I am definitely not a writer but l am going to do my best because this book deserves it! I was lucky enough to get approved by NetGalley for an ARC of The Sirens by Emilia Hart and it was absolutely phenomenal. Definitely one of the best books I have read this year! I stayed up way past my bedtime (like 5am!) finishing it because I could not put it down. It's a historical fiction book that follows different females POV in the best way possible. It has sisterhood bond, strong female characters, historical instances that I had no clue about (and have already gone down a black hole learning more about) and so much more. I am so ready for the release of this book so I have more people to talk to about it! My book club will be happy to know I have already picked out what the book for March will be next year!
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

The story started out strong, but fell flat for me in the end. The plot dragged and felt repetitive. The time hops left characters and relationships underdeveloped.

I adored Emilia Hart’s debut Weyward, and I’m so glad that a lot of people agreed. So Hart’s follow-up, The Sirens, was an absolute must-read for me.

Similar to Weyward, The Sirens juggles timelines. In 1800, sisters Mary and Eliza are aboard a convict ship to Australia, following a self-defense motivated injury to a man. As they make their nightmare journey, surrounded by other desperate women, they begin to notice strange things happening to their bodies.

Meanwhile, in 2019, following a terrifying sleep-walking incident, Lucy has fled her university to a remote part of New South Wales to stay with her sister, Jess. However, Jess is not there, the door is unlocked, and there are no clues as to where she has gone. Incidentally, the place where Jess lives is home to a number of mysterious disappearances of young men. As Lucy attempts to investigate this mystery, she also uncovers some shocking truths about her own family.

Much like Weyward, The Sirens kept me up way past my bedtime. As the myriad revelations unravel in Lucy’s timeline, I became deeply invested in the devastating storyline. Hart creates a strong sense of confined space in the 1800 timeline, conveying the absolute hell these poor women endured.

I don’t think I’m saying anything too surprising stating that the juxtaposition of the two timelines highlights how slow progress is in achieving full equal rights for women. The brutal treatment of the convicted women is not unheard of today, and the abuse of power in the present-day timeline is still depressingly rife.

The Sirens is another enjoyable read from Hart. From me, it is not quite as engaging as Weyward, but still a great novel.

after loving her novel weyward, i was incredibly excited about a new novel from her, and it was everything i wanted! a far departure from her first book in terms of vibes, i loved her storytelling in this book specifically and it seems as if her writing has only gotten better. i read this in one solid sitting, and i implore everyone whose enjoyed her work before (or is new) to go pick up this book!!!

I really really enjoyed this read! I’m so excited to have a few of my friends read this!! Will be ordering the physical to put on my trophy shelf! Cannot wait to have the physical in my hands!

Emilia Hart's talent lies in her ability to brilliantly communicate the poignancy of how it feels to live as a woman, whether in the past or the present. Women have long been persecuted for defending or protecting themselves from men, at the cost of their own lives. Emilia uses this history to weave rich stories of ancestry and the bonds of womanhood that linger long after I've finished reading. I was spellbound while reading Weyward, which is ripe with similar themes, and while The Sirens had a slower start that didn't capture me quite as quickly, it soon turned the corner into a book that I couldn't put down as the story continued to unfold.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Weyward. And one positive note is the plot structure of The Sirens is nearly identical. Two story lines one current and one back in history. And the POVs buoy back and forth as the story progresses.

I loved the theme of sisterhood, loyalty and family. The writing itself is stellar. The descriptive text … one almost felt like they were molding inside the damp, briny, spongy walls of the Cliff House by the sea where main character Jess lived, for example.

I also loved the historical story line. I believe the best historical fiction novels are the ones where you actually learn something about history. In this case, about the convict ships England would deploy to colonize New South Wales. In this story, the Naaid voyage held women “convicts” who upon touching ground in Australia, would be entered into a “female factory.” Men would come and selected wives or slaves, basically. Embarrassingly I didn’t know about this part of history before and I’m very curious to learn more.

The feminist slant can’t be ignored and I loved that aspect as well. And the folklore and legends are fantastic.

The story itself … was a lot for me to take in. I actually think it surpasses magical realism and is a heavy fantasy themed book almost. The plot took some large leaps and I just couldn’t get there. I took me about 100 pages to really feel engaged in the story. The ending almost felt unfinished like there is more to be said.

But, all in all, Hart did amazing work. The research, the weaving of two complex plots, the writing. I think many readers will favor this novel. 3.5 stars

First off, that cover drew me in! The premise of the story followed easily and I was hooked from the beginning. I was completely invested in the characters and the storylines. I found myself constantly trying to figure out how both lines interconnected as the mystery is well interwoven into the tale. Honestly, I was so intwined myself, it took nearly the entire tale for me to realize the connection. I really enjoyed everything about this tale and can't wait to read more by Emilia Hart!

First off I would like to thank NetGalley for this opportunity to read this ARC.

Now to the book…ugh! It just didn’t do it for me. I was hooked in with the dreams and wanted to know all about the nightmares and sleepwalking. It just, fell flat. Not much mentioned. I know they’re intertwined but…why the nightmares?? I just have more questions I guess. Loved the story, the feminist extremities. It was great. Just…died off.

