# Dear Reader — user reviews > 171 indexed App Store user reviews of Dear Reader by Local No. 12, LLC, rated 4.47/5 from 565 ratings. - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dear-reader/id1470280172/reviews - App overview in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/dear-reader/id1470280172.md - Rating breakdown: 5★ 428 · 4★ 53 · 3★ 29 · 2★ 13 · 1★ 36 ## What do users think of Dear Reader? Overall sentiment: positive **Pros** - 🚀 Engaging word puzzles - 📚 Variety of classic books - 👍 Relaxing gameplay - 💡 Unique concept of 'playing books' - 🤓 Helps improve reading and language skills - 🎨 Beautiful UI design **Cons** - 🐛 Crashes and bugs - 🔋 High battery consumption - 🤔 Heavily abridged book excerpts - 🙄 Repetitive daily challenges - 💰 Expensive rare books **Commonly reported bugs** - Game progress being deleted - Inability to exit the library - Crashes when trying to purchase rare books **Most requested features** - Add more modern and popular book titles - Option to read full unabridged books - Dark mode - Ability to report typos and errors - More varied and engaging goals/achievements ## Newest reviews (19 of 171) ### 3/5 — I was having fun until… *2026-02-16, version 3.11.0* I’ve been playing this game for a while now. I love it betas someone who has been labeled as dyslexic it’s a fun game. I do have just ONE issue. I’ve come across the daily challenges and there’s just one that’s super annoying. It’s where the words are switched places and you click one and it changes automatically. However for someone who (and to anyone who can do this) can basically “autocorrect” mentally and do not read it as an error it’s really frustrating. I actually skip the daily challenges because of this. ### 4/5 — Love the game but… *2025-11-22, version 3.10.0* Just wish it could be purchased without an Apple Arcade subscription. If it were, I would keep playing. ### 3/5 — Offensive content *2025-11-16, version 3.10.0* So, I have the daily challenge widget on my Home Screen, yeah? It includes a phrase from the daily chapter, which goes away once you play the challenge. It’s usually fine, but today is different. I open my phone today, and you know what I see in the Dear Reader widget? A phrase with the word “N*gro”. That isn’t okay! It’s racist! If that word is in the daily chapter, that’s fine. But I don’t want such language featured on my screen. Please fix this! ### 2/5 — Books Too Expensive *2025-08-08, version 3.9.0* I haven't tried the others, but I honestly don't like Dear Reader. I started playing it because I like Classical Literature so I thought this would be a cool way to engage in it. But while the game started out fun, it turned bad as it takes way too much ink to buy books and the later achievements to get Rare Book tokens are near impossible. It felt like ones of those micro transactions filled games without the microtransactions, as while I'm thankful it's free it's still wants you to spend too much time on it. One positive note is that it reignited my interest in classical literature and helped recommend some books I've never tried or even heard of before, so that was cool. ### 3/5 — Too many errors *2025-07-27, version 3.9.0* I thoroughly enjoy this game, and would have given it five stars; however, several times during play I have found errors that stop research progress (including titles with exactly four words not counting as a title with exactly four words, titles with all caps not counting as a title with all caps, etc.). I reached out to game support to notify them and nothing has changed. It’s discouraging, as I would love to play this game more, but can’t make progress with these types of errors. ### 4/5 — Missing one key feature *2025-06-16, version 3.9.0* I am thoroughly enjoying this game but I cannot fully recommend it due to one key flaw. As you play through the levels, there is no easy way to read what lies in between the excerpts. Of course you could separately acquire a copy (the app does link you to the text) but it would be a very useful feature if there was a mode you could turn on that would allow you to read what’s in between in the app. Without that, it is closer to just reading an abridged summary of the works than the true books. ### 5/5 — If you’ve lost touch with the reader in you… this will reconnect you! 