What a magical read. I will start by saying I have not read Weyward. This is my first book by Emilia Hart. I went into this knowing she was a great storyteller but that was all. What mystical journey she takes you in The Sirens. Two sets of sisters bound together by the ocean. It reads like a fairytale meets historical fiction. The family drama and connections make it a page-turner, you have to know what happens next and why it happened.

The characters are charming and hard-edged. No one is without fault or secrets. The bond of sisterhood and of parents and child are strong in this book and it makes for a wonderfully beautiful story of family and how far you will go for the ones you love most. While I found myself disgusted by the teacher's storyline I also liked how she resolved it. It is resolved in a way that (without spoilers) adds to the story's wonder.

I would say there's a happy ending but it's complicated, but isn't that life?

I highly recommend this female-centered book.

One story seemed easy to follow and one story was a little more challenging to follow. I read Weyward last year and thought I would try The Siren and i've learned to no fault of the author she is just not my writing style.

It was a slow read in the beginning as I felt the story was getting redundant. I also just wanted to scream to them that they were mermaids.... it's so obvious! But that's not really what the story was about so I get why she didn't write it that way. About a quarter of the way through I got invested into all of the characters and their storylines and fell in love. I am glad it ended they way it did, it made my heart happy. Lots of twists that I was not expecting made me love the end in so many ways.

So good so eerie!!! This feminist fantasy kept me on the edge of my seat. Sisters and sirens learning about who they are and what they are!

I am honestly in love with this book. Emilia Hart went out of her way to bring a heart wrenching book to me. I loved every bit of it, even when it seemed confusing. I think the historical context mixed with the thriller was a perfect execution in this scenario. This book definitely made me almost throw my kindle in shock, make me cry, and scream basically. I love love love this book and will give it 10 stars all the time.

I gave this one 3 stars because I enjoyed about half of it. I liked reading the parts about Lucy & Jess, but I found the chapters with Mary & Eliza to be a bit boring. I also ended kind of confused about how they connected. Perhaps I missed the explanation, but I wasn’t sure if they’re reincarnations or just descendants with the shared memory.

I wasn’t able to guess in advance that Jess was actually Lucy’s mom so that’s always a bonus for me. I don’t like when it’s too easy. I felt icky reading all the parts about Jess and the teacher so I was glad when Lucy’s father ended up being the best friend instead.

I hadn’t read anything from this author, but I heard such good things about Weyward. I’ll definitely try more of her books!

Thank you St Martin’s Press @stmartnspress , Netgalley @netgalley and Emilia Hart @emiliahartbooks for this free book!
“The Sirens” by Emilia Hart⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Genre: Historical Magical Realism. Location: Comber Bay, Australia, 200 kg from Sydney.
1800, Ireland: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza are allergic to water. They were 5 when their Mam walked into the sea and never emerged. Now 16, Mary and blind Eliza are charged with assault, sent to New South Wales on the Naiad, a ship carrying 83 women convicts-most guilty of stealing a roll, or a tiny piece of cloth.
1999 Australia: Jess (16) is allergic to water, with rivulets of cracked skin between her breasts, across her rib cage. She feels alone, until her art teacher charms her out of her innocence.
2019 Australia: Lucy (20) is allergic to water like older sister Jess (37). After Ben betrays her, she wakes to find herself choking him. She heads to Jess, living at Cliff House in Comber Bay where a woman’s prison ship shipwrecked, 8 men went missing since 1960, a tiny baby was found in a sea cave, sailors hear women’s voices on the waves. Now Lucy dreams of the Naiad’s women.

Author Hart has written a book about the ability of water and sisterhood to heal and transform-sisters separated by centuries, bound by the sea. She alternates POVs between Mary, Lucy, and Jess. Hart’s descriptions capture mysteries and magic: (“Color-logged paintbrushes, reaching like bruised fingers”) (“Mary noticed what Eliza must have always known, that a voice had valleys and crags, telling you of sadness or delight.”)There are family secrets, lucid dreams, sacrifices. It’s a fiercely powerful book about consent, for all girls who needed or may need protection and vengeance. Hart is a new “Must Read” for me, so I”m giving it 5 stars!🌵📚💁🏼‍♀️🎀 #thesirensbook #emiliahartauthor

It's so easy to get wrapped up in an Emilia Hart book; her writing is so captivating and gorgeous, if not occasionally a touch overwrought.

