Part mystery, part thriller, part magical realism it had everything to keep me turning the pages as quickly as possible. Hart writes the most badass women and I absolutely loved this story.

A beautifully crafted story about sisterhood, motherhood, womanhood. Sacrifices and love, spanning generations, with a dose of vigilante justice. 🧜‍♀️ Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC, it made me sad and happy all at once.

Weyward is a favorite book of mine, and I love Welsh folklore, so I was excited to dive into this book. I love her writing style and themes of strong women and sisterhood. However, this story was a bit of a miss for me. I was hooked right at the beginning of the book, but this slowed down in a way that didn’t make me excited to pick it up. I felt like the characters lacked some depth, and so I never felt like I really got to know them— and that didn’t change as I kept reading. The ending/reveal was underwhelming. I’m so sad that this one didn’t work for

Sirens is the story of two sets of sisters, and told in two timelines, 1800 and 2019. There are multiple plots and subplots that at some point, are connected. There are murders, sleepwalking, missing people, sexual grooming and assault and some fantasy/magic. My difficulty and 3 star rating is both the story line, the characters. There were baffling behaviors that stretched believability. I wondered why character's decisions were made and at times, never found out. The story was meandering and some of the subplots seemes forgotten altogether
The characters were hard to like or care about and the fantasy component of the story felt silly and not for me. Thanks to Netgalley and publishers for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of Sirens.

This is my first book by this author and it definitely won't be my last. This is so well written. The characters are complex. The mix of past and present is compelling. This unique story has a wonderful flow. I was sucked into the story and didn't want it to end.

Weyward was in my top 3 books of 2023, so I was incredibly excited for this one! This book embodies Hart’s signature atmospheric writing style. It’s a feminist story about strength, sacrifice, and sisterhood.
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Lucy has always felt different. Like her big sister, Jess, she has a strange allergy to water. Lucy is also haunted by vivid dreams, that become all too real when she wakes up attacking her ex. Facing potential backlash from her college for the attack, she flees to her big sister’s house in a small seaside town. But Jess is nowhere to be found. Rumors swirl in the town of tragedy, an infamous shipwreck, and disappearing men. In search of the truth, Lucy begins to read Jess’s journal from 1999. She begins to realize nothing is what it seems, and her sister could be in grave danger.
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I enjoyed this one, but Weyward is definitely still my favorite 🙃. Hart’s beautiful prose shone through in this story that weaves together a contemporary mystery with myth, magical realism, and a dash of historical fantasy.
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The eerie vibes left my skin crawling in the best way. Thank you to @macmillan.audio @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the gifted audiobook, ebook, and physical book! Narration by Barrie Kreinik was really beautiful 💗.
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The Sirens - Emilia Hart
Pub Date: 🎉4/1/25🎉
4/5⭐️

This wasn't for me. If you're okay with extremely slow paced writing then you may enjoy it. I just felt confused and little annoyed with how slow the plot is

Had a difficult time connecting with this story for a good chunk of the book. Once I did i started to enjoy it. Love some mermaid stories! Thanks

3.75 stars rounded up
This story is told with two timelines. In 1800, Mary and Eliza are taken as prisoners in Ireland and on a ship headed to Australia. They are kept in the prison hold in the bottom part of the ship under horrible conditions - dark, overcrowded, with very little food or water. Eliza is blind, but teaches Mary how to identify the other women in the dark environment. In 2019, Lucy is a university student studying journalism. She wakes up strangling her ex-boyfriend. She didn’t mean to hurt him, but believes that she slept walked to his dorm room. Lucy suffers from a skin condition that causes the skin to flake off if she touches water. Her sister, Jess, has the same condition. Lucy panics and drives to see her sister, but when she gets there her sister is gone, leaving her cell phone and car behind. The story is a mix of genres - historical fiction, magical realism, and some mystery. The story immediately caught my attention, but then wandered a bit in the middle. However, the ending wrapped everything up. All in all, an enjoyable read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

If you’re looking for a feminist fantasy with deep-rooted history, mystery, and a touch of myth, The Sirens delivers on all fronts. The novel follows four women across different timelines, each navigating a world that tries to silence them. Their stories gradually intertwine, revealing a haunting connection to the sea and to each other.

In 2019, Lucy flees to the Australian coast after being betrayed and humiliated online, only to find her estranged sister Jess missing under eerie circumstances. As she searches for answers, she’s plagued by strange nightmares and an increasing sense that her past is tied to something much bigger. Through Jess’ diary, we’re transported to 1999, where she struggles with a mysterious skin condition and secrets her parents won’t share. Meanwhile, in the 1800s, Irish twins Mary and Eliza are sentenced to a convict ship bound for Australia—where the ocean seems to be transforming them into something beyond human.

Hart expertly weaves these timelines together, blending historical fiction, myth, and magical realism into a compelling narrative about resilience, sisterhood, and self-discovery. The pacing keeps you hooked, and the atmospheric writing makes the coastal setting feel almost alive. Fans of Weyward will love the rich character development and powerful themes of empowerment.

With its mix of mystery, folklore, and feminist themes, The Sirens is an immersive, thought-provoking read that lingers long after the final page.

