Mercury was a book I had high hopes for, having read so many glowing reviews. In all honesty, though?  It fell kind of flat for me.  The writing was beautiful, and that in and of itself makes me excited to give Amy Jo Burns another try in the future. I was up and down while reading Mercury, however. I struggled to immerse myself in the story in the beginning because it started out slow. Partway through, I found myself invested, only to lose interest again further in. I agree with my friend @theonewheremonicareads review in that I feel this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be character-driven or plot-driven.  It felt all over the place to me and had plot holes along the way that left me confused and disconnected. As negative as this all sounds, though, I'll say again that the writing itself was beautifu. I do look forward to checking out more of her books in the future...this one just wasn't for me.