If you’re looking for a feminist fantasy with deep-rooted history, mystery, and a touch of myth, The Sirens delivers on all fronts. The novel follows four women across different timelines, each navigating a world that tries to silence them. Their stories gradually intertwine, revealing a haunting connection to the sea and to each other.

In 2019, Lucy flees to the Australian coast after being betrayed and humiliated online, only to find her estranged sister Jess missing under eerie circumstances. As she searches for answers, she’s plagued by strange nightmares and an increasing sense that her past is tied to something much bigger. Through Jess’ diary, we’re transported to 1999, where she struggles with a mysterious skin condition and secrets her parents won’t share. Meanwhile, in the 1800s, Irish twins Mary and Eliza are sentenced to a convict ship bound for Australia—where the ocean seems to be transforming them into something beyond human.

Hart expertly weaves these timelines together, blending historical fiction, myth, and magical realism into a compelling narrative about resilience, sisterhood, and self-discovery. The pacing keeps you hooked, and the atmospheric writing makes the coastal setting feel almost alive. Fans of Weyward will love the rich character development and powerful themes of empowerment.

With its mix of mystery, folklore, and feminist themes, The Sirens is an immersive, thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me from the start! Lucy is such an amazing character, and her life unfolds in chapters that switch back and forth between present day and 1800, seen through dreams. As her timeline intersects with her sister’s, twists and turns that will have you gasping out loud! This is definitely a page turner, so buckle up and start reading!

The Sirens is a tale about two sisters intertwined with a past that is not their own. Emilia Hart did a great job of storytelling while also bringing light to a subject that isn't widely known. I read this book in less than one day. It is a quick and enthralling tale that I would highly recommend.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emilia Hart for this ARC!

I completely devoured Weyward earlier this year, so I was so excited to see The Sirens being released soon. And this did NOT disappoint. I was sucked in from the beginning and it easily kept me engaged throughout. The imagery and narration was beautiful, yet not too high-brow at all. The mystery part of it was really interesting and left just enough to the imagination and keeping me guessing without feeling frustrating or ridiculous. I’m also a sucker for time-jumping chapters (blame it on my ADHD) and Emilia Hart, yet again, did this extremely well. I love the magical place she puts the reader in and this novel of hers is another easy 5 stars for me!

I absolutely loved Weyward and was so excited to read Emilia Hart's upcoming release, The Sirens, and I wasn't disappointed! The way Emilia seamlessly blends both present and past is spectacular and kept me turning pages deep into the night; I couldn't put this down. The mermaid theme felt fresh and innovative when so many fantasy books these days are focused on Fae. And I loved the dual stories of sisters and the lengths we'll go to protect our family.

"By the author of Weyward" were the only words I needed to read to request an advanced readers' copy of The Sirens. I wish the strength of those five words were enough for me to have a higher-rated review. Unfortunately, this book and I did not match.

Sirens of mythology had the power to enchant sailors, using their songs to lure men to a watery death. Only when it was too late to escape would the sailors see the true nature of the ethereal singers. The story in this book follows that theory, knitting together a pair of sisters from 1800 and a pair from 2019. Mary and Eliza are convicts, being forced aboard a ship leaving from Ireland bound for a penal colony in New South Wales. They are surrounded by other women who were also convicted of crimes and conscripted to an unknown fate. Lucy and Jess are sisters separated by both age and physical distance. When Lucy finds herself in deep trouble at school, she flees campus, seeking safety with Jess, even though they haven't seen or spoken in over a year.

Much of the story bounces between pieces of the past and the unfolding picture of the present. But instead of being drawn into a curious mystery, I quickly discarded any illusion, instead finding myself reading a gritty, strange book that I grew less and less enchanted by. The setting is atmospheric and immersive--especially scenes from Mary and Eliza's time. But it was an atmosphere that this reader found unsettling rather than engrossing. From characters to plot, I just couldn't find a connection to The Sirens.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the fantasy that melded so well with the country's history.
I loved how much the author understood that she was not the one to tell the story of the country's natives. And her acknowledgment of the people and the Elders who live and lived on the land where the story is based on,

This was my first book by Emilia Hart (although I intend to read Weyward this year) and I wasnt disappointed. She has a way of describing things that makes you able to feel, smell, and taste your surroundings. This was a story of generational power, of family, of feeling different from those around you, and of women. Women who are powerful and monstrous and strong.

