The Sirens by Emilia Hart

This story felt like a mystery wrapped in a fairy tale. There are some twists I didn’t see coming and they were done so well! The multiple POVs are so well done and gave so much depth to the novel. This is a story of Jess, Lucy and Mary as they navigate the different tides of their lives. For Mary she is a prisoner on a ship that transports female criminals. For Lucy she has a violent dream that results in harming someone she thought she could trust and flees to find her sister. For Jess we learn about her past through diary entries that Lucy has found when she can’t find her sister.

This book is for those who like or want a contemporary fairy tale set in a world that glimmers with the myth of mermaids. This is a story about love, family and finding where someone fits in the world.

3.75 ⭐️

This is my first book by Emilia Hart. The was an intriguing story about the mythical creatures but with a more Irish folklore foundation. There were a few plot reveals that were predictable but I found most of them persuasive. The themes in this book were heavier than I expected, but I applaud Hart for intentionally exploring the dark experiences a lot of women have gone through but may not have the courage to talk about. The jump between timelines and characters were confusing at the beginning since we not only switch between past and present but also between characters. This is a story about sisterhood/motherhood, friendship, unbreakable familial bonds, finding one's place, and overcoming hardships.
I also have to say that mom is a saint of a woman. I have so much respect for her and her patience and grace given what the people around her put her through.

Please check trigger warnings for this one.

I loved the story of sisters divided by time. The separate story lines moved well and kept me engaged. I love the lore and the present day intertwining with each other.

The sirens was an incredible book! I can see the growth in Hart's writing from Weyward. I loved the historical fiction element as well as the magical realism elements. The dual sister stories were thoroughly explored and the characters felt rich and deep.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this early review copy.
This book was fantastic! Just like Weyward, I enjoyed every minute of it. The storytelling in the different timelines, the feminist story it told, and the emphasis on generational trauma was all amazing. I will pick up every book Emilia Hart writes.

Emilia Hart's first novel, Weyward, wsa a superb story & I was really hoping that The Sirens would be the same.
Sadly, it wasn't.
The first half of the novel, covering different time periods, introduces the reader to some excellent characters & situations. Hart's descriptions of places & people are brilliantly evoked.
However, the second half of the novel is quite weak. The sisters, in both time periods, were great characters, but Hart never delivered on the mysteries she had created for them in the early part of the novel. Perhaps I was expecting too much. Other readers may find this to be a great book. I just wish I had been one of them.

3 1/2 stars
I’ve rounded down as this just felt too long and a bit silly at times with the continued ‘pretending’ like the reader didn’t know what was happening the majority of the time. When your book is titled Sirens, one is going to assume that Sirens are a piece of the plot. So it’s not surprising when that becomes a part of the story. Yet for the first 85% of the book the author makes it seem like the Sirens are part of the mystery.

There is actually a bigger and better mystery that should have been more emphasized, although could be predicted by many (I suspected) the twist of that mystery is ‘good enough’ and could have carried the book instead of pretending we didn’t know Sirens were involved. Which brings me to the ending. It was weak. I think it tried too hard to placate the reader. I’d have liked an ending more bittersweet or tragically romantic.
The actual prose of Sirens is quite good. At times it feels the conscious narrative of our characters (first person) is a bit much; and the full blown narrated diary entries are ridiculous (no one writes dialogue in a diary the way they would in a novel!). Yet I still didn’t hate reading it which tells me the writing was good.

As someone with fairly severe hydrophobia I felt the descriptions of the sea, the hold of the ship (in our past narrative), and then an allergy to water (present day narrative) could have been amped up a bit to create more tension. If emphasis had been given to how much a dark, dank, rat infested ships hold would really feel knowing the crushing sea was just outside there could have been more horror and atmosphere. It would have helped counter any loss of mystery by acknowledging the Sirens aspect of the story.

Overall this is a good enough book. If you love small town family mystery and mermaid lore then it’s for you. If you are hoping for a scientific look, or a lot of magical realism then I’d say pass.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

It was an imaginative coming of age book. It was what I expected from her previous book Weyward which I gave 5 stars too I believe. I enjoyed the whimsical aspects a lot and the twist was so well done! Never would have guessed that it was going to go that way!

2.5 stars

This was lonely, dark, and sad to me. It felt like it was written by someone, in pain, in the back of an old, abandoned library. I just think this maybe wasn't for me? I had to push through to finish it. Considering this is the author of Weyward (which I DNF'ed) I'm leaning towards this author is not my kind of writer.

Compelling, mysterious, and a bit confusing. This is two stories of 2 different sisters.

The first set, Lucy and Jess. Lucy has just woken up strangling a man in her sleep. She's alarmed and embarrassed and quickly packs up and leaves to go visit her sister. Her sister, Jess, lives hours away on a cliffside overlooking a gorgeous view. But when she arrives, her sister isn't there. Days go by, she visits neighbors and cares for her sister's cat but she worries, what's happened that her sister isn't home?

The other stories, told in alternating chapters from Lucy, our other sister's POV, is Eliza and Mary. These 2 are on a convict ship of mainly women. They are being sent to Australia for their crimes, banished to live among the ruthless other convicts that run the island. They are terrified and the voyage isn't easy. They get to know the other women on the boat and band together to survive.

