The way Emilia Hart writes stirs my soul in such… confusing? Ways. Sirens is a siren-song for the seawater in my veins, and it’s deep and gripping without feeling heavy. If you liked Weyward but always loved the sea more than the mountains, in that same fierce and wild gentle way, this book is for you.

I thought I’d give Emilia Hart another chance with The Sirens, but unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me either. The premise sounded really promising, and there were a few moments where the atmosphere and writing clicked—but overall, I just couldn’t get into it.

The pacing felt slow, and I struggled to connect with the characters. It all felt a bit muddled, and I found myself losing interest more than once. I can see what the book was trying to do, but it just didn’t land for me. Disappointing, especially since I was hoping this would change my mind about the author.

What an intriguing book and wasn't something I was expecting!

The characters are mysterious and engaging, their stories pull you in and combined with the dual timeline it really offers perspective to the story overall.

I honestly didn't expect the ending at all so that was a surprise!

A great story and I actually bought a special edition in hardback of this one!

I was really hoping that this book would be as good as her first book which I loved. Unfortunately this one didn't hit the mark for me. I found it slow, confusing and boring. Such a disappointment. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together by the sea
Such an atmospheric tale - it holds you captive
However I did find a tad slow in the middle section of the book, but keep with it as there are some twists I didn’t see coming
Dive in and be swept away - the author’s way of weaving a story is magical
Thanks @emiliahartbooks, @boroughpress & @netgalley for the immersive, haunting read

A haunting, beautifully crafted novel, The Sirens weaves together sisterhood, myth, and resilience across centuries, delivering a story that is both lyrical and deeply moving.

✨ Two timelines, two sets of sisters 🌊 Shipwrecks, secrets & the call of the sea 📚 Feminist fantasy with historical depth

Hart’s prose is atmospheric and immersive, bringing Comber Bay’s eerie beauty to life. The novel’s exploration of female trauma, survival, and the power of shared history is thoughtful and compelling, making every revelation feel earned and impactful. The sirens themselves are woven subtly into the narrative, adding an element of mystery rather than dominating the story.

If you love historical fantasy with rich themes and emotional depth, The Sirens is a must-read.

This was a solid siren story - I got exactly what I was expecting and I'm happy about it. I enjoyed reading a novel set in Australia, something I realise I haven't done much. The dual perspective with Lucy in 2019, and the convict ship in the 1700s kept it intriguing. Not being Australian I didn't know much about the women convicts so Mary's perspective was really grim and interesting. The mystery was threaded through the book well, and the clues drip fed in a way that although I guessed how the story was going, it was in a satisfying way. The writing was clear but vivid - the descriptions of the girls skin especially! It made this a really digestible and compelling read.

I really enjoyed reading The Sirens, I find Emilia Hart's writing so easy to get swept away in and the way she tells her stories has me turning the pages eager to find out what happens.
The characters are all created with such realism, they're likable and you can connect as you're reading. It's almost like journeying this story with them all.
The descriptions and the way it all unfolds is lavish and I really enjoyed reading.

I loved Weyward, so when I saw that Hart had a new book coming out the combined magical realism, historical fiction, and mystery elements, I knew I had to read it. While beautifully written, I unfortunately struggled to connect with the characters enough to ever be fully drawn in.

Thank you Emilia Hart, The Borough Press, St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really did enjoy the story and its mythical elements. I haven't read Weyward so this was my first experience of Emilia Hart's writing and it did not disappoint. She painted a picture of the setting and characters really well and I look forward to reading more of her work.

3.5 stars

I came into this book not knowing what to expect and could definitely appreciate the read. However, I will say that it definitely isn't for everyone, as the pace is slow and there is quite a bit of descriptive imagery throughout. I love the themes of mermaids, sisterhood and this storytelling style so I may be biased towards this novel. The twists were predictable for me save for the last few big ones, which in hindsight were probably easy to guess, but I read this over such a long period of time that the signs were harder for me to pick up on! Thank you for the arc NetGalley~

This was one of my most highly anticipated releases of 2025. I read Weyward back in March 2023 and, ever since, it’s been on I always recommend. The Sirens will be no different.

As with Weyward, The Sirens follows three women separated by time; Lucy in the present day, Jess in the recent past, and Mary from a few centuries past. Hart weaves these three women’s stories of hardship, struggles and injustices into an intricate tale of female strength, friendships, love and empowerment.

I adore Hart’s writing and her ability to envelop you in the story’s time and place, even when jumping through centuries and locations. Each of our FMCs has their own, unique voice and story to tell, and all three are gripping in their own experiences. I was as hooked to Mary’s voyage with her sister across oceans as I was to Jess’s struggles as a vulnerable teenager and Lucy’s betrayal and isolation.

With such strong and engaging storylines, and relatively short chapters, this was an extremely quick read for me. Hart’s writing sucks you in from the start, and I was obsessed until the end.

With a mix of historical fiction and subtle fantasy, this is a story of women across the ages. I loved it.

Never am I more saddened to say I didn't enjoy a book after having loved an authors previous work so muck...but here we are 🙁

I try so hard not to compare authors books, however, where Weyward was a wonderful character driven story spanning over multiple generations in time. the Sirens TRYS to be the exact same but sadly falls totally flat.

The one thing that remains is the authors stunning writing style and imagery, I DO really enjoy how she writes! There were so many gorgeous quotes which really just highlights her way with words. But that's pretty much the end to my positives sadly.

