Emilia Hart's *The Sirens* is a mesmerizing, multi-generational tale that masterfully intertwines the lives of women across centuries, all bound by the enigmatic pull of the sea. From the author of the bestselling *Weyward*, this novel is a spellbinding exploration of sisterhood, resilience, and the haunting magic of the ocean, spanning timelines from 2019, 1999, and the early 1800s. Hart crafts a deeply atmospheric story, blending historical fiction with elements of magical realism, making it impossible to put down.

At the heart of *The Sirens* is the complex relationship between Lucy and Jess, two sisters separated not just by distance, but by their own emotional walls. Set in 2019, Lucy's story begins with a shocking moment—she awakens from a dream with her hands around her ex-lover's throat. Horrified and confused, she escapes to her sister Jess’s house on the Australian coast, only to find that Jess is mysteriously missing. As Lucy waits for Jess, she becomes ensnared by the strange happenings in the small coastal town, where rumors of men disappearing at sea and eerie whispers on the waves abound. This mystery grows even more intense when Lucy stumbles upon Jess’s adolescent diary, which provides disturbing insights into her sister’s past.

Lucy’s discovery of Jess's diary pulls readers into the 1999 storyline, where we meet a sixteen-year-old Jess, isolated and struggling with her rare allergy to water. Hart paints a vivid picture of her teenage loneliness, compounded by her strained family life and the feeling of being different from everyone else. Jess’s world changes when her young art teacher takes an interest in her, seeing a maturity and talent in her that others have overlooked. As their relationship deepens, the novel subtly explores themes of power, manipulation, and vulnerability—laying the groundwork for the mysterious transformations that define the lives of these women.

The third timeline, set in the early 1800s, introduces twin sisters Mary and Eliza, who have been ripped from their home in Ireland and forced aboard a convict ship bound for Australia. The ocean, which claimed their mother’s life years before, is both a source of fear and fascination for the twins. As they sail further from the world they know, they begin to experience strange changes in their bodies, slowly revealing their mystical connection to the sea. The 1800s narrative is rich in historical detail, blending the harsh realities of convict life with supernatural elements that evoke the haunting allure of siren mythology.

Hart’s strength lies in her ability to seamlessly weave these three timelines together, allowing the mysteries of the past to echo into the present. The sea, both a physical and symbolic force, acts as a powerful throughline that binds these women across centuries. The vivid descriptions of the ocean’s relentless beauty and danger heighten the novel’s tension and imbue the story with an almost otherworldly atmosphere.

One of the novel’s most compelling themes is the idea of female resilience. Each woman—Lucy, Jess, Mary, and Eliza—faces her own struggles, but it’s the bond of sisterhood that offers strength and solace in the face of adversity. The relationship between the sisters, particularly in Lucy and Jess’s timelines, feels authentic and emotionally charged. Their connection is marked by both love and distance, as they navigate their complicated past and the weight of unspoken secrets. Hart’s portrayal of this sisterly bond is tender and poignant, reminding readers of the enduring power of familial love, even when it’s tested by time and circumstance.

The novel also delves into themes of identity and transformation, particularly through the lens of the mystical changes that the women experience. The sea, with its pull of dreams, memories, and magic, serves as a metaphor for the unseen forces that shape and change us. The mystery surrounding the siren-like abilities of the women adds an element of magical realism to the narrative, giving the novel an almost mythic quality.

In *The Sirens*, Hart deftly combines suspense, historical fiction, and magic to create a novel that is as emotionally resonant as it is compelling. The book is rich with symbolism, exploring the delicate balance between power and vulnerability, and the way trauma and loss ripple across generations. The mystery at the novel’s core keeps readers hooked until the very last page, as the stories of these women—bound by the sea and by each other—unravel in unexpected ways.

Overall, *The Sirens* is a beautifully written, atmospheric novel that offers a profound meditation on the bonds of sisterhood, the resilience of women, and the haunting allure of the sea. Fans of historical fiction, magical realism, and emotionally charged narratives will find themselves swept away by Emilia Hart’s spellbinding storytelling. This is a novel that lingers long after the final page, like the call of the sirens themselves—both enchanting and impossible to forget.

The ocean and siren themes were so great. Dark and twisted and historical. Loved the sisters and their relationship. Hart is making a name for herself in fantasy.

This is exactly how a Siren story should be told. I am not giving anything away except you must read this book!

I really enjoyed the storyline of this book! There were some very fast paced parts which kept me wanting more, but I feel like I wanted more from the ending. Overall, I would recommend this book if the storyline interests you!
3.5⭐️

The Sirens was one of my absolute top, if not THE top, most anticipated releases for 2025.
Weyward was one of those one-in-a-million reads for me, so l was absolutely thrilled to get this ARC. I was conflicted after finishing this one. It definitely didn't live up to my expectations after Weyward, so I really had to work to set it apart from my (probably) unrealistically high hopes. So, even though it didn't completely blow me away, it was not a bad book by any means. Emilia Hart's writing is just as beautiful as ever. This is yet another beautiful story of strong women overcoming the terrible men in their lives. I loved the history of convict transportation to Australia, The Sirens does a great job educating on this topic. The bulk of the story takes place in the present day, & I think that's where it fell short for me. The present day story just wasn't nearly as interesting, especially in the beginning. You only get little tidbits of the past, & I just wanted a lot more. Lucy is the main character in the present day, & for the first 100 pages her chapters are slow & repetitive. It's a lot of internal struggle with her, going over & over in her mind about her sister. Also a lot of lengthy descriptions of the surroundings, which felt like filler. It was rough to push through for me. I felt like it picked up a lot after the first 100 pages though.
There's representation of a disability, which is great! I loved reading about the bond the sisters shared & how they relied on each other.
"The girl who sings but does not see, they called her."
"For the first time, Mary noticed what Eliza must have always known, that a voice had valleys and crags, telling you of sadness or delight. You could almost feel it under your fingers, like it was land."
The way she incorporates Irish Gaelic throughout the book was another plus!
"'Mo Iníonacha!' He'd shouted, arms reaching for them as if he could wrest them from this fate. 'My girls!'"
The beautiful prose was there, the history was there, & the folklore was there. But, I was left with a few unanswered questions & just wanting more.

I loved this book!!! It is very mysterious, but historical! I couldn't put this down, so many nights I stayed up very late but it is worth it. Emilia Hart is by far one of my favorite authors. I hadly ever give 5 star reviews, but this one is easily 5 stars. There is no negativity for this book from me. I cant wait for more by this author.

Much like Weyward, I loved the magic realism vibes and Emilia Hart’s writing. I enjoyed the story from the 1800s the most of the 3 stories. If you like stories that spread across different times and characters I think you will like this. If you didn’t like Weyward or alternate timelines, I don’t think you’ll like this.

Last year Hart’s Weyward was among my pick of books that I actually bought physical copies of and gave as gifts for Christmas, so when I learned she had a new book, I requested the ARC as soon as I could. What Hart does well is weave multiple time lines together without making you wish for more of one or the other. While the message tends to hit you over the head a bit - feminist, empowering, etc - it mostly manages to do so without you rolling your eyes too hard. Mostly. The Sirens was enjoyable, if predictable, and while it won’t be out until February 2025, I might be keeping an eye out for a copy as a gift. I liked how it wasn’t afraid to go to the dark places, and the empowerment often came at the cost - or perhaps with the benefit - of utter destruction.

Emilia Hart is a fantastic writer! I am so happy that NetGalley and the publisher gave me the opportunity to read this eARC.

Keeping true to what we read of Emilia's writing style in Weyward, this is a story of strong women connected to one another in mysterious ways but separated by time. The Sirens follows two sisters who were convicted of a crime and sentenced to board a ship full of female convicts destined for a new country. Meanwhile, The Sirens also follows the story of two sisters in 2019 struggling to understand why they feel connected to the female convicts from years ago that perished in a ship wreck at sea.

I enjoyed this book and found myself hooked as I read, but during the majority of the book I still could not for the life of me explain to you what the overall plot of the story was. It felt like reading a really long prologue. I still really enjoyed this book and I think that Emilia Hart readers and fans will appreciate that she yet again connects strong female characters to the magic of nature.

The Sirens was a beautiful novel that unfurled its plot at a steady pace. One criticism I do have is the final chapter, which I feel is too neatly tied together.. The characters are complex and I enjoyed spending time learning who they are. I also liked that the story was told through varied perspectives, which added a richness to the story.

3.5 stars - I loved "Weyward", so jumped to grab this new release from the same author, but I didn't enjoy it quite as much. This one's also a fantasy/magic realism & historic fiction mash-up, about sisters aboard a convict ship bound for Australia, a young contemporary woman plagued by recurring nightmares in search of her missing sister and a mystery surrounding 6 men who have disappeared over a span of decades. I found the ending to be a bit of a disappointment, but there were facts in this book that I had not read about before too. Overall, it was basically just "okay" for me, but other reviewers may differ. My sincere thanks to the Publisher & NetGalley for the complimentary "read now" DRC!!

I really wanted to like this book and I really wanted to finish this book. But this book was dragging on and on. I felt like nothing was happening for the longest time, even with going back and forth between the time periods.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a captivating blend of myth and modernity that pulls you in like the ocean’s tide. The novel weaves an intricate narrative exploring the allure of the sea and the timeless legends of sirens in a fresh, compelling way.

