This layered, heartfelt fantasy is beautifully heartbreaking. To read this book is to be seen as a woman, yet the fantastical elements are so thoughtfully described they are viscerally real. Listening to this audiobook left me fearing I should pull over. I was too sucked in, clutching the steering wheel, so teary eyed it was hard to see. I expected nothing less following Weyward, but I can not wait for this to be released so I can share this experience with every woman in my life.

This was my first time reading a book by Emilia Hart and I plan on reading more of her work in the future. The cover and title of this book drew me in to read it. The cover is stunning. The beautiful writing hooked me to keep reading. I enjoyed the two timelines. I liked the mystery surrounding the women in the book and the family secrets that are uncovered throughout the book. This book takes you on an intriguing magical journey. I would recommend this book if you enjoy historical fiction, mystery, sprinkled in with some magic and fantasy.


Thank you Netgalley and St.Martin's Press for the digital arc in exchange for my honest review.

I’m not even sure what genre I would classify this book under- it was part thriller, part fantasy, part romance. I flew through this one and couldn’t put it down at times. It was very unique and I really enjoyed it! I’m excited to read more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for this e-ARC.

This book was a beautiful hanging tale of women from two different time periods. I enjoyed the way that the characters lives were woven together, dispute the different timelines and the message of women’s resilience was empowering.

I did feel like there could have been some more balance with the different storylines. Lucy’s story felt like it dragged on at times making the book feel very slow paced. I wish I got more back story for Mary and Eliza. As well as more from Jess POV. Although it was a beautiful story, I felt like the imbalance left me feeling disconnected from the characters.

Another vibey aesthetic book for witchy girlies. I really enjoyed the world building in this book. Very girl power and I love a book with contemporary mythology elements, it scratches a very specific part of my brain.

The Sirens had an intriguing start with strong writing, multiple perspectives, and a compelling sisterly bond, but it ultimately fell short. While the mysteries initially kept me engaged, the plot dragged with excessive atmospheric descriptions and predictable twists. The student-teacher subplot felt unnecessary, the character motivations were confusing, and the ending lacked sufficient explanation. Despite the gorgeous cover, this book didn’t deliver the impactful female empowerment story I was hoping for.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart
Pub Date: 4/1/25
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

“Though, she recalls now, there had been a time in childhood when she often dreamed of water. She doesn't remember much. A sun-dappled surface far above her head. A feeling that she was drowning, but somehow safe, that a liquid membrane protected her from the outside world.”

What a beautiful story of sisterhood and female strength that spans centuries! There is so much beauty woven into this story, and so much tragedy and pain that make the beauty all the more breathtaking.

I really enjoyed going on this journey of discovery with Lucy! There were many times I didn’t know quite where this story was going but seeing her unravel the mysteries of not just her life, but the other women whose POV we get throughout this novel? Really powerful! I loved the strong themes of the healing power of nature and water too.

I do feel like this book had some pacing and momentum issues which made it a bit difficult for me to get through at times. The historical POVs, while important, sometimes felt too frequent. This made it difficult to feel anchored in any timeline until the final act.

Truly loved the story so much, and would still recommend it but I do think you need to be in the right mindset and ready for a slower read going in. Cannot wait to finally read Weyward after this introduction to her writing!

The stories of these four women converge as the past and present collide, helping them embrace their future. Sirens is a powerful story of women's empowerment, richly woven with fantasy and a reimagining of real historical events in Australia. The vivid character development and intriguing plot make for an immersive and rewarding read, especially for fans of the author’s previous work, Weyward. It’s a beautiful journey through different timelines and a chance to empathize with powerful heroines on their paths of self-discovery. I will say that I didn’t expect this type of story with the premise. What disappointed me was how the entire plot is swept under the rug at the 98% mark. I was so disappointed by this. I wish the author would’ve went more into depth with that because it made all the nightmares and sleepwalking absolutely useless.

At first, I found this novel off-putting, strange and eerie. But I quickly was caught in the spell of fine writing and intriguing, sympathetic characters. It is a combination of mystery and Irish myth, suspense story and supernatural saga, with dreams, old diaries, and uncanny paintings pulling one into the plot, much as the sea that is so central to it.

