The title and cover of this novel drew me in instantly. I have always had an interest in mermaids/sirens, but the intertwining of the historical folklore, mystery, and the magic of the sea had me turning pages. The alternating timeline was done well and I enjoyed how the story was laid out and how it all came together. I recently started reading Weyward and as thoroughly enjoying that novel as well. Hart may become a new favorite author for me!

I was glad to give this book a try. But it wasn't the right book for me. I do see why it has been so loved though!

Family secrets, hidden clues, strange disappearances, strong female characters, a secret hidden world, and bonds that cross generations - yes please! Lucy is different. She’s always known that and done her best to accept it and follow her dreams of being a journalist. She falls for a college boyfriend, who unexpectedly exposes her in a public setting online, rendering her feeling helpless and in desperate need of her sister’s help for direction. Jess, her older sister, has become very distant for several years, focusing on her art passion and sharing it with the world. But that doesn’t stop Lucy from going to find her for much needed advice. However, when she arrives at the quiet little seaside town, all is not as it seems. Jess is missing, the house all askew, and even Jess’s cell phone has been left behind. Strange paintings of the sea and two sisters from long ago begin to invade Lucy’s dreams, and her sleepwalking becomes worse and very dangerous. You see, Lucy has a rare condition where she is allergic to water, and yet she is drawn to it even as she sleeps. She makes herself at home at her big sister’s run-down home, looking for clues as to where she might have gone, finding Jess’s diary and diving into her dark past to find the truth. Maybe she never really knew her sister at all? Maybe she’s never really known who her parents are either? All Lucy knows is that she must find Jess and rediscover where she truly belongs. I received an arc copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the magical realism while also tackling tough topics. I enjoyed the character and the multiple timelines weaving together. The character dynamics were interesting and the plot kept you reading.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! It was my first ARC from NetGalley and I was beyond excited for it. However, I was only able to make it to the 20% mark before I just couldn’t force myself to read it further. It starts off beyond confusing and everything is written in riddles. It felt a lot like Alice going down the rabbit hole and that rabbit hole is filled with bits and pieces of true crime podcasts and newspaper clippings. Not at all what I expected for a title called Sirens when at the 20% mark there was only a mention of an image of a siren maybe twice.

The Sirens was a fantastic and enjoyable read. Hart's characters are achingly relatable and the story itself keeps you guessing while effortlessly weaving together a plot through several timelines.

I was a huge fan of Weyward but Sirens fell a bit short for me. I loved the common themes of Emilia Hart's (strong females, family connections, hidden power) but I found this one loosely tied its storylines up in a way that wasn't satisfying. I still would recommend this book but don't be surprised if your brow furrows a bit.

I read Weyward by Emilia Hart and I really enjoyed that, so I was really excited for The Sirens. Unfortunately it just wasn't as good. It felt too similar, but also not as developed at the same time. At the end I still had so many questions that were left unanswered, and multiple plot lines that kind of felt like they were just forgotten about.

The story is once again multiple timelines and you start with Lucy who runs way from college after attacking a guy who wronged her, while shes in a sleepwalking episode. She goes to visit her sister Jess who she is somewhat estranged from, because she also sleepwalks. When she arrives her sister is missing, so while Lucy waits for Jess to turn up and begins to learn about the mystery surrounding the town she's arrived in.

Then you have sisters Mary and Eliza and story which takes place in the 1800s Ireland, who have been convicted of a crime and are aboard a transport ship that is taking them to Australia. This particular storyline was actually my favorite and really well done. I felt connected to the sisters and completely invested in their story, but also all of the women aboard this shit and their struggles.

Finally about halfway through the book you finally get Jess's teenage POV which occurs about 20 years before Lucy's current POV. This is the timeline that starts to weave the story together, until you get to the end and you see how all of the timelines are connected.

A lot of the reveals were predictable but I didn't mind that so much as I minded the lack of explanation or follow through on many things. I wanted to know more about the sirens and how they came to be and what that entailed, and it was more just like oh look they're basically mermaids. Also what happened with Lucy's whole college situation? She attacked a fellow student, and it was just like ok she's temporarily kicked out of school but never mentioned again. The whole Max situation was so weird to me and I absolutely did not understand why Jess made the decisions she made.

Overall Emilia's writing is so lovely and the book flowed well. It had just really eerie vibes that left you unsettled for almost the entirety of the read, which I enjoyed. It was also a really quick read that I flew through. Perfect for spooky season! Thank you NetGalley and SMP for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: March 04, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

This book was very well written and captured my attention right from the beginning. We have multiple well fleshed out characters who are also very well developed as well as alternating POV and moving timelines throughout this read which I always enjoy.

We follow along a mystery of a sister missing, multiple men disappearing with no explanation and all a link to the ocean. I appreciate how our author depicted sirens and the lore and magic weaved amongst them and the book gave your an eerie feel as you read. If you are looking for a great fast paced thriller with magical lore with a supernatural touch this book is for you. I highly recommend.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Mermaids, Sirens, Mystery, Thriller, Supernatural, Magical Realism, Fast Paced

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as St. Martins Press for this e-arc copy.

