✨ARC Review✨

Folklore and women’s history merge in this story told in three timelines.

Lucy awakens with her hands around a man’s throat. Twin sisters, Mary and Eliza, are being put on a convict ship to New South Wales. Jess is discovering something life-altering.

These four women’s stories make up The Sirens.

When journalism student Lucy becomes aware that she’s assaulted a former lover in her sleep, she can think of only one place to go- her sister, Jess. But when she gets there Jess is gone; her phone, keys, and car all left behind. The place where Jess lives, Comber Bay, is infamous for a shipwreck in 1801 and for the disappearances of eight men over the course of decades. There’s even a podcast about it.

Mary and Eliza are considered lucky to have escaped the hangman’s noose and *only* being shipped off as convicts to NSW. The prison deck is packed with 80+ women for a months-long journey. The women have nothing to do but talk to each other and barely survive for six months. And all the while Mary and Eliza remember their kind Da and their Mam who went into the ocean when they were little and never came back. And maybe they’re changing a bit too.

Jess has always been different, a goth teen in the late 90’s with one close friend and an art teacher who thinks she’s a special talent. That year everything changes for her.

I appreciate what this author was going for. I was originally going to give this book a three, but it stayed with me. Making me think about these characters and their stories. When I reviewed my highlighted quotes, they made me feel some kind of way. Furious at the everlasting patriarchy. I felt compelled to bump up my review. As always, I do believe there are readers who will love this book.

I received this eARC via #netgalley and @stmartinspress. All thoughts are mine alone.

#contemporaryfiction #literaryfiction #litfic #booksbooksbooks #bookreview #thesirens #emiliahart

This book was fantastic. It takes a bit for the story to fully flesh out but I really enjoyed how the main character really discovers who she is. I definitely want to read more from this author. Definitely trigger warnings for an older man younger girl scenario and sexual assault.

I finished this book at 4am, I fell asleep reading it and dreamed of the ocean and woke up to finish the novel. I loved it. I saw some of the turns coming but I fully missed the others. I loved the emotional moments of Lucy revealing her past through the research she loves to do. I loved the contrast of her moments to Jess's moments of learning her truths. I loved the moments of Mary and Eliza on board the ship, waiting to see what their future holds. I love the idea that trauma affects these women but it doesn't control them. And I love that the things that are important to them in the moment stop being important to them when they learn the truth. Lucy experiences a traumatic moment at school and runs to her sister. She ignores texts, calls, and emails, building up the suspense, until she finally acknowledges one. But by the time she does, we're so invested in what she finds in Comber Bay, where her sister has left her phone and her car and her cat behind in a hurry, that we don't care about university and her degree.

I've never read Weyward, even though I've heard amazing things, and I cannot wait to read more of Emilia Hart's novels. Thank you to St Martin's Press, Netgalley, and Emilia Hart for an advanced copy of The Sirens in exchange for an honest review

Interesting story. Liked how the different timelines and POVs wove together, liked the sense of mystery and figuring out how everything connected. I did guess a couple of the big reveals. Decent setting, decent pace and buildup, interesting mix of real historical events and slight mythical vibes.

This book transfixed me! With spellbinding prose and gorgeous imagery, I could not put this down.

I loved Hart’s previous novel Weyward, and The Sirens follows a similar formula — a focus on women, legacies inherited across time, and a spoonful of magical realism to add a spark of hope amidst the darkness.

I tandem read my e-ARC with the audiobook. Barrie Kreinik’s voice was so melodic, and I think this certainly elevated my experience. She effortlessly switched between four distinct female voices.

My rating: 4.5⭐️

The Sirens was another epic journey of womanhood, perseverance and true adoration. I am familiar with her other story, Weyward, and The Sirens was similar as it followed three different POVs of women who are all somehow connected. As a lover of Greek mythology, I was really excited to read about how the myths of mermaids and sirens would be intertwined into the story. Lucy and Jess are sisters with a rare skin disorder and it prevents them from ever getting wet. For reasons they can't explain, they're drawn to the ocean and water, although they know it's not safe for them. After Lucy ends up in a scandal, she flees to her sister's house but finds the house empty and her sister missing. Throughout the story, we get the POV of Lucy, Jess' old diary entries and Mary, a twin sister of Eliza, who are journeying to Australia from Ireland on a convict ship. This story is creepy and atmospheric, taking place on a oceanfront house and the convict ship during Mary's POV. The side characters were also memorable, which brought a completeness to the story.

