This book was total escapism. Two sets of sisters linked together even though they are separated by hundreds of years . Lucy is a victim of a skin condition that forces her to cover herself completely. Betrayed by a boyfriend who makes her condition public on social media, Lucy begins to have nightmares. She wakes choking the ex boyfriend and she is forced to run to her one safe place. Her sister. Together they find out the source of their skin condition and why their parents kept them away from water. Lucy begins to dream about another set of sisters. Together she and her sister find a link between themselves and the sisters from years ago. They find that nothing is as it seems and the truth is more than they could ever dream. I loved this book even though it was nothing like I ordinarily read.

This is a non-linear novel going between modern times and the late 1700s when many Irish families were forced onto convict ships bound for Australia. The descriptions of that journey are graphic and tragic. Two modern sisters deal with abuse both from their appearance and their talent. The story is woven carefully with color playing a big part.

I enjoyed reading the author’s previous novel and similarly enjoyed reading this novel and following the character’s stories.

The multiple perspectives helped to add depth to the story and to better depict the characters’ shared experience as sirens. Lucy was easy to relate to and Jess’ experience was unique and fun to return to intermittently.
The settings (inland and on the coast) gave just the right eeriness to the story while also serving as a meaningful backdrop to the characters’ actions.

I was curious all the way to the end and could t wait to finish the story to figure out what was happening. My only wish is that certain characters’ perspectives (the mom/dad) had been shared a bit more.

Lucy wakes up to find herself strangling the man who wronged her. She runs off to her sister's home because she feels that Jess is the only one who could understand her. Along the way, she starts having vivid dreams about another pair of sisters. Lucy then discovers that Jess and her share the same skin disorder and the same dreams, but little does Lucy know that they share much more than that.
The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a story about family, about women who have been wronged by men, and about finding yourself. It is told in a dual timeline, comparing the two sisters from the past with the two sisters from the present. It is a mythical, magical story that captures you from the first page. Emilia Hart weaves a wonderful tale of myth intwined with modern life. I loved this book and couldn't put it down. I loved how the story unfolded and the slow reveal.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a captivating novel that blends elements of mythology, mystery, and modern-day suspense. The story revolves around a young woman who becomes entangled in an ancient curse linked to the mythical sirens. Set in a coastal town with a haunting past, the novel explores themes of fate, identity, and the powerful pull of the sea. Hart weaves together a rich narrative that delves into the protagonist's search for truth, both about her own history and the mysterious occurrences in the town. The atmospheric setting and intricate plot make The Sirens a mesmerizing read. I highly recommend this new novel by the author of Weyward. For me, this was a gripping page-turner that you will not want to miss of sisterhood, time, space, and connection. It captures the powers of dreams and women's resilience. .

Told in dual timelines that seep into each other, this book had potential but didn't cut it for me. It started off a little bumpy and abrupt although as the story went along the writing became better and I was pulled into the story, especially of Mary and Eliza. I liked the twists but the end just became a little too over the top. Mary and Eliza's story ended satisfactorily but Lucy and Jessica’s felt a little contrived.

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sirens was not wholly my typical read -- not out of character, necessarily, but out of my comfort zone, and I was greatly rewarded for my curiosity. The gorgeous cover is what first drew me in, and the writing within kept me hooked.

The Sirens tackles a lot of misogyny, on all sides. It faces rape culture in a tasteful way, along several different perspectives. There was a moment where, reading this I was reminded of stories and rhetoric where it goes from feminist to strange -- saying women are 'touched by the divine' while all men are pigs, something closer to TERF terminology -- but in actuality, I found nothing of the sort.

Instead there are both awful men, and good ones -- good women, and ones who victim blame and minimize sexual harassment. Every character is flawed in a delicious way; even those who are good are not unflawed. Everyone makes mistakes in this, and it's a very human writing.

The paranormality has some ties to unreality; I'd say that if a reader is triggered by such, they may want to read with caution. For a long time I was not sure if what was happening was real, or if the characters were hallucinating -- which was really interesting to read. Still, I could see it easily being upsetting to folks who have issue telling reality from fiction.

The Sirens was very well written; it was intriguing, and I found myself reading a few pages even during dinner, because I did not want to set it down for long. I found myself very satisfied; almost all threads I could think of were brought to a conclusive end. It was the perfect length. I also found myself surprised by two reveals, which isn't easy to do -- though I think the big one could be guessed, it had the perfect amount of foreshadowing, where you are perhaps surprised, but not blindsided; yet you are also not being hammered by hints of something you'd surmised chapters ago.

The Sirens was a lovely, mysterious, haunting read, and I am glad to have read it. I found the ending a satisfying conclusion, though I perhaps would have liked to see a little more of Lucy's dreams being reshaped, along with seeing Ben get some comeuppance.

This book is told from different timelines. In 1800 twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been exiled from Ireland bound for Australia along with other girls and women who have committed crimes. While being transported by ship to their new country the twins experience unexplained changes to their bodies while feeling a strange calling to the depths of the sea. In 2019 Lucy flees home after finding herself trying to strangle an ex- boyfriend while having no recollection of how she got there. With nowhere to go but to her older sister’s house, she runs off seeking to reconnect after not seeing one another for years. Lucy is hoping that her older sister Jess has answers to Lucy’s strange behaviors and nightmares. But Jess is nowhere to be found and neighbors say that Jess left without saying where she was going. While waiting for Jess to return home, Lucy finds and reads her sister’s diary changing Lucy’s life forever.

Sirens is a story that is really two stories. You have two sisters, Mary and Eliza who share there tale amongst the famous boat that wrecked and a 1oo lives were lost. At the same time you have two other sisters - Lucy and Jess. They have a huge age gap between them. Lucy had woken up with her hands wrapped around her ex's neck. She fled school and went to find her sister Jess. However, Jess isn't there and is missing. The journey starts for Lucy as she tries to find her sister and the answers to questions she has long wondered.

