gorgeous writing from maggie! atmospheric and mystical, but ultimately felt underdeveloped.

thank you to netgalley/viking for the earc!

I started the book several times. The plot is intriguing and I love historical fiction, but there were too many characters introduced. That’s something I find confusing. I intend to finish reading, but I will have to give it my full attention.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC.

"The Listeners" hooked me with a really intriguing premise—a slew of foreign diplomats forced to gather in a West Virginia luxury hotel in the throes of WWII, with a staff who struggles emotionally to accommodate them?! Sprinkle in some romance, family feuds, and an army of daschunds, and we've got what sounds like the recipe for a perfect historical drama.

The book did take a while to get going, and I found my interest waning before it really picked up. It did get more engaging as we went though, and the more we got to know the main characters the more I was captivated by them. June is a rare calm, collected, but still interesting leading lady, and I really appreciated her role as a steadying force throughout the narrative. I think we could've spent a smidge more time getting to know some of the other staff more intimately—we spent a LOT of time with June—but again, I wasn't upset by focusing on her.

I also definitely appreciated the wartime drama, which is what most excited me about the book, but I honestly wish there had been more of that in exchange for less time spent on the mystical Appalachian sweetwater. I really wanted to dig into the relationships between all the diplomats, but I felt like those instances were few and far between while June constantly ruminated on the mood of the hotel's water. This part of the story honestly just didn't do it for me... we didn't need this kind of magical realism element to illustrate June's deep connection to the hotel, and it took me out of the harsh historical reality of war to keep talking about magic water.

I'm glad I powered through and it was worth the read, but I'm a little disappointed because I also see the potential for what could've been a really exceptional book. 3.5/5 stars.

[Thanks for NetGalley and Viking for an advance reader copy of this book!]

Whatever I was expecting from Maggie Stiefvater's adult debut, it was not The Listeners. The novel follows the luxurious Avallon Hotel as it is forced to host to Axis diplomats in the midst of World War II. I am not, generally, a fan of historical fiction, especially in this time period, but I am a fan of Maggie Stiefvater. While I do not think The Listeners will appeal to probably the majority of her existing fan base, it is still a solid novel. Stiefvater is a master character writer, her prose is excellent, and the magical realism element appeals to her strengths as a fantasy writer. However, the overall plot left me a little underwhelmed. Much of the tension of the book is understated, which is cohesive with the novel's themes, but did make for a bit of a slow read. While I definitely enjoyed the novel, I would probably only recommend this book to fans of historical fiction.

It's early 1942, Pearl Harbor was bombed a month ago, and the United States needs to do something about the German, Italian, and Japanese diplomats still in the country. It is agreed that they should be sent to luxury hotels in the United States while they await passage back to their countries in exchange for U.S. diplomats. The Avallon, a luxury hotel in West Virginia with its sweetwater flowing freely, is the fictionalized setting for this book. June is the general manager who deals with the FBI, the State Department, and the foreign diplomats while still delivering high-quality service. The premise of the book is excellent; however, the back story of how June became the manager and some of the supporting characters bogged down the narrative. I also didn't care for the nod to fantasy with the water, but I'm sure Stiefvater's fan base will appreciate it.

