I sang you to sleep, and I robbed you of wealth

And again I'm a maid on the shore.

I loved Weyward by Emilia Hart, so I was very excited to hear that she had written The Sirens. Having read the blurb, I was drawn to the unnusual nature of the story. I didn't realise that female convicts were transported to Austraila so I was very interested in that aspect of the story, and who doesn't love a good siren story.

One thing I enjoy about Emilia Hart's writing is the strong narrative voice of her female characters, this was particularly true for me in Mary and Jess' timelines.

"The words choke out of him, his voice strangled. Strangled. Her hands on his neck, the bulge of his eyes. She'd been strangling him."

The Sirens begins with Lucy waking to find herself trying to strangle her ex-lover Ben and mortified by her actions she flees to her sister Jess' cliff-top home. Jess has always held herself a little bit apart from the rest of the family but she and Lucy have shared recent moment of closeness and Lucy feels Jess will help her in this time of crisis. However, when she arrives at the house Jess is nowhere to be found.

Lucy suffers from vivid dreams, dreams of two sisters convicted of assault and sent to Austrailia in squalid conditions. Lucy is suprised to see that Jess has painted images of the sister's from her dreams. What does it mean, and why has Jess chosen to move to a crumbling house in a town awash with rumours of women's voices murmuring on the waves, eight men disappearing between 1960 and 1997, and a baby found abandoned in a sea cave at Devil's lookout in 1982?

Prior to reading I was expecting to be more interested in the modern timelines but it was Mary and Eliza who captured my attention the most. Their closeness stood in sharp contrast to the distance between Lucy and Jess and had me wondering at the reasons behind the distance Jess enforced between herself and the rest of the family.

Initially I felt there was a disparity between the two timelines and I couldn't see how the two would connect, but as the story progressed it became more cohesive.

Both timelines are about women being forced into action because of a man, likewise both timelines highlight inequalities in the treatment of men and women, but also feminine resilience.

As a mother of a son I was enraged reading the university administration's response to Lucy's troubles, and if my son ever did something like that I would be disgusted. However, I can imagine that some parents would react in that way.

Mary and Eliza's story was my favourite of the timelines and the one I initially found myself waiting for. I enjoyed reading about the camraderie that developed between the women, and about the small ways they discovered to keep each other going.

'A woman on a ship. Bad luck, so.'

Bad luck or not, the hold buzzed constantly with women's voices like angry wasps. Everyone sharing their stories. There was pain, but laughter, too. Relief in speaking, in hearing your own voice and recognising it."

I flew through the chapters from Jess' diary and even though I suspected the big reveal very early on in the story it didn't lessen my enjoyment. There was one element I have seen discussed a lot in other reviews, saying they didn't think it worked. However, whilst it wasn't one I can say I enjoyed, it absolutely worked in terms of the plot and it certainly evoked strong emotions.

Emilia Hart just became an auto-buy author for me.

After the breath-taking debut of Weyward, I was sceptical that Emilia Hart's The Sirens could reach the same heights—but I was thrilled to realise that this wasn't the case! This novel is a veritable triumph, seamlessly weaving themes of female strength and resilience amidst the grim backdrop of female convict ships to the Australian Colonies.

The plot centres around Lucy, running from her past and searching for her sister Jess, who vanishes in a desolate cliff-top house. As Lucy navigates the eerie seaside town, she encounters stories of mysterious male disappearances, a foundling discovered in a sea-swept cave, and the haunting whispers of women on the waves. These voices recount tales of two sisters, Mary and Eliza, twins from Ireland in the 1800's who are convicted of a felony and sent on a ship to Australia. The girls leave behind their father, having lost their mother to the sea when they were young.

Hart masterfully intertwines historical fiction with an almost ethereal atmosphere using Irish folklore as a backdrop. This engages the reader in Lucy's quest while expertly highlighting the timeless struggle of female resilience and defiance. The connection between past and present is beautifully rendered, creating a narrative that is hauntingly familiar yet distinctively unique.

The Sirens is a compelling read, sure to captivate readers with its vivid storytelling, rich character development, and poignant themes. Emilia Hart has once again proven her literary prowess, delivering a story that echoes the voices of the past while resonating deeply with contemporary audiences. A must-read!

It's so easy to get wrapped up in an Emilia Hart book; her writing is so captivating and gorgeous, if not occasionally a touch overwrought.

