Emilia Hart’s The Sirens is a haunting, multi-layered triumph, further elevated in its audiobook form by Barrie Kreinik’s dynamic narration. Kreinik’s seamless shifts between American and Irish accents animate each woman’s distinct voice, from 2019’s fugitive Lucy—fleeing a violent nightmare—to 1999’s isolated Jess, whose diary entries unravel her fraught bond with a manipulative art teacher, and 1800s Irish twins Mary and Eliza, exiled to Australia only to discover their eerie metamorphosis into sirens.

Hart masterfully entwines inherited trauma and resilience, threading centuries with the ocean’s primordial call. While the middle sags under its ambitious scope (Jess and the twins’ arcs beg deeper exploration), the novel’s unflinching portrayal of betrayal and redemption—a recurring, visceral theme—underscores its feminist defiance. Atmospheric and incisive, it balances gripping mystery with allegory, as each woman confronts predatory forces to reclaim power in a world intent on silencing them. Like Weyward, Hart’s prose thrums with the tenacity of women who bend but never break, blending myth, survival, and the raw magic of sisterhood. A resonant ode to the echoes of strength passed through generations, even as the sea claims its due.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an advanced copy of “The Sirens” in exchange for a review.

This one was very mid for me. The split story line was good, though sometimes with the single narrator it was hard to remember what time period I was in. I just couldn’t get into the story for some reason. There was a lot going on and it just felt chaotic to me.

A bit disappointed because I liked Weyward so much, but hope I’m in the minority because I’ve seen so much buzz and anticipation for this title!

Audiobook Review 🪸🎧📖

thank you so much partner @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio for the gifted audiobook!

The Sirens
by Emilia Hart
Narrated by Barrie Kreinik

About the book 👇🏽

A breathtaking tale of female resilience and the bonds of sisterhood across time and space, The Sirens captures the power of dreams, and the mystery and magic of the sea.

🪸 My thoughts:

I don’t think I can put into words to explain how much I loved this book. It isn’t fast paced but it had me hanging onto every word. I enjoyed the stories of these four women on their own journeys of self discovery that end up coming together in the most beautiful and magical way. I absolutely loved the magical realism woven into this tale that truly is lyrical in every way. The audiobook narrator Barrie Kreinik did a wonderful job and really brought this story to life, making this one of my favorites of 2025 so far! I knew I wanted to read this book based on the premise alone, I then saw the Waterstones edition and knew I needed to snag it. This story was incredible and it’s one I’ll be thinking about for years to
come. I highly recommend giving this audiobook a listen and/or giving this book a read! It’s definitely worth giving your undivided attention. The Sirens hits shelves in the US April 1, 2025!

Happy reading 📖🪸🎧

A beautiful and haunting blend of sisterhood, fantasy, history and feminism.

Two sets of sisters are linked together across centuries by dreams and magic. Twins from Ireland are bound for the penal colony of Australia when their prison ship sinks off the coast. Hundreds of years later two Aussie sisters are haunted by memory like dreams of the girls as they seek to resolve mysteries and traumas within their own lives.

I absolutely loved The Sirens and the message that there is magic, beauty and strength behind a woman's scars.

The narrator did a phenomenal job of switching between the Australian and Irish accents, adding an extra layer of depth to the tale.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc and advanced listening copy.

3 POVs from different points in time intertwine in a beautiful story about women who are strong, resilient, and unrelenting. At first, I didn’t really care for the present day POV but as the stories grew more entangled in each other, the more I grew to enjoy it. The audiobook is well-narrated, though I did think the narrator was a bit monotonous outside of dialogue.

If you like Sarah Penner’s The Lost Apothecary, you might like this book.

Wow the audiobook is so well done. Barrie Kreinik created different voices for each character that really brought the women in the novel to life.

The Sirens" is a beautiful and haunting fantasy tale about four sisters connected across the centuries desperate to find answers and connection. This novel is a story about women's empowerment and societies oppression of women, richly women with fantasy and a reimagining of real historical events in Australia.

Told across 3 timelines (2019, 1999 and 1800), the stories of the four women converge as the past and present collide. The chapters are clearly labeled with POV and timeline, so I found it easy as the reader to follow the tale.

I usually don't really like dual timeline stories (in audiobooks) because either I feel displaced abruptly when the timeline changes or (and this is for all dual timeline books regardless of the format I am reading the book in) I end up liking one of the timelines better and am disappointed every time the timeline changes back to the one I don't like as well. This book avoided both of those pitfalls for me! The past timeline was done really well and integrated without being jarring when it switched. I loved the siren female rage undercurrent. A really enjoyable read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook for review.

This is a book with three timelines, but they are all weaved together into a cohesive story. It’s a book about sisters, the sea, and survival.

