Despite an intriguing premise and an intriguing synopsis storyline, this book just didn't do it for me. It was a clever story and well written with the backdrop of America entering World War II and what happened to the diplomats from Germany, Italy and Japan at this point in time.

However, the fantasy side of the story was just a little weird and it didn't really feel needed. I liked the characters but I kept waiting for things to get interesting, but they never did. It's a shame because it had real potential.

I've grown up being engulfed in Maggie's novels with her lyrical writing that immerse you into the worlds that she builds and it's one of the main reasons that she has been my favourite authors throughout my life. (still to this day I re-read Shiver every October and enjoy it just as much as a 25yr old woman as I did as a 12yr old girl) I was overjoyed at the news of her newest novel 'The Listeners' being released and even more thrilled when I was approved for an early copy!

It is safe to say that Maggie's writing style if that of a genius and I still find myself being amazed at the ways in which she encompasses you in her story. I feel like she was taking a peek into my soul when describing June (especially with her Mary Janes and dachaunds) I enjoyed the magical realism aspect and its almost mystery element with the building curiosity of the sweetwater throughout the novel. I also thought the way that she highlighted the contrast between the beauty and luxury of the Avallon Hotel in juxtaposition against the ugliness and brutality of the war that is ongoing was done perfectly.

The Raven Cycle is one of my favourite YA fantasy series so when I heard Maggie Stiefvater was publishing an adult book, I was instantly intrigued.

In some ways, this couldn’t be further from Stiefvaters young adult books, it’s a historical fiction with the slightest hint of magical realism. But the prose, atmosphere and setting are every bit as beautiful, vivid and whimsical as her previous works.

The Night Circus is one of my favourite books so I really love when a setting becomes an important character in itself, I was completely transported to the Avallon and fell in love with all of its enchanting quirks and enjoyed discovering its many secrets. I loved that there was such a large ensemble cast to get to know with the staff and clientele and I really loved watching June interact with them all.

This is an extremely character driven story so if you’re looking for an action packed plot you won’t find it here. You can tell it’s been impeccably researched and it was really interesting to see just how steeped in truth it was reading the authors note at the end.

Stiefvater remains an auto buy author and I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next.

A fabulously written haunting story that was a pleasure to read. I would absolutely recommend this book, it was brilliant

went into this with no expectations; turning the last page with my mind blown.
The Listeners has all the magic of old fantasy I used to read under the covers with a flashlight. It weaves together WW2 and coal country and sentient water and the most complex interpersonal relationships so easily that you don't even realize how many layers this has till you try to explain it to someone. It approaches the very tenuous political climate of multinational diplomats stuck in a hotel together with surprising clarity. It feels like the kind of story that becomes a classic. It is and isn't a love story. It ends how you'd expect but somehow that makes it better not worse because of how it gets there. I will be thinking about this for a while.

First of all, thank you to Netgalley, the author and the editor for the opportunity to read this ARC.

This is not a type of book I normally read but it was so interesting!

I loved the characters and also the story behind them. June Hudson, or Hoss, is an incredible and amazing women who had me hooked since the beginning to know more about her.

This book happens during the World War II at the Avalon hotel, one of the most luxurious hotels of America.
Some diplomats and their families are sent to this hotel to be departed for their countries (including Germany, Japan, Hungary…)

And the best of all, it has a spark of magic!! They call it the sweetwater, something that only Miss Hudson can now control.

It was an awesome reading, with a little romance too (because I’m addicted to romance hehe).

The only thing that I didn’t like so much was the big chapters because looked like I was reading in a reallyyyyyyy slow pace.

One of my favourite reads so far this year. June runs a luxury hotel which gets taken over by the feds and Axis diplomats during WW2. Craziness, tension, and a bit of romance ensue.

The book is set in Appalachia; the author did a good job of encapsulating the aura of the hills of West Virginia (having family there myself, I can attest!).

There is a mild fantasy element to this book that I wasn’t expecting: the sweetwater. It doesn’t really give or take away from the story itself. Though, it did provide a ‘going out with a bang’ of sorts.

I really enjoyed the story-telling of this novel. The times I wanted to know more, I was given more. The plot line was clear, and each main character’s story was cleverly contrived. I especially enjoyed Hannelore’s pov and would easily read another book from her full perspective. I just wish she would’ve received her lemon drops ;)

Thanks to Netgalley for the preview!

maggie’s first adult-y book, slow paced and slow burn.
jane is a strong character that stands out, like all stiefvater books her characters are well developed and likeable.
the setting was very different and a complete style change. i missed the banter from her ya books but that did not make the book less enjoyable.
filled with folklore, history , gritt and utterly beautiful.

