THE SIRENS
Review
3 ⭐️ Release date : April 1 2025
Two timelines each folowing a set of sisters connected by the call of the sea.
Lucy wakes in present time with her hands around the throat of her boyfriend- confused and scared she flees to her sister Jess’ cottage in a small town on the Australian coast. Her sister Jess is no where to be found, looking for clues to her whereabouts Lucy begins to read her sister’s childhood diary. Rumors of missing men , a baby found in a cave , and sailors hearing voices on the seas are embedded in the towns history. Jess’ diary from the 90s tells of her lonely life in a rural town while being plagued by a strange skin condition that causes her to be allergic to water . The timeline from the 1800s follows twin sisters Mary and Eliza on a convict ship from their home in Ireland heading for Australia . The girls have a fear of water since their mother drowned when they were young . The girls begin to feel the ocean calling, their bodies changing. Family secrets , strange dreams, this reads like historical fiction with some magical aspects to it . I listened to the Audio version and found the narrator Barrie Kreinik to be exceptional. I did find it slightly hard to keep engaged with this story, at times I became very lost and found it hard to understand what was happening , this could be an issue going from print to narration. I had a hard time with the characters and felt they could have been developed more before the story unraveled to help connect with them. The story was very slow going which I don’t mind if there is a lot of descriptive imagery , but I found this had less descriptive imagery and was more interior monologue and had a crime reporting feel to it. I was really hoping for more fantasy and magic woven throughout .
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for an advance release copy of this audiobook for my honest review

Thank you to Emilia Hart (author), Barrie Kreinik (narrator), Macmillan Audio, and Netgalley for this advanced listener copy of "The Sirens: A Novel" for an honest review.

I feel incredibly sad to be writing this review. Up until the epilogue I was masterfully entranced by this book and certain it was going to get four stars from me. I was so deeply moved by this tale of four women (and several dozen more at the tertiary levels around the main four characters), about their empowerment, struggles, and triumphs. How this story was about reclaiming the lives of women who had been cheated on or abused (including rape and child abuse).

But all of that ended on a dime in the epilogue, where the main male character of the present-day story--the father of the sisters in question--cheats on his wife, which she's grieving the loss of her latest pregnancy. He's told, by our mysterious supernatural character (who he is doing the said cheating with), the creature(s) who have been punishing other men for THIS SAME SIN, that he's excused because "he's one of the good ones."

And just no. Everything I loved about this book crumbled on that.

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Audio:

Kreinik's narration is gorgeous, moody, and so perfectly differentiated between the characters. I very much hope to hear her work in future audiobooks from Macmillian Audio

I wanted to like Hart's new book since Weyward was such a lovely, inventive surprise, but I found that the things that had worked in Weyward, like the differing perspectives, didn't work well in this book though I can't quite put my finger on why. While Hart's writing remains good, I found myself waiting for something to happen and wishing that I liked the characters or understood their motivations more. I did enjoy the narrator's voice throughout, though at times it felt a bit dark. I'm interested in recommending this book to patrons that I recommended Weyward to so that I can talk with others about the differences and hear their opinions. Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion. 2.5 stars

2.5, I listened to the audiobook and the narrator is phenomenal in this book. However, I struggled through this story. We move between timelines and character POVs, which can be really jostling at times. There is an interesting mix of mystery, history and fantasy, but it doesn’t work all the time. The plot moves slowly and is based on a lot of introspection of the main characters. The lore of the sirens in the most interesting part, but overall, this didn’t work for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. I did the audio and the narration was excellent. I loved the dual timelines and the different points of view. The story revolves around four women, their friendships, sisterhood, and family secrets. I did feel like the beginning was a little slow but after I got past the first eight chapters it started to pick up for me. This was a well-written book.

The Sirens has cemented Emilia Hart as an autobuy author for me. The way she writes, the topics she covers, and the heartbreak she puts me through always leave me wanting more. When I read Wayward, I could not get it out of my head. I know The Sirens is going to be the same way. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time. This story conveys the strength that women are often forced to undertake. The world is and has been an unkind place for many women and the characters of this story must face this truth for themselves and those they hold dear. The Sirens is not a feel good story and it will often leave you feeling uncomfortable and disgusted. The Sirens is, however, an important story. It is one about pain, misfortunate, family, and the terrors that many women have had to face.

I will start by saying that I have not read Weyward, which is another of Emilia Hart’s books, but have heard so many good things about it. I went into this one expecting to love it. The premise sounded really interesting and I was looking forward to trying out this author, and while the writing was beautiful, this book was a struggle for me. I ended up DNFing this one at about 35%. There just wasn’t really anything here that held my interest. I kept listening to the audiobook in the hopes that it would draw me in, but it just started to feel like a slough to pick it back up. The characters were not compelling to me and it felt like nothing was happening. It was a lot of thoughts and feelings, which were beautifully written, but ultimately just felt superficial to me. I will say that there is something here. I did not hate it, but it was ultimately underwhelming for me. The audiobook I think is the way to go with this one. I did love the narrator, and that kept me listening longer than I think I would have otherwise.

