Great read, took at least 50% to get invested if I'm being honest?

I didn't see either twist coming so the writer did very well there. I didn't vibe/gel with any characters but still enjoyed it

Absolutely loved this book! I was a little sceptical as it took me a while to get into but after a couple of chapters I was hooked and could not put it down. Fantastic weekend read that will take you out of this world and completely immerse you with The Sirens - can you ignore their call?

Beautiful, eerie and captivating! Emilia Harts signature writing style comes through with this beautiful and brilliant book!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC

A gripping read of dual timeline stories told from female perspectives about the historical and current struggles of male power and how the patriarchy harms everyone. Very cleverly written to show how memories & stories prevail that hide the real truths about people and about history.
I felt the understandably necessary lack of Jess' voice apart from her younger diaries meant I didn't feel as familiar with her as a character as much as I did Lucy, Mary & Eliza, though I suppose this mystery and uncertainty helped to keep the aloof uncertainty about the truth. However, the bonds these women forge and the exploration of their truths was a powerful read.

The Sirens

I enjoyed this book. I found the storyline ( two different stories running through the book past alongside present) similar to Weyward which is another of Emilia’s titles I enjoyed.


The storyline is dark in some parts especially around the convict ship Naiad transporting criminals but finding the connection between past and present for Jess, Lucy, Mary & Eliza had me intrigued and also solving the mystery of the missing men from Comber Bay.


I found this another great book by Emilia Hart - thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy.

Wow wow wow. I loved Emilia’s debut, Weyward, and The Sirens has equally impressed me.

Told through multiple points of views, and various formats including diary entries, podcasts, and dual timelines of 2019 and the 1800s, the reader is definitely engaged throughout the whole of this book.

The Sirens is a tale of strong willed, brave, fiercely independent women and is a reminder of the power of womanhood and sisterhood. There are strong feminist voices echoed through each of the main characters we meet, Lucy, Jess, Mary and Eliza, and each of them teaches us a valuable lesson. From the very beginning, with the dedication and prologue, the prose are evocative and compelling, and the story is as hopeful as it is heart-wrenching.

Emilia Hart is able to write historical fiction in such an engrossing way, that the reader really feels submerged in the text - on more than one occasion I found myself right beside Mary and Eliza in the throws of the 1800s and the trauma they were dealing with. The modern day story with Lucy and Jess was equally as enthralling as we follow Lucy running away from the drama that is unfolding at University. The only person she thinks will understand is her big sister Jess, but when she arrives at Jess’s cliff top home, she is gone. Her house stands empty, and her phone has been left behind. Lucy now has even more unanswered questions, with her only support, suddenly missing.

This was an instant yes for me, a formidable page turner, that I couldn’t put down. I NEEDED to know what was going to happen next.

Emilia Hart, 5 haunting stars. I would simply read your grocery list.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollinsUK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed "Weyward" by Emilia Hart and "The Sirens" is another great book. This time, rather than witches, she writes about mermaids. I really enjoyed the sisters' relationships Mary and Eliza / Jess and Lucy. The haunting descriptions of the dreams that Jess and Lucy have about Mary and Eliza marry the two timelines together. I love that Jess was able to channel it into her art. Part crime (men disappearing), part fantasy, this is a great take on the mermaid mythology.

Told in two timelines, The Sirens was a thought provoking book about sisters, strength, secrets, and determination. I really enjoyed The Sirens despite it being a tad slow in the beginning. I enjoyed the 'finding out who you are' aspect of this book. I also enjoyed the relationships and the themes of family, family secrets, female friendships and sisterhood. Not to mention the look at how women are/were persecuted yet remained strong throughout history. I also enjoyed the atmosphere and the feeling of being called to the sea, feeling a part of it, and being drawn to it. I liked how Mary and Eliza in the past (1800), had a strong bond and how they changed on the convict ship. I also enjoyed how Lucy (2019) (went searching for Jess, her sister and found out the truth of who she and Jess truly are.