🥰 *2025-05-21, version 3.8.1* Good News, Developers… Sadly, I am typically compelled to leave reviews only for terrible apps… That is not the case here! I am overjoyed to say that this is the first app that has ever reconnected me with a valuable part of my long lost self… the reader in me! I always took such great joy in but not so in recent years… It seems I’ve just moved further and further away from the beautiful gift that reading is to our lives. Thank you to the developers for creating this! I’m reading Emily Dickinson again!! I’m ecstatic! 🤩 Thank you! 🙏🏼 You know, that everything you see around you in life is the result of one person’s Thought and then of course collaboration happens… But I want to say thank you to that person who was so in love with reading they had to find a way to help others reconnect with their own deep, maybe Long lost reader self. What a treasure! Thank you ☺️ ### 5/5 — Clever way to get people reading again! *2025-04-05* Seriously I have not enjoyed reading this much in years. The books are old, but they are well loved classics. I would be willing to purchase newer books in order to 'play' them as well. Huge kudos to the developers who came up with the brilliant idea to bring books from many genres, times, and perspectives to today's readers in an accessible format! This is a gem! Suggestion: the currency used to purchase rare books should be able to be used to buy regular books too. I don't know how you choose which books are rare, but the ones in that category don't appeal to me nearly as much as the books in the regular catalog. That doesn't make sense- books in the rare section should be more appealing. Failing that, let us get books from the regular catalog as well. ### 5/5 — Love this game but needs newer books please *2025-04-01, version 3.8.1* I love reading, I love books.. and while I believe there’s nothing like a REAL paper book, this game is great and I love playing it. But like everyone else… I do believe it would be a great addition to add some newer books. I seen a suggestion about some Harry Potter books and I completely agreed with that statement!! Adding every single Harry Potter book to this would make it just that much better!!! Please try to do this on the next update plz and thank you. ### 5/5 — engaging game *2025-03-09, version 3.7.0* i'm not someone who normally goes for word games but this game is great! like everyone else reviewing this game, i do wish there were some newer books, but i understand that's probably hard for copyright reasons. even so, i think it has a good selection of books! i am not into reading classics and i didn't even know most of the books in this game but it has introduced me to many books that normally i never would have read but end up liking a lot. the puzzles are really fun and if you don't like one of them you can just turn them off ### 4/5 — Good *2025-02-16, version 3.7.0* As a big book lover I recommend this game I love it a lot because it’s fun but I wish there were newer books. I understand that classic books are being forgotten and they are amazing but I want Harry Potter, and please add more children’s books for younger people like me I want other options. I like the puzzles but some are a bit absurd and they sound weird I know it’s the books but it’s because they’re old like old language that’s why I want newer books please. So anyways I like this game but just add newer books ☺️✌️ ### 5/5 — Fantastic! *2024-12-10, version 3.7.0* A great and intellectual collection of books, powerful classics and stories. ### 5/5 — Love *2024-11-15, version 3.6.0* I love this game. It’s peaceful, it’s cozy. And love reading the books. ### 5/5 — Exemplary game riddle *2024-11-08, version 3.6.0* Unique and novel(no pun intended), it is THE perfect game for literature lovers. One notably recurring theme within the app is the mention of racism… which might find you thinking; “can’t we just have more books that really is just well-written for the sake of itself?” ### 4/5 — Fun *2024-10-31, version 3.6.0* Great game I just wish that I know what I’m getting with the chapter reward when I accidentally clicked on it. ### 5/5 — Newer books? *2024-10-17, version 3.6.0* I really love this game ( I’m a big book nerd ) but something I want ( even though I love the classics) is newer books like Percy Jackson or Harry Potter for the people who really want to read the books from their childhood and want to relive that part like when you read them for the first time ( in forever!) again! I love the games but please just think about that, maybe it will attract more people to the game? ### 4/5 — Love it *2024-10-09, version 3.6.0* I love this game! But I really want there to be book from the later 1900s and 2000s because it would be more