Similar to Hart's other work, Weyward, we follow four women on different journeys through time as they discover their uniqueness and find their places in the world. Each must learn to embrace what makes them different and overcome the "evils of men" that surround them.

The storyline and pacing are well-written. As a reader, I was immersed in the fantasy, folklore, and a fresh take on a mythical creature that's been explored so often. However, I felt the epilogue could have been omitted, as it didn’t quite fit with the overall theme of the morality of men.

Overall, The Sirens is an atmospheric and richly told story that will appeal to fans of dark folklore and immersive storytelling. It's a book that lingers, much like the haunting song of its titular creatures. If you're looking for a read that merges the mythical with the modern, this one is definitely worth diving into.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Well, that was not what I expected (and that’s not necessarily a bad thing). Sometimes going into a story wide open yields some great surprises.

The Sirens is a triple timeline and multi-narration story. It centers around Lucy, who after a life-changing event at university runs away to where her sister, Jess, is living in a town along the Australian coast. Jess isn’t there and Lucy starts to realize that something must’ve happened and is determined to find her sister.

Then, a hundred plus years before we meet to other sisters, Eliza and Mary, who are being forced to sail as prisoners to the then penal colony of Australia.

Jess is pulled to their story and slowly we become aware that there is much more in common with these women of different generations.

The story is captivating, haunting, and a bit mysterious.

#netgalley
@netgalley
#readmorebooks
#readmorebooksbywomen
#readersofinstagram
#bookstgram
#bookstagrammer
#bookish
#mybookishlife
#wearebookish
#lovereading
#alwaysreading
#readinggoals
#2024reads
#goodreads

“Most people just want an easy life. It’s unsettling when someone starts pulling apart the stories we’ve stitched together, the things we tell ourselves for comfort.”

This book, in the same vein of Weyward brilliantly braids the past and present stories together to create a dynamic work of female tenacity and overcoming adversity at the hands of our oppressors. From learning about the penal colonies of New South Wales to merrow lore, this tale had me hooked from page 1.

When Lucy awakens to find herself choking her ex-boyfriend nearly to death she flees to her older sister Jess's house for help. She is sure that Jess will know what to do. Jess's home is abandoned though and Lucy can only begin reading from her teen diary for answers.
Flash back to nearly 25 years ago and Jess is a lonely teen. She has the very (very) rare allergy to water, and it isolates her from making friends.

In Emilia Hart's talented hand the stories of the Irish twins Mary and Eliza in the 1800's are also tied in. There is a bit of a ghost story, tone of a fairytale and lots of luscious description.
#stmartins #thesirens #emiliahart

I was so excited for this book! I loved Weyward and knew I’d love this as well.

The story is told in dual POVS by two sets of sisters on different time periods. One about a nightmarish journey and one of mystery. I couldn’t put it down. Magical, enthralling, powerful. Harts writing is beautiful and becoming an auto buy author for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I was a huge fan of Weyward, so I was excited to receive this arc. There were things I liked, but mostly it was different than I was expecting and didn’t keep me interested. Some of the storyline felt a little young or juvenile, and it just wasn’t a great fit for me.

This book was a little different than I was expecting, but I did enjoy it.

The story was wildly atmospheric. The mood, the setting, the characters were all deeply realized and easy to picture. It was even a little spookier than I anticipated.

I read a lot of fantasy and supernatural stuff and the promise of magical creatures always pulls me in. While I appreciated the slow burn of the story, I really just wish it went further into the how and why of the creatures/the transformation. The story is very human centered and I didn't find the resolution particularly satisfying.

Important aspects of the plot end up unresolved. The art show and Cameron specifically. A lot of focus was spent on them to not have some kind of actual conclusion in my opinion. And I wondered why they were unable to find others or the real mother. I also don't understand why the dad was exempt from consequences from what was revealed in the end.

Regardless, I appreciated what the author had to say on what it means to exist as a woman.

I really enjoyed Weyward so was excited for get the arc for the author’s follow up- The Sirens.

The premise sounded interesting to me and had a lot elements I really enjoy in books- multiple POV, magic, dual timelines- but it just didn’t work for me. I don’t know if because I was also reading at the same time a really well written novel but the writing felt pretty juvenile to me. I also never felt fully invested in the story- I even put the book down for about a week and didn’t think about it once in that time.

There were too many storylines that didn’t feel like they were completed for me as well. Sometimes a really great novel can get away with this without me feeling annoyed but this one wasn’t good enough to not wrap things up completely. I just still have so many questions!

I can’t say I’d recommend this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.