I was very excited to listen to this Arc as I enjoyed Emilia Hart's Weyward. Hart is great about telling tragic historical tales that women experienced firsthand and how that pain transcends generations. I had no idea that there were Irish prisoners taken to Australia, especially boats full of women. This was a very atmospheric, but depressing at times novel.

This is one of my favourite books I’ve read this year, it was absolutely captivating. The back and forth elements for the plot were unsettling and I was so nervous reading. I mean, the SUSPENSE. What a beautifully written story. From characters, to plot, to execution with the writing itself. The pacing is a little slower than I expected, but I didn’t mind it after a while, since it really helped set the stage and atmosphere to the story.

Wow this was great! Told in different timelines, I loved all of it. The origin story with Mary and Eliza was both terrifying and fascinating. And Jess and Lucy's story was equally captivating. The Sirens was even better than Hart's Weyward, which I loved also. Highly recommend!

Another stellar book by Emilia Hart. I love her writing style and how she intricately weaves the stories of the sisters together.

4.5 stars. There were some spots that felt like holes especially for the ending and the grandparents, uncles, aunts situation.

Emilia Hart’s writing is absolutely amazing - so captivating and compelling, which made putting the book down hard. She did a great job intertwining the different perspectives and also exploring the theme of women empowerment. While there were difficult parts of the book that may be triggering, it was handled delicately. Absolutely recommend this book, especially if you are fascinated with stories about sirens.

I enjoyed Weyward by Emilia Hart so I was very excited when her newest was a read now on NetGalley. I was really intrigued by the idea of a missing sister and mermaid lore mashed into one book. Weyward had a beautiful writing style and really brought the feminine rage so I had high expectations for this.

Overall, though, I was underwhelmed by this one. I really enjoyed the unraveling family secrets of Jess & Lucy’s family. Things got predictable though as the story went on so I was able to guess the answers to the many mysteries. I was disappointed there wasn’t many explanations to the mermaid lore that was introduced. I still had so many questions after finishing. If there was a little less focus on the current day timeline and more on the 1800s timeline, I feel it would’ve been more enjoyable.

2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. Horrified, she flees to her older sister’s house on the Australian coast, hoping she can help explain the strangely vivid nightmare that preceded the attack—but Jess is nowhere to be found.
As Lucy awaits her return, the rumors surrounding Jess’s strange small town start to emerge. Numerous men have gone missing at sea, spread over decades. A tiny baby was found hidden in a cave. And sailors tell of hearing women’s voices on the waves. Desperate for answers, Lucy finds and begins to read her sister’s adolescent diary.

1999: Jess is a lonely sixteen-year-old in a rural town in the middle of the continent. Diagnosed with a rare allergy to water, she has always felt different, until her young, charming art teacher takes an interest in her drawings, seeing a power and maturity in them—and in her—that no one else has.

1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been torn from their loving father in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. For their entire lives, they’ve feared the ocean, as their mother tragically drowned when they were just girls. Yet as the boat bears them further and further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can’t explain, and they feel the sea beginning to call to them…

This was a fascinating read for me. I don't read a lot of magical realism, and the convergence of the fantastical and the feminist was refreshing for me. Looking at the world through the eyes of women in different time periods was interesting, and all four women's stories were interesting and compelling. Together, they weave a beautiful tale. 4⭐

I received an advanced complimentary digital copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

A hauntingly beautiful blend of magical realism, historical fiction, and mystery, The Sirens completely captivated me from the very first page. Emilia Hart masterfully weaves together the lives of four women across three timelines—each facing their own struggles, yet bound together by the sea and a legacy of resilience.

From Lucy in 2019, searching for her missing sister in a coastal town full of secrets, to Jess in 1999, navigating a rare illness and an unsettling past, to Mary and Eliza in the 1800s, torn from their home and sent across the ocean as convicts—each story is immersive, emotional, and laced with an eerie, almost mythic quality. The novel balances the supernatural with real historical depth, making it feel both whimsical and heartbreakingly poignant.

This is a story about sisterhood, survival, and the undeniable pull of the past. If you loved Weyward or The Once and Future Witches, you need this book on your TBR. Highly recommend!

I immediately signed up for this arc based on the premise: A twisty, dark mystery told in multiple POVs about two sets of sisters, the sea and Australia's prisoner history.

Both 2019 and 1800 sisters are grappling with some complicated family dynamics. In 2019, college student Lucy is reeling with the aftershock of her sleepwalk attack on her sleazy ex boyfriend. She flees campus to see her older sister, Jess, at her new home in Comber Bay. But Jess is missing.

