I started listening to the ARC audiobook thanks to NetGalley. It was awful. I couldn’t get into at all. I didn’t know what the book was about (read it only because I enjoyed Weyward) and wasn’t expecting the Australian narration. The ebook was much better! Loved the storyline. Very similar to Weyward but sirens instead of witches. Strong family values that are the lead story over fantasy.

My expectation of The Sirens was pretty simple - Mermaids. But it turned out to be so much more than just mermaids.

Split between two timelines, The Sirens follows two sets of sisters. Mary and Eliza on a women's convict ship from their home to Australia in 1800, Jess and Lucy both struggling with a 'skin condition' and plagued by dreams of Mary and Eliza in 2019.

The Sirens is overall a slow paced, slow burn plot. Only the last 25% or so did the story start to pick up and really hold my attention.

I really wished I like this more. It's about family, self-acceptance, protecting women, and finding one's purpose. Jess and Lucy's relationship is my favorite thing about this book.

Read If You Like:
• Multi-generational narratives with intertwining timelines
• Feminist historical fiction infused with folklore
• Mysteries rooted in family secrets and ancestral legacies
• Atmospheric tales set against the backdrop of the sea
• Stories exploring transformation and the supernatural 

Emilia Hart’s The Sirens is a spellbinding exploration of sisterhood, transformation, and the enduring pull of the sea. Spanning three distinct timelines—1800, 1999, and 2019—the novel weaves together the lives of women connected by blood, secrets, and a mysterious call from the ocean.  

• 1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza are torn from their Irish homeland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. As they journey across the ocean, they begin to experience inexplicable changes, feeling an uncanny connection to the sea that once terrified them. 

• 1999: Sixteen-year-old Jess, isolated in a rural Australian town due to a rare allergy to water, finds solace in her art. When a charismatic teacher takes an interest in her work, Jess’s world shifts, revealing hidden depths and dangers. 

• 2019: Lucy awakens from a disturbing dream to find herself attacking her ex-lover. Seeking refuge, she retreats to her sister Jess’s coastal home, only to find Jess missing. As Lucy delves into her sister’s past, she uncovers a tapestry of myths, disappearances, and a legacy that challenges her understanding of reality. 

Hart masterfully intertwines these narratives, creating a rich tapestry that examines the complexities of female relationships, the weight of history, and the transformative power of the natural world.

Thanks so much to the publisher for my ALC and ARC!!!

I really enjoyed this audiobook! The two different accents were incredible and the quality of the audio was great! I liked the story, but I do not usually gravitate towards mysteries, which this was a big one. Still enjoyed it! 3.5 stars from me! Thank you so much NetGalley!!

I quite enjoyed reading THE SIRENS by Emilia Hart! I really enjoyed the dual timelines of two sisters Lucy and Jess in 2019 Australia and Mary and Eliza in 1800 traveling from Ireland to New South Wales. The 2019 story featured TikTok and a true crime podcast. I liked how this novel had interconnected storylines, focused on women’s perspectives, had a touch of magical realism, lots of family secrets and delved into the sea. This would be a great beach read this summer! Hopefully we get some nice sunny weather again soon in Vancouver. I’ll definitely continue to read this author as I really enjoyed her other book Weyward too!

Starting this one and the narrators voice is amazing! I can't stop hearing it, certain parts of it seem a bit to drastic though, like the Girl going to see a sister she's never really interacted with.

I really enjoy Emilia Hart books. They are well-researched and tell a story that might otherwise go untold. The Sirens is a story about multi-generational women who have struggled being different and felt a calling to the sea. The story intertwines these women’s lives, although they span hundreds of years. While the story of Mary and Eliza, and other enslaved women, is heart-breaking, the story has hope, especially with modern-day Jess and Lucy. Like in Weyward, Emilia Hart beautifully describes scenery, making it a character in itself.

I loved Weyward, so when I saw that Hart had a new book coming out the combined magical realism, historical fiction, and mystery elements, I knew I had to read it. While beautifully written, I unfortunately struggled to connect with the characters enough to ever be fully drawn in.

Thank you Emilia Hart, The Borough Press, St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is the perfect book if you like an atmospheric read that has a touch of female empowerment. I loved the setting so much, and the author did a fantastic job of setting the scene for this book. While the story itself was compelling, there were issues that I had with the plot. I thought the dual timelines were entertaining, but unfortunately I found myself not being that interested in the past timeline. I found the magical realism aspect to be a bit far fetched at times as well. The book was also pretty depressing at times. While the writing was certainly engaging, I found myself not captivated and unfortunately i think it will ultimately be somewhat forgettable to me. I did appreciate the narrator who did a fantastic job of bringing to life multiple different characters across numerous timelines, so that was enjoyable. Overall, while it was a decent story, it is one that was very middle of the road for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Eeeeek idk what happened here... I really loved Hart's other novel, Weyward but for some reason The Sirens fell flat for me. I wasn't able to be gripped by the mystery and pulled into the story. I still appreciate the authors world building and atmospheric settings but the storyline failed to intrigue me the way that Weyward as able to.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC Copy!

The Sirens by Emilia Hart

When Lucy awakens to find her hands around her exes throat… she knows she needs to get away… When she goes to find her sister… she finds her gone… What she finds are family secrets and a story that is too outlandish to be true.

I like the way the story took folklore and weaved it into a story of family. It was interesting. I didn’t care as much for the past stuff but the story of Lucy and Jess…. Loved it. I get why we needed it but it felt like it took too much of the book and I didn’t care that much about it. I think the book was a tad long but I really did enjoy the story and I enjoyed the narration a lot more than I would have just reading it.

