this was so, so disappointing.

Weyward was one of my favorite books of 2023, so when I saw an ARC of Emilia Hart’s next book, I jumped on it. I wish I didn’t.

This book did not feel “feminist” to me. A book is not feminist simply because there are female characters, especially when those women are devoid of any personality or motivation.

It took me nearly two weeks to get through this, and honestly, I would have DNF’ed this if it wasn’t an ARC. It was a slog and quite boring and the things that were somewhat interesting were predictable and cliched.

I’m really sad this wasn’t good, because Weyward was incredible. It felt like Hart was trying to emulate what she did in her first book and it just didn’t work here.

I enjoy the premise of this book, but I found myself skimming over a lot of it. It is well-written, but I got bogged down in the details. I did like the back and forth from characters and timelines. It definitely aided in figuring out how everything was connected.

This is a hard one for me to review as I’m not quite sure what I think of it… I enjoyed the book while reading it, but I’m not sure I liked the book overall.

Let’s start with the things I liked– just like “Weyward” the writing was great! I loved the way Hart described the ocean and the feel of the water. I also really enjoyed the Lucy/Jess chapters and piecing together their story! The chapters were short and engaging and I easily flew through the book. And let’s not forget about this GORGEOUS cover! 😍

Now the not so great– I struggled with the 1800s timeline. It felt fairly stagnant to me, and the two timelines felt disconnected from each other until the very end. The ending itself was a little unsatisfying for me.. I almost had more questions at the end than I did at the beginning!

Overall this was a good magical realism mystery that kept my interest but it wasn’t my favorite!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.25 stars rounded down

Thw is very similar to Weyward to me. Sisters, Gothic vibes(even by water, wow) feminist/female rage, family drama/mystery. This book was all about the vibes, all about the description, not so much about the plot.

The Sirens-
is an enchanting journey that has gorgeous storytelling and lyrical prose. Emilia Hart only keeps growing when it comes to skill and complexity within her narratives.

The narrative is solidly crafted, the characters complex and would have been happy with even more to the story of each background.

Hart’s writing creates vivid, and melodramatic scenery within her books, and I’m glad that wayward was not a “one off” success for me, but now the sirens takes their place.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review!

I was excited to get an advance copy of The Sirens, especially after enjoying Emilia Hart’s Weyward. I liked how Hart blends mythology and history with feminist themes, following two sets of sisters separated by 200 years. I was eager to see how these stories connect.

In the present-day timeline, we meet Lucy, a journalism student in Australia who wakes up with her hands around her boyfriend’s neck—though she has no memory of how she got there. Shaken, she heads to Comber Bay to find her sister, Jess, hoping for some clarity on her sleepwalking. But when she arrives, Jess is not there. The town itself holds plenty of mysteries—over the last three decades, eight men have vanished into the sea, and years ago, a newborn girl was found in the cave and adopted by a local couple. As Lucy searches for answers, she stumbles upon Jess’ diary, uncovering secrets she never expected.

Interwoven with Lucy’s journey is the story of Mary and Eliza, sisters who, in 1800, endured a harrowing four-month voyage on a convict ship from Ireland to New South Wales. Eliza, though blind, has an extraordinary singing voice, and their connection to the mythical merrow—beings from the tír fo thuinn (the land beneath the waves)—adds a mesmerizing bit of folklore. I’ve read about convict ships before, and Hart captures the brutal conditions and the tense power dynamics between prisoners and crew with such detail.

The setting of Comber Bay is beautifully atmospheric, with its hidden caves and rugged coastline, giving it an almost otherworldly feel. The way Hart weaves Irish mythology into the story was one of my favorite aspects. That said, I found some plot twists predictable, especially since we get some of Mary and Eliza’s story in fragments through Lucy’s perspective. Similarly, the arc of Jess and Lucy’s relationship felt like it followed a familiar path—I had a sense early on where their dynamic was headed, which took away some of the emotional impact for me.

Despite those downsides, the story still managed to be quite engaging, It captivated me with its themes of sisterhood, resilience, and women reclaiming their power from the men who have wronged them. It has a touch of mystery, a bit of magic, and a sweet, sentimental ending that ties everything together nicely.

