Siren Says, Jennifer Herrera (Review by Abigail Blake)

Rating: 3.0/5 Stars

Jennifer Michelle Herrera’s Siren Says follows twenty-something Raven Wynn’s journey of self-discovery and, most importantly for this novel, magic. The Wynn women in her family have always had magic, but Raven’s mom sealed her daughter’s magic upon her deathbed as an attempt at protection. However, this final, desperate act ends up physically scarring Raven and keeps her locked in pain as her magic wound grows while she grows. In a quest to free herself of magic in its entirety, Raven unlocks family secrets that have haunted generations of Wynn women. Finding herself thrust into the role of a would-be hero, Raven must choose between honoring her mother’s wishes or freeing the beings her ancestors trapped in the pursuit of survival.

Siren Says builds a magical world around Welsh mythology and botanical aesthetics. The gardens, houses, and other settings throughout the novel are packed with beautiful imagery evoking a captivating world that’s hard to believe is located only three hours from New York City. The rules of this world’s fantastical elements are carefully laid out from the start of the novel to its action-packed climax. All the breadcrumbs and clues to solving the problems its characters face have been there from the beginning, making the ending satisfying, if also intentionally disturbing.

While interesting in concept, Siren Says tries to do a lot in a short amount of time—it may have benefitted from a little more exposition, world building, and in-depth exploration of character development. Things happen almost too fast, with little time to really dive into certain themes or face up to consequences of an action. I would’ve loved more interactions between each of the characters to further explore their relationships and what they mean to one another; mother to daughter, chemistry and conflict between would-be lovers, and budding friendships. More explanation of how the town came to have its strange, almost cult-like traditions (that include an annual death no one bats an eye at) would be helpful. Sadly, the story left me wanting a bit more in order to fully engage with and care about the plights of all its characters. Raven’s story and world is a beautiful idea—I just wanted more of it.