Thank you to Penguin Group Viking Penguin and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I will be honest, I had no idea what this book was about. I saw Stiefvater's name on it, knew I loved all her previous works, and decided it didn't matter and I'd give it a chance. I'm so glad I did. It was totally different from what I know from her and a great joy to read.
Normally, historical fiction is not my cup of tea. I struggle with it, especially for the WWII time period. However, this one was totally different from other WWII books I've read. While it does take place during that time period and the basis of the book revolves around what was happening during the war, it was about so much more than that. It was about relationships and how they grow and change, morphing into what you need when you need it. It was also about priorities and putting yourself before others while still showing empathy and care for those who surround you.
The history of the government using large hotels as a house for captured Nazi's in America was fascinating. I knew this happened but I didn't know to what extent.
June's point of view delves into the daily routines of the hotel, catering to it's guests, and how this is applied to the prisoners of war, because that is exactly what they are. They are treated to top notch service from her staff while still being restricted to what they can have and where they can go. Her connection to the waters that run under and around the hotel in West Virginia speak to the lore that often comes from this part of America. WV is rich with folklore steeped in the paranormal. While the waters definitely give off a paranormal vibe, I will say I never fully understand their presence or what they truly meant for the hotel. They are magical but they are not. They are healing but they also take away. I did understand the waters took from those who chose to submerge themselves: taking the good and expelling the bad to keep the hotel happy.
Tucker's character was my favorite. I loved his history with WV and how he buried it, only for it to grab at him as soon as he was back. His connection with the water is different than June's but not any less important. And the slow burn romance that ensues between the two is expected but comes upon you in bits and spurts. Their friendship grows first and then they find attraction. I was not surprised by this in the least.
I loved that Stiefvater made this book in several POVs. It was nice to see it well rounded rather than just from June's POV, even though she really did take up about 70% of the book.
The pacing is a bit slow with this. And I will say there were times I was confused by the conversations that were happening. I know much of what was presented was to be mysterious given the nature of the spies involved, but even the idea of the sweetwater was confusing at times. This dropped by rating a bit.
I will say, the one secret with the little girl Hannelore I figured out early on. Not sure if that was intentional or not but it was not a surprise to me at all when it was revealed.
Overall I enjoyed this one. It's not my normal genre but it kept me interested and wanting to turn the pages, especially during the last 30% or so when things really ramp up and start to unravel. If you love historical fiction with a bit of magical realism sewn in, and Maggie's lyrical writing, give this one a try!

June is the manager of The Avallon Hotel & Spa, and it's January of 1942 - June has done a good job of making sure her guests don't feel the effects of the war going on, but things are about to change. The owners of the hotel made a deal with the State Department to house captured Nazi diplomats, and June is expected to give them service with a smile.

I wanted to love this book, because I'm a big fan of Maggie Stiegvater's YA novels, but I had a very hard time getting into it. I know this book will be someone's cup of tea, and I will definitely be recommending it during Readers' Advisory and my library already has a copy on order.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @40%

This was beautifully written and ultimately relatively well done, but in the long run, it just didn't grab me. I always feel bad DNFing ARC copies, and I really love Maggie Stiefvater and her YA books, so I was anticipating this one. I do think I'll give it another go sometime - the writing is absolutely stunning and the story seems like it'll be interesting. I enjoyed the themes - of complacency and goodness vs evil and motivation - and I think the characters WILL develop eventually (it is super clear that this is a character driven novel, which I usually LOVE) and the plot will pick up alongside this. However, for right now, where I'm at in my life, I just couldn't get into it, and I wasn't sure I was doing the writing justice skimming the slower sections. So, I will be buying this for my library and probably the library I'll be in next school year, too, and I will absolutely be giving it another shot sometime in the future (maybe when we're not so close to summer break, I'm not in the middle of moving to an entirely new country, and I am ready to dive into this and give it the attention it deserves.

If you're in the headspace for a slow book with great settings and a fantastic main character (I really, really enjoyed June), then give this a shot, because I think you'll like it! I absolutely will be giving it another shot someday. That day is just not today.

I was excited to receive an early copy from the publisher, and for the most part, I enjoyed this book. The story was atmospheric and intimate, exploring complicated relationships in depth. However, the pacing felt slow throughout most of the narrative—I found myself missing the banter and urgency I had expected. The story maintained this leisurely pace until the final quarter, when it suddenly blazed toward the conclusion. While I appreciated the book's intimate character work, I wanted more tension and magical realism.

This is a fascinating spin on WWII spy/mystery novels! I really enjoyed June’s perspective and the immersive West Virginia resort setting. The magical/supernatural elements were a surprise (and not my usual reading genre) but fit in with the story. Would recommend!

