Quick Synopsis – 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. When the Avallon 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.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Nobody Knows Me At All – The Weepies

Publication Date – Jun. 3, 2025

Bookshop Link – The Listeners a book by Maggie Stiefvater – Bookshop.org US (I get a small commission if you use my link to purchase)

Content Notes – This book takes place during the American involvement of WWII. There are nazis, nazi regalia (swastikas), antisemitism, mention of labor camps, mention of forced sterilization, mention of torture, and attempted suicide.

Rating – ⭐⭐⭐out of 5

Review – My favorite thing about The Listeners is the history. This book is well researched and even has a recommended reading list in the acknowledgements. This book inspired me to go down a little rabbit internet search hole learning about hotels hosting disgraced dignitaries, nazis, etc during WWII. A great historical fiction will make you want to know more about its subject and this book definitely caught my interest.

The real problem I had with this book was I felt like so much of the plot was hinted at and danced around. June, a West Virginian mountain woman, has risen through the ranks of the Avallon to become the general manager. She is such a multidimensional character and her responsibilities as general manager mean anticipating her guests needs as well as balancing the mysterious sweetwater. Sweetwater is basically magical mineral water that absorbs the emotions of the people it interacts with. Whatever emotions it absorbs it reflects. Or at least that’s what I think is happening. There is never a real explanation of the sweetwater, which I didn’t love. I would have preferred at any point if any character blatantly was like yeah sweetwater is magic. I didn’t need like a drawn-out explanation or a magic system.

I did also really enjoy June and Agent Minnick as characters. They were both West Virginians who moved out of their social class. It’s easy to make a caricature of Appalachian people or to show that you’re only good if you leave. But both June and Agent Minnick have complex relationships with where they grew up and the communities they left behind. It was just oh we were poor and now we’re better because we’re employed. I hate books that look down on Appalachia, it’s just lazy.

I liked this book for the historical portion/plot more than the interpersonal relationships. I didn’t really care about the relationship June had with the hotel’s proprietors (The Guilfoyles). I really felt like they used June for her relationship with the land/sweetwater and it took her so long to reflect on her relationships. I just kind of felt like the background didn’t really need to be laid so thick. There are flashbacks throughout that show June being mentored by the late Guilfoyle patriarch. They are informative, but ultimately a little unnecessary. I would have preferred the book to explore more of the present story.

Overall, this was a medium read for me, I think if you enjoy historical fiction with a dash of magical realism then this would be a good read for you.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.