I loved Weyward so was excited to read Emilia Hart’s sophomore novel. A feminist fantasy loaded with family secrets, Lucy seeks out her sister Jess who has mysteriously disappeared and uncovers the truth about her origins while we’re dually told about two sisters, Eliza and Mary being sent to Australia from Ireland as criminals 200 years earlier. Overall, I enjoyed this. Great pacing and I was equally invested in both storylines and characters (found the past one slightly more engaging). My only pet peeve are Jess's teenage journals which are really just scenes in the past and not written like any person would actually write a journal (I hate when authors do this). Emilia Hart is a lyrical writer with so many lines and details I wanted to highlight but I would say sometimes less is more and the beautiful language would stand out more if it wasn't in nearly every line. Overall, I didn't like it quite as much as Weyward but would definitely recommend it and look forward to reading more of her books in the future!

I loved Weyward by this author. Unfortunately, The Sirens wasn't for me - it was a little dragging, and there was too much back and forth, I got confused!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this author's previous novel Weyward, and I was really excited when I got approved for this ARC. Similar to Weyward, this story is about women reclaiming their autonomy, power, and lives in the face of stark misogyny or hardship.

I love this type of storytelling, which goes back and forth in time and connects different characters across the entire timeline. The connection between sisters Lucy and Jess in the present day and Mary and Eliza in the past I especially felt, as someone with two sisters of my own. If you enjoyed this style of storytelling in Weyward then you would love this book as well, as it was very similar although with different fantasy elements.

The fantasy aspect I actually liked less than I expected to, because I was hoping it would be nature-focused like in the author's other book. The author's writing about nature was the main aspect I loved about Weyward, so this book did not catch me as much as I had hoped. However, it was a lot more dark and eerie, so if you are into darker books or more of a mystery then you would probably like this a lot.

Overall, I love how this author uses fantasy to let the women in her books reclaim their power, bodies, and lives, and I would definitely recommend this and will be looking forward to her future books as well.

I am grateful to NetGalley for this ARC. I have not yet read Weyward but have heard a lot of good things about it, so I was excited for the opportunity to read The Sirens. I struggled with the story though and it was hard to get into until closer to the end. I think the fantasy aspect is not really my thing. I do love dual timelines though and was interested in reading about the women’s convict ships to Australia. I did enjoy the book but it was a little slow for me.

A slow, atmospheric story revolving around 2 sets of sisters in 2019 and in 1800 and their never-ending link with the sea. How could these 2 be related? It is a story of resilience and sisterhood with a fantasy element intertwined.
While I appreciated the vivid detail of context and could understand the significance of setting up background knowledge, the story seemed to take a while to all come together.
I really enjoyed the last part of the book, but until then, it was a very slow read for me. I absolutely loved the author's first book, Weyward, so I was expecting to love this one, but it didn't quite hit the same mark. Overall, a decent story about the bonds of sisters.
Thank you to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this ARC. This title is set to publish March 4, 2025.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this eARC! Weyward was one of my favorite books of last year so when my friend told me that Hart’s upcoming release was temporarily a Read Now on NetGalley, I jumped on it and I’m so glad I did!

“A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine”

1800: Mary and her twin sister Eliza have been exiled from their home and banished to New South Wales. Chained and thrown into the cargo hold of a ship with almost 100 other women, they spend months on the boat trying to survive.

2019: Lucy has begun having vivid dreams and sleepwalking. After she awakes to having attacked a boy who wronged her, she runs away to her sister’s house in Comber Bay, but her sister, Jess, isn’t there. Strangely, Lucy finds Jess has been painting images that have appeared in her own dreams. How have her and her sister seen the same things in their dreams? And where is Jess? While waiting for her sister to return home, Lucy starts to learn more about the mysteries surrounding Comber Bay, including men who suddenly disappeared and an infant who was found alone in a sea cave. She feels a connection to this place that she can’t explain and is looking for answers.

I absolutely loved and devoured this book. I could not get enough of all of the different perspectives- Mary in 1800, Lucy in 2019, and Jess through both journal entries from 1999 and her account in 2019. The chapters from Mary’s perspective especially had me sucked in. The mysteries that surround Comber Bay had me hooked and wanting to know more.
Hart does a wonderful job of creating an eerie environment and setting the scene of the town of Comber Bay. Her descriptions are so vivid and make it so easy to visualize what I was reading.

Instantly captivating, this novel did not disappoint! I felt like I was there watching both timelines unfold. I would absolutely recommend this!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. This book is beautiful- part mystery, part mythical. And all heart. Intertwined between 100s of years and feminine history- this book is a must read by the author of Weyward.

Emilia Hart does it again! I've been anxiously awaiting The Sirens and it did not disappoint. From the very first line, I was hooked. This one will stick with my for a long time, just like Weyward did.

I enjoyed this book very much. Kept me thoroughly interested through one sitting. Look forward to much more by this author.

"The Sirens" by Emila Hart weaves a haunting tale of love, loss, and the complexities of motherhood. Delving into the lives of its characters, the novel explores themes of betrayal and resilience. Hart’s evocative prose brings a lyrical quality to the story, making the emotional journeys of the characters feel ultimate and impactful. While some might find the pacing slow at times, the rich character development and atmospheric setting make it a compelling read. Overall, it's a poignant exploration of the ties that bind us and the secrets that can tear us apart.