The Sirens

The Sirens

Emilia Hart

Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine 2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack—but her sister is missing. As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town—tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever. 1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat takes them farther and farther away from all they know, they begin to notice unexplainable changes in their bodies. A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.


From the Forum

No posts yet

Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update

Recent Reviews

Your rating:

  • Enjoyment: Quality: Characters: Plot:

    The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a hauntingly beautiful tale of feminine rage and sisterhood with a hefty dose of magical realism. 

    This book is told in 3 POVs: First, Lucy in 2019, running from a mistake brought on by a boy she trusted who turned on her. She goes to find her sister Jess, only to find her house on a small town cliffside mysteriously empty and unlocked, her things left behind. Here, she hides from the world and discovers secrets hidden for years. Next, Mary, stuck on a cargo ship with her sister Eliza. They have been exiled from their home of Ireland with only rumors and fear for what their future holds on the prison island of Australia. Finally, we hear from Jess, mainly from her 20 year old diary, telling the story of her vulnerable teenage years struggling with problems unlike those of her peers. 

    The audio of this book sets the scenes spectacularly. For me (an American with no knowledge of accents), her voice acting pulled me into the setting perfectly, allowing seamless transitions from present day small-town Australia to the cargo hold full of Irish women, dark and dripping drifting further and further from their home. 

    This book is great for lovers of character-driven stories with themes focused on finding ones identity, healing from trauma, and discovering generational secrets. The plot twists are somewhat obvious but it did not manage to ruin my enjoyment of the story. I don't recommend this for anyone looking for a high fantasy with epic stakes, you won't find that here. 

    CW: revenge porn mention, adult/minor relationship, confinement, sexual assault, violence, sexism, pregnancy/miscarriage

    Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing an ALC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

    0
    comments 0
    Reply
  • View all reviews
    Community recs if you liked this book...