This story of sisters takes place in three timelines: 2019, when the youngest character, Lucy, is 19 years old and starting journalism college; 1999, when Jess, her older sister, gives birth to an illegitimate child; and 1800, when twin Irish sisters are exiled on a convict ship to New South Wales.
All suffer from the same skin condition, where contact with water leads to hives and other changes of appearance, including webbing between toes and fingers. And all suffer because of these differences, until they understand their strength and the legacy they share. Although the timelines alternate, enough time is spent in each so that the links between them grow, rather than being obscured by the changes in place and situation.

At the story’s beginning, after Lucy has a deeply troubling experience of sleepwalking, and strange dreams that confuse and frighten her, she seeks her older sister, Jess, an accomplished artist, to try to understand what is happening. But Jess seems to have disappeared to a small beach community, where over many years men have vanished without a trace.

Lucy’s search for Jess becomes a quest into understanding her family, her history, and the role of women in protecting and rescuing each other from danger. With ample suspension of disbelief, this story is gripping and satisfying.

In the first half, I was intrigued yet uncertain, convinced that the very title of the book gave away its mystery. But as I continued, I quickly found that this book is not about the "what" but about the "how" of the mystery. How all of the women in the story got to this point. How they were harmed by the men in their lives and the communities that should have protected them. How they supported each other in the end and found strength in their irregularities.

Overall a really immersive read that I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys generational stories of female resilience, historical fiction, and magic realism.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for the ARC of The Sirens in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars rounded up.

The Sirens is my first experience reading an Emilia Hart book. I've heard good things about Weyward so figured I'd give it a try.

Things I liked:
- I felt like the writing in the first half or so kept me interested. There were a lot of little mysteries I was initially intrigued by.
- I liked the multiple perspectives, even if some of the relationships and motivations didn't make much sense.
- I love me a story about a strong sisterly bond.
- That COVER!! I would have this on my shelf just for that.

Things I didn't like:
- The weird teacher/student storyline. Why have I read this in so many books the last year? Please stop with it. There's more than one way to make a man a villain we don't need to keep doing this.
- A lot of times I felt like there wasn't much happening in this book. We had a LOT of atmospheric descriptions, (including multiple pages of how gross everyone smelled on the boat in the Mary chapters) but not a lot of things actually happening. The flashback chapters especially dragged on and on, and I didn't feel connected to the characters at all.
- I knew what several of the "twists" were going to be literally about 20% in.
- The ending was underwhelming, and there wasn't much explanation of anything that was occurring. I'm all for some sort of magical element but please explain it to me. The epilogue was no help either.
- The communication between the characters in the modern-day timeline was just.... weird. None of the motivations made sense.

Overall, I don't think this one was for me, but I will continue my search for the perfect female empowerment book. Unfortunately, this one wasn't it.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
All opinions are my own.

I feel very let down by this book, after reading Weyward last summer and loving it. This book just did not do it for me. There are so many unanswered questions, a lot of stuff that's "oh yeah by the way the character does do this, did I forget to mention it," and plot points that seemingly exist for no reason. I think there is definitely something intriguing at the most basic level of the plot, but then it goes bad bonkers and you're just praying for it to end. Oh, and there's also some student-teacher ick that made me cringe for everyone involved. What prevents me from giving this 1 star instead of 2 is that the author actually is very good at descriptions and making scenery come alive.
I will not be recommending this to others.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the ARC!

★☆☆☆☆ 1.5/5

The Sirensis my first time reading works from Emilia Hart and may potentially be the last time I do as well. I had requested this ARC because the cover is absolutely gorgeous, the premise was intriguing, and I was very interested in knowing the story that would evolve. I unfortunately did not get any sort of satisfaction from this book like I had hoped and found myself really, really struggling to read this that I contemplated DNF'ing.

My Review Rants

The writing for this book was strong. It was beautiful and I found myself pulled in by the writing, despite not really clicking with anything that I was actually reading about. I felt no attachment to the characters or the experiences their storylines followed. And the strong writing made the lack of an actual plot or development stand out all the more. I found myself constantly questioning or simply skimming through most things Lucy did or said.