But when you tie this lovely, lyrical writing with great flawed female characters, mysterious happenings (. . . you can kind of easily guess the main plot twists, however), magical realism (mermaids?!?!), and put a bow of supporting women's wrongs on top of it, you get a very engaging and enjoyable read, and what more can you ask for?

Thank you to the publisher, The Borough Press, and to NetGalley for the ARC.

It’s one of *those books* that will leave you thinking about it for way longer than closing the book after the last page - it leaves you with a feeling that you just can’t shake - yet another 6 STAR read from Emilia Hart!

The twists and turns of this story kept me hooked, I was rapidly turning pages between the multiple POVs and timelines. I loved Jess’ diary element revealing secrets from the past - I thought I’d guessed the storyline halfway through but was mistaken with a jaw dropping turn of events that was revealed so magnificently.

I love how Emilia looks into often forgotten areas of history and gives the women the platform and recognition that they deserve whilst weaving in Celtic folklore in a haunting yet comforting way.

The haunting atmosphere of the caves and cliff house, weird dreams and fractured relationships made for one of the best reading experiences I’ve ever had.

Thank you Borough Press for the gifted earc in exchange for an honest review.

A captivating read that again sees Emilia Hart put women, and the utter horror they experience at the hands of men, at the centre of the story.

In Weyward, which I loved, the women were witches. This time round, Emilia has placed her focus on the sirens of the sea! The story begins with Lucy, who escapes to her sister Jessica's house, after she has violently attacked a fellow student in her sleep. The student wants to press charges, so Lucy flees., but when she gets to the house, her sister is nowhere to be seen. She's also left behind her phone, meaning she is unreachable. Lucy begins to do some digging and starts to unravel a story that is going to have a lasting impact on her life.

Parallel to this, we hear the story of Mary and Eliza, twins from the 1800's who are convicted of a felony and sent on a ship to Australia. The girls lived with their father, who raised them alone since their Mam was lost at sea. Their story predominantly shares the journey on board said ship.

Emilia is a consummate story teller, and her prose is beautifully written, she's such a scene setter. The senses are captured brilliantly - you can really smell the sea and feel the wind on your face, it is so immersive. The supernatural elements are set out well too. It's not at all "Disney mermaids" and therefore more believable.

The historical side is well researched, - how terrible the English have been throughout history. though I'm ashamed! . Invading Ireland, sending convicts to another invaded country, Australia. They put women in camps to be chosen by men as wives, concubines or servants. All very harrowing stuff.

I loved it. Emilia has cemented herself as an auto buy author for me now. Thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really struggled to finish this book, and almost DNF'd multiple times. However, I had heard so many good things about this title, and was really looking forward to being able to ARC read this book.

While I was really excited about the premise of this book, I found the characters a little flat and lacking. I was also looking forward to stories being told across multiple timelines, but found them a little disjointed and hard to follow at times.

Nevertheless, I am a fan of this author's work, and would read more books of hers in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for this ARC.

Having been so excited for The sirens after reading Wayward last year, I was probably setting myself up for a fail due to my high expectations. The Sirens wasn’t what I expected and I found that it didn’t really grab my attention or develop an engaging plot until very close to the end. The two timelines is usually a favourite storyline for me but here I wasn’t invested like I expected to be. Don’t get me wrong, this is beautifully written but it just didn’t make me want to keep reading.
I liked this but I just didn’t love it.

Emilia Hart’s debut novel Weyward involved generations of witchcraft in the English countryside. Her follow up, The Sirens, involves a different kind of traditionally female mythological creature. Once again Hart works across multiple timelines, using this structure to dole out the reveals which, unfortunately, are all too predictable.
The Sirens opens with a bang. Lucy wakes from a particularly vivid dream to find it is not a dream at all but rather that she is strangling Ben, a peer at university who, it turns out cyberbullied her. Unable to deal with the fallout of this, Lucy flees to her much older sister Jess, who lives in an old house in Comber Bay, a small fishing village on the South Coast of NSW, a place famous for a series of strange disappearances. On the way she is plagued by dreams of a pair of Irish sisters, convicts who are being transported to Australia. And when she arrives, not on is the house is open and Jess is missing but in Jess’s studio are paintings depicting the same sisters that Lucy has seen in her dreams. So begins Lucy’s quest to find the truth about Jess and, in many respects, herself.
The Sirens brings Australian/English author Hart back to Australia. And in The Sirens she effectively captures the landscape, the characters and the cadences of Comber Bay and its inhabitants. She also uses this story to tell the very real, often harrowing story of the women transported to Australia during the convict era. But the overarching narrative to carry all of this is fairly thin, told as what is essentially all Lucy’s backstory and full of reveals that have been telegraphed well in advance. So that overall The Sirens is an often interesting but ultimately unsatisfying piece of modern mythmaking.

