The Sirens by Emilia Hart is a story of three generations of women who may or may not be sirens. Sirens are sea creatures from Homer’s The Odyssey. They are beautiful and lure men to their deaths with their enchanting song. The scenario that keeps getting repeated is evil men taking things from women like dignity, adolescence, and their bodies. The theme is the sirens’ song which happens when the bad men get punished. The Sirens tells three parallel tales. Lucy’s story is set in the present day. Jess’s story unfolds in the 1990s through journal entries. Mary’s story is revealed in the 1800s through dreams. This unique storytelling leads up to all the storylines intersecting. The story flows very well with a consistent pace. The book is written very well with a lot of beautiful passages. The story of Mary is written like an old Irish poem. The words are not written in syntax but, have a light airy quality to them. The story is pro-feminism but also recognizes some good men. The story overall works very well I was compelled about the mystery of Jess or Lucy being sirens or not. Mary has an interesting dynamic with her mother and sister that I found very compelling. The story did have one big problem that kept it from being great. Lucy questions her origins. She makes it a big deal. I figured it out at the 30% mark. The book reveals what I already knew at the 76% mark. I thought the twist was just too obvious. The twist was a big part of the book. Despite this, the beautiful writing and other twists made me still enjoy The Sirens. I read The Sirens thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press. The Sirens was published on April 1, 2025.

Plot Summary: Lucy wakes up with her hand around the neck of a boy she once slept with in college. She sleepwalked into his dorm room and started strangling him. Along with the sleepwalking she dreams of two sisters Mary and Eliza. The sisters are onboard a women’s prison ship headed towards New Wales, which is in Australia. Lucy thinks of her older Sister Jess. She flees the college after the incident. She does not want to go to her parent’s house. Instead, she heads to her sister Jess’s house. Jess’s house is on a cliff overlooking the beach. The house is next to the cliffs that have been a local legend for missing men. Lucy arrives and Jess is not home. She finds Jess’s phone in the house and starts to worry. She searches the house and finds Jess’s journal. She learns they each have a skin condition. The condition makes their skin look like scales. The two sisters also haunt Jess’s dreams. Jess’s journal also holds many dark secrets that will change Lucy forever.

What I Liked: The prose was written very well. It was both beautifully written and understandable. I loved the history of the cliffs and sea caves. I love that pattern that starts emerging about the missing men. I loved the Mary and Eliza story. I feel this is where the best writing is. The family bond being portrayed was very special in the past and the present. It was nice to see that two guys were decent in the story and kind of get rewarded for it. I like reading women’s fiction. I know that a big part of men are trash. Still, it was nice seeing two men being nice. I only need one that isn’t. The history of the Sirens was great and I could have had more. I did like the ending of the book and how the stories were wrapped up.

What I Disliked: My main problem was one big twist that Lucy just could not figure out even if it was obvious. I did have a slapping my head in disbelief moment. Lucy was going over everything she had learned in Jess’s journal and at the library. When she put it all together, she thought if this and this is true then the only possibility is this. And she is wrong and worse it makes no sense. When she finally understands everything, it doesn’t even seem like a huge deal. It’s almost as if she had an inkling about it the whole time. The rest of the writing and plotting is good, This one just bothered me. I did not like that Lucy called her mom to talk about the things in Jess’s journal. Her mom then said to stop reading. She would be there in a day or so. But the mom is not mentioned again when the dad comes. The mom had a moment and when everything was revealed she had more to lose. The book is well written there are no plot holes just missed opportunities.

Recommendation: The Sirens is a beautifully written book with a lot of promise. The story has a lot of heart and is very interesting. The Sirens did make me want to read Hart’s debut novel Weyward, which more than a few reviewers have recommended. As I was reading The Sirens, I couldn’t stop the Cell Block Tango song. It was from Chicago the musical and it kept playing in my head. The line “He had it coming” kept repeating. The Sirens was a good read that I recommend to my followers. If I were to choose my top five reads of the year so far, The Sirens would be on the list.

Rating: The Sirens by Emilia Hart I rated 3.9 out of 5.