Thanks to Net galley for this free read. I enjoyed this book. It started off a little slow - building up the characters and back story. However it soon became a page turner and I kept guessing what might happen in the end and how/where all the pieces of information fitted together. The audience follows two stories which intertwine both in the past and present through the lives of two sisters. We are led into a world where convicts could be transported to Australia just for stealing a loaf of bread. One of the sisters is attending University however this comes to an abrupt end following an episode of sleep walking as a result of a stressful situation. I will say no more other than it is well worth the read even when at first it may feel like the story is unfolding a little slowly. Enjoy!

I loved Weyward so I was excited for this one. It was definitely different but I enjoyed the mystery and magical elements throughout.

"All her life, she'd taken for granted that doing the right thing - being conscientious and kind and considerate - would be rewarded; that official procedures and process could be relied upon...Thay facts would always, inevitably, prevail. But she'd been wrong. When she sought help...They wanted her to go away."

Another ensconsing read from one of my favourite authors who blends mystery, history, true crime and magical realism in this feminist tale of belonging and survival. With multiple narratives from present day Lucy in coastal New South Wales, Australia searching for her sister Jess and twin sisters Eliza and Mary on board a convict ship in 1800 on its perilous and inhumane journey from Ireland to Australia, it becomes clear how their stories are connected over the centuries. As secrets are revealed I longed for the women to survive and thrive.

TWs: misogyny, predatory male, sexual assualt.

Thanks netgalley for the arc.

Unfortunately this fell short for me. It felt slow, but not in the sense of building suspense. I felt bored and disinterested and Lucy didnt connecf with me. She felt distant and a bit bland. Unfortunately a miss for me.

I love the cover, the idea, and the writing style.
The essence, however, is almost non-existent.
A small family, two girls, and their parents live in their own closed world for years. When the older sister starts asking questions she instantly senses that something isn`t right, that their parents are hiding something. Fast forward to the future and we now know that Jessica (the older sister) lives elsewhere. When Lucy (the younger sister) needs a quiet place to calm her head she decides to visit Jess. But Jess is not there, the door is open. So Lucy settles herself as if in her own home and does very little for many pages to follow. She dreams, she looks through the window, and she reads Jess's diary. Then bam! The mystery is solved and the book ends.
Oh, and the narrative is intertwined with a retrospective story from the past about the journey ship full of women convicts. That ship tragically sunk in 1801. What does this story have to do with our sisters? Apart from magical spiritual connection absolutely nothing.
I found the story very predictable, I knew what's the secret early on. Lucy's behavior does not make me like her or feel sorry for her, she irritates me. The pages are filled with nicely written text about nothing. Long stretches are devoid of any development whatsoever.
I can see why so many people dnf-ed this book.

Fleeing a violent act of which she has no memory of committing Lucy leaves her university and seeks safety with her sister Jess. But Jess is missing and whilst searching for her Lucy begins to feel connected to two sisters on a convict ship in the 1800’s. A novel told over two time periods this novel is extremely well researched and is a story of betrayal and revenge. A book full of magical realism and the strength of sisterhood and family. Although initially a slow burn the author’s writing pulls you into the story so that you can almost feel you are dipping your toes into the water. Now a favourite author of mine I will be looking out for her next book Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this novel in return for a honest review.

Having loved ‘Weyward’ I jumped at the chance to read this and I wasn’t disappointed. This is a story of four women and different timelines. A tale of a struggle to accept their own unique qualities and a a tale of myth and legend. We start with Lucy in 2019, a girl who suffers from aquagenic urticaria, a condition where contact with water causes rashes. She has been shamed as an intimate photo that she sent a person she believed cared for her has been sent across the internet. One night she sleepwalks and when she wakes she finds herself trying the strangle the guy who sent out the photo and so she flees to Comper Bay where her sister, Jess, lives only to find that she has disappeared. There is also the thread that Comper Bay is the place where 8 men have mysteriously vanished. Comper Bay is also the place wherein the 1800s a convict ship carrying women was wrecked and there is the myth that these lost women’s voices can be heard singing. Other timelines are those of Mary and Eliza, two sisters who were on the convict ship and Jess’ diary, which Lucy finds and reads, from 1999. Lucy also has vivid dreams about Mary and Eliza. There is lush magical realism in with the descriptions and the idea of the women’s voices harks back to Greek mythology and the Sirens who lured sailors to their deaths. But rather than being evil, the sirens in this novel have a very different role, we see a strong protectiveness. A wonderful read with super imagery. Rounded up to 5*

Atmospheric and eerie. In 2019, Lucy has bad dreams about the two sisters, Mary and Eliza,convicts travelling to Australia whom we follow in the earlier timeframe of the novel. Lucy goes to visit her sister, but finds her missing. A mystery! Not sure about the magical realism aspect but it was beautifully written and a satisfying read on the whole.

Sisters Mary and Eliza are onboard a convict ship in the 1800s, Jess is struggling as a young woman in 1999 and her sister Lucy is looking for answers in 2019. What are the strange dreams that haunt her really about?

I’d been a huge fan of Weyward and had huge hopes for this, but it fell slightly short. Writing a book about mermaids for an adult audience was always going to be tough, but for me there was too much time spent on building up the mystery, at the expense of the mystical and magical.

