Lucy wakes up one morning with her hands wrapped around the throat of a fellow first-year uni student - a guy she had hooked up with weeks before. Stunned and terrified, she flees, driving through the night to stay with her sister Jess on the southwestern coast of Australia. When she arrives, Jess is nowhere to be found. All the while, Lucy’s dreams are filled with women - two sisters, prisoners of the British colonies, being loaded onto a ship on its way from Ireland to a penal colony in New South Wales. As Lucy explores the house, she discovers that Jess has been painting pictures of the same women. How are Jess and Lucy connected to these sisters from over two hundred years ago? And how is everything tied to a string of disappearances of men in this small coastal town?

This story is equal parts historical fiction and magical realism. The past and present-day sisters share a condition called aquagenic urticaria, a rare-but-real skin sensitivity to water, sweat, and tears. This condition makes the women feel othered, deformed, but unbeknownst to them, their gifts lie beneath the surface. I can only imagine how difficult life is for people who actually have this condition. I think Emilia Hart walked a fine line rooting this condition in reality while taking the story into the fantasy realm; while it leans into the “disability is a superpower” trope, it feels respectful. I interpreted it as what we share with our family members - our genes - can be a strength that we draw from in times of trouble.

There are some elements of the story I think some people will have issues with - namely, people who are part of non-traditional families (adoption, foster care, etc.). The subtext of the narrative carries a bit of bias against adoptive families that I don’t *think* was intentional on the author’s part, but I picked up on it nonetheless. Without spoiling anything, I think if there had been a scene or two going into how the parental figure had impacted the child figure as part of raising them (the “nurture” part of nature versus nurture), I think that bias wouldn’t have been as noticeable.

I received an e-book and an audiobook for review consideration, so I would be remiss if I didn’t mention how the audio version enhances the story for the reader. Narrator Barrie Kreinik has a lovely singing voice, bringing the sirens’ song to life within the text. During one climactic scene in the prisoners’ timeline, the melody gave me chills in the best way. Kreinik also handles the Australian and Irish accents beautifully, making it easy to distinguish between the characters as chapters transition from one sister to the next.

In The Sirens, Emilia Hart weaves a story of loss, love, sisterhood, and learning to embrace what makes us different. It feels like a modern day folk tale - one that, for fans of stories that walk the line between fantasy and reality, will continue to echo after the last page has turned.

**Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Emilia Hart for providing this e-book and audiobook for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.**

This novel is epic and beautiful. I was thoroughly engrossed for the entire story. There is a dual timeline where we slowly learn more about the present main character from the stories of the past. This is mermaid/ siren lore done well. Each character is well written, their motivations are rational and fleshed out. The mystery plot is more of a sub plot but continues to stay on point, kept at heel by the main characters with a satisfying resolution. Just beautiful.

Anyone who love the lore of the ocean and multifaceted literature will love this novel.

⭐⁣ OVERALL RATING:⭐⁣
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Amazing & Passionately Recommend - I loved it. It struck a chord, I am thinking about it long after the last page, and I want to talk about it. Afterward, you might find me binging all other books by the author or finishing the series in days.

TRIGGERS and CONTENT WARNINGS ahead! Do not read on if you concerned about spoilers. Fair warning, there may be some I've forgotten since reading, but we're all just doing our best here on this blue marble: sexual abuse (not graphic), Magic/ Mysticism, Mental health topics such as panic attacks, PTSD, depression, etc., infertility, adoption, Self-harm, suicide, or suicidal thoughts, Violence/ Murder - not graphic.

Thank you @Netgalley and @macmillan.audio for early access to this ARC in return for an unbiased and voluntary review

Title: The Sirens
Author(s): Emilia Hart
Narrator(s): Barrie Kreinik
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Date Published: March 4, 2025
Date Read: April 6-16, 2025
Format: Audiobook
Free?: This book was received as an Advanced Listener Copy (ALC) courtesy of NetGalley.
Overall Rating: ★★★/5

Spice Rating: 🥛0/5
Fantasy Rating: 🦄🦄/5
Tear Rating: 💧/5
Humor Rating: 0/5

-ˋˏ✄ᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧ⇢

🔍 TL;DR
⤷ In 2019, Lucy flees to her sister’s coastal home after a violent, dream-fueled incident—only to find Jess missing and the town steeped in chilling rumors of vanished men and ghostly voices on the waves. In 1800, Irish sisters Mary and Eliza are exiled to Australia, where strange changes in their bodies hint at a mysterious power awakening. Bound across time by the sea’s dark magic, these women uncover a legacy of sisterhood and resilience that defies centuries.

