Book review || The sirens by Emilia Hart
Edition : ARC
Rating : 3.5/5⭐️
⚠️Spoiler free review⚠️

Key words : women, mystery, unreliable timeline, mermaids

Thank you to Emilia Hart and NetGalley, for the amazing opportunity to read : The sirens as an ARC.

This book is scooby doo x mermaids of mako x diverse timelines
I liked the mystery part of trying to decipher everything between the journals to real people, who all the other persons on the boats were and what let to Mary and Eliza being together on the way to Australia. Everyone having (somewhat) stories to tell and were just not categorized as secondary character.
However it is VERY slow, around 1/3 of the book in I was so close to DNFing it.
And in the first 2-3 chapters I knew were this was going. Anyways I liked that it tackled deep subject such as family issues, manipulation and abuse.

Book review 📚
The Sirens by Emilia Hart
⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I was introduced to Emilia when I was kindly sent the ARC for Weyward, and I absolutely fell in love with her writing. Emilia has such a beautiful way of writing, to the point you find yourself crying over scenes that are not necessarily sad but the way Hart writes them, that’s what makes them sad. It’s becoming very clear that Emilia Hart has become an auto buy author for me because Sirens did not let her down.

Sirens is a story that involves three sisters, who are separated by hundreds of years. You shift from current day to 1800s within the book and have multiple POVs from various women along the way. Hart truly opened up the story with the timeline and POVs. From the timeline and POVs you get an insight into a women’s role within society, both past and present.
The story itself is truly unique and I have not seen anything like it from any other authors. It was eerie, magical and surreal. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and this will easily be joined on my shelf along with Weyward.

The Sirens, Emilia Hart's evocative story, seamlessly combines past and present, myth and reality. After a terrible breakup, Lucy goes to her sister's isolated seaside village. The uncanny disappearance of men, whispered stories of angry women, and Lucy's developing connection to two sisters from ages before await her when her sister Jess goes gone.

The book's evocative writing is its strength. With its dark secrets and otherworldly elements, the beach scene feels alive. Hart brilliantly integrates feminist themes, addressing women's fury and perseverance across time, giving voice to the voiceless.

The Sirens will appeal to gothic fiction fans of The Essex Serpent, The Mermaid,. Slow-burning mystery with rich, lyrical prose that leaves you uneasy after the last page. A disturbing, thought-provoking read.

The sirens

After having read Weyward by this author I honestly couldn’t contain my excitement when I saw her announcing this next novel which would include freaking sirens! I’m both fascinated and intrigued by the sea and everything that lives in it (yes, I believe in mermaids. Fight me) and I feel like this vibe was perfectly transferred to Hart’s new novel. It was a pretty dark read but honestly it was so good, the darkness was necessary for this story although I get that it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Again, sister- and womanhood is one, if not the biggest, main topic in The sirens and I feel like writing these strong bonds between women while captivating those eerie vibes is one of this author’s strong suits. Her books are just very different from anything else i’ve ever read and I mean that in the best way possible . Emilia Hart is becoming one of my auto buy authors and I cannot wait to see what she’s got next up on her sleeve.

Wow what a book! was so looking forward to reading this one as I really enjoyed Weyward and I would say I liked this one even better! We begin with an intro to how convicts from the UK were sent to New South Wales in Australia in the 18th century. We then start the story with us meeting Lucy who is sleepwalking and after an incident causes her to leave her uni to go and visit her sister Jess, 100s of miles away on the coast the book flips between now and then - being back in the 1800s where Mary and her sister Eliza are being shipped over after being imprisoned.
I loved how atmospheric the writing style was, the sisterhood between both sisters and also the magic ability of water. I will be recommending to others

I enjoyed Weyward so was interested to read this new book from Emilia Hart. Whilst I enjoyed the history and story of Eliza and Mary and the prison transport to Australia I was not so engaged with the present day story of Lucy and Jess. I think the fantasy element put me off a bit.

A dark, twisting tale of sisterhood, told by a three way POV and hundreds of years apart.

I really enjoyed this story by Emilia Hart, the first book I've read by her, but I will definitely be on the look out for others.

The Sirens is a story of sisters separated by hundreds of years, but bound together in more ways than they can imagine.

“With this awakening, there’d been something else, too. A new awareness of her power. Freed from her prior inhibitions - from the compulsion to be nice, to be a good girl - she’d become something she could never have imagined being. She’d become … dangerous”

Firstly, I think Emilia Hart is becoming an auto-buy author for me. I think she writes beautifully, and always manages to trigger some sort of emotion from me. I really enjoyed reading Weyward, and I’m glad I had a similar experience when reading The Sirens.

