# London Review of Books — Books, politics and ideas

> Europe's leading magazine for books, politics, and ideas, available digitally. (iPhone/iPad app by LRB Limited.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/london-review-of-books/id895291232 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [LRB Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/762506905)
- Category: Magazines & Newspapers, News
- Price: Free with in-app purchases
- Rating: 4.90/5 from 3,207 App Store ratings · 179 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 16.0 · 20 MB
- Languages: British English
- Released: 2014-09-04
- Data updated: 2026-08-28
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/london-review-of-books/id895291232/reviews.md

## What is London Review of Books?

The London Review of Books is Europe’s leading magazine of books and ideas.
 
Published twice a month, the LRB is home to the most exciting writing on literature, history, politics, philosophy, art, poetry and more.

Already a subscriber? Simply install the app and sign in with your LRB website login details.

App features
- Read the LRB anywhere, even offline
- Get the latest issue on Wednesday, before it hits the newsstand
- Save articles for later reference
- Resize text for easy reading
- Dark mode option
- Access ten years of the LRB dating back to 2014

Subscribing via the app
- The app is free to download and comes with a free preview issue
- Subscribers to the LRB magazine can access the app with their LRB website login and do not require a separate app subscription
- Subscriptions made via the app, however, do not include access to the LRB website and online archive
- In the app, you can purchase individual issues of the magazine or an annual subscription
- Subscriptions are charged to your Apple account and managed in App Store account settings
- All subscriptions automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the subscription period
- If your subscription lapses, you will still be able to read the issues published while you were an active subscriber

## Key features

- Offline reading
- Early access to new issues
- Save articles
- Adjustable text size
- Dark mode
- Archive access (2014 onwards)

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| London Review of Books | $99.99 | per year |

**One-time purchases**

| Purchase | Price | Type |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Volume 38 Number 13 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 38 Number 15 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 38 Number 16 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 39 Number 9 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 41 Number 19 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 41 Number 20 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 41 Number 24 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 42 Number 8 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 42 Number 16 | $4.99 | one-time |
| Volume 48 Number 14-15 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 48 Number 11 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 48 Number 13 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 48 Number 12 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 48 Number 10 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 47 Number 7 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 48 Number 1 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 47 Number 23/24 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 47 Number 22 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 47 Number 19 | $5.99 | one-time |
| Volume 47 Number 16 | $5.99 | one-time |


## Chart rankings

- #184 in Top Free · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)
- #119 in Top Grossing · Magazines & Newspapers (US App Store)

## What do users think of London Review of Books?

Overall sentiment: positive

**Pros**

- 🌟 Excellent publication
- 🌟 Wonderful writing
- 🌟 Insightful content
- 👍 Simple and clean interface
- 👍 Easy to navigate
- 🚀 Fast downloads

**Cons**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🔍 Limited search functionality
- 📚 Incomplete access to archive
- 🔧 Lacking customization options
- 💾 Issues with offline reading and bookmarking

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Frequent crashes when using dictionary lookup
- Issues with downloading and accessing new issues
- Problems with syncing progress across devices

**Most requested features**

- Add search function
- Improve offline reading capabilities
- Implement bookmarking and progress tracking
- Provide more font and theme options
- Integrate with web subscription for full archive access

## Recent user reviews (10 of 179)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/london-review-of-books/id895291232/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Love it!

*2026-08-19, version 4.4*

I really enjoy this subscription, but it’s a little blinky. IRight now I can’t figure out how to view any issue except the current one- what happened to the archive?

Update: I searched the question online and see that the archive has a separate web address.  So no problems, perfectly happy.  I also got a response from the developer on this- they are very helpful.

### 1/5 — Appalling subscriber support

*2026-07-22, version 4.4*

The paper is great and the app is very good, but customer service is appalling. It proved impossible to renew a gift subscription. They charged me three times (eventually refunded). Then they locked me out of the app before my sub had ended. Finally sorted out (with an entirely new subscription); hopefully no more problems.

### 3/5 — Please enable immersive reading option

*2026-07-03, version 4.4*

The app works great but with this caveat - When reversing the scrolling direction of Saved articles, The 'Saved' ribbon and the back button appear on top and vanish, once resuming the normal scrolling direction. This affects the reading experience. If the 'Saved' ribbon and the back button will only come up upon tapping or some such control, it would result in a seemless reading experience. Kindly consider to include this feature.

### 5/5 — Eye Candy

*2026-05-27, version 4.4*

My eyes are not assaulted by ads. Best reading experience of any news app.

### 5/5 — Approve

*2026-04-20, version 4.4*

Love that the app has a dark mode and zero distractions whilst reading.

### 5/5 — Get it. Read it.

*2025-12-28, version 4.4*

Best combination of essays available today on what’s new in books and on what’s new (or old) in culture, in art, and in politics. Endlessly sharp and entertaining.

### 5/5 — Great App

*2025-12-18, version 4.4*

I love the LRB. The App is easy to search and find articles and save them. I wish it still had a dedicated space for saving the ones you want to read later.

### 1/5 — Great writing, awful app

*2025-12-08, version 4.4*

The LRB has some of the best writing in the UK, no doubt, but the app is dreadful - even if you can get it to recognise your subscription number, which will likely involve a battle, it’s very poorly designed. There are no options to increase font size or boldness (the text colour looks very cool, but is not good for those with poorer eyesight), nor any other options that readers might enjoy to make the best use of the technology. It’s still worth subscribing, but prepare to wait a long time for a response from technical support when the app won’t let you sign in.

### 1/5 — Appalling subscriber support

*2025-12-05, version 4.4*

The paper is great and the app will s very good, but customer service is appalling. It proved impossible to renew a gift subscription. They charged me three times (eventually refunded). Now they’ve locked me out of the app before my sub has ended.

### 5/5 — A publication you cannot afford to be withou

*2025-10-15, version 4.3*

A totally indispensable fortnightly arrival - the breadth of its subject matter never fails to amaze (and instruct).

## Frequently asked questions about London Review of Books

### What is the London Review of Books app?

The app provides digital access to the London Review of Books, Europe's leading magazine for books, politics, and ideas. It features in-depth articles on literature, history, philosophy, art, poetry, and more, published twice a month.

### What are the key features of the app?

Key features include reading issues offline, getting the latest issue before it hits newsstands, saving articles for later, resizing text for comfortable reading, a dark mode option, and access to a decade of the magazine's archive dating back to 2014.

### How much does the app cost?

The app is free to download and includes a free preview issue. You can purchase individual issues or an annual subscription through the app. Existing subscribers to the print magazine can access the app using their website login details without an additional subscription.

### Can I read the magazine offline?

Yes, one of the main features of the app is the ability to read the London Review of Books anywhere, even offline. This allows you to enjoy articles and issues without an internet connection.

### What if my subscription lapses?

If your subscription lapses, you will still be able to read the issues that were published during the period you were an active subscriber. This ensures you don't lose access to content you've already paid for.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.4 — 2025-10-23

Updated messaging to help new users get started using the app

### 4.3 — 2025-09-24

Articles will now remember your progress, so when you return, you can pick up exactly where you left off.

### 4.2 — 2024-07-11

Bug fixes and performance improvements

### 4.1 — 2024-04-15

App improvements and performance enhancements

### 4.0 — 2023-09-11

Support for new iOS and iPadOS versions, dark mode support and bug fixes.

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*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 2026-08-28.*