Maggie Stiefvater’s The Listeners is a hauntingly lyrical novella that blends folklore, gothic imagery, and emotional depth into a compact, mesmerizing tale. With her signature poetic prose, Stiefvater draws readers into a story that feels both timeless and unsettling. Centered around themes of grief, music, and the supernatural, the narrative unfolds with quiet intensity, echoing the atmosphere of an old ballad. While brief, the story leaves a lingering impact—perfect for fans of dark fairy tales and introspective fantasy.
I was drawn into this story, i loved the characters. I felt all sorts of emotions reading this book. Loved the ending.

June has spent her life working her way up the ranks at the prestigious Avallon Hotel in West Virginia. After years of memorizing every person, task, and eccentricity, she’s finally the manager and the beating heart of the beloved property. She’s also managed to ingratiate with the Guilfoyle family— the wealthy aristocrats who own the Avallon— but not enough to truly ever feel like one of them. That’s why it feels like a massive betrayal when the Guilfoyle heir (and June’s occasional lover,) Edgar, announces that he’s made a deal that he’s made a deal with the State Department as World War II is waged in Europe: The Avallon will clear out its guests and become the new home to German and Japanese diplomats and celebrities until such a time that they can be exchanged for Americans held in Germany and Japan.

These people may be hostages in the technical sense, but to maintain the facade of diplomacy, June and her team are expected to give this group— comprised mostly of Nazis and sympathizers— a luxury experience featuring their award-winning hospitality.

With this uncomfortable re-opening comes two new mainstays at The Avallon: FBI agent Tucker Minnick, who thought he'd buried his West Virginia roots decades ago but must return for this punishment turned assignment, and Hannelore, an autistic, non-verbal 10-year-old and the daughter of two German diplomats whose only doubts in the Nazi party spring from its “programming” for children like Hannelore. Together, these three characters become the eyes and ears of The Avallon's strange new reality, always present but rarely considered.

I've liked every Maggie Stiefvater book I've read, but The Listeners marks her first foray into adult novels. Even as a YA writer, I always felt her novels were a little more mature (dispositionally speaking) than your average YA, so it's definitely a smart move. The Listeners allows her to explore complex themes and periods in history, and she did so with aplomb. Because it's Stiefvater, there's also a hint of magical realism that becomes part of the bones of the story, as well as some excellent, tiny bits of whimsy (i.e. the daschunds.)

The Listeners hit hard in lots of ways— witnessing the everyday, casual actions of awful people, the horrors that await defectors who will still be forced to return to their home nation, exploring trauma and sense of belonging— but one particular storyline couldn't have hit me harder. Stiefvater looked to expose the cruelty of the past, but it also feels shockingly aligned with current events as the US government looks to disparage the disabled community.

On top of our main three characters, who served as excellent arbiters to the tale, there were some well-written secondary characters that truly stood out. I especially loved “411,” an unnamed woman who hasn't left the room of the same number in several years, and the only guest neither June nor the FBI can quite manage to kick out of the hotel. There are also some complex side characters, both personally and politically: The man June has always cared for who's only cared superficially in return, the German journalist who's spoken out against Hitler's regime, the handsome German stunt pilot who the younger hotel workers want to be. All of the people at The Avallon create a rich tapestry against which the story is set.

The Listeners is a languid, carefully-crafted period piece that will leave an impression. It's a little slower than my average novel, but it was so poignant that I didn't mind at all.

4.5 stars rounded up

As a huge fan of The Raven Cycle, I was highly anticipating Maggie Stiefvater’s debut adult novel. The gentle and meandering prose felt incredibly soothing, the plot kept me guessing and was ultimately very satisfying. I loved how much research you could tell had gone into this book, and that it was a real labour of love for the author. Knowing that the story was based on actual events made it all the more fascinating. The main character, June was interesting and nuanced and it was a pleasure to see her come into her own throughout the book. I think this is the kind of book that you would get even more from with a reread, and I look forward to reading it again in future, and finding myself lost in the Avallon Hotel all over again.