📣 Favorite quote
⤷ It was the water that protected me. It's the water that makes us strong.

🎥 Synopsis
⤷ In 2019, Lucy wakes in terror to find herself attacking her ex-lover and flees to her sister’s remote coastal home—only to discover Jess has vanished. As eerie dreams and local legends of missing men and sea-swept whispers grow stronger, Lucy begins to suspect something ancient and powerful is at work. Meanwhile, in 1800, Irish sisters Mary and Eliza are exiled to Australia on a convict ship, where mysterious transformations hint at a strange new destiny. Across centuries, these women are bound by forces they barely understand, drawn together by the sea’s haunting call. The Sirens is a spellbinding story of sisterhood, resilience, and the untamed magic that links past and present.

📋 Review
⤷ This book never clicked with me, unfortunately. The premise was unique and interesting, and I was eager to read the next book from Emilia Hart, but I spent 2/3 of the story just trying to understand what was going on.

⤷ To be honest, if this hadn’t been given to me as an ALC, I probably would’ve DNFed it. The plot twists were much more predictable than I would’ve expected from this story, and I didn’t find myself enjoying it until the end of it.

🌟 I wish…
⤷ It had been more engaging. I wanted to like it, I wanted to get into it, but I found myself procrastinating finishing the book. I can generally finish an 11-hour audiobook over 2-3 days at the most, and this took me 10 days—most of which was spent listening to other, more engaging books.

👍🏻 Recommend?
⤷ It could go either way. I can see that some readers enjoyed this book, so perhaps I just wasn’t in the right headspace for it. If you like Emilia’s writing, and the overall story appeals to you, give it a try! You might like it more than I did.

-ˋˏ✄ᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧᐧ⇢

*About Spice scale:
🥛 GLASS OF MILK
No heat: the story contains little to no spice.

🌶️ BELL PEPPER
Low heat: sweet love story with romance that is closed door or fade to black. Mostly fluff or implied spice.

🌶️🌶️ JALAPEÑO
Smoldering: sexual tension, at least one (not especially graphic) sex scene, not much coarse language.

🌶️🌶️🌶️ HABANERO
Hot: generally two to three extensive/detailed sex scenes, and increasing use of coarse language.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ GHOST PEPPER
Scorching: four to five explicit sex scenes, much description and detail, lots of coarse language.

🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ CAROLINA REAPER
Erotica: is the plot in the room with us? Lots of sex scenes, explicit descriptions. Heavy kink/trigger warnings and/or pure smut.

Emilia Hart has done it again. The Sirens is a novel that will sweep the reader away. I picked it up on a whim one morning, intending to read just a few pages to see if it resonated. Seven hours later, I finished. And I can’t remember the last time a book gripped me so entirely that I had to read it in one sitting.

Having loved Weyward, I had high hopes for Hart’s latest, and she delivered with precision. Her storytelling is immersive, her themes rich with meaning—sisterhood, generational trauma, power imbalances, and the resilience of women who refuse to be broken. She exposes history with a skilled touch, revealing the harrowing reality of convict ships that carried women to Australia—something I had no idea existed. But now I find myself ready to research.

Hart’s ability to blend historical fiction with elements of magical realism is what makes The Sirens so absorbing. There’s a quality to the prose, in the ability to bend time and memories across generations. Two sets of sisters, separated by centuries, yet tied together by shared dreams and the call of the sea. The past and present, meld seamlessly, shaping a story that is haunting, lyrical, and deeply evocative.

This is a novel that will linger with the reader. Hart has once again woven a tale that is a testament to the voices of women who refuse to be silenced.

Absolutely! Here’s a thoughtful and balanced review based on what you shared:

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**Book Review: *The Sirens* by Emilia Hart, Narrated by Barrie Kreinik**
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.5 stars)

After enjoying Emilia Hart’s debut *Weyward*, I had high hopes for *The Sirens*. While the story held a lot of promise, the audiobook didn’t quite capture me the way I’d hoped. The narration by Barrie Kreinik was fine, but not especially engaging, and I found myself struggling to stay fully connected through audio alone.