I think this will be a huge hit, especially knowing how well loved her debut was last year. I was drawn to this title because I have a borderline problematic obsession with mysterious sea being plot lines. The book delivered for me there, but for me it did feel like something was missing. I was admittedly not taken with Weyward (even with that perfect cover!), so maybe this author isn’t a perfect fit for me. Again, I do think people who liked the authors first novel will eat this up. Great mix of magic and real world relationships.

Lucy wakes up to her ex struggling as she has her hands around his throat. She was upset after he shared a private picture that ended up going viral on social media. She was met with worries from the University about what it would do for the boyfriend’s life, claiming it was an accident and he didn’t mean for it to end up on social media. Her worries led to her dreams and sleepwalking took her anger out for her. In fear of the repercussions for her actions, she goes to New South Wales, where her sister lives, to sort through her options.

When she arrives, her sister is no where to be found. She decides to wait, and starts digging into the towns strange secrets- missing people, an abandoned baby. She is having dreams making her sleepwalk that have only grown worse with her move. Her dreams involved two women trying to survive on a ship as her sleepwalking increases.

Lucy finds little from Jess’s neighbors, but does find a diary that makes her question Jess’s skin condition and illness and wonder what secrets their parents have been keeping.

Aside from Lucy’s present day story, a story from long ago is told about two sisters on a ship being sent to an island of criminals. They fight to survive, but start notice changes in their bodies during the ship ride as the sea seems to call to them.

The book does an excellent job of connecting these past and present events. I found myself researching what is try about the island and Australia’s history which was so interesting. Clearly a lot of research went into this work. I love the fantasy element here, female empowerment themes, and self-discovery character growth.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review. Release date 4/1/2025.

Tw: sexual assault, rape, grooming, pregnancy, murder

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early audiobook.

I'm going to say this is a 3.5 for me and that if I had to choose between the two books, I definitely liked Weyward better.

I think this had the very similar idea of different generations going through horrific things and what they've had to go through, how they dealt with them. What didn't work for me is that I feel as though I have more questions about certain things I wanted answered and didn't get that. Now, I did listen to it, so I could have missed things I wouldn't have physically reading, but I don't think I did.

A lot of things just weren't explained enough, but it was still a good read.

I was initially interested in reading “The Sirens” by Emilia Hart because it was such a beautiful cover! To be (embarrassingly) honest, I had NO IDEA what this book was about when I started listening 🙈

This was nothing like what I assumed - based on the title and the cover, I thought this was going to be a fantasy, maybe romantasy, but I was wrong. It’s actually a little mix of mystery, historical fiction, and magical realism!

I really enjoyed the unfolding of the story in this book and appreciated the multiple POVs. I think the mystery was well developed and that all loose ends were resolved.

I should note that some of the content may not be for everybody, but it’s not graphic, just mentions it or refers to it, so be sure to check before reading.

The main thing I had a challenge with is that the pacing of the book was a little slow for my personal taste. I’m glad I listened to the audiobook as I’m not sure I would have finished it otherwise. And the narrator was great! Their tone and inflection really brought the characters to life.

Finally, I want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Overall Rating | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Minus one star for "man smells" and "woman smells" over and over and over and over and over. Fear smelled, desire smelled; everything smelled except for the physical world.

Otherwise! I enjoyed this one more than Weyward. In my opinion, it's more creative, and the historical fiction aspect was neat. I appreciated the author's note regarding Australia.

Sirens is a twisty fantasy about sisters told through 3 POVs: one in long gone past, the recent past, and the story's present. It was easy to follow, and I really enjoyed how the narratives were layered and twisted and pushed the reader through the story.

The audiobook is well done. Barrie Kreinik is easy to listen to, clear at fast speeds, and does the accents well.

Thanks to netgalley and MacMillan Audio for an audio arc to read and review voluntarily.

Four women and two different centuries, and one coast by the sea. The story begins with Lucy and Jess in 2019 intertwining with Mary and Eliza in 1800. All fighting who they are, but eventually accepting themselves as they are.

I was excited to read this one. I liked Weyward and this was also on many anticipation lists for 2025. The prologue caught my attention right away, but it was soon lost. Now, the audiobook is narrated by Barrie Kreinik and while this is my first time listening to a book narrated by her I have nothing to compare to. She has a very soft, soothing voice. Unfortunately, the first part of the audiobook started putting me to sleep because of that. I almost DNFed and most definitely would have if I was physically reading it. Luckily that's when the story shifted from Lucy to Mary and Eliza. I found their story much more engaging than Lucy and Jess and I was able to push forward and finish. The whole book had a creepiness to it and there were a few little twists you might or might not guess. It was like everything went together but it also didn't.

Thank you to NetGalley, MacMillan Audio, and of course Emilia Hart for the opportunity to listen to this book before its release on April 1, 2025. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#NetGalley #MacMillanAudio #emiliahart #TheSirens

This isn't a bad book by any means, but it's not for me.

