I wanted to love this book….but I just never got attached to the characters. The characters felt flat and the story felt more about the men vs the women. I was also a tad confused about the ending.

I typically like to go into books blind, and I am so glad I did on this one. What a great story with a good plot and character development.

With a similar format to Weyward, Hart crafts a novel with multiple timelines that intertwines the lives of women across different centuries. Lucy (2019) escapes to the coast after hurting her ex-boyfriend during a scary sleepwalking incident. Jess (1999), a young teen copes with a rare skin disease but finds comfort in art while living next to the coast. Mary and Eliza (1800) are Irish twin sisters forcibly put on a convict ship to Australia.

Most of the story takes place in Comber Bay, New South Wales. The town is shrouded in mystery - why have so many people disappeared without a trace? Lucy starts to unravel the mystery of the disappearances while searching for Jess's whereabouts and unearths secrets that will change her life.

Narrator Barrie Kreinik is exceptional - I finished the book in one day. Kreinik brings Hart's characters to life with strategic pacing and tonal depth to enhance the mysterious mood. I'm always a little hesitant to listen to audiobooks with multiple timelines, but it was really easy to follow after the main characters were introduced.

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the fantasy that melded so well with the country's history.
I also loved the narration. The narrator was perfect, especially with the accent.

I absolutely loved Weyward, so I jumped at the chance for an early copy of the Sirens. I loved the multiple timelines and perspectives, and it was a really intriguing storyline. Lucy’s perspectives kind of dragged for me and I found those a bit more boring, but I loved hearing Jess’s tale unfold and also Eliza and Mary and their harrowing tale as prisoners aboard a ship. The book was a really unique story compared to my normal reads, so I was all in on seeing how it all played out! Some fun twists at the end as well.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for my ALC in exchange for my honest feedback!

🧜🏻‍♀️🌊📖: The Sirens by Emilia Hart

★★★☆☆.75
(struggling between 3.5 and 3.75 stars)

format: audio (ALC)

1 sentence review: A feminist, genre-bending tale about trauma and resilience, sisterhood, and family.

This story blends historical fiction (with real life events) and magical realism. The messages and themes in this book were really well developed, meaningful, and impactful, but I struggled to connect with the characters.

In my opinion, this had a similar vibe to Weyward, but it wasn’t executed as well. There was a mystery element to this story, which was interesting, but the ending felt choppy and had quite a few plot points that were never buttoned up. The audio for this was really well done and I still enjoyed it and would recommend it!

P.S. this is my 3rd mermaid book of the year, so I’m sensing a theme😂

Read This if You Like:
🧜🏻‍♀️ The mythology and lore of sirens
🐚 Feminist tales that blend HisFic and magical realism
🌊 Female resilience and “good for her” stories

I LOVED this book. It is a must for magical realism lovers. The dual timeline mixed with Siren lore vibes keeps the book moving along quickly, though it is a magical tale you won't want to rush. Filled with intense emotion, Irish lore and Australia prison colony history. The narrator did an amazing job with multiple voices an accents. Emilia Hart has another winner here!

A huge thank you to Macmillan Audio and Emilia Hart for this ARC, I was truly honored and excited to be chosen for this read. All opinions below are my own. Will list trigger warnings here and jump right in to the review: mentions of SA/sex trafficking (not depicted in detail), aquagenic urticaria, child endangerment, death (minor depiction).

I first read Emilia Hart last year, her book Weyward put me in a 3 day reading slump because I was so moved by the story. When I saw The Sirens was an option for an ARC, I hit that button so fast. I was ready to dive into a historical story where women were magic, powerful, and most importantly fighting their fight together.

The Sirens did not disappoint. Dual timeline POV, we are first set in the 1800s as we follow sisters, Mary and Eliza. They are making their journey across the sea with several other convicts bound for Australia where their futures for atonement await. Modern day 2019 we meet sisters Jess and Lucy, who have a distant relationship with ~17 years between them, secrets, and confusion that is felt bone deep for the both of them. All of the POV’s were captivating and I couldn’t stop listening, especially as the two stories began to intertwine. It is not expressly clear how they are directly connected for a while and I loved that the story kept me on my toes, wondering how and why history was impacting present for these two modern day FMCs. Hart is good at keeping you engaged in the story, giving you just enough to work with to start thinking up theories and conspiracies. She also has a knack for making you truly feel her characters happiness, sadness, rage, confusion, etc., and as a woman, you can certainly relate on multiple levels despite the number of years between the women.

Hart has earned her way onto the list of authors that are “auto” authors for me. I will read whatever she writes and be happy about it, even if it isn’t something that I am expressly interested in. I know I will suddenly be swept up in the story regardless. Again I thank Macmillan Audio and Emilia Hart for the opportunity to listen to this wonderful story. A special shoutout to the narrator, Barrie Kreinik, for excellent story telling and voice depiction. She was especially wonderful at depicting inflections for different parts of Ireland and Australia, those differences were noted and I see your talent!

5 ⭐️ And this story is gonna sit with me, in my bones, for YEARS to come.

For fans of Emilia Hart's 'Weyward', you're going to love 'The Sirens' just as much and for so many of the same reasons.