I found this to be a very thought provoking and original book. It is wonderfully written and captivating. The characters are likeable, intriguing, and their plight is gripping. As I mentioned, this book had a slow start for me but soon I was won over and I wanted to know how things would turn out. This book combines mystery, fantasy, magical realism, and history.

The Sirens ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Emilia Hart's notable writing style, as it was the same in her first novel, Weyward, is slow-paced with rich, sensory writing. Throughout the book, you follow multiple female lead characters in a 3rd person perspective, becoming deeply connected to each character's emotions, feelings and settings. This historical fiction novel explores sisterhood, resilience, bonds across generations, women supporting women and of course, transformation. Mystery and unfolded secrets are slowly revealed, and the FMCs go through strong character development. This was a book that I enjoyed reading a little bit of every day, to give myself time to savor the thick emotions and details before diving back in.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘢 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

This book was such a beautiful, eerie, captivating read.

It’s a story of sisters connected through different time periods - 1800 & 2019. Lucy & Jess and Mary & Eliza, a dual pov.

Two sisters aboard a convict ship bound for Australia, experiencing changes through their bodies. Two sisters both in search of the truth.

I have to say that Lucy was the most interesting pov, searching for answers of what happened to her sister, the mystery of all of it.
The nightmares, the diary of Jess, the missing men disappeared over a span of decades.
It was all very raw and real, the feelings they experienced definitely got to me sometimes.

I did felt a bit like the story got really good around the 80% mark, I couldn’t put it down after that and the ending was really hauntingly beautiful!!

I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

I really enjoyed this author’s previous book Wayward so I was so keen to check out their new book The Sirens. I was not disappointed! Definitely an auto-buy author for me now.

This is such a fascinating mystery, Layers upon layers. The skill with which the author drops just the right amount of information at the right time to keep you discovering the truth of what’s happening while also providing subtle misdirection was just brilliant.

The book takes place in multiple timelines and multiple formats. We have a main character going through something terrifying who drives hours across Australia to seek her sister’s help, we have the sister’s journal from twenty years earlier and we have a historical voyage of women being transported across the world to Australia. And everything is brought together masterfully!

I found this novel so compelling. I couldn’t put it down. The women in this book have all suffered horribly at the hands of men, in different ways but they have all been scarred by their experiences. And it changes them. This metamorphosis is the crux of the book and something many of the peripheral characters struggle to understand.

I couldn’t put this book down, it was dark, evocative, horrifying at times, rage-inducing and just absolutely fascinating!

I loved Weyward so I was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately it just didn't grab me. All books take a certain amount of time to draw you in. Some it happens immediately, others a little while, or you reach a point of giving up. I nearly DNF'd this, but decided to persevere. It was past 80% (and a month of encouraging myself to keep going) when I finally became engaged, because something actually happened. But because of all that had gone before it was predictable and not particularly well drawn. All books contain clues that ultimately come together, leading to a satisfactory conclusion, but Sirens seemed to circle around itself for the majority of the book, not really taking you anywhere or giving you more to feel connected to. This might have made a good short story but to me there didn't seem to be anywhere near enough material to make up a complete novel. I'm really sorry and sad to give this review, especially after such high hopes, and I don't enjoy being critical. But it is my honest review.

I really enjoyed Weyward by Emilia Hart, so I was happy to receive a copy of Sirens, also by the author. But this was different to what I was expecting.
This is a dual timeline story between 2019 and the 1800’s. Lucy wakes up to find out that she is trying to strangle her boyfriend. Her sister Jess seems to have similar problems, so she flees to go and see her sister Jess that she hasn’t seen for over a year.
But when she gets there, she is nowhere to be found only some paintings that she has painted.
1800’s Ireland, Mary and Eliza are on a convict ship bound for Australia. She is left daunted to know what is going to happen to them when they get there.
I started this thinking this was a fantasy novel involving mermaids. But there was only snippet of that in the story and it was mostly about Lucy and Jess. I found this story to be slow for me personally which stop me engaging to the story. I really tried to carry on reading but this didn’t excite me what so ever. So much that I didn’t finish it. 2.5 stars from me.