The novel follows two sets of sisters—Mary and Eliza, twins from the 1800s, and Lucy and Jess, modern-day sisters whose relationship is distant and complicated. While I understood the significance of Mary and Eliza’s storyline, I just didn’t find myself fully invested in their arc, which was a bit disappointing.

Lucy and Jess’s story, however, pulled me in more. Their dynamic felt emotionally rich, especially as Lucy searches for her missing sister and uncovers truths that could change everything. Both sister pairs are tied to the sea in a mysterious way—including Lucy and Jess’s strange allergy to water—which added a unique, mythical thread that I appreciated.

Overall, *The Sirens* is a beautifully written exploration of female resilience, the complexities of sisterhood, and the timeless connection women have to nature and the mystical. While not every part worked for me, it’s a powerful story with heart and atmosphere. I might revisit it in print next time to better follow the dual timelines and immerse myself more fully.

Weyward was one of my favorite books from 2023, so I couldn't wait to get to The Sirens! Although I enjoyed it, it wasn't a favorite.

The writing was beautiful and atmospheric, but the story did drag a bit for me at some parts. Pregnancy being a huge part of the storyline wasn't my favorite either (this is just a personal thing, so I didn't lower the rating based on this). The twists were also predictable but satisfying.

Check the content warnings for this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan Audio for the ARC and ALC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5/5 ⭐️

An interesting blend of past/present narrative. The performance of the narrator elevated my experience of this story. 4 Stars.

Simply put, The Sirens is a story of men behaving badly and eventually getting their comeuppance with a little magical realism mixed in. The story was engaging and mysterious as well as richly detailed. I could easily imagine all the settings. The narration was really good too.

Thanks NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc

3/5 stars

This was a book about sisters, secrets, and the pull of the sea. I was super excited going into this book, as I love anything to do with mermaids and sirens! Unfortunately I seem to feel the same way many others felt about this book, in that it never truly pulled me into the story and made me invested in the way I was hoping. Now don't get me wrong the writing was beautiful, lyrical, and haunting, its just that the characters felt a bit one dimensional and I couldn't connect with them or get invested into their story, Lucy and Jess in particular. I enjoyed the dream sequences with Mary and Eliza more than Lucy and Jess, which was disappointing as they were so few and far between lol. Overall, this was fine. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Another good read by Emilia Hart. Really enjoyed the twists and turns. Descriptions in the story made me feel like I was there.

The cover is the best part of the book. Slowly paced book with a predictable plot. The magical realism is the strongest aspect of the book, but the reader knows what the characters' strange skin affliction is from the very beginning and you spend the whole book just waiting for the author to do something with it. The scenes of female friendship from the 19th century timeline and heartfelt.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰 #𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 #𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘚𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

I have seen lots of negative reviews of this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I haven’t read Weyward yet (but it is on my TBR list), so I don’t know if that impacted my expectations of what a story by Emilia Hart would be – as in I had no expectations, unlike folks who had read previous books.


I loved how the stories of the two sets of sisters were woven together; it was a bit different from the ways I have seen in other books, and I really dug it. The details of both stories kept my attention, I didn’t want to stop reading (listening) when my commute ended.

I figured out a couple of the twists fairly early, but it didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the story. I might have given it 5 stars if not for this…

Highly recommend!
🌟🌟🌟🌟

#NetGalley #HistoricalFiction #MagicalRealism #Mystery #Fantasy

What a hauntingly gorgeous story this is! It unfolds slowly and smoothly, layering timelines until they all come together. The Sirens truly swept me away. I now want to read more from Emilia Hart. I’m just dazzled by the mysterious and mystical characters and storylines. I loved it! Those who find it to be a bit too slow, hang in there. It really comes together in the end! Absolutely beautiful narration, too! She did a phenomenal job narrating voices, accents and emotion throughout. I would recommend this book as an audio rather than reading, as her voice really adds texture to the story!

