3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and MacMillain Audio for this audio arc!

This book has a similar premise to Hart’s other novel: Weyward. They both are also written in a similar way. However, this works for both stories! I loved how, in this one, the women in the story from the past almost interact with those of the present. This adds a layer to the story that I had not expected.

Sadly, I did not feel very connected to the characters or the story, which was sad because it felt like the exact type of story that I typically love.

Review will be posted on Goodreads by tomorrow!

Two different timelines, two sets of sisters, different POVs, magical realism, irish folklore - merrows, strong female characters.

The Sirens is the first book I've read from Emilia Hart and I enjoyed the storytelling and writing style. Told in two timelines, the reader follows two sets of sisters.

One pair of sisters is on a ship full of convicts, headed to a new land. The other is navigating relationships and life while struggling to figure out who they are.

Magical realism and a strong theme of female empowerment are intertwined to bring the reader on an adventure.

I listened to this on audio and enjoyed the narrator.

Thank you to MacMillan audio for an ALC to review.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to The Sirens.

“There is something about this place that keeps it’s women safe”

Wow! The Sirens is seriously good. Through a seamless blend of genres (historical fiction, mystery, fantasy, thriller) we follow a story connected by two timelines and two sets of sisters. I absolutely flew through this audiobook and loved the narrator- she added so much life into the characters. 4 stars.

I was so excited to receive this as both an ALC and an ARC! I have heard great things about Weyward and knew I had to get my hands (and ears) on this.

Brief summary: Lucy wakes up to find herself strangling her ex, prompting her to seek sanctuary at her older sister's home. However, when she arrives, her older sister is not home. While waiting for he sister return, Lucy begins to uncover more about her sister, and herself, via her sister's diary.

Think The Lost Apothecary meets The Little Mermaid! I would love to re-read this book so I can better appreciate the foreshadowing for so many of the fairy tale elements. This has a great message of sisterhood and female empowerment.

I was so excited for this audiobook from reading the description and the subject matter, loved the cover, all the ingredients for a great read! However. The struggle. i am an AVID audiobook consumer, over 100 this year so far. And i pushed through the beginning of this book, and never got hooked. Could not stay focussed, mind kept wandering. It just was not grabbing me. I fully intend to give this another try, and perhaps this is a book i will enjoy more reading the words instead of listening, which does happen! And so, i will give it a three star rating for now....that is me saying I want to like this book and I am willing to give it another shot in physical format when the time comes. (I also will not post online about this one as I don't want to put the negative spin on it, as I hope it reads better later!)

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Macmillian Audio for an advanced audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Sirens follows 3 POVs, the first one introduced was Lucy in 2019. Lucy is a student at university who flees to her sister after she is assaulted (yes, revenge porn is assault) by a fellow student and she wakes to herself strangling him while sleepwalking. The second is flashbacks to two sisters in 1800s Ireland who have been sent to the colony of New South Wales as a punishment for assault. Later in the book you are taken to Jess’s timeline via her journal which was an interesting change to the dynamic of the story. The Sirens follows Lucy as she tries to unravel the mystery of how these things are all connected.

I can’t understand the lukewarm reception this book is getting. It’s not the happiest read but it is a beautiful read. As the title suggests there is a mystical element to this story that I think frustrated as a lot of people wanted that to be fleshed out more, but I think that leant itself more to the actual point of the story. What is it in women’s existence that has required us to imagine or create mystical creatures that would keep us safe. This point is told in each timeline and highlights the institutions, cultures and default that are misogyny. But that flip side of that coin in the community that women create to protect ourselves from that very thing. This is a hauntingly beautiful story of womanhood and strength.

The narrator for this title did a beautiful job changing accents to make each POV very clear.

A place like Comber’s Bay where women are protected sounds like a dream.

*Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, AND Macmillan Audio for the ALC/e-Arc! All opinions are my own.*

Weyward was my favorite read of 2023 so I jumped at the chance to get this one early and I'm so glad I did! I was fortunate enough to get approved for a digital copy and an audio version of this and went back in forth on format - both were wonderful, though I found there was a slight "learning curve" with the audio as there is a decent amount of worldbuilding in this one and it can feel like a lot of information coming at you. Just worth noting as the narrator was amazing and it provided a lot of great atmosphere to the storytelling.

Emilia Hart's writing is what drew me into her debut and it's absolutely present in this one, too. Each description pulled me deeper into the story and I was so fully immersed (pun only kind of intended) that I ended up having dreams about shipwrecks afterwards! I felt so attached to each POV character, and I especially loved going back in time to Mary and Eliza's POV. The ship full of women was such a harrowing story and each character, no matter how small, felt so full. A trouble with dual timelines (personally) is that I often struggle in feeling that one or both storyline(s) are incomplete by the end. I felt satisfied by this novel and I feel confident in saying that each story feels whole and complete to me.

In other people's reviews, I've seen a lot of comparing this to Weyward. You're getting a lot of the same underlying themes, but this book is not that book. This book is deeper in the suspense subgenre, in my opinion. There's a much deeper element to the mystery plot in this novel compared to Hart's first, and you'll get much more mileage out of the fantasy in this one. You're getting a much grittier story out of the Sirens compared to Weyward. All this is to say: Do Not go into this comparing it to anything before it. It is its own narrative and it deserves to be treated as such. You'll be doing yourself and the work a much greater disservice otherwise.

I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced copy of this book in both digital and audio formats! This is great because I enjoy listening to the audio while commuting or multitasking around the house, and I like to read the print version when I’m winding down for the day.

Much like Hart's debut, Wayward, The Sirens features three points of view that we follow across three different timelines. The first POV is from Lucy, who runs away to her sister Jess's house after waking up strangling her ex. Jess is missing, and during Lucy's quest to find her, she discovers Jess's journal. Most of Jess's storyline is conveyed through these journal entries, where we uncover many secrets that Jess has kept from Lucy. Both sisters are on a parallel journey of self-discovery.

As Lucy reads Jess's entries, we learn that both women have been having dreams about Mary and Eliza. This introduces us to the third POV. Mary and Eliza, with Eliza being Mary's blind sister, were transported from Ireland to Australia via prison transport, and we learn about their harrowing journey. All four women suffer from aquagenic urticaria, a water allergy that sets them apart from those around them.

As we uncover the struggles the women face, their secrets, their connection to the water, and their family lives, we are also presented with mysteries, such as why the men are disappearing from the so-called "Bermuda Triangle" of Australia, why they are sleepwalking, and why they are drawn to water despite its harmful effects on their skin.

I rated this book 3.5 stars, and I might adjust that rating upon further reflection. The pacing felt a bit slow for me; the big reveals were dragged out and felt somewhat obvious. Even the epilogue was predictable based on the story's progression. Nonetheless, I found all of the women intriguing, and their stories compelling. Although there is a minor fantasy element involving Meru, the story is primarily about self-discovery and connections across time. Hart's writing is beautiful; she is truly gifted in bringing these worlds to life in a vivid and remarkable way.

The audio narrator was excellent as she seamlessly switched from her Australian accent while portraying Lucy to her Irish accent for Mary. Her singing voice was lovely, and she delivered a hauntingly beautiful rendition of the lullaby/song sung by the characters. Overall, if you enjoyed Wayward, you will find The Sirens to be similarly enjoyable.

Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC audiobook for review. I loved Weyward so when I saw the author had a new book releasing I had to read it!! I was not disappointed. This book is also historical fiction and jumps back and forth in time between women in the past and present and shows how the storylines are connected. This story connects women across time between a shipwreck in 1800 off the coast of Australia, and the same coast in 1999, and then again in 2019 and the bonds of sisters and the power women have in their fight for their own life and to survive. I liked the mystical element interwoven into the story. This book has similar themes as her previous book, so if you enjoyed Weyward, you will definitely enjoy this book as well. This author is quickly becoming a favorite of mine and I will keep a look out for what she writes in the future!

