When that sweet Australian accent hit my ears, it was a siren's call!

Emilia Hart creates a fictional coastal town set in New South Wales to tell a story of magical realism inspired by true history. Lucy is having vivid dreams of two female convicts facing deportation to Australia in the 1800s. Every night, she experiences a new piece of their story - their life in Ireland, the night they were arrested, their perilous journey by sea. When Lucy needs to escape her own life, she runs away to her sister's home in Comber's bay. Except Jess is no where to be found. And in her home, Lucy finds research that matches her dreams.

Barrie Kreinik does both Australian and Irish accents impeccably from the perspective of the sisters in the past and present. Let the names and dates float over you instead of trying to cling to timelines. Everything ties together in the end in a way that is intriguing yet sensible. The twists are built in masterfully to feel like you have earned each secret instead of being blindsided. The tone shifts from suspense to women's lit but with the forward momentum of a fantasy novel. The magical realism and family secrets really lift the subject matter. I loved the end result.

I would strongly recommend picking up the audiobook because the narration really sets the scene and moves you between the past and present so easily. This is the first book I've read from the author and now, knowing their style, I will definitely read their backlog.

You've really got to hand it to Emilia Hart: The way she writes magic and fantasy mixed with history while capturing the trauma women have experienced throughout their generations is impeccable.
This one picked up for within the first few chapters and was thoroughly enjoyable throughout. I was so curious how the stories would come together and how sirens would fit in. It was so seamless. I swear the way this author writes is pure perfection. Which is high praise for someone who doesn't tend to read this genre. But I'm so thankful I dove in with Emilia. She's an auto buy authof for sure.

Also ten out of ten for the narrator. She did well capturing the voices of the characters.

Thank you Macmillan for inviting me to review The Sirens from Emilia Hart. I loved the storytelling here, Hart's signature sense of hidden worlds/identities, of mysticism and layered interconnecting stories, is the star of this story as is the excellent narration from Barrie Kreinik. I loved how the story came together and explored a variation of coming of age, the emergence of the Siren and the Siren's call, and the way the plot remained complex but easy to follow as twists and shifts in story were revealed.

Emilia Hart continues her theme of the impact of generational trauma inflicted upon women is this tale of magical realism tracing the past and present of one family.

I really enjoyed the dual timeline and magic realism of this book. I did not expect the twists of this book at all and really enjoyed it throughout.

As someone who read and really enjoy “Weyward”… this is better.

Or at least more up my alley. I’m personally very partial to a fantasy story and this leans more heavily into the elements of magical realism. You’ll see plenty of similarities in theme and style choices. The prose is again gorgeous-multiple timelines creating parallel stories, weaving the folklore and historical aspects with modern day, female focused plotlines. All the things that were so well loved about Weyward - done again with a different
mythology to draw from.

Very much will be recommending this.

I loved this! I was unsure for the first couple of chapters but I fell in love with this book. The characters were wonderful and I loved the multiple povs. The mysteries at the center of this book also really brought it all together. I saw the twist coming but that didn't change my enjoyment of this at all. Overall this book was amazing!

OMG WHAT A READ!!! Jess and Lucy have always had an odd skin condition, after seeking multiple specialists there have never been any answers. it isn't until lucy is in college that she starts sleeping walking again and having strange dreams of 2 sisters on a ship a long time ago. after an incident while sleeping walking lucy is forced to flee to cliffhouse- her sister house. when she arrives to her sister house she is nowhere to be found with her phone and keys left behind. lucy is forced to uncover the truth of who they really are and the dreams could be more than just dreams. this one is definitely different from weyward but i absolutely ate this one up!!!

I love books told through two timelines. Sirens is told from the perspective of Lucy, a modern day college student, who joins the story after trying to strangle her boyfriend in her sleep. Lucy flees and goes to see her sister, Jess, who appears to be missing. The other timeline is told from Mary's perspective in 1800. Mary and her sister Eliza are criminals on a transport ship that sinks at sea. The setting, an island where eight men have mysteriously disappeared but were lured to their deaths by a siren's song. A siren's coming of age tale, if you will, filled with mystery, and mysticism. This book had plenty of twists and turns and while not scary, per se, it had some moments where I caught myself not breathing. This is the first book I've read by Emilia Hart and I was impressed. The narrator was fantastic and engaging. Thank you to MacMillan Audio and Net Galley for an advanced copy- very much appreciated!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

“Mary wondered if the captain could hear it: the beauty being made of his prison.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another feminist magical realism delight from Emilia Hart. I found The Sirens to be gripping and I didn’t want to stop listening.

Also, this may be my favorite cover art in recent history.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a gorgeous book. Artistically, lyrically, and emotionally, this book will take you on a deeply feminist journey. Following three women who have a special connection with the sea, you will be transported to the coast of Australia.

Follow two sets of sisters, separated by hundreds of years, as they navigate the cruelties of life and find strength in their bonds. I loved this book, and while the reveals were not that surprising to me, it didn't detract from my enjoyment of book. If you've read Weyward, her first book, you'll enjoy this one too! 5 Stars for sure!

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.