This story had a lot of likable moments, however this story did not live up to my expectations. The writing was very descriptive, which often felt clunky. I enjoy more character dialogue in my reading versus inner dialogue and this story was very character-driven. There was also multiple small plot lines in the book that felt unfinished; for example, Lucy's scandal at college, Mary & Eliza's fate & Jess' escape at the end. The ending did feel quite rushed and the epilogue completely changed the story for me, unfortunately in a negative way. It did help to explain the origin of Jess and Lucy's longing for the ocean, but it tainted the story for me - I would have preferred to believe it was something of magical realism otherwise.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press, NetGalley & Emilia Hart for the opportunity to read The Sirens in exchange of my honest review!

I fell in love with the cover of Emilia's first book, Weyward, before I ever knew what it was about, it called to me. Then, when I sat down to read it, I devoured it. The Sirens was absolutely no different. It is an amazing story about female strength, bonds, and the lengths and secrets we keep to try to protect those we love.
I love how effortlessly Emilia entertains the lives of Jess, Lucy, Eliza and Mary, as of they are all living their stories at the exact same time. And then, at the end of the book, they all come together in a beautiful climax that will have you reaching for the tissues.

Title: The Sirens
Author: Emilia Hart
Genre: Historical Fantasy
Rating: 3.00
Pub Date: April 1, 2025

I received complimentary eARC and ALC copies from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted

T H R E E • W O R D S

Predictable • Meandering • Mystical

📖 S Y N O P S I S

1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been torn from their loving father in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. For their entire lives, they’ve feared the ocean, as their mother tragically drowned when they were just girls. Yet as the boat bears them further and further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can’t explain, and they feel the sea beginning to call to them...

1999: Jess is a lonely sixteen-year-old in a rural town in the middle of the continent. Diagnosed with a rare allergy to water, she has always felt different, until her young, charming art teacher takes an interest in her drawings, seeing a power and maturity in them—and in her—that no one else has.

As Lucy awaits her return, the rumors surrounding Jess’s strange small town start to emerge. Numerous men have gone missing at sea, spread over decades. A tiny baby was found hidden in a cave. And sailors tell of hearing women’s voices on the waves. Desperate for answers, Lucy finds and begins to read her sister’s adolescent diary.

2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. Horrified, she flees to her older sister’s house on the Australian coast, hoping she can help explain the strangely vivid nightmare that preceded the attack—but Jess is nowhere to be found.

💭 T H O U G H T S

I was wholly intrigued by the premise of The Sirens. although this isn't a book I would typically be drawn to.

With this novel, Emilia Hart delivers an absolute genre mashup - mixing elements of historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism, true crime and mystery. Told through multiple timelines and perspectives, it is a story about the bonds of sisters, strong women and the injustices they have faced, as well as, an ode to the magic of the sea.

The writing is deeply atmospheric, yet I never felt as though it captured my attention and kept me at a distance throughout. At times, it was difficult to differentiate between the perspectives, with each one feeling similar. Parts of the plot were very predictable, yet other parts were weighed down with excessive detail and dragged.

The audiobook narrated by, Barrie Kreinik, was okay, yet I had a bit of a hard time following along with the different perspectives. The pacing and tone captured the atmosphere and suspense of the narrative wholly.

Overall, The Sirens was a bit of a struggle to get through. While there were some elements I loved, there were other aspect that just didn't work. I also found it eerily similar to Weyward and that it kept me at a distance throughout the entire thing. It isn't a bad book, it just wasn't the right time or book for me and I don't know that I will continue picking up this author's work.

📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• sister stories
• Weyward
• the Little Mermaid

⚠️ CW: toxic relationship, adult/minor relationship, pedophilia, child abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual violence, rape, confinement, violence, murder, pregnancy, infertility, miscarriage, misogyny, sexism, death, body horror, body shaming, physical abuse, deportation, abandonment, blood, colonization

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a mixed third and first person-POV dual-timeline speculative novel. After attacking the man who shared her nudes, Lucy leaves her university and heads to the home of her older sister, Jess. But Jess isn’t there, told no one where she was going, and left her phone in the house. In 1800, twin sisters Eliza and Mary are forced on a ship from Ireland to Australia.

