and as Marley matured and grew older, you really felt that in the tone.

The book follows Marley who finds herself pregnant at 17. Marley marries into the Joseph family, and the book follows their lives. The Joseph's are a working class family living in a small town in the 1990's.

I found the book to be sweet and heartwarming. Marley is living in the Joseph household with her husband, his parents, and his two brothers. The family owns a roofing business that they are trying to keep afloat. Marley has to figure out her role in the family but also in life.

Each of the family members has their own troubles they are dealing with, and you truly fall in love with all of them (except the dad, I never liked him) and you get a sense of why they all are the way that they are.

This was just a great book about what it means to be family.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ALC. This was a miss for me. The story is boring and drawn out. I like more plot focused books with tons more suspense.

The story begins in 1990 as 17-year-old Marley West moves to the small river valley town of Mercury, Pennsylvania. When Marley meets the Joseph brothers, they become her whole world. As a perpetual loner, she has always sought a place at the dinner table and a family of her own, and the Josephs provide just that. Soon, Marley becomes part of the Joseph family as a young wife to one brother, The One Who Got Away to another, and adopted mother to them all. As the brothers’ own mother fades away and their roofing business struggles, Marley steps in. But when an unsettling discovery is made in the church attic years later, old wounds resurface, and the family’s survival hangs in the balance.

“Mercury” is a heartfelt, character-driven family drama with well-developed characters and an engaging plot. The story started off a bit slow, and I had trouble connecting with the characters at first. As Marley and the Joseph brothers grew older and came into their own, I enjoyed the book much more. The book switches between the past and present as well as between character perspectives, which allowed me to understand the characters better. With so much family drama, there is a lot to discuss about this novel, making it a perfect choice for book clubs and buddy reads.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Maria Liatis. I really enjoyed her storytelling, and I thought she did a great job voicing the many characters, both male and female. Her narration was so genuine, and I could hear the emotion in her voice as she spoke. This was my first time listening to one of her audiobooks, and I will definitely be listening to more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. This is narrated by Maria Liatis who does an exceptional job!

This is such a well written family saga that portrays life as it is in the Joseph family and their roofing business. Marley and her mom are new to town as they most often are. They move around annually by choice, never really settling down. But Marley craves a family and inserts herself into the Josephs without realizing that her initial dinners will change her life. The brothers Joseph live in a dysfunctional family in which they are all in the roofing business.

Very beautifully written, I loved the characters and found them very believable. The lives they lead include the ugly and beauty that all of us experience. I really enjoyed this story.

Highly recommend!

Thank you @netgalley, @macmillan.audio, @burnsamyjo @celadonbooks for an audio ARC of Mercury.

Release: 1/2/2024 (5*)

Wow – just WOW! This book was not even on my radar until a couple friends read a copy & raved about it. This was outside my normal, preferred genre & it was a breath of fresh air!

QOTD: What was the last book you read outside of your preferred genre?

This story focuses on Marley who is a newcomer to Mercury, PA & her relationship with each member of the Joseph family – Elise, the mother, Mick, the father & the three brothers, Shay-baby, Waylon & Baylor.

This book had all the feels. Each character was so well-written. They all have redeeming qualities that will have the reader connecting with even the “worst” one. Burns teaches us that family is not something set in stone, but what you make it. Marley proved to be the rock that held the entire Joseph family together. She played a different role in each of their lives. I am in awe of what she was able to take on at such a young age & continue adapting to over the years to become the Joseph family glue. Marley is easily one of my favorite female leads from the almost 400 books I’ve read this year.

Perfect for Tracey Lange fans. This will be one I obsessively recommend & it will stick with me as a standout.

“It’s 1990 & 17-year-old Marley West is blazing into Mercury, PA. Marley desperately wants a family of her own. The first thing she sees when she arrives in town is three men standing on a rooftop.

The Joseph brothers become Marley’s whole world before she can blink…Marley steps in to shepherd these unruly men. Years later…old wounds resurface & 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.”

#Fiction #Adult #Literary #LiteraryFiction #Romance #Literature #Marriage #Audiobook #Audio #ARC #Review #January #2024 #Mercury #AmyJoBurns #MacMillanAudio #TBR #AudioReview #Bookstagram #Booksta #Read #Books #Bibliophile #BookSlayer #Dementia #PTSD #HistoricalFiction #Family

This book really took me by surprise. I couldn’t put it down. I listened to the Audiobook version of this title. Narrated by Maria Liatis. Narration was on point. Clear voice, matched the story
Family dysfunction in a small town. High School sweethearts, family secrets, the urge to fit in. This all leads to a tornado of a story. It all ties in perfectly. An innocent Marley arrives in Mercury Pennsylvania and entangles herself with the Joseph Brothers.
This is a story full of Young Love, Loss, Perseverance, friendship, Mystery, and a whole lot of drama. If you grew up in a small town there is always a family like the Joseph’s.
This would be a great bookclub read.