These 2 stories are both full of strength and perseverance. They show how strong women are together, especially when they lean on each other and help each other. There's an underlying theme, about violent men and the threat women feel. There's also a magical feel of water and each woman has a different relationship with it.

I liked the story and I found each set of sisters interesting in their own personal struggle. I loved that someone in our book club had a theory early on and it completely reshaped my thinking of the story and I loved it. But I did find the ending felt rushed and I'd wished we'd gotten just a little more.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Emilia Hart is a master of her art and I loved every minute of this book. I went in with extremely high expectations after loving Wayward, and they were exceeded. I believe in reading books in the genre you’re in the mood for and I kept putting this one off for the longest time (my apologies). Please note, if you are reading my review- add to your TBR immediately.

Set in Australian history, the novel follows the lives of women on their personal journeys spanning decades and alternate POV. Lucy finds herself in trouble after a sleepwalking accident. The second timeline is set in the 1800s when and Eliza and Mary are torn from their home in Ireland. I loved the mysteries of the sea, the sirens, and how the story come together. Please note this does explore the generation of abuse and violence throughout the lifespan. This was a breathtaking work of fiction that felt all to non-fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for my review!

This was a mesmerizing story about the bonds of sisterhood, self reliance and the mythicism that resides under the waves. Emilia Hart's writing was atmospherical and suspenseful, keeping me wanting to turn the page to see where the story was going to go. While some of the plot twists were a bit obvious it was still interesting watching how the clues were slowly revealed as the story went on. I really loved the relationships between both pairs of sisters and the character development of all of the girls as they faced similar problems despite being separated by hundreds of years.

I really liked this book. Kept me guessing till the end. I liked Jess and Lucy. Also I liked the different timelines. Easy read!

TY to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I loved this multi perspective tale of mermaids & family secrets. Both settings were vivid and immersive and absolutely lovely. If you love mermaids, you will love this book!

The Sirens is an interesting novel that builds off the history of the convict ships that sent criminals to Australia, including Irish women, and with a touch of magical realism, brings it into the modern day. Lucy is a university student in Australia, who suffers from Aquagenic urticaria, a real disease that is kind of an allergy to water, who is taken advantage of by a fellow student, and flees to find her older sister, but her sister is missing. Lucy's search for her sister leads her to both of their pasts. It was interesting to learn more about the convict ships, and the modern story was well written too.

After loving Emilia Hart's first book, Weyward, and considering it one of my favorite books of 2023, I couldn't get my hands on The Sirens fast enough, especially after seeing the beautiful cover art! I was so excited to read this one, but I was left disappointed. I never felt connected to any of the characters in either timeline and mostly felt confused about what was going on. Did the girls have a skin condition, or were they some other kind of creatures? What should have been a big reveal about the characters felt like letdown. I just couldn't make myself care about what was going on. I think there were some interesting ideas, but perhaps more time was needed to refine these ideas and develp the characters in a way to make the reader care about what was happening. Thank you for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the DRC of The Sirens! All opinions in this review are my own.

I loved Weyward and Emilia Hart shows her strength once again in The Sirens! I love how Hart weaves timelines together to create the mystery and the mystical call of the ocean! My only complaint is that Mary and Eliza's chapters felt repetitive at times which slowed down Jess's and Lucy's stories. Overall, The Sirens is an excellent summer read about the strength of women and the pull of the ocean!

A past and present story with supernatural elements. The story follows Lucy, who finds herself in a perilous situation while she is sleepwalking one night. She knows the impact of her actions threaten to ruin her future, so she runs to her sister as she believes she won’t be understood or believed. When she arrives, she finds her sister isn’t home, but her artwork is and those paintings are haunting. The story switches between the present and the journey of female prisoners from England to Australia. As both stories unfold, we see connections between the women of the past and Lucy and her sister Jess.. It’s a slow build to a harrowing climax. Enjoyed the read.

📒📒📒 / 5
thank you to netgalley and st. martin's press for early access to the e-arc in exchange for an honest review!

quick thoughts:
⭐️ 3/5
🫥 woman tries to find her missing sister
🪄 magical realism, historical fiction, mystery
✍🏼 multiple POVs, short chapters
🧜🏼‍♀️ elements of mythical sea creatures
🤷🏻‍♀️ might recommend to fans of this author

i really enjoyed WEYWARD by this author, and mermaids and the ocean are kinda my thing, so i was super excited for this one. however, it fell kind of flat for me. i was enjoying the story until we were introduced to Mary and the other women aboard the ship. i felt these chapters slowed the pacing way down and didn't add too much to the story. i found myself wanting to skim over those chapter to get back to present day to find out what happened to Lucy's sister. i feel i would've loved this story more if there was more to the mythical creatures

Beautiful Cover!
If you like books with family secrets, mysterious disappearances and supernatural fantasy elements then you might enjoy this one. Without spoiling anything, I enjoyed reading this one, but the ending did leave me wanting a little more information about what happens next.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.