A story of two sets of sisters from different lifetimes with the mystery of how they connect. Present day, Lucy shows up to the house her sister, Jess, is staying at only to find it empty. She does her best to piece together where Jess might be by meeting with locals and reading through old diaries where she learns more than she bargains for.
Twins, Mary and Eliza, from the 1800s are sent away from their home in Ireland on a convict ship. On their voyage, they feel a pull from the sea which they were always taught to fear.

Ocean/sea centered
Strong female leads
Family drama

The point of view shifts between Jess’ journal/memories (90s), Lucy (2019), and Mary and Eliza (1800s). Though I put together some of the pieces early on, I enjoyed taking the journey with Lucy. If you like twists and turns, this book is for you. The writing is so vivid it’s easy to fall into a trance and imagine yourself there with Lucy, Jess, and the twins - and who can resist the Sirens?
The background is interesting as well as @emiliahwriter shares a disclaimer in the beginning. It’s books like this that make me want to dive (no pun intended) into the inspirations/history behind a book.

If you liked Weyward, check this one out next year!

The Sirens was a genre I don't often read, but this book was brought to my attention, and the cover was gorgeous. It's such a different story, and it's beautiful. There are varying timelines, which is a format I love, and you see the ties that bind the women together as the plot continues. I had to think about this one for a couple days before offering my opinion. I was initially going to give a four, but after a couple of days, I decided to raise this to a five, because I kept thinking about the characters.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheSirens #StMartinsPress #EmiliaHart #NetGalley

I really enjoyed Weyward, so I was excited to read this one. The premise was clever and unique, but it danced around, like driftwood bobbing atop the ocean, ruining the pace. The two storylines had unsatisfying endings, and overall I felt this book missed the mark with what it hoped to accomplish.

I loved Hart’s previous novel so I was very excited for this. I hoped for the same level of charm, magic and mystery that I found within Weyward, however this book left me disappointed. I thought the concept was creative but I found myself bored by how it was carried out. I didn’t feel a connection to the characters, and I felt that the central mystery was quite obvious and dragged out.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC! *The Sirens* by Emilia Hart is a captivating and atmospheric novel that immerses readers in a world of myth and mystery. Hart's lyrical prose and vivid descriptions create a hauntingly beautiful setting that enhances the story's enchanting elements. The characters are richly developed, with their personal struggles and relationships adding depth to the narrative. Although some plot twists may be predictable, the novel’s evocative storytelling and emotional resonance keep readers engaged. Overall, it’s a mesmerizing and immersive read that will appeal to fans of literary fiction with a touch of magic.

This was so good! I absolutely was hooked from beginning to end, Recommend for everyone. Loved the topic of Sirens

The Sirens was one of those offerings that demanded I sit with the story a bit before formulating a review. I needed time to think deeply about the themes and the way the story was woven, time also, to decide how an epilogue with a single piece of information might effect all the pages that came before. . The Sirens follows a fleeing Lucy in the immediate aftermath of a traumatic experience at university. She hopes to find Solace in Jess, her mysterious artist of a sister. When Lucy arrives at the small coastal town and the cliff side home that Jess resides in, things complicate further. With Jess nowhere to be found, Lucy begins to unravel a mystery that spans generations and is brimming with whimsy, rage, and lore.

Readers who loved Weyward will fall easily into Hart's newest depiction of the shared female experience. She's deftly woven a tale that is simultaneously nuanced and bold in it's exploration of both feminine rage and, on the softer end, how women hold each other in moments of joy and sorrow. Introspective readers will surely see themselves in at least one of these well crafted characters. The story is paces just perfectly, the plot moved at a swift pace but the evocative atmospheric snippets gave the writing and story room to breathe As a buddy read, The Sirens offered a tale that proved worthy of analysis, wild theories, and some seriously cathartic chatter!

It is worth noting that this story was smoothly sailing to a five star for me and then the epilogue sort of tarnished my experience. It isn't a deal breaker, the story itself is just spectacular, but that extra little chapter left me in a serious " what does it all mean" state. In my opinion it distracted from the overall themes of the story that had been so expertly offered. Still, The Siren's is a STRONG 4 star for me and I just can not wait to see what the author offers readers next!

The Sirens reads like a combination of a fairytale, a haunting ghost story and a dream. The descriptive writing is beautiful and each timeline is richly drawn. I was so impressed with how the timelines ultimately tied these women together. This is a story that sweeps you away from the beginning and makes you feel the atmosphere and the emotions of the characters. Like Weyward, The Sirens has an exquisite cover and I’m planning to add a copy to my bookshelf when it’s released. If you enjoyed Weyward, don’t miss this one. It’s spectacular!