Lucy desperately needs the comfort and support offered only by her sister, Jess. But when she visits her sibling’s home, Jess is gone and Lucy feels fully alone in the world, in a town where rumours abound. But where are the women’s voices coming from? As they get louder, they begin to tell a story that will have similar links to what Jess and Lucy are going through. This is beautifully written, but subtle, making the reader almost lean into the words to ensure they don’t miss a second.

Written across different timelines, the story follows the journey of Mary and her twin Eliza from Cork in Ireland across the sea to New South Wales. Being 1800 and convicted of assault, their punishment is transportation. Then there is Lucy , a uni student in 2019, who has assaulted a fellow student whilst walking in her sleep. Fleeing the campus, Lucy heads to Comber Bay, where her older sister Jess has recently located to. Hoping for a safe haven, Lucy is surprised to find the house a complete mess, and Jess seems to have disappeared. Finding Jess’s schoolgirl diary from 1998, Lucy becomes aware of the comparisons and coincidences that both sisters have with Mary and Eliza.

After loving Weyward this was a book I was really looking forward to. Hart writes so beautifully and with real feeling towards her characters.

This is no Weyward and I did struggle to read due to the slowness of the plots. I did finish, but it was definitely an effort until Part 3, when the narrative became from the POV of Jess.

I do admire this author and appreciate her writing, but two thirds of this book were too slow and mundane, with the twists signposted well before they were revealed. With no depth to the characterisation, it all felt a little flat. I wasn’t eager to pick it up and continue. A neat ending with an unsurprising epilogue.

2.5*

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins UK.

Emilia Hart's second novel is a compelling and atmospheric story that captivated me from the beginning.
In 2019, Lucy wakes up to find herself strangling an ex-boyfriend. Within hours, her entire future is upended. Cast out of university and isolated from her family, she has no choice but to turn to her absent sister in the seaside town of Comber Bay.
Little does she know, the ones she considers safe have secrets. A string of mysterious disappearances have shaken the town over its long history while stories abound about Sirens - the dangerously beautiful sea creatures of Greek Mythology - in the nearby cove.

I don't want to spoil too much; the joy here is watching the plot unravel for yourself. The highlight was the way in which Hart portrayed her settings. As I read, I was transported to the Australian coast, feeling the sea breeze on my face and hearing the whisper of the tide. A few pages later, I was adrift in a convict ship crossing the ocean. I was concerned about how the two might line up towards the beginning, but I needn't have worried.

It came to a dreamy, authentic conclusion in the last few pages. Through two narratives and several timelines, Hart skilfully weaves themes of Sisterhood, Misogyny, Motherhood and Revenge into a story that will resonate with women of all ages. I would, however, caution vulnerable readers to tread carefully. There are moments of body horror/sexual abuse that could be upsetting - as well as a prominent Adult-Minor Relationship.

I would not have chosen to pick this up in a bookstore as i am not sure what classification it would be under so i may have missed it. Its not fantasy, more of a thriller with supernatural elements.

Told in a dual timeline, you have Mary and Eliza in the 1800's and Jess and Lucy in the present day.

Mary and Eliza are sisters deported from Ireland and sent on a Slave ship to Australia. They are taken away from their father and spend months locked in shackles in the ships hold. It was very harrowing to read this section, how women at that time were treated, abused, starved, beaten, it was a barbaric time and i feel that the author wrote about this quite sensitively.

Jess and Lucy are also sisters, Lucy is at university when she is accused of assaulting a room mate and flees the campus to go and find her sister Jess but when she gets to Jess's house she has disappeared and Lucy sets off to find her.

All 4 women are allergic to water, it covers their skin in horrific blisters and they have all been told to stay away from water. This deep rooted fear is apparent in the old timeline especially when the women find themselves slopping about in water all the time, whereas in modern times its a little easier to deal with.