fun doing this to books that people read that are newer. ### 2/5 — American Black Authors Not Wanted *2024-10-08, version 3.6.0* I greatly enjoy both the concept and execution of this game. The puzzles keep me engaged through the story, especially with being able to remove those which I do not find appealing (like the speed read). I do not even mind the focus on classical books. The old books are in danger of being forgotten which would be tragic; they have much to teach us. I take umbrage with the fact that there are no books from American Black authors. Zora Neal Hurston, Langston Hughes, James Baldwin, Mildred D. Taylor, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, August Wilson, Claude Brown. Give me somebody please. ### 2/5 — What a waste of “ink” *2024-09-29, version 3.6.0* I absolutely loved this game until I wasted vast amounts of “ink” to get their “rare” book Don Juan. Rare books in this game cost much more ink but are worth it (usually). In this case, don’t bother! We barely get any of the poem at all….never even meet the protagonist, only his mother. I truly feel I have been swindled and it’s put me off this great game. I did write and complain but received no reply. ## Most critical reviews (10 lowest-rated) ### 1/5 — No settings for sound *2024-09-22, version 3.6.0* This game forced me to play Pride and Prejudiced for over 5 chapters making me unable to hit the home button instead of next chapter After those five chapters while still being grayed out I was FINALLY able to go back to the Home Screen to try to find a way to turn off the sound. Which apparently there is no way of doing. 0 settings, yeah that cog wheel in the bottom right of the Home Screen? It does nothing. I sat there tapping it over 50 times. I just want to listen to my own things while playing this game but the sounds are way louder than what I want to listen to so it destroys my ears. ### 1/5 — wont even open *2024-02-19, version 3.0.0* any time i try to open the app it just opens a black screen. ive tried restarting my ipad, redownloading the app, everything. nothing works. i was excited to try this game :( ### 1/5 — Old dusty books *2023-10-24, version 2.7.1* Old dusty boring books, deleted ### 1/5 — No concern for neurodiversity *2023-09-26, version 2.7.1* The first time I downloaded the game, there was no tutorial so I thought it was just a book reading app. This time I tried it, the tutorial was ok…I wasn’t thrilled with having a book chosen for me, but ok. Then today I decided to try the daily challenge. I guess the developers assume that everyone is a speed reader. I hadn’t even gotten to the portion of the excerpt where the missing word belonged when the game took the word out and had me guess which one belongs there. I guessed correctly and had the same thing happen again. At that point I quit the game. I’m done…this game is supposed to be about reading and comprehension, not seeing how fast you can get through a paragraph or guessing which words belong in the sentence. ### 1/5 — Different book *2023-05-30, version 2.6.0* It won’t let me load a new book. It keeps loading P&P. ### 1/5 — Difficult to navigate *2023-05-29, version 2.6.0* Doesn’t save, sounds are annoying, music is annoying and the menu is unusable. ### 1/5 — Diversity is not celebrated *2022-12-10, version 2.5.0* Considering that this is a game offered in the Apple Arcade, they really need to do a better job of having titles from people other than old dead white people freely available. ### 1/5 — Terrible and boring *2022-08-23, version 2.4.0* No brainer ### 1/5 — Not interesting. *2022-07-13, version 2.4.0* Not a fan. The person playing should get more choice in what is read. Rearranging words in a work that you dislike is very off-putting as well as tedious. ### 1/5 — Just a black screen *2022-02-10, version 2.2.1* App doesn’t seem to even load. Have tried deleting and reinstalling. Looks fun though… ## Most praised reviews (10 highest-rated) ### 5/5 — Masterpiece! *2026-04-30, version 3.12.0* Unique, Insightful, Provocative, Comprehension Exercises, Direct engagement with words, rearranging syntax. A beautiful game, all the millions of readers worldwide, should immediately download and play this gem - they would cherish it! ### 5/5 — Hmmm *2026-04-05, version 3.12.0* I promise just read books. This is not a better experience just because it uses a technology. Reading books is more fun and you can find them on whatever app your local library uses. If you don’t follow my advice I’ll literally get you so ### 5/5 — My favorite game *2026-02-23, version 3.11.0* Dear Reader combines mostly classic literature with contemporary technology in a delightfully entertaining way. The different game types add to the fun of “reading” books that, as a busy adult, I would not have time to sit down and actually read. I enjoy the daily challenges and research quests, and appreciate the ability to change the difficulty. The variety of books is quite substantial and I feel as if I am not wasting as much time as when I play other games. ### 5/5 — Awesome *2025-12-14, version 3.11.0* Splendid 💯💯💯💯 ### 5/5 — Great game *2025-12-12, version 3.11.0* Overall an excellent game, although a word definition system would make it incredible. ### 5/5 — YES, but… *2025-11-14, version 3.10.0* Amazing game, but pleaase take off Apple Arcade, I would buy in a heartbeat, so many others too. Maybe add a few free books for new players to feel it out too. Regardless, amazing concept for a game, helped got me back into reading. ### 5/5 — Excellent game with minor complaints *2025-07-11, version 3.9.0* Love the game, it’s fun and engaging, easy to pick up and burn through some chapters whenever you have a couple minutes, loads fast even when connection is spotty. I do have some complaints, however I understand these border on personal preference and while they irk me a bit, it’s minor enough that I don’t feel it should warrant a lower rating. Chief among my complaints is the Editor’s Notes at the end of some chapters. The Editors/Devs seem entirely too focused on being snarky and progressive, rather than providing fun, interesting, or useful tidbits. It’s egregious enough that you can just feel it coming depending on whatever you’re reading. Do I really need constant reminders from Editor’s about feminism while i’m already reading a feminist work? Do I need a nudge in every piece of pre-1900s male-produced reminding me that things weren’t great for women or minorities in the past? It’s not about the content or stance, it’s that I’m being bludgeoned with things I already know when that time could be spent explaining specific information about a particular chapter or book. For example, in “Gulliver’s Travels” there’s a note about the context of England’s global expansion. Cool, I didn’t know that, that’s interesting. But then in something like “The Scarlet Letter” the notes boil down to “smh, men right?” It’s low effort and annoying making points that don’t need to be made because they’re universally understood. Another irritation is how the daily challenges reward you for diversifying what you’re reading, which has the downside of essentially punishing you for wanting to remain focused. To get the maximum amount of daily challenge points, you have to complete challenges across nine different books. Maybe it’s not an issue for some, but I can’t keep track of nine ongoing plots, and I don’t think it’s fair to be punished for it. Not to mention that in all likelihood, due to requirements of the challenges, it’ll far exceed nine books if you attempt the challenges multiple days in a row. I think I have around 20 ongoing books, of which there are three that i’m mainly focused on. Will I remember what i’ve already read in the other books by the time I’m ready to make them my focus? Probably not. ### 5/5 — Absolutely stunning! *2025-06-23, version 3.9.0* What a joy to find this app. I’m incredibly impressed with the layout and design. Encouraging readers to revisit the classics or pick up and read for the first time such wonderful books is to be congratulated. The diversity of book titles is amazing. I’m reminded of the joy in finding and reading many of this books in my youth. Thank you for designing an app which is actually educational and interesting. ### 5/5 — Love it!!🩷🩷 *2025-06-15, version 3.9.0* I love this game. I read a lot and I hope to get Little Women on here. I also have a suggestion. There should be an option to favorite books and chapters. Love this app. ### 5/5 — Love the wordy gameplay and intros/reintros to literature! *2025-05-25, version 3.8.1* This is not only very satisfying to play as a game, it is a delight to be introduced—or reintroduced—to books that shed some fascinating light on society and history. For newcomers, familiarise yourself with all the pages (i.e. the words and icons at the bottom of the pages, and menu choices at the top of the pages) and you'll be able to make more informed choices about which books to "spend" your ink on. --- *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 2026-08-09.*