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The Siren
Not yet published
Expected 29 Sep 26Win a free print copy of this book!
14 days and 11:37:19
75 copies available
U.S. only
The new novel from acclaimed, three-time instant #1 New York Times–bestselling author Tomi Adeyemi blends shocking contemporary storytelling with a sinister dark academic flair to create a blockbuster about rage, longing, and a woman’s darkness that will leave readers breathless.
When Emery steps foot onto Dartmouth’s campus, she knows what she has to keep her scholarship, take her meds, and pray no one ever finds out about the past she left behind.
But that all changes when Emery meets an intoxicating girl named Roux, her disarming stepbrother named Eli, and the mystical band of girls Roux calls “The Sirens.” Each Siren is as beautiful as the last, and their lives on campus are shrouded in extravagance and secret parties. Before the girls became Sirens, they were outcasts, yet under Roux, their wildest dreams come true. When Roux offers Emery the chance to join them, Emery will do whatever it takes to make it in.
Even if it costs Emery her life.
When Emery steps foot onto Dartmouth’s campus, she knows what she has to keep her scholarship, take her meds, and pray no one ever finds out about the past she left behind.
But that all changes when Emery meets an intoxicating girl named Roux, her disarming stepbrother named Eli, and the mystical band of girls Roux calls “The Sirens.” Each Siren is as beautiful as the last, and their lives on campus are shrouded in extravagance and secret parties. Before the girls became Sirens, they were outcasts, yet under Roux, their wildest dreams come true. When Roux offers Emery the chance to join them, Emery will do whatever it takes to make it in.
Even if it costs Emery her life.
336 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication September 29, 2026
About the author
Tomi Adeyemi
15 books21.5k followersTomi Adeyemi is a Nigerian-American writer and creative writing coach based in San Diego, California. Her debut novel, CHILDREN OF BLOOD AND BONE, comes out March 6th, 2018 and the movie is currently in development at Fox with the producers of Twilight and The Maze Runner attached. After graduating Harvard University with an honors degree in English literature, she received a fellowship that allowed her to study West African mythology and culture in Salvador, Brazil. When she’s not working on her novels or watching Scandal, she can be found blogging and teaching creative writing to her 3,500 subscribers at tomiadeyemi.com. Her website has been named one of the 101 best websites for writers by Writer’s Digest.
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February 4, 2026Does anyone else find it incredibly odd that she used her own face for the cover? Is this a memoir or fiction? The "absolutely true" part and the cover makes me think memoir, but the summary sounds like fiction.
Did she switch to Indie?
Did she switch to Indie?
Want to Read
February 8, 2026intrigued? it's not what i expected, and idk about the cover, but i will be reading
Read
April 13, 2026Isn't that just Tomi on the cover??? 😭
Read
May 5, 2026gonna withhold my thoughts until near pub date, will be spilling the tea (derogatory)
Want to Read
February 3, 2026Tomi Adeyemi is back.
We will be preordering.
We will be preordering.
July 5, 2026
Received an advanced readers copy from Publisher!
Just finished the Arc and WOW! 🤩
We follow the main character Emery as she is starting her freshman year of college. We jump from her writing poems, back to her in present time. She has had mental health problems that we get more information on throughout the book.
Emery is looking for a fresh start and notices a group of girls that seem almost powerful? She is invited to join their “sorority” but does not know whether this is a good thing or trouble is coming. 😬
I loved that we got to see what she was texting in her notebook even though she never shared with anyone else. It really helped move the story along and let the reader feel connected to the moment.
I think this book is unlike anything I have ever read and will be amazing for the girls that feel like they never fit it!
TOMI, You have done it again!! ❤️
Just finished the Arc and WOW! 🤩
We follow the main character Emery as she is starting her freshman year of college. We jump from her writing poems, back to her in present time. She has had mental health problems that we get more information on throughout the book.
Emery is looking for a fresh start and notices a group of girls that seem almost powerful? She is invited to join their “sorority” but does not know whether this is a good thing or trouble is coming. 😬
I loved that we got to see what she was texting in her notebook even though she never shared with anyone else. It really helped move the story along and let the reader feel connected to the moment.
I think this book is unlike anything I have ever read and will be amazing for the girls that feel like they never fit it!