In 1800, twin sisters Mary and Eliza were prisoners on a ship heading to Australia for their exile. Their memories are somehow built into present day Jess and Lucy's memories.

I used to read strictly mystery and thrillers and this reminded me a lot of Tana French's storytelling. It has historical fiction, gothic, and magical realism vibes. The slow pacing to start lends to the eeriness of the story. I loved the creepy setting of Comber Bay, and the twists. This is dark and gritty in parts though, and there are heavy emotional scenes around sexual assault, and sharing images without consent. I thought the writing was really strong and handled all of the rage and sexism around this really well. I binged this pretty quickly, and had to reread that ending! Whew.

I can't wait to get my hands on more from this author.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the arc.

Rating: 4.5⭐

I loved Weyward and I was super excited to receive this arc of The Sirens.

For fans of women empowerment, mermaids, deep themes, and sisterly connections. I enjoyed the dual POV.

Wowie. Jess, Lucy, Melody, Mary, Eliza, Birdie, Sarah. So many strong women, so many different life paths, and one incredible story. We need each other to share experiences, grow and live.

A worthy successor to Wayward! Not as strong as the original novel but captivating nonetheless. A great read for mystery lovers with a touch of horror and fantasy.

Fans of Weyward or just of sirens and mermaids in general would love this. It is similar in structure to Weyward. It is told from the perspective of different women in different eras. The imagery and the descriptions were eerie and very well done. The characters were realistic and weren't there just to fill space. The story did seem to drag in some places, but it was part of the mood and setting of the story, so I understand the pacing.

I liked the idea of this book and the basis of the story on the origins of Sirens in the Australian continent. I enjoyed the plot twists. But the internal dialogue was just so lengthy for me it was hard to continue at times. I also wasn't super fond of any of the characters. I just expected to feel more.

I think the overall pacing and sections with Mary and Eliza was just too much of nothing going on for a good amount of the book.

3.5 stars. This book is tough for me to rate and review. After reading and loving Weyward by the same author, I was disappointed with this book. First, I will add that the book cover is beautiful and worth commenting on. I do usually really enjoy magical realism and the theme of mermaids as “sirens” with references to mythology is definitely intriguing. The double timeline format worked well but I did want more character development of Mary and Eliza from the past. I did enjoy the build up around the mystery of Jess’s disappearance in the current timeline but felt like Lucy and Jess’s backstories were overly complicated and caused me to lose some interest at times. As in Weyward, the author did connect the two stories in the end but the revealing of Mary’s relationship with Jess and Lucy seemed rushed. But I think the biggest disappointment for me was the repeating theme of women seeking revenge on men. Not that I don’t get that women have suffered misogyny forever and the use of magic to stop them can be entertaining but I like to see authors avoid repeating themes from book to book and use their writing talents to create something entirely new.

This was a really captivating, eerie, magical realism story. I liked the multiple timelines and POVs which really helped move the story along and kept me engaged. The mysteriousness of the girls and Comber Bay was so well done!

I also really like how well Hart describes things, especially the setting. I felt like I could really picture the house and the cave well!

The only issue I had is I felt a few things were left unresolved. I loved the two timelines but wasn’t really sure how they connected in the end.

Overall though, a well written, enjoyable book!

I love the interweaving story lines and the hint of mystery for each one. I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did and ended up reading it in about a day!

This is book where you can see smell and touch the settings along with the characters. I found myself cringing at a walk through a house damp with mild, chilled by the misty wind on a beach cliff, holding my breathe to the smell of a dank ship hold I wasnt psychically in but my mind could see. Mysterious, fantastical. A journey.

I loved this book! Five out of five stars. Ten out of ten stars even. Just as good as her other book, Weyward. I love the way Hart writes these women stories. They’re very unique and very real feeling.

🏝️ Book Review 🏝️

Thank you to St Martins Press and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for my honest opinions.

Publication: April 1, 2025

Rating: DNF/Not for me

I was hooked at the beginning of this story but it slowly fell apart for me. I’m not sure what I was hoping for or expecting but I put this down feeling frustrated.

This read more like a character study with how much inner monologues Lucy had during her chapters. I was hoping we would have had a unique way of seeing the lore regarding sirens.

For fans of:
💧 First person POV
🏝️ Three timelines
💧 1800’s New South Wales
🏝️ 2019 Australia
💧 Sprinkles of 1980’s in true crime podcast
🏝️ Mixed media
💧 Sister bond
🏝️ Blindness rep
💧 Female empowerment

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