This is a mythical, magical, fantastical book about the power of women, sisterhood and water.set aboard a transportation ship bound for NSW in 1801 and in NSW 2019, it follows the lives and secrets of 2 pairs of sisters whose lives strangely mirror each other's. Emotional reading, i loved it.

After adoring Weyward by Emilia Hart I just needed to read The Sirens as soon as possible. Female mystical realism rage book, sign me up! Although it took me a little while to get into this book, as it started in a very abstract and weird way, the more I read the more I fell in love with it. In fact, for me, this book was even better than Weyward. The writing was brilliant, with loads of beautiful descriptions, an intriguing storyline and a fascinating set of characters... I loved the tension and mysticism surrounding the story and how the two timelines intertwined with one another in the end. I also liked how this book covered other important subjects, like grooming, feminism, and sexual abuse but in a way that added depth to the story. Honestly, this book had it all!

The first timeline of this story is set in 2019 and follows Lucy who one day wakes up from sleepwalking and finds herself nearly choking the guy she slept with. She flees the university and goes to the first place she thinks of, her sister Jess's new house. Once she gets there she realises that Jess disappeared leaving behind various paintings of the two women and a ship that Lucy had dreamed about for years. Lucy then decides to figure out what is going on, why is she dreaming about those women, why her sister is missing and why the place where Jess now lives is so important. The second timeline in this book follows Eliza and Mary, two sisters who are on a convict ship to Australia in 1800s.

I adored how the timelines worked together and how atmospheric, yet mystic and intriguing the whole story was. Mysticism and mythology just added to the story and made a really powerful read that celebrates women and their strength. It is definitely a book that is going to stay with me for a long time and I am so glad I got to read it before its release,

This book magically weaves together the past and the present, I found myself with an urgent need to find out what was happening, not a slow read, but one where you race to the end so you can complete the picture! Lucy is running from what she has done – and what someone did to her. There is only one person who might understand: her sister Jess. But when Lucy arrives at her sister’s desolate cliff-top house, Jess is gone. Lucy is now alone, in a strange town steeped in rumour. Stories of men disappearing without a trace. A foundling discovered in a sea-swept cave. And women’s voices murmuring on the waves Are these voices luring Lucy closer to her sister? Or will the secrets of the past pull them both under? Fabulously dark and twisty whilst still so poignant.

This was my first time with a book by this author, so I had no idea of what to expect from it, really.
I was intrigued by the plot (historical + mermaids) and I don't regret reading it.
However, I don't think I'm the right audience for this book.
I was initially very invested in the 'present' timeline, following Lucy's POV - and not so much in the other 2 POVs.
But as the story moved on, I found myself no longer curious or entertained by Lucy's storyline. I liked the turmoils of his relationship with her sister, but in general it all fell flat to me.
Also unfortunately, the 'historical' part of this story didn't clique with me.
The mermaid's lore was cool, but sometimes it got way too 'fantasy' for my taste.
I'll say this is the classic 'I'm not the right audience for this book' case.
I can see many readers enjoying this book, though.
I recommend it to readers who generally are into fantasy/historical stories.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, for providing me with a free eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest opinion.

A novel that twists together two mysteries, centuries apart at the same bay, of family finding their way back to each other, led by sisterly figures Lucy and Jess in the present and Mary and Eliza in the past. The connection beyond the geographic commonality seemed weak between the two storylines until the literal end; a twist I didn't foresee. I found the present-day storyline more compelling than the past one, with a greater mix of different "mediums" to tell it. Although, the past storyline was moody and tense all the same. Beyond the ending twist, I feel like the two stories are a bit too disconnected from each other and the title not doing much favours for the story it represents.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin Press for providing me with the e-ARC/DRC in exchange for an honest review.

The first part of this book was slow paced. Setting the story.
But once the story got going I was much more invested. Wanting to see what the connection between the two timelines was.
There were moments I was a little lost or confused. But overall by the end I felt the story explained it all pretty well.

I do not think I would have finished this book if I hadn't received an arc. Now, looking at the book page on Goodreads, I see a number of people DNFed it for a lot of the same reasons I wanted to.

Hart's Weyward was a very pleasant surprise for me last year. It was also the whole reason I couldn't wait to read this book. Strong writing; strong characters; intriguing story... but I think The Sirens can only really lay claim to the first one of those. Some beautiful description was all it really had going for it.

This was one of those books that I simply did not click with; I never experienced that moment where the book latches on and pulls you in. There was no connection with the characters, no real plot for 80% of the book, no hook, no urgency, no vibrancy… nothing that made me want to read on. The stakes felt low throughout and I think a good hundred pages of Lucy's rambling introspection could have been safely cut.

