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781 reviews for:

The Listeners

Maggie Stiefvater

3.99 AVERAGE

sarahp's profile picture

sarahp's review

3.5
emotional reflective sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional hopeful informative slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Feels like a story that was written well before our current time. Sure, nazi salutes were maybe shocking to see once upon a time in the 1940s. But a big moment toward the end… kind of doesn’t land. We’re too used to living with Nazis in 2025. 
andeaclark's profile picture

andeaclark's review

4.5
adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
mysterious sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I just couldn’t get along with this at all. I found it to be pretty dull, and the constant references to sweet water that was never really explained or developed ended up being irritating instead of intriguing. As a result of not being gripped I then found myself not being able to remember who was who in some cases. I thought the writing itself was fine, though arguably a little more YA than I’d usually go for
emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I had a good time with this one. It was deeply set in a historical time and place and I was worried that the history would overtake the story, but I should have known that Maggie is the queen of character writing. June is such a complete and interesting character. I could read books and books of June figuring out her guests and anticipating their needs before they know they need them. Tucker was a delightful counterpoint to June and I cared a lot about his decisions. 

The other important character in this story was the hotel itself. The hotel and its staff were a well oiled machine that was great to watch. The mystical water and its needs were also a major component that could not be predicted. 

I thought this was going to be a more depressing story, but it was kind of more of a mystery with a lot of interpersonal tangles. Overall, I really liked this one and the audiobook was great.
emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
mysterious

shelds's review

4.0
emotional informative tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes