The Sirens - by Emilia Hart

About the Book

Book Synopsis

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - 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

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.

Review Quotes

"Some novels don't just tell a story; they sing. The Sirens is one of them--a lyrical, evocative tale that sweeps you into the salty winds of the Irish and Australian coasts, weaving together history, myth and the unbreakable resilience of women...Hart has a gift for crafting complex, unforgettable female characters [and] each woman's story feels both deeply personal and universally resonant, a testament to Hart's ability to infuse historical fiction with raw emotional depth...If you love stories that interlace historical depth with rich, almost magical prose--think Kate Morton meets Alice Hoffman--The Sirens is a must-read. Haunting, beautifully crafted and fiercely empowering, it will leave you listening for echoes of its melody long after you've turned the last page." --BookTrib

"Entertaining. Hart (Weyward) delivers a high-voltage tale of family secrets, fantastical occurrences, and Australian history." --Publishers Weekly

"Haunting, immersive and deeply alive, The Sirens feels as storied and ancient as the myths it explores, a true classic-in-the-making work of feminist fire and fury....Hart is a truly gifted, spellbinding author." --Bookreporter

"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 Sirens is an absolutely immersive, utterly captivating puzzle box of a novel, both gripping and heart-wrenching. Hart is a gorgeously emotive storyteller." --Ellery Lloyd, New York Times bestselling author

"Evocative and compelling, The Sirens is a deeply layered mystery, and a luminous ode to the sea and sisterhood. Written with Emilia Hart's assured and shimmering prose, the story is as hopeful as it is heart-wrenching." --Lucy Clarke, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Girls

"I absolutely adored this powerful, beguiling novel, steeped in magic, mystery and the wild forces of the ocean. A testament to the unbreakable bond of sisterhood and the eerie echoes of history, it weaved its way into my heart and lingered long after the last page. So vivid, Emilia Hart must have saltwater running through her veins." --Lizzie Pook, author of Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter

"Emilia Hart takes the reader on a mythical journey through time, evoking ancient tales of the sea and female bonds that are tested but never broken. The Sirens surprises and delights and allows us as readers to imagine a world where myth and reality collide. A beautiful and propulsive story full of love and intrigue. A remarkable read!" --Amanda Peters, bestselling author of The Berry Pickers

"Enthralling, compelling, poignant." --Bridget Collins, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Binding

"What a gorgeous book this is. Wistful, haunting, drenched in seaweed and a frothy tide, a beautiful story about sisterhood and the ocean. I just loved it." --CJ Cooke, author of The Lighthouse Witches

"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

"Absolutely wonderful. It's a profoundly moving and rich historical story wrapped up in a contemporary murder mystery. I was transported by Mary and Eliza's terrible journey and delighted by the well-earned ending to the modern tale, too - justice served" --Rosie Andrews, author of The Leviathan

"Emilia Hart's storytelling is powerfully chameleonic: smart, propulsive, familiar, otherworldly, and deeply evocative. Reading her work is to be reminded that at any time we choose, we can take agency of our own lives, and how powerful our voices can be when we use them to claim that agency." --Holly Ringwald, internationally bestselling author

Praise for Weyward

"Powerful." --New York Times Book Review

"A brave and original debut, Weyward is a spellbinding story about what may transpire when the natural world collides with a legacy of witchcraft." --Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author

"A totally unique debut that shines a light on the female experience. I loved it." --Gillian McAllister, New York Times bestselling author

"The writing is beautiful, the women are wonderful, and each narrative is as compelling as the next. Alive, vivid, gripping. Real magic." --Abigail Dean, New York Times bestselling author

"An utterly absorbing page turner. This is an outstanding debut and worthy of all the stars." --Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author

About the Author