From the beginning, I felt it difficult to connect with these characters. The story starts with Lucy waking up from sleep-walking and finding her hands around the neck of this guy she slept with one time (before he shared intimate photos of her). Mortified, she flees her university and decides, for some reason, to drive out into the middle of nowhere to visit her estranged sister. I just really didn’t understand her actions from the start. It seemed a weak and weird excuse to force Lucy and Jess together, especially as the whole sleepwalking deal is kinda forgotten later.

The story, like Weyward, flits about through multiple perspectives, but here they all had the same narrative style and voice. Not only did this make it less believable, especially when we went a couple centuries back in time, but it was also boring and monotonous.

Also, there is a (view spoiler) in this book, something I feel has been explored to death and done so much better by other authors like (view spoiler).

I do feel the book picks up towards the end, but I personally don't think it's worth it. There's a lot meandering none-story here, with characters (mainly Lucy) dithering about and doing nothing for pages on end.

I sometimes struggle with dual timelines as I can find them confusing but Hart crafted this story beautifully. I found myself engaged with the characters and found the book to be a gorgeous tale of resilience. The characters were complex and though the book used magical realism it still felt relatable.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for allowing me to read this book before publication.

<i> "Most people just want an easy life. It's unsettling when someone starts pulling apart the stories we've stitched together, the things we tell ourselves for comfort." </i>

This book cemented my love for Emilia Hart's writing. There's something truly magical about the way that she writes women and the way that she finds different manifestations of their strength and resilience.

The Sirens was raw, magical, mysterious, and both heartwarming and heartbreaking. Told in dual timelines, and following the stories of two sets of women, it was a fantastical delve into the familial bonds between women, and the ways in which women are treated (and mistreated) in society throughout time.

The fantasy and mythological elements of this story were phenomenal. I loved the fact that the ocean played such a big part of this story; almost serving as the sources of mysticism and power of the women in both timelines. The relationships between Lucy and Jess (in the present) and Mary and Eliza in the past, were so beautifully written. Neither sets of women had a perfect relationship- there were ups and down, support and hurt, but at the end of the day they were all there for each other when it mattered the most.

What a fantastic book to start the year off with.

Sometimes, I feel a bit despondent about women's rights. Do we really have the power to change anything? Do we really have the fight in us?
Then I read The Weyward Women and thought: this is what I needed. Now, after finishing The Sirens, I feel more powerful than ever.
The Sirens is about the violence all women feel within them. Emilia Hart understands the need to write about the primal power we all carry within us, and I love it. It is inspiring. She has her female characters undergo *a lot* of misery and at no point does the reader feel that they can't bear it. She doesn't write about hardship to make the story more dramatic, but to show how resilient women are. Mary, Eliza, Lucy and Jess are real women, anyone could relate to them.
Right from the very first page, I felt that bubble of excitement that tells me that I have a wonderful read ahead of me.
The plot was fantastic, I admire all the twists this story had in store for me. The four main characters were absolutely amazing and inspiring. This is the feminist story I didn't know the world needs. I can't wait to sell heaps of this book.

I very much enjoyed Weyward, so I was very keen to read Emila Hart's new book. I was NOT disappointed. Beautiful, atmospheric and intriguing - this one has all the feels. I am left feeling bereft (and slightly wobbly) that I have finished it.
The women at the heart of the book are sisters Mary and Eliza in the 1800s and sisters Lucy and Jess in 2019. Both sets of women are well portrayed and you will come to care for them all. There is a mystery and mythology at the heart of the book, which celebrates the strength of women. The brutality of the convict ships was shocking and choosing a ship from Ireland reminds us of the cruelty of British colonialism.
Having just finished it this morning, I want to talk about it with others right away, and definitely recommend The Sirens for book clubs to read.
The Sirens is going to stay with me for a long time, and I am so glad I read it.

The Sirens is a great female rage fantasy book. You can feel the emotions coming off the page. The story flowed well between the different timelines and had likeable characters. Although something did lack for me, at first I was intrigued and then part way through some of the magic just became lost to me. I think I wanted more depth. This read like an easily accessible female rage book that I think can be enjoyed by many. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

This is a beautifully written story that weaves together historical events with the current day. I loved gradually piercing together the link between the victims of the shipwreck and Lucy, and what has happened to Lucy's sister Jess.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a captivating and atmospheric novel that intertwines the stories of two sisters across centuries, bound by a mysterious and unspoken connection.

In 2019, Lucy wakes up in the middle of the night with no memory of how she ended up in her ex-lover’s room. The horror of finding her hands around his throat sends her fleeing to her sister Jess's house on the coast of New South Wales. But when she arrives, Jess is missing. As Lucy waits for her sister's return, she starts to uncover unsettling rumours about the town—tales of missing men, a baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave, and whispers of women’s voices carried on the waves. Her vivid dreams, which seem to connect her more deeply to her sister and the town's secrets, only grow more intense as she delves deeper into the mystery.

