I loved Weyward, so when I saw that Hart had a new book coming out the combined magical realism, historical fiction, and mystery elements, I knew I had to read it. While beautifully written, I unfortunately struggled to connect with the characters enough to ever be fully drawn in.

Thank you Emilia Hart, The Borough Press, St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

★★★½
This review is a bit difficult to write, because The Sirens both pleasantly surprised me and left me wanting more.

The story follows two sets of sisters across different timelines, their lives entwined by incredibly realistic nightmares with just a touch of sleepwalking. I really enjoyed the blend of history, folklore, magical realism, and the present day—it was surprisingly moody and wonderfully atmospheric. Hart’s writing is truly beautiful. There’s this really wonderful, easy flow to the writing that makes the book hard to put down.

The cliffside house gave me strong Series of Unfortunate Events vibes—Aunt Josephine’s precariously perched house in The Wide Window, anyone?—and I adored that eerie, could-fall-into-the-sea-at-literally-any-moment feeling.

What didn’t hit for me was the character depth. While each character experienced some form of trauma, it was handled in a way that felt emotionally distant and almost nonchalant. Because of this, I never truly connected with anyone in the story. Even visually, I struggled to picture the characters clearly. By the time a a major physical change happens, it felt under-explained, even though small parts of it had been hinted at throughout the book. I was left a bit confused and wishing for just… more.

Overall, The Sirens is a beautifully written and atmospheric novel that’s a bit mystical and spooky, but is unfortunately lacking in any truly memorable character depth.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and the author for this ARC!

3.5
I was excited for this one, but it left me wanting more. I couldn't connect to the characters well. The atmosphere was very haunting, but I found myself getting a bit bored. I did enjoy the ending, though.

Emilia Hart was a new-to-me author that I've been very excited to check, with Weyward being on my TBR for a long time. Unfortunately, this book wasn't for me and I did not enjoy it. While it had objectively good writing, I was not drawn in to the plot or connected to the characters. I typically love a multiple POV, dual timeline story, but the voices were very similar, which added confusion. I already was not enjoying the story, but the ending seemed so incongruent with the rest of the story. I hate to be so negative, but had this not been an ARC, I would have DNF'd it. Many friends and bookstagrammers have recommended Weyward and commented on how it was intriguing read, so I still want to check that out, but this book was definitely not for me and I would not recommend it.

This was a very intriguing read. I definitely thought that the plot was unique and I think the author put a lot of time and energy into unraveling the mystery of it all.

The plot did seem to have a few frustrating holes and questions that I wish had been answered. I think some of those loose ends could’ve tied up for the reader.

The setting was so beautifully described and made me want to visit NSW!

I think readers who enjoy a feminist story with a big dash of mystery and magical realism will really enjoy this.

The Sirens is a captivating blend of family drama and dark allure, set against a striking coastal backdrop. The storytelling is immersive, with well drawn characters and a slow building tension that keeps you hooked. Some moments feel a bit predictable, but overall, it’s a beautifully written, atmospheric novel. Ideal for fans of layered, emotionally intense fiction.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart

This story felt like a mystery wrapped in a fairy tale. There are some twists I didn’t see coming and they were done so well! The multiple POVs are so well done and gave so much depth to the novel. This is a story of Jess, Lucy and Mary as they navigate the different tides of their lives. For Mary she is a prisoner on a ship that transports female criminals. For Lucy she has a violent dream that results in harming someone she thought she could trust and flees to find her sister. For Jess we learn about her past through diary entries that Lucy has found when she can’t find her sister.

This book is for those who like or want a contemporary fairy tale set in a world that glimmers with the myth of mermaids. This is a story about love, family and finding where someone fits in the world.

3.75 ⭐️

This is my first book by Emilia Hart. The was an intriguing story about the mythical creatures but with a more Irish folklore foundation. There were a few plot reveals that were predictable but I found most of them persuasive. The themes in this book were heavier than I expected, but I applaud Hart for intentionally exploring the dark experiences a lot of women have gone through but may not have the courage to talk about. The jump between timelines and characters were confusing at the beginning since we not only switch between past and present but also between characters. This is a story about sisterhood/motherhood, friendship, unbreakable familial bonds, finding one's place, and overcoming hardships.
I also have to say that mom is a saint of a woman. I have so much respect for her and her patience and grace given what the people around her put her through.

Please check trigger warnings for this one.

I loved the story of sisters divided by time. The separate story lines moved well and kept me engaged. I love the lore and the present day intertwining with each other.

The sirens was an incredible book! I can see the growth in Hart's writing from Weyward. I loved the historical fiction element as well as the magical realism elements. The dual sister stories were thoroughly explored and the characters felt rich and deep.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this early review copy.
This book was fantastic! Just like Weyward, I enjoyed every minute of it. The storytelling in the different timelines, the feminist story it told, and the emphasis on generational trauma was all amazing. I will pick up every book Emilia Hart writes.

