This is a dual timeline story of two sets of sisters, and includes aspects of fantasy and magical realism. There is a feeling of mystery and intrigue that keeps the pace of the story moving, and also a feeling of eeriness that makes the reader feel the dark and dampness of the sea.

This is my first Emilia Hart book (though I'd heard lots about her previous book), and I was so glad to have the opportunity to read an early copy of it. This was a deliciously creepy book with a solid pace and a fabulous story. Lucy suffers trauma at her university and decides to go in search of her sister, the one person who can truly understand her. But when she arrives, her sister, Jess is nowhere to be found. She begins reading her sister's journal, which is like opening the door to an entire world--family secrets and more. This is dual timeline with flashbacks. Overall it was a wonderful feminist read.

Emilia did it again! I was capture from the prologue!

This story takes place in a dual timeline that end up converging, as family secrets unravel. I can not put into words how magical and caughtup in this book I was!

I love this author’s writing style, and this story was really interesting. There are two timelines (past and present) which end up connecting, and there’s an aspect of mystery as Lucy unravels her family history. I also appreciated learning about Australia’s history and the convict transports. Read when you want a story about sisterhood and family love.

I was so excited to dive into the latest from Emilia Hart after absolutely adoring WEYWARD. Emilia has such a beautiful writing style that makes it so quick to fall in love with this story. SIRENS was such a unique historical fiction/magical realism story and i loved the dual POV. It’s a little bit of a slow start but I loved this book - it’s very thought provoking which is something I’ve come to love about Emilia Hart’s work.

First, thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for an ARC of this book!

This was my first Emilia Hart book and it was mesmerizing. I was hooked from the prologue. This book had such an enthralling mix of historical fiction (ish), magical realism, and mystery! There was a twist in there that I had not seen coming at all! Not only was this immersive and atmospheric but it explored strong female bonds, love, loss, strength and resilience! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

This book is set across 3 different timelines, following 2 sisters (Irish) in 1800 on a convict ship headed to Australia. The sisters experience some intense memories of their mother’s death, but leads them to a discovery within themselves.

We also see Jess, a 16 year old in 1999 who has a rare water allergy that makes her constantly feel out of place and like she doesn’t belong amongst her peers. Jess begins to feel the pull of the ocean and investigates why.

Lastly, we have Lucy’s timeline, who starts the story off by waking up mid-attack on her ex boyfriend. Lucy leaves immediately and needs to find peace, she seeks out her sister on the Australian coast. Except when she gets there, she finds that her sister is missing. Can Lucy find her sister in time?

Please check trigger warnings for this. Although there is nothing too graphic it might be triggering to some and has a lot of sensitive subjects.

This is the first Emilia Hart book I’ve read! I have her other book, I just haven’t read it yet. I really liked the fantasy elements in this!

The Sirens is my first read by Emilia Hart. Although Weyward is on my tbr (and on my physical bookshelf). It was a very written, intriguing dual timeline story. I listened via audio and the narrator was perfect. This was not a suspense story but yet the author and narrator found ways to keep you in suspense!

This is a story about two sets of sisters in dual timelines whose stories eventually collide. In the 1800’s, Mary and Eliza are young women taken from their home and put on a convict ship traveling the high seas. The conditions on the ship are harsh and they have several weird experiences. In 2019, Lucy and Jess are somewhat estranged sisters. Lucy ends up in a compromising position and runs to Jess for help. Only Jess is missing. As Lucy tries to find her sister, she goes down a rabbit hole of missing men and a baby found in a cave.

I really enjoyed this story. The four women were all likable characters with depth. They are strong and resilient in their own ways. This story focuses on women empowerment, the strength of sisterhood and family with bits of historical fiction and a little fantasy! I loved imaging the sirens singing their siren.

Listen, I love the ocean and I love mermaids and folklore about merpeople so this was totally up my alley. I also completely devoured Weyward so I was beyond excited to review this ARC!

In this beautiful and atmospheric story, things started at a runners pace but were a bit slow in the middle. I enjoyed the journey and I thought it had a great ending. Really, there were several endings. Jess and Lucy’s ending, Mary and Eliza’s ending, and the epilogue ending.

I found several of the twists to be predictable, which in this case didn’t detract from the experience. The epilogue ending was the biggest twist, which is fun when done well.

That being said, I can’t help but compare it to Weyward. I was not as captivated as I was reading Hart’s previous work. I still thoroughly enjoyed the story, it was just a bit long winded on Lucy’s part.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for this ARC!

A fantastic read! Ms. Hart's previous novel Weyward was a top read for me so I was excited to read another novel. Her characters are strong and span multiple times and generations. The bonds of sisterhood and female resiliency were on full display throughout the novel. The magic mystery mystic of the sea!