There were parts of this book that were incredibly predictable for me. There were passages that felt like they'd intended to be grand reveals, but that'd I'd confidently predicted chapters earlier, so there wasn't much oomph to the curtain pull.

I really liked what the epilogue added to the narrative even though it wasn't a traditional epilogue.

Last year I read Emilia Hart's Weyward and loved it. When visiting my local Indie Book Store, I was telling the owner, Terri, how much I enjoyed Weyward and she told me that she thought The Sirens, Emilia Hart's new book, was even better. That intrigued me and I immediately applied to for an ARC.

After finishing this book, I have to agree with Terri! The Sirens is a powerful read that looks at the history of British Empire transporting prisoners, in this books specifically women, and what that trip would look like and what fate would await them, as well as exploring the coming of age, coming to know and understand yourself, and the magic of sisterhood.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sirens, as you can imagine is about these kinda creepy versions of mermaids who have been kept from water their whole life. There’s an intriguing dual timeline where you see current day estranged sisters with silver skin and a pull to the water and twin sisters in the 1800’s with similar feelings towards water on a prison ship we know eventually sinks.

It was fun to explore the relationships between sisters in the two separate timelines, but as with most books featuring dual POV’s, I usually find one more engaging over the other. I found the plot twists to be pretty predictable, for somewhat obvious reasons, but I still like how everything tied together in the end.

I wasn’t obsessed with the story, but still had a pleasant reading experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Emilia Hart for this eARC.

I have had this on my digital bookshelf since September and tried to pick it up multiple times and did not get into the storyline. As an ARC reader, I finish the books I'm given no matter what. With that being said, if I had not received the ARC, I may have DNF'd this one. I didn't relate to the characters, but in reading other higher reviews, some did. I did enjoy the historical aspect of this book. As a reader, you can see the amount of work that has gone into researching and writing this novel.
2/5 Stars
*This review is my honest opinion and my differ from yours.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for providing this eARC for my review!!

⭐️: 3.5/5

Having loved Weyward, I was so excited to dive into The Sirens. I love historical fiction books, especially when they intersect with fantasy or magical realism concepts, which is why I loved Weyward so much. I was expecting something kind of similar, and wasn’t disappointed in that regard, but I ultimately just didn’t feel like this one held up to the high standard that Weyward set.

There were several POVs and timelines, one in the far past, one in the present, and one in the more recent past. I wish that the far past chapters were dated every time, even if it was just a general year, and not day/time, because I kept forgetting how FAR in the past it was supposed to be. I just like having that continuity of thought, without having to flip backwards and forwards to reference things.

The themes that were touched upon, primarily male violence and the impact it has on women, and powerful women standing up to their oppressors, were pretty similar to Weyward as well, just with a different mythology involved. Even after finishing the book, I felt like I didn’t quite understand the underlying fantasy vibes, and I wish we had a bit more clarity there. The first half was a bit hard to get into, maybe because I just had trouble connecting to the characters as they were portrayed at the beginning. While I did ultimately end up getting invested in the characters and the plot around the halfway or 60% point, overall this read was just ok for me.

I loved Weyward by Emilia Hart. I chose that book as my very first Book of the Month pick, and it went on to become my favorite book of 2023. So, I have been eagerly awaiting The Sirens since it was first announced!

The Sirens is told from multiple points of view, telling the story of two sets of women in various timelines. Lucy and Jess live in modern-day Australia. In that storyline, we get the current-day storyline set in 2019 with some flashbacks to the 1990s. In Mary and Eliza’s chapters, we see them aboard a crowded convict ship sailing from Ireland to Australia in the early 1800s and are also given backstory from their earlier lives.

Their stories are moving and often heavy. Like Weyward, this is a book about healing, the dangers women face from men, and the resilience of women. There are also mysteries, family secrets, and exploration of some truly horrific parts of Australian history.