The start of the book had an interesting prose, but the more I looked at it, the more questions I had about the holes surrounding it. We start The Sirens with Lucy waking up to find her hands around the neck of a man she had slept with and was forming an intimate relationship before he leaked her nude photos to his group chat of friends, and essentially the entire school. Sounds interesting until you look into it a bit more (because, like I always do, I overanalyze things more than I should). How did she get across campus to his dorm? How did she unlock his dormitory door and slip in unnoticed? How did neither he nor his roommates hear her get in and inside his room? How did no one on campus see this woman sleepwalking and think to stop her?

Putting that aside - Lucy is mortified by the fact that she woke up with her hands around his neck and she flees. Where to, you ask? Well of course, to her estranged sister's home thousands of miles away from her, a place she had never visited and only knew existed because her sister sent her a postcard with the address years prior. Only, she gets there, and no alarm bells go ringing in that head of hers when the front door is unlocked, her sister nowhere to be found, and she is still essentially on the run from a near murder attempt on her ex-fling.

This entire setup feels forced and has very little explanation because much like everything else in this book, they never circle back on this or elaborate on the how's, why's, or what-the-hell's. And instead of taking the opportunity to delve into all of these questions before, we are instead sat through a book of Lucy and this contrived mystery of eight missing men, her sister's disappearance, and the exile of Mary in the 1800s while waiting for the conclusions to be told point-blank to Lucy.

There was this build up and expectation that the characters had so much personality and life to them that they've lived and experienced, but I felt nothing for any of them. It felt so one-dimensional, and I couldn't for the life of me bring myself to care about anything.

I won't even touch on the student-teacher conversation in this book because that would make my review longer than I want to make it. Just know, it is awful.

Final Thoughts

I give this book a solid 1.5/5 stars, and the only reason why it is not a complete 1 star is because I applaud the effort. There was clearly thought and effort to this book, it just didn't click for me or make me feel anything it wanted me to. I personally would not recommend this to anyone, but my taste is subjective and oftentimes all over the place, so don't hesitate to check it out on its official publication if you think it may be something more aligned with your interests.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review of this novel.

3.5/5 ⭐️

What would you do if you fled to your estranged sister's house only to find her missing and her paintings depicting the dreams that have been haunting you?

I discovered Emilia Hart through her debut novel, Weyward , which I absolutely loved! Naturally, I was excited to dive into The Sirens . Both books are standalones so you don’t have to read them together, although, if you haven’t read Weyward yet, I highly recommend it! They both share a common thread of being stories about women across different time periods, grappling with similar struggles despite their vastly different circumstances.

The Sirens blends historical fiction, fantasy, and magical realism, weaving a haunting connection between Lucy, a modern-day woman in Australia, and Mary and Eliza, twin sisters from 19th-century Ireland who are among a group of women “convicts” being shipped to the Australian colonies. While I loved the premise of the book and The Sirens contained all the elements of what I was expecting from an Emilia Hart novel, unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I expected.

For one, the plot felt underdeveloped. The novel opens with Lucy waking up from sleepwalking only to realize she’s strangling her ex (who she hates and who leaked her nudes online). She immediately goes MIA, and flees campus and crosses the country to visit her sister, despite their distant and strained relationship. This drastic reaction felt a bit implausible. Also, after discovering her sister is missing, Lucy doesn’t report it to the police or even tell her parents for over a week! Imagine if something seriously awful could have happened to your sibling and you just chill in their apartment for a week!

Moreover, the majority of the book is in Lucy’s POV and I struggled with her inner dialogue. This weighed me down a bit and I found myself slowing down around the 60% mark as the pacing began to drag. Her naivety was frustrating and it takes her an exasperatingly long time to connect the dots. I had the major plot twist figured out before I was even a quarter of the way through, making the rest of the story feel even more drawn out.

Overall, The Sirens didn’t resonate with me as much as Weyward did but I still enjoyed it. I still think it is worth checking out if the premise is something you are interested in!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for providing this book for review via NetGalley!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this gifted ARC!