Thank you Netgalley & Viking for an eARC ♥️♥️♥️

You know that feeling when you finish a book and immediately want to flip back to page one, just to live in its world a little longer? ♥️That’s how I feel about this one—like I left part of myself in the Avallon Hotel’s lobby, listening to the whispers of diplomats and the creak of floorboards under FBI shoes.
June Porter Hudson is the kind of character who sticks with you. She’s not a rebel with a gun or a spy in a slinky dress—she’s a woman who’s worked her way up from nothing, who knows how to fold a napkin just so and which wine pairs with betrayal. And now she has to serve Nazis afternoon tea while her staff’s sons are off getting shot at. The sheer, quiet horror of that—the way war slithers into places that should be safe—made me put the book down more than once just to stare at the wall.
And Tucker. .That man has *layers*. The coal tattoo, the way he watches June like he’s trying to solve her, the way they both know they’re playing games but can’t stop—it’s the kind of slow burn that makes you want to shake them both. (Just kiss already! But also, no, take your time, I love the agony.) 🤭
But here’s the thing that really got me: the sweetwater. It’s not magic, not really, but it’s *alive* in that way Stiefvater does so well. It heals, but it also remembers. It’s a character in itself, this silent witness beneath the hotel, and by the end, I was half-convinced my own tap water had secrets.
I’ll be honest—I cried. Not the dramatic, gasping kind, but the slow, aching kind that comes when a book reaches into your ribs and squeezes. It’s not just about war or spies or even love. It’s about what we’re willing to swallow to keep the world running smoothly. And how sometimes, the most dangerous thing isn’t a bullet, but a choice made in silence, behind closed doors. 💔
So yeah. Read it. But maybe don’t start it at midnight like I did, unless you’re okay with being haunted by fictional hotel managers until sunrise.🫣

A more serious, less snarky Maggie than I am used to. The plot wasn’t my cup of tea, but it was a good read. I just wasn’t a fan of any of the characters.

Maggie Stiefvater takes a mostly forgotten historical fact from World War II and turns it into a lyrical tale infused with wartime unease and supernatural tones. The Avallon, a lush West Virginia resort, is commandeered by the State Department and FBI to house hundreds of Axis diplomats, well known foreign celebrities stranded in the US and their families after Pearl Harbor. With the new “guests” come Border Patrol agents and FBI men and guard towers. Other hotels are recruited as well, but The Avallon also has a spring of magical sweet water that feeds its spas, baths, pipes, fountains, and faucets. It also has a supposedly haunted fourth floor.

The main characters are June Hudson, the mountain girl promoted to general manager, and Tucker Rye Minnick, an FBI agent whose coal tattoo betrays that he is back in home country. For June, although her staff have family members in danger in the Pacific and Europe, it’s luxury business as usual. For Tucker, it’s another assignment of watching and listening to the captive guests. Both wonder how the sweet water will affect everyone and if now is the time when the sweet water turns sour. The relationships between hotel staff, internees (not detainees), and the government is fascinating — the author’s research has definitely paid off. 4.5 stars!

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES The occupant of 411 has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO But the hotel has as many spying eyes as listening ears.

Thank you to Penguin Viking and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy!

gorgeous clever prism of a book; i felt i was reading exactly the book maggie stiefvater wanted to write. i think i'm too attuned to the mechanics and alchemy of her writing to be fully taken in by the story itself, although i was delighted over and over by the way it unfolded! i just mean that stiefvater's craft is so exquisite & efficient that sometimes, when reading, i would stop and think "my god maggie is a good writer" rather than "my god the listeners is a good book." which it IS, to be clear. i will read this again and again and find new glimmering treasures each time.

Maggie Stiefvater's foray into adult fiction comes off well. Softer and understated compared to her previous YA works in a welcoming way. There is a slowness to the Listeners that feels indulgent in story telling. The reader is not rushed through events but allowed a chance to, pun fully intended, listen in as one might gossip at a near by table.

