Thank you Netgalley for an early copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. I really do not like leaving harsh reviews on someone's work, but this story was just not for me at all. I really didn't like the characters, I wanted more from the flashbacks, the thriller aspect wasn't thrilling... I just wished for more all the way around. It sounded super enchanting and cool, so I was so happy when I got the email I received an early copy, but I was let down the whole time. Unfortunately, this story will fade from memory in one week tops..

This was terrific. The bonds between these women was amazing to read. There were twists and surprises. So well written. Very enjoyable.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the free audiobook in exchange for my honest review. Barrie Kreinik does a great job narrating this story and I recommend the audiobook if that is of interest.

I was excited to read this story as I loved Weyward. However, I found that I did not enjoy this one as much.

The good: I enjoyed the characters and found them relatable. also like themes of female rage stemming from male violence or chauvinistic attitudes. I did like the magical realism as well. The writing is fast paced and flows. I really enjoyed the historical chapters much more than the current timeline. I found the facts, history and content to be more interesting.

The not so good: This book seemed a bit unbalanced in that there was much more going on in the historical part than the present day chapters. The overall story is predicable and felt similar to Weyward. It seemed to drag a bit as well.

This is still a good book for fans of magical realism and feminine rage against men. It was an ok read for me.

DNF at 34%. Ugh it pains me to write this because this cover is STUNNING and the writing is beautiful and so atmospheric. But this is just not the story for me.

Unfortunately I just could not get my mind into the story. It was not holding my interest despite multiple attempts to restart it. I do believe those that love mermaids, magical stories, and the ocean may enjoy this much more than I did.

Thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and the author for the complimentary ARC.

I found this book to be interesting but overall depressing. While a connection was established between the two sets of sisters, the ending left me wondering what happened to the first set.

This is my second Emilia Hart book and again she does a great job of showing the strength of women. The story felt a bit rushed and made it a little more difficult to relate to all the characters unlike in her other novel, but I did enjoy the writing.

Thanks to the author @St.Martin'sPress and @netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 stars / This review will be posted on BookwormishMe.com today.

The myth of the sirens has been around for a very long time. Sea women luring men to their deaths in the ocean. It’s a tale as old as time. . But is it a myth?

In this retelling of the story of the sirens, we visit sirens from the 1800s when the first sirens found their place in the world. Then we also move forward to 2019 when two young women start dreaming of those original sirens. What can those dreams mean?

In the 1800s, twins Mary and Eliza have been raised by their loving Da in rural Ireland. When tragedy befalls them, they are sentenced to a sea journey to inhabit Australia. Unknown horrors will befall them on their long journey. They fear what awaits them when they arrive.

Lucy is at university studying journalism. It’s been her lifelong dream, and now she’s pursuing a future. Her sister Jess has decamped to a small town on the coast of Australia, where she is making incredible paintings of the sea. When Lucy has a horrific experience of sleepwalking, attacking a classmate in her sleep, she decides to flee to her sister Jess. Once on the road these vivid dreams of living on a prison boat start to haunt her. Lucy only hopes that Jess can help unravel the mysteries.

Fabulous interpretation of the story of the Sirens. The parallels between the twins of the 1800s and the current day sisters, Jess & Lucy, are so interesting. The book reads long, but is worth every page. This book is to be savored, not inhaled.

this was so, so disappointing.

Weyward was one of my favorite books of 2023, so when I saw an ARC of Emilia Hart’s next book, I jumped on it. I wish I didn’t.

This book did not feel “feminist” to me. A book is not feminist simply because there are female characters, especially when those women are devoid of any personality or motivation.

It took me nearly two weeks to get through this, and honestly, I would have DNF’ed this if it wasn’t an ARC. It was a slog and quite boring and the things that were somewhat interesting were predictable and cliched.

I’m really sad this wasn’t good, because Weyward was incredible. It felt like Hart was trying to emulate what she did in her first book and it just didn’t work here.

I enjoy the premise of this book, but I found myself skimming over a lot of it. It is well-written, but I got bogged down in the details. I did like the back and forth from characters and timelines. It definitely aided in figuring out how everything was connected.

This is a hard one for me to review as I’m not quite sure what I think of it… I enjoyed the book while reading it, but I’m not sure I liked the book overall.

Let’s start with the things I liked– just like “Weyward” the writing was great! I loved the way Hart described the ocean and the feel of the water. I also really enjoyed the Lucy/Jess chapters and piecing together their story! The chapters were short and engaging and I easily flew through the book. And let’s not forget about this GORGEOUS cover! 😍

Now the not so great– I struggled with the 1800s timeline. It felt fairly stagnant to me, and the two timelines felt disconnected from each other until the very end. The ending itself was a little unsatisfying for me.. I almost had more questions at the end than I did at the beginning!

Overall this was a good magical realism mystery that kept my interest but it wasn’t my favorite!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

3.25 stars rounded down

Thw is very similar to Weyward to me. Sisters, Gothic vibes(even by water, wow) feminist/female rage, family drama/mystery. This book was all about the vibes, all about the description, not so much about the plot.

The Sirens-
is an enchanting journey that has gorgeous storytelling and lyrical prose. Emilia Hart only keeps growing when it comes to skill and complexity within her narratives.

The narrative is solidly crafted, the characters complex and would have been happy with even more to the story of each background.

Hart’s writing creates vivid, and melodramatic scenery within her books, and I’m glad that wayward was not a “one off” success for me, but now the sirens takes their place.

Thank you NetGalley for an arc in exchange for my honest review!