This was a powerful story, written from multiple POV’s of women in different time periods. I loved how Emilia has weaved the different storylines together and linked these women to each other across centuries. The undercurrents of complexities of sisterhood (both blood relative and non-related) was so emotive to read. Emilia writes characters so well, and I was invested in every single one of them and their backstories - watching the mysteries unravel piece by piece had me gripped. Seeing each one on their path of self-discovery and embracing their true selves was a treasure.

The setting was very well done, and was eerie at times which really played into the story. Emilia is very talented at painting a scene and I could picture everything so clearly!

I don’t have many hang-ups about this book, but I do have some. Mainly, I wasn’t satisfied with how one of the plot points was wrapped up - basically it wasn’t, and for a story about powerful women and how they overcome the wrongs done to them, it was disappointing not to get closure on this.

Overall, it was an emotional read, and also inspiring watching the MC’s heal and transform after what they have been through. If you enjoyed Weyward, chances are, you’ll also enjoy The Sirens!

As soon as I saw Emila Hart had written another book I just had to read it. After loving Weyward i knew this would be my kind of book. I have to admit for about quarter of the book I did struggle as I couldn't really get into it and nearly dnf but I'm glad I kept on with it. The story line is a fantastic idea and i love the way the book jumps through different timelines but for me i though there would be a bit more Siren mythology wrapped in this book. The way Hart has written this book is great but at times it did leave me wondering where it was going. I loved the way the book was ended as eveeything was wrapped up perfectly and i wasnt left with any questiins about what happened to the characters. I give this book three and a half stars. I would recommend others to read it but to be honest I would recommend Weyward first.

A solid read. Not quite as effective as Weyward for me but still very good. I found elements of the plot a little predictable but not in a way that impacted my enjoyment.

Emilia Hart's debut, Weyward, was one of my favourite books of 2023 and it remains one of the most brilliant novels I've never read, so of course I was beyond excited to read her second novel, The Sirens. Unfortunately, this felt like such a departure from the first book... The writing is still great and beautiful, but the story and the characters didn't work for me at all. I usually love when a work of historical fiction jumps between different periods of time, but in this book it felt very disjointed and I found myself skip or skim-read the 1800s chapters. As much as i wanted, I could not sympathise and connect with Lucy and found her chapters very repetitive. I know Emilia Hart writes beautifully so I will definitely read her next novel.

This book!! I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The beginning of this book has an eerie feel and grabs you instantly. I throughly enjoyed the shifting storyline/timeline from the 1800s to 2019. You have historical fiction, magical realism, and feminist power.

The themes throughout this book were compelling and character development was amazing to see.

The overall story had an amazing pace and I was constantly wondering where it was going to go. It was thought provoking and reminded me about the power of female stories.

Emilia Hart is a showstopper. Weyward was one of my top books last year and now I have been captured by The Sirens.
This dark, gritty exploration of feminine power, of pain and loss and of sisterhood thrums start to end. Brilliant storytelling weaved between three different perspectives.

Without saying any spoilers, I Wasn’t too sure what to expect going into this book but can gladly say I really enjoyed it! Dual timelines I usually find are either amazing or quite tricky to navigate. But this was amazing. This book was so many things rolled up into one. And it made for a great story and great read.
Definitely would recommend!

A beautiful story that captures the facets and emotions of sisterhood. Very magical and whimsical. I love Emilia’s style of storytelling.

I really loved this book! The dual timeline gave it a great historical element, the storyline is really unique and I never saw the twists coming!
Hard to put this one down. It's definitely book a ill remember

A haunting and evocative exploration of sisterhood intertwined with the power and mystery of the sea. The Sirens weaves together differing perspectives and timelines, slowly unraveling the threads of each story with a captivating sense of inevitability. Some aspects of the plot surprised me and kept me engaged; however, I would say that the pacing occasionally lagged, which might deter some readers. Overall though, the eerie nature of Lucy’s predicament and the nods to siren mythology kept me thoroughly engaged until the end.

A beautiful tale of sisterly and familial love. It swept me completely and I could not put it down. The elements of magical realism were just the cherry on top I needed. Loved it.

I didn’t have any expectations going into this book, however I loved it.

The story had me gripped from the start. We follow the story of 2 sets of sisters, one set are in the present day and the other are prisoners on board a ship to Australia. The conditions the women were kept on the ship were horrific and the story portrays this well.

All 4 sisters suffer from the condition aquagenic urticaria, however all are drawn to the sea or water.

Lucy is the main character in the present day who is trying to find her sister and also unravel the mystery of the twin sisters she sees in her dreams and how they connect to her life.

The story is haunting and atmospheric and kept me hooked till the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Emilia Hart and Harper Collins Uk for the ARC

After reading Weyward by this author I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this book but I quite enjoyed it! It wasn’t jaw dropping or one I will remember forever but it was a good time