4.5⭐️
Emilia Hart, you did it again!!! Emilia is so good at writing women’s fiction. The Sirens is more than just a book about sisters finding their origin. It’s about women using their gifts to protect women from cruel men. I loved the undertone of feminism in this book. I also loved the historical background and mystery aspect too.


Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to read this as an E-Arc <3

I have been a fan of Emilia Hart since I read Weyward and was eager to read another of her books! While the themes are different the writing was beautiful and I loved reading this book. Emilia Hart is working towards becoming an auto read author for me! Thank you so much for the eARC!

I really loved Weyward by this author. But, sadly, I did not love this one. I thought it started off well but I just couldn't seem to connect with any of the characters. I hoped as the story went on that I would form sort of like for any of them. But it just didn't pan out. The story fell flat for me. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this digital ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is one of those books with a few moving parts that all connect at the end. I appreciated the dark, moody vibes of the overall book; it matched the present day and flashbacks perfectly. The plot twist floored me and I had NO idea the book was going to go in that direction. The FMC didn't really impress me; I found her personality lacking a lot. This was a very good read, but quite a few things mentioned didn't really make it to the end. Some of the loose ends weren't tied up so well and left me wondering. I'm not sure if that's intentional or not, but I'm not the biggest fan of not knowing everything by the end of the book so that was a miss for me.

I could not put THE SIRENS down. I enjoyed Emilia Hart’s first book, WEYWARD, but her new release blows it out of the water (pun not intended).

THE SIRENS alternates between three perspectives: Lucy, a university student, who wakes with her hands around the neck of the boy she’s been seeing; Jess, ber older sister, an artist who has disappeared a week before her big show; and Mary, an Irish woman on a convict ship to Australia in the 1800s. I don’t want to reveal too much, because part of my enjoyment of the book stemmed from the slow unveiling of the threads that connect the three women and the future in store for them. I’ll just say the writing was gorgeous, the pacing was perfect, and I’ve already recommended this book to multiple people even though it won’t be released for another week. I love magical realism, and Emilia Hart weaves mythology and fantasy with the modern world seamlessly. I can’t wait to see what this author does in her career.

I received this gallery of THE SIRENS in exchange for an honest review.

I mostly enjoyed my time reading this book but it was just too predictable and dragged out. I loved Weyward but this one fell a little short for me.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"The girls are like sharks. They sense it when you're weak."


My goodness. The Sirens was such a fun book to dive into. For three days, I took my time devouring this and getting to know the characters. From the very beginning, I had lots of questions but little information. Then little clues and pieces came to me, and I was starting to put the puzzle together.

In this, you will meet Lucy, Jess, Mary, and Eliza. Four girls. Two different timelines. Mary and Eliza are in the past, the 1800s to be exact. Lucy and Jess are in the present, 2019. Though you do get past views from Jess for some of this book. So, maybe, that's three different timelines.

Mary and Eliza are sisters and currently on a prison boat sailing from Ireland to Australia. Lucy is going through something and is in need of her older sister. So, she leaves school and heads for the coast in New South Wales. In a weird way, all the girls are intertwined, and it's a fascinating mystery to figure out. Trying my hardest to not spoil anything here!

Honestly, this book had so many secrets within it. I am so proud of myself for catching on to most of them. Yes, most! I will also say that the ending shocked me so much because I was not expecting any of that. My mind was blown with so many things that came to light, and I'm still trying to understand it.

In the end, I am in love with this book and all the characters. If this place truly exists, then why wouldn't women want to flock to it? Safely protected by sirens in the water from all the evil out there. Sounds dreamy. I definitely recommend the ebook and look forward to the next book Emilia writes!

This book is the epitome of, if your story is interesting enough and your writing is good enough, I won’t care that it’s kind of predictable. I thought the structure of the different POVs and the diary entries were very effective. I also appreciated how well-balanced they were - at no point was I not into any of the plot lines or wanting to get back to a different part of the story. Plus the overarching story was interesting as hell.