Emilia Hart's first novel, Weyward, wsa a superb story & I was really hoping that The Sirens would be the same.
Sadly, it wasn't.
The first half of the novel, covering different time periods, introduces the reader to some excellent characters & situations. Hart's descriptions of places & people are brilliantly evoked.
However, the second half of the novel is quite weak. The sisters, in both time periods, were great characters, but Hart never delivered on the mysteries she had created for them in the early part of the novel. Perhaps I was expecting too much. Other readers may find this to be a great book. I just wish I had been one of them.

3 1/2 stars
I’ve rounded down as this just felt too long and a bit silly at times with the continued ‘pretending’ like the reader didn’t know what was happening the majority of the time. When your book is titled Sirens, one is going to assume that Sirens are a piece of the plot. So it’s not surprising when that becomes a part of the story. Yet for the first 85% of the book the author makes it seem like the Sirens are part of the mystery.

There is actually a bigger and better mystery that should have been more emphasized, although could be predicted by many (I suspected) the twist of that mystery is ‘good enough’ and could have carried the book instead of pretending we didn’t know Sirens were involved. Which brings me to the ending. It was weak. I think it tried too hard to placate the reader. I’d have liked an ending more bittersweet or tragically romantic.
The actual prose of Sirens is quite good. At times it feels the conscious narrative of our characters (first person) is a bit much; and the full blown narrated diary entries are ridiculous (no one writes dialogue in a diary the way they would in a novel!). Yet I still didn’t hate reading it which tells me the writing was good.

As someone with fairly severe hydrophobia I felt the descriptions of the sea, the hold of the ship (in our past narrative), and then an allergy to water (present day narrative) could have been amped up a bit to create more tension. If emphasis had been given to how much a dark, dank, rat infested ships hold would really feel knowing the crushing sea was just outside there could have been more horror and atmosphere. It would have helped counter any loss of mystery by acknowledging the Sirens aspect of the story.

Overall this is a good enough book. If you love small town family mystery and mermaid lore then it’s for you. If you are hoping for a scientific look, or a lot of magical realism then I’d say pass.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

It was an imaginative coming of age book. It was what I expected from her previous book Weyward which I gave 5 stars too I believe. I enjoyed the whimsical aspects a lot and the twist was so well done! Never would have guessed that it was going to go that way!

2.5 stars

This was lonely, dark, and sad to me. It felt like it was written by someone, in pain, in the back of an old, abandoned library. I just think this maybe wasn't for me? I had to push through to finish it. Considering this is the author of Weyward (which I DNF'ed) I'm leaning towards this author is not my kind of writer.

Compelling, mysterious, and a bit confusing. This is two stories of 2 different sisters.

The first set, Lucy and Jess. Lucy has just woken up strangling a man in her sleep. She's alarmed and embarrassed and quickly packs up and leaves to go visit her sister. Her sister, Jess, lives hours away on a cliffside overlooking a gorgeous view. But when she arrives, her sister isn't there. Days go by, she visits neighbors and cares for her sister's cat but she worries, what's happened that her sister isn't home?

The other stories, told in alternating chapters from Lucy, our other sister's POV, is Eliza and Mary. These 2 are on a convict ship of mainly women. They are being sent to Australia for their crimes, banished to live among the ruthless other convicts that run the island. They are terrified and the voyage isn't easy. They get to know the other women on the boat and band together to survive.

These 2 stories are both full of strength and perseverance. They show how strong women are together, especially when they lean on each other and help each other. There's an underlying theme, about violent men and the threat women feel. There's also a magical feel of water and each woman has a different relationship with it.

I liked the story and I found each set of sisters interesting in their own personal struggle. I loved that someone in our book club had a theory early on and it completely reshaped my thinking of the story and I loved it. But I did find the ending felt rushed and I'd wished we'd gotten just a little more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Emilia Hart is a master of her art and I loved every minute of this book. I went in with extremely high expectations after loving Wayward, and they were exceeded. I believe in reading books in the genre you’re in the mood for and I kept putting this one off for the longest time (my apologies). Please note, if you are reading my review- add to your TBR immediately.

Set in Australian history, the novel follows the lives of women on their personal journeys spanning decades and alternate POV. Lucy finds herself in trouble after a sleepwalking accident. The second timeline is set in the 1800s when and Eliza and Mary are torn from their home in Ireland. I loved the mysteries of the sea, the sirens, and how the story come together. Please note this does explore the generation of abuse and violence throughout the lifespan. This was a breathtaking work of fiction that felt all to non-fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my review!

This was a mesmerizing story about the bonds of sisterhood, self reliance and the mythicism that resides under the waves. Emilia Hart's writing was atmospherical and suspenseful, keeping me wanting to turn the page to see where the story was going to go. While some of the plot twists were a bit obvious it was still interesting watching how the clues were slowly revealed as the story went on. I really loved the relationships between both pairs of sisters and the character development of all of the girls as they faced similar problems despite being separated by hundreds of years.

I really liked this book. Kept me guessing till the end. I liked Jess and Lucy. Also I liked the different timelines. Easy read!

TY to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I loved this multi perspective tale of mermaids & family secrets. Both settings were vivid and immersive and absolutely lovely. If you love mermaids, you will love this book!