The quickest route is the Book2Speech app: share the EPUB, pick a narrator, press play. Apple’s built-in Speak Screen works too, with a system voice. Both are below.
With Book2Speech (natural narrators, chapters, background play)
1.
Install Book2Speech from the App Store and sign in.
2.
Open the EPUB from Files, Mail or Safari, tap Share, then Book2Speech. Or open the app, go to Create and choose the file.
3.
Choose a narrator: each has a sample. The book’s language is detected and matching voices come first.
4.
Press play. Narration streams in the background, with a sleep timer and speed control in the player.
With Speak Screen (built into iOS, system voice)
Good for a quick listen; the voice is the system voice, there are no chapters in the audio, and it stops when the screen locks in many apps.
1.
Settings → Accessibility → Spoken Content → turn on Speak Screen.
2.
Open the EPUB in Apple Books (or any reader that shows the text).
3.
Swipe down with two fingers from the top of the screen; iOS reads the visible text and turns pages in Books.
4.
Use the floating controller for speed and to pause.
Which to pick
•
You want a book-length listen with a natural voice, chapters, position sync and lock-screen controls: Book2Speech.
•
You want to hear a few pages right now with no app: Speak Screen.
•
The EPUB has DRM (most store purchases): only the store’s own app can open it. Book2Speech and Books-with-Speak-Screen both need DRM-free files.