I was excited to get an advance copy of The Sirens, especially after enjoying Emilia Hart’s Weyward. I liked how Hart blends mythology and history with feminist themes, following two sets of sisters separated by 200 years. I was eager to see how these stories connect.

In the present-day timeline, we meet Lucy, a journalism student in Australia who wakes up with her hands around her boyfriend’s neck—though she has no memory of how she got there. Shaken, she heads to Comber Bay to find her sister, Jess, hoping for some clarity on her sleepwalking. But when she arrives, Jess is not there. The town itself holds plenty of mysteries—over the last three decades, eight men have vanished into the sea, and years ago, a newborn girl was found in the cave and adopted by a local couple. As Lucy searches for answers, she stumbles upon Jess’ diary, uncovering secrets she never expected.

Interwoven with Lucy’s journey is the story of Mary and Eliza, sisters who, in 1800, endured a harrowing four-month voyage on a convict ship from Ireland to New South Wales. Eliza, though blind, has an extraordinary singing voice, and their connection to the mythical merrow—beings from the tír fo thuinn (the land beneath the waves)—adds a mesmerizing bit of folklore. I’ve read about convict ships before, and Hart captures the brutal conditions and the tense power dynamics between prisoners and crew with such detail.

The setting of Comber Bay is beautifully atmospheric, with its hidden caves and rugged coastline, giving it an almost otherworldly feel. The way Hart weaves Irish mythology into the story was one of my favorite aspects. That said, I found some plot twists predictable, especially since we get some of Mary and Eliza’s story in fragments through Lucy’s perspective. Similarly, the arc of Jess and Lucy’s relationship felt like it followed a familiar path—I had a sense early on where their dynamic was headed, which took away some of the emotional impact for me.

Despite those downsides, the story still managed to be quite engaging, It captivated me with its themes of sisterhood, resilience, and women reclaiming their power from the men who have wronged them. It has a touch of mystery, a bit of magic, and a sweet, sentimental ending that ties everything together nicely.

4.5⭐️
Emilia Hart, you did it again!!! Emilia is so good at writing women’s fiction. The Sirens is more than just a book about sisters finding their origin. It’s about women using their gifts to protect women from cruel men. I loved the undertone of feminism in this book. I also loved the historical background and mystery aspect too.


Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to read this as an E-Arc <3

I have been a fan of Emilia Hart since I read Weyward and was eager to read another of her books! While the themes are different the writing was beautiful and I loved reading this book. Emilia Hart is working towards becoming an auto read author for me! Thank you so much for the eARC!

I really loved Weyward by this author. But, sadly, I did not love this one. I thought it started off well but I just couldn't seem to connect with any of the characters. I hoped as the story went on that I would form sort of like for any of them. But it just didn't pan out. The story fell flat for me. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this digital ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is one of those books with a few moving parts that all connect at the end. I appreciated the dark, moody vibes of the overall book; it matched the present day and flashbacks perfectly. The plot twist floored me and I had NO idea the book was going to go in that direction. The FMC didn't really impress me; I found her personality lacking a lot. This was a very good read, but quite a few things mentioned didn't really make it to the end. Some of the loose ends weren't tied up so well and left me wondering. I'm not sure if that's intentional or not, but I'm not the biggest fan of not knowing everything by the end of the book so that was a miss for me.

I could not put THE SIRENS down. I enjoyed Emilia Hart’s first book, WEYWARD, but her new release blows it out of the water (pun not intended).

THE SIRENS alternates between three perspectives: Lucy, a university student, who wakes with her hands around the neck of the boy she’s been seeing; Jess, ber older sister, an artist who has disappeared a week before her big show; and Mary, an Irish woman on a convict ship to Australia in the 1800s. I don’t want to reveal too much, because part of my enjoyment of the book stemmed from the slow unveiling of the threads that connect the three women and the future in store for them. I’ll just say the writing was gorgeous, the pacing was perfect, and I’ve already recommended this book to multiple people even though it won’t be released for another week. I love magical realism, and Emilia Hart weaves mythology and fantasy with the modern world seamlessly. I can’t wait to see what this author does in her career.

I received this gallery of THE SIRENS in exchange for an honest review.

I mostly enjoyed my time reading this book but it was just too predictable and dragged out. I loved Weyward but this one fell a little short for me.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

"The girls are like sharks. They sense it when you're weak."


My goodness. The Sirens was such a fun book to dive into. For three days, I took my time devouring this and getting to know the characters. From the very beginning, I had lots of questions but little information. Then little clues and pieces came to me, and I was starting to put the puzzle together.

In this, you will meet Lucy, Jess, Mary, and Eliza. Four girls. Two different timelines. Mary and Eliza are in the past, the 1800s to be exact. Lucy and Jess are in the present, 2019. Though you do get past views from Jess for some of this book. So, maybe, that's three different timelines.

Mary and Eliza are sisters and currently on a prison boat sailing from Ireland to Australia. Lucy is going through something and is in need of her older sister. So, she leaves school and heads for the coast in New South Wales. In a weird way, all the girls are intertwined, and it's a fascinating mystery to figure out. Trying my hardest to not spoil anything here!

Honestly, this book had so many secrets within it. I am so proud of myself for catching on to most of them. Yes, most! I will also say that the ending shocked me so much because I was not expecting any of that. My mind was blown with so many things that came to light, and I'm still trying to understand it.

In the end, I am in love with this book and all the characters. If this place truly exists, then why wouldn't women want to flock to it? Safely protected by sirens in the water from all the evil out there. Sounds dreamy. I definitely recommend the ebook and look forward to the next book Emilia writes!