I found this book interesting, but I’m not sure if it’s as memorable as I was hoping it would be. I thought it was a good story, but I was sometimes bored with Lucy’s chapters. I was more interested in Jess’ timeline and the Irish women. There were some great twists in the book that I didn’t see coming and I enjoyed how the author tied the three timelines together at the end. I wish there was a bit more mermaid action in the story because I think that would have been interesting. All the mermaid bits come at the end. Overall, I enjoyed the story and would read from the author again.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I was completely enthralled by Hart’s previous novel Weyward and her incredible ability to weave a story told throughout the centuries that deftly combined historical and magical elements, so I could not wait to dive into (pun intended) her latest magical tale.

The storytelling was beautifully transportive and bewitching and I was fully invested in each of these women’s lives - wanting justice for how they had been so wrongfully treated and abused. My issue is not with Hart’s writing - again, her storytelling is captivating - but rather, I felt as if I had read this story before. To me, The Sirens was so very similar to Weyward - historical fiction coupled with magical realism, three POVs from women who are connected by a point and place in time. I found myself growing frustrated because of this and how The Sirens is essentially Weyward just with a different setting. There were also issues with overly descriptive writing slowing down the pace for 80% of the story.

Unfortunately, this missed the mark for me, but if you loved Weyward and are looking for the same but with sirens and don’t mind a sleepier pace, this might be worth picking up.

The Sirens was beautifully narrated on audio. I loved how the audiobook really brought the emotion of the story out and felt so much more immersive for me.

Emilia writes like no one else! She is incredibly skilled at immersive prose and spans the genres of magical realism and historical fiction so beautifully. I enjoyed this emotional tale and loved the duel timelines. I highly recommend to anyone who loves a magical tale, mythical creatures and most importantly strong female characters. Beautifully done, Emilia.

Thank you for the preview audio arc.

When I saw this title and narrator, I immediately checked out the synopsis. Magical realism, connected dreams, diary entries, and female empowerment? I ran to that request button!

🤝: This may be a good fit if you enjoy books with:
- magical realism + mysteries
- women supporting women
- connections between generations of women

💭: I looove the spirit of this book! Each character in this book experienced some kind of abuse and/or harassment, and I will always root for justice for wronged women. Plus, there are some relationships to root for which I appreciate.

At the same time, the high quality audio saved this story from being too slow. There are so many interesting elements, but sometimes I couldn't believe I was not further along. Was Hart doing too much? I'm not sure. I love the themes. I thought the execution could have been more propulsive.

BUT I think this will be a hit for readers who love that a gorgeous, meandering, and magical story.

🎧: I will request books that I'm not totally sold on solely because Barrie Kreinik narrates. She's incredible! She reads the majority of Sally Hepworth's work, and I've been a big fan ever since. Her performance absolutely enhanced my experience reading The Sirens.

⭐️ Rating: I liked it and recommend the audiobook! (3.5 rounded up)

Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook early in exchange for an honest review.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart weaves together three captivating timelines that build on mystery, the supernatural, and sisterhood. In 2019, Lucy wakes up from a dream to find herself having attacked her ex-lover, leading her to flee to her sister Jess’s house on the Australian coast. When Jess isn’t there, Lucy begins to uncover strange rumors about the small town—missing men, mysterious voices on the sea, and a hidden baby. As Lucy searches for answers, she begins reading Jess’s old diary from 1999, where Jess’s own strange experiences unfold. The third timeline takes us back to 1800, where twin sisters Mary and Eliza are torn from their homeland and forced onto a convict ship, discovering mysterious changes to their bodies and the call of the ocean.

I really enjoyed this book! The way the three timelines connected was such a pleasant surprise. I honestly didn’t see how they’d all tie together, but the author did it in a way that felt seamless and natural. Emilia Hart is such a beautiful storyteller, and I was hooked from start to finish. There’s a perfect mix of mystery, a touch of romance, family drama, and that sense of the supernatural that makes it a unique and engaging read. It’s the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve finished it.

Thank you to the author, publishers and netgalley for an arc of this in exchange for an honest review! I loved this one.

While the narrator is great, and I loved Weyward, this book fell flat for me. I couldn't seem to get hooked and stay hooked. I didn't care about the characters. At one point my audio got restarted and I couldn't remember where I was in the book and didn't care enough to find out.

**5/5 Stars – Lyrical, Haunting, and Utterly Captivating**

Emilia Hart’s *The Sirens* is a beautifully written, spellbinding tale that weaves mythology, mystery, and powerful storytelling into an unforgettable read. With lush prose and an atmospheric setting, this novel lingers like an enchanting melody long after the final page.

