Over the top indeed, this took a bit to get in to and not all the characters felt necessary but I was impressed with how it all weaved together.

While I could certainly sense where this was going early on, I appreciated the different female perspectives and how their voices each felt distinct. Each of them showed empowerment in their own way, sometimes with their looks, but often in what they were able to pick up by observing and strategy. it gave them each an interesting angle, though honestly I felt this definitely lagged in quite a few points. I don't know that 400+ pages was needed for how this ultimately wrapped up.

Overall, I'd recommend this as a fun beach read, but it didn't bring anything new to the genre.

This was such a fun and satisfying read. I absolutely love the women empowerment vibe of the entire story. I really grew attached to each of our women main characters. I loved the hollywood setting and movie set aspect. The brewing storm on the horizon also worked well with the story. Loved.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for this gifted copy of The Siren.

This was my first novel by Katherine St. John, but I know I need to get my hands on The Lion’s Den asap! The Siren is a cross between a sunny vacation read and a dark thriller, and I loved it. The setting transformed perfectly with the plot, going from dream Caribbean island to a raging hurricane.

The book opens on a movie set, and we see a lot of the behind-the-scenes of filming the movie as the plot of the book is set up. I thought this was a really interesting setting, and it made even the “slow” parts of the book fly by.

The author did an incredible job of making me side with initially unlikeable characters. In the beginning, Stella is a high maintenance movie star and Felicity is clearly a dubious character, both somewhat unlikable. By the end of the book, I absolutely loved all the women (except Madison) and how they came together to support each other.

I thought the tabloid articles inserted throughout the story did a great job of emphasizing the plot and giving the public’s perception of the characters, and served as the perfect epilogue.

Overall, this is a perfect summer thriller that definitely needs to make its way into your beach bag!

A sultry, tense thriller taking place beneath the Caribbean sun...a hurricane threatening on the horizon...and dark secrets hovering just under the surface, like sharks beneath the crystal blue water... And that's just the movie the characters are working on!

In Katherine St. John's newest book, The Siren, there's something of And Then There Were None about the way the characters are brought together (in this case, to film a movie at an island resort). Unfortunately, St. John could benefit from Agatha Christie's talent for pacing.

The Siren is a slooooow burn. It may be a thriller, but for way too much of the book the action and the thrills are limited to Felicity’s flashbacks, while the bulk of the story meanders along through the development of a (fairly dull) movie. As is often the way with thrillers that go on a bit too long, after many pages of relative inaction, everything happens all at once in one crashing denouement. Pacing-wise, this is where the book finally gets fun - plot-wise, it falls apart, but at least stuff is happening.

The characters are not much more than archetypes, not very thoroughly fleshed out, which is odd since the point of the achingly slow drag of the first 2/3 of The Siren seems to be to develop character. But all it does is pile up the stereotypes and layer evidence toward obvious, broadly drawn personalities and backstories the reader can understand way faster than the book gives us credit for. And once we hit the climactic part of the book, characters change their minds and motivations at the drop of a hat, making sudden choices that come out of nowhere...despite all those pages of character development leading up to it.

This is all super frustrating because, really, the bones of a great, fun, juicy story are in there; there’s just a lot of bloat and padding covering them up. I'd even forgive the unsettling weirdness of a certain choice made for the story's conclusion if it felt a bit more earned. But it just took too long to get to too little pay-off.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Rape, sexual assault, miscarriage, drug use and overdose, murder.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the advance review copy!

Thank you so much to @grandcentralpub for my gifted copy of The Siren, by Katherine St. John! This escapist thriller is out on May 4th, and if you like St. John’s first book, you’ll love this one too! The synopsis is in the comments.

I absolutely loved The Lion’s Den, so when The Siren arrived on my doorstep, I may have squealed a tiny bit, and put aside my books for this one. And, it was SO worth it!

The characters in The Siren fascinated me. You have all kinds of personalities, from down and out producer, to pretentious movie star, and more! As I started to figure out connections between them all, I started to want to devour the book faster to see what happened to them! Part of the story is told in dual timelines, and St. John staggers them out so well, and moves the second timeline towards present day at the perfect pace. And, as she did in The Lion’s Den, St. John packs a PUNCH in the last 75 pages. You won’t want to put the book down, and you’ll be begging for more of her writing.

Impeccable writing, great storyline, but the timeline was a bit confusing to start with the introduction of the characters. Overall, I really enjoyed this read, the characters were really well written. St.John really has a talent for storytelling some you love and others you loathe. If you enjoyed the TV show Revenge, I highly recommend this read.