But when you tie this lovely, lyrical writing with great flawed female characters, mysterious happenings (. . . you can kind of easily guess the main plot twists, however), magical realism (mermaids?!?!), and put a bow of supporting women's wrongs on top of it, you get a very engaging and enjoyable read, and what more can you ask for?

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

Lucy flees university in the dead of night after a violent sleepwalking incident, but when she seeks answers at her sister Jess’ house, only to find the house a mess and Jess nowhere to be found, Lucy will uncover more than she bargained for about her sister, her parents, and her own past. Lucy and Jess’ stories are interwoven with Eliza and Marys’, two sisters traveling to Australia on a convict ship in the early nineteenth century. Both sets of sisters seem literal worlds apart, but as Lucy realizes the dreams she’s having about Eliza and Mary may have more truth to them than she thought, she descends into a spiral to find the truth about her birth.

I think this story did a fantastic job of depicting descent into madness which turned out to be the only way to find the truth. The magical realism was well done and kept me intrigued without being too unrealistic. That being said I do wish there was a little more folklore elements sprinkled throughout the story so the fantastical ending didn't seem so sudden. I wasn’t surprised by the ending, but I do feel it could’ve been done less abruptly.

Emilia Hart’s The Sirens is nothing short of a masterpiece, a spellbinding tale that grips you from the first page and refuses to let go. This book has left me questioning everything I thought I knew about storytelling, human nature, and resilience.

The plot is a beautifully tangled web of twists and turns, each more surprising than the last. Hart masterfully crafts a narrative that is as unpredictable as it is compelling. Every revelation caught me off guard, and I found myself rage closing the book more than once, only to pick it back up moments later, unable to resist diving back in.

The emotional depth of this story is staggering. Hart’s ability to balance raw, unflinching moments with intricate plotting is nothing short of genius. The characters are vivid and complex, their struggles both harrowing and deeply human. It is impossible not to feel for them as they navigate a world that feels both eerily familiar and hauntingly surreal.

What truly sets The Sirens apart is its ability to challenge the reader. It forces you to confront uncomfortable truths and question your own perceptions, leaving you both exhilarated and unsettled.

Emilia Hart has delivered a book that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping. If you are looking for a story that will consume you, frustrate you, and ultimately leave you in awe, The Sirens is an absolute must-read.

I absolutely loved Weyward and had really high hopes for this book, but I was sadly disappointed. The story was slow and meandering, I didn't connect with the characters and in the end, I just didn't really care. I skimmed though the last half of the book to find out the "mystery" but everything just fell flat. Oh well, I look foreword to more from Hart in the future. The audiobook narrator is fantastic.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Wow. A deeply beautiful and haunting tale set near the dark waters on a coast in Australia, The legends of mermaids, a favorite of mine, come to life in a generation-spanning story of sisterhood, motherhood, grief, love, longing and trauma, The light touch of the supernatural adds depths and isn’t scary at all. Beautiful and wild, the lore of sea creatures comes to life in Emilia Hart’s awesome novel. I plan to read Weyward next!

I DEVOURED this book. It’s all I thought about for the last few days and trust me when I say this- I loved every twist, every surprise, every character, every setting. I went through a whirlwind of emotions reading this and can’t wait to see what everyone thinks of this book! It’s the perfect blend of literary fiction and magical realism. I wish the epilogue wasn’t there because it did take away from the story and characters for me, but otherwise this was an excellent read. My first 5 stars of the year!


I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher and all reviews here are my own.

Emilia Hart's second novel is another that focuses on strong women and the ties that find them set on a dual timeline. In 1800, sisters Mary and Eliza are traveling by boat to an island where prisoners are taken to be held. In the present, Lucy and Jess are dealing with their own respective issues as well as the need to understand their family history. Bith sets of women are tied together in ways they have yet to learn.

