I downloaded this sophomore novel on a whim when it was Read Now on Netgalley. I hadn't read Emilia Hart's debut, Weyward, but the description of this one hooked me with some bookish catnip: multiple timelines, sisters, and interesting setting (coast of Australia).

When Lucy wakes in the middle of choking her ex in his dorm room one night, she's so freaked out she immediately drives hours in search of her older sister, who she's had a bit of a strange relationship with recently, for help. But when Lucy arrives at Jess's "new" completely rundown home, Jess is nowhere to be found. Rumors have swarmed about this coastal town for decades, as men have disappeared from a certain beach, never to be found again. And it's also infamous for a shipwreck that killed dozens of women convicts bound for Australia at the start of the 19th century.

I couldn't stop thinking about this one during the week I was reading it. It was constantly running through my mind in the background. I thought Hart used the switches in timelines and perspective excellently, changing at just the right time to maintain my interest. And while I was fascinated and horrified by the history of convict ships in particular, none of the timelines felt any weaker than the others. She also sways slightly into fantasy, but in a way that still felt grounded and almost convinced me of its plausibility. I did have a hard time placing the ages of the various characters in the time jumps, which felt important to know, but that was perhaps part of her strategy at building mystery.

I really enjoyed this one, and will be interested to hear other readers' thoughts as it gets closer to the pub date on April 1! Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy!

"Sometimes, there is no choice. There is only love." A mesmerizing tale of the deep where the fate of two sets of sisters are entwined with the sea. Deeply atmospheric and told in dual storylines and perspectives, The Sirens looped historical folklore into the modern world. There is always a reason for the stories...and sometimes they must be brought to the surface to face the light. Highly recommend!!

Posted to Goodreads: 3/9/2025

Although this book wasn't what I initially expected, I can't say that I'm disappointed. The multiple viewpoints and timelines keep you on your toes, and each chapter seems to reveal just a bit more of the whole story that is being fit together. The two timelines focus on sisters Lucy and Jess in 2019, and sisters Mary and Eliza in 1800. The book really highlights the strength of women, and the power of love, bringing everything together at the end of the book. The only thing I would warn readers about is the fact that the sirens and mermaids are more so alluded to throughout the book, and don't take a front seat in the book until the last few chapters. I was given the chance to read this book through NetGalley, and I hope it finds other readers that enjoy the story!

I was so excited for more from Emilia Hart, since I loved her debut, WEYWARD! This novel follows a young woman who leaves college after a harrowing encounter & flees to her sister, who lives in a remote beach town with a dark history. But her sister isn't there when she arrives, and mysterious dreams begin taking over her life, showing her a story that might not be so farfetched after all.

The story sounds so intriguing, but it fell a bit flat for me. I think Hart shines when writing historical fiction, but the contemporary part of the narrative felt a bit flat and overdone to me. There's a LOT of different storylines stuffed into this novel, and I found the contemporary parts to feel trite. The attempt at injecting feminism into the plot worked more in the historical storyline, and felt elementary in the contemporary storyline.

The characters & their formidable bonds in the historical storyline kept me reading. Otherwise, I might have been tempted to put this down. Even so, this is a quick read, so if you're a fan of mystery, touches of fantasy, and righteous revenge, then this might be a good beach read for ya. I'll continue following Hart's career & will be first in line for her next historical fiction novel!

I went into this book not knowing what it would be about and with low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I was hooked on the story and wanted to keep reading. I loved the build up of the Lucy timeline. The other story, Mary, confused me at first but then I was just really into the whole thing and really enjoying it. I was disappointed by the ending, I felt like it didn’t explain things enough and I was left with so many questions. I also fell like it ended abruptly.

It’s a good story, an original one and I did enjoy reading it.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the parallel stories between Mary and Eliza and Lucy and Jess. I really loved the mystery and magic of it all. I found some of the reveals predictable but still fun to get to them. My only disappointment was the epilogue. That one chapter held so much important information and it just breezed right on by. I think there could have been a way to weave that in a more satisfying way.