Huge thanks to Emili Hart, St Martin’s Press and @netgalley for allowing me to participate in the early reading of this one!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Hot on the heels of Weyward (which I read earlier this year) is another excellent read from Emilia Hart. While I’m not typically a huge fan of multiple POVs, I absolutely love the way that Emilia weaves together such (at first glance) vastly different storylines into a powerful, united story. She brings an air of mystery that is just chef’s kiss, top notch.

I was so captivated by the characters in this - all incredibly strong women, and all in such different ways. I felt that the writing really encompassed different aspects of women’s resilience and strength, while not romanticising their suffering which can be a common pitfall.

As a big history gal, the historical aspects made the story even more enticing and gave me insights that were incredibly interesting and helped me learn a lil something new.

And on top of it all, there’s the underlying theme of (of course) sirens / merfolk - all told in what I felt was a very new perspective completely, leaving aside cliches and the usual storylines.

Any partial points docked were due to my feeling that there were some aspects (ie the start of Lucy’s journey, and some other pieces) that were not wrapped up in a way that was completely satisfying.

Thank you St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!
I have heard so many amazing things about Weyward (which I still need to read) so when I was given the opportunity to read this story I jumped at it!
This story has elements from a few of my favorite genres, historical fiction, mystery, magical realism and it made this such a stunning story. This book was incredibly well written with the dual timeline flowing so well, nothing was jumpy or unbalanced. It did start out a little slow for me, but when it picked up I binge read it to the end!

Emilia Hart has done it again. With a tale rooted in folklore, The Sirens, has rekindled and reignited the same gratitude and the same rage she stoked in me with Weyward, her debut novel in 2023.

Lucy is a young college woman, excited about where life is going to take her when an incident with a man sends her spiraling into the deep. She is suddenly plagued by sleep walking and vivid nightmares all centered around a sinking ship. As we follow her further away from her path, we learn that her sister, Jess, has experienced similar, if not the same, nightly terrors. Through their shared nightmares, we come to learn not only about Lucy and Jess's pasts, but also about two women on board a prison ship bound for New South Wales from Ireland in the 1800s. As the women's dreams converge, we find out the truth about what has been done, and in some ways, continues to be done, to women at the hands of some evil, ill-meaning men. And it'll explain why Lucy and Jess are so called the water, in waking or asleep.

The Sirens is another revenge story. It takes an old folk tale and spans it out across generations and seeks a different kind of ending.

I love the way Hart writes atmosphere. She paints a picture like no other. Weyward felt like a walk in the dark woods. The Sirens feels like you're underwater. It's dark, it's cold, it's mysterious and for much of the story, you're not quite sure what's down there.

I loved so much of this book. Hart's writing is beautiful. The story is bold. I love the complicated mother-daughter, sister-sister relationships depicted. They were complex and rang true. I love the flawed women and their relationships with flawed men. I wanted more of the sisterhood. I wanted more of the relationships between the women on the ship. I wanted more of Lucy and Jess. I wanted more of the mothers, those bound to land and those of the sea.

In her acknowledgements, Hart writes that, "this novel is about the ability of water -- and sisterhood -- to heal and transform," and it made me tear up! I feel a great deal of rage when reading Hart's works but it's buoyed by so much gratitude and respect. Gratitude and respect for the women who have come before me and for women, like Hart, who continue to tell their stories.

I can't wait to see what women I'll be fighting for next.

I loved how they find eachother and the mysteries and history in this book is very well described. It was an improvement from the authors last book but wasn't my favorite book either.

rating 3.75 stars.
The story is told through the POV of three different people: Lucy, a young college student, her artist sister Jess' diary, and Mary a centuries old woman on an Irish convict transport ship to Australia. Lucy ran into trouble at her university, and decides to escape to her sister's home on the coast. She hasn't heard from her sister in a while, and cannot reach her enroute to the house on a bay at the coast where she lives, but goes anyway. She arrives at the home and her sister is nowhere to be found. Amid Jess' paintings and writings, Lucy tries to figure out where she disappeared to, and if Jess is in trouble. The bay itself has a mysterious past with the disappearance of several men over the years, and a baby found in a cave there. Lucy, and Jess both have a skin condition where scabs and scaling skin forms with exposure to water, which leaves them insecure and confused, and being by the sea brings out more, as well as nightmares of being on a ship.