4.5 stars! Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this advanced copy! You can pick up The Sirens on April 1, 2025.

This book was gorgeously written and came together in a stunning way. I love the moment when you see dual-timeline stories intersect, and maybe it's because I read this in almost one sitting, but I thought it happened seamlessly. The twists were shocking but believable, adding depth and nuance to the story that I really appreciated.

No matter which timeline and characters you interacted with, though, you witnessed beautiful moments of female bravery and womanhood. Were there parts that were difficult to read? Absolutely. But ultimately, the story ends on a hopeful note and pays homage to the generations of women who struggled and survived before us.

Plus, the narrator did a phenomenal job transitioning between Australian and Irish accents. This was also one of the few books where the narrator's singing enhanced the story instead of ruining it.

The Sirens is a magical realism, feminist tale, about 2 sisters in current times trying to connect and a group of women in the 1800s on a prison ship and what their fates have in common.

I have yet to read Weyward yet but It gets raving reviews so i was excited to receive a copy of this ARC by the same author. It was a good story but It wasn’t anything spectacular or blew me away. I was kept interested in the story enough to want to know what would happen but my excitement was pretty minimal. The cover is absolutely stunning and i enjoyed the audiobooks narrator.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I listened to this audiobook while also reading along with the book. I thought the audiobook enhanced the book. There were songs in the audiobook and listening to them was better than reading.


Thanks to netgalley for a copy of this audiobook.

Right from the get go, I had a difficult time with this book. I picked it up and set it down many times and it wasn't until I was granted access to the audiobook from McMillan that I was finally able to make some progress. Weyward was one of my favorite reads of the year when it came out so I was greatly anticipating The Sirens. Unfortunately, this felt too fantasy for me to personally enjoy—where Weyward was more magical realism—and there wasn't enough plot to drive this story forward. Hart has an innate talent for beautiful, luscious prose and it shines through on the page here. Unfortunately, this plot wasn't enough to keep me interested or engaged. With that said, I do think that the audio was well produced and if I had to recommend this book, it would definitely be via audiobook.

I am immensely grateful to McMillan Audio for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such an enchanting read. It was magical with historical aspects. I loved the mystery but sibling bond to it. It truly pulled me into the sisterhood aspect and the mystery surrounding the missing sister. I loved the dual timeline. It thoroughly kept me engaged, I just had to figure everything out.

I received this Audiobook ARC from St Martin's Press and NetGalley to listen/review. All of the statements above are after I fully listened to the audiobook.

This was my first read by Emilia Hart and I enjoyed it. The perfect amount of suspense and creepy factor. It was a little predictable that Lucy was Jess’s biological daughter. I will read more from Hart in the future.

I ended up DNFing this one about half way through. It felt like it was going in circles and my interest could not be kept. I didn't feel like the alternating POVs had separate voices or characters and it felt repetitive at times. I was hoping for more action and mermaids and atmosphere. The author does have some lovely prose at points but the story wasn't coming together for me. The narrator was good though.

Overall this book was highly enjoyable and kept me interested the entire way through. I did find the reveals/twists to be predictable but it wasn't in the bad way. I wish there was more mythology talked about and included in the book. I got a little confused at the end because so much was happening but overall the pace was good.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC audiobook in exchange for my honest review!
4/5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This book was hauntingly beautiful and so unlike any other mythology retelling I have read so far. Normally I am not a fan of multiple point of views across timelines, but I found that I was actually looking forward to each characters perspective.

I highly recommend it!

The plot of the “The Sirens” follows different females and sisters over multiple generations with alternating POV. I enjoyed the change in timelines and seeing the different sides to the hardships and challenges that women were facing among different time periods.

I have to say that Lucy in present day (2019) was definitely the character that captivated me the most. Potentially because she was the most relatable to me being a modern day girly, but I also found her situation of waking up from sleep walking and her distant and strained relationship with her mysterious sister to interest me the most.