One of the most refreshing thing about the novel to me was that it acknowledged that characters were always going to be horrible people, but did not linger there. It was merely a fact. After all, this is the story of a hotel being forced to house nazis. Stiefvater does not need to present further information on those residents to impress upon the reader the ethics those characters are working with because she and the story accept that we know what those ethics are. More over, there can and is still a story to be told beyond those facts. Not to diminish or excuse but in the very simple way that other things happened at the same time. We the reader are capable enough to grasp this and for that I thank Stiefvater from saving me from another hand holding through literature.

Thank you to Net Galley and Penguin Random House Publishing for an early copy of The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater

Author Maggie Stiefvater has created just the right balance between historical fiction with elements of fantasy and mystery as hotel manager June Hudson oversees a West Virginia hotel set to temporarily house German, Japanese and Italian prisoners as they await exchange for American prisoners in Europe. June works tirelessly for the Gilfoyle family who own the Avallon Hotel. Strong character development of not only June but the government men assigned to manage the prisoners along with a mysterious woman in Room 411 all combine to relate a very worthy chapter in World War II's history.

The Listeners also relates the menacing reality of the treatment of those considered "feeble" and the desire to inflict sterilization on these unaware victims of eugenics. June will do all in her power to keep a young German adolescent from returning to her homeland with the prospect of never having a child or children of her own.

The landscape of West Virginia including one of the G-men sharing stories of his mining family add to this extraordinary setting that will remind readers of the Greenbrier Hotel and its similar use during the War. The "magic" water and healing properties of surrounding springs empower June to see clearly the problems she is facing and how her solutions will affect others.

The Listeners stands as a strong and compelling historical read with just enough of the magical that Stiefvater incorporates so well.

Maggie Stiefvater is one of my all-time favorite writers in the YA spectrum, but unfortunately, her transition into the adult genre misses the mark for me. The magic and charm she usually brings to her stories felt overly wordy and directionless here.

The Listeners centers around a grand hotel filled with many wonders—one of them being the mythical sweetwater that does... I’m not even sure. Even after finishing the book, I still couldn’t really tell you what the sweetwater actually does. You give it good intentions, and it gives you good things? I think?

When the government steps in and demands the hotel host WWII dignitaries, I expected high tensions and delicious drama. But the novel barely focuses on those dynamics, instead using them as a backdrop for a quieter, more introspective story that felt out of place in such a high-stakes setting.

With a softer, more meandering writing style, I often lost track of the various storylines and struggled to connect in the way I usually do with Stiefvater’s work. The characters felt rather flat and seemed to fade into the hazy storytelling, which only deepened the sense of disconnect for me.

Nestled into the mountains of West Virginia is the Avallon Hotel and Spa. Only the richest visit the hotel and take the waters. The staff, under general manager June Hudson, attend to their every need and wish. It’s the kind of place where guests never need to ask for anything because the staff already knows their preferences. June could never have anticipated that, in January of 1942, the hotel would be called to serve the American government by hosting diplomats from Japan, Germany, and Italy1 while repatriation is worked out between the belligerent nations. The Listeners recounts what happened after the State Department called, with an extra supernatural twist from Maggie Stiefvater.

Irritated is not the word for June when she is informed that all of the paying guests have to leave the Avallon to make way for hundreds of officials from Japan, Germany, and Italy, plus their families. Furious would be more accurate, though she’s too much of a professional to show how angry she is when her schedule is interrupted. She’s also too much of a professional to refuse the job. June hurries into action, marshalling the staff to ease out the current guests and prepare for the incoming ones. Adding to her stress, FBI agent Tucker Minnick is in the middle of things, inserting himself and two other agents into the proceedings to prevent acts of espionage or risks to national security. I love how Stiefvater incorporates real history into this novel.

The Listeners moves back and forth between June and Tucker as they play out a small-scale battle of wills: June wants to run things according to usual, while Tucker is loath to risk his job to grant exceptions to security regulations. Another narrator, the daughter of a German diplomat, adds a wrenching emotional complication to the novel by embodying the mixed feelings some of the guests might have felt about being sent back “home.” Hannelore is a bright, observant girl who does not speak. She also screams when overwhelmed. The word autism doesn’t appear in the novel, but readers will probably pick up on the clues. Hannelore’s mother is terrified at the possibility of returning to Germany because she knows what might happen to people like Hannelore.

