A Court of Mist and Fury audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
Book 2 brings a new court, a city and an inner circle of names, all told by Feyre. There are two solo recordings, and one is 3 hours 41 minutes longer than the other.
Short answer: for the A Court of Mist and Fury audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (77% confidence, leaning). Elizabeth Evans’s 10th Anniversary Recording (Recorded Books, 2025) runs 19 hours 35 minutes, unabridged; Jennifer Ikeda’s 2016 original runs 23 hours 16 minutes. One narrator, one viewpoint and a 656-page print edition point to audio, but the print edition has maps.
Listen on Audible
One narrator and one viewpoint across a long book point to audio, but the print edition has maps.
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Confidence 77%, which puts it in the leaning band. Bands run from close call at 50 to 64, through leaning at 65 to 79 and clear at 80 to 94, up to clear cut at 95 and above.
The audiobook at a glance
| Recording | UK: Elizabeth Evans, our verdict | US: Elizabeth Evans | Original: Jennifer Ikeda (UK and US) | GraphicAudio adaptation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Narrator | Elizabeth Evans | Elizabeth Evans | Jennifer Ikeda | GraphicAudio full cast (roles not named) |
| Length | 19 hours 35 minutes (19h 35m) | 19 hours 35 minutes (19h 35m) | 23 hours 16 minutes (23h 16m) | about 16h 49m in two parts |
| At 1.5x | about 13h 3m | about 13h 3m | about 15h 31m | Not calculated (adaptation) |
| At 2x | about 9h 48m | about 9h 48m | 11h 38m | Not calculated (adaptation) |
| Abridged or unabridged | Unabridged | Unabridged | Unabridged | “Dramatized Adaptation” (Audible’s listing says unabridged) |
| Audio publisher and year | Recorded Books, 30 May 2025 | Recorded Books, 30 May 2025 | Recorded Books, 2016 | Graphic Audio LLC, 2022 |
| First in Audible search, October 2026 | No: Ikeda’s original leads Audible UK | Yes, first on Audible US | First on Audible UK | Not checked |
| Print length | 656 pages (Bloomsbury paperback, 2020) | Same book | Same book | Same book |
Audible US sells the same three recordings as Audible UK. Evans’s and Ikeda’s are both single-narrator unabridged readings, so we score the newer one. The GraphicAudio length adds its two parts together.
Lengths checked 17 October 2026. Speed times are calculated from the listed length.
A Court of Mist and Fury
Sarah J. Maas
- Genre
- Romantasy
- Series
- Book 2 of A Court of Thorns and Roses
- Published
- 2016
- Length
- 656 pages (Bloomsbury paperback, 2020)
- On audio
- Elizabeth Evans 19 hrs 35 mins (our verdict), Jennifer Ikeda 23 hrs 16 mins, GraphicAudio adaptation about 16 hrs 49 mins
- Narrated by
- Elizabeth Evans (2025), or Jennifer Ikeda (2016)
On this page
Why we reached this verdict
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions. They are based on research into what most people find easier to follow in each format, not on whether the book is any good.
Listening: single point of view and narrator (7), long book (3), 10 points. Reading: maps, family trees or footnotes (3), 3 points. 77% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 77% confidence (leaning).
The recording in detail
- Scored edition
- Elizabeth Evans, 10th Anniversary Recording, solo, unabridged, 19 hrs 35 mins, Recorded Books, 30 May 2025
- Original recording
- Jennifer Ikeda, solo, unabridged, 23 hrs 16 mins, Recorded Books, 2016
- Dramatised adaptation
- GraphicAudio, 2022, two parts, about 16 hrs 49 mins, full cast with roles not named; not scored
- Casting
- One reader for every character in both solo editions, including Rhysand, Cassian and Azriel
- What audio adds
- Feyre’s voice for nearly 20 hours, and how every new name is said
- What you miss
- The spelling of a heavier set of invented names, and any map in your print edition
What this book actually is
A Court of Mist and Fury is the second book in Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series, published by Bloomsbury on 3 May 2016. The current UK paperback, from 2 June 2020, runs to 656 pages, against 448 for book 1 in the same edition.
Feyre narrates it throughout, picking up about three months after book 1, and the story moves to a new court and its city. Kirkus and Plugged In both note explicit sex and graphic violence, and the book deals with Feyre’s depression and panic attacks.
A Hulu adaptation of the series was cancelled in February 2025. Sarah J. Maas has had the rights back since March 2026 and, according to brit.co (15 October 2026), is offering the series to other studios; no deal has been named.
