have i overlooked where the sirens are?

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

I wish I had more to say about this read, but I really don't. My investment hit a tiny burst of air and flew upward for maybe the first 20% of the book, and then quickly began to fall back to earth with nothing of real substance to sustain it. Which is a shame, because I thought the beginning sets up readers for a really cool, psychological exploration of Lucy's state of mind (that opening scene where she has her hands around Ben's neck? What an opening!). Rather, we don't return to some of the really interesting themes Lucy's situation brings up (sexual shame and betrayal, identity being tied to academic validation, etc.). I felt like Lucy as a character sadly fell flat. Honestly, none of the characters really had any substance, which only contributed to my losing a lot of interest in what was going to happen to them.
I think the authorial decision to cut and jump back and forth between two sets of sisters (or, in weird reality, sisters and a mother/daughter duo) confused more than intrigued me. I kept waiting for an "ah-ha!" moment to find me, but it never did. We also never get an explanation for why characters like Jess, Lucy, Mary, Eliza, and their "mam" are the way they are. I wanted a creation story for these Sirens that are, by the way, never actually called Sirens! This bothers me the more I think about it, actually---that the only time these women are subtly alluded to being Sirens similar to the original mythology is the title of Jess' painting. As someone who originally put this on their reading list with a clear interest in seeing how Hart may decide to incorporate original mythology in her own story, I was sorely disappointed. 
There appear to be several loose plot holes left hanging open at the end of the book as well, or at least just a general hazy cloud of confusion over some of the characters' histories. I really couldn't picture or connect with Jess' parents at all because they just had such weird stuff going on (knowing their daughter is half "Siren"/half human because Dad cheated on Mom with a "Siren," raising their daughter's daughter as their own and just never telling her being two chief examples). The theme of men's violence against women---and, therefore, women's retaliation---felt like it was trying to stand on a foundation that wasn't strong enough to support it, too. I wanted more emphasis on the Sirens' song and their ability to lure so I could better understand how these not-quite-women exist and why. 
So much time is spent in dilapidated Cliff House, too. What about the ocean that's right there?! I wanted more descriptions of the undersea world, which would've required more time spent beneath it, which I think would've benefited a book that's marketed to seem like it'll be about Sirens rather than women who are sorta Sirens. Okay, that's all I have in me. I'm aware it's mostly complaints, but this book really did disappoint me.


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One of my favorite quotes from The Sirens:

"Lucy thinks, but doesn’t say, how intertwined those things are. Fear and desire. How one can become the other so easily."

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