The Listeners gave all the Maggie Stiefvater vibes of her YA novels - mystical with a side of history and romance- with a adult upgrade. I've followed Maggie's socials throughout this process and loved finally having the story in my hands, it was so worth the wait. She said her readers have aged up and so wanted to write a story for them, and this delivered on that account. I am not typically a WWII reader, but I trusted Maggie to break into this genre.

I loved that this showed the transition of those in West Virginia still picking up after the Great War and Great Depression. The Avalon is a luxury hotel that has now been selected to host Axis diplomats. It is become a prison without looking like one, they still must cater to their needs just like any other client, while facing rations and staff getting recruited. This addresses who "deserves" to be treated with luxury, regardless of their backgrounds or beliefs.

There are multiple POVs, mostly June Hudson, the GM of the Avalon. We also get an FBI agent and an autistic German daughter. It was interesting seeing the situation from all of these perspectives. There is a slight lean toward a love triangle, but really isn't focused on or angst involved. It is just a means of character development, and I loved how it turned out - would read a whole other book with just their adventures. I was guessing at the twist at the end pretty early on, but loved the discovery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Headline for providing an eARC for my honest feedback.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC.

A historical book with just a bit of magical realism, transport us to 1940s USA and gives us the challenge - how do we survive when enemies are in our home? I really enjoyed June, our MC, but had a more difficult time following the plot: sometines the pacing felt rushed. I would have loved more chapters from Hannelore POV, especially how she is connected to Avalons magic

3.5

Beautifully haunting and subtly magical, The Listeners takes Maggie Stiefvater’s signature voice and applies it to an entirely new setting and story.

The Avallon lives and dies on the whim of the sweetwater, and June Hudson is the one responsible for keeping it afloat. A woman with a strong Virginia accent in 1942 is not someone anyone expects to find running one of the most luxurious hotels in the country, and yet June does exactly that. After saving one of the Gilfoyle children when only a child herself, June becomes almost a part of their family and is raised to take over the running of the hotel - something some of the Gilfoyles are less than happy about, but not for the reason you’d think. When WWII breaks out, June is informed that her hotel is required to play host to some political adversaries however, as tensions rise, keeping the sweetwater sweet may become harder than she thinks, to the detriment of them all.

The Listeners is unlike anything I’ve ever read by Maggie Stiefvater and yet it gripped me immediately. I’m not generally a big reader of historical fiction, but as someone who loves both the Shiver and Raven Cycle series, I wanted to give it a shot, and I was swept away.
June was such a compelling character, pulled between the hotel and employees she cares for deeply and the family she was in some ways a huge part of and in other ways completely outside. Her various employees all came together to provide a tableau of daily life in a luxury hotel, and all added to the worldbuilding in a multitude of ways.
The relationships were messy and honest, the realities of life in a time period where everyone is struggling and scared.
I loved the quietly creepy and somewhat menacing presence of the sweetwater - it was almost a character in and of itself - with the power to both keep the hotel and spa famous and also destroy everything on a whim.

Overall, I would highly recommend The Listeners. If you’re a fan of Stiefvater’s YA books it won’t necessarily feel familiar, but it has that same entrancing mystery I always love in her books.

Magical realism, historical fantasy set in a luxury hotel during the early 1940s

Following the attack on Pearl Harbour, diplomats, their families, journalists and others connected to Axis countries, are rounded up and held in hotels while the government try work out what to do with them.

The Avallon, famed for it's luxury and quality must kick out it's guests and replace them with these unwanted interlopers, along with the government agents and border guards sent to keep them in check. The staff have family fighting, some have lost loved ones already, and many a gradually conscripted - but June Hudson, the general manager, is determined that these new guests receive the same care as any other. In fact, it's vital that tempers are kept calm, or risk the sweetwater, that flow through the hotel, turning sour.

I'm really not sure how to either rate or review this one. I enjoyed everything that I was reading - I liked the setting; the magical realism; the characters and their relationships; the look at class, privilege and belonging. But I also found it all a bit vague, like a watercolour when I wanted something HD. It doesn't lack substance, I just wanted more solidity and the characters needed more depth and reality to them in order for me to form a connect and care about them.

Even saying all of that, Maggie Stiefvater really knows how to create an interesting, otherworldly setting that seeps into your skin and I'll be thinking about the Avallon for a while yet.

