After absolutely devouring Weyward, I was more than thrilled to receive an ARC of Emilia Hart’s newest book The Sirens. I was not disappointed. This was one of those books that I couldn’t wait to get back to every time life tore me away. I just needed to know what happened and try to puzzle out the connections. Like her previous book, this is another atmospheric, multiple timeline book, with some historical elements as well as some light fantasy. It is written in 3rd person in case that is something that is important for you to know.

The timelines in this story are in the 1800’s and 2019, then later looking back to the late 1990’s. The characters in each timeline were well described. I felt their emotions as my own, particularly Mary and Eliza, twin sisters living in 1801. I wanted to cry with them, I wanted to rage with them, and I wanted to sing along with the women, feeling the effects of generational trauma within myself as a woman.

This story is impactful, and it ties to what is going on in the world even (and maybe especially recently) in the present. It speaks of love, devotion, fear, pain, denial, self-doubt, and unity. It speaks to the pain many of us carry. It gives permission for us to feel what has happened to women throughout time and question the status quo. “Most people just want an easy life. It’s unsettling when someone starts pulling apart the stories we’ve stitched together, the things we tell ourselves for comfort.”. This type of writing inspires me to want to rock the boat, to dive in, to fight.

I did figure out one of the big twists before it happened, yet it didn’t feel like it took anything away from the story as it unfolded. I will say, the epilogue surprised me. It both wrapped up my final questions, and introduced new ones for me to continue to ponder.

I’ve found myself immersed in books that explore the importance of women supporting women in terribly misogynistic settings. Emilia Hart has done it again, empowering women when it appears that all hope is lost. The Sirens tells the stories of four women (Lucy, Jessica, Eliza, and Mary), who must break the injustices heaped upon them and uncover their own hidden strengths.

I’m a sucker for multiple POVs when done correctly. Hart does a fantastic job of immersing the reader into each of the four characters’ lives with three different timelines (1800s, 1999, and 2019). I was pulled into their experiences, their backstories, their obstacles and didn’t feel any disconnect from any of their stories.

I appreciate the nod to real, historical events seamlessly blended into a world of fantasy. Knowing the lore of sirens, I was expecting to read about the demise of wandering men, but I wasn’t expecting to celebrate any of the situations like I actually did. From the bonds of sisterhood to the struggles of mother and child, I was captured by the sirens’ songs!

The only thing that dropped my 5 star rating down to a 4.5 was the epilogue. I realize that it’s a personal preference and that many people probably wouldn’t think twice about it. Without sharing specific details, the epilogue didn’t have that same female empowerment as the rest of the story. There’s an element of dishonesty that simply rubbed me the wrong way. With that being said, The Sirens is definitely a book I would read again in hopes of noticing more nuances that I missed with my first read. Loved it!

Thank you, NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and Emilia Hart for an ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review! If Emilia Hart writes it, I'll always want to read it..

The Sirens 🧜‍♀️
By Emilia Hart



Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A spellbinding novel about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea, from the author of the runaway New York Timesbestseller Weyward.

A breathtaking tale of female resistance, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and indefinable magic of the sea.

Part fantasy, part mystery, and part family drama, The Sirens is a great book that I won’t soon forget. It follows the lives of two pairs of sisters separate by hundreds of years who are tied together by the injustices they face at the hands of men.

The characters were well developed and their emotions were really well written. Hart tells the story across two different perspectives, settings, and time lines. We have themes of sisterhood, female power, trauma bonding, forgiveness, and lost love.

I really liked this book. Hart has a way about telling stories from the female perspective that unite the past with the present to show that while steps have been made in the name of progress, we still have a long way to go.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes historical fiction with strong email characters and a bit of mystery.


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Part family drama, part mystery, part historical fiction, and a dash of ocean magic. This is a fascinating tale of the resilience of women.

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Emilia Hart for an ARC of this book.

After reading Wayward and absolutely loving it, I was thrilled to receive an ARC for Emilia Hart's new book, The Sirens.

The writing is, as expected, beautiful, atmospheric, and so immersive that I felt as though I was there with the characters—hearing the crash of the waves and the haunting songs of the sirens. The setting is rich and vivid, enveloping the reader in the haunting landscape of both land and sea.