3.75 stars

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.

The audio production was done well. I found her narration pleasurable and it added to the intrigue of the story.

Please check trigger warnings for this one.

I LOVED Weyward, so I was so looking forward to this but unfortunately, this was not my favorite read. I think Emilia Hart does a beautiful job with conjuring a magical realism setting, however the story just fell a bit flat for me. Definitely will not give up on this author though!

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.

I really am so excited to read this book, but I couldn’t get through the audio. While the voice is soothing and easy on the ears…. It’s almost too easy and puts me to sleep or lets my mind wander so much I can’t focus on what I was supposed to be listening too :(

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.

Emilia Hart is back with another take on a mythological creatures, the Sirens:

In 2019, Lucy awakes with her hands wrapped around, a man's neck, a man that she thought she could trust. Horrified with what she had done, and what was being said about her, Lucy flees to New South Wales to her sister Jess who she hope can help her understand what was happening. When She arrives she discovers Jess is gone and in order to understand her sister better, Lucy decides to snoop. In the 1800s Mary and Eliza are sentenced to deportation to Australia and they must suffer the many month trip at sea in the darken hold, with other women, but the more time they spend at sea the more they see the changes in their bodies. Centuries apart but connected in a way that no one would understand.

After reading Weyward, which I thoroughly enjoyed this last year, I was super excited to read The Sirens. Where Weyward was more whimsical when it came to the idea of witches, Sirens is more dark and eerie like the deep Ocean. If you are looking for something similar to Weyward, this book does have some of the same elements (especially when it comes to men and male characters) but the atmosphere is very much different. I personally liked the more eerie atmosphere, but i did not think that it entered in the creepy or disturbing areas, was more just greys and deep blues, well like the Ocean.

I found the historical timeline more interesting than the more modern one, though I did feel for what Jessica and Lucy have gone through, I just thought that it was the weaker of the storylines, and something that I had read before. Hart could have written an entire book about Mary and Eliza and I would have devoured it. I will say that how Hart interconnected the timelines was well done and how she chose to do this was interesting as well. It may not be for everyone but I liked it.

I appreciated Hart's take on Sirens, what they look like, how they hid in plain sight and the ever call to the water. I also like the Mission that they set upon for themselves, not quite the Sirens from Greek mythology. I think that Hart's take is more modern and I was here for it.

I was able to figure out the "twist", i think it was supposed to be a twist but I felt it was quite obvious. This book is much more of a character driven book than plot one, so i'm never sure about twists in what happens.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, especially the farther I got into it. I will say that don’t go into this book expecting another Weyward, which is not a bad thing, but I read some reviews that that is what they were expecting and not what they got. I would read another book by Hart and I look forward to see what mystical creature or folklore she takes on next.

Enjoy!!!!

This is a spiritual sequel to Hart's first book, Weyward, in that it focuses on feminine power passed through generations. This story unfolds from multiple characters perspective and weaves the tapestry seamlessly. Highly enjoyed this one in audiobook format as well.

Audiobook ARC from the publisher via NetGalley but the opinions are my own.

Enchanting magical realism, mystical mermaids, and the shadowed corners of Australia's history. After being captivated by Hart's debut, Weyward, I eagerly anticipated another powerful tale centered around women with subtle threads of enchantment.

The Sirens delivers exactly that: a feminist fairytale steeped in lyrical prose and haunting imagery. The writing ebbs and flows beautifully, infused with sensory-rich oceanic detail. You’ll almost taste the salty air, feel the gritty sand beneath your feet, and shiver from the cool spray of waves breaking against stark limestone cliffs. Hart masterfully draws readers into a fully realized, immersive world.

As with Weyward, the true magic here lies in the connections and strength forged between women. The narrative intertwines three compelling timelines: Lucy in 2019, Jess in the early 2000s, and Mary in 1800. Mary's story begins tragically in Ireland, where she and her twin sister, Eliza, are unjustly convicted of harming a man from their village. Forced aboard a grim, overcrowded convict ship bound for Australia, they discover extraordinary transformations occurring within themselves and the other imprisoned women as the harrowing journey progresses.

Flash forward two centuries to Jess, an artist who settled in the ominous coastal town of Comber Bay, and her younger sister Lucy, a journalism student. Despite their strained and distant relationship, Lucy instinctively turns to Jess after suffering a traumatic incident involving a classmate. Driven by unsettling premonitions and dreams, Lucy flees to Comber Bay seeking solace, only to find Jess mysteriously missing. As Lucy investigates her sister’s abandoned home, dark family secrets and the unsettling legacy of Comber Bay’s disappearances surface, forcing Lucy to confront startling truths.

Certain aspects of The Sirens didn’t fully resonate—the delayed introduction of Jess's perspective, some leisurely pacing, and an underdeveloped subplot involving a teacher—but these minor issues only mildly diminish the story’s overall enchantment. Hart’s prose retains a dreamlike, whimsical quality even amid peril and darkness, enveloping readers in a delicate, captivating spell.

Yet, don’t mistake this softness for fragility; Mary, Eliza, Lucy, and Jess embody fierce resilience and tenacity. While Mary and Eliza’s narrative took a moment to fully capture my attention, I was deeply moved (and emotionally reaching for tissues and wine). Yes, the story wanders occasionally, and the conclusion wasn’t entirely satisfying for me, but ultimately, this novel had beautiful moments: It’s poignant, peculiar, and poignant again—a resonant exploration of sisterhood, heartache, and healing.

TY to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for the ALC. 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!