Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 4/1
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The Sirens was an interesting read. This story spans between three different time periods and form the POV of three different characters; Mary in the 1800s, Jess in 1999 and Lucy in 2019.
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The story starts in 2019 where Lucy wakes to find herself hurting her ex lover. She then runs to her estranged sister Jess’s house to find that she is missing which then forces her to take a deep dive into Jess’s past. My favorites parts of this story were the 2019 and 1999 timelines. I didn’t really care much for the 1800 timeline if I am being honest. Hart does eventually fuse all of the timelines together to create a cohesive ending but again, I could have done without the 1800 timeline.
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This has a mystery, mystical, folkloreish, historical fiction feel which made this one even more appealing. It’s a slow burn in the beginning but towards the end when the mystery is unraveling the pace picks up.
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I listened to this via audiobook while reading the ebook. It was narrated by Barrie Kreinik and I think that it was a great performance. I think that if I didn’t have the audiobook I wouldn’t have wanted to finish this one. If you want to read this one - check out the audio for sure.
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Overall, this wasn’t necessarily my favorite but this was a good read!! I think that people will love this one! Give this a shot! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Emilia Hart, St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once I got a few chapters in, I was glued to this one. Emilia writes the intensity of the female experience in such a gripping way. I felt like we are all united by these shared experiences of assault, of oppression, of carrying the shame and guilt that actually don’t belong to us at all but to our attackers and oppressors. The characters are so isolated by their own choosing, and only the power of being vulnerable, honest and looking their truth in the face brings them together. I felt like I couldn’t stop reading until I knew how it ended. And the fantastical elements?! Yes please! I love the sirens on the page. I’d take a whole book of their exploits alone. Definitely recommend but do check the trigger warnings because it brought some stuff up for me for sure.

This was quite an interesting read and not a direction I expected the story to take. There is magical realism and empowerment. I think this would really appeal to a certain type of reader. it. I did guess some of the plot twists, but the ending, especially the epilogue was unexpected.

A dual timeline feminist tale from the author of Weyward? Sign me up. I'm a sucker for anything HINTING at mythology and Emilia Hart doesn't disappoint!

**Thank you so much St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for both the eARC and thank you Macmillan Audio for the audiobook.**

4.5 stars (rounded up). I really enjoyed this book. I had the privilege of reading an eARC and the audiobook and I highly recommend the audiobook. I read The Sirens but also listened to the audiobook and the audiobook was helpful when it came to the pronouncing names/unfamiliar words. I also enjoyed the narrators soothing voice and the change of her accent (Irish/Australian accents) when appropriate.

For the story itself, I loved the magical realism within this book and the beautiful writing. Emilia Hart has a special way of storytelling and I love how she brings together historical aspects with magical realism in such a unique way. The bond between sisters was nice and the sisterhood element was refreshing to see amongst the women throughout this story. I also liked the analysis of the unique bond between parents and their children. This was a heartbreaking story at times but it had a beautiful ending and is one that will remain with me.

Oh my god. I loved this story. This was my first read by Emilia Hart and the plot of this book, following 2 sets of sisters centuries apart was so good. This was a perfect blend of historical fiction and fantasy. I almost didn't even catch the shift to the magical realm, it was that seamless to me. I cared so much about what was happening in both timelines. Absolutely a great read and would 10/10 recommend. Can't wait to read Weyward by this author!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC copy of The Sirens! I loved Emilia's previous work, Weyward, so I was excited to read this story. Like Weyard, The Sirens focused on the theme of fierce feminine strength (which I love and will always appreciate), and used dual timelines with changing POVs. This was definitely a slow-burn, with much of the action occurring in the last 100 pages or so, but the story telling and scene building was done beautifully that it kept me reading. Once I was hoooked, I couldn't put this down, and although I wasn't sure initially if I would end up loving this, the ending sealed the deal for me. I love that Emilia creates strong female characters that help one another by the passage of their strength and resilience through generations. I'm all about feminist fantasy story telling and look forward to her future works!

This book had such an intense atmosphere, I felt completely pulled into its world. I was so invested in uncovering what happened in the 1700s and how it all connected to more recent events. The journey from Europe to Australia must have been brutal at the time, and the way the book captured that struggle really stuck with me.

Some details felt a bit unclear, and I wanted certain things to make more sense, but I decided to just let it go and enjoy the experience. The mix of audiobook and Kindle made it even better—I loved being able to switch between the two.