In a parallel narrative set in the 1800s, we follow the journey of Mary and Eliza, two sisters torn from their home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. As the journey takes them further from everything they’ve ever known, they begin to experience strange changes in their bodies, suggesting that something far more mystical is at play.

The Sirens is a haunting and lyrical tale that explores the power of sisterhood, resilience, and the unknowable forces of nature. Through its alternating timelines and the deep emotional bonds between the sisters, the novel captures a sense of both wonder and foreboding. The sea becomes a symbol of both connection and separation, a powerful backdrop for this evocative story that blends historical fiction with a touch of the supernatural. A tale of love, loss, and the deep-rooted magic of women’s experiences, The Sirens is an extraordinary read that lingers long after the final page.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a captivating tale that seamlessly weaves together history, mythology, and mystery. Told across dual timelines, it follows the journeys of sisters Mary and Eliza aboard a convict ship in 1800 and Lucy and Jess in 2019, uncovering secrets that span centuries. This book is a testament to the strength and resilience of women, exploring themes of sisterhood, identity, and the enduring connection to the sea.

The historical timeline of Mary and Eliza is raw and immersive, capturing the brutal realities of their voyage while infusing it with an otherworldly transformation that binds them to the ocean's mystique. In contrast, the modern-day storyline with Lucy and Jess is gripping and suspenseful, as Lucy's search for her missing sister leads her to uncover truths about their shared past and their ties to the siren mythos.

Hart’s prose is evocative, bringing the Australian coastline and the claustrophobic atmosphere of the convict ship to life. The alternating perspectives keep the narrative engaging, while the interwoven diary entries and dream sequences add depth to the unfolding mystery. Although some twists are predictable, the journey of discovery and the richly developed characters make this a compelling read.

Fans of Weyward will appreciate Hart's signature blend of historical fiction and magical realism. The feminist themes and exploration of women’s resilience against systemic oppression are as poignant as they are inspiring. While the pacing starts slow, it builds to a satisfying conclusion that ties the timelines together beautifully.

A powerful, haunting tale that celebrates the unyielding bonds of sisterhood and the transformative power of embracing one’s true self. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy layered narratives and atmospheric storytelling.

A perfect blend of mystery, history and mythology. I was completely absorbed into this story. The truth unravelled slowly, and the writing compelled me to keep reading to uncover the secrets and connections of these women.

Set in a dual timeline and POVs we follow Mary and Eliza in the year 1800, trapped on a convict ship heading to New South Wales. And Lucy and Jess in 2019. Lucy has fled her university after sleepwalking and being haunted by the most vivid dreams, she travels to her sisters house in New South Wales but Jess is no where to be found.

I love historical fiction and this just blended so perfect with mythology. But this book was also about women. Strong brave, independent women and their bonds.
I would love to have had more of an insight to Mary and Eliza after their last chapter but I loved the ending to Lucy's and Jess's story. Highly recommend this one, such fabulous writing and storytelling.
4.5 ⭐️

Sadly for me, this just didn't have the same magic that Weyward did.

Emilia Hart's writing is still very compelling to read though, and I adore the strong feminist themes she weaves into these stories, however, this story just didn't do it for me, I couldn't connect as strongly as I did her previous novel. Which I'm so shocked at!! And I can't quite put my finger on exactly why.

I did enjoy the historical information and past timeline but... I think the pacing let it down. Plus, at times this felt too repetitive and nothing happened with the plot for a long while.

Ultimately, this isn't a bad read at all, and I know many will enjoy this.

I'll be on the look out for her next novel!

-Sarah

Loved this! Such a fun fantasy for the winter time. Really well written, look forward to reading more from this author in the furure

Earlier this year I read Weyward from this author and liked it.

So of course I wanted to also read this book.
“Sirens” tells the story of sisterhood across time and space and their connection to the magic of the sea. In the present (2019), Lucy goes to Australia to find her sister Jess, after waking up from a dream with her hands around her ex’s throat. But Jess is missing.

Through her diary from 20 years ago we find about her past and what secrets she kept. Both Lucy and Jess have a rare allergy to water.

In another timeline (in 1800) we find the story of twin sisters Mary and Eliza, that were taken from their home in Ireland and forced onto a ship heading to Australia. During the journey they begin to notice changes to their bodies.
The beginning of the story is a bit slow, but I was intrigued but the plot and read it in one day.

There atmosphere during the book is dark and there is tension and suspense. The plot has some twists, Lucy and Jess’s past is full of secrets. Even if I predicted part of the revelations, there is enough magic and mystery to keep me interested about the ending. I would have liked to know more about Eliza and Mary and the connection they have with Lucy and Jess. Overall I liked the story and the writing.

Thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley for the ARC and ALC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A compelling and lyrical story of sisterhood, family and loss. Written over two time!ines, the narrative weaves between past and present. I enjoyed Wayward and this novel captured my imagination too.