# Bookshop.org: Ebook Reader — user reviews > 180 indexed App Store user reviews of Bookshop.org by Bookshop, Inc., rated 4.80/5 from 2,128 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshoporg-ebook-reader/id6465290096/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshoporg-ebook-reader/id6465290096.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,821 · 4★ 185 · 3★ 71 · 2★ 27 · 1★ 24 ## Is Bookshop.org safe? Bookshop.org: Ebook Reader appears safe based on user ratings. The AppsHunter Safety Score for Bookshop.org is 96 out of 100. This assessment is based on 2,128 user ratings, with an App Store average of 4.8 out of 5. Of 2,128 App Store ratings, 94.3% point to a safe experience, 3.3% suggest some concerns, and 2.4% point to a risky experience. ## Is Bookshop.org legit? Bookshop.org: Ebook Reader appears legitimate, with a few gaps. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for Bookshop.org is 75 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data. ## What do users think of Bookshop.org? Reviews of Bookshop.org are mostly positive: the Books app is rated 4.8/5 from 2.1K App Store ratings. What users like most: wonderful app, great alternative to Amazon. Top complaints: formatting issues (lack of italics, poor paragraph spacing, etc.), buggy page turning and navigation. Summarized from real user reviews. **Pros** - 👍 Wonderful app - 👍 Great alternative to Amazon - 👍 Supports local bookstores - 👍 Clean and pleasing interface - 👍 Solid app for a new release **Cons** - 🐛 Formatting issues (lack of italics, poor paragraph spacing, etc.) - 🐛 Buggy page turning and navigation - 🔧 Limited customization options (fonts, themes, brightness, etc.) - 🔧 Missing essential features (highlighting, note-taking, search, etc.) **Commonly reported bugs** - Inability to remember last page read - Scrolling issues and unexpected page skipping - Formatting problems (stripped italics, weird paragraph spacing) - Settings not persisting between app sessions **Most requested features** - More font and theme options - Ability to adjust line spacing, margins, and other formatting - Implement highlighting, annotation, and note-taking features - Add search functionality - Improve page turning and navigation - Provide better dark mode/night reading experience - Sync reading progress across devices ## Newest reviews (16 of 180) ### 2/5 — Sort by Author *2026-09-14, version 2.11.2* It is legitimately wild that we still don’t have the ability to sort the library by author ### 4/5 — Major bug *2026-09-12, version 2.11.2* App doesn’t remember most recent location read. Constantly relocated backwards in book (Land, by Farrell). Have to rely on book marks to keep recent page read. Also relocates after accidentally going into and out of landscape mode. Makes very difficult to use. Other books have worked ok so unsure if just new bug or ties to the specific book file. Regardless, very frustrating experience. Really hope they can fix as I’d like to continue to support bookshop.org if possible. Update- support finally got back to be. And it appears to be an issue with the publisher but indexing ebook correctly. Though I feel this is something the developers should still be able to work around and deal with. ### 3/5 — The app is awkward *2026-09-09, version 2.11.1* I like the idea of supporting local bookstores. The app is awkward to use. My bookmarks never seem to be where I think I’ve put them. ### 3/5 — Poor user interface but independent sellers *2026-09-08, version 2.11.1* It’s a trade-off. ### 3/5 — Images have cut offs *2026-09-07, version 2.11.1* The ebook app have images that are cut off from one page and with the other portion of the image reappearing on the next page. This happens in the title page as well as images within the book. It will be good if images from ebooks will be intact no matter if reading from iPad in horizontal or vertical orientation. ### 2/5 — Unstable bookmarks *2026-08-29, version 2.10.2* Bookmarking doesn’t work. Stays on the first page you bookmark. ### 3/5 — Can’t sign in *2026-08-24, version 2.10.1* I can access the website, but my ebook is no longer there. I just bought it and was charged. Once l signed off the app l couldn’t sign back in. I changed my password a few times and after 24 hrs can not sign in. I was hoping it would work today, still hoping. ### 2/5 — Can’t zoom in on images and maps. *2026-08-15, version 2.9.1* I have contacted bookshop.org several times about the inability to zoom in on maps and images in the ebooks that I’ve purchased. It’s quite frustrating and has prompted me to purchase most ebooks that have images (history, fantasies with maps, etc) at Kobo. Please add this! ### 2/5 — Personally, I’d choose to buy my ebooks somewhere else *2026-08-06, version 2.7.2* I liked the idea of bookshop.org and want an alternative to amazon, but the experience reading ebooks here is frustrating. And since ebooks I buy from this company are locked to this app, I’m going to have to buy them somewhere else. - For some reason, it requires a connection to open a book, even if it’s a book i’ve been actively reading. - Frequently loses my