I loved the focus on truth throughout the story. There’s an emphasis on how not telling the truth can cause damage in personal relationships. There is also a focus on how not accepting that bad things have happened - either in the present or historically - causes harm.

And yes, sometimes, people look away from inconvenient facts […] Most people just want an easy life. It’s unsettling when someone starts pulling apart the stories we’ve stitched together, the things we tell ourselves for comfort.

Emilia Hart’s books are not in the genres I read the most, but her stories, steeped in history, always draw me in. I love her writing and her strong feminist messages and will continue to look forward to all of her future books.

As Emilia Hart said in her acknowledgements section, “… this novel is about the ability of water—and sisterhood—to heal and transform.” The stories of mermaids that we grew up on go something like this: a young and naïve girl longs for a life she does not have, a life in which she is able to shed her fins and tail and scales and live amongst the humans on the shore. It’s a dream that she’s had for a while, as she’s never felt like she fit in with the rest of her community, but it is escalated when the young mermaid sees a beautiful boy and falls in love at first sight. Suddenly, she begins to live for him, rely on him, change everything about themselves for him. She gvies her voice, her tail, her life as a mermaid permanently and is forced to feel a stabbing pain with each step. But it’s worth it to her – for love, for her dream, it is worth it.
If you’re lucky and you were told the Disney version of the Little Mermaid, then you’ll have watched that young girl marry the man of her dreams, waving to her family in the water as her father creates a rainbow in the sky. The sea witch will be gone, her mermaid life does not disappear entirely, and she gets to live her happily ever after.
If you were told the original Hans Christian Andersen story, you will find that the mermaid’s sacrifice is for naught. When the prince awakens after the little mermaid rescues him, the first woman he sees is another and, automatically assuming she is the one who saved him, he falls in love with her. Right before the mermaid’s very eyes and holding the train of his lovely bride, the young girl watches as the man she sacrificed everything for marries another woman, knowing that it will result in her death. The prince in this version of the story never loved the mermaid – at least not in the way that a man can love a woman. He loved her for what she could offer him, offer his ego and, much like Narcissus in Greek mythology, he thought so highly of himself that he never even thought to wonder if that was enough. He treated her like a dog, offering her a spot on his bedroom floor to sleep on a velvet cushion. As a reward for her devotion, he dehumanized her, and she had no choice but to take it gratefully because what other options did she have? The mermaid seems implied to be the poster child of an ideal woman, young and innocent, easily malleable, seen and not heard, and able to walk elegantly and delicately to maintain her allure even if each step feels like metal rods are being driven into her feet. She is expected to be the man’s confidant, therapist, biggest fan, play toy – and when the man has sucked her dry, she is to be tossed aside for a newer, younger, more easily malleable girl, yet she still must be grateful for the man’s interest in her in the first place.
The Sirens novel leans more towards the original story of The Little Mermaid, the one where a young girl is taken advantage of by an older man, forced to deal with pain and physical malformations in hopes that said man will fall in love with her. The mermaid is groomed into thinking that this man does actually care for her, that their maturity levels and age differences are irrelevant when their love is so vibrant and palpable. But the little mermaid never imagines that the man is aware of her age and how her immaturity leaves her vulnerable to his authority. He views her as a child, someone that he can use for her body and her kind words, stroking his ego with each lingering touch.
The story goes back and forth between the year 2019 and the year 1800, between sisters Jess and Lucy and sisters Mary and Eliza, respectively. Mary and Eliza have always been attached at the hip, willing to do any for each other, even if it means killing someone. This devotion to each other results in their conviction and banishment from their town, thrown on a ship with other female convicts to be sailed down to Australia and auctioned off to a man set on turning her into a servant, or a sex slave. These women are stuffed in a small room under the deck, barely fed and barely allowed to bathe, forced to prostitute themselves for their basic rights, forced pray for salvation, and when their prayers go unanswered, they are forced to pray for death. In 2019, 20-year-old Lucy follows her sister, Jess, to Comber Bay seeking her own form of salvation after she wakes up one morning with her hands locked around her ex-boyfriend’s neck. Her sister is seventeen years older than her, and when their age gap once seemed irrelevant, seemingly in a flash they begin to grow apart with Jess ceasing her visits to the house, moves farther away, and cuts off almost all contact with her family. When Lucy arrives in town, she finds that Jess is nowhere to be seen. By using her research skills, fellow townspeople’s testimonies, important historical events, and her sister’s journal, Lucy spends the novel piecing together the past and the present and where she and Jess fit into it all. She will learn the dark history of Comber Bay, learn of the mistreatment that women and children suffered on the convict ships, and all that she has been unaware of regarding her sister’s life.
