I adored Emilia Hart’s debut Weyward, and I’m so glad that a lot of people agreed. So Hart’s follow-up, The Sirens, was an absolute must-read for me.
Similar to Weyward, The Sirens juggles timelines. In 1800, sisters Mary and Eliza are aboard a convict ship to Australia, following a self-defense motivated injury to a man. As they make their nightmare journey, surrounded by other desperate women, they begin to notice strange things happening to their bodies.
Meanwhile, in 2019, following a terrifying sleep-walking incident, Lucy has fled her university to a remote part of New South Wales to stay with her sister, Jess. However, Jess is not there, the door is unlocked, and there are no clues as to where she has gone. Incidentally, the place where Jess lives is home to a number of mysterious disappearances of young men. As Lucy attempts to investigate this mystery, she also uncovers some shocking truths about her own family.
Much like Weyward, The Sirens kept me up way past my bedtime. As the myriad revelations unravel in Lucy’s timeline, I became deeply invested in the devastating storyline. Hart creates a strong sense of confined space in the 1800 timeline, conveying the absolute hell these poor women endured.
I don’t think I’m saying anything too surprising stating that the juxtaposition of the two timelines highlights how slow progress is in achieving full equal rights for women. The brutal treatment of convicted women is not unheard of today, and the abuse of power in the present-day timeline is still depressingly rife.
The Sirens is another enjoyable read from Hart. From me, it is not quite as engaging as Weyward, but still a great novel.
California Reading 