Emilia Hart’s The Sirens is a mesmerizing and atmospheric tale that blends historical fiction with magical realism, offering readers an evocative journey through a hauntingly beautiful world. Set in 1950s England, the novel follows three women whose lives become intertwined by myth, tragedy, and the search for freedom. With lyrical prose and intricate storytelling, Hart delivers a novel that is as rich in its emotional depth as it is in its mystery.

The story alternates between the perspectives of three main characters: Anna, an aspiring singer; Emmeline, a young woman with a secret connection to an ancient legend; and Lorna, a woman trying to escape her troubled past. Each character is deeply flawed yet compelling, and Hart deftly explores their individual struggles with identity, love, and the yearning to break free from societal expectations. Their stories are connected not just by their shared experiences as women living in post-war England, but by the legend of the Sirens—mysterious figures who are said to possess a deadly allure.

One of the most striking aspects of The Sirens is Hart's ability to weave mythology into a modern narrative. The legend of the Sirens serves as a powerful metaphor for the characters’ desires and the dangers of giving in to temptation or passion. As the characters grapple with their own personal desires and their complicated relationships, the line between myth and reality becomes increasingly blurred, creating a sense of tension and unease that propels the novel forward.

Hart’s writing is poetic and atmospheric, with lush descriptions that transport the reader to both the coastal landscapes and the inner emotional worlds of the characters. The sense of place is particularly strong, as the novel’s setting on the coast of England evokes a world that is both beautiful and treacherous, much like the women at the heart of the story.

The pacing of the novel is deliberate, allowing the reader to fully immerse themselves in the characters’ internal worlds and the complex relationships they navigate. While some readers may find the slow burn of the plot to be a bit meandering at times, the payoff is worth it, as Hart gradually builds tension and emotional resonance. By the novel’s end, the reader is left with a sense of haunting satisfaction, as the fates of the characters are intertwined with the mythology they can’t escape.

At its core, The Sirens is a story about the struggle for autonomy, the weight of secrets, and the ways in which myth and reality shape our understanding of ourselves. It challenges the traditional roles of women in society, while also exploring the darker aspects of the human experience—desire, regret, and the search for meaning.

In conclusion, The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a beautifully written, evocative novel that blends history, myth, and the complexities of womanhood. With its lush prose, captivating characters, and mysterious plot, it is a book that will stay with readers long after they’ve turned the final page. Fans of atmospheric fiction and those drawn to stories about the intersection of myth and reality will find much to appreciate in Hart’s stunning debut.

First, I want to take a moment to thank Netgalley, Emilia Hart, and St. Martin's Press for a Digital ARC of The Sirens in exchange for an honest review. I am excited to say that, in my opinion, Emilia Hart knocked it out of the park with this one. Much like the last book I read by her, Weyward. Once I started reading The Sirens, I found it to be very difficult to put down. I am just going to say it now: if you enjoyed the format of going between timelines and characters in Weyward, then I am sure you will like The Sirens format because it is very much the same in that sense. In this story, we are following four sisters. One timeline containing two of the sisters is set in the 1800s, whereas the second set of sisters is set in the 1990s/2000s.

The first set of sisters, Mary and Eliza, is from Ireland in the 1800s. We are following their journey on a convict ship heading to Australia. While they are on this ship, we are learning about their life back with their mother and father. We discover what happened to their mother and how it relates to them now. We also learn the story behind how they ended up on this ship. I really enjoyed the side characters on the ship with them as well. The ship is full of female prisoners, and their crimes all vary. The women on the ship are of different ages, each with a different story. I really felt for each of these characters, especially Aoife.

The second set of sisters, Jess and Lucy, is more present-day, and their story takes place in Australia during the summer. There is an age difference between the two sisters, which is rather large, I want to say, like 16 or maybe 17 years, so, needless to say, they are at different stages in their lives. The younger sister, Lucy, is in college and working toward becoming a journalist, whereas the older sister, Jess, is an artist who recently moved back to the town where her life began. Both of these sisters have a rare skin condition that, oddly enough, makes it difficult for them to be exposed to water. More interestingly, the two sisters from the 1800s also have a similar skin condition.