The writing style was phenomenal and the story-telling itself was well done.

However, the story didn't really keep my attention and some days it felt like a chore getting through it. The fantasy aspect doesn't really appear until 75% in. If I'm promised a fantasy book, I expect there to be fantasy elements long before the 75% mark. And even when we did get those elements, I felt like they were poorly developed and we didn't really learn much about them. They were just thrust at us with little to no explanation.

There are also a lot of themes in this book that likely went over my head. The most obvious one was sex-based oppression, but otherwise they weren't very clear to me. I'm going to go ahead and say that that's not the author's fault though. When I read, I don't dig deep to try and find covert meanings behind characters actions or other plot points.

Finally, I just didn't feel that the plot itself was very compelling. I was never quite sure what the overall goal was, and a lot of earlier plot points seemed to be dropped without any resolution.

Like I said, it's probably me, not the book. I should probably just stick to genres I know I like instead of trying to be bougie.

3.5 stars I think this one was about on par with Hart’s first novel, Weyward. I appreciated the mystery aspect, the strong bond between both sets of sister, and the healthy dose of justice doled out to harmful men. The Australian history was interesting, and not something I’ve encountered before (other than knowing generally that the British sent convicts to Australia). I didn’t come away from the story feeling like I knew Lucy’s parents or Mary very well, and I think that was a weak point. If they had been fleshed out a little more it would have given the ending a little more payoff.

The epilogue really brought the story down for me. While I was happy to learn the parentage of Baby Hope, there were things about the reveal that undermined the rest of the story in my mind. I didn’t even take issue with who the parents ended up being, it was the causal (careless?) way the affair was framed that bothered me. It would have been more in character (and tapped into the supernatural elements of the story) if it had been an obvious bewitching where the person couldn’t tell what was dream and what was reality, similar to the dreams that haunted Jess and Lucy. Instead, the person is just chill about cheating on their (grieving!!!) wife for no reason. On top of that, we are supposed to see this character as different from the other men of the novel—one of the “good ones”—only to tack on infidelity right at the end (with the siren’s blessing, no less). I feel like this ending could have so easily been adjusted to make it work better with the overall message of holding men accountable.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC for this beautiful audiobook.

If you like the layout and set up of wayward you will like this story. You have present and past PoV and strong female characters.

This is a story about disappearing men and the sirens (read mermaids). I am a huge Little Mermaid fan so I was of course intrigued and I love Celtic atmosphere which was enhanced by the narrator and her accent.

Now here is the reason I am giving it a 4 and not a 5. This is personal the time jumps are hard for audio. So there were definitely times I was a little lost or confused. So if you are able to keep track then this is perfect.

I will also state that the middle was a bit long and felt it could have been shortened a little bit.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the audiobook ARC copy.

"Sometimes there is no choice, only love." - TEARS.

I loved this! Weyward was one of my favorite reads last year so I was so excited to get my hands on this one early - I'm giving it a 4.5 though. It was an almost perfect. I'm going to go ahead and round up to 5 though because overall I did love this so much.

So I went into Sirens semi blind, just as I did with Weyward and I was not at all disappointed.

This is a beautifully woven tale of several women across different times, yet connected as the older stories give you some background to what is going on in the 'modern day' timelines. I just want to also add in here there is a whole history segment at the beginning which I thought was really interesting that the author included. That made this one stand out a little from Weyward, I don't remember as much historical background being included there, but either way, it was really cool to see at the start of this book!

This had a similar plot formula as Weyward, so while they are completely stand alone/separate stories, if you enjoyed Weyward I don't see why you wouldn't enjoy this next book. This one is just about sea witches instead of regular witches, haha.

The only thing that took away from this being a perfect read was too much of the middle section of the book was spent on Lucy and while it ultimately ended up just being kind of a slow burn situation for the events toward the end of the book, it just made the middle drag on a bit. Also, I felt like some of this was a little too predictable with some of the foreshadowing, so that ultimately took away from the surprise/story for me just a little bit.

However, this was still a really enjoyable read. I loved all the characters, and their stories. This made me cry a few times because I felt it was really beautiful. I don't write spoiler reviews so I can't elaborate on what specifically made me tear up, but the relationship between Jess and Lucy was just really sweet and beautiful and definitely had me in my feels a few times.

Anyway, definitely recommend this one to anyone that loved Weyward, or beautifully woven feminist tales, this one is for you! Also, I loved the audio for this. The narrator has a beautiful voice and it made for a really nice audio listen!

This is the story of Lucy and her sister Jess and Mary and Eliza, told centuries apart. Jess and Lucy are apparently allergic to water. And have dreams about women hundreds of years earlier who did the same. The water harms them, yet they are drawn to it.

Hmm....the writing was fantastic, and the atmosphere was top-notch. I just never felt compelled by the personalities of the women within.

I received this audiobook from the publisher on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was a tough one for me to get through. The narration was good but I found myself dragging through the story due to slow points where nothing was happening or made sense. Around 3/4 in, the story picked up and things started tying together, but overall I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.

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.