The Siren truly is an escapist thriller. Katherine St. John is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors after reading The Lion's Den and The Siren.

CW: sexual assault, rape, sexual abuse, substance abuse, miscarriage

Movie star Cole Powers is staring in The Sirens, a film directed by his son, with his ex-wife Stella Rivers. The book follows Taylor, a producer who was recently involved in a scandal, along with Stella and her assistant Felicity. Filming takes place during hurricane season on the Caribbean island of St. Genesius. As secrets begin to unravel, the lies and cover ups start to feel more dangerous then the approaching hurricane. It seems like all of the lies revolve around Cole, who is not be the man the public thinks he is.

It took a little bit for me to get into, but once I did, I didn't want to put it down. I think it's because there wasn't much mystery present in the beginning, but I loved watching the tension and mystery unfold. The flashbacks helped understand the motive and added depth to the characters.

I loved that the women banded together to take down an abuser. I couldn't have asked for a more satisfying ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 4/5 stars

The Siren is a juicy, entertaining, and delightfully over-the-top mystery about Hollywood and murder. I love books centered around Hollywood - the drama, the scandal, the insanity. I love it all. The Siren takes the Hollywood glamour and then sets it on an island to make this even more of a perfect beach read.

The Siren tells the story of Cole Power (a mega-famous movie star), Stella Rivers (his ex-wife recently cast opposite him in a new movie), Taylor (the producer of said movie), Felicity (Stella’s mysterious assistant), and Jackson (Cole’s son and director of the film). The filming, which takes place on a Caribbean island, is cursed from the start and as more and more secrets are revealed, not everyone will make it to the end of the movie.

While it took me about 20% to really get into this one, once it all came together, I could not stop reading. It is the perfect blend of melodrama, humor, mystery, and (a tiny bit of) romance. I enjoyed St John’s previous book, The Lion’s Den, but loved this one even more. The characters are insane, but endearing, and the backdrop makes you want it to be summer already. I can’t wait to read this author’s next book.

Fans of Big Summer and The Hunting Wives will love this one!

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well, Katherine St. John has done it again! She has solidified herself as an auto-buy author in my mind. The Lion’s Den was one of my top books of 2020 and I was eagerly anticipating The Siren and it did not disappoint.

Movie star Cole Powers is starring in his son’s movie with his ex-wife Stella on a remote island. Working with them are Felicity, Stella’s assistant, and Taylor a producer who has fallen from grace in the midst of a Hollywood scandal. As a storm approaches and their secrets come out, all of their lies may be more dangerous than the storm.

Katherine St. John is the queen of summer thrillers. This was a page-turner that seemed to have new surprises around every corner. It was told from the perspective of the women on set, and each of them had their own compelling story that added to the drama and the suspense. I could not put this one down, especially for that last 100 pages.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the advanced copy of this book. The Siren will be released on May 4th!

The Siren by Katherine St. John is a superb read with a well defined plot and characters. Well worth the read!

Katherine St. John does it again! 🙌🏻⁣
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What do you get when you meet three unreliable narrators, filming a movie in the Caribbean with more unreliable characters? Pure juicy bliss! ⁣
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I don’t want to give too much away, but -⁣
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Stella’s a movie star, who’s career is on the rocks and she is suffering with depression and substance abuse. ⁣
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Felicity had to grow up too fast at ten years old and is now trying to figure out what really happened that day when she was ten, now almost 13 years later. ⁣
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Taylor is tired of living in a “boys club world” dealing with misogynistic assholes but trying to prove that she can.⁣
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Cole is a dream boat movie star on the outside but deserves the worst possible thing a person could endure for being such a terrible person. ⁣
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The drama, mystery, tension between characters, and all of the chaos that takes place in this story makes it unputdownable and so fun to read from start to finish. ⁣
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I also really loved the women empowerment and women uplifting each other and supporting each other in this one. All of these women had reasonable to be vulnerable but also knew they were a force together.⁣
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Lastly, hello island vibes and there’s a cute pup Mimi!⁣
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
Thank you @grandcentralpub and @thekatstjohn for an ARC for my honest review. This is a must read for the summer!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publishing for a gifted copy of The Siren. This is my first novel by Katherine St. John but certainly won't be my last! I was hooked by the premise of this story, a family reunion of sorts on a Caribbean Island to film a movie. This was the perfect escape during an abnormally cold spring! The first half of the story builds the tale through the perspective of three different women filled with fluff and destination jealousy, and by the second half of the story it becomes a mystery and thriller in the midst of a Category 1 hurricane. I loved it! I was growing concerned because this book for whatever reason wasn't making me want more initially, even though I really loved what I was reading! Then once the mystery aspect was introduced I was hooked and it did not disappoint! I loved how all the point of views of the women came together at the end and tied up the story nicely for a thrilling ending. And the weather terminology was absolutely perfect, this weather nerd's heart was happy!

