A Court of Splintered Harmony audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
Book 6 of A Court of Thorns and Roses is out on 27 October 2026, read by Elizabeth Evans. The verdict goes up once the book and audiobook are out; this is what is confirmed so far.
Short answer: no verdict yet. A Court of Splintered Harmony is published on 27 October 2026, and the audiobook is read by Elizabeth Evans for Recorded Books. We score it once the book and audiobook are out, between 28 and 31 October 2026.
Get the verdict when it’s live
We check the finished book and audiobook against the same thirteen questions as every other verdict, between 28 and 31 October. One email when it is published.
What is confirmed so far
| Edition | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Publisher and date | Bloomsbury, 27 October 2026, published globally | Bloomsbury, 27 October 2026 |
| Hardback, ISBN 9781037200076, 352 pages, £25.00 | Hardcover, ISBN 9781639739134, 352 pages, $32.00 | |
| Audiobook | Elizabeth Evans, Recorded Books, released 27 October 2026; pre-order £12.77 | Elizabeth Evans, Recorded Books, released 27 October 2026 |
| Run time | Confirmed on release day | Confirmed on release day |
| Dramatised edition | GraphicAudio “Dramatized Adaptation”, due 23 December 2026 | GraphicAudio “Dramatized Adaptation”, due 23 December 2026 |
Checked 17 October 2026. Prices are a snapshot.
What this book is
A Court of Splintered Harmony is the sixth book in Sarah J. Maas’s A Court of Thorns and Roses series, published by Bloomsbury on 27 October 2026. It is “The Valkyrie Cycle: Movement I”: books 6 and 7 tell one story in four movements. Book 7, A Court of Forgotten Melody, follows on 12 January 2027 with Movements II and III, and Maas has said “part four has yet to be written” (Russh, 18 August 2026).
Whose story it is has not been announced. The publisher’s summary names Koschei the Deathless and “those who rule and protect the Night Court”. A Hulu series was dropped in 2025, and no new studio has been named.
The audiobook
Elizabeth Evans reads it for Recorded Books. Jennifer Ikeda, who read books 1 and 2 first time round, did not record it. Evans is Sarah J. Maas’s chosen narrator for the 10th Anniversary Recordings of books 1 to 5, so if you start the series now you can hear one reader all the way through. Every verdict in the series scores her recordings.
The run time is confirmed on release day. GraphicAudio’s dramatised adaptation is due on 23 December 2026; it is an adaptation, so it is never the edition we score.
What we can say before release
Of the thirteen checks, three can be filled in now. One narrator reads all of it: provisionally yes, since Evans is the only credited narrator. It is not read by the author. And the recording has no full cast, music or sound design, because Evans’s is a solo reading. The other seven depend on the finished book: the point of view, how the timeline runs, the names, any map, and whether this first movement keeps the story moving on its own.
Questions people ask
Who narrates the A Court of Splintered Harmony audiobook?
Elizabeth Evans, for Recorded Books. She also re-recorded books 1 to 5 for the series' 10th anniversary in 2025.
How long is the A Court of Splintered Harmony audiobook?
The confirmed run time will be added here on release day, 27 October 2026, from the Audible UK listing.
When is A Court of Splintered Harmony out?
27 October 2026, in hardback, ebook and audiobook, from Bloomsbury.
Is A Court of Splintered Harmony the last ACOTAR book?
No. It is Movement I of The Valkyrie Cycle. A Court of Forgotten Melody follows on 12 January 2027 with Movements II and III, and a fourth movement is still to come.
Is there a full-cast A Court of Splintered Harmony audiobook?
GraphicAudio's dramatised adaptation is due on 23 December 2026. It is an adaptation, so it will not be the edition we score.
Should I read or listen to A Court of Splintered Harmony?
The verdict goes up once the book and audiobook are out and have been checked. Leave your email below and we will tell you when it is live.
Catch up first
A Court of Thorns and Roses
Book 1, also re-recorded by Evans.
A Court of Silver Flames
Book 5, the one before this.
Throne of Glass
Same author, same narrator.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
How this page was put together
- What we checked: the Bloomsbury UK and US listings, the Audible UK and US pre-order pages, the GraphicAudio listing, and Maas’s interview with Russh.
- The criteria: read the thirteen questions in full.