Pulls you deep into the belly of the sea and makes you fall in love with it.

After the runaway success of her scintillating debut Weyward, Emilia Hart is back with another enchanting novel that portrays sisterhood spanning centuries, exploring their intrinsic connection to the shores of a remote bay in the coast of New South Wales, Australia.

Thanks Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the ALC.

Synopsis -

2019 - Lucy finds herself awake from a nightmare with her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. She has no choice but to seek refuge in her sister, Jess’ “Cliffhouse” in Comber Bay.

1800 - Twin sisters Mary and Eliza leave Ireland and their father on an Australian bound convict ship that transports English prisoners.
The sea and it’s pristine waters are the only common factors that will intertwine these sisters lives across continents and generations.

Review -

Barrie Kreinik does the most exquisite narration to this audiobook. She seamlessly shifts between Irish and Aussie accents, showcasing her versality, voice adaptation as she brings this story to life like a motion picture. Her singing especially was beautiful, adding a divine touch of grace and melody to the narrative.

First of all, it is the writing that makes a world of difference to this book. @emiliahart has a way with words - as she blends the threads of these sisters’ lives, with the beauty and magic of the ocean, describing its sights and smells, sounds and melodies.

Secondly it is the atmospheric evocation and the exotic settings - Hart creates an all immersive, bewitching world both in Ireland and Australia that provides a pure, heightened sensory pleasure and sheer escapisim for us readers.

Embedded into the story are decades old family secrets, powerful sisterly bond that can withstand the test of times, history and horrors of convict transportation during those times from England to Australia -everything sprinkled with a bit of mythology, magical realism and hints of fantastical elements.

#TheSirens bring out a perspective shifting new dimension of feminism, shadowing resilience and the true essence of female relationships through rich characterisation, vivid imagination and eloquent storytelling.

Highly recommend if you love historical fiction and magical realism!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for allowing me to listen to this book early in exchange for an honest review.

For starters, the narrator is exquisite. The story flows beautifully and a large reason is because of the delivery.

While this is not my favorite fantasy novel of all time, it was whimsical and kept an element of mystery. I think I was expecting more fantasy, but this was more magical realism. Topics explored were family dynamics, coming of age, friendship, and grooming.

I will admit, while there was a lot of predictability within the novel, there were a couple plot twists that I enjoyed. Overall, this was a cozy read. Perfect for a beach vacation.

A great follow up to Weyward, Sirens explores similar themes without feeling repetitive or overdone. Hart created an entertained and heartfelt story of women trying to survive is a world that is often hostile towards them be leaning into sisterhood and familial love. There is a touch of supernatural that weaves through both timelines connecting the women who lived generations apart. I found a lot of the main plot points predictable but it didn't take away from my enjoyment of reading it all unfold as the characters came to terms with their lives and the secrets around them. Great for fans of historical fiction, international stories, family drama, and magical realism.

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: The Sirens by Emilia Hart
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Fantasy
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: April 1, 2025

🐚 Family Secrets
🌊 Vivid Nightmares
⚡️ Nonlinear Timeline
🐚 Multiple POV
🌊 Found Family

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘴 is a beautiful story filled with resilient women, the bond of sisterhood, and the pursuit of truth.

Not your average fantasy! 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘴 is a delightful mix of historical fiction, fantasy, and a touch of true crime thriller! The nonlinear timelines, swapping between the twins on the convict ship in the 1800s, Jess when she was younger, and Lucy in the present day, kept me on the edge of my seat! Jess's POV being mainly in diary entries felt so intimate, and I couldn't have guessed the twist!

I was lucky enough to be approved on NetGalley for the audiobook and I loved it so much! The narrator did an incredible job, and I will be seeking out other titles she's narrated!

Thank you so much, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the review copy!

⚠️ minor sexual content, grooming/SA, minor violence

I really wanted to love this one, but it was not for me.

There was pretty much no plot, and nothing to hook the reader. I found myself not really reaching for this one and not caring to really finish it.

The writing was beautiful, but unfortunately, that was not enough for me to enjoy this one.

The Sirens by Emily Hart is an interesting story involving recycled souls of two Irish sisters who were on a convict ship with other women headed to Australia in 1800 that was shipwrecked only a few miles from the coast. These two young women appear in dreams of two other sisters 220 years later in 2019. Both sets of sisters appear to be allergic to water. Through several events in both timelines we learn there is much more to the sisters’ relationship with each other and to the sea itself than first imagined.

I listened to the audiobook version of the story narrated by Barrie Kreinik. Her narration was excellent, with varying voices and accents for the different characters. I especially appreciated the music at the beginning and ending of the audiobook, which set the tone of book wonderfully. Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio who provided me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.