TOMI, You have done it again!! ❤️
misc
March 18, 2026Consider me very intrigued
Review of advance copy
Read for a super secret project!
I was so excited when I saw this was one of my titles to review, but... I'm not sure I liked it all that much...
Straight away I struggled with getting to know our MC, Emery, because it was apparent that she was trying to move away from her fractured mindset and past, but in turn was hiding information from the reader, which made me constantly feeling like I was missing key information and made it increasingly more difficult to connect to her character and feel grounded in the plot.
Despite being alluring and hypnotic in many ways, I simultaneously couldn't help but think how ridiculous everything was and could feel my face scrunching up in disbelief and irritation.
It would probably work well for a movie, but as a book, despite only being a little over 300 pages, it felt like so much was happening that it felt like a slog to push through, but also that nothing really was happening because I didn't really get the story and felt so disconnected to the book.
In fact, as I was about 2/3rds in, I still had this feeling of confusion about what was going on (that felt like it was being disguised as the mystique and allure of the sirens), if there was going to be more darker magical elements or if it was going to go more down the route of the pressures of the mind in a high achieving school and temptations of power through popularity.
By the end, stuff got weirder and I was still left thinking "what the hell did I read?". Like, things happened but also nothing happened... I couldn't get a grasp on what sort of story this was trying to be.
There were some interesting themes of mental health and the pressures of university life, but I don't feel like they were explored in any meaningful way and the depth just felt kind of forced. There was a lot of drinking and drugs and the general party life and trying to rush for certain circles that felt cultish, but it all still felt very surface level. Despite seeing that care was taken to delve a bit deeper, it just never felt like it was thoroughly pulled off to that effect.
There was a part where the sirens walk into class that really had me thinking of the Twilight scene where Bella first encounters the Cullens. I just visualised it in slow motion and layered over it the details she later looked up.
The only character I actually liked was Eli! I didn't get how his arc was interconnected or, by the end, the point of the strange twist, but he was a character (and Lila, Emery's mum) that I cared about the most.
It's a shame really because the more I write about it, the more I realise how annoyed I'm left feeling about The Sirens... Not sure if I could really recommend it because I don't know who I would recommend to. But it has some cool dark vibes and unlikeable characters that do messed up stuff, if you're into that.
The plot felt lacking and as there was no redeemable aspects to our main characters, I was disappointed to find myself not finding other elements to suck me in to their individual growths.
Pick it up, give it a go & enjoy!
I was so excited when I saw this was one of my titles to review, but... I'm not sure I liked it all that much...
Straight away I struggled with getting to know our MC, Emery, because it was apparent that she was trying to move away from her fractured mindset and past, but in turn was hiding information from the reader, which made me constantly feeling like I was missing key information and made it increasingly more difficult to connect to her character and feel grounded in the plot.
Despite being alluring and hypnotic in many ways, I simultaneously couldn't help but think how ridiculous everything was and could feel my face scrunching up in disbelief and irritation.
It would probably work well for a movie, but as a book, despite only being a little over 300 pages, it felt like so much was happening that it felt like a slog to push through, but also that nothing really was happening because I didn't really get the story and felt so disconnected to the book.
In fact, as I was about 2/3rds in, I still had this feeling of confusion about what was going on (that felt like it was being disguised as the mystique and allure of the sirens), if there was going to be more darker magical elements or if it was going to go more down the route of the pressures of the mind in a high achieving school and temptations of power through popularity.
By the end, stuff got weirder and I was still left thinking "what the hell did I read?". Like, things happened but also nothing happened... I couldn't get a grasp on what sort of story this was trying to be.
There were some interesting themes of mental health and the pressures of university life, but I don't feel like they were explored in any meaningful way and the depth just felt kind of forced. There was a lot of drinking and drugs and the general party life and trying to rush for certain circles that felt cultish, but it all still felt very surface level. Despite seeing that care was taken to delve a bit deeper, it just never felt like it was thoroughly pulled off to that effect.
There was a part where the sirens walk into class that really had me thinking of the Twilight scene where Bella first encounters the Cullens. I just visualised it in slow motion and layered over it the details she later looked up.
The only character I actually liked was Eli! I didn't get how his arc was interconnected or, by the end, the point of the strange twist, but he was a character (and Lila, Emery's mum) that I cared about the most.
