I've been looking forward to reading The Sirens by Emilia Hart ever since I first heard about it earlier this year and I'm soooo happy to report that it did not disappoint! Actually, I think it exceeded my expectations! This book was the perfect mix of historical fiction, mystery, and fantasy all while being set in the real world.

I don't always love dual timelines, but this was done so well and added so much intrigue to the characters and how the past and present tied together. The historical fiction aspect comes from the POV of Mary, a girl being shipped on the Naiad alongside her sister, Eliza, and several other women to New South Wales in the 1800s. This is based on the true history of Britain sending convicts to create a new penal colony called New South Wales - Emilia has a great historical note with more information about this before the book begins! As readers we're given a front row seat to the cruelty Mary, Eliza and the other women faced aboard the Naiad on their way to New South Wales.

What's really interesting is that we were given some of these flashbacks through dreams that our main character Lucy (and eventually her older sister Jess) has. And while the story is mostly dual-POV, it's more like triple POV because we also get a POV from Jess through her diary from high school in the late 90s.

After fleeing university, Lucy goes to visit her sister in the coastal (fictional) town of Comber Bay in New South Wales - only to find her sister missing. She puts her journalism-student skills to the test to try and uncover the mystery of where her sister is, the strange disappearances of men in Comber Bay, and why the ocean seems to be calling her despite her aversion to water (water irritates her skin, causing it to itch and flake).

I was truly sucked into the story and was always eager to find out what happened next - whether it be from Mary's perspective or Lucy's. Our main cast of characters is full of strong women and we love to see it! What I wasn't expecting to see was the plot twists, but I am definitely not mad about it. This book kept me hanging onto every last word and I really had so much fun reading it!! Such an easy five stars for me and definitely a top contender for favorite of the year. And it pulled me out of the worst reading slump of all time! Bless!

Definitely pick this up when it comes out early next year! (especially all my ocean lovers)