Review: The Sirens by Emilia Hart

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What's the Vibe?

Haunting

Feminine Rage

Generational Trauma

Magical Realism

Huge thanks to St. Martin's Press for the arc to review of The Sirens by Emilia Hart.

Emilia Hart has a way of writing stories that feel emotional and magical, The Sirens absolutely delivers on that. This book pulls you under slowly like a sirens call and then refuses to let you come up for air.

At its core, The Sirens is a story about women. Their strength, their resilience, and the invisible threads that tie them together across time. There is a soft, almost haunting magic woven through the narrative that never overwhelms the story, but instead deepens it in a way that feels intimate and powerful.

The Sirens follows three women, Mary, Lucy, and Jess, whose lives unfold across different timelines, each carrying their own secrets, struggles, and connections to the sea. The way their stories are interwoven is incredibly well done. Each perspective feels purposeful, and the pacing between them kept me invested. Just when I felt myself settling into one timeline, it would shift and the new perspective would draw me in just as deeply as the last.

I especially loved the atmosphere of the book. There is something profoundly immersive about it, almost like the tide pulling you further out without you realizing it. It feels mystical but not in a heavy-handed sort of way. It's incredibly moving, the differing perspectives giving you time to breathe between each laceration to your emotional well being.

One small thing that would pull me from the story was Jess' diary entries.. At times, they did not quite read like they were written by a teenage girl and instead felt too adult. That said, it did not take away from the story in any meaningful way, and I still found myself completely invested in what was being revealed.

What truly made this book unforgettable for me, though, was the ending. Everything builds so intentionally, and when it all comes together, it lands. It is the kind of ending that makes you close the book feeling complete.

If you love stories that center around women, carry a thread of magic, and leave you thinking long after the final page, The Sirens is absolutely worth picking up.

If you enjoyed the Invisible Life of Addie Larue, Weyward, or The Once and Future Witches, this book is for you.