Generational secrets. Jumping back-and-forth in time. Unraveling mysteries. Unspeakable terror. Gripping. Empowering. Feminine. Addictive plot development. And best of all - Mother nature doing her thing with a magical twist.

I held my breath more than I care to admit while
listening to the audiobook. EH has a way with words that builds so much suspense & slow-building fear, and this book is no exception of that talent.

In addition to all of the above, the production of this audiobook & skill of the narrator (Barrie Kreinik) was simple stellar!

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for giving me the opportunity to listen to this book early and share my honest review. All reviews will be posted to my socials (Netgalley, Goodreads, Fable, IG).

Emilia Hart has an absolute gift for writing complicated women across different times, and layering their narratives perfectly. I absolutely love her writing style and the narration in The Sirens audiobook brought her lush prose to brilliant life.

The Sirens is the story of Lucy, a young woman coming of age but struggling to coming to terms with her abnormal appearance. In a moment of need, she flees school to seek the advice of her older sister, Jess. Except Jess—who lives above the notorious cliff site where numerous men have disappeared over the years—is missing. As Lucy searches for her sister, she discovers the truth about their ancestor's strange heritage, Jess' own troubles, and even herself.

While the pacing may be a bit slow for some readers, the characterization is excellent and engaging. Nothing in the story is strictly revelatory or shocking, but rather an excellent interpretation of familiar myths and crime narratives. There is an a cozy vibe to this novel, and I would highly recommend it to someone looking for something that is both timely and lightly speculative.

Thank you to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
(3.75 stars, rounded up to 4)

I struggled with this book, so many times I contemplated DNFing the book but it was an ALC so I pushed forward.

I loved the premise of the book, and the cover is stunning but though most of the book I honestly couldn't tell you what was going on, it was like there was so much happening but at the same time nothing was happening..

I found the different timelines were just not connecting very well, I felt the book dragged on and took a long time to get to the reveal.

I enjoyed the narrator her voice was whimsical and enjoyable

2.5⭐️ Rounded up for GR. I received this as an ARC on NetGalley (thank you!) and am going to leave my honest review here. I don’t think I would have finished this one if it wasn’t an ARC read.

I had really high hopes for this, but it wasn’t at all what I thought it would be. I found this to be pretty monotonous and boring through 80% of it and I had a really hard time connecting to any of the characters. I thought the premise of the story was interesting, but was just never hooked into this story.

I will say that the author did a good job with her descriptions in this book and really painted a good picture of the world(s). That was done well. This one just wasn’t for me I guess. I’ll still check out her other work. I’ve heard wonderful things about Weyward!

The Sirens is a tale of female empowerment and sisterhood throughout centuries.

Emilia Hart is a wonderful, evocative writer and I felt very drawn to this story but I found it to be very thematically similar to Weyward. I had hoped for something a little different, instead of replacing witches with mermaids. I had also hoped for a bit more of the mermaid/sirens to be featured. Maybe if the epilogue had been told by the siren it would have felt more complete.

I did enjoy reading this though and the storytelling was lovely.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC!

I loved the audiobook version of the book, especially when the narrator sang. I loved mermaids so I was naturally so excited to read this book, and it did not disappoint.

This story has a little bit of everything- fantasy, mystery/thriller, and also showed the complexities of family relationships.

I overall really enjoyed this book, but I was able to guess how the story ended. While I have not read Weyward by this author, I will be starting it soon!

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and an alc!

3.5 stars

i was over the moon to have been approved for both an arc and an alc after absolutely devouring emilia hart’s debut, weyward. after such a strong debut, i was expecting a little more from hart’s sophomore novel.

while i did enjoy the plot despite the dark themes of abuse and assault, the three different timelines were weakly interconnected, which turned me off. i also felt the reveal took too long to happen, especially when it was almost 90% of the way into the book…

as for the narrator, i think they did a fantastic job!

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⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ALC of this title. This one was a bit slow to start. But with how much I liked Weyward, I trusted the process. And this one did not disappoint! I'm not always a huge fan of the jumping back and forth between timelines, but this author manages to do so while keeping both past and present stories exciting. I enjoyed the myth of the Sirens with the real history of the area. The narrator was great, and her changing accents was impressive. The descriptions in the book, especially those in the belly of the ship and the cave, were visceral. This author is one that I will be patiently waiting on for her next book.

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

While I enjoyed the duel timelines and the overall storytelling was so different than anything I have read. It was really slow at the beiginning for me and there was a not a lot of depth overall. I just was not as into this book as I had hoped.

Thank you so much to Macmillan Audio for an early copy of The Sirens audiobook! 💖
As someone who has heard a lot about Weyward, Emilia Hart's debut title, I have been intrigued but knew that I would do better with these themes and genre via audiobook and boy, I was right! This audiobook had the perfect amount of theatrics and intrigue due to the fact that there is quite a bit of thriller vibes that keep you on the edge of your seat. There's also a gorgeous amount of feminism/strong women sentiment which we love! This story follows the stories of a few different women over three different timelines but all of them are intertwined and mixed together to all be important and further the story!
This audiobook actually had me gasping at the end when all of the puzzle pieces started falling into place and I had no idea what was going to happen and where the story was going to go! This book has opened up the door for me to enjoy historical magical realism fantasy (which can sound a little intimidating) but the story really grabs you and drags you in!