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The Listeners

A Novel

Author Maggie Stiefvater On Tour
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Hardcover
$30.00 US
| $39.99 CAN
Penguin Adult HC/TR | Viking
On sale Jun 03, 2025 | 400 Pages | 9780593655504
Grades 9-12
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“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, author of All The Colors of the Dark

#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.
“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

“The Listeners has all the glorious backdrops and sinister undertones of The Remains of the Day or Rules of the Game (there’s even a lovelorn flying ace) . . . Stiefvater bases her novel in real history, featuring plenty of anecdotes that are far too strange to be fictional, and glorying in the wild beauty of her mountain setting.” —CrimeReads

“For her debut adult novel, best-selling author Maggie Stiefvater takes readers into the awe-inspiring world of the Avallon Hotel & Spa. . . . The Listeners is an atmospheric tale with magical realism undertones, set in West Virginia during the midst of World War II.” —Harper’s Bazaar

“Set in a luxury hotel in West Virginia during World War II, [The Listeners] follows June Hudson, a hotel manager struggling to maintain fragile inner and outer peace while hosting Nazi diplomats under government orders. Throw in some spy drama, romantic intrigue and Appalachian folklore, and you’ve got a character-driven read perfect for fans of complex emotional narratives like works by Kate Morton and Amor Towles.” —Reader’s Digest

“With a light touch, Stiefvater populates the story with a rich and varied cast of characters, including a mysterious woman who hasn’t left the hotel’s fourth floor for decades, and she seamlessly threads sparkling magic into her well-researched historical narrative. This accomplished work should earn Stiefvater plenty of new fans.” —Publishers Weekly

“The true story of Axis diplomats detained in the U.S. at the start of World War II is transformed into a dazzling historical novel set at a sumptuous West Virginia hotel.... A novel that will remind readers of why they fell in love with reading in the first place. . . .This luxurious novel is set to take the world by storm.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Well-drawn characters and excellent worldbuilding bring a little-known element of World War II to life in this must-read for all historical fiction fans.” —Library Journal, starred review
© Stephen Voss
Maggie Stiefvater is the New York Times bestselling author of the Shiver trilogy, the Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races, among dozens of other YA fantasy novels. Her books have sold over five million copies around the world. She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband and their two children. View titles by Maggie Stiefvater

About

“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, author of All The Colors of the Dark

#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.

Reviews

“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

“The Listeners has all the glorious backdrops and sinister undertones of The Remains of the Day or Rules of the Game (there’s even a lovelorn flying ace) . . . Stiefvater bases her novel in real history, featuring plenty of anecdotes that are far too strange to be fictional, and glorying in the wild beauty of her mountain setting.” —CrimeReads

“For her debut adult novel, best-selling author Maggie Stiefvater takes readers into the awe-inspiring world of the Avallon Hotel & Spa. . . . The Listeners is an atmospheric tale with magical realism undertones, set in West Virginia during the midst of World War II.” —Harper’s Bazaar

“Set in a luxury hotel in West Virginia during World War II, [The Listeners] follows June Hudson, a hotel manager struggling to maintain fragile inner and outer peace while hosting Nazi diplomats under government orders. Throw in some spy drama, romantic intrigue and Appalachian folklore, and you’ve got a character-driven read perfect for fans of complex emotional narratives like works by Kate Morton and Amor Towles.” —Reader’s Digest

“With a light touch, Stiefvater populates the story with a rich and varied cast of characters, including a mysterious woman who hasn’t left the hotel’s fourth floor for decades, and she seamlessly threads sparkling magic into her well-researched historical narrative. This accomplished work should earn Stiefvater plenty of new fans.” —Publishers Weekly

“The true story of Axis diplomats detained in the U.S. at the start of World War II is transformed into a dazzling historical novel set at a sumptuous West Virginia hotel.... A novel that will remind readers of why they fell in love with reading in the first place. . . .This luxurious novel is set to take the world by storm.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“Well-drawn characters and excellent worldbuilding bring a little-known element of World War II to life in this must-read for all historical fiction fans.” —Library Journal, starred review

Author

© Stephen Voss
Maggie Stiefvater is the New York Times bestselling author of the Shiver trilogy, the Raven Cycle, and The Scorpio Races, among dozens of other YA fantasy novels. Her books have sold over five million copies around the world. She lives in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with her husband and their two children. View titles by Maggie Stiefvater

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