First off, I would like to say that I have been using this app since it was released, and I have been very pleased with it. One grievance I have stem from the random deletion of my downloaded books which has screwed me on flights. The only other thing that has been bothering since starting to use this app that actually got me to make this review is that whenever I open up the search bar with the little spyglass in the top right it always opens the advanced search page. I just want to search the name of a book and not fill in all this random stuff. I understand that I can just close it, but it’s still annoying. Overall very pleased that this app now exists.
Royal Road has a lot of cool stuff that you would never find anywhere else. The reader is super nice with a bunch of customization options that kindle just won’t give me. Be warned there are bugs but they generally aren’t that bad and the support team is baller. The only real issue is ads with audio but the cost of premium is a pittance and honestly worth it for no ads plus helping out RR.
As a side note, there are bugs this being a new venture for the fellas some of these can be annoying. Big however, they’re patched quickly, support moderators are very helpful, and some are super funny like the comically large buttons when you open a chapter.
I appreciate the variety and community in this app. I often use other apps due to audio listening. I would love to see y’all add in a text-to-speech for the app as I would be able to listen during work, rest, and driving. I believe this would get the audio listeners to stay on the app and have more activity overall. Moreover, it is still possible to have ads every few chapters like other free apps do. I really hope to see this added as I really like the way this app runs and the stories made.
I’ve been a reader on the website for years now, and have always just kept 50+ tabs open on my phone in order to keep up with my stories. After downloading the app, I’ve finally been able to keep track of everything in one place and have cleared my tabs!
My only issue with the app is the battery drain. I’ve found that even just 10 minutes of reading can drain my battery 10-20%, and my phone constantly heats up during use. I would give this app 5 stars, but I’m currently concerned for the health of my phone.
It’s a pretty good app altogether. I only have a few small issues. One is canceling premium. They make it extremely frustrating to cancel premium subscription, to the point where I’ll never get it again unless it’s fixed. Another is the story tags, they are missing some big ones. Like Kingdom Building….a tag pretty much every reading/novel site has lol. Other then that I haven’t really had any issues. The tag system needs to be refined because it’s lacking compared to other apps and site. But for the most part it’s a good app/site to use.
The reading experience is great except when i try to read landscape on the tablet, the reading area is just the middle third if my screen.
Biggest problem is when i got premium to download for offline reading. I got premium, i downloaded a few stories for the flight. When we were airborne, i opened the app to read them, went to the downloads tab, clicked on one and it said “this fiction has not been downloaded for offline reading.” REALLY confused what the point of even downloading is if its not downloaded for “offline” reading. There isnt even an option to “download for offline reading.” I got screwed because i thought i could read things offline with premium but i guess not!
This is a rather basic app that is missing features that other reader apps have. Downloads are locked behind a paywall when you already have ads. No text to speech compatibility support, let alone in app feature for this.
This app could have been put out in 2005 and it would have been an alright app then, and considering the rumors for how long this app was in the works for, maybe it was made back then. It is days away from 2024, the web has enough mediocre apps, it is a shame to include one of my favorite websites in this category, but honestly three stars is still favoritism on my part.
I really like RR and the ap is easier than the web to use. I know I should just pay for what I use but the ads are insufferable. You have a choice between an ad bar at the top of the page that doesn’t respect dark mode (so it’s often bright white), and also has moving elements (!!!) that make the ap completely unusable for me. Including bright light in my eyes and dancing graphics a few cm from where I’m trying to read?! Really? Or, you can choose the occasional long ad that comes between chapters. You can’t skip out of it, it takes you out of the app to the ap store, and it uses the volume full blast! I mean seriously?! The number of times it has come on blaring when I’m reading in bed next to my sleeping husband… it’s frankly rude of me to continue using it. It just happened again, which inspired me to write this review. Now I just need to decide if I should pony up and buy the stupid ap or just stop using it so I both stop bothering other people and giving myself an adrenaline inducing jump scare right when I’m trying to fall asleep at night.
My only complaint that I can ever find with this app is that it doesn’t magically give me more chapters to read but seriously the dark mode is very elegantly designed and allows for clear reading The homepage design is very well done, and it makes for just a better mobile experience than trying to read on that web browser. It is both intuitive and well designed. I can’t speak much from a writer standpoint, but I personally as a avid reader enjoy this app very much.
I’ve been reading stories on Royal road for at least a year now, and within days of using the app I upgraded to premium. Ads were completely non-intrusive, but I wanted access to offline downloads as I frequently put my phone in airplane mode. There have been a few minor issues, as expected of a new app. Customer service answered my ticket promptly, and the developers have been putting out frequent updates with improvements and fixes.
Update: I lowered my score from 5 stars to 4. This is a complaint I’ve thought about before the app came out, but I recently had more dealings with. I can leave a story a review with no comment at all, but when I write a comment it has to be 50 words. If I put in fluff words (basically complaining about the minimum word count) the review gets deleted. Why in the world is there a minimum word count for a review?
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