I am not sure which set of sisters I enjoyed more because I think each set brought something new to the story. With the first set (1800s), I was very interested in learning about their life back in Ireland. I really felt for these girls losing their mom at such a young age and having to be raised by their father without any female guidance, especially during a time when being a female was extremely difficult. I also really felt for the father who lost his wife, leaving him as a single parent to girls. Who was also doing his best to raise these girls in what he believed to be the correct religion even though it went against what most of the townspeople were doing. It not only was a struggle, but it cost him dearly financially when money was already hard to come by. Then, to have such tragedy strike again. I only wish that the author had shown us a bit more of his story after his girls went away. I am curious to know how he got on after the fact.

The second set of sisters brought such mystery to the story, I thought. The mystery starts off right from the start when we discover Lucy having a problem with a fellow student at the college she attends, which results in some unfortunate things happening. However, Jess has a mystery about her as well that revolves around her birth and why she appears to be so distant from Lucy and their parents. The present-day side of the book also brought about another female side character whom I enjoyed, named Melody. Melody is friends with Jess and runs the small store in town. She also happens to be Jess's neighbor. Melody has secrets as well, which I enjoyed hearing. I also forgot to mention that this coastal town that Jess has recently moved to is full of secrets and disappearances, and there is a cave that connects these three women.

I love a story with a split timeline, especially when it follows strong female characters. Emilia Hart does this very well, and her characters are always intriguing. Once I start reading about them, I need to know what happens. Her books are not ones that I can take my time with but more like ones that I devour. I really enjoy her writing style, and I look forward to reading anything that she writes in the future. If you are looking for a story that will transport you to another place and time about female friendships and sisterhood, then give this book a go because I do not think you will be disappointed.

Trigger Warnings:
- Sexual Violence
- Shipwreck
- Drowning
- Abandonment
- Adult/Minor Relationship
- Killing Animal
- Deportation
- Infertility
- Physical Abuse
- Murder
- Confinement
- Blood and Violence
- Photograph Shared Without Permission or Knowledge

Please check for trigger warnings, as always, because I may not have included them all. I included the ones that I could remember, but like I said, it may not be everything.

“𝙁𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣𝙝𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨—𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙪𝙡𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡—𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 . . . 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨.“

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 💫

Pub Date: 4/1/25

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.


I fell in love Harts debut novel Weyward, so reading this one was a no brainer for me.

Hart did not disappoint, her writing style and storytelling is beautiful. There was an air of mystery and suspense while telling a feminist tale of perseverance. Add in some folklore and mermaids? Win.

Hart has definitely become an auto read author for me.

This book was a pleasant surprise.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, as it was a quick read and a good time.

First off, thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Sirens. I’m so glad I was able to read this book, as it’s unlike anything I’ve read before.

The story here had me thinking about it even when I was not reading, just desperately wanting the answers to these mysteries. I love that we were able to get into Lucy, Mary and Jess’s heads with the differing POV’s for the chapters.

The cliffhanger at the end of part 1 was so rude! What do you mean you won’t immediately give me an answer? So of course I had to stay up late to find out more.

Of course, there are some things I didn’t quite like. To me, Lucy was a weak main character. I know that she needed to be like that for the story to unfold the way it did, but I did not resonate with her. Jess was the shining star to me, but I also loved Mary and Eliza (in fact, I wish we would’ve gotten Eliza’s POV).

This is also a personal opinion, but when books mention real world elements (in this case, Reddit and Dexter) it makes me annoyed for some unexplained reason. So I didn’t like that.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this book! This is my first Emilia Hart book but I definitely will be reading more from her.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I’m just going to throw this out there - I think I’m being generous with my rating. I’m giving this 3.5 stars, the .5 being because the story is different. And I’m leaving it at my base level of 3, because I do think there is an audience for it, but I’m not that audience.

I really enjoyed Weyward, and was looking forward to another magically realistic book about feminine rage. The rage is there, the magical realism is there…but I had a very hard time connecting. I slogged through the first 50% of the book with little interest and only finally sped up and read the rest in a day so my sister could talk to me now that she’s finally getting around to reading it herself. I’m not sure how long I would have put it off otherwise.

