2.5

After reading Weyward, I was really looking forward to this book. Unfortunately, I thought The Sirens was messy and disappointing. My main complaint is how drawn out each reveal was. I guessed the main twist pretty early on and spent the rest of the book anticipating a reveal that was too little too late.

The premise was interesting and I enjoyed the multi-generation POVs but every character was weighed down by the same "what's wrong with me??" storyline. I can tell you what's wrong with you!!! I figured it out 100 pages ago and I'm starting to think the author thinks I'm a) dumb or b) oblivious.

There was another late-stage twist that was absolutely bonkers. It made me feel really weird and I don't think any of the characters reacted normally. Also, this reveal was so out of left field (I was too busy focusing on the OTHER obvious twist) that I had to set the book down for a sec. Personally, I did not like how this was handled. It felt VERY anti-adoption which made me uncomfortable.

I am giving this book three/2.5 stars because it was ok and two stars feels harsh (also the cover art is beautiful). Emilia Hart clearly loves telling stories about women but I would love if they leaned more into the magical aspects that are always present. COMMIT TO IT. I spent nearly 300 pages waiting for mermaids and barely got anything.

Disappointing but I'd recommend if you're bored and looking for something new.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to preview The Sirens by Emilia Hart in return for an honest review. I requested this book because I absolutely adored Hart's previous book, Weyward. I was not disappointed!

Hart has managed to tell a deeply weird, heartwarming, devastating, feminist fantasy story about sisterhood, motherhood, and female friendship that left me wanting more. The cast of characters in The Sirens are nearly all women struggling to find their way or cast out from their homes. We find out they are all connected in a very strange way.

I highly recommend this to anyone who likes stories about women's experiences and doesn't mind some fantastical elements. I can't wait to read whatever Hart writes next.

After really enjoying Weyward, I was excited to pick up The Sirens—maybe a little biased going in! Emilia Hart is a talented writer, with beautifully set scenes, immersive, and a strong focus on setting and mood. The atmosphere was darker, which I really liked, and it gave the book a haunting vibe. Much like Hart's previous work, though, the plot felt a bit rushed at the end. The build-up was great, slow, and steady throughout 95% of the book, but the conclusion seemed to wrap up too quickly. As with Weyward, I found myself more invested in the story from the past, the sisters Mary and Eliza. But Hart has a talent for weaving past and present narratives together, highlighting the experiences of all the women across time. Overall, an enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

A beautiful, eerie, poignant traipse through time and psyche and the female experience. Incredible writing and an enthralling, mysterious story of the connection between sisters. I love Emilia’s writing in Weyward, and I loved it even more in the Sirens. The feminist tones in the book woven into the folklore of sirens is stunningly written.

Thank you for the Arc! This was a DNF for me. I really found the intro wild, but also repetitive, and not enough to engage me to want to continue reading.

I really enjoyed Weyward by this author, and this did, to be honest, have the same themes and structure! I liked the characters, but some of the starting setup felt ridiculous, and the magical realism kind of failed for me a little bit.

It wasn't bad, just not a new favourite.

I love this book! It is so beautifully written and I was hooked from the first page to the last. I hope she keeps publishing books! There's just something about her writing style that I can't get enough of!

The title and cover of this novel drew me in instantly. I have always had an interest in mermaids/sirens, but the intertwining of the historical folklore, mystery, and the magic of the sea had me turning pages. The alternating timeline was done well and I enjoyed how the story was laid out and how it all came together. I recently started reading Weyward and as thoroughly enjoying that novel as well. Hart may become a new favorite author for me!

I was glad to give this book a try. But it wasn't the right book for me. I do see why it has been so loved though!

Family secrets, hidden clues, strange disappearances, strong female characters, a secret hidden world, and bonds that cross generations - yes please! Lucy is different. She’s always known that and done her best to accept it and follow her dreams of being a journalist. She falls for a college boyfriend, who unexpectedly exposes her in a public setting online, rendering her feeling helpless and in desperate need of her sister’s help for direction. Jess, her older sister, has become very distant for several years, focusing on her art passion and sharing it with the world. But that doesn’t stop Lucy from going to find her for much needed advice. However, when she arrives at the quiet little seaside town, all is not as it seems. Jess is missing, the house all askew, and even Jess’s cell phone has been left behind. Strange paintings of the sea and two sisters from long ago begin to invade Lucy’s dreams, and her sleepwalking becomes worse and very dangerous. You see, Lucy has a rare condition where she is allergic to water, and yet she is drawn to it even as she sleeps. She makes herself at home at her big sister’s run-down home, looking for clues as to where she might have gone, finding Jess’s diary and diving into her dark past to find the truth. Maybe she never really knew her sister at all? Maybe she’s never really known who her parents are either? All Lucy knows is that she must find Jess and rediscover where she truly belongs. I received an arc copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the magical realism while also tackling tough topics. I enjoyed the character and the multiple timelines weaving together. The character dynamics were interesting and the plot kept you reading.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! It was my first ARC from NetGalley and I was beyond excited for it. However, I was only able to make it to the 20% mark before I just couldn’t force myself to read it further. It starts off beyond confusing and everything is written in riddles. It felt a lot like Alice going down the rabbit hole and that rabbit hole is filled with bits and pieces of true crime podcasts and newspaper clippings. Not at all what I expected for a title called Sirens when at the 20% mark there was only a mention of an image of a siren maybe twice.

