The Sirens

A Novel

De: Emilia Hart

Narrado por: Barrie Kreinik

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • #1 LibraryReads Pick • Indie Next Pick

A spellbinding novel about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea, from the author of the runaway New York Times bestseller Weyward.

“Narrator Barrie Kreinik offers a first-rate performance, embodying the characters with distinctive voices and delivering Hart’s prose with graceful lyricism.”—Library Journal (starred review)

"The Sirens teems with family secrets, eerie dreams, and deep transformation. A compelling tale of sisterhood, sacrifice, and the sea, this is a beautiful follow-up to Hart's sensational debut, Weyward. The Sirens will sweep you away."—Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. Horrified, she flees to her older sister’s house on the Australian coast, hoping she can help explain the strangely vivid nightmare that preceded the attack—but Jess is nowhere to be found.

As Lucy awaits her return, the rumors surrounding Jess’s strange small town start to emerge. Numerous men have gone missing at sea, spread over decades. A tiny baby was found hidden in a cave. And sailors tell of hearing women’s voices on the waves. Desperate for answers, Lucy finds and begins to read her sister’s adolescent diary.

1999: Jess is a lonely sixteen-year-old in a rural town in the middle of the continent. Diagnosed with a rare allergy to water, she has always felt different, until her young, charming art teacher takes an interest in her drawings, seeing a power and maturity in them—and in her—that no one else has.

1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been torn from their loving father in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. For their entire lives, they’ve feared the ocean, as their mother tragically drowned when they were just girls. Yet as the boat bears them further and further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can’t explain, and they feel the sea beginning to call to them…

A breathtaking tale of female resilience and the bonds of sisterhood across time and space, The Sirens captures the power of dreams, and the mystery and magic of the sea.

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2025 Emilia Hart (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"The Sirens entices us with the combination of mesmerising beauty mixed with mortal danger. Hart skillfully entwines mystical aspects into what could be construed as part-fairytale, but its multiple timeframes and historical settings are firmly grounded."—Historical Novel Society

"Hart’s second novel (after Weyward) weaves a lyrical story, intricately blending family dynamics with the magic of folklore. For fans of family relationship stories with elements of magical realism, such as the novels of Sarah Addison Allen."—Library Journal

"Full of allure and brimming with undercurrents of buried secrets... The Sirens is beautifully written and utterly compelling."—Evie Woods, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop

The flow

I enjoyed the ebb and flow of the story - between past and present and the tying together of the two worlds.

Not Excepting That!

It is a slow burn novel. I honestly wasn’t expecting certain twists that happened! I finished this book in 24 hours and I loved it! I haven’t read a book like this before with the time jumping but I feel as if the time jumping flowed well. Definitely give this one a read and just remember it’s a slow burn :)

Love the story of characters connecting over the years.

Really had to pay attention. Loved your 1st book. This was okay. I am more aware of conviction ships.

Beautiful writing!

I loved the narration. Not a single complaint! Very well done. I will automatically buy anything from this author and narrator.

A thoroughly enjoyable read

Oooh! Such a different book. Supernatural/magical realism is not my typical genre, but this was really good. Like with Weyward, this was a tale about family, friendship, and love. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Highly recommend.

A stunningly surreal world

I’ve been waiting for this book to come out since the moment I heard about it. I was first mesmerized by Weyward, and now, the Sirens. The author has once again created a stunning, visual world that translates through the words. Spanning hundreds of years yet remaining applicable today.

Nothing Like Weyward

This story seemed disjointed, and the ending made certain characters' behavior (and the explanation for the whole story) seem more sleazy than magical. The narrator was very good, but you could play a drinking game with the number of times she had to read the word "body." I loved Weyward, but I was not a fan of The Sirens.

Weak characters, weak story, & horrible framing

Let me start off with saying I loved Weyward. One of my favorite books. I was hesitant to listen to this as I was sure it wouldn’t be as good. However, I didn’t expect it to be so terribly bad. Especially with the author getting so much attention for it. The characters were flat and predictable. The circumstances were written so unbelievably I assume the author has no experience with weird family dynamics. Additionally, using journal entries and dreams are just cheesy. But this wasn’t just cheesy, it was terrible. No one writes in a journal like this!!! It’s like the author/editor tried to smoosh a different half baked story into Weyward’s style - historical fiction/ women’s struggles/ different timelines. But it doesn’t work at all. Additionally, there is VERY high pitched singing which forced me to throw my earbuds to save my ears. I got to the point where if I thought there would be singing I’d fast forward 30 seconds. Read Weyward SKIP Sirens.

Absurd!!

I picked up The Siren after seeing a very enticing promotion on TV, expecting a captivating and well-crafted story. Unfortunately, it turned out to be one of the most disappointing books I have ever read.

The narrative structure is maddening — constantly switching between Jess diary entries, the past and present events with no clear distinction. It’s confusing, unrealistic, and exhausting. NO ONE writes a diary the way it’s portrayed here, and as a reader, it became nearly impossible to tell what was happening or when.

The plot itself is equally bewildering. There are sea creatures with thick scaled skin, tails, gills, and fins - and they are somehow women. The father had an affair with one of these creatures, resulting in the birth of Jess, whom he adopts. Jess later has a child, Lucy, out of wedlock, and her adoptive parents raise Lucy as their own, making Jess both her biological mother and her sister. To top it off, Jess murders her high school teacher in a sea cave, and the neighbor helps cover it up.

About 90% of the book is Lucy reading her mother/sister diary, which drags the story down even further. Instead of feeling suspenseful or emotional, it comes across as silly and absurd.

I pushed through to the end hoping to understand what all the hype was about, but ultimately, The Siren was a confusing, frustrating, stupid read that left me completely unsatisfied.