It’s the kind of story that lingers, one that leaves you thinking about it long after it’s over. If you love historical fiction with mystery woven through it, this is definitely worth reading.

Sirens by Emilia Hart is a captivating, feminist-driven tale that blends mystery with magic. The story, told across two timelines, follows two sets of sisters drawn to the water, each struggling with their own fate. The ever-changing twists kept me on my toes, constantly rethinking my theories. A spellbinding and thought-provoking read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC to review!
Rating (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being excellent)
Quality of writing: 5
Pace: 4
Plot development: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of Reading: 4

Overall rating: 4 out of 5

Anything even touching The Odyssey—or, let’s be honest, classical mythology in general—is an almost automatic yes for me. While The Sirens only offers the briefest of references, it didn’t disappoint for a second. This novel is a haunting, mesmerizing blend of history, feminism, magical realism, and folklore. Past and present collide in a beautifully tormented song of longing, love, and resilience that grips you from the very first pages.

Now, pay attention—this story isn’t just dual-timeline; it’s quadruple. You have the two timelines in the distant and recent past, and two non-linear present-day narratives that eventually merge. It’s a lot, but trust me, it works.

At its core, The Sirens is about sisterhood in all its fierce, complicated, and unbreakable forms. It’s about family secrets, dark dreams, and the transformations that define the female experience. Hart masterfully weaves Irish folklore—mermaids and the mysterious land beneath the sea—with the brutal history of female convicts transported to Australia in the 1800s, into present day where women are still taken advantage of or dismissed.
The result? A spell binding tale that kept calling me back to its pages.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Emilia Hart for an advanced copy of this book. Catch this one on April 1st, 2025.

Creatively written story that blends fantasy and historical fiction. The dual time lines are in the 1800s with Irish women convicted of offenses and then sent on a ship to Australia and in 2019 with two sisters living in New South Wales, Australia. The two sisters, Jess and Lucy, are dealing with quite a bit of family drama and both have dreams that are similar but don't really make sense at the time. As the story switches between the story lines, little clues are dropped to connect the women from the convict ship to Lucy and Jess.
Two sisters on the ship, Mary and Eliza, tell of their unbelievably intolerable and interminable journey from Ireland, around South America, and over to Australia. They reminisce about leaving their Da and remembrances of their mom which begins the dropping of clues that connect to the present.
I liked the relationship between Mary and Eliza more than Jess and Lucy, probably because they were closer as sisters. I could feel the desperation of the women on the ship and found their end story more interesting than the reconnection between Jess and Lucy.
For fans of Weyward, this is not Weyward part two. This is a completely different type of book. I found the blending of the fantasy components with the history of the 1800s with the contemporary story line very interesting and a unique type of book.
If you are looking for a historical fiction story with a bit of fantasy that doesn't overwhelm the story, I recommend this book.

#TheSirens #fantasy #historicalfiction
Thank you St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for a complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you are looking for a dark, mysterious tale spanning two different timelines AND with sirens, then this is the perfect book to *dive* into. The story follows two sisters in 2019, Australia and also two sisters in 1800. Both are experiencing—essentially, an “allergy to water.”
Along with this, the 2019 sisters keep having dreams of the sisters from the past, not really understanding why.
The plot is set around multiple strange disappearances of men in their small town and also the disappearance of the older sister, Jess.
I was hooked, at first, by the moody setting and then by needing to know what the heck was going on with these ladies! I loved how the mystery was unraveled throughout both timelines, and at moments it felt like I was reading historical fiction.

If there was anything I would’ve added to the story, it would’ve been more information on the sirens as mythical beings. Like, getting to read along from the perspective of the sirens as they perform their songs on the men. And maybe a little more time spent with the girls as they lived their siren lives. (i.e. Do they have a community like in the The Little Mermaid?)

I’m giving it 5 stars because I honestly was so captivated by the plot. When I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. I also would recommend listening to a moody siren playlist on Spotify, to add to your reading experience. It’s great!

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.

I love the character driven nature of this fantasy. What a fun way to dip back and forth between timelines. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this advanced copy! I will definitely be adding a hardback copy to my library.

I love the way Emilia Hart brings magic to our world and makes it feel like it’s a part of you.

The Sirens starts with Lucy, desperate to find her sister and herself after an incident at uni. She goes to the house her sister has been living in, but to her surprise Jess isn’t there. After finding her keys, her phone, and a diary, she starts to piece together things about Jess she’s never known, and the world starts to look different as she wades through her memories, dreams, and stories of the past.