I found this novel very moving. Not only was I intrigued by Hannelore’s subplot, I was fascinated by the way that June’s inner turmoil developed over the course of the novel. June is far from averse to hard work, even in the demanding world of luxury hospitality. Her guests are grateful for her efforts and her staff’s work. Her employees love her; she cares about them as much as she does about the comfort of the guests. What galls June is the way she is taken for granted by her boss, the owner of the Avallon. Edgar Guilfoyle never realizes how much work it takes to serve with a smile, to deal with even the most unreasonable guests’ requests, to make magic happen day after day. He assumes so much about what June will do for him and the Avallon that I wanted to step in a kick him in the shins on June’s behalf.

So much happens in this novel that I wanted to start The Listeners over from the beginning and watch it all play out again. I have a bad habit of racing through stories that really hook me, so that I can find out what happens to everyone. This book is so layered and the supernatural elements so unique that it deserves an encore reading from me.

The Listeners was a richly atmospheric, quietly suspenseful novel that blended historical fiction with a touch of the uncanny in a way only this author can. Set against the haunting backdrop of a luxury West Virginia hotel in 1942, the story followed June Porter Hudson, a fierce and capable heroine whose world shifted when the U.S. government turned her beloved Avallon Hotel into a gilded cage for Axis diplomats.
June’s internal conflict—balancing patriotism, hospitality, and personal morality—was gripping and timely, and her dynamic with FBI Agent Tucker Minnick added just enough slow-burn romance and intrigue to keep the tension simmering. The prose was elegant and moody, with the sweetwater’s mysterious presence giving the setting a mystical edge that elevated the story beyond standard historical fare.
At times, the pacing lagged slightly, and a few plot threads felt more suggestive than fully realized, but the emotional resonance and ethical complexity made this a standout. Thoughtful, evocative, and quietly powerful, The Listeners was a story that lingered.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

In 1942, the Avallon Hotel in West Virginia is an opulent retreat for the elite. The hotel staff, headed by manager June Hudson, anticipates each guest’s every need. And every so often, June sacrifices something to the mountain sweetwater to keep the hotel trucking along. But June’s carefully choreographed work is thrown into chaos when the hotel is commandeered by the State Department to house foreign diplomats and other persons of interest during WWII.

This was a charming, immersive book that invites rereading. Like the Raven Cycle, Stiefvater’s most well-known work, it has a strong sense of place– not just in West Virginia but also the hotel itself, which along with the sweetwater functions as a character in the novel. The book is also a study in character with an unconventional woman at the heart (June here and Blue in the Raven Cycle). There’s also romance, but it never overwhelms the rest of the book.

But I want to emphasize this is a very different book from the Raven Cycle. I just reread that quartet, so it’s fresh in my mind how much of the books are just vibes and relationships between characters with very little plot. There are plenty of vibes here and some touching relationships – both ones that develop in the book and already exist between characters, especially June and her staff. But there is also a plot here, and the driving forces of the US government and WWII provide a lot of external pressure that pushes it along. I thought this was missing from the Raven Cycle despite the baddies in each book.

Still, while it has just about everything I could want, I wanted a little more, especially the main romantic relationship. But this is not a romance book, and the romantic subplot is meaningful but pretty light.

To wrap up, I want to touch more directly on this move to adult fiction from YA. We live in a grand era in which many of our most beloved YA authors of the aughts are breaking into adult fiction, including Holly Black (Book of Night), Sarah Rees Brennan (Long Live Evil), Leigh Bardugo (Ninth House) and now Maggie Stiefvater. I think it’s wonderful these authors have evolved and are sharing their more mature works with the readers who have grown up with their books. Of course it’s inevitable that some longtime fans will critique the books for being different from their older works intended for younger audiences and for being a different subgenre. Instead of being a supernatural-first, semi-romance YA novel, this is a period piece light on magic. Still, I hope it finds plenty of fans– it certainly deserves it.