I would like to quickly say that I admire Emilia Hart’s transparency in her novel. Before the story even begins, she addresses her lack of ownership of these stories, she has no relation to those real women who were transported on these ships, and she has no experience of being on one herself. Rather than try to pass of her book as historically accurate because she said it was and therefore it must be true, she instead encourages her readers to do some of their own field research, even providing them with a link in the last sentence of the author’s note.
I’ve written much more than intended and yet I’ve come to terms with the fact that I may never be able to put how much this book affected me into words. Surely none that people would like to hear, anyways. My thoughts come in snippets, but I believe they get the point across:
Women in history have been mistreated. They have been abused, assaulted, tortured, used as currency for bartering and leveraging, groomed, discriminated, ignored, misunderstood, and so many other adjectives. We have been stuffed into the bottom of ships, forced to sail for months on end with little food, water, hygienic items, or even light; forced to trade their bodies for these items, trading one basic human right for another. We live in a world that has never loved us. We were forcefully yanked out from our mother’s womb only to immediately be thrust under a much older grimy man who views our pre-pubescent bodies as some form of fetish, forced to succumb to his insatiable appetite, the mortar to his pestle, an immobile, silent outlet for his pleasure. Bonus points if you try to fight him off; he loves a challenge. Within seconds of being born we are expected to bear children ourselves, over and over again, until our bodies are decaying from the inside out, we have twenty-seven going on twenty-eight children, and our husbands are out at a brothel spreading disease to other defenseless girls. While we are expected to bear and raise these unwanted children, used as human incubators for our husbands whose raison d’être consists of repopulating the earth in their own twisted narcissistic twist on eugenics with the birth of each child equivalating to the conquering of another native civilization, bettering nations they deem barbaric and insolent one load at a time.
Since the dawn of civilization, women have been seen as objects, the Other, expected to smile through the pain of each punch, slap, bruise, grope, rape, leer, catcall, until they are nothing more than a shell of their younger self. It’s no coincidence that sirens have been around for just as long.
Sirens are a symbol of femineity on women’s terms. They can be covered in scales with razor sharp teeth and a voice that can lure any man to death. But to us, they are not just the killers of men, they are our liberators granting us the freedom of salvation. They are the protectors of women, the guides that will help us in our darkest times, the sisters and mothers that we may have never had but desperately wanted, who see us for who we truly are. They prove that even though we may not have grown up together, we have shared similar experiences and something that links us together, a bond that will never fade.
Mary and Eliza were girls together; Jess and Lucy not so much. But it is that sisterhood of femininity that links them all together and propels them to be the protectors of women in Comber Bay, liberating girls of
Emilia Hart has written a novel so beautiful and touching and powerful that thinking about the linked experiences and community of girlhood while reading this novel almost brought me to tears. We grow and push out babies; we are beaten down, discarded, groomed and abused. And yet, there is always at least one girl who is going to be there for you, one protector of women.
I fear that this book may have put me in a reading slump with the overwhelming amount of emotions this book has incited in me, and I fear that this novel will haunt and inspire me for the rest of my days, but I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of it.
Thank you so much to the publishing company that allowed me to have an early ARC of this incredibly moving book, but thank you even more to Emilia Hart, who has written something that has permanently and eternally altered me for the better.

First time reader of Emilia Hart and I’m happy to report that I’ll definitely be checking out more of her work.