There are a few twists and turns in this book, there is a bit of an odd viewpoint in the end of one of the men in the story which i didnt really understand, and i didnt understand how Mary, Eliza, Jess, and Lucy are connected because its never really explained.

I appreciate the time and dedication the author took to wrte this book, she said she deleted over 300,000 words over the course of a decade trying to write it.

Its a story about family, love, resilience, and the female spirit. However it also contains themes of abuse, child sexual exploitation, slavery, assault, rape, and violence. All things women have had to suffer at the hands of men for centuries, and i do feel that it was written in a sympathetic way, an i say that as a rape survivor. I was certainly not triggered by this book, but felt incredulous at the excuses they gave for doing it.

I enjoyed the book and would read more from this author in the future.

I read as little about this book as I could prior to reading it so really didn't know what to expect. I'm glad that this was the case as allowing the story to unravel with minimal knowledge of the story and no expectations of what it was going to be really was the best way to read it.

It is a story of female resilience across different time periods, with secrets and a hunt for the truth tying these women together. There is a fantasy element but this comes about slowly, with the main bulk of the story being focused on each of the women's stories.

I loved the switching to different perspectives and the use of diary entries. I very quickly grew attached to each of the women involved in the story and found that I couldn't put the book down.

Unfortunately, I did figure out the end of all the stories quite early on and that is the only reason I couldn't give the story 5 stars. I wanted the mystery to be maintained for longer but even with me knowing what was going to happen, I was hooked.

I enjoyed Emilia Hart’s debut, Weyward and was excited to read her follow-up novel, The Sirens. Whilst poetic and lyrical in its prose, I didn’t enjoy it as much as Weyward.

This story is told over two timelines, following Mary and Eliza in the 1800s and Lucy in 2019. As with her previous novel, Emilia Hart’s writing is lyrical and elegant and captures your attention from the first page.

The story explores the powerful bond of sisterhood and feminism in a fantastical setting. It’s evocative and beautifully written.

I just didn’t have the same eagerness to speed through this one as I did with Weyward. I love a feminist story and can attest to the bonds of sisterhood, but I did guess the twist early on and the representation of men, in a blanket portrayal, was not something I was completely on board with.

Despite that, this is still a beautifully written book and an interesting read for anyone who enjoys a bit of fantastical folklore in their contemporary books.

When I originally read the synopsis for Sirens, I was so excited as I've always been intrigued by the lore if mermaids and sirens. When I got about 60% in I realized that this book wasn't fir me unfortunately. I found the pacing to be quite slow, and felt like I had to really push myself to keep reading. I was also hoping for way more focus on mermaids, so I was a but let down by that unfortunately.unfortunately. I ended up DNFing at about 80%.

It is safe to say that this book is somewhat outside of my comfort zone. I'm a crime and thriller reader by heart, and it is not often I journey beyond the safe harbour of that genre, but having read and loved Weyward, the author's previous novel, I knew that I would make an exception. In some ways, the story of The Sirens borders onto the genre in that there is a mystery which threads through the narrative, but it is not a story that is about so much more than just the seemingly inexplicable disappearance of a woman on the virtual eve of her own art exhibition. A dual timeline story that speaks of folklore and legend, whilst dipping into the tragic history of some of the earliest settlers in Australia, this is a beautifully written, mystical story that links so many relatable and enduring themes in literature.

Emilia Hart has a knack for writing stories which demonstrate the strength of women in adversity and this is no exception. As with her previous book, the women in question may not understand their own powers, and in this case if differs greatly in how it presents to the world, but this journey of discovery is one that drew me in and made me want to learn more about the characters, particularly those from the historical sections of the novel, Mary and Eliza. The two women in the present day, Lucy and her sister, Jess, are easily relatable, and there is much in their own stories which could have been ripped from the headlines. For Mary and Eliza, two young women ripped from their family home after being convicted for defending themselves against an attack and sentenced to be exiled to Australia, their stories are more harrowing, and sorrowful, but help to explain the mysticism behind the story.