The action picked up in the last third of the book which was the most enjoyable part as a reader, but I was left with a lot of questions and a few plot holes.

After reading Weyward last year (one of my favourite reads), I was very excited to read this one. Unfortunately, I feel this just didn’t hit the spot for me. It started off well, then about 80% of the book was samey/nothing happening/no real connection to any of the characters. I’ll be honest and say I nearly gave up on it. Had it not been for Weyward, I would have. The story picked up a bit in the last 15% but I feel like I could have skipped 85% of this book and read the epilogue for all the answers. I give this book 2.5 stars but have rounded up to 3 stars.

I loved Weyward and @emiliahartbooks' The Sirens brings the same energy to play as her first book did.
In the acknowledgements, (yes I read acknowledgements), she admits to having scrapped over 300,000 words in the pursuit of the final product and the craft pays off.

Once again myth and magic are interleaved across multiple timelines and POVS with utter precision and careful craft to make a stunning exploration of what it is to inhabit your body as a woman, both now, and through history and the sisterhood that bonds women and the secrets that splinter us, and the rage that fuels us. I raced through this book battling my flu, my ADHD, and a very clingy cat to see what happened to Lucy and Jess, and Mary and Eliza.
Whilst Mary and Lucy are our ostensible protagonists the story is as much about their sisters and their relationship with their sisters as themselves. Hart builds such beautiful, well drawn characters and so seamlessly pulls the threads of their stories together that each POV jump is as devastating as it is exciting as you desperately need to know what happens next for each character.

A fantastic book, that taught me horrible new things about imperial behaviour in the colonies - I am disgusted but not surprised - The Sirens will linger in your mind long after you turn the last page.

Massive thanks to @boroughpress for the approval on Netgalley

Such a heartwarming novel about the bond between sisters.

The Sirens follows two timelines, Mary & Eliza in the 1800s as they travel on a convict ship to Australia, and Lucy in 2019 who flees to Comber Bay only to find that her sister is missing.

This book was atmospheric, eerie and so full of mystery and family secrets that it had me hooked from the start. There were so many twists by the end but it somehow came together so well and had a full circle moment.

Overall, just felt like a cozy, heartwarming read and just what I needed.

I cannot even begin to put into words how much I loved this book. I absolutely loved Weyward by this author so I was so excited to read this. The female empowerment, the mermaid vibes, the magical realism - it was all absolute perfection and I couldn’t put it down. The way Emilia Hart writes is so beautiful and it captivated me straight away. All the stars and more, I can’t fault it 🧜🏼‍♀️

Everything drew me to this book, the folklore theme, the conviction shipwreck, the power of women in the face of defeat. The writing was lyrical at times and completely drew me in. Having said that, the plot was predictable, I guessed where we were heading most of the time but this was still an incredibly worthy book to read.

This is my first book by Emilia Hart, but it will not be the last. I thoroughly like the writing and plot, which made it tough to put down.

Absolutely loved this. The way the sirens are described you can really picture them. Such a fantastic story of empowered females with a fantasy twist

3.5 stars.

When I saw the cover and author name while scrolling on NetGalley, I immediately went "MERMAIDS" and requested it. I do, despite all the warnings, judge books by their covers (sue me).

Unfortunately, it's not really a mermaid story. I mean, sure, they're in there, but it's more of a mystery thing. And the mystery, well, it's honestly quite boring.

I feel like the things that I liked about the Sirens are things that will completely lose their charm on a reread, that being the reveals. I already know now the plot twists and results; and, yes, they are all fairly easy to guess and get right. Otherwise, the book is 90% of our main character, Lucy, just wandering about, theorizing about what happened to her sister, but like, without actually taking steps to find her. All she does is hang around the house, thinking. It makes for fairly boring reading.

Additionally, there is a secondary story of two sisters, Mary and Eliza, on a prison ship to Australia. Now, having finished the book, I know why these chapters are there, but everytime a chapter from Mary's POV started, I rolled my eyes. It was just ... boring. We are told that the Mary chapters are what Lucy dreams of when she sleepwalks, but for some reason, that thread just ended up kinda fizzling out.

It wasn't a bad book, by the way. It was ... a book. A story. And now it's over, and I'm neither richer nor poorer for having read it.

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.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harpercollins UK for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eerie but intriguing.
It may have taken a couple of chapter but this story really drew me in & kept me guessing.

2.75-3 stars
After reading “Weyward” and loving it I was more than excited to dive into another book by Emilia Hart.

plot / setting
“A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine”

> In this story you follow Lucy, in 2019, after an event in the middle of the night, she flees to her sister’s house - Jess, but finds her missing.
> Mary and Eliza, in the 1800s, are taken from their home in Ireland and forced on a ship heading for Australia.


pacing / enjoyment
> Unfortunately it ended up feeling flat for me. The story didn’t exactly captivate me and I felt like it was going nowhere. I was struggling to keep reading it at times, but I push through it.

It wasn’t my favorite read but I enjoy Emilia Hart’s writing and will read more of her books in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK/HarperFiction for providing me with this free digital review copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.