As far as there being an audience - if you like Adrienne Young’s “Sea of Unspoken Things” or “Unmaking of June Farrow” - then this book may be for you! The pacing and overall tone felt the same to me. And I am not really a fan of either of those books either.

The first two parts are a lot of very slow development leading up to the real story, which takes place mainly in part 3 and was the best part of the whole book (though I could have done without the epilogue - tbh I don’t think *that* character was great either). But I didn’t really care about Lucy, I didn’t really care about Jess…I wish we’d gotten to see more about Jess and Max. And their poor mom, the most unloved character in the book. Everyone was always mad at or lying to her and for what because as far as I could tell, she was a good person!

I will still anticipate the next Emilia Hart, but this one I could have done without.

After Emilia Hart's debut of Weyward, I couldn't get my hands on this one fast enough!

The Sirens tells a hauntingly beautiful tale of the sea, sisterhood and strength.

Lucy wakes up to her hands around her ex-lovers throat. Terrified, she flees university to her sister Jess' house in Comber Bay. But when Lucy arrives, she finds that her distant and cold sister is not there. As she begins to worry she hears rumors of the town, of men disappearing and begins to panic that Jess might be involved.

While over 200 years ago, sisters Mary and Eliza are taken from Ireland and put on a convict boat to New South Wales. Soon the sisters began to feel the pull of the sea almost unbearable.

I have to admit, the first 40% of the story for me was loooooooooooong. I really didn't enjoy Mary and Eliza's part of the story as much as I was invested in Lucy and Jess. Most of the time the plot felt like it was going nowhere. There were many points in the plot that I felt like went unfinished (the sleepwalking??).

Thank you NetGalley and & St. Martin's Press for an E-Arc of this for an honest review :)

Emilia Hart is such a talented storyteller, and it’s shown even more so in The Sirens. I was excited to pick this up after having read Weyward last year and loving it, and it did not disappoint. The storyline following two sisters across hundreds of years is enough to draw you in, and their trials and tribulations kept you engaged. I loved every moment of this book!

Emilia Hart does it again. The beautiful flowing prose through a haunting tale left me feeling enchanted with uneasy. A paradox if I’ve ever known one, and one I’m grateful to have encountered. At its core, like Weyward, Sirens is a story for women and acts as a witness to all they endure.

I loved Weyward by the same author and was very much looking forward to this book. Similar to Weyward I loved how the author wove the stories of women separate by 100’s of years together in a beautiful way to tell the story of Sirens. I really enjoyed the mystery and suspenseful aspects to this story. There were certainly a lot of twists and turns, even in the epilogue! Overall I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was beautiful, tragic and haunting. I love the author explored the sister and mother/daughter relationships. I look forward to owning a physical copy of this book when it comes out. ❤️

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! Overall I enjoyed the story, but was slow in some parts. The mystery of how it all fit together is what kept me reading.

Thanks to NetGalley & St. Martin’s Press, I was lucky enough to score an ARC of The Sirens!

This story was full of myth, mystery and intrigue as the story of Lucy, Jess, the twins who haunt their dreams, and the missing men of Comber Bay unfolded.

I really enjoyed this story, the dual timeline and the bond between sisters. Plus, Multiple POV’s and diary entries added an extra layer to the story that kept it moving at a good pace.

I spent like 5 days reading this and I could not care less about any of the characters. I couldn’t connect to any of the main girls. Somehow, in trying to make this a feminist novel, it became an anti-man novel, where every man is cruel and wicked and only wants the women for their bodies while the women are all angelic saints who can do no wrong. The book has a beautiful cover and an interesting premise. I was excited to read this. Somehow, it felt the plot went in circles. Lucy was worried about her sister, Mary was sitting in a ship in the dark, and Jess wanted affection. For 300 pages. I just couldn’t even read it anymore I was bored out of my mind. Thank you to netgalley for this arc!!

At first, I had a hard time connecting with the book and even considered giving up. But I’m glad I stuck with it because it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The story follows two sisters in the present day and their connection to twin sisters who were convicts on a ship centuries ago. I love a compelling mermaid tale, especially one with a strong feminist message, and this book delivered exactly that.