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A review by spow
Mercury by Amy Jo Burns
5.0
When trying to decide whether I wanted to read this book or not, I kept seeing the words “slow-burn” to describe it. Now that I’ve finished it, this was no slow burn for me. Mercury is a powerful look at one family’s dynamics, what makes them work and what tears them apart. It’s beautifully honest in drawing out each character’s flaws while also highlighting their redemptive qualities.
While the synopsis talks about the Joseph boys, I think this story revolves around the women in the Joseph family, who are the overlooked glue of the family. Marley is a high school senior who shows up to town and quickly starts a romance with one Joseph brother but ends up marrying another. As she works to gain acceptance into the family and her mother-in-law’s graces, she entwines herself into the Joseph brother’s lives, giving them each something they need. Meanwhile, Elise Joseph gives all she has and more to her husband and children with little acknowledgment. She sees how her life has fallen away to the whims of her boys and wishes more for Marley.
What’s beautiful about this book is we get to see into the hearts and minds of each character, seeing both the good and bad that lives in each of them. Each Joseph boy is extremely complex internally even if his external actions seem simplistic. Just when you are ready to write off a character, the author goes inside their mind to help you understand where they come from and why they deserve redemption.
I could not put this book down, which is why this was not a slow burn for me. At first I wanted to see how the story enfolded, and then I could not stop learning more about the characters in that story. By the end of this book, I felt so connected to each character, flaws and all, that I was sad to say goodbye to them. This will not be a story that I will easily forget.
** Thank you so much to NetGalley and Celadon books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.**
While the synopsis talks about the Joseph boys, I think this story revolves around the women in the Joseph family, who are the overlooked glue of the family. Marley is a high school senior who shows up to town and quickly starts a romance with one Joseph brother but ends up marrying another. As she works to gain acceptance into the family and her mother-in-law’s graces, she entwines herself into the Joseph brother’s lives, giving them each something they need. Meanwhile, Elise Joseph gives all she has and more to her husband and children with little acknowledgment. She sees how her life has fallen away to the whims of her boys and wishes more for Marley.
What’s beautiful about this book is we get to see into the hearts and minds of each character, seeing both the good and bad that lives in each of them. Each Joseph boy is extremely complex internally even if his external actions seem simplistic. Just when you are ready to write off a character, the author goes inside their mind to help you understand where they come from and why they deserve redemption.
I could not put this book down, which is why this was not a slow burn for me. At first I wanted to see how the story enfolded, and then I could not stop learning more about the characters in that story. By the end of this book, I felt so connected to each character, flaws and all, that I was sad to say goodbye to them. This will not be a story that I will easily forget.
** Thank you so much to NetGalley and Celadon books for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.**