The book took me quite a long time to get into. For the first 46 percent of the book I found myself putting it down and struggling to go back to. Loved the history aspect. Loved the magical realism. It just took way too long for the story to unfold. Loved Weyward, The Sirens not so much. Absolutely looking forward to her next book. Thank you, NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emilia Hart for an ARC of this beautiful novel.

This book gave me creepy vibes all throughout and had me hooked from the first chapter. The first night I was reading, I had some pretty crazy dreams that were definitely induced by the story.

I loved this story! I loved Weyward and as soon as I saw that Ms. Hart would be publishing a second novel, it was going on my TBR for sure. This story is told in dual(ish) timelines, Lucy & Jess's tale and Mary & Eliza's tale.

After Lucy suffers a traumatic event at Uni, she sets off to visit her sister at Cliff House where she is residing working on her art. Jess may be the only person who understands what Lucy is going through, so despite having distanced herself from Lucy, Lucy doesn't know where else to turn. When Lucy arrives her sister is nowhere to be found. While staying at the house awaiting Jess's return, she runs across Jess's diary and begins to read. Soon she discovers family secrets that may hold the key to what is going on in her life and why things are starting to unravel.

We flash back to the past as Mary and Eliza are traveling aboard a convict ship destined for unknown lands. Mary and Eliza's chapters weave the story of how they ended up here.

Back at Cliff House, Lucy is realizing that Jess may be in trouble and she needs to find her before it is too late and tragedy strikes.

In this feminist tale of female empowerment, nothing and no one is who they seem. I can't wait to read more from Emilia in the future!

Eerie, haunting read. Two sisters aboard a convict ship bound for Australia, a young woman plagued by nightmares in search of her missing sister and a mystery surrounding 6 men who have disappeared over a span of decades are all intersperced within the storyline of this gripping read.

Thank you to author Emilia Hart for this awesome read and NetGalley for offering this book to all members, love when you guys do that!

This book took me a while to get into, and was quite confusing for a good long time. But now that I am through reading it, the story is a beautiful one. We follow Mary and Eliza in 1800, Jess and Lucy in 2019, Jess’s diary from 1998 and 1999, as well as flashbacks to Lucy‘s childhood. Essentially, it’s a story about pressing women and how allowing women to be their true selves is freeing. I was very satisfied with the ending

Fantastic book. Kept me enthralled throughout the story. I loved this author’s debut book, but this was even better. Spooky and atmospheric. Definitely 5stars and worth the read

This story begins with Lucy, a mild-mannered college student that mistakenly commits assault while sleepwalking. She flees repercussions by traveling to her sister’s home on a cliff in a small seaside town. When she shows up to an empty house, the search for her sister turns into a time of self-discovery and uncovering the secrets of not only the sea below her, but her own family.

I was expecting this novel to read like a mystery, but it was much more heartfelt than that. Hart beautifully explores the power of fellowship among women and the bond of sisterhood. I really enjoyed the slight fantasy aspects that were incorporated into the plot. The role of dreams throughout the novel was very interesting. The back and forth between past and present, as well as both sisters point of view could have been hard to follow if it wasn’t so well done. Oftentimes the role of “sirens” in a novel is reduced to a sexual predator, only caring for pleasure and destruction. Hart instantly gave it much more depth, creating such solid characters and a very realistic quality to a fantastical subject. I commend Emilia Hart on this wonderful novel and cannot wait to see what she comes out with next!

The Sirens is available March 4, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was a huge fan of Weyward, and The Sirens definitely lived up to my expectations. I love the way Hart writes dual timelines; the different stories weave together perfectly and I find that I'm always equally interested in each timeline, which doesn't happen often. All of the characters in the book, as with Weyward, are all fully realized and well-rounded. Hart clearly did a lot of historical research, and managed to tie that into a suspenseful mystery that left me unable to put the book down. Definitely a favorite of the year.

I am a sucker for ANYthing mermaid related or adjacent, so I knew this was a book I needed to get my hands on!

Our present day heroine, Lucy, held the most intrigue for me, but the way the past and present converged was rich and engaging. The use of the ocean as a metaphor and as a setting power it holds had *me* by the throat (to quote the fantastic cover copy). The tone of the book was (intentionally) eerie, and it reminded me of the HP Triwizard tournament scene where they were swimming underwater as fast as they could to rescue their prized person. That is a tone I love and appreciate!

If you love sisterhood stories, magical realism, strong figurative language as a storytelling device, and alternating timelines, you've got to pick this one up!!

I love the moody writing! Fast paced and similar to Weyward, I really enjoyed this. The only thing I’ll have to say is the time jumps (reflecting back on memories mid-chapter) was a bit confusing for me!

I also wasn’t a fan of the epilogue so much.

But loved overall!

I did not finish this book, please keep in mind with the star rating.

I had high hopes for this book. However, I am not a huge fan of Lucy which makes it hard to get through. I also feel like the stories of Mary and Jess are just thrown in at random intervals. It just does not feel like it flows. I do hope that this book finds its audience!

Rating:⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
Spice rating: 🌶️/5

Tropes:
Multiple timelines
Multi POVs
Magical realism
Historical
Girl power

First of all, thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for allowing me early access to this book in exchange for a review.
This book was super good. I loved the horror/thriller aspect of it. It’s completely different from Weyward. Although I love Weyward more, this book was very different from anything else I have ever read. I enjoyed it very much. I already preordered my gorgeous shelf trophy from Barnes and noble.
The book is weird and well, I liked it hahaha. 😆