#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.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Not necessarily the supernatural aspect of the story, but rather the historical part of it. It was a part of the WWII story that is not often told. I even went to Google to see if it was based in truth, and it was. Several resorts were turned into internment camps for diplomats.
This book is for anyone with an interest in WWII, but only if you aren't bothered by a supernatural element in the story.
Details:
- The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
- Pages: 395
- Publisher: Viking
- Publication Date: 6/3/2025
- Buy it Here!
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