I love that Hart focuses on bringing strong women to her pages. I love the way she writes. I am not so much a fan of her style of magical realism. I feel like if the magical part was left out, the story would be fine with just the realism.

There was a lot of focus on Lucy's nightmares and the incident that made her flee uni early on. Nothing came of this in the end, which makes this story a little lacking for me. We get answers for where the girls came from, but not the other half of the book's focus. I guess we are supposed to draw our own conclusions about what happened to Eliza and Mary. I still don't understand who Jess's mother is, I'm not sure if I was supposed to assume it was the thing coming from the sea or not. Overall, I felt like we covered a lot in the story, but the ending didn't wrap it up well.


Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for providing me this Digital Reviewer Copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart was an unusual choice for me. While I sometimes delve into the mystical or light fantasy, the book's description felt more like a mystery to me. I enjoyed the plot and characters despite knowing little about the concept of mermaids, at least how they were introduced in fiction or society... have you ever stepped back to think... how did a concept of a half-woman half-fish being come to fruition? It wasn't first identified with The Little Mermaid which I adored as a kid in the 1980s... so where did the creation come from? This book doesn't dive into that history but it does start with a group of women who were exiled from Ireland to Australia, thus beginning the convict creation of the country, stealing from the natives and birthing an entirely new culture in the world. Cut to modern day with two sisters and a secret. I figured that one out about 50 pages before the truth was revealed but I still maintained curiosity about where the plot would go. Very atmospheric, a book that is more about painting a picture of humankind and nature, less about staying within typical boundaries. Great for those who like wordplay, descriptions, and metaphors. Those who love secrets will like the twists. But I needed a more solid ending without so much room for interpretation.

After having just read Weyward, and absolutely loving it, I jumped into The Sirens right away. And it did not disappoint! I do believe Emilia Hart is going to be one of my favorite authors from here on out.

This story about two sisters was completely engaging. It jumps between modern day and the 1800’s, as well as 1999, by way of one of the sister’s diary. All three storylines kept me captivated as I was eager to find out how they all tied in together.

Hart’s writing is so descriptive and lush, I found myself immersed in the story. The storyline is original and interesting, and the settings are so wonderfully described you can totally picture them in your head.

Overall, I found this book to be a great read! Loved it!

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

I was really drawn to the storyline and was really excited to read this! The idea of sirens and a small town mystery of missing people seemed so interesting.

It had a slow start. I think there was a lot of names that were thrown around at the beginning that it took me awhile to catch on to who was who. But once I hit about a quarter into the book, things started to get really interesting! The amount of twists in this book had me shook! I did not see them coming. I ended up loving this! It was hard to put down.

First my thanks to St Martins Press Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity for an ARC copy of this novel 🫶

Last year I read Emilia Harts novel Wayward, at the recommendation of a friend, and was drawn in by the writing and incredible story telling. When I saw that she had another story coming out I knew I was in for another amazing read.

I love the way that she portrays the stories of women, whether they are sisters, friends, or acquaintances. She is able to share the thoughts and emotions and actions of women in a way that pulls at your heart.

Women have historically been treated as lesser than men and looked down upon for their love and support of their fellow women. If I’ve said it once I’ve said it a thousand times- women believe women. Women need to support women because if we don’t, no one else will.

This is a beautiful story of two sets of women, hundreds of years apart, living and surviving in a world made for men. Women who do whatever they can to help support the other women around them.

I could easily relate to the characters and quickly became attached to them. I was angry with them, for them and I cried for them.

I cannot recommend this beautiful story enough.

The siren was a bit slow in the beginning but picked up and was compelling to read. You can really feel the bond between the sisters, and the magic

What a page turner! I loved every aspect of this book. I thought Mary, Jess and Lucy’s stories were woven together effortlessly. All three were strong and well developed characters. The overarching mystery kept me guessing but there were some parts I found a bit predictable. Overall a great book the I really enjoyed!