The other POV is of two Irish sisters on a ship in the 1800's. Mary and Eliza, are convicted of a crime, have to leave their father, and are loaded onto a convict ship with 100 other women. Raised by their father after their mother disappeared, presumed drowned, they fear for him and themselves as they head to an uncertain future in Australia. When they were younger, their mother raised them on her stories of the women of the sea, and how their father met her while he was out fishing, being lulled by her beautiful singing. Mary relates the cramped and horrible conditions on the ship over the months in the prisoner hold, the other women with them in the prison hold, and how the skin and features of her and her sister are changing, the longer they are on the ship.

For Lucy, the mystery of the missing Jess, the changes to herself at Jess' house on the bay, and her research into the ship of women that met its fate at the bay and why they haunt her dreams, the questionable answers from her parents regarding her condition and situation, are all brought
together to a mystical conclusion at the house by the bay, and a cave there.

The story premise was creative, however it lagged in the middle for far too long, especially when the hints were not very subtle, so I just wanted her to tie it together and wrap it up, instead of belaboring the same thing over and over.

Overall the book was good, the multiple views were inciteful, and the tie in together was nice, but it did leave me with other questions I feel weren't answered, or dealt with.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

This was definitely an improvement from the last book I read from this Author.

It was interesting, I loved the mystery within the book and that it also gave little hints here and there about what was happening.

Getting 3 different POVS while a bit confusing at first was great for this book.

Mary and Eliza's story was sooo so interesting.

Knowing from the title what would happen eventually did not take away from it at all.

It was a great take on sirens and also incorporating folklore and new aspects to it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity
to read this ARC.

This was an interesting mix of history, mystery, and a young woman's search for her past.
I enjoyed the underlying theme women's rights and independence.
The ending didn't come as a surprise but the journey was intriguing.

**The Sirens by Emilia Hart**
⭐️ 4.25/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley, Emilia Hart, and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book.

I really enjoyed *The Sirens*. The dual timelines and multiple POVs were captivating and added layers to the story. There’s a compelling mystery throughout, along with powerful lessons on women and their rights, which resonated deeply. The historical aspect was particularly engaging—it shed light on the early days of Australia and the role women, especially prisoners, played in shaping it. I also appreciated the exploration of family dynamics, which was handled thoughtfully. The book threw in a few unexpected twists that kept me guessing, even when I thought I had it figured out. Overall, this is a great read, and I would definitely recommend it!

Dark, damp, powerful and liberating-a tale set in the sea as much as it is on land. Follow generations of women called to the sea. Sirens is a bewitching tale of women through the ages, who come together for survival. This is magical realism, myth and legend at its best.

A wonderful combination of history and magical realism that flashes back (and forth) from the years of settlement of Australia from England/Ireland and the present. Engaging characters that drew me into their beautiful and sad story.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Publishing for this advanced reader's copy of The Sirens by Emilia Hart.

When I saw Emilia Hart had a second book coming out I was super excited, I love Wayward so much.

The Sirens did not disappoint, I can’t give it 5 stars as I did Wayward but it’s a solid 4.

Absolutely loved the characters and the way the story was told. It was a bit predictable but kept you intrigued the entire book.

The love that Lucy had for her older sister Jess was unconditional and she would have stopped at nothing to forge a closer relationship with her. When she shows up at Jess’s house and Jess is gone Lucy finds things from her past and realizes how much like her sister she actually is.

I would recommend to anyone that would listen.

Traditional format 📕 (digital). Release date March 4, 2025.

In thinking how to describe this book, it’s a mix of historical fiction, magical realism and fantasy. The book follows the stories of two sets of sisters. The first set of sisters, Mary and Eliza, are from the 1800s and are prisoners on a ship sailing from Ireland to Australia. The second set are from the modern day and have many secrets and problems of their own. Their stories cross through dreams and the sea. There are a few elements of fantasy that I don’t want to share to spoil the book.

I didn't love this book. The story was interesting at the beginning but the pace was very slow and just when it picked up the book ended leaving me wanting a little more. I felt like several elements of the plot were not wrapped up well.

I would say you need to really enjoy magical realism and fantasy to fully appreciate this story.

I did enjoy the writing in this book. It was poetic at times but was not enough to salvage the story for me.

I give this my average rating of 3/5. I wanted a little more from this book and it just missed the mark.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.