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

Beautiful, haunting and evocative. I loved this book and will be recommending to people on release next year.

This book is a haunting commentary of women’s role within society, present and past. It follows two sets of sisters, in different time periods, who have each experienced the brutality of men and sought retribution of some kind. Within the mystery of how these women are connected, there is a lot to be learnt about colonisation and penalisation in the 1800’s and the transgressions of the English in that time period. Towards Irish and Australian Aboriginals alike.
This story highlights the shortcomings of those in positions of power toward the protection of women, detailing awful conditions of transport and life in the 1800’s as well as the excuses and protections afforded to men who have done wrong towards women in the present day.
Throughout this brutal story however, is the strength of women coming together and finding solidarity. There are various distressing themes throughout, yet it also advocates for safe sex practices, mental health coping mechanisms and LGBT+ relationships, this book is an account of women finding their power and strength.
The mystery throughout this book is artfully done, and kept the tension up throughout. The uncovering of the truth was euphoric and empowering, beautifully crafted to elicit strong emotions from the reader. Whilst most questions were answered by the end of the main story, the addition of the epilogue allowed for a deeper layer of understanding and context.
I do hope that in the copy that goes to print a Trigger warning list is included, as there are very strong upsetting themes throughout.

Beautiful, stunning, mesmerising!
Three timelines come together to tell the story of the sirens. Similar to the first book, Weyward, women who have been let down by society and harmed by men. The Sirens begins with a convict ship heading to Australia. The female prisoners held in atrocious conditions, guilty of crimes they had no option by to commit!
Lucy is the modern day protagonist who unravels the stories, discovering her own history in the process. This story weaves fact with fiction and mythology.

Thanks to #netgalley for letting me reading this book about sisterhood amongst females, past and present, but with a twist of the unusual.

This was an unknown genre for me and I went in with an open mind but I ended up feeling as think the tale was incomplete.

It didn’t really work for me but I’m sure others will enjoy this tale.

After reading Weyward last year I was so excited to see Harts new book and receive an ARC.
I did enjoy this book, although it took me a bit to get into it and found it dragged in places. I love the dual timeline and the depth of the female characters. Just overall not my favourite!

The Sirens is a story of sisters, their bonds, their 'conditions' and the love and trust they have for one another.

It has a historical theme as Lucy and Jess are from the current day and Mary and Eliza are from the 1800's. Lucy seeks out her sister in a new town but discovers she is missing, the history and rumours of the town have Lucy worried , along with the fact that she and Jess have been having the same traumatic dreams.

Lucy has an allergy to water, one that the women in her dreams seem to share and the further Lucy investigates Jess' disappearance, the more this allergy makes sense.

I cannot say more without spoiling it for others but what I will say is the family secrets, the complicated relationships, the characters and the call of the sea makes The Sirens a story that will flood you with emotions.

Weyward was one of my top books of last year so I had ridiculously high hopes going into The Sirens. Which is what led my to be a little disappointed. In a similar vein to Weyward, we move between timelines & some how interlinked families. We are also following a third timeline with the reading of a diary in the most recent thread. This all got a little convoluted in places & I found myself rushing through chapters to move back to another POV.

But overall I really enjoyed the book, Emilia has become an insta-buy author for me, she writes complex female characters wonderfully, she deals with difficult themes in a conscious & measured way. And had Weyward not moved me in the way few books have ever done, leading to an unfair comparison, I’d have loved this book more.

I found the book captivating and it made me want to find out what was happening next. I finished reading The Sirens in two days.
I'm usually not a fan of dual timelines, but in this case it was orchestrated perfectly.
The themes in the book are very interesting: not only family, as well as a disease called aquagenic urticaria which is not usually talk about, mystery, assaults, women's power, the history of convicts shipped to Australia from Ireland in the 1800 and a bit a magic theme: sirens.
Would recommend it!

A transformative journey centred around the mystery of a small ocean town, where rumours cling to the buildings and their inhabitants, barnacles of truth forced through whispering waves on creatures as mysterious as the secrets they carry.

Mystery and magic combines with a dark history, woven together in dual timelines. We follow Sisters Mary and Eliza as they are transported aboard a convict ship in the 1800s as it sails farther from all they’ve grown up to know and love in Ireland. Their daunting and unknown new fate awaits them in Australia and, although the expedition towards their exile is anything but smooth sailing, they are plunged into a journey of self discovery.

A few hundred years later, Lucy struggles to come to terms with a recent life event that opens a whirlwind of uncertainty within herself as she is finally forced to confront the harrowing dreams that haunt her sleep. Struggling to keep her head above water and remain tethered to shore whilst conflicted over what is reality and what is merely only there when she closes her eyes, Lucy craves the familiarity of her older Sister Jess.

But upon arriving unannounced at Jess’s new home in Comber Bay, it becomes clear that Lucy’s dreams were a mere surface scratch of what the house and the waves that blanket it are willing to share with her if she looks hard enough.

Although this tale was not what I had anticipated prior to reading which did spark some initial disappointment, I was enticed by the mystery that began to unfold across the pages. Hart has managed to combine sisterhood, historical fiction and magical realism in an exquisitely crafted treasure chest full of myth and secrets with atmospheric and lyrical writing. The reader is offered pieces of the key with each page as we become equated with our well rounded Characters and the magic that bonds them.

Despite the predictability that often gave away some of the twists, this is still a unique tale of exploration and discovery that I would encourage readers to dive into.

That being said, if you are going into this expecting to be plunged into a mystical underwater adventure full of myths and wonder, you may be left in a similar boat as myself- disappointed and unsatisfied.

For all the ways in which the basis of the plot excelled in what I believe Hart intended to do, I was personally more captivated by the Epilogue and would have rather ventured forth on that journey instead. I craved more Siren song, less real world.. maybe that’s on me?

I enjoyed this book, it moved along at a good pace and I liked the duel timelines between the sets of characters. The mystery unfolded well though I did find a lot of it predictable and easy to guess. Despite this, I did really enjoy the book.