Emilia Hart opens the novel by acknowledging the complex history of Australia and that it is not her place to tell the stories of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples and then gives acknowledgement to the Walbunja people. This doesn’t mean that she ignores Aboriginal people in the plot; one of the side characters is half-Aboriginal, Melody, and there is a specific mention of the devastation the ships carries Irish convicts had on the native population as well as the thousands of years that Australia had been populated prior to the arrival of Europeans. It’s very important for us to recognize that two things can be true at the same time: that the British forced Irish people onto ships to get them out of the way and how that is a form of genocide and that the Irish, in turn, participated in genocide in Australia.

Two of the major themes are survivorship and life after sexual assault. Lucy was starting a relationship with Ben who claimed to care about her and then shared her nudes with his friends who then posted them to social media, ruining Lucy’s life. Instead of supporting Lucy, her university seems to be more on Ben’s side and even tells her not to ruin his life by pressing charges. But nobody asks about Lucy and her life. We also have depictions of a teacher grooming a high school student and the trauma experienced by Irish women at the hands of the men who arrived with them in Australia.

The speculative element comes in Jess and Lucy having silver markings on their skin that gets worse when they come in contact with water. The prose is quite lovely and conveys the silver markings in increasingly poetic ways as well as the way other people react to it. Lucy’s school treated her like she was a monster and Lucy herself has always struggled with her skin while Jess has her own struggles with her rash. Smells are used quite a bit as well to convey the aquatic aspects to the speculative elements.

Content warning for depictions of grooming, sexual assault, and mentions of racism

I would recommend this to fans of dual timeline speculative fiction and readers looking for something exploring the recent complex history of Australia

The Sirens explores themes of female resilience and ancient magic. The prose is beautiful but sometimes the characters lack depth/development and the plot is inconsistent in pacing. If you loved Weyward, you might be disappointed by this one. Overall this was a 3.5/5 for me. Thank you SMP and Netgalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I can say that I almost DNF this book because the beginning was so slow and predictable that it seemed boring. I am so happy that I stuck it out! The twist and turns that occurred in the middle and end of the book were insane! The relationship dynamics between all the characters are so different than anything I have read recently that I flew through the rest of the book.

This book is definitely a mystery and its only partly because of the mythical sirens. Jess and Lucy go through crazy personal hurtles all because they have weird dreams about historical people. Mary and Eliza are the key to everything, and it is interesting to see how the author slowly merges both timelines into a wonderful tale. I did know a good amount of history of the convicts that were forced to live in Australia, but this book definitely taught me more about the process and the path that the ships took.

By the time I finished, I was so satisfied with the book that I want to jump right back into it and pay more attention to the little details.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ feminist fantasy sign me up. The story begins with 4 women who want to find their place in a world where quality is a myth. They must come together and use their differences to build themselves up/ find their place in the world. The story is woven in with real historical events that happened in Australia. The true message that this book gives me as women empowerment.. I loved it so much

Wow I really enjoyed this! Straight off the bat I loved the writing and I was so intrigued by the story. The writing was beautiful and perfectly descriptive and the story being told pulled me in right away. The dual timeline is done so well, through the entire story I was captivated by both Lucy and Jess’s story in the present day as well as Mary and Eliza’s story in the past. I was equally excited to read both timelines and go on their journeys with them.
The mysterious elements were fun and captivating as they unraveled. Though I would’ve liked to have spent more time in the explanations at the end, I would have liked to see more if it happening in action rather than some things being alluded to or just briefly told to us. Like actually see some of the things happen in action, even if the seeing was brief as well. Some of the mysterious elements throughout felt a little left behind at the end, glossed over. I did appreciate that things weren’t over explained though, that the author trusts her audience to understand what is going on, what the truth actually is, and how things came to be.
I loved the characters. Lucy and Jess and Mary and Eliza were so fun to follow and learn about. Their experiences and shared conditions were fascinating to follow along. I also found the historical element of the prisoner ships from Ireland to Australia so fascinating.
I had such an enjoyable reading experience with this book. Every time I picked it up I was excited to read more and I was captivated by what I was reading. I read a lot of this book around other people so I was continuously asked what I was reading and I was always excited to tell them and tell them that it was really good. I almost want to get a physical copy just so I can lend it to people! I had a good time reading this book, and that is always my main takeaway when I read. I love when I can enjoy the reading experience and every page. I would say a 4 star book but a 5 star read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the ARC!

