The Sirens by Emilia Hart (Audiobook Review)

A story of sisters separated by hundreds of years but bound together in more ways than they can imagine

2019: Lucy awakens in her ex-lover’s room in the middle of the night with her hands around his throat. Horrified, she flees to her sister’s house on the coast of New South Wales hoping Jess can help explain the vivid dreams that preceded the attack—but her sister is missing. As Lucy waits for her return, she starts to unearth strange rumours about Jess’s town—tales of numerous missing men, spread over decades. A baby abandoned in a sea-swept cave. Whispers of women’s voices on the waves. All the while, her dreams start to feel closer than ever.

1800: Mary and Eliza are torn from their loving home in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship heading for Australia. As the boat takes them farther and farther away from all they know, they begin to notice unexplainable changes in their bodies.

A breathtaking tale of female resilience, The Sirens is an extraordinary novel that captures the sheer power of sisterhood and the indefinable magic of the sea.

Get your copy of The Sirens by Emilia Hart

Check out her amazing debut novel Weyward while you’re at it. (One of my all time favs)

And be sure to check out My 2025 Book Stack for more recommendations

The Sirens by Emilia Hart (Audiobook Review)

After reading Wayward and placing it firmly among my all-time favorite books, I couldn’t wait to dive into Emilia Hart’s second novel, The Sirens. It took me longer than I hoped to get to it (the TBR struggle is real!), but when I finally picked up the audiobook, I was absolutely swept away.

The narrator was phenomenal — soothing, emotional, and beautifully clear. Her accent added a richness that made the story feel all the more authentic. She struck just the right balance between descriptive detail and emotional weight, and her performance truly pulled me inside the story.

Hart has a gift for weaving together multiple timelines, and The Sirens is another stunning example. Like Wayward, it balances the past and present with seamless ease, bringing everything together into one powerful narrative. Though rooted in myth and imagination — with sirens, mermaids, and magic — the story feels as vivid and authentic as historical fiction.

The characters are another highlight. They’re flawed, insecure, and honest with their emotions, yet they carry an inner strength that makes them inspiring. Hart writes women who feel real — women who struggle, doubt, rise up, and discover who they truly are in a world shaped by patriarchy. At its heart, this is a novel about sisterhood, empowerment, and resilience.

While Wayward still holds the top spot in my heart, The Sirens is a very close second. I was sad to say goodbye when it ended; I wanted to stay in that world a little longer, with those women and their stories. To me, that’s the mark of a truly great book.

⭐ Highly recommend this to anyone who loves myth-infused, atmospheric storytelling, dual timelines, and books that leave you thinking long after the final page.

Emilia Hart is a British-Australian writer. She was born in Sydney and studied English Literature and Law at the University of New South Wales before working as a lawyer in Sydney and London. Emilia is a graduate of Curtis Brown Creative’s Three Month Online Novel Writing Course and was Highly Commended in the 2021 Caledonia Novel Award. Her short fiction has been published in Australia and the UK. She lives in London. You can follow Emilia on Twitter at @EmiliaHartBooks.