The Sirens was a fantastic and enjoyable read. Hart's characters are achingly relatable and the story itself keeps you guessing while effortlessly weaving together a plot through several timelines.

I was a huge fan of Weyward but Sirens fell a bit short for me. I loved the common themes of Emilia Hart's (strong females, family connections, hidden power) but I found this one loosely tied its storylines up in a way that wasn't satisfying. I still would recommend this book but don't be surprised if your brow furrows a bit.

I read Weyward by Emilia Hart and I really enjoyed that, so I was really excited for The Sirens. Unfortunately it just wasn't as good. It felt too similar, but also not as developed at the same time. At the end I still had so many questions that were left unanswered, and multiple plot lines that kind of felt like they were just forgotten about.

The story is once again multiple timelines and you start with Lucy who runs way from college after attacking a guy who wronged her, while shes in a sleepwalking episode. She goes to visit her sister Jess who she is somewhat estranged from, because she also sleepwalks. When she arrives her sister is missing, so while Lucy waits for Jess to turn up and begins to learn about the mystery surrounding the town she's arrived in.

Then you have sisters Mary and Eliza and story which takes place in the 1800s Ireland, who have been convicted of a crime and are aboard a transport ship that is taking them to Australia. This particular storyline was actually my favorite and really well done. I felt connected to the sisters and completely invested in their story, but also all of the women aboard this shit and their struggles.

Finally about halfway through the book you finally get Jess's teenage POV which occurs about 20 years before Lucy's current POV. This is the timeline that starts to weave the story together, until you get to the end and you see how all of the timelines are connected.

A lot of the reveals were predictable but I didn't mind that so much as I minded the lack of explanation or follow through on many things. I wanted to know more about the sirens and how they came to be and what that entailed, and it was more just like oh look they're basically mermaids. Also what happened with Lucy's whole college situation? She attacked a fellow student, and it was just like ok she's temporarily kicked out of school but never mentioned again. The whole Max situation was so weird to me and I absolutely did not understand why Jess made the decisions she made.

Overall Emilia's writing is so lovely and the book flowed well. It had just really eerie vibes that left you unsettled for almost the entirety of the read, which I enjoyed. It was also a really quick read that I flew through. Perfect for spooky season! Thank you NetGalley and SMP for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘: March 04, 2025
𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪:

This book was very well written and captured my attention right from the beginning. We have multiple well fleshed out characters who are also very well developed as well as alternating POV and moving timelines throughout this read which I always enjoy.

We follow along a mystery of a sister missing, multiple men disappearing with no explanation and all a link to the ocean. I appreciate how our author depicted sirens and the lore and magic weaved amongst them and the book gave your an eerie feel as you read. If you are looking for a great fast paced thriller with magical lore with a supernatural touch this book is for you. I highly recommend.

𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗦: Mermaids, Sirens, Mystery, Thriller, Supernatural, Magical Realism, Fast Paced

Large thank you to our Author, NetGalley as well as St. Martins Press for this e-arc copy.

I loved Weyward so was excited to read Emilia Hart’s sophomore novel. A feminist fantasy loaded with family secrets, Lucy seeks out her sister Jess who has mysteriously disappeared and uncovers the truth about her origins while we’re dually told about two sisters, Eliza and Mary being sent to Australia from Ireland as criminals 200 years earlier. Overall, I enjoyed this. Great pacing and I was equally invested in both storylines and characters (found the past one slightly more engaging). My only pet peeve are Jess's teenage journals which are really just scenes in the past and not written like any person would actually write a journal (I hate when authors do this). Emilia Hart is a lyrical writer with so many lines and details I wanted to highlight but I would say sometimes less is more and the beautiful language would stand out more if it wasn't in nearly every line. Overall, I didn't like it quite as much as Weyward but would definitely recommend it and look forward to reading more of her books in the future!

I loved Weyward by this author. Unfortunately, The Sirens wasn't for me - it was a little dragging, and there was too much back and forth, I got confused!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I adored this author's previous novel Weyward, and I was really excited when I got approved for this ARC. Similar to Weyward, this story is about women reclaiming their autonomy, power, and lives in the face of stark misogyny or hardship.

I love this type of storytelling, which goes back and forth in time and connects different characters across the entire timeline. The connection between sisters Lucy and Jess in the present day and Mary and Eliza in the past I especially felt, as someone with two sisters of my own. If you enjoyed this style of storytelling in Weyward then you would love this book as well, as it was very similar although with different fantasy elements.

The fantasy aspect I actually liked less than I expected to, because I was hoping it would be nature-focused like in the author's other book. The author's writing about nature was the main aspect I loved about Weyward, so this book did not catch me as much as I had hoped. However, it was a lot more dark and eerie, so if you are into darker books or more of a mystery then you would probably like this a lot.

Overall, I love how this author uses fantasy to let the women in her books reclaim their power, bodies, and lives, and I would definitely recommend this and will be looking forward to her future books as well.

I am grateful to NetGalley for this ARC. I have not yet read Weyward but have heard a lot of good things about it, so I was excited for the opportunity to read The Sirens. I struggled with the story though and it was hard to get into until closer to the end. I think the fantasy aspect is not really my thing. I do love dual timelines though and was interested in reading about the women’s convict ships to Australia. I did enjoy the book but it was a little slow for me.