The Listeners is a historical fiction novel set in the 1940s with a pinch of magical realism.

June is the general manager of the Avallon Hotel and currently preparing the hotel for a lush Burns Night spectacle when the US government commandeers the hotel for the housing of foreign diplomats from Axis countries. It's refreshing to see a woman in a managerial role at that time and Stiefvater manages to write her FMC very convincingly. FBI agent Tucker Minnow seems equally intriguing, but the reader only learns more about his backstory once he and June start to get to know each other better. Naturally, there is a lot of staff at the hotel that makes for interesting secondary characters.

Although I liked seeing this time period from a non-European perspective and in a non-EU setting, I never really got into the story. Maybe it was the slower pace, maybe it was the magical realism element that I wish had either been left out entirely, or had been more "fleshed out". Or maybe, having read Stiefvater's YA work, I had too high expectations.

I recommend this to anyone who likes slower paced stories set at the time of WWII but not in a combat situation.

Trying to review a Stiefvater book is like trying to describe what it means to feel something. You can, but it’s better for the person to experience it firsthand, there’s an ineffable quality that must be had. It won’t be the same for you and me.
Based on true events from WW2 and luxury resorts, The Listeners adds a bit of magic that allows a heightened sense to rise and allows us to see the spaces between events. The ancient and mystical mountains of West Virginia provide the perfect backdrop to a story of opposing powers, loyalty, and defying expectation. The true magic in the pages is unpacking humanity through choices, good and bad, and seeing the courses that follow—defining humanity by how humans wield the power they’ve been given. It is a story of longing and hope and waiting and listening. But what you listen to makes all the difference.
I love the setting, though I am biased. The characters are ones you might expect, but expect to learn them inside and out. It’s a story about a hotel and a war and the people who are working to keep their families and nation safe. It’s a story about perception and reality and how you can’t always tell one from the other. It’s a story about hidden truths and the ones staring you in the face.

Compelling, mysterious and subtle, The Listeners hooked me in slowly and didn't let me go.
For the first 25% of this book, I couldn't decide if it was for me or not. Suddenly, I was 80% through without realising. I guess it was for me after all!

The Listeners isn't fast or flashy. It's slow and meandering, much like the sweetwater running beneath the hotel. It's a very human story, rooted firmly in real history, where the characters really shine.

I was a little worried when my request for The Listeners was approved, because I love Maggie's work so much, but as a rule I don't consume anything set around WWII: I was concerned that I had boxed myself into a disappointment. I am happy to report this was an unfounded concern. Maggie Stiefvater has been one of my favourite authors since teenagehood, when her werewolf series, The Wolves of Mercy Falls, captured my imagination. I have read, since then, almost everything she has published, and every new book has convinced me of her skill, but more than that, of the ineffable sense of person-ness she is capable of putting to page, it is almost magic. The Raven Cycle, an utter stand out, remains my benchmark for humanity played out on pages, for the melding of the real and unreal, but The Listeners might give TRC a run for its money.

The Listeners is delightful and compelling, in her interview with The Bookseller Maggie referred to this not as fantasy, or historical fiction, but 'Wonder' a new genre she was pioneering, and I understand now what she meant. This is unlike anything you have read before, because it is fantasy, and reality. It is class struggles. It is a WWII narrative. It is a romance, and a family drama, and rumination on parenthood and childhood. It is horror, without the fear, and literary without the pretension, and historical fiction without the familiar, and a tale of people without banality. It is almost spy fiction, and almost romance fiction, and almost fantasy fiction. It is speculative, but it is also deeply, unerringly real.

I fell into this, dove into the sweetwater and let it close over my head. It was a fever dream. Consuming. Brilliant. Truly exceptional.

To quote Maggie herself: Stiefvater, 'You incredible creature.'

5 stars.

It took me a few pages to get into this, but after that there was no looking back, I was absolutely hooked. I've not read anything like it. I knew what happened to those who were persona-non-grata in the UK during the war but hadn't ever considered those in the States. The little touch of magic from the water adds another layer and the individual stories are lovely. All in all, this is a fabulous book.

