# Bookshop.org: Read/Buy Ebooks — user reviews > 161 indexed App Store user reviews of Bookshop.org by Bookshop, Inc., rated 4.70/5 from 1,663 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshoporg-readbuy-ebooks/id6465290096/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/bookshoporg-readbuy-ebooks/id6465290096.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 1,403 · 4★ 152 · 3★ 64 · 2★ 25 · 1★ 19 ## What do users think of Bookshop.org? Overall sentiment: positive **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 161) ### 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! ### 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. ### 2/5 — Too buggy to use *2026-06-12* Just installed it today, and found the highlighting laggy to the point where I thought I hadn’t pressed the right button. I tried again and yet again only to have text show up a few seconds later triple highlighted, which layered on so much color that I couldn’t read the underlying text. The only way to remove the highlight was go to the “notes and highlights” list and delete the highlights (in triplicate) there. I thought that perhaps quitting the program and restarting would help. I did so, but now when I run up the app, it just hangs at the splash screen and shows me a balloon. Can’t even get to my library. **Developer response:** Thank you for the feedback and for helping us support local bookstores! We're sorry to hear about the frustration you've experienced with highlighting - that is very frustrating. Rest assured the team has been hard at work to resolve the highlighting issues. If you continue to experience this difficulty while on the most recent version of the app, please email us at help@bookshop.org so we can assist further. ### 2/5 — Glitchy app *2026-05-20, version 2.2.0* 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. ### 5/5 — My favorite reading app *2026-05-14, version 2.1.3* It’s still pretty new but they keep updating this app often and when I’ve emailed about bugs a real person responds and cares! I love buying ebooks and supporting indie stores, I love the settings for font and background. I use mostly on my Palma so I can read this app on an e-ink screen. I hope it keeps getting even better! ### 5/5 — Great custom options! *2026-05-09, version 2.1.3* I’m a big fan of the ability to read in the size, spacing, and orientation of my choice! ### 4/5 — Great app, a few bugs *2026-05-06* I am so grateful that this app exists! I use it every day and am so happy to support independent booksellers. A couple of glitches get in the way: first, the books I’m reading don’t always return to the page I left off on when I re-open the app. Sometimes it opens on the first page, sometimes on a random page. Addressable with bookmarks, but I don’t always remember. Second, sometimes a book I’ve already downloaded won’t open if I’m not on WiFi (e,g., on an airplane). **Developer response:** Thank you for the feedback and for helping us support local bookstores! The reading position memory and WiFi issues are frustrating, and we're sorry you've encountered them. The team has been hard at work to resolve both of these problems, and you should no longer be encountering them. If you continue to while on the most recent version of the app, please email us at help@bookshop.org so we can assist further. ### 3/5 — Syncing is not good *2026-05-05, version 2.1.3* This is a serviceable app for reading ebooks. However, it does a very poor job of syncing reading place between devices. ### 5/5 — Boycott amazon *2026-05-04, version 2.1.3* Good portal, hoping the bezos doesn’t profit Off theo ### 5/5 — Fantastic resource *2026-05-04, version 2.1.3* I love that I can buy e-books and audiobooks easily without having to give my money to a big corporation. Instead I can continue to support my favorite local bookstore while conveniently reading an e-book. Perfection! ### 4/5 — Mostly good *2026-04-24, version 2.1.2* I love supporting local bookstores. I don't love that the app has lost my place in the book multiple times. With updates, when I haven't opened in a few days, there's nothing consistent about when I'll go in and not be where I left. Plus, I have my device offline often, which seems to cause hiccups even though it's only once or twice been a problem with my library app. ### 3/5 — Password reset doesn’t work *2026-04-15, version 2.1.1* So frustrating because the password reset isn’t working. I tried several times. Completely locked out of my account. Waited half an hour like they suggested. No way to open a help ticket for this problem. ### 4/5 — Come along way. Excited to see future updates *2026-03-18* The app has definitely come a long way since its initial launch and is only improving as time goes on. Things I would love to see in the feature are 1) viewing my ebook wishlist in the app itself instead of the pop out 2) easier way to search store by author, currently with some of them you have to search by title if you want something to pull up 3) the highlights to be able to choose different colors, currently it’s only at one. 4) better alignment on annotation, when I go to annotate something no matter how many times I try with certain areas it wants to cut off a word or part of a sentence so it’s not annotating properly. 5) ability to share quotes from the book with cool or basic background designs to choose from **Developer response:** We appreciate the review and honest feedback! We are continuously expanding our catalog. Hopefully it that means we'll have those indie and self published authors you love sooner than later. If you have any specific requests on this front please don't hesitate to send those to our customer service team at info@bookshop.org ### 5/5 — Good alternative to kindle *2026-03-16, version 2.1.0* Works so far very well, I have used the kindle app for more than 15 years and found the kindle often buggy and annoying to use. This one works really well so far, especially considering how little resources they have compared to the big A. ### 5/5 — Love this app! *2026-03-02, version 2.0.8* Terrific way to buy ebooks and support independent bookstores. It keeps me off Amazon and works very well. I have no complaints. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 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 ### 1/5 — Can only export one highlight at a time!? *2025-05-23, version 1.1.8* Anybody who reads books for research needs to be able to export more than one highlight at a time. This is a joke, not for serious readers. ### 1/5 — Hard to read from this app. *2025-01-31* You can’t adjust the font type, font size, background color or brightness. That makes it very hard to read from this app for people who don’t have perfect eyesight. ### 2/5 — Glitchy app *2026-07-23, version 2.6.1* 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. ### 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?? ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 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 — 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!!! ### 5/5 — Bookshop rocks! *2026-06-25, version 2.3.3* Love the ebooks, quick checkout. ### 5/5 — More Convenient Than Others…and supports local! *2026-06-15, version 2.3.1* I love using this app! Every time I open it there’s a new “something” it can do, I’m having so much fun exploring it! Much more intuitive than others, and takes up less space. Love to support local bookstores while I’m reading! ### 5/5 — I love this site *2026-06-13, version 2.3.1* ❤️❤️❤️ ### 5/5 — What a wonderful find! *2026-06-06, version 2.3.0* So glad I found bookshop and this app! Such a pleasure to use and a wonderful alternative to Amazon. ### 5/5 — Awesome *2026-05-30, version 2.2.0* User friendly --- *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 2026-09-01.*