4.5 stars
Having read and loved Hart's previous work "Weyward" I was ready for another glorious blend of fiction, historical fiction, and magical realism and I'm here to say "The Sirens" did not disappoint!

Moving between 1800/1801 and the plight of two sister, Eliza and Mary, aboard a ghastly ship among of a group of "convict" women bound for Australia under deplorable conditions, Lucy, a girl on the run in modern day (2019) Comber's Bay, and the 1999 diary of Lucy's sister Jess, who has gone missing. Interspersed throughout the narratives is the mystery of Comber's Bay and why random men have been disappearing for years.

I found Eliza and Mary's story most compelling as it was true that many woman found guilty of even innocent crimes such as "theft of cloth" were sentenced to months on a ship bound for the Australian colony where, if they survived, they would be servants or slave wives of other convicts. Definitely worth looking into.

Lucy and Jess present a modern day mirror. Two sisters bound by a inherited disorder, as well as sleepwalking, causing Lucy to do something drastic.

Love and familial bonds are strong in both stories and the characters well formed and relatable. Interwoven throughout is the theme of water, and specifically the sea. An allergy to water is a common thread among the characters but in the end isn't what you think. I love when modern stories revisit tales of old and remind us that there may not be as much "myth" in old mythology as we think.

My only complaint, the ending was a bit rough and rushed in tying all the pieces together.

May I also say the cover is GORGEOUS, especially the Barnes & Noble exclusive with sprayed edges.

*Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's press for an eARC*

Synopsis: A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine.

Thoughts:
Emilia Hart has a way of bringing generations of women together in magical, mystical ways. This book was very eerie and magical. It was slow at times and I didn't love the whole magical concept, but it kept me reading and the flow was smooth.

My rating: 3/5 stars

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the e-copy in exchange of an honest review!

Dnf at 25% I’m not crazy about the characters or the story lines. It’s very women’s fiction which isn’t my cup of tea. If you like that and books that have 3 different story lines/time periods you would probably love it. The writing and imagery was great. It just wasn’t for me unfortunately.

While this one starts out a little slow, once it picks up, you’ll find yourself bewitched and enthralled. It’s really great writing and the author weaves a story across time that will have you up late trying to get “just one more page” until you either fall asleep or read the last sentence.

Well written and great follow-up to Weyward!

Emilia Hart delivers an atmospheric read that emphasizes the importance of sisterhood and womanhood. The story follows Lucy, who has a unique and mysterious past, she is currently running from her present. By discovering who she is, and who she was, she leans into what it means to be a modern day woman in an every changing world.

By receiving premonitions of a woman from the past, dealing with similar misogynistic practices, the stark contrast of how far we’ve come as a society and how women were treated in the past, and how the injustices continue.

This book was a difficult because it hit close to home. it deals with some heavy themes of misogyny, power imbalance grooming, not being taken seriously as a woman, systematic discriminations And micro aggression against women. .

I think the important thing about a good book is that it makes you think and since I finish this book almost a week ago I continue to have thoughts about why the author did certain things, and coming up with theories on connecting the fantastic elements ( sirens) to the real world problems that these characters face.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story and I will continue to read this authors work.

Thank you to @stmartinspress via @netgalley for the advance copy of The Sirens by Emilia Hart. I'd enjoyed her first novel, Weyward, so I was interested to check out her sophomore novel.
Lucy has a rare allergy to water, but in her dreams she is consistently drawn to it. These dreams also feature twin sisters on board a convict ship from Ireland to Australia, and she can't figure out why. When an incident occurs while sleepwalking, she flees to her older sister's new home, only to find her missing. She needs to unravel all these mysteries before the lure of the ocean causes her harm.
I have a slight obsession with Australia so I was delighted that the novel was mainly set in this country, with some dual timeline portions of the story happening in Ireland (another favourite locale) and on board a ship (something I do not enjoy typically but found tolerable here). The setting of the book and the prose style completely drew me in. I found myself at a distance from the main characters but fascinated and absorbed by the story which kept me reading.
Overall I found this to be a tragic and absorbing story, with disturbing elements - definitely check for trigger warnings before picking this up, especially for SA.

This is how I know that this author is amazing- I started this book… and could not put it down. Usually when I request something like this I read the first few chapters and then lose interest and quit. Glad I gave this one a shot. The two timelines are so fascinating with all these women/girls. I love how it’s a fairytale for adults. As a woman I felt the frustration of many generations. What a beautiful ending!

An enjoyable read. Like Weyward, i found myself not always "buying" the choices made my Harts characters. Not a deal breaker, of course, but it kept me from giving this 5 stars. I would recommend to any reader who enjoys modern fairy tale retellings.

Thanks, NetGalley for this digital copy of The Sirens.

This novel is all of my favorite genres in one. It’s magical realism mystery, literary and historical fiction.

I loved the mystery around Australia’s Bermuda Triangle.. the author’s writing is descriptive and she really paints a picture. The characters in this novel were well developed

From start to finish, this book engulfed me. The main character, Lucy was tenacious in finding out about what tied her and her family to the sirens. Beautiful story!

The story follows Lucy as she unravels a family secret about where she comes from, and who she is. She is a college student studying journalism and starts having wild dreams of two sisters that are prisoners on a boat set for Australia. As the dreams become more vivid, Lucy feels a call to the ocean. A series of events lead her to her older sister’s home where she discovers her sister is missing.
Emilia did an incredible job at developing these characters so that I was completely invested in their stories. It was a beautiful mix of history, mystery and a touch of magic by the sea. I loved it! I highly recommend it and cannot wait to read more from the author!