I must preface this by saying that Emilia Hart's first book 'Weyward' had such an impact that I will always, without fail, read whatever she writes.

The Sirens was a beautiful and impactful read, but feel slightly short of the bar that Hart set with 'Weyward. In some ways it felt like the format, trials and tribulations of the female protagonists had just been recycled from the first book; I was hoping the similarities would simply be in Hart's themes and style but instead it just felt a little bit too same-y and predictable.

That being said it was an enjoyable read and one that I would definitely recommend. The prose was beautiful and the protagonist one you really wanted to succeed and find happiness. Unfortunately, it just didn't live up to the bar set by 'Weyward'.

I absolutely loved this book! I felt like Emilia Hart had a big job living up to her previous novel Weyward, but she smashed it! Such originality in the story line, once again loved all the characters in their own way. Some heavy and heart gripping storylines running through the novel which just made the book all the more lovable and raw. Will be recommending!

2.75 ⭐️

This is a dual timeline (1800s/2000s) set across 2 countries (Ireland/Australia) thriller/fantasy type book.
I will say from the cover and the premise I was expecting more fantasy/sirens/mermaids and was a little disappointed.
I found it very slow to begin with and the ending wasn’t as satisfying as I’d hoped.

Very grateful to NetGalley and HC for the E-ARC!

This book certainly lives up to its name… the well plotted storyline and mesmerising characters draws you into the centre of its universe. The differing timelines add emphasis to the structure of the plot so you stay on a steady course for things to unravel around you. Beautifully haunting is how I would describe it!

I really enjoyed Weyward, so I was excited to read The Sirens. This story follows Lucy, who, dealing with some troubles at university, heads out to reconnect with her sister Jess—only to find that Jess has disappeared. Soon, Lucy begins to experience unsettling dreams. Alongside Lucy’s journey, we’re also introduced to the tale of two Irish sisters who were sent to Australia as convicts in the 1800s.

I was quickly drawn into both the storyline and character development. Although it took me a few pages to fully settle into the story, I could tell from the start that I’d find it compelling. Hart's writing style kept me engaged, and the book is filled with unexpected twists, some of which I anticipated without detracting from the suspense. I was particularly captivated by the exploration of family bonds and the way the novel gradually reveals secrets from both the past and present.

Overall, this was an absorbing read that I’d highly recommend to fans of rich, character-driven mysteries.

There is a lot to digest in this latest novel by Emilia Hart, the story, centuries apart, follows convicted sisters Mary and Eliza who are being transported to New South Wales in 1788 and sisters Lucy and Jess in present day.
There are similarities between both sets of sisters and as the story progresses these become more prominent.
Though the years in Camber Bay men have been going missing, all feared drowned but bodies never recovered.
The strength of women and sisterhood is predominantly the story here and the call of the sea is never far away.
I really enjoyed the book, I felt it was very descriptive, the ruggedness of Camber Bay and and the dereliction of Cliff House added to the claustrophobic conditions on board the convict ship.
I'm grateful to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.
I will leave my review on Goodreads, Bookmory and Storygraph now and then on Amazon and Waterstones on publication day

A rare book in that is mainly set in Australia but made me feel cold! It took me a while to get into this book, the dual timeframe slowed the pace to such a point that it did detract from the urgency of the modern day thread. Once the many mysteries were set in motion there was lots to capture my imagination and reel me in.

I am not a natural magical realism reader, maybe that unsettled me, but I found the skin and gills quite disturbing. I did end up checking my neck every now and then just to make sure that I wasn't transforming.

All in all a good read - although now I am writing this, how come Lucy got away with the initial assault? Did Ben have a fit of conscience?