The case for reading it
The names are the case for print. Book 1 already asked you to hold Feyre, Rhysand, Tamlin, Lucien and Prythian. This one adds the Night Court and its city, Velaris, the House of Wind, the Court of Nightmares and the Hewn City, the Illyrians and Hybern, and an inner circle of Morrigan, Amren, Cassian and Azriel. Kirkus mentions “the large cast”. In print, you see each name spelled the same way every time.
Open Library also catalogues both UK paperbacks with maps, without saying what they show. They count as reference extras for reading, and if your copy has one it is something the audio cannot give you.
The case for listening to it
The structure suits audio. One character, Feyre, tells the whole story in order, and its goal, stopping the King of Hybern and the Cauldron, gives it a single storyline to follow. That is the difference from book 1, where reviewers found the first half slow.
Elizabeth Evans’s recording is 3 hours 41 minutes shorter than Jennifer Ikeda’s for the same unabridged text, and she is one reader from book 1 to book 6. Neither solo edition gives Rhysand, Cassian or Azriel a separate male voice; Feyre tells the story, so one reader is what the book asks for.
The audiobook in detail
We scored Elizabeth Evans’s 10th Anniversary Recording, released by Recorded Books on 30 May 2025: 19 hours 35 minutes, unabridged, or about 13 hours 3 minutes at 1.5x and about 9 hours 48 minutes at 2x. Evans is Sarah J. Maas’s “handpicked narrator” for the anniversary re-recordings of books 1 to 5, and she reads book 6. Her edition and Ikeda’s 2016 original are both single-narrator unabridged readings, so on our rules the newer one is scored. As of October 2026 Ikeda’s leads Audible UK search and Evans’s leads Audible US.
Ikeda’s original runs 23 hours 16 minutes, 7 hours 9 minutes longer than her book 1, and AudioFile wrote in 2016 that her “measured pace and cool tone suit the frustration”. That praise belongs to her edition. GraphicAudio’s “Dramatized Adaptation” comes in two parts, about 16 hours 49 minutes in all, with a full cast whose roles are not named; as an adaptation, it is never the edition we score.
Who should ignore this verdict
For readers coming back to the series before book 6 who already know the Night Court, the main case for print falls away. Anyone who found the names in book 1 hard to keep straight on audio will find print more helpful here. Listeners who liked Jennifer Ikeda in book 1 can still buy her original, at 23 hours 16 minutes.
Audiobook
- Read by Elizabeth Evans, or Jennifer Ikeda’s original
- 19h 35m, or about 13h 3m at 1.5x
Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →
Related verdicts
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Book 1, with a Listen verdict because its story is slow to start.
A Court of Wings and Ruin
Book 3: a war across the courts, read by the same narrator.
Throne of Glass
Same author and narrator, with a Read verdict because of how the story moves forward.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Who narrates the A Court of Mist and Fury audiobook?
Elizabeth Evans reads the 2025 10th Anniversary Recording, the edition we score and the first result on Audible US. Jennifer Ikeda reads the 2016 original, which leads Audible UK search as of October 2026.
How long is the A Court of Mist and Fury audiobook?
19 hours 35 minutes (19h 35m) with Elizabeth Evans, which is about 13h 3m at 1.5x and about 9h 48m at 2x (calculated). Jennifer Ikeda’s original runs 23 hours 16 minutes, or 11h 38m at 2x.
Is the A Court of Mist and Fury audiobook abridged?
No, both solo recordings are unabridged. The GraphicAudio version is a dramatised adaptation.
Should I read or listen to A Court of Mist and Fury?
Listen on our checks (77% confidence, leaning). One narrator reads a single viewpoint across a 656-page book, but the print edition has maps.
Is there a male narrator for Rhysand in the audiobook?
No. The book is narrated by Feyre and both solo editions have one reader.
Why are there two A Court of Mist and Fury audiobooks?
Elizabeth Evans re-recorded books 1 to 5 for the series’ 10th anniversary, released on 30 May 2025, alongside the originals, which are still on sale.
Do you agree with this verdict?
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How this verdict was reached
Every book on this site is checked against the same thirteen questions, set in advance and applied identically to every title. They are based on research into what readers and listeners generally find easier to follow in each format, not on personal preference, and they are published in full so you can check the reasoning yourself. Verdicts are never paid for, sponsored or influenced by affiliate partners.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.
- What we checked for this book: the Recorded Books and GraphicAudio listings on Audible UK and Audible US, Bloomsbury edition details and Open Library records, the RBmedia release on the anniversary recordings, AudioFile’s 2016 review via a library résumé, Kirkus and Plugged In on the content, and brit.co on the screen rights.
- Verdict last reviewed: 23 October 2026. Editions and narrators change, so verdicts are rechecked annually.
- Prefer different criteria? The app, coming soon, will let you change which of the thirteen questions matter to you.
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