Emilia Hart masterfully intertwines the stories of two sisters aboard a convict ship bound for Australia with the story of another pair of sisters who find themselves plagued by strange, vivid nightmares. Drawn inexplicably to the sea, the modern-day sisters are connected to the convict women of the past in ways they can’t yet understand. What they share—besides their deep, unsettling connection to the ocean—is that they were all victims of men’s cruelty in different ways.

I loved how these two storylines, separated by time, slowly built toward an eerie connection. As the past and present collide, Emilia Hart explores themes of power, survival, and the way history’s wounds can echo through generations.

The central mystery, paired with the sisters' shifting relationships, kept me eagerly turning pages. Yet it was the novel’s quiet moments—the pull of the sea, and the haunting beauty of the sirens—that had me hooked to the story.

This is a book that stays with you long after the last page. I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy historical fiction with a touch of the supernatural, beautifully layered storytelling, and a haunting atmosphere.

* I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this book. All thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars

I really like this author’s writing style, which is why I requested to read this once I read Weyward. I just happened to like that story better. I felt like this one was a bit predictable (not fully). The title gives away a little too much for my liking. It helped me easily put together that Lucy, Jess, Eliza, and Mary were some sort of mermaid-esque creature. I also felt like the overall vibe was very somber, which I was definitely not expecting.

I will absolutely read more by this author and would recommend this specific book to people who enjoyed Weyward, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it on its own as someone’s first Emilia Hart book.

This is only my second book by this author and I love her. Her first book was so powerful and this one was too, but quieter. The story wove the stories of two sets of sisters, and we learn more about them as we watch them face hardship.
There are family secrets and heartache, with tension throughout. I kept thinking how unfair everything was. Lucy can't find her sister Jess, right when she needs her most. The sisters from the past, Mary and Eliza,go to Australia on an 1800s convict ship. The language is gorgeous and haunting, and I can't wait to read another book by Emilia Hart.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

What a cool story. I really enjoyed this read and all the characters. It felt fresh and exciting to read.

ARC Review

Now this is a book that knows how to activate your curiosity. For most of this read I felt myself craving more, needing to know more about these characters and their world. Even better - the curiosity pays off, the answers feel rewarding.

The multiple POVs is excellent, how these POVs weave together is so creative and engaging. I loved every character for individual reasons and found myself obsessed with what brought them together. Really fantastic read - mysterious and atmospheric. Highly recommend.

Thank you to St Martin’s Press for providing my book club (Words & Whisks) with the ARC :)

4.5 rounded up

I had the opportunity to listen to the audiobook and read the story. The story kept me wanting more and I couldn't put it down. The characters, the history, the twists tied well together. It was an interesting and captivating story. The main female characters of the story were beautifully written and I enjoyed watching how they developed throughout the story.

The timeline does switch throughout the story, but it is a smooth transition and easy to follow. I liked how the story is broken up into three parts, each serving a specific purpose in the story. I especially enjoyed part 3 and how it all came together.

I highly recommend adding this book to your TBR!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

"The Sirens" features two timelines that share a tragic setting. The modern setting of Jess and Lucy features two sisters who have drifted apart. Both must deal with a skin condition that causes large flakes and scarring if they get wet. When Lucy's intimate picture is released online, she flees her university to her sister. But Jess is missing. While Lucy waits for her return, she begins digging into the mysteries of Jess's town. At night, she has strange dreams and hears women singing off the coast.

The second timeline follows Mary and Eliza, sisters from Ireland on a convict ship bound for Australia. Eliza tells stories of their mother as they travel. Over time, both begin to undergo physical changes.

What a dark and stormy (literally + figuratively) book!

Sirens tells the story of two sets of sisters, separated by time but connected by circumstance and dreams.

I love a complex family story and this literally has it all. I felt myself connecting to Jess and Lucy, both past and present versions of them as well as myself.

Something I really enjoyed was the slow introduction of Jess through the story even though her character is central to all that is happening. First, we only know her in Lucy’s childhood memories, then through her teenage diary, and finally in her own words. To me this really helped explain the decisions she made and how she ended up where she is now. It moved the mystery along at a really great pace and made the twist even more shocking.

The use of dreams to connect the two timelines was really interesting, Eliza and Mary’s story was sort of mirrored in Jess and Lucy’s lives… it helped the girls get to where they needed to be and the dreams ended when the girls finally discovered their true selves.

Loved that this book was a bit historical fiction, but also magical fantasy. Interesting to see how the lives of the 2 main characters were developed and how their story unfolded. The mystery part of it really kept it going till the end.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Pub Date: 4/1
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The Sirens was an interesting read. This story spans between three different time periods and form the POV of three different characters; Mary in the 1800s, Jess in 1999 and Lucy in 2019.
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The story starts in 2019 where Lucy wakes to find herself hurting her ex lover. She then runs to her estranged sister Jess’s house to find that she is missing which then forces her to take a deep dive into Jess’s past. My favorites parts of this story were the 2019 and 1999 timelines. I didn’t really care much for the 1800 timeline if I am being honest. Hart does eventually fuse all of the timelines together to create a cohesive ending but again, I could have done without the 1800 timeline.
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This has a mystery, mystical, folkloreish, historical fiction feel which made this one even more appealing. It’s a slow burn in the beginning but towards the end when the mystery is unraveling the pace picks up.
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I listened to this via audiobook while reading the ebook. It was narrated by Barrie Kreinik and I think that it was a great performance. I think that if I didn’t have the audiobook I wouldn’t have wanted to finish this one. If you want to read this one - check out the audio for sure.
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Overall, this wasn’t necessarily my favorite but this was a good read!! I think that people will love this one! Give this a shot! Huge thank you to NetGalley, Emilia Hart, St. Martin’s Press and MacMillan Audio for the ALC and eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Once I got a few chapters in, I was glued to this one. Emilia writes the intensity of the female experience in such a gripping way. I felt like we are all united by these shared experiences of assault, of oppression, of carrying the shame and guilt that actually don’t belong to us at all but to our attackers and oppressors. The characters are so isolated by their own choosing, and only the power of being vulnerable, honest and looking their truth in the face brings them together. I felt like I couldn’t stop reading until I knew how it ended. And the fantastical elements?! Yes please! I love the sirens on the page. I’d take a whole book of their exploits alone. Definitely recommend but do check the trigger warnings because it brought some stuff up for me for sure.

This was quite an interesting read and not a direction I expected the story to take. There is magical realism and empowerment. I think this would really appeal to a certain type of reader. it. I did guess some of the plot twists, but the ending, especially the epilogue was unexpected.

A dual timeline feminist tale from the author of Weyward? Sign me up. I'm a sucker for anything HINTING at mythology and Emilia Hart doesn't disappoint!

**Thank you so much St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for both the eARC and thank you Macmillan Audio for the audiobook.**

4.5 stars (rounded up). I really enjoyed this book. I had the privilege of reading an eARC and the audiobook and I highly recommend the audiobook. I read The Sirens but also listened to the audiobook and the audiobook was helpful when it came to the pronouncing names/unfamiliar words. I also enjoyed the narrators soothing voice and the change of her accent (Irish/Australian accents) when appropriate.

For the story itself, I loved the magical realism within this book and the beautiful writing. Emilia Hart has a special way of storytelling and I love how she brings together historical aspects with magical realism in such a unique way. The bond between sisters was nice and the sisterhood element was refreshing to see amongst the women throughout this story. I also liked the analysis of the unique bond between parents and their children. This was a heartbreaking story at times but it had a beautiful ending and is one that will remain with me.

Oh my god. I loved this story. This was my first read by Emilia Hart and the plot of this book, following 2 sets of sisters centuries apart was so good. This was a perfect blend of historical fiction and fantasy. I almost didn't even catch the shift to the magical realm, it was that seamless to me. I cared so much about what was happening in both timelines. Absolutely a great read and would 10/10 recommend. Can't wait to read Weyward by this author!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for an ARC copy of The Sirens! I loved Emilia's previous work, Weyward, so I was excited to read this story. Like Weyard, The Sirens focused on the theme of fierce feminine strength (which I love and will always appreciate), and used dual timelines with changing POVs. This was definitely a slow-burn, with much of the action occurring in the last 100 pages or so, but the story telling and scene building was done beautifully that it kept me reading. Once I was hoooked, I couldn't put this down, and although I wasn't sure initially if I would end up loving this, the ending sealed the deal for me. I love that Emilia creates strong female characters that help one another by the passage of their strength and resilience through generations. I'm all about feminist fantasy story telling and look forward to her future works!