The clues and reveals in this story had me hooked. I’m talking, I read 70% of the book in 24-hours hooked! I loved the use of the podcast and Jess’s journal entries to sprinkle history and context throughout. And I loved the historical timeline. The scenes on the Naiad were absolutely gripping, and as interested as I was in the modern day Comber Bay mystery, I could not wait to learn more about Mary and Eliza’s story. It’s rare that a work of fiction intrigues me enough to want to research events that inspired the story, but I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be going down a rabbit hole about Australia’s history in the near future.

Definitely recommend if you’re in the mood for something of a mystery, and are intrigued by themes of female friendship/empowerment and social injustices. Be sure to check out trigger warnings, if applicable.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Emilia Hart writes beautifully. A couple of plot points were very predictable, but the journey to get there was worth it because the writing and the story are so well done! I felt the same way about Weyward.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC copy.

I liked this book. The story begins as one of a younger sister, Lucy, who travels across the country to seek out her older sister, Jess, during a time of great personal stress. Instead of finding her sister, however, Lucy stumbles upon artwork and a mystery.

The artwork features characters from Lucy's dreams-- two sisters who were deported to Australia from Ireland two hundred years earlier. Lucy starts to question how she and Jess are sharing the same dreams. Who are the figures in their visions and why are they revealing themselves to the girls? The mystery is about the place that Jess has decided to make her home. Jess lives in a town where a variety of men have gone missing. No one knows what has happened to them, but it seems likely that something is lurking and watching. Are these missing men somehow related to the fact that Jess is also currently missing? In order to learn more about both of these items, Lucy begins learning more about the history of the area and the lonesome life her sister has lived to this point.

I found this book to be totally readable. Like Weyward, it was a strong feminist read, but it was still enjoyable. I will say that I didn't really think about the storyline unless I was reading the book, but it still was interesting enough to keep me going. I enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

After absolutely loving Weyward, I was over the moon to get an advanced reader’s copy of The Sirens!! Emilia Hart once again delivers a story centered on powerful, complex women — this time with a mesmerizing connection to the sea. 🌊

The novel follows three timelines:

In 2019, Lucy wakes from a nightmare to find her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. Fleeing to her sister Jess’s coastal home for answers, she finds Jess missing … and unsettling rumors about the town’s history of vanished men and eerie voices at sea. Desperate, Lucy turns to Jess’s old diary.

In 1999, teenage Jess, isolated by a rare water allergy, finds solace and dangerous attention from her art teacher, who sees something powerful in her.

In 1800, twin sisters Mary and Eliza, torn from their home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship to Australia, begin to feel strange changes within them - and an undeniable pull from the sea.

Three timelines intertwine in a haunting tale of sisterhood, power, and the ocean’s mysterious call.

While Weyward remains my favorite, The Sirens still captivated me with its lyrical writing, atmospheric setting, and powerful women. I gave this one a solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐️!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this!

This was an interesting blend of genres; magical realism in the form of sirens, dreams of another time period pushing it towards historical fiction, and the mysteries of why Lucy woke up strangling her boyfriend and where her sister Jess has gone missing to. It was not my typical pick, but I still found it intriguing. Some parts felt like the meant to be reveals that I had figured out too early, but there were still some things I didn’t see coming. If you’re into women getting revenge on bad men plus some interesting family dynamics and secrets, this is for you.

I’m the daughter of a marine biologist who grew up by the ocean but left home at 17 and has been landlocked and longing ever since. When I tell you that this book fully encapsulates the sea, I do not say it lightly. From the very first page I was riveted and by midway through, I completely neglected my family because I couldn’t stop reading. In the tub. Because it was the closest I could get to the sea. Seriously. This is a tale of women and the complicated and sometimes scary men in their lives. Of secrets and dreams and imperfections, and of love. Most importantly of love. The thing that I cannot get over was the atmosphere of everything aquatic and salty and misty and damp and wet, swirling with blues and shades of aquamarine, with tinges of rotting wood and brine and mold and algae. I don’t know how the author mastered this sensory experience so completely, but I’m expecting my own gills to pop through any minute. This is not a book to be missed. Five completely astounded stars.

Thank you Net Galley for this Advance Reader Copy.