A story of love, lies and betrayal based on real events that are steeped with eerie magic. All brought to life in this mesmerising portrait of an irresistible heroine, an unlikely romance and a world in peril. An unforgettable cast of characters who know that real power comes to those who watch and listen, told from the backdrop of a world on the brink of war and a woman trying to keep the tumultuous water in check who demands their due.

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐇𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐀𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐚 | 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐚 𝐍𝐞𝐭𝐆𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫

arc review | the listeners
2 ⭐️
~
Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Australia for the eARC!
~
This one hurts. As many of you know already, The Raven Cycle is my favourite series of all time, and although The Listeners is an entirely different genre, I had such high hopes. I really, truly, wanted to love this.
~
The Listeners is marketed as historical fiction with a touch of magical realism. While I did enjoy the glimpses of magical realism, there wasn’t enough to keep me invested. It felt like it was being dangled over me, teasing me, just out of reach. The plot felt a little too vague, and the slow pacing made it difficult to stay interested. For 70% of the book, I was completely bored if I am being honest. And the fact that I could not connect with ANY of the characters just made it an even more disappointing experience.
~
I did like that although June and the Avallon Hotel were fictional, Maggie Stiefvater included real historical events that occurred during diplomatic relations post Pearl Harbor. As a lover of history, I appreciated the homage to real history.
~
Overall, I just don’t think this book was for me. But there are so many good reviews of this book that you should definitely read and compare to make your own decision of whether you should read this or not.
~
Release date: June 10

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts expressed below are my own.

This was my first Maggie Stiefvater book. I think, after looking at some other early reviews, I benefited from this, as I went in with no prior expectations of what the writing or the story would be like. The Listeners is not your traditional fantasy but an adult historical fiction with a mysterious, speculative twist to it.

It took me a long time to read this, with a near month-long pause in the middle when my 3 year old broke her femur. Despite this, I remembered everything clearly and the feelings this story invoked in me returned the moment I picked it back up. The writing is tidy, vividly descriptive, and in places quite surreal. The characters are fantastically written and deeply compelling. The mysteries keep you guessing and the writing is so beautiful that it pulls you through the intentionally uncomfortable moments in the plot. It's not a long read but it's one I will think about often.

I really enjoyed it, even the parts that were not fun to read. I will definitely have to pick up The Raven Boys because the writing had me hooked. Highly recommend if you enjoy either historical or speculative fiction.

The Listeners is out 10 June 2025.

Watered down or wonderfully weird? 🤔 Sadly, this one didn’t hold water for me. 🌊

The Listeners is Maggie Stiefvater’s first adult novel—and my first by her. Set in the atmospheric Avallon Hotel high in the Appalachian Mountains, it blends historical fiction with magical realism, a genre I usually adore. The “sweetwater” running beneath the hotel is vividly imagined and almost character-like, but ultimately felt more ornamental than essential.

Although 300 guests are said to arrive, the story focuses on a tight circle: General Manager June Hudson; Hannelore, a child who doesn’t speak but sings lyrically; her parents Sabine and Friedrich; the Gilfoyle family; FBI agent Tucker Rye Minnick; and State Department representative Benjamin Pennybacker, the mysterious guest in Room 411.

I found it difficult to fully connect with the narrative—perhaps due to a combination of underdeveloped characters, a meandering plot, and a languid pace.

What did jar was the portrayal of Nazi sympathisers enjoying five-star treatment. While fiction allows space for moral ambiguity, this blurred the line between humane detainment and luxury indulgence in a way that felt off-kilter.

The stakes never quite built, the tension remained elusive, and the atmosphere, while promising, didn’t pull me in. That said, Stiefvater’s prose glimmers in places, and her dedicated fans will likely appreciate the genre-bending ambition. For me, it felt a little disjointed, discombobulating, and yes—diluted. 💧

Out 10 June 2025.
Thank you to NetGalley and Hachette Australia & New Zealand for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thankyou to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Listeners in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

This book was such a great read & storyline was well thought out. The characters were intriguing & compelling.

This is a book I would recommend to others

Read if you like: Descriptions of hotels and how they operate (I didn't think I would but I did) or you like books that ask a lot of questions but not necessarily all of the answers.

As June Hudson would probably say, this book was all about luxury. Who has access to it? How does it manifest? When does it end?
When the General Manager of the Avallon, June, is told that her beloved hotel will become host to detained Nazis and other Axis diplomats awaiting repatriation to their countries she resolves to continue running the hotel as if they were normal guests. However as the war continues she, and the rest of the hotel, are faced with hard questions. How much does it cost to maintain the facade of luxury? How long can something be ignored for the sake of comfort? Who has the luxury of choice? How long can you go with the luxury of not having to question yourself or face something ugly before it changes you?

The description of this book threw me off a bit, I'm not sure it resolved everything I would have liked it to and I feel the magical realism and romance aspect was maybe a bit underdeveloped (still enjoyable), but in the end it was a thought provoking read about complicated people making hard choices. I don't usually read historical fiction or non-fiction history but this book may convince me to pick up the author's further suggested reading to learn more about the context for this book.

If you liked Maggie Stiefvater's young adult books for the writing style, I would give this a go but just be aware that the themes, plot, and pacing are definitely more in line with an adult historical fiction book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Australia and New Zealand for the ARC.

Full review posted on Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7367320453

As per usual, Maggie's writing is beautiful and her main characters are rich and interesting. I loved the setting of the hotel and loved to read about June and her relationship with her staff and the hotel.

I've never had an issue with slow burn romance but I don't think I was 100% sold on the two main characters. They definitely had chemistry but without spoiling too much, there was much more build up between the fmc and another character that I think it detracted from what could have been between the two main characters. I think also, the author's writing style is best suited to fantasy and the book could have expanded a bit more on the fantasy aspect.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

Maggie Stiefvater's latest offering is a surging, wondrous thing that will delight, wound and heal you in one fell swoop. And that is how I read this book - in one sweeping swathe of time. The year is 1942 and June Hudson is the general manager of luxury hotel The Avallon, in West Virginia which is built over magical springs. Ordered to host captured Axis diplomats as the war looms ever larger, June and her team of staff must set aside their own misgivings to provide their guests with the luxury experience The Avallon is known for. A rare blend of whimsy, history and moral conflict, The Listeners is exquisitely clever and the best book I've read in years.

Thankyou to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Listeners in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
This book provides such a great read. The storyline was well thought out and written with compelling characters that provide intrigue.
Would definitely recommend this book.