A slight spoiler, but I wish we got a bit more about each of the missing men. However, that’s a minor complaint. Overall I thought Hart’s writing was vastly improved compared to her last book. Which isn’t to say it was bad - I really liked Weyward, but the writing skill level is a lot better here.

And yeah, like I said, it was a bit predictable (until that last chapter, which was mindblowing). But, again, the story was so cool I didn’t care. Definitely check this out!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Pressand Netgalley for this ARC. The Sirens is out 4/1!

4.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.

The Sirens follows Lucy a college student who gets into a bit of trouble after suffering from sleep walking and decides to visit her mysterious older sister Jess in her cabin on top of the cliffs of Comber Bay. Upon her arrival her sister is nowhere to be found but plenty of secrets from a past women’s prison ship begin to reveal themselves as Lucy stays in the cabin.

One of my favorite things to read are books about sirens and on that front this book did not disappoint. The plot felt unique compared to other siren stories that usually get a bit stale from using the same concepts over and over again but the author did a really good job of making an old tale feel fresh.

The author’s writing style is so beautiful and descriptive it felt like you were right there on the cliffs of Comber Bay or in the belly of the ship with Mary and Eliza. The way she writes about sisterhood made me want to pick up my copy of Weyward immediately and start reading it too. I’m very excited to see what Emila Hart writes in the future.

My only grievance with the book is the epilogue. It tied up all of the loose threads that had been carried throughout the book but it felt like it went against what the rest of the book was trying to say. Spoiler: Throughout the book the sea is protecting women from men by drowning them when they try to hurt them but when Jess’s dad goes to sea and has an affair with the siren named Mary he is rewarded a baby to take back to his wife who has been unable to have children despite them both wanting to have kids desperately. I have a hard time believing Jess’s mom is okay with this especially since she was the one who was the most hurt by Jess’s comments when she was starting to realize her parents were not who she thought they were. Jess’s dad is a kind and gentle man and didn’t deserve to get swallowed up by the sea for having an affair with a siren but the fact that he then had a baby with that siren and his wife took that baby with open arms just doesn’t sit right with me in comparison to the rest of the book.

3.5 Stars

First I would like to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It’s probably not fair to compare The Sirens to Weyward, but I also can’t help thinking about the latter book while writing this review. Hart masterfully wove together three different timelines in Weyward in a way that was poignant and compelling. Her character work was fantastic, and the storytelling was brilliant. I was fully immersed in that story and those characters. Unfortunately I feel like The Sirens fell short of my expectations because I was expecting the same level of investment and it just wasn’t there for me. The book had an interesting concept, weaving two separate timelines together, something I know Hart can do really well. But it felt a bit disjointed and rushed, and as a reader I wasn’t as invested in the big reveal(s). The character work wasn’t as strong as it was in her previous book either.

On the plus side, Hart does have beautiful prose. Her writing is interesting and she sets up the mystery in a way that holds you and makes you want to continue reading. I also think that the exploration of the abuse and oppression women have faced throughout history was really well done. Be sure to check content warnings before reading this book. The audiobook narrator was also fantastic. I definitely recommend reading the book that way. Ultimately not a new favorite, but I do still love Hart’s writing and will be picking up her future releases.

DNF at 15% for me. I think I may just not be the target audience for this book--I wasn't pulled in by the past POV, and I found myself wanting to skim to get back to the present. Overall was just not vibing with the writing style so decided to let it go. May be a great read for others though!

I’d really give this book 4.5 stars if I could. The feel of the book makes it seem like you are in the sea mist on a cliff. It’s beautifully written and suspenseful enough to keep anyone hooked and includes strong feminist themes.

I loved her first book and looked forward to this one. I thought the plot was a good premise but I was somewhat confused in many parts of the dual storyline. I needed to continually reference to parts previously read, not sure if it was me or the writing style. While I finished reading it I would recommend it with a caveat.

The Sirens was an absolutely captivating and haunting story that follows women through different time periods and the author weaves these stories together beautifully. This book was eerie, it was powerful, and it was a love letter to feminine power. There were mysteries, sirens, gorgeous and haunting imagery, plenty of emotions and historical fiction all woven together. Fans of Weyward and the writing style will absolutely adore The Sirens.