WOW I absolutely LOVED this book! I loved the well-done multiple POVs, the female empowerment, and the suspense! I loved that each narrator had a very distinct and different voice, so I could always tell who it was. I loved that I didn't know who to trust, if my narrators were reliable or not, and that I was constantly wondering what would happen next. It was an extremely well done thriller and I'm so glad I got the chance to read it!

Thank you NetGalley for the eARC. While the premise was intriguing, this book fell flat for me unfortunately

Last summer I really enjoyed the authors debut, it was juicy and scandalous and gave me Jackie Collins vibes who is one of my all time favorite guilty pleasure authors, so I was really hoping her next book would be just as wickedly fun. It totally was! If you’re looking for yet another perfect summer read that will provide a much needed escape this is ideal.

I’ve always been a sucker for books about Hollywood, specifically the movie industry and I loved that this one follows the characters as they travel on location to shot a new film. It didn’t hurt that they’re filming on an island in the Caribbean either and the author did a great job of bringing the setting to life. There’s a big revenge plot here and I’m also a sucker for people trying to get vengeance, throw in some scandal, sex and rich actors behaving badly and you have everything I need for a delicious summer read.

I was a bit wary of this book at first, but it really picks up. Once I was halfway through, I didn't want to put it down. This is a perfect example of a novel that could be perfectly trashy, but redeems itself through a carefully crafted plot and compelling characters who subvert expectations. I loved how our female characters grew into themselves. Fair warning, this book does discuss topics like substance abuse, rape and sexual abuse, and power imbalance in industry. But they're handled in ways that I found caring, and not used for merely a plot point. Overall this is a fantastic beach read!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I loved this book. Sexy, steamy read that I couldn’t get enough of....I enjoyed this read thoroughly. Highly recommend.

Katherine St. John is an author that really grabbed my attention with her first book THE LION’S DEN, and THE SIREN might be even better than it was. It’s fast paced and absolutely unputdownable! One of those that so well written, beautifully detailed, and flawlessly written characters, it’s absolutely impossible not to be captivated and continue flipping pages! Original, unique, and intense! A story that has so many important themes intertwined within a riveting thriller, which is sure to entertain the biggest veteran reader of thrillers! A must read. A word of advice, clear your schedule and don’t start before bed, as this is one you’ll finish in one setting!

Will make sure to buzz around and use low Amazon reviewer number on release date!

This is an entertaining read, reminiscent of Sidney Sheldon or Harold Robbins at their best. It’s a fun, gossipy soap opera of a book, written with an insider’s knowledge of Hollywood and the entertainment industry. I enjoyed The Lion’s Den, but I think this book is even better. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Lion's den was one of my favorite reads last year. After my ARC request was declined everywhere I directly reached out to the publisher to beg (yes, at that point it was straight begging) for an early copy, so I was ecstatic when they sent me one (thank you, Tiffany from marketing 😄). I came into it with some trepidation cause it wouldn't be the first time I loved a debut novel but didn't like the second one, but fear not, The Siren is even better than its predecessor. And the bar was pretty high!

I loved it from start to finish. It was like carbs. I could not get enough of it and every time life called I started counting the minutes till I could get back to reading again.

The setting on a Caribbean island during a movie shoot was gorgeous. The Hollywood type characters (I could not help to picture them with some real people's faces) were really well portrayed, and their story arcs made me go through a whole range of emotions with each of them.

The use of the three female POVs worked really well as all their backstories were equally interesting. I also loved the interspersed news articles, IG posts, tabloid's gossip and interview snippets that added a nice touch to the story.

The plot moves at a really nice pace but once the hurricane alert is activated it reached breakneck speed. I could not take my eyes off my Kindle for that last 25%.

Hollywood glamour, secrets, murder, scandal, revenge and the Caribbean, if those are not the ingredients of the perfect read for this summer I don't know what they are. The Siren is a book about the shooting of a movie and at the same time a book I would love to see adapted to the big screen.

With just two books Katherine St. John has become an auto-buy author for me. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go look for a swimsuit matching that gorgeous cover. 😎

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.