Very, very slow. Unfortunately I didn't really enjoy this book even though I thought it would be a good read. I struggled through to the end and was glad that I've now finished it. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

I feel awful because I wished for this one and had it granted by the publisher, but I couldn't finish this one. There's slow and then there's 'The Listeners' slow, which feels like wading through treacle while covered in honey. The concept, some of the writing, I was really intrigued in that, but things moved at such a snails pace, involving so many people with so little distinction that I just couldn't force myself beyond the first couple of chapters. I don't know if this is the kind of book that I'd do better with in audio, but as a print book, I couldn't stomach such a slow pacing with so little happening.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

I had never heard of this author and I must not have read the blurb correctly because I expected the book to be a spy thriller with perhaps some relationship to the Walter De La Mare poem The Listeners. I didn't notice any of the "dark alliances and unexpected desires" mentioned in the blurb.

I can't say I loved the book but I was intrigued by parts of it and it has popped into my mind at unexpected times. The idea of the sweetwater is very interesting indeed and I would have liked to have known more about it, what happens when it turns and how some people are able to prevent this.

I also found many aspects of the book to be quite annoying so at least it has provoked a reaction which is better than a bland "meh" sort of book.

In the beginning the book is written in that breezy American way of introducing and reintroducing a character by their full name and giving the same fact about them. I find that annoying rather than cute, I don't know how many times we are told that those dachshunds were 1 wiry and 2 smooth coated - maybe that has some meaning or relevance that I failed to see but if not, who cares about the dogs' coats?

I was also very irritated by "Avallon", i know it is a place in France but I think most readers would expect "Avalon" as in King Arthur and every time I saw "Avallon" it broke my flow (no sweetwater pun intended lol). The book supposedly explains how June became Hoss but I still did not understand until I googled the word.

June was never really substantial or vivid for me, in fact none of the characters seemed particularly real and in a sense some of them weren't. Actually, it has only now occurred to me why June is insubstantial - she is a sponge. A sponge for the water and a sponge for the mentoring by old Mr Francis who, frankly sounded like a dreadful, lecturing know all, interesting also that his motives for helping June advance were not quite as kindly as June thought.

I did not like the descriptions of the extent to which the staff in the Avallon usually pandered to their rich guests although this prompted me to think about when service becomes servility so that was interesting for me..

I don't doubt that this is a wonderful, touching and magical book. I just know that I won't be able to appreciate this book at the moment. My mind is not healthy enough for that. My mind can't focus enough for that. I read the first 21% of the story and there are a lot of names and a lot of descriptions and in true Stiefvater fashion those are all very atmospheric and layered. I however noticed that I couldn't keep up. And that's for sure more of a me issue than a book issue. The concept is interesting and I am quite curious where it will go. I just can't appreciate this right now. I saw that a Dutch translation will be published soon though. I might try that one once it's available through Kobo+.