With The Sirens I found there was absolutely no plot at all. We follow Lucy who, after waking one night with her hands around the guys she's sleeping withs throat after sleepwalking, decides to pack up, run away and travel across the country to where he estranged sister lives (??? why...we never know why she thought this was her best option)

Here, Lucy ends up investigated missing men, and a missing sister??? Who she seems very low level concerned about all things considered and honestly, that's about it. It was slow, a bit of a muddle and only really picked up in the last 25% which was a shame as I think it had the bones to be SO much better from the get go.

Maybe I went in with too high expectations. Either way this was NOT for me (and don't get me started on the student/teacher situ) I would like to think I'd read more by this author in the future - one great, one mid so I am curious to see where I would fall for her next work.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC - sorry I wasn't more of a fan!

2.5 stars.

I started to get a bit gripped in the middle and then it just fell flat. This book was definitely marketed as a mythical fantasy but honestly it’s a mythical mystery, very low fantasy. In fact, you could genuinely remove the siren aspect to this book and it wouldn’t affect the plot at all. It didn’t add anything, it was actually a little weird and almost didn’t fit with the story.

This review contains spoilers, heads up.

It was supposed to be a tale of 2 sets of sisters and then we find out they’re not sisters - I actually liked this plot twist though, I literally only guessed it the page before the reveal happened.

I didn’t like the family history reveal because I don’t think the age gap was ever properly mentioned. I didn’t think Jess was old enough.

I did find myself wanting to find out what had happened to Jess, how everything was related and connected, and I did actually want to keep reading, but only enough to bump it up half a star.

I thought it was all really well written and engaging, which is what gets it the two stats.

I assume Mare is Mary in the epilogue, and I hate to say it but I despised that that was how they were all connected, it’s actually really sad.

After loving Weyward last year, I was really excited about Emilia Hart's next book, and even though it was a very different experience, I wasn't disappointed. Some parallels to Weyward are there - several timelines telling the stories of women that are connected to each other. Women experiencing violence at the hands of men and finding their own ways to rebell against this. Questions of morale and character and the nature of female rage.

The setting however is very different - Australia in its role as a prisoners' colony, an abandoned house on a cliff, the below deck of a ship on its way to Australia, a small coastal town riddled by men disappearing. And sirens, of course.

We follow four women on their journeys towards acceptance and self-preservation, towards freedom and justice. There are secrets to be uncovered, families to be reunited and new homes to be found. It's a gripping story, again told by Emilia Hart's wonderful prose, though it's a bit less adorned, more down to facts in this book, which suits the protagonists.

The only thing that was unnecessary in my opinion was the epilogue. I think it spelled out the obvious, kind of, which wasn't needed and left the book on another note than the last chapter proper, it destroyed the message a little for me.

Everyone who loved Weyward, or likes stories about female rage in general, should give The Sirens a try, you won't be disappointed! Thanks to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the E-Arc! Even though the PDF-Format sucked 😅

This book was so descriptive, it created a new world for me while I was reading! It’s packed with strong female characters, revenge, self-discovery, and love between sisters and mother-daughter.
The story is told in different timelines, and I liked how the timelines connected in the end.

The Sirens is a hauntingly beautiful tale of power, myth, and feminine strength. Emilia Hart’s writing is lyrical and captivating—an unforgettable read.

This book is unputdownable and gripping. There are dual timelines; present and past. Lucy has vivid visions and she finds herself in an unsettling situation. To escape from what she did, she flees to her sister. She thinks only Jess will understand her. But as soon as she reach new south wales, she finds out that her sister is missing and the town is surrounded by tales of missing men. She reads her diary to get closure and listen to podcast. Dig more in the history of town, find paintings, and delve in the visions that occupies her mind.

While dual timeline captivated me. I was more invested in the past timeline. It made sense to me and it clarified everything the sisters were going through. The prologue added a layer of mystery and the book unfolded like the infinite layers of mystery where truth, secrets, tragedy and unsettling memories of the past were buried beneath the surface. If you like stories infused with female relationships, magical realism, female resilience, sisterhood, and the power of sea, read this book.

Thanks to Publisher and Author.

My first book by this author. It was atmospheric and written absolutely beautifully, but definitely took a while to get into the plot.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was excited when I had this ARC approved as I really enjoyed Weyward. I liked how the stories were linked over different periods of time. The Sirens is written in a similar way. There is the narrative of Mary and Eliza who are onboard a convict ship bound for New South Wales, Australia from Ireland. In 2019 Lucy has fled from her university to see her sister Jess, at her seaside hideaway. When she arrives she finds that her sister is missing. Whilst she awaits her return she finds her sister's diaries from when she was a teenager in 1999. Lucy is about to learn some family secrets that will change her life forever and also tie the sisters to the past.

This book took a while to get into but I think I had the same experience with Weyward. Once I warmed to the characters I enjoyed finding out how the story’s were interconnected. There is quite a lot of trauma in the book from both sets of sisters. They have all been abused by men in some way or another. It is this trauma that creates the bond between the characters. I loved the darkness and the supernatural element to the novel. It built up the suspense and then there was a twist to the plot which tied things up neatly at the end. I wasn’t sure about the prologue at the end as it had me asking more questions that couldn’t be answered.

I would recommend this to those who enjoy historical fiction, thrillers or supernatural thrillers. I look forward to reading more Emilia Hart books in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction and The Borough Press for allowing me to read this ARC.