First, I would like to extend a big thank you to St. Martins Press, NetGalley and Author, Emilia Hart for the complimentary digital copy of this book.

With a stunning cover and intriguing plot I was very eager to get my hands on this book- I can’t say that I’ve read many mermaid tales, so this was something I was excited to jump into.

The writing style itself was clear and easy to follow. The author does a great job at painting the picture and placing you right there in the story. Between the characters and the backdrop, I had no trouble with visualization. However, this was a book that I could not fully click with. It was a very slow burn and I never felt a real connection with any of the characters on either timeline- their stories felt drawn out and somewhat lacking. There were also a few loose ends that were never tied up. The story did pick up around the 75% mark and had a few interesting twists but it was definitely a slow go to get there.

Overall, I can appreciate the message- the beauty of women overcoming hardships, internal struggles and embracing who they are, coming out the other side with strength and resiliency. It’s clear that between Weyward and The Sirens the author writes this with great passion.

Relationships between sisters, mothers and daughters hold an enduring place in historical novels, and whilst examining similar themes to its predecessor, Weyward, Emilia Hart’s The Sirens expands on the triple-timeframe style to explore female solidarity, legacy, and rage, offset by male dominance and abuse. That said, the novel doesn’t have a strong feminist bent, or if it does, it is gently handled. Finding the beauty within others, and welcoming it in ourselves, is what really spoke to me and made this novel soar.

In 1800, Irish twins Mary and Eliza are transported, with 80+ other women, to the penal colony of New South Wales, on the convict ship Naiad. The months-long voyage is laden with heart-rending detail, pulling the reader deep into the horrendous conditions endured by the convicts on board. In 2019, Lucy leaves university under a cloud of shame, and heads to her estranged sister, Jess’s, clifftop house in Comber Bay. Lucy’s arrival is unexpected, and Jess, a surrealist artist, is missing, although her paintings stand expectantly waiting, along with her car and cell phone. After fruitless efforts to contact her sister, Lucy finds Jess’s diary which holds shocking revelations Lucy knew nothing about. Hart examines Comber Bay’s tragic history through stories of the unexplained disappearances of eight men in the 1960s, ´70s and ´80s and the connections to present and past.

The author’s alluring title, The Sirens, entices us with the combination of mesmerising beauty mixed with mortal danger. Hart skillfully entwines mystical aspects into what could be construed as part-fairytale, but for me, its multiple timeframes and historical settings are firmly grounded. The author admits this was difficult to write, and having spent time within its pages, I can see why. But the outcome of all those discarded drafts is entrancing, and the author should be extremely proud.

Emilia Hart has done it again!
The Sirens has (like Weyward) drawn on an historical era depicting the worst of the human condition while creating time jumps over the centuries.
Ms Hart's glorious descriptions of nature mirror the characters frights and turbulent psyches.
Suspenseful,.... surprises......great character development bring the protagonists to life as the reader becomes rapt by insights into well drawn and emotionally wrenching happenings in their respective lives .......Kafka, Dostoyevsky come to mind as the women morph into creatures of the sea......bold, terrifying, terrific ,beautifully written novel which ends quite happily for both the protagonists and the reader.

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Great story about women and the daily struggles/battles they face in their lives. I loved the development of all the characters and learning how they all connected in time was beautifully written. Overall, a mystical read.

Magical realism pieced together through podcasts, dreams, coming-of-age memories, and brooding Australian cliffs (somewhat surprisingly, my second read of the year to feature the island continent). At the center is Lucy's family history and the mystery pieced together from current events, her sister's house, and two women from the past who suffered a long voyage from Ireland on a penal ship. After a slow start, I was most invested during Jess, Lucy's sister's, flashbacks (cue teen angst), then the historical bits (compelling, but not action packed), and then the present day with Lucy and the podcasts (long stretches of italics are just not for me). While the setup is intriguing, I was craving a build up that isn't there. This is a story of identity and self-acceptance, and the pacing reflects that.

A beautiful story about sisterhood and generations of female rage!

Emilia Hart has such a gorgeous way of storytelling and I loved exploring this story and the multiple timelines that unraveled. This story and the experience it gave me will stick with me for a long time.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc through NetGalley! All opinions are my own honest opinions.

4.5 Stars
Genre: Women's Fiction
Descriptors: mysterious, fantasy (mer) females leads, dark, trauma, secrets.
Favorite Character: I didn't dislike any of the narrators. All of their stories were equally captivating in their own way.
Least favorite: Mr. Hennessey
Pace/Format: Alternating timeline/narrators (Lucy, Mary and Jess's Diary)
Spice: Nope
Standalone: Yes
Would I recommend? Yes!