It's a shame really because the more I write about it, the more I realise how annoyed I'm left feeling about The Sirens... Not sure if I could really recommend it because I don't know who I would recommend to. But it has some cool dark vibes and unlikeable characters that do messed up stuff, if you're into that.
The plot felt lacking and as there was no redeemable aspects to our main characters, I was disappointed to find myself not finding other elements to suck me in to their individual growths.
Pick it up, give it a go & enjoy!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
“The Siren” by Tomi Adeyemi is one of those books where you're never quite sure what's real, what's supernatural, and what's happening inside the main character's head; honestly, that uncertainty is what kept me flying through the pages.
The story follows Emery, a freshman at Dartmouth who's desperate for a fresh start after a mental health crisis in high school. She just wants to keep her scholarship, stay on her medication, and avoid repeating the mistakes of her past. But then she meets the mysterious Roux and her elite group known as The Sirens, which is a campus clique made up of former outsiders who now seem to have everything. Naturally, Emery gets pulled into their orbit, and the deeper she falls, the more dangerous and morally questionable things become.
The dark academia atmosphere was easily one of my favorite parts. Secret rituals, exclusive parties, questionable decisions, and an almost supernatural aura surrounding the Sirens gave the whole book this hypnotic, eerie feeling. It constantly walks the line between psychological thriller and paranormal horror, and I loved never knowing whether I should trust what Emery was experiencing.
Emery is a fascinating protagonist because she's such an unreliable narrator. Since she's questioning her own reality, you're doing the exact same thing as a reader. Is something genuinely sinister happening? Is this all tied to her past? Or is her mind betraying her? That uncertainty made the story incredibly tense, and I found myself second-guessing everything.
I also really enjoyed the poems sprinkled throughout the novel. Emery is an aspiring poet, and her writing gives you a much more intimate glimpse into her emotions than her narration sometimes allows. They're raw, vulnerable, and occasionally unsettling, adding another layer to her character.
That said, this book definitely won't work for everyone. The beginning is a little slow as it introduces Emery and her new life, and the story leans heavily into ambiguity. There were plenty of moments where I felt just as confused as Emery, and while I think that's intentional, I can also see how it might leave you feeling disconnected, like I did at times. The ending especially is a lot. It's surprising, strange, and left me sitting there thinking, ‘Wait...what exactly just happened?’ I'm still not entirely sure how to interpret it.
Overall, “The Siren” is a dark, unsettling dark academia and paranormal mystery story. It's packed with messy characters, secret societies, obsession, power, mental health themes, and a constant sense that something is deeply wrong beneath Dartmouth's polished surface. If you like books that leave you questioning reality long after you've finished the final page, this one is definitely worth experiencing.
“The Siren” by Tomi Adeyemi is one of those books where you're never quite sure what's real, what's supernatural, and what's happening inside the main character's head; honestly, that uncertainty is what kept me flying through the pages.
The story follows Emery, a freshman at Dartmouth who's desperate for a fresh start after a mental health crisis in high school. She just wants to keep her scholarship, stay on her medication, and avoid repeating the mistakes of her past. But then she meets the mysterious Roux and her elite group known as The Sirens, which is a campus clique made up of former outsiders who now seem to have everything. Naturally, Emery gets pulled into their orbit, and the deeper she falls, the more dangerous and morally questionable things become.
The dark academia atmosphere was easily one of my favorite parts. Secret rituals, exclusive parties, questionable decisions, and an almost supernatural aura surrounding the Sirens gave the whole book this hypnotic, eerie feeling. It constantly walks the line between psychological thriller and paranormal horror, and I loved never knowing whether I should trust what Emery was experiencing.
Emery is a fascinating protagonist because she's such an unreliable narrator. Since she's questioning her own reality, you're doing the exact same thing as a reader. Is something genuinely sinister happening? Is this all tied to her past? Or is her mind betraying her? That uncertainty made the story incredibly tense, and I found myself second-guessing everything.
I also really enjoyed the poems sprinkled throughout the novel. Emery is an aspiring poet, and her writing gives you a much more intimate glimpse into her emotions than her narration sometimes allows. They're raw, vulnerable, and occasionally unsettling, adding another layer to her character.
