The Sweetest Fiend audiobook vs book: which should you choose?
This is a Pied Piper story told by one heroine, and the audiobook includes music.
Short answer: for the The Sweetest Fiend audiobook vs book choice, we say listen on Audible (100% confidence, clear cut). Isabelle Turner and Sean Masters read it as a duet, 16 hrs 34 mins on Audible UK and 16 hrs 35 mins on Audible US. The original music is listed on US editions, not on the UK listing. A map appears in several print editions but is not confirmed for the standard UK hardback. The music and a 480-page book favour audio, and nothing confirmed points towards print.
Listen on Audible
Original music with the duet narration and a long book (480 pages) pull towards listening; nothing confirmed points towards reading.
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Confidence 100%, which puts it in the clear cut 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 Sweetest Fiend
Raven Kennedy
- Genre
- Romantasy, for adults
- Series
- Played by the Piper, book 1 of 2
- Published
- 2026
- Length
- 480 pages
- On audio
- 16 hrs 35 mins
- Narrated by
- Isabelle Turner and Sean Masters, duet narration
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: full cast or produced audio (10), long book (3), 13 points. Reading: nothing confirmed, 0 points. 100% of the confirmed points favour listening, so the verdict is listen on Audible at 100% confidence (clear cut).
The recording at a glance
- Narrated by
- Isabelle Turner and Sean Masters, billed as duet narration, on both Audible UK and Audible US. Neither read Kennedy's Plated Prisoner series
- Length
- 16 hrs 34 mins on Audible UK and 16 hrs 35 mins on Audible US, about 11 hours 3 minutes at one and a half times speed
- Publisher
- Penguin Audio in the UK and HarperAudio for Avon in the US, both released on 22 September 2026
- What audio adds
- Two narrators read a story told from one point of view, and US listings confirm original music by Lindsay Dills
- What you miss
- The map and endpapers in most print editions, unless the US supplemental PDF carries them, which nobody has confirmed
What this book actually is
The first book in Raven Kennedy's Played by the Piper, a romantasy duology loosely inspired by the legend of the Pied Piper, published on 22 September 2026 by Michael Joseph in the UK and Avon in the US. It is a new series rather than part of her Plated Prisoner books, and the publisher is clear that it is for adults, with mature themes and explicit scenes. Esti is half Bane, half fae, in a world left with a Plague by each of nine monstrous Banes, and the Piper has taken 130 people as payment.
It runs to 480 pages in every edition checked. The special editions are a selling point in themselves, with sprayed edges, endpapers and a map, and two reviews say it ends on a cliffhanger.
The case for reading it
Most of the print editions have a map, and the audiobook does not. The author's site lists one in the US Avon hardcover, the Target edition with its exclusive quiz, the Waterstones edition, the UK indie edition and the sold-out Goldsboro edition, all with endpapers, and the US Deluxe Limited Edition has illustrated endpapers. If you like to check a map as a fantasy world opens up, that is a reason to read, though whether the standard UK hardback has one is not confirmed.
Some readers also prefer to read explicit scenes in print rather than hear them performed by a pair of narrators. And with a cliffhanger ending and a second book to come, a copy you can flick back through will help when the sequel arrives.
The case for listening to it
The structure is easy to follow on audio. There is one first-person narrator and one storyline, with no timeline to track. A Goodreads reviewer says plainly that it is Esti's point of view throughout, with no dual or multiple POV. The recording also adds two things to a plain reading. Isabelle Turner and Sean Masters share the narration as a duet, and the US listings credit original music by Lindsay Dills, for a retelling of the Pied Piper. One listener said the music was the perfect addition.
The invented words, Banes, Plagues, fae and fiends, are easy to hear, and nothing in the reviews suggests a listener needs the map to follow along. It is long, at over sixteen and a half hours, but at one and a half times speed it comes down to about eleven hours.
The audiobook in detail
Released on 22 September 2026 in both countries: Penguin Audio in the UK at 16 hours 34 minutes, HarperAudio for Avon in the US at 16 hours 35 minutes. Both credit Isabelle Turner and Sean Masters. The author's site and OverDrive call it duet narration, and OverDrive adds original music by Lindsay Dills. Neither says which narrator reads which lines.
Audible US and OverDrive also list a supplemental PDF; the Audible UK page does not mention one, and nobody says what it contains. The narrating team is entirely new for Kennedy: her Plated Prisoner audiobooks were read by Bella Sanby and Harlen Corvo.
Who should ignore this verdict
Print suits anyone who reads fantasy with the map open, since most print editions have one and the audiobook does not. It also suits anyone in the UK who would buy the audiobook for the music, until the UK listing confirms the music is on that edition. And it suits anyone who prefers to read explicit scenes in print rather than hear them performed, which is a fair reason to pick print whatever the structure says.
Audiobook
- Read by Isabelle Turner and Sean Masters, duet narration
- 16h 35m, or 11h 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
Fourth Wing
This is another first-person romantasy with a map and names to learn, and the verdict is to listen.
The Mirror of Infinite Endings
This is a fantasy romance where the printed book has pictures.
Dungeon Crawler Carl
This is another story where the audiobook production adds something to the book.
Start hereHow we decide
The thirteen questions behind every verdict on this site.
Questions people ask
Is The Sweetest Fiend connected to the Plated Prisoner series?
It starts a new series, Played by the Piper, and the publisher presents Plated Prisoner only as Raven Kennedy's previous work. No book comes before it in this series, so you can start here. No source says whether the two series share a world.
Who narrates The Sweetest Fiend audiobook?
Isabelle Turner and Sean Masters, as duet narration, on both the UK and US editions. US listings also credit original music by Lindsay Dills.
How long is The Sweetest Fiend audiobook?
16 hours 34 minutes in the UK and 16 hours 35 minutes in the US, which is about 11 hours 3 minutes at one and a half times speed.
Should I read or listen to The Sweetest Fiend?
Listen on our checks (100% confidence, clear cut). Original music with the duet narration and a 480-page book favour audio, and nothing confirmed points towards print.
Is The Sweetest Fiend dual POV?
No. It is told in the first person from Esti's point of view throughout. A Goodreads reviewer says so plainly, and another wished it had more than one point of view.
Is The Sweetest Fiend spicy?
The publisher describes it as dark fantasy with mature themes and explicit scenes only suitable for adults. Reviewers' heat ratings differ, so the publisher's description is the safest guide.
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 narrator credits and run times on both Audible stores, what US listings say about the music and the PDF, which print editions carry a map according to the author's own site, and what reviewers report about point of view.
- 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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