exact place in the book, resetting to the beginning of the chapter ### 4/5 — Why is it only eBooks in the app *2026-08-01, version 2.7.2* I like this company a lot and the app is great. Easy to use and smooth experience. I wish it also included the physical book catalog so that I could add books to my cart when I’m on the move. I’ve only purchased physical books from Bookshop.org and the app for me is mostly to find and save books. ### 4/5 — Good app, some issues *2026-07-29, version 2.7.1* I love the app and use it constantly, reading is typically smooth and easy, however the app struggles with footnotes and it’s frustrating to read a book, tap the footnote only to be taken away from my page, and the app doesn’t always remember where my original page was. Also when browsing books on sale it doesn’t just give me a full list of the titles that are on sale, some will be omitted for no discernible reason. ### 3/5 — Next chapter? *2026-07-06, version 2.5.0* This is getting annoying. The next chapter button doesn’t always come up at the end of the chapter, forcing me to exit the app, open it again, and then get the next chapter button. This is really irritating when the book has a series of one-page chapters. Please fix this! ### 5/5 — Bookshop rocks! *2026-06-25, version 2.3.3* Love the ebooks, quick checkout. ### 2/5 — Highlighting is so difficult. *2026-06-22, version 2.3.2* It’s impossible to highlight a sentence that ends on the next page. I tried for about 10 minutes. How is such a simple function so difficult to do in this app?? ### 2/5 — Clunky, glitchy, doesn’t even sync *2026-06-19, version 2.3.2* I want to support my local independent bookstore, including ebook purchases. But this app is not great. Not syncing between devices, failed downloads, and the app doesn’t even seem to realize the app itself is already open so tries to prompt reading via browser. Overall, disappointing. ### 3/5 — Malfunctioning highlighting *2026-06-19, version 2.3.2* I like bookshop - especially like its support of local book shops. Unfortunately, I mainly read ebooks because I simply cannot store a large quantity of hard copy books. I will buy a hard copy if I think it is one I will use multiple times, or is one I can give to someone after I have read it. I read mainly nonfiction & use highlights A LOT. Often re-read a book just by reading the highlights. This function works poorly in bookshop app. Kindle is way better & I would return to kindle except I am pretty committed to NOT using Amazon. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — Not usable *2026-09-23, version 2.11.3* Just know you can’t use anything purchased here with kindles or other common devices. You’ll be required to read through their app, which is a terrible reader experience. 0/5 do not recommend. ### 1/5 — The Page Turning *2026-09-19, version 2.11.3* I love supporting local bookstores while getting my ebooks. (KU can suck it). HOWEVER, I need the page turn animation in the reader settings. There are so many great settings, even more than most e-reader apps. Can you please add the page turn animation so I can read on your app?? Sliding from page to page breaks my suspension of disbelief. Add the page turn animation and this becomes 5 stars ### 1/5 — Buggy *2026-09-17, version 2.11.3* This thing is buggy as hell on an ipad. The real problem is that when you buy an ebook from Bookshop.org you can’t read it on any other device. This is literally your only option. Bummer. ### 1/5 — These guys suck *2026-08-28, version 2.10.2* Where’s my ebook. I resent them trying to make me a captive audience when I have other apps for ebooks. I want a refund. ### 1/5 — App keeps crashing can’t access my ebooks. *2026-06-13, version 2.3.1* The last week this app keeps crashing and I haven’t been able to access my my e-books. It’s frustrating because I’ve paid for those. ### 1/5 — Access denied *2026-03-02, version 2.0.8* I am sad to see that this app is not compatible with the VoiceOver screen reader. E-books are supposed to be accessible for blind folks but this app is not. I was looking forward to supporting my local independent bookstores by using this app but now it looks like I have to go back to Amazon if I want to purchase an e-book I can actually read. I really don't wanna give Amazon anymore money… making something like this accessible isn't hard to do- you just need to remember to do it. ### 1/5 — New update added bugs *2026-01-01* I went to open the app this morning to read a book I had started. I got nothing but a white page. (This is on a new iPad.) I closed and reopened the app several times with the same result. I went to the App Store to open it that way and found there was an upgrade. It would not allow me to open the app without upgrading, so I did. Now I can no longer place/remove bookmarks or adjust the font size. I touch the place to do that, it briefly appears then closes before I can take any action, changing pages in the process. Please fix this ASAP as the app is unusable without these features. I also still want a built-in dictionary. If there is one, it doesn’t work. Also, when I go to my library, I