That said, this book definitely won't work for everyone. The beginning is a little slow as it introduces Emery and her new life, and the story leans heavily into ambiguity. There were plenty of moments where I felt just as confused as Emery, and while I think that's intentional, I can also see how it might leave you feeling disconnected, like I did at times. The ending especially is a lot. It's surprising, strange, and left me sitting there thinking, ‘Wait...what exactly just happened?’ I'm still not entirely sure how to interpret it.
Overall, “The Siren” is a dark, unsettling dark academia and paranormal mystery story. It's packed with messy characters, secret societies, obsession, power, mental health themes, and a constant sense that something is deeply wrong beneath Dartmouth's polished surface. If you like books that leave you questioning reality long after you've finished the final page, this one is definitely worth experiencing.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I hate that I didn’t like this book because I really liked Children of Blood and Bone but this one this missed almost every mark for me.
Now this isn’t to say that no one would enjoy this book, I think it has an audience who would appreciate it, however, for the purposes of this review I’m going to mention some things that made me not like it so this is a helpful review for people who maybe have similar book tastes to me and wouldn’t like it.
First of all this is supposed to be an adult debut (right?) but it reads so YA. Other than the main characters barely there romance and some drug usage, there was nothing making this an adult book in content or themes. I was expecting a bit more depth to the characters and their actions for an adult debut but this wasn’t that for me.
I also just did not like the characters. They were juvenile and very ‘pick me’. The inclusion of the main characters poetry made me cringe so hard. It was very angsty teenage girl which again adds a strike against this being for an adult audience. The main character also beginning being very “I’m so fucked up and mentally ill and could snap at any moment because of THE INCIDENT” but then not really explaining anything was just very YA coded too and I couldn’t cope.
I really liked Eli and Ozlie though! They got me through to the end of this book. Eli and Roux’s relationship and backstory was also really engaging. I honestly think there could be a book from Roux’s POV with founding the sirens and doing all of the evil things she did to save Eli. It would be such an emotional, understandable villian story. Roux is the most interesting character through most of this book and maybe she just needed to be the main character.
I did really like the ending at least! It was super cool and conceptual but, ultimately, it felt like the author had an idea for a cool ending then the rest of the story was just shoving characters into spaces they didn’t fit into to make it to that cool ending.
Overall, the writing style and pacing was good and there are definitely some good and great and not so great elements of craft to this novel but the craft and concept and characters just didn’t align for me personally.
Now this isn’t to say that no one would enjoy this book, I think it has an audience who would appreciate it, however, for the purposes of this review I’m going to mention some things that made me not like it so this is a helpful review for people who maybe have similar book tastes to me and wouldn’t like it.
First of all this is supposed to be an adult debut (right?) but it reads so YA. Other than the main characters barely there romance and some drug usage, there was nothing making this an adult book in content or themes. I was expecting a bit more depth to the characters and their actions for an adult debut but this wasn’t that for me.
I also just did not like the characters. They were juvenile and very ‘pick me’. The inclusion of the main characters poetry made me cringe so hard. It was very angsty teenage girl which again adds a strike against this being for an adult audience. The main character also beginning being very “I’m so fucked up and mentally ill and could snap at any moment because of THE INCIDENT” but then not really explaining anything was just very YA coded too and I couldn’t cope.
I really liked Eli and Ozlie though! They got me through to the end of this book. Eli and Roux’s relationship and backstory was also really engaging. I honestly think there could be a book from Roux’s POV with founding the sirens and doing all of the evil things she did to save Eli. It would be such an emotional, understandable villian story. Roux is the most interesting character through most of this book and maybe she just needed to be the main character.
I did really like the ending at least! It was super cool and conceptual but, ultimately, it felt like the author had an idea for a cool ending then the rest of the story was just shoving characters into spaces they didn’t fit into to make it to that cool ending.
Overall, the writing style and pacing was good and there are definitely some good and great and not so great elements of craft to this novel but the craft and concept and characters just didn’t align for me personally.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 Stars
If you like the movie Thirteen then is book is for you. This is the college version of it. The only reason why I put this book down was because I had to adult.
It was thrilling, engrossing, and all encompassing. The second hand emotions I felt while reading and me have to pause and collect myself a few times.
I especially loved the questioning of how mentally stable Emery was and how much of this was rooted in reality or if this was all a hallucination. I also liked how immature and green she was to real life. Both are shown in her poetry and how adolescent it feels and the emotions that are expressed.