🎧 Thanks, @Macmillan.audio, for the audiobook review copy. #macaudio2025 (Available now) 10 hours, 56 minutes

The novel entwines the stories of two sets of sisters: Lucy and Jess in 2019, in the Australian coastal town where men have been disappearing, and Mary and Eliza aboard a convict ship en route to Australia from Ireland in 1800. Both sets of sisters have mysterious skin conditions and are expectedly haunted.

The cover is lovely, the premise is fascinating, and the narration is excellent, but the story was predictable and slow, like trying to escape a tangle of seaweed.

I loved Weyward so I was really excited to read this one but I ended up not liking it. The story didn’t flow nicely and I couldn’t connect with the characters. Once I thought I knew what was going on it would change to a different storyline. I was confused by the characters and how they didn’t communicate with each other (that is slightly explained later on in the book). I typically like books with multiple timelines but it didn’t work for me in this case, it felt disjointed. Not much happens in the current timeline which made it boring. Also, the main character doesn’t have much of a personality. Her sister is the only one who is fleshed out and we only read about her through her journal entries. There are 2 narrators but their voices sound the same which made it harder to differentiate. Overall, I’d pass on this one but I highly recommend Weyward.

3.5 rounded up

I feel like the pacing was off on this one for me; every time a place was being described, it drew me in completely as if I could fall into the picture. I have strong images of various places that I can pull up even days after finishing this book. I don't have as clear a picture of the characters.

We have dual stories of two sets of sisters in two different time periods. All women struggle with skin that dries and cracks open after being exposed to water. All of the parents decide it is best not to ever get wet and find various ways to address this. The title of the book takes on different meanings at different places in the book. All of the women experience some kind of sexual assault at some point in the story that causes their lives to veer in a different direction. All stories are completely different while also connected.

As a reader, you see many of the plot points before the characters discover them for themselves. The story is different and creative enough that you can usually wait for the characters to catch up with what has already been revealed. There were a few times that we waited too long for the characters to catch up to the clues the author provided, repeating similar information, which was part of my pacing issue.

I think if I were to choose this for a book club, we would have a lot to talk about. These women stand up for themselves and each other. They lie to protect each other. Parents struggle with what they think is right. The women face societal expectations, oppression, bullying, and body image shaming.

Thank you so much to Emilia Hart, St.Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book as an ARC in audiobook form! I would say this book was 4.5 stars and 9 out of 10 experience for me!

This book was written so beautifully that you experienced the atmosphere, the emotions and the tribulations of these women in such a vivid way that I found it hard to jump out of this world. I found myself cogitating on the pain all the women were going through, so often that I found myself rewinding to previous chapters to re-listen.

This story really served to inform, evoke and empower. And Emilia Hart does a great job of unfolding the events realistically and heart-wrenchingly. At times, you will be frustrated by the events and the surrounding characters, they certainly reflect the world and how women have been treated throughout time.

But I hope the ending, as a woman, gives you hope. That through all the hardship, women sticking together will always be stronger, and indeed, individually, we can also be stronger than we thought ourselves to be.

3.5/5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a beautifully written historical fantasy with strong themes of sisterhood, resilience, and transformation. The story moves between two timelines: in 1800, Irish sisters Mary and Eliza are sentenced to transportation to Australia aboard a harrowing convict ship, and in 2019, Lucy returns to a coastal town searching for answers after her sister Jess disappears.

The dual timeline format is a strength, with the historical narrative standing out as the most compelling. The atmosphere is immersive, especially around the sea, the coastal setting, and the eerie small-town mysteries. Hart’s writing style remains lyrical and evocative, with clear echoes of her debut Weyward.

Where the book faltered for me was in the pacing and emotional engagement. Lucy’s chapters, written in third person, felt distant and repetitive, slowing the pacing and making it harder to connect. Although the themes of transformation and inherited trauma were interesting, many of the major revelations came too late to be satisfying. I also found the student-teacher subplot in Jess’s arc unnecessary and distracting.

While the concept was strong and the writing lovely, I didn’t feel as gripped or emotionally invested as I hoped. Readers who loved Weyward may still enjoy the lyrical style and themes, but The Sirens never fully hooked me.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Loved this ALMOST as much as I loved Weyward. Historical fiction with a strong female characters and a mythical twist... what more could you ask for?