just see blue rectangles, no covers, no titles. How am I supposed to open a book I can’t see? Turning on WiFi doesn’t help. They’re still just blue rectangles instead of book covers. I’m going back to the Kindle. That’s the best book app, even though the company is loathsome. Update: nothing has been fixed and it is getting worse. If I turn my iPad off, after turning it back 9n again, I have to reconnect to WiFi to reopen my book. I don’t always have access to WiFi so this is totally unacceptable. I cannot buy any more books here unless this is fixed. **Developer response:** Thank you for your feedback and we're very sorry to hear about the issues you encountered - how frustrating! We did encounter some unexpected issues with a recent app update, but those issues should now be resolved with the latest bug fixes and version of our app since the beginning of January. If you're on the latest version of our app and it does not resolve these issues, please email our customer support team at info@bookshop.org for additional troubleshooting support. ### 1/5 — Highlighting is maddening *2025-10-03, version 1.4.3* I bought a book on this app to support independent bookstores but using it is so maddening. I struggled the highlight text I over highlighted meaning if it’s highlighted multiple times. Some is related to whether it’s connected to the Internet or not when I use it on the subway but I have plenty of trouble even when connected. I need to fix this or I am never buying a book on this app again. ### 1/5 — Passphrase required *2025-08-13, version 1.2.11* I bought a book and says passphrase required and I thought it’s my password but doesn’t work on app. ### 1/5 — Randomly jumps ahead 30ish pages *2025-06-14, version 1.1.9* If you’re going to force paying customers to use your app, or should at least work properly. Every so often I try to advance one page and go forward 20-30 pages. It makes the app almost unusable ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Updated App! *2026-09-11, version 2.11.1* Now with image zooming! And purchases support indie bookshops! What’s not to love? ### 5/5 — Easy to use & exactly what I need *2026-09-10, version 2.11.1* I’ve been using the app for a while now and I prefer buying digital and physical books from Bookshop.org. It’s easy to purchase books and the reading app is also easy to use. In an effort to use my phone less, I did buy a Kobo ereader and I would *love* to easily read Bookshop.org books on the device. Thank you for making this app! ### 5/5 — Buy your books here *2026-09-07, version 2.11.1* Support local bookstores! Selection has been impeccable Actually useful newsletter UX is good, they keep improving it ### 5/5 — Cool *2026-08-28, version 2.10.2* Easy to read with ### 5/5 — Great alternative! *2026-07-24, version 2.7.0* Happy to have an independent option to my kindle. Easy to use, connects nicely to the store. Great app all around. ### 5/5 — Glitchy app *2026-07-23* I want to support independent bookstores but this app is driving me nuts. Every time I close the app at the last page I read, it never opens to that page. It usually opens to the chapter, but then I have to search for where I left off. Am I missing a setting? Certainly that would be an easy fix. Also the app is hard to take notes or highlight passages. The entire page moves with my Apple Pencil or turns the page when my hand rests on the screen to write/highlight. **Developer response:** Thank you for helping us support local bookstores! We're sorry to hear about the issues you've been experiencing with bookmarking and highlighting. The good news is our small, but mighty, team is actively working to solve these issues and you should see significant improvements in an upcoming app release. If, after the upcoming app release, you are still experiencing these issues, please email us at help@booshop.org so we can help troubleshoot further. ### 5/5 — Great on mobile and tablet *2026-07-20, version 2.6.0* I really enjoy using this app. It does what it needs to do and does it in a clean and intuitive way. I do wish they had a version optimized for desktop. I like to read on my MacBook and the experience on the app is fine, but it’s just using the tablet version. I can imagine a pretty slick version for desktop if they know that the demand is there for it to be developed. ### 5/5 — Thrilled to avoid Amazon *2026-07-19, version 2.6.0* I’m thrilled to find an online store where I can buy books that’s not Amazon. I’m also happy to support independent bookstores. I’ve been able to find what I was looking for and have had no problems at all.Bookshop.org really fills a need. ### 5/5 — Better way to read digital books *2026-07-06, version 2.5.0* If you love bookstores, you’ll love this digital book reader that keeps them around. Save space for more physical books by reading digitally from Bookshop and keep books from being monopolized by one company! ### 5/5 — Buy your books here!! *2026-06-29, version 2.4.0* Support your choice of local bookstore while you buy books online. Great service and prices. Do it!!! --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-18.*