The Sirens is a very uniquely written novel in two separate timelines and multiple POV’s. I loved the sisterhood in each timeline as well as the character growth. I wasn’t expecting the turns and twists. I did feel like it was slightly repetitive and the story seemed long. Overall, following Lucy and Jess in today’s time and Mary and Eliza in their lives hundreds of years beforehand was intriguing. Definitely a slow burn but held many captivating elements.

Looking for a book with complicated family dynamics, a town haunted by mermaids, and women pursuing justice? The Sirens by Emilia Hart has all of the above (and more)!
I have always been a mermaid girlie more than anything else, and obviously thought that in combination with Hart’s writing style would make this an enthralling read. I inhaled Hart’s debut, Weyward, and had been anxiously awaiting another tale of myth, feminine power, and raw history. And while The Sirens has all three of those elements, they don’t have the same pull that Weyward had for me.
The book has three main characters. Lucy, an Australian university student; Jess, her older sister; and Mary, an Irish girl on a convict ship heading to Australia. We spend the majority of our time with Lucy, who left university in a rush after a sleepwalking incident. It’s mentioned in a few different ways that Lucy has a skin condition that’s affected by water. Lucy spends most of the book at Jess’s house, waiting for her to return from a trip.
Unfortunately, even though the book is 80% in Lucy’s POV, I felt like she was the least developed. Most of Jess’s character development happens as Lucy reads through Jess’s old diary and all of Mary’s development happens through Lucy’s dreams. This setup keeps Lucy front and center, but keeps her in a perpetual state of almost-knowing and never lets her do anything else.
Overall, I enjoyed the twists and turns of all three storylines, and was invested enough to finish the book. The mermaid details started to appear more frequently, and the book ended with a blend of magical realism that I was expecting. Some of the final details really threw me for a loop, but overall, the ending saved the book from its middle.
If any of this book's weirdly specific traits caught your eye, you should definitely give it a shot! I’d also recommend it if you’re really into mermaid myths!
Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the free advanced copy and audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

I received an advance copy via NetGalley.

Three storylines featuring resilient women are the focus of this unique book. In 2019, a young Australian woman, Lucy, awakens, choking the ex-boyfriend who recently betrayed her. She flees to a remote coastal town where her older sister lives, to find her missing. Meanwhile, Lucy is plagued by intense dreams about two sisters from Ireland in 1800 who are unjustly loaded onto a prison ship destined for Australia--and judging by the art in the household, her sister has been having the same dreams for years. Lucy struggles to understand herself, and begins reading through her sister's diary, discovering deep family secrets.

This is an engaging book, but a frustrating one in some regards, as the ending doesn't deliver much in the way of surprises. The title alone is a big giveaway about what is going on, and Lucy's big revelations are transparent incredibly early, though it takes her a long time to put pieces together. The diary format didn't work well, either, as the entries were nothing like believable diary entries.

There was a lot to like, though. The characters are very well done, and the deep insights into Australia's colonial history were disturbing and enlightening. I can see this being a major book club read in the coming years.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy.

When I first read the premise of this book, I was so excited and intrigued. Sirens are freaking awesome, and hell yeah I want to read about women turning into beautiful creatures to lure men to their deaths. But this book just did not deliver for me.

Strengths:
• The writing was lovely, and I enjoyed the fictional town of Comber Bay. And I especially loved Eliza and Mary’s POV chapters.

Weaknesses:
• Just about everything aside from what I listed above. I just did not care about Lucy’s POV, and tbh I think she wasn’t even that necessary to the story; it could have just been Jess and the story would have worked just as well.
• We got verrrrrryyyy little of the actual Sirens. The whole book is basically build up to characters discovering they are Sirens. I wanted to read about Sirens being Sirens, and we just did not get that, like at all.
• Hart does historical stories better than modern day. For that reason, I think the story would have been miles better if written entirely from Eliza and Mary’s POV and delved more into them once they actually become Sirens.
• The ending felt so abrupt? Like we just abandon the whole premise in the last 20 pages or so?

Overall, this gets 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3)

This was a hauntingly beautiful read. I love how the author sets the tone with her words and paints a beautiful, mythical picture. Great read.