Marley, an only child of a single mom who has moved every year lands in Mercury PA for her senior year of high school. Marley is seeking stability and a family structure and seems to have found it at the Joseph's dinner table.  The Josephs are a family of three boys who sit down to dinner every night with their parents.  In yearning for this sense of family she didn't notice the cracks in the Joseph family or the major flaws in each member or the secrets they were keeping from each other.  While she originally dated Baylor, she quickly fell for Waylon and married him right after graduation.  
There's a little love triangle and a dead body so there's some drama to move the novel along. In the end, the Joseph family is so dysfunctional that Marley turns out to be the stability they were seeking rather than the other way around.
I really enjoyed this one, it is more of a character driven novel than a plot driven one and I am fine with that.  I loved all the relationships and besides the ending which I am not sure was really consistent with the rest of the story.  I always love a good family drama and I thought this one was rich with drama. I had a bit of a hard time getting into it and I found the audio really helped spark my interest in the story.  I half listened and half read this one and it was the perfect way to experience this novel.  The narrator was great and I really enjoyed listening while walking around and then picking right up where I was with the book.
4.5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC to review

This is a character driven novel with very complex family dynamics, and complex characters. I really liked how the relationship between Marley and Elise developed throughout the book. They went from having not much in common to have their ultimate goal as the main thing that bonded them together, their love for the Joseph Family.

I really liked how the Joseph Family absorbs Marley into the fold and how in the end…they needed her just as much and she needed them.

The story was good, but a bit slow as is the case with many character driven novels. I prefer more plot driven, faster paced books. So while this book wasn’t something that I’d go for, it was still a decent read but I think people who enjoy character driven books with complicated relationships will really enjoy this one.

Read this for a sweeping family saga investigating what happens when a matriarch’s control begins to slip. The book handles very heavy topics, including dementia, assisted suicide (that in this specific case might actually just be murder), affairs, abuse, absent parents, teenage pregnancy, and more.

It’s an ambitious project that probably is true to some small town lives in America. For me, it moved a bit too slow and kept a bit too much emotional remove between reader and characters. It’s well written, but there wasn’t one character who I really connected enough with to be content with the ambling pace of the narrative.

Thanks, NetGalley and Celadon, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Dysfunctional family saga with a splash of mystery on the side. Amy Jo Burns fully immerses you into the Joseph family and you get to know each of the brothers deeply, secrets and all. Main character Marley is at the center of it all and her unique relationship with each of the brothers is explored. . There were parts of this book that I loved but there was a lot going on, maybe too much and the mystery part definitely takes a side role. Some elements of the relationships felt a little inauthentic to me. It’s not a miss for me but not a total home run either

I am not a literary fiction reader, but this book pleasantly surpised me. I found myself thoroughly invested in the lives of this family. Although, I do think at points the pacing was slow for me. Amy is so talented at creating well layered characters + making sure you get to know each member of this family! If you are a literary fiction reader I think this book will be a hit for you!

Beginning this, it became evident that this is not a typical book but a profound journey that demands immersion. The depth of the characters and the unique blend of desperation and warmth woven into the narrative create a captivating atmosphere that resonates with me on a visceral level.

Attempting to articulate the intricacies of this work feels like an exercise in futility. It is a creation that elicits shivers, provokes contemplation, and, above all, refuses to be confined by conventional descriptors. The characters, so authentically portrayed, became companions in a journey that felt both personal and universal.

The expression, at times, took on a poetic quality, elevating the storytelling to a form of art. It is a delicate dance of words that not only conveys a narrative but also captures the essence of the human experience in a way that is both unique and unforgettable.

In moments of desperation, there was an unexpected warmth that permeated the narrative, creating a rich emotional landscape. This paradoxical interplay of emotions added layers to the story, making it a compelling and unforgettable experience.

This creation is not just a traditional piece of writing; it is an immersive journey that transcends the boundaries of typical expression. To anyone seeking an adventure that goes beyond the ordinary, I wholeheartedly recommend exploring the pages of this extraordinary piece. It is an exploration of the human soul, an invitation to feel and live a narrative that is, in essence, impossible not to love.

4 stars

Few things draw me into a book more than family (especially sibling) dynamics, so I couldn't wait to jump into this most recent effort from Burns, who is a new author for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride.

Readers start off with Marley, a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, after she and her mother have moved to a new (small) town and already become enmeshed with the Joseph family: mom, dad, and particularly the three sons. Marley ends up a member of this family through biological ties, but, as these things often go, it's the emotional connections that are most riveting to trace over time.

Burns has a real knack for character development, and I loved that readers were not trapped in one perspective at the peril of others. We really do get a sense of the secrets and motivations of most of the characters we encounter, and the personal changes, evolving relationships, and in some cases surprising outcomes are all quite fulfilling.

I really enjoyed the audio version of this one, and I'll be giving that a special nod as I recommend this book widely.

Emotionally resonant and deeply nuanced, MERCURY will hit all the right notes for family drama lovers.

The character-driven story follows the Joseph family known for their roofing business and their three boys destined for it. Told in a non-linear fashion, the layers of this family are slowly peeled back to reveal vulnerable characters searching for a place in their family and in the world.

When Marley arrives as the new girl in a small town and finds a seat at the Joseph’s dinner table the family dynamics are forever altered. An unlikely matriarch of the family, Marley plays a different role to each Joseph son which speaks to the myriad of roles we each play within our families.

This is a story of dreams set aside, complicated family dynamics, and the consequences of loyalty above all else. As a mom of three boys, the 3 Joseph sons really stole my heart with their distinct triumphs and tribulations over the years. As I turned the final page, I knew I was going to miss these guys

The audiobook narrated by Maria Liatis was so well done. I’d highly recommend this format!

READ THIS IF:
You want to read unforgettable characters that leap off the page
A satisfying character arc warms your heart
You enjoy multi-generational family stories that explore the cost of quiet sacrifice


RATING: 4.5/5
PUB DATE: January 2, 2024

Many thanks to Macmillan audio for the ALC!