I like how the author has tied to two threads of the story together, with Lucy and Jess bith haunted by dreams of Mary and Eliza, although neither is able to understand why or what it is that draws them, Jess especially, to the town of Comber Bay. There is a secret in play, that the author carefully reveals to us as readers, although if you pay attention you will probably be able to work out one of the many mysteries that Jess and the rest of their family try to keep hidden. The further the author draws us into the story, the clearer the answer to the mysteries becomes, and particularly to one that clouds the history and the reputation of the town itself. But it is the mystery of Eliza and Mary, of Jess and Lucy, that lends itself to the title of the book, and to the mythology at the heart of the story.

This is not a fast paced novel, so it you are looking for stark revelations, moments of real threat or incitement, you won't find it here. There are scenes that can make you angry, the inhuman treatment of the women being exiled and transported to Australia to be used as human chattel being chief amongst them. An inconvenient truth of colonial history that should perhaps be more widely known. But it is more for the beautifully evocative and lyrical language that I find myself drawn back to the author. She is able to create such imagery in her writing, elicit such feeling, that I could almost taste the salt in the air, and the stench of decay amongst the women travelling for so long in the dank prisonlike cabins of the boat as they made their way across the seas.

As for the haunting scenes of Lucy and Jess's present, and the unnerving dreams they both experience, they are well designed to lead us towards the only real conclusion we can draw about the nature of their genetic affliction that links them to the past. None of it should come as a surprise if you consider the title of the book, but the execution, the way in which the women, both past and present, given themselves to their fates, or make the ultimate in sacrifice to save those they love, is a beautiful thing to read.

Very different to Weyward, yes. I will remember it more for Eliza and Mary's story, and those of the women they travelled with, but I still found myself swept up in the wax and wane of the author's narrative and I am very glad I took to the waves with them all.

I was lucky enough to hear Emilia Hart speaking about her debut book Weyward back in October 2022 which really sparked my interest in her writing and I was thrilled that the proof we were given lived up to its promise.

When I saw that her next novel would be centring mermaids, my marine dwelling heart knew I’d have to make a beeline for it (thanks NetGalley and Borough Press for the advanced reviewer copy) and reading it on the beach in the Mexican sunshine was perfect escapism.

Drawing together themes of feminism, righting historical wrongs, sisterhood and family dynamics with a big dollop of the more fantastical - I think this is a safe bet for folks who enjoyed Weyward. Personally, I found The Sirens more compelling and more nuanced so I’m excited to hear how others found it. I particularly enjoyed the atmospheric setting of the small ocean edge community in Australia.

The Sirens is out in the UK on 13th Feb and I’ve seen a deliciously scaly spredge edition that I may have to get my mitts on!

What a beautifully written and truly captivating story. I found the narrative vivid, and through Hart's descriptive writing, i was drawn into the world in which she has created.

Told over two timelines, it follows Mary's journey with her twin sister in the 1800s and Lucy's with her sister in 2019. Their stories are connected in some way, and Lucy is trying to work out why she is so drawn to Mary's story. I enjoyed reading about both these stories, full of mystery and intrigue, mixing history and folklore of that of the Sirens. They were engaging, heartbreaking, and emotional, but alongside that, they show you the resilience of women.

I'm always compelled to read books that tell stories of women who have been wronged by men, and this is exactly what The Sirens is. One that shows women accepting and embracing who we are, the strength of women and the bonds of sisterhood.

Thank you to The Borough Press for my ARC and to Netgalley.

My opinions are my own

3.5 / 5 - thanks to Netgalley and Borough Press for the ARC.

The Sirens tells the story of two sets of sisters - one set in present day Australia and the other in the 1800s on an Irish female convict ship heading to Australia.

The prose is brilliant. Emilia is a very talented writer and her words create such vivid worlds - this was the first thing that I was struck by, not having read Weyward yet.

I loved the storyline between Lucy and Jess, and I was so invested but the let down for me was the Mary and Eliza narrative. I just couldn't care enough about them and it had me skim reading through their chapters. The story lagged a little during the 20-40% mark but once you're over that hump, it picks up the pace on Lucy and Jess's narrative.

Loved the twist near the end, it caught me off guard and I didn't expect it.

Emilia Hart is a true story teller. The sirens is like Wayward, in as much as the story revolves around women finding strength to act with more than a hint of mystical magic on top. This story revolves around the present (2019), the near past before this and the 1800s. These individual links are drawn closer in outcome and linked history as the story progresses. You may not believe in Siren’s, but I hope like me you will listen to the call to read this book. Thank you to Harper Collins UK, Harper fiction and Net Galley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.