The ending has me stumped. Thats the only hang up I have.
If you like the movie Thirteen then is book is for you. This is the college version of it. The only reason why I put this book down was because I had to adult.
It was thrilling, engrossing, and all encompassing. The second hand emotions I felt while reading and me have to pause and collect myself a few times.
I especially loved the questioning of how mentally stable Emery was and how much of this was rooted in reality or if this was all a hallucination. I also liked how immature and green she was to real life. Both are shown in her poetry and how adolescent it feels and the emotions that are expressed.
The ending has me stumped. Thats the only hang up I have.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
I was NOT expecting the route that was taken during this book... and wow. I need to process this. Psychological thriller paranormal vibes with a very interesting twist that all come at the last minutes with heists and dark cults that demand to continue.
In summary: oh shit
In summary: oh shit
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Not sure what to think of this one. It definitely wasn't as good as her other books.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Advance Copy Review
The way my head spun with each part! Seeing the MC go through these obstacles and then the final twist is crazy! I can see this adapted into a movie and I hope that manifests!
The way my head spun with each part! Seeing the MC go through these obstacles and then the final twist is crazy! I can see this adapted into a movie and I hope that manifests!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Received an advance copy from the publisher.
OKAY WOW THAT ENDING!!!
I need time to wrap my head around this.
Full review to come soon!
OKAY WOW THAT ENDING!!!
I need time to wrap my head around this.
Full review to come soon!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Still processing...review to come
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Recieved through goodreads giveaway.
They had me until the end. Then it wrapped up too fast and didn't seem to make sense. But, until then, I liked it enough to finish in an afternoon.
They had me until the end. Then it wrapped up too fast and didn't seem to make sense. But, until then, I liked it enough to finish in an afternoon.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
SCREAMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I actually devoured this book and I didn't think I was going to like it. The beginning was a little slow learning about the MC but the way the twist at the ending blew my mind and had me in a chokehold. This is very phycological thriller with paranormal vibes! I loved it!
Review of advance copy
I was instantly enraptured by this book. The MC Emery was instantly relatable to me, with her anxiety and the stories she's been told about herself hit home.
If you've ever felt that you didn't belong, this book is one for you. It challenges you to understand how far you'll go to belong, to find friends, and consider the consequences.
Additionally, The poetry was brilliant.
If you've ever felt that you didn't belong, this book is one for you. It challenges you to understand how far you'll go to belong, to find friends, and consider the consequences.
Additionally, The poetry was brilliant.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Tomi said this is the best book she's ever written so I can't even blame the publisher the way I did for COAAA.
+ the "poetry" in this book is what you thought was deep when you were 12
+ characters constantly telling the FMC how beautiful she is when it's the author's face on the cover
+ how did Emery make the dean's list when she never reads a book or studies or goes to class? I kept forgetting she was even in college.
+ I get it, Emery is obsessed with the Sirens. They frame a young Black student and have her sent to prison. Emery doesn't care. They sexually assault her best friend and humiliate her so badly she has to leave school. Emery doesn't care. I thought she was going to turn on them and smash the system. But she's too busy getting high and drunk and describing the matching Prada headbands these dumb bitches wear. (was she getting a fee from Prada? she should for the amount of pagetime)
+ I'm not even going to get into the "twist" which came out of nowhere and made no sense.
I have to accept Tomi's first book was a fluke because everything after has been a letdown.
+ the "poetry" in this book is what you thought was deep when you were 12
+ characters constantly telling the FMC how beautiful she is when it's the author's face on the cover
+ how did Emery make the dean's list when she never reads a book or studies or goes to class? I kept forgetting she was even in college.
+ I get it, Emery is obsessed with the Sirens. They frame a young Black student and have her sent to prison. Emery doesn't care. They sexually assault her best friend and humiliate her so badly she has to leave school. Emery doesn't care. I thought she was going to turn on them and smash the system. But she's too busy getting high and drunk and describing the matching Prada headbands these dumb bitches wear. (was she getting a fee from Prada? she should for the amount of pagetime)
+ I'm not even going to get into the "twist" which came out of nowhere and made no sense.
I have to accept Tomi's first book was a fluke because everything after has been a letdown.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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