The Listeners

A Novel

De: Maggie Stiefvater

Narrado por: Erin Bennett

An Oprah Daily Best Summer Read of 2025

“Maggie Stiefvater is an exceptional talent, and The Listeners is a marvel of storytelling. I really couldn’t have loved it more.”—Chris Whitaker, author of All The Colors of the Dark

“A novel that will remind readers of why they fell in love with reading in the first place.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

#1 New York Times bestselling novelist Maggie Stiefvater dazzles in this mesmerizing portrait of an irresistible heroine, an unlikely romance, and a hotel—and a world—in peril.

January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society’s troubles.

Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel’s aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staff—many of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front lines—to offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.

Meanwhile FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, whose coal tattoo hints at an Appalachian past, presses his ears to the hotel’s walls, listening for the diplomats’ secrets. He has one of his own, which is how he knows that June’s balancing act can have dangerous consequences: the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal.

June has never met a guest she couldn’t delight, but the diplomats are different. Without firing a single shot, they have brought the war directly to her. As clashing loyalties crack the Avallon’s polished veneer, June must calculate the true cost of luxury.

©2025 Maggie Stiefvater (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Around every corner of this richly imagined world, we discover some new wonder. . . . Stiefvater’s prose is as pungent as the sweetwater, with a snap that suggests the whimsy of a veteran storyteller.”—The New York Times

“Mesmeric, original, and stunning. Maggie Stiefvater is an exceptional talent, and The Listeners is by turns a beautiful love story, a fascinating glimpse into the horrors of history, and a haunting tale of loyalty and courage. A marvel of storytelling. I really couldn’t have loved it more.”—Chris Whitaker, New York Times bestselling author of All The Colors of the Dark

“The Listeners is cinematic and so very satisfying. This is a rich, multilayered ride of a novel not unlike the hotel at its heart—grand, patient, leaving no particulars unnoticed. A phenomenally immersive read.”—Claire Lombardo, bestselling author of The Most Fun We Ever Had

Concept Fully Realized

When I think of this author my mind doesn't normally fly to historical fiction. However, she took her subject and ran with it blending elements of fantasy, romance and history into a cohesive whole. I thought at first of giving it four stars but when you finish an audio book and immediately start listening to it again, the star rating ought to reflect that altitude which is clearly 5 stars.

I wondered what the differences would be as the author jumped from YA into the adult fiction genre. She hasn't lost the things which makes her YA books so appealing. Her adult characters still jump right off the page as her YA characters do. She still makes you see the environment as if you are there. Her plotting may be the biggest change. It's much more thought out and linear and her pacing more consistent.

I think her sweetwater element, which will feel very familiar to her fans, elevates this book from just another mundane historical fiction novel to something imaginative and special. I hated checking out of the hotel.

Actually Boring

I was pretty excited about this as a fan of most of the author’s previous work, but it really fell flat for me. The narrator did no help to this story with her nasally voice and terrible accents. I should’ve DNFd it, but pushed through because of other positive reviews, but sadly it never interested me at all.

It felt like a credit wasted

*covers face and ducks head in shame... this was rough.

The concept for this book had promise. I enjoyed the mysterious hotel concept, with the integration of a very diverse group of people during such incredibly divisive historical times. The story is wayward with all the potential to be a fun journey, but feels stale and dry. I kept pushing forward for the sake of knowing this is an author I truly LOVE. I thought, surely, by the last 20% I will feel this was worth it.
Instead I am left wishing I had just dnf'd.

For this story to have succeeded, Stiefvater, really needed to lean into the magic more or imo leave it out completely. To me the water is a main character who had the potential to steal the show, but Stiefvaters constant agenda to make it "light magic" is clear as she is continually unwilling to give answers surrounding it. As a reader I wonder, does she regret putting it in there to begin with? Why not let it wash over the story in a way that makes this story flow forward? (-10 points for water puns) Instead, we are forced to walk a marathon in a ghost town of dry boring content. She diluted the main interesting factor of the whole novel. It felt like she pictured the story in one specific way and was worried about us fixating on the only thing that made it palatable, so she buries it like a body. Let the book take reins and be spooky. IT NEEDED TO BE SPOOKY.
I don't know who will enjoy this one. I wouldn't recommend it.

For any of you who have played Nancy Drew game, Treasure in a Royal Tower, there is a character that lightly reminded me of professor Hotchkiss. But again, ...in a dull way....


Was the water also a metaphor? Did I just miss it?
Did I just miss the good parts of this book?
PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD I WANTED TO ENJOY THIS- someone fight me, tell me I just missed it.


Honestly, Disneys Sulfur Springs gives a lot more bang for your buck if you have hopes for a similar setting plot- but with focus on things that are more fun. DISNEY, the leading failure of all current plots did something pretty good with a similar story, they lean into the spooky and it works.

Concept 5/5
Setting 1/5- how was spending time in this lux hotel dull?! HOW?!
Characters 3/5
Magical Ambiance 0/5
Plot 2/5
Coherence 3/5
Romance 2/5
Audio Reader 3.5/5
Final Rating 2/5
Audio Speed- 1.7x

Will I read again ...no
Will I grab a physical copy...no
Do I want my credit back- yes hahaha

Verdict- This book left me yearning to form a support group for those of us who survived it to the end.