Thanks to Netgalley and Headline for a review copy of this novel. I have long been a fan of Maggie Stiefvater’s storytelling in her YA novels, which I read as a librarian of children’s services. Her manner of creating worlds and a sense of place is vivid, but also she also adds a witty twist or otherworldly charm that makes her stand out from other writers. This novel, though not quite like her other novels that have stronger elements of paranormal or fantasy threads, still contains those wonderful aspects. This novel woos you, slowly enchants you, just like I imagine the Avallon hotel would if it were real. There’s a definite charm in the novel and the hotel with an undercurrent that’s unsettling, but despite that unsettling feeling, you have to know more. And as the hotel’s name suggests, the hotel has an otherworldly suggestion that hints at perfect happiness.

The Avallon Hotel, situated in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia is a place of luxury, especially in the onset of the second World War and June Hudson knows its value and as its manager is famed for maintaining its perfection in the wake of the recent death of its owner. June grew up in the surrounding mountains, dirt poor and definitely strange, but as someone who knows the sweetwater that flows from its mountain and made the hotel famous. But that sweetwater, the hotel and June find its match when the government appropriates the hotel to house Axis power diplomats, their staff and other well known figures of these countries who’d resided in the USA. Secrets, lies and betrayal are their currency and for June, who relies on her ability to keep the contentment and happiness of her staff and guests at a high level, she finds her heart mind and soul at risk amidst the turmoil. Her surprise support and quiet help through this is not the owner’s lothario son, whose long declared admiration and love for her is belied by his constant carousing in New York, but the taciturn FBI agent, himself a former resident of the locale. His own fear and rejection of his very roots have driven him to be a man of the agency, to reject anything personal, something the sweetwater itself challenges the moment he arrives.

The novel is powerful on many levels and its thread of what might be described as magical realism embodied in the sweetwater that permeates the book is so seamlessly part and central to the story that somehow the reader is committed to its truth and existence just as it pulls the truth from those who are near it. The novel is inspired by real events which contributes to its magic in a way, because the alchemy that such a gathering, with the tension of war surrounding these people, could only have created something out of the ordinary. In Maggie Stiefvater’s hands we get a novel filled with richly drawn characters, compelling in their depth and humanity, their flaws and struggles. We also get a tense filled plot with twists and turns that keep the pages turning, and we get wonderfully wrought sentences and some wit that lets you know that in Stiefvater’s hands you have a wonderful book. Highly recommended.

At first glance a story about the upheaval of a hotel that is forced to swap its luxury residents for enemy diplomats in the Second World War.

At a deeper level it considers the sacrifice that certain people make for the happiness of the wider group and the difficulty of balancing that with a path that leads to their happiness. The tug of war between ought and want…

In this novel, the author channels the whimsical yet dark energy of The Grand Budapest Hotel, setting the stage in a peculiar Appalachian town during the 1940s amidst the backdrop of World War II. What follows is a delightful and intricate tale of sentient sweet water and an ensemble of eccentric, compelling characters, each adding their own flavor to the story.

At the heart of it all is June, a complex and fiercely determined protagonist. With the weight of the hotel’s future resting on her shoulders, June must navigate the tense and dangerous political climate of wartime America.

The plot itself is a dizzying whirlwind of twists and turns, keeping readers on their toes with every page. True to Maggie Stiefvater's signature style, the writing is both captivating and hauntingly beautiful, effortlessly drawing the reader into a world that's as rich and unpredictable as the characters within it.

Stiefvater writes best when she's building a new world and exploring the crevices of her characters.
Hudson and Tucker were interesting and fleshed out characters with strong ideals that would have been interesting to see develop if the plot was stronger.

The story thrives when it's examining interpersonal relationships and dynamics of wealth and class but it struggles to match the enormity and tensions of of WWII. There were interesting moral questions the characters had to face but felt a bit hurried.

Stiefvater writes with such a wonderful style and detailed care that its flaws in plot can be mostly overlooked.

This is probably a case of "It's not you, it's me," but this book definitely was not for me. I've read all of Maggie Stiefvater's books and she's one of my favorite authors, so I didn't hesitate to request The Listeners, even though historical fiction isn't one of my go-to genres. This book gets an extra star because Stiefvater's prose is excellent as usual, but the plot fell flat for me. I kept waiting for things to get interesting, but they never did. I didn't connect with any of the characters, and overall just found the story boring. I do hope this book finds its audience, but it's just not going to be me.

This was one of my most anticipated books as I love Maggie Stiefvaters YA books. However, I did not like this book. I should've realised sooner with it being a heavily historical novel with a little fantasy. I personally need more fantasy in historical books.