The premise of The Sirens intrigued me & holds promise. The execution however was not quite there for me. I wasn't compelled to see what happens next in the way that I was when reading Weyward. The multiple povs that flowed brilliantly in Hart's previous work didn't have that same effect here. There were aspects of the story that felt so unserious & cliche (and made me think of H2O) that it pulled me out of the narrative. While the plot and stakes did pick up in the last 20% of the book, this drive wasn't consistent throughout the beginning and middle.
I loved & was excited by the concepts of this novel & it was so close to being just right, but overall it did miss the mark for me. I will be interested in seeing what Emilia Hart creates in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

This was definitely not like Weyward. So when I realized that I was able to enjoy this book more I liked the dual timelines. The stories of the sisters on their journeys.
I had little knowledge of the convict ships from England and Ireland to Australia. I love a book that inspires me to dig into history, esp history that I know little of.
I could have done without the epilogue at the end of the book.

SYNOPSIS
- In 2019, Lucy wakes up in her ex’s bed with her hands around his throat. Terrified, she flees to her sister Jess’s house—only to find Jess missing. As she searches for answers, she uncovers eerie town rumors: men vanishing, whispers in the waves, and a baby abandoned in a sea cave.
- In 1800, Irish sisters Mary and Eliza are ripped from their home and sent on a convict ship to Australia. As the journey drags on, strange changes begin happening to them—changes that can’t be explained.

MY THOUGHTS
- This book was so slow. Every scene dragged, and it felt like nothing ever happened.
- The multiple POVs should have made it more interesting, but everyone sounded exactly the same—even the characters from the 1800s.
- I didn’t care about the characters or the plot. The concept had potential, but it was just… boring.
- The ending wasn’t worth the struggle. After hundreds of pages, I was left wondering why I even stuck it out.
- I kept hoping it would pick up, but it never did. At times, it felt endless.

TL;DR ⭐️⭐️Painfully slow, flat characters, and not nearly as exciting as it sounds. The dual timeline lacked depth, and the story dragged with no real payoff.

I read Emilia Hart’s debut novel, Weyward and instantly fell in love with her beautiful prose and storytelling. So when I saw that she was coming out with a new novel I immediately requested it on NetGalley.

The Sirens is a dual POV story that spans from the 1800s to modern day. The story follows two imprisoned sisters on a grueling journey across the ocean to Australia as well as two sisters navigating their lives with a mysterious medical ailment in modern day Australia.

This epic story of sisterhood is rich in history and lore from the shores of Ireland to the shores of Australia. We all know the old sailor tales of sirens, they’re savage beauty and ability to lure men into the sea to their deaths. Emilia Hart breathes life into these tales and gives us a beautiful story of resilience in womanhood.

The Sirens is atmospheric, it is as beautiful as it is sad. At times this story reminded me a lot of Ava Reid’s A Study in Drowning, another fantastical tale that highlights the danger of the sea.

I absolutely loved this story, Emilia Hart has become an auto buy author for me for sure!

After reading Wayward I was very excited to get a new book by Emilia Hart. This one did not disappoint! It had the same "gothic like" feel that I love. It was a great story about strong women, and the ups and downs of their lives. We follow two pairs of sisters, one pair from the 1800 and the other pair from modern times, and their struggles. The pair from 1800 are convicts forced to go to Australia from Ireland. They all have a strange relationship with water akin to some sort of allergy.
The story is captivating, especially the suspenseful and mystery parts, and they are plentiful. Certain parts left me gasping, especially the end.
I highly recommend this book! It was so well written. I can't wait for more from Ms Hart.

Overall, I would not recommend this book. I did like the siren lore, and the clear interpretation of myth by the author. Otherwise, found the story predictable from the beginning, and it was a frustrating read as you wait for the clueless characters to catch up with what you put together from the start. The historical timeline lacked substance, and was all filler until the shipwreck, and the present day timeline was not engaging.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a beautifully written novel that blends elements of magic, mystery, and tragedy. Set in the lush and atmospheric backdrop of Cornwall, the story revolves around three women whose lives are entangled with a long-buried secret. The writing is vivid, and the author skillfully captures the eerie allure of the setting, creating a haunting atmosphere that draws the reader in.

However, while the novel excels in atmosphere and prose, it falls short in pacing and character development. At times, the plot feels slow and meandering, with certain sections dragging on without much progression. The characters, though intriguing, feel somewhat underdeveloped, and their motivations are not always clear, which can make it difficult to fully connect with them.

The premise of the novel is compelling, but the execution leaves something to be desired. The Sirens ultimately feels like a book with great potential, but it doesn't fully deliver on that promise. For readers who enjoy atmospheric novels with a touch of the mystical, it may still be worth picking up, but it may not satisfy those looking for a faster-paced or deeply engaging plot.