While different than Weyward it still has the author's beautiful writing and vibes. I am not typically a reader who guesses how the book is going to unfold but I had my hunches early on and was right. It did not affect my loving the story any less. Looks like there are already mixed reviews on this book (aren't there always?) But I found it lovely and couldn't wait to keep picking it back up. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. Happy to have read and will recommend this title.

(A sincere thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.)

From the author of Weyward, comes another heart-stopping tale of family secrets & female experiences with a pinch of faery dust.

To start, let's talk about what Hart gets absolutely right:

1. Exceedingly enjoyable prose. Hart has such a beautiful way of relaying her characters innermost thoughts and feelings, it's almost like you inhabit their bodies as they move through their paper and ink world. This was where I knew this book would excel having read her debut last year and she did not disappoint.
2. Female companionship/bonds. I've never longed for a sister, or just a close female confidant, while reading a book as much as I did with this one. This story is rich with the sort of kinship and understanding that can only exist between two women, simply because the space we occupy in this world is so set-apart from how men live and experience the world. There's such power to be found in one another, and Hart's characters embody said power amazingly.
3. The fantasy element. I've read mermaid/siren books before, of course, but never quite like this. There's a bit of a horror aspect to it that takes some of the shine away, but I've found that only makes the transformation of the characters more compelling.

And now, for why this book only barely scraped by with 3 full stars:

1. The Mary POV. The bulk of Mary's chapters happen in the choking dark of a ship's hold. Aside from her first introduction and the last time we see her, she's mostly just relaying how awful the ship is, with only a few moments of any action at all occurring. Definitely dragged and made her role in the story feel superfluous---which is not great when you consider how monumentally important she is to the heart of it. I would have preferred Eliza's POV, I think, as one she's already blind so being in the dark with her wouldn't have been so boring, and because she just seemed much more interesting than her sister.
2. The "let's wait and see" trope. If that's what it can be called. This was present in Weyward, as well. When you have a main character that refuses to make what, to readers, seems to be a logical decision to go for help but doesn't. Lucy waits a very, VERY long time to do anything meaningful about the fact that her sister has gone missing without a trace. While I understand that sometimes the authorities do make things worse, her not even calling their parents for days on end was infuriating to read about and came off as wholly unrealistic.
3. Max and Jessica. I loved the little we saw of them, and really thought we'd get some sort of closure there. Very disappointed that nothing concrete came of that before the book's end.
4.. And lastly, the epilogue flashback. Can't say much without spoiling, but it felt unnecessary and out of character.

Overall, I still enjoyed this book and do recommend it for anyone who enjoyed Weyward. While this fell a little short for me, I do plan to stick with Hart's future work because I do truly feel that she, and her mind, are one-of-a-kind.

There are triggers found within this that I would suggest looking up before purchasing. They are very similar to what was in her debut.

This is such a wonderful and immersive book! Emilia’s sophomore novel, The Siren’s, follows two sisters with a mysterious past. They both start out with their own journey and converge to uncover familial and historical truths. The story unfolds with multiple perspectives, lots of history, and an amazing atmosphere. I was hooked from the very beginning and could not put it down. I LOVED this book!

"Sirens" by Emilia Hart is a powerful exploration of women's resilience across generations. The book weaves together the stories of four women - twin sisters Mary and Eliza from the 1800s, and modern-day characters Jessie and Lucy - creating a tapestry of shared experiences and unbreakable bonds.

Hart's portrayal of Mary and Eliza's journey on a convict ship is nothing short of gut-wrenching. The harsh conditions and injustices they face, having been convicted for self-defense, are vividly depicted. It's a stark reminder of the historical struggles women have endured, and at times, I found myself having to pause and take a breath before continuing.

In parallel, we follow Jessie and Lucy's story set in 1999. Their experiences of feeling ostracized due to a skin condition and navigating challenging relationships with men add a contemporary layer to the narrative. The unexpected twists in their timeline caught me off guard and added depth to the family drama, keeping me engrossed throughout.

What struck me most was Hart's ability to seamlessly connect these seemingly disparate stories. As each woman, except perhaps Eliza, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, the central theme of sisterhood emerges as a powerful force for overcoming adversity. This theme resonates across timelines, highlighting the enduring strength of women's bonds.

There were moments in "Sirens" that moved me deeply, and others that were difficult to read. The vivid descriptions of the convict ship conditions were particularly harrowing. However, it's these intense emotional moments that make the book so impactful.

Hart's storytelling is both skillful and captivating. The way she intertwines historical and contemporary narratives creates a rich, multi-layered reading experience. I found myself fully immersed in each timeline, eager to uncover how they would ultimately connect.

Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for my free book.