Either

It Ends with Us audiobook vs book: which should you choose?

The book tells Lily’s present-day story alongside the diaries she wrote at 15 to Ellen DeGeneres. One narrator reads it and gives each age its own voice.

Read vs Listen·Verdict last reviewed 23 October 2026·4 min read

Content note: sources list domestic violence and emotional abuse among the novel’s themes. This page does not describe them.

Short answer: for the It Ends with Us audiobook vs book choice, we say either works (53% confidence, close call). Olivia Song reads it on her own, in 11 hours 18 minutes, unabridged. One viewpoint and one narrator favour audio, while the move between Lily’s present and her teenage diary entries favours print, so neither format clearly wins.

Confidence 53%, which puts it in the close call 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.

What this book actually is

It Ends with Us is Colleen Hoover’s novel, first published on 2 August 2016 by Atria Books in the US and Simon & Schuster UK, whose paperback runs to 384 pages. It won the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Romance, reached No. 1 on the New York Times combined fiction list in January 2022 and was the best-selling novel of 2023. It was filmed in 2024, and Hoover followed it with It Starts with Us.

Lily Bloom tells it in the first person. Present-day chapters follow her relationship with Ryle, a neurosurgeon, and alternate with diary entries she wrote at 15, addressed to the TV host Ellen DeGeneres, which carry the story of her first love, Atlas. There are 32 chapters, an epilogue and an author’s note, in which Hoover writes about drawing on her parents’ relationship; Kirkus calls the note “a must-read”.

The case for reading it

The structure is the case for print. The story moves between Lily’s present and her teenage diaries, and in print those entries are letters, which a reader may be able to recognise before reading a word. We could not confirm how the UK paperback sets them, and nothing says layout carries the plot. If they are set apart, print signals each switch in advance.

Print also lets you set your own pace through a difficult subject, stopping and starting where you choose. And one Audible UK listener dislikes Song’s younger voice for the diaries; if a sample puts you off, the 384-page paperback is the alternative.

The case for listening to it

Lily tells everything, so one narrator never has to switch between points of view. One story, her life with Ryle and the return of Atlas, drives the book forward. Olivia Song reads all 11 hours 18 minutes on her own.

The way Olivia Song reads the diaries is a particular advantage of the audiobook. Kirkus’s audiobook review notes that she “raises her pitch to express a young Lily”, so the two timelines sound like two ages of the same woman. Listeners rate it 4.5 on Audible UK and 4.7 on Audible US, as of October 2026.

The audiobook in detail

Simon & Schuster Audio released Olivia Song’s solo, unabridged reading on 2 August 2016, the same day as the book. Audible UK and Audible US list the same narrator, length, publisher and date, and it is the only English recording we found; Spanish-language editions also exist. At 1.5x it takes 7 hours 32 minutes, at 2x 5 hours 39 minutes.

There is no cast, music or sound design. The recording is one actor, who changes her voice to show Lily’s age. Song also reads the sequel, It Starts with Us, with Colin Donnell.

Who should ignore this verdict

Lean towards Kindle if you want to see the diary letters to Ellen set out as letters, or if you would rather stop and start through the hardest chapters. Domestic abuse is central to the novel in either format.

Lean towards Audible if you want one voice for the whole book. Olivia Song reads all 11 hours 18 minutes on her own, and Kirkus notes that she raises her pitch to express a young Lily, so the two ages sound different.

Try a sample first: one Audible UK listener dislikes the younger voice used for the diaries, and the 384-page paperback is the alternative.

Read differently from most people? The app, coming soon, will let you switch off any of the thirteen checks. Get notified →

Related verdicts

Different verdict

Verity

This is another Colleen Hoover book, a thriller whose film has been in cinemas since 2 October 2026, and our verdict is to read it.

Different verdict

A Little Life

It is another novel that needs an abuse content note, and our verdict is to read it.

Different verdict

Me Before You

It is another romance bestseller that needs a content note and has been adapted for film, and our verdict is to listen.

Start here

How we decide

The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.

Questions people ask