I didn’t think there would be a way to make sirens feel realistic and tangible, but Hart does it beautifully. You want to believe that with the right amount of seawater your flesh would peel away, showing the beautiful iridescent scales beneath. You almost long to swim out into the vastness of the ocean, far away from the troubles of land, sing their song, and lure awful men to their death.


Thank you Net Galley and St Martins Publishing Group for the ARC and the privilege of writing an honest review.

Overall, I would give this book 4.5 stars. Usually, I am not a fan of magical realism, but I really enjoyed the story, the dual timelines, the mystery of the missing sister, and the representation of female resilience. This book contained enough twists and turns to keep my interest. I also loved the representation of aquagenic urticaria, I first learned about this in my teens and have been fascinated by this allergy. The one thing that I really missed was closure on the whole Lucy and Ben situation. Barrie Kreinik did an amazing job as the audio narrator, really liked the singing of the sea shanty.

Format: audiobook and ebook (started on ebook and then toggled back and forth)

Thank you so much to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St. Martin's Press for the advance audiobook and arc!!

After reading (and being really impressed with) Weyward, I was so happy to receive an invitation to read and early copy of Emilia Hart’s new novel.

I started both reading and listening to an audiobook of The Sirens (the audiobook won out ) and Barrie Kreinik’s narration of this beautifully written novel is wonderful; she voiced each character uniquely, making them easy to differentiate and I found her performance really elevated the story.

Listen (or read) this one for

*well researched historical fiction
*strong female characters
*sisters
*secrets and mystery
*magical realism
*dual timeline



Thank you to Macmillan Audio & St. Martin’s Press along with NetGalley for the ALC and DRC

After Hart’s debut novel, Weyward, became my favorite book of the year, and one of my very favorites in general, I had high hopes for this one! The Sirens was everything I hoped it would be and more!

Hart definitely has a signature way of capturing her reader’s attention through magical storytelling, filled with feministic undertones, extraordinary and brave female protagonists, and poetic writing that acts as a love letter to the natural environment.

Similarly to Weyward, this book dives into generations of women that are connected in unexpected ways. I’ve always been drawn to the sea, so the content in The Sirens was right up my alley. Even though there’s a magical realism element, it’s done in an incredibly realistic way. You can tell the thought and research that went into the historical portion of this plot. I honestly loved every single thing about this book and can confidently say I will be eagerly anticipating anything this author puts out in the future!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for this #gifted eARC!

What a beauty! I love the way Emilia Hart does magical realism. She just encaptures me with her books.
This book has an alternating POV. Eliza and Mary in the 1800s and the current Jess and Lucy timeline. I was initially a little confused, but that ship quickly righted itsel.
Lucy awakes from a dreamlike state with a feeling her hands around someone's throat. She can't shake the feeling, so she takes it as a sign to immediately go to her estranged sister, Jess. When she gets there, Jess is nowhere to be found. Lucy digs around and finds Jess' diary, only to find out that Jess has been having these "dreamlike scenarios" too. Lucy funds a painting at her sisters of a mermaid and a ship that she had had vivid dreams of. She then finds more paintings with the same two sisters. As she did more, she starts to uncover the truth about her and Jess' story.

Lucy begins to listen to a podcast, which she learned only happened not too far away. 30 years prior, 8 men disappeared.

In the 1800s, we have Eliza and Mary. We her their backstory and how it intertwines with Jess and Lucy's story and the missing men.
Emilia Hart writes with such lyrical prose and has a way of intertwining stories with magical realism flawlessly.

The Sirens was a fascinating read.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Expected publication April 1, 2025

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read The Sirens by Emilia Hart in exchange for an honest review.

The story starts strong with Lucy waking up to find she has attacked her ex in the middle of the night. This incident leads her to seek help from her estranged sister only to discover her sister is missing. As she searches for answers about her sisters disappearance she learns more about the town’s history of missing men.

The book also takes readers to the 1800s following two sisters as they travel by ship from Ireland to Australia.

I appreciated the themes about how often the odds are stacked against women, especially when it comes to being believed. But the characters felt flat, which made it harder to connect with the story. It feels like this could have been two different stories, rather than one that jumps timelines.

The middle section loses momentum, relying more on telling than action, but the pacing picks up again in the final third, leading to a more engaging conclusion. The structure- with multiple characters across different time periods, reminded me of Weyward by Emilia Hart (which I really enjoyed), though I found the characters in The Sirens less compelling. While the book didn’t fully resonate with me, The Sirens raises important and thought-provoking questions about power, gender, and safety.