A big thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book had me from the start! Lucy is such an amazing character, and her life unfolds in chapters that switch back and forth between present day and 1800, seen through dreams. As her timeline intersects with her sister’s, twists and turns that will have you gasping out loud! This is definitely a page turner, so buckle up and start reading!

The Sirens is a tale about two sisters intertwined with a past that is not their own. Emilia Hart did a great job of storytelling while also bringing light to a subject that isn't widely known. I read this book in less than one day. It is a quick and enthralling tale that I would highly recommend.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Emilia Hart for this ARC!

I completely devoured Weyward earlier this year, so I was so excited to see The Sirens being released soon. And this did NOT disappoint. I was sucked in from the beginning and it easily kept me engaged throughout. The imagery and narration was beautiful, yet not too high-brow at all. The mystery part of it was really interesting and left just enough to the imagination and keeping me guessing without feeling frustrating or ridiculous. I’m also a sucker for time-jumping chapters (blame it on my ADHD) and Emilia Hart, yet again, did this extremely well. I love the magical place she puts the reader in and this novel of hers is another easy 5 stars for me!

I absolutely loved Weyward and was so excited to read Emilia Hart's upcoming release, The Sirens, and I wasn't disappointed! The way Emilia seamlessly blends both present and past is spectacular and kept me turning pages deep into the night; I couldn't put this down. The mermaid theme felt fresh and innovative when so many fantasy books these days are focused on Fae. And I loved the dual stories of sisters and the lengths we'll go to protect our family.

"By the author of Weyward" were the only words I needed to read to request an advanced readers' copy of The Sirens. I wish the strength of those five words were enough for me to have a higher-rated review. Unfortunately, this book and I did not match.

Sirens of mythology had the power to enchant sailors, using their songs to lure men to a watery death. Only when it was too late to escape would the sailors see the true nature of the ethereal singers. The story in this book follows that theory, knitting together a pair of sisters from 1800 and a pair from 2019. Mary and Eliza are convicts, being forced aboard a ship leaving from Ireland bound for a penal colony in New South Wales. They are surrounded by other women who were also convicted of crimes and conscripted to an unknown fate. Lucy and Jess are sisters separated by both age and physical distance. When Lucy finds herself in deep trouble at school, she flees campus, seeking safety with Jess, even though they haven't seen or spoken in over a year.

Much of the story bounces between pieces of the past and the unfolding picture of the present. But instead of being drawn into a curious mystery, I quickly discarded any illusion, instead finding myself reading a gritty, strange book that I grew less and less enchanted by. The setting is atmospheric and immersive--especially scenes from Mary and Eliza's time. But it was an atmosphere that this reader found unsettling rather than engrossing. From characters to plot, I just couldn't find a connection to The Sirens.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the fantasy that melded so well with the country's history.
I loved how much the author understood that she was not the one to tell the story of the country's natives. And her acknowledgment of the people and the Elders who live and lived on the land where the story is based on,

This was my first book by Emilia Hart (although I intend to read Weyward this year) and I wasnt disappointed. She has a way of describing things that makes you able to feel, smell, and taste your surroundings. This was a story of generational power, of family, of feeling different from those around you, and of women. Women who are powerful and monstrous and strong.

There were parts of this book that were incredibly predictable for me. There were passages that felt like they'd intended to be grand reveals, but that'd I'd confidently predicted chapters earlier, so there wasn't much oomph to the curtain pull.

I really liked what the epilogue added to the narrative even though it wasn't a traditional epilogue.

Last year I read Emilia Hart's Weyward and loved it. When visiting my local Indie Book Store, I was telling the owner, Terri, how much I enjoyed Weyward and she told me that she thought The Sirens, Emilia Hart's new book, was even better. That intrigued me and I immediately applied to for an ARC.

After finishing this book, I have to agree with Terri! The Sirens is a powerful read that looks at the history of British Empire transporting prisoners, in this books specifically women, and what that trip would look like and what fate would await them, as well as exploring the coming of age, coming to know and understand yourself, and the magic of sisterhood.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Sirens, as you can imagine is about these kinda creepy versions of mermaids who have been kept from water their whole life. There’s an intriguing dual timeline where you see current day estranged sisters with silver skin and a pull to the water and twin sisters in the 1800’s with similar feelings towards water on a prison ship we know eventually sinks.

It was fun to explore the relationships between sisters in the two separate timelines, but as with most books featuring dual POV’s, I usually find one more engaging over the other. I found the plot twists to be pretty predictable, for somewhat obvious reasons, but I still like how everything tied together in the end.

I wasn’t obsessed with the story, but still had a pleasant reading experience.

Thank you NetGalley and Emilia Hart for this eARC.

I have had this on my digital bookshelf since September and tried to pick it up multiple times and did not get into the storyline. As an ARC reader, I finish the books I'm given no matter what. With that being said, if I had not received the ARC, I may have DNF'd this one. I didn't relate to the characters, but in reading other higher reviews, some did. I did enjoy the historical aspect of this book. As a reader, you can see the amount of work that has gone into researching and writing this novel.
2/5 Stars
*This review is my honest opinion and my differ from yours.