I generally avoid historical novels but the setting and the period were perfect for this story. I fell in love with the Avalon Hotel and the staff keeping it running smoothly in the most difficult of circumstances, and was intrigued to understand the mystery of the sweetwater.

A gentle paced novel this is perfect to relax and immerse yourself in the location, characters and twist and turns of the politics around foreign nationals during WW2.

Much of my disappointment with The Listeners stemmed from its inability to follow through on its initial setup. The pacing dragged, making it difficult to stay engaged, and the plot never seemed to find a clear direction. While the characters started off intriguing, they didn’t evolve in a way that deepened my investment. I kept waiting for something to click, but it never quite did.

Though primarily historical fiction, the book weaves in other elements that never fully materialize. It doesn’t firmly land as speculative fiction, literary fiction, or magical realism, leaving it feeling unmoored and uncertain of its own identity.

The autism theme is present but underdeveloped, more of a passing idea than a fully explored aspect of the story. It’s there, but it doesn’t add much depth or significance to the narrative.

In the end, The Listeners had a promising start but lost its grip as it went on. While some readers might appreciate its atmosphere and historical backdrop, for me, the sluggish pacing, unclear genre, and underwhelming themes made it a frustrating read.

Peark Harbour was the shocking event that catapulted America so suddenly into war that many of the diplomatic niceties had had no time to be enacted. In consequence, diplomats on both sides were held as hostages, to be traded for one another. German , Italian and Japanese delegation were, in fact, held in American country hotels, commandeered, just as the Avallon, by the state department.
This fascinating novel imagines a such a scenario and sets it in the luxurious and mysterious Avallon, presided over by the extraordinarily, and also mysterious, talented General Manager, June "Hoss" Hudson.
The many stories woven through the days and weeks the diplomats stay within the Avallon's walls concern both staff and guests alike.
Maggie Stiefvater has written a novel at once firmly rooted in solid historical research yet at the same time full of fantastical mystery, There is an almost traditional Grimms fairy story element to the tale which makes categorising this book so difficult. That's no bad thing either ,because, how refreshing to have a book that can't be pigeonholed. Like the sweet water which runs through, around and under the hotel, Stiefvater has produced a narrative which defies a description of simply an historical novel, but equally, is too firmly linked to actual events, and indeed, actual people, that it cannot simply be categorised as fantasy.
What it is though, in my honest opinion, is utterly absorbing and vivid. Like an hotel, the narrative has many facets, each as different as those who inhabit it's rooms.
I loved it, and, what's more, it prompted me to look up the historical facts surrounding the story, learning about a part of WW2 diplomacy which became strangely relevant at the time of writing this review, as hostages returned to Israel in return for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel. None, I suspect, held in such opulent surroundings as the Axis diplomats in The Listeners.
Headline and NetGalley supplied an earc of this title in return for this review.
As a postscript, congratulations to Headline on their far better cover, than that posted on Goodreads!

I have given three stars as I’m not sure if it was me or the book, however, I just could not get into this. I can’t quite put my finger on what it was and I’m not sure whether I just misunderstood what the book was supposed to be about but I DNF about a third of the way in. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to this early. Review has been posted on Waterstones and Amazon.

This is very different from The Raven Cycle.

June Hudson is the general manager of the luxury hotel the Avallon. When WWII ,8’ea to America, their guests become diplomats and Nazi sympathisers.

Jane is such a strong character. She stands out by being a woman, a mountaineer, having an accent in a place where the wealthy accept a certain image.
Yet, she listens and sees and acts. She loves her staff and they trust her. She knows how to sell a story.

What to expect:
The romance is verryyyy background and slow burn.
This lacked the banter from her YA series.
This was still as atmospheric and intimate as the Raven Cycle.
This is full of complicated interactions, relationships, and dynamics.

<b>Tucker wondered why it was that humans were drawn to natural beauty. It wasn’t for them. Here, in fact, it actively opposed them. Everything that made the landscape beautiful–the remote location, the steeply pitched slopes, the rushing rapids–was dangerous. And yet, like mice before snakes, deer before hunters, a certain type of gentle woman before a certain type of brutal man, humans pined and longed for these vistas.
</b>
This was kind of magical realism, but I also hesitate to define it as that. I thought this would have more magic to do with the sweet water brought up the premise.

This was left very wishy washy and honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure of the purpose of the water to the story.

I think this was a case of missed expectations.
This is a slow moving historical fiction.

<b>They say youth is wasted on the young. Why do we hate the foolishness that made us unfoolish?</b>

Arc gifted by Headline.