Review Detail

What I Loved:

The world building! Wow. From the very first word, the reader is completely drawn into the world of the Roaring 20's--flappers, glittering wealth, mobsters, bootleggers, and girls struggling to figure out how to be modern, independent women in a world that isn't quite ready to let them be more than their mothers ever dared. The setting is absolutely flawless. The slang, the costumes, the carefully seeded in historical details all create a fascinating backdrop for this story.

The dual narrators. This is the first time I've read a book where the dual narrators are both girls. I really enjoyed it because the voices are SO different, and one is telling her story as it happens while the other is summing up events for the police.

The ending. I don't want to give anything away, but Ms. Fox doesn't pull her punches, something I appreciate in an author. I was on the edge of my chair as I read. She truly delivered an ending worthy of this series.

What Left Me Wanting More:

As much as I loved the dual narrators, I felt like the story lagged a bit during the first third of the book while we waited for their narratives to start overlapping. There were times when I had to "work" a bit for the story, which definitely isn't a bad thing! It's just a note that this is a story for readers who love historical fiction and who aren't in the mood for a book that spoon-feeds the reader.

I would've also loved to see a bit more of the gritty underbelly that was such a strong player in both the Roaring 20s and in the lives of our heroines. Bootlegging and mobsters are what set our heroines on a collision course with each other, but we don't spend much time with that side of the 20's.

Final Verdict:

SIRENS is a compelling story with vivid world building, strong heroines, and a nice touch of haunting emotional truth.