The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater is a genre blending book that mixes historical fiction with a hint of magical realism to create a novel that will linger long after the last page has turned. In the Appalachian Mountains in 1942, the Avallon Hotel is synonymous with luxury, comfort and wealth, something that the staff, led by manager, and local woman, June (Hoss) Hudson, and the owners, the wealth Gilfoyle family, pride themselves upon. However in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbour, war and austerity loom large and the future of a luxury hotel is questionable at best, that is until it becomes host to a variety of diplomats from enemy nations, their families and other Nazi sympathizers, all under the watchful eye of the State Department and Agent Tucker Minnick in particular. June and her staff must learn to deal with their new guests, several of whom have secrets of their own that they are trying to hide, and the adversarial relationship between June and Agent Tucker certainly isn't helping matters. The fact that Minnick has secrets of his own is something that June quickly figures out, and we soon learn that this pair may have more in common than either is willing to admit. On top of all of this, there is something strange about the waters of the hotel spa, something magical that absorbs the energy of those around it, and given the change in clientele it may become more harmful than healing.
There is an excellent blend of historical fiction, mystery, magic and romance in this book, making it something that I would happily recommend to a variety of readers. I am not always a fan of magical realism, but done well as it has been here, and incorporated into the storytelling with a light touch it can add an nice extra dimension to the story being told. Speaking of storytelling, Stiefvater is a master, keeping me turning pages as she wove a tale that kept me turning pages, desperate to see what would happen to the fascinating characters she crafted to populate her world. June of course is compelling as the main character, something of an enigma at first, but memorable and clearly very special from the first time we are introduced to her - 'She was not outrageous but she was confident, and in this room, the two concepts felt the same.' but my personal favourite character was Hannelore, the daughter of the German Cultural Attaché, non speaking but incredibly observant when it comes to the hotel and its occupants, her possible fate if she returned to Germany was one of the most heartbreaking aspects of the book.
There is a romance in the story, and like much of the book overall it is slow and meandering but when it finally comes to the crux it is also absolutely beautiful - " I want to be what makes you smile when we come home to each other and I want to be what makes you settle under a full moon and I want to be what makes you wild when I am gone ... and I want to be everything else in between " 'She did not want just him, she wanted the person she was with him.'
As I said earlier there is a thread of magical realism running through the book, but I think that readers looking for this in particular might be a little disappointed, it is not as developed as it possibly could have been.
It is clear that the author has done a lot of historical research, especially after reading her notes at the end of the book, and as someone who loves history I appreciated the attention to detail and how she wove the history into the fiction, and the often beautifully descriptive writing, but that did come at the expense of pace, this is a book that needs a reader that is willing to go along with the ride, willing to detour here and there and trust that it will be worth it in the end, and for me it really was.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This book felt like coming full circle.

Maggie Stiefvater was one of the first authors I ever read in English, and getting the chance to read an ARC of The Listeners felt like stepping back into that quiet, powerful kind of magic she does so well.

Set in 1942 West Virginia, the story follows June Porter Hudson, manager of the once-luxurious Avallon Hotel, now secretly housing Axis diplomats as prisoners of war. What unfolds is a quiet, intricate story about appearances, grief, and the cost of maintaining the illusion of perfection—because above all, Avallon must be "the best."

The pacing is slow, intentionally so. The magic—like the sweetwater running beneath the hotel—is subtle but always there, gently shaping the world and its people without ever taking center stage.

What moved me most was the human weight behind every decision. The women serving the very men whose nations sent their sons to die. The men assisting guests they may face on the battlefield. The cold language of war—casualty numbers, battle stats—contrasted with the deeply personal pain of a single name on a list. For generals, it matters if fewer than 100 men died. For mothers, it only matters if their son was among them.

This novel isn’t an action-packed wartime thriller. It’s a meditation. A hallway of echoes. The front door to something much larger—historically and emotionally. I closed the book and immediately opened a history textbook to revisit Pearl Harbor. Few novels make me do that.

The Listeners is about seeing and not being seen, knowing and pretending. And like the sweetwater, its magic lingers long after the final page.

It's 1942 and June Hudson is the General Manager of the Avallon Hotel and Spa in West Virginia, renowned for the restorative power of its sweetwater. Its previous owner has recently passed away when the State Department decides to use the luxury hotel to host enemy diplomats, nazi sympathisers and their dependants...

The writing in this book is beautiful and evocative, with the right amount of humour to balance out what could have been a very depressing story. I liked the characters and the setting, and the fact that Stiefvater has done her historical research shows on every page (it inspired me down a Wikipedia rabbit hole as soon as I finished). I'd describe it as historical magical realism, and an explaration of why people do what they do in wartime.

Where it fell a bit flat for me is the plot and pacing. This book is incredibly slow and meandering - it feels a bit like the author has so many interesting things she wants to tell us about history that she neglects to tell an actual story (to be fair, they are actually interesting things). It's not until the last quarter of the book or so that much actually happens.

Overall, I'd say the Listeners is a well-written and well-researched book, but it will not be for everyone. Skip it if you're mostly plot-driven. Pick it up if you're motivated by beautifully atmospheric writing and learning about an often overlooked aspect of WWII history.


Many thanks to Headline for granting my wish and letting me read an eARC through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Every page is saturated with historical accuracy and testifies to Stiefvater's thorough research, but this attention to detail never overpowers the story and characters. From June to her staff (and dachshunds) to the FBI agents to the diplomat families, these feel like real people who have stepped out from the history books but with a subtle twist of magical influence.