# NetGalley Shelf — reading & listening app

> App for NetGalley members to read and listen to publisher-provided digital review copies. (iPhone/iPad app by NetGalley, LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/netgalley-shelf/id1499581600 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [NetGalley, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1499581599)
- Category: Books, Entertainment
- Price: Free
- Rating: 2.10/5 from 77 App Store ratings · 298 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 24 MB
- Languages: American English, Basque, Catalan, Croatian, French (France), Galician, German (Germany), Italian, Japanese, European Portuguese and 3 more
- Released: 2020-07-12
- Data updated: 2026-08-27
- Monetization: free
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/netgalley-shelf/id1499581600/reviews.md

## What is NetGalley Shelf?

NetGalley Shelf is a reading and listening app for NetGalley members. NetGalley helps publishers and authors promote digital review copies and audiobooks to book advocates and industry professionals. Publishers make digital review copies and audiobooks available for the NetGalley community to discover, request, read, and review.

NetGalley does not sell any content, including books or audiobooks. Each book on NetGalley is provided to specific members by the publisher directly, at no cost to the NetGalley member. Books on the NetGalley site are used for review and promotional purposes only.

Users of the NetGalley Shelf app will need to register as NetGalley members on NetGalley.com or NetGalley.co.uk, then all your approved NetGalley books and audiobooks will automatically appear in this app. No need to press Download on the NetGalley website!
 
Reading is easy and convenient using the NetGalley Shelf app. Download approved books for access on the go, or start listening right away with streaming for audiobooks.

## Key features

- Access digital review copies
- Listen to audiobooks
- Download books for offline reading
- Stream audiobooks
- Discover new titles
- Request and review books

## Chart rankings

- #166 in Top Free · Book (US App Store)

## What do users think of NetGalley Shelf?

Overall sentiment: negative

**Pros**

- 🚀 Works fine for some users
- 👍 Keeps user logged in
- 👍 Audiobooks work well
- 🚀 Able to read ebooks

**Cons**

- 🐛 Narration speed issues
- 🐛 Confusing interface
- 🔒 Login issues
- 🐛 Bookmarks and positions don't sync
- 🐛 No built-in dictionary
- 🐛 Limited font and formatting customization
- 🐛 Audiobooks have quality issues
- 🐛 Audiobooks stop unexpectedly
- 🐛 Difficult to navigate
- 🐛 Crashes frequently
- 🐛 Doesn't remember reading position
- 🐛 Formatting issues
- 🐛 Slow performance
- 🐛 Glitchy scrolling
- 🐛 Difficult to remove downloads

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Login issues
- Downloading issues with audiobooks
- Books disappearing from shelf
- Inability to remove expired books
- Inconsistent behavior when opening books

**Most requested features**

- Add ability to write reviews within the app
- Improve audiobook playback controls
- Add font size adjustment
- Implement dark mode
- Sync reading progress across devices
- Add highlighting and note-taking features
- Improve organization and sorting of books

## Recent user reviews (10 of 298)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/netgalley-shelf/id1499581600/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Not user friendly

*2026-08-20, version 1.4.0*

If I could give it zero stars, I would. It is the must difficult app ever! I gave up on this app years ago, only to win a book from an author who wanted to send it through Google. It won’t work! Based on the poor ratings, I’m not the only one who thinks this, either.

### 1/5 — Used to be perfect.

*2026-08-08, version 1.4.0*

The accessibility reader on here used to be good, and I like that there is a sleep timer incorporated into it. 

Several months ago, there must’ve been an update for bug or something, but now the accessibility reader is essentially unusable. The pages flipped back-and-forth during each sentence. This makes it quite literally impossible to read along.

### 2/5 — Not user friendly

*2026-08-02, version 1.4.0*

The issue I have is that page I flip to is not the next one but the page after. It’s also crashing and closing down frequently. Not sure if I am going to continue using .

### 1/5 — Worse than worthless

*2026-07-30, version 1.4.0*

Can’t even get my titles to load. It just sits there with the spinning wheel of death for minutes on end. No way to log out and back in, and force closing doesn’t help. I want to be able to review these books but this app is actively hurting my review ratio. Edited to add that support told me to try deleting the app and reinstalling. If your app is so dysfunctional that this is your best solution, then you have a bad app.

### 1/5 — Cant log in

*2026-06-09, version 1.4.0*

When this app works it’s great, but on my ipad it stopped syncing my library and now when I try to login to see my books there, it just redirects me to the website, i put in my correct log in info, but then both the mobile app and mobile webpage act like i haven’t logged in at all, and the cycle starts all over again. Just want to read my arcs outside on my tablet this summer, but alas.

### 1/5 — Worse than worthless

*2026-05-13, version 1.4.0*

Can’t even get my titles to load. It just sits there with the spinning wheel of death for minutes on end. No way to log out and back in, and force closing doesn’t help. I want to be able to review these books but this app is actively hurting my review ratio.

### 1/5 — App doesnt work

*2026-05-04, version 1.4.0*

Every time I login or try to contact help, the Paige doesn’t navigate me as expected. How am I supposed to get my content if the website is directing me to the app but the app doesn’t work?

### 1/5 — Ne marche pas

*2026-04-06*

L’application n’est pas reliée à mon compte. Aucun livre n’apparaît. Il vaut mieux passer par le site internet.

### 1/5 — Incredibly User Unfriendly

*2026-04-04, version 1.4.0*

*Edit, to be clear, this is a review of the unusual separate/tandem system of this app and the associated website. I’m sure the app is functioning as expected, but the system in general is inefficient. 

I’ve had this thing forever and have never had access to Pending requests (on app or site) so no idea if they get approved or not. Which obviously makes it difficult to build a good profile. This an incredibly valuable community but it could be so much simpler.

### 3/5 — could be so much better

*2026-04-03, version 1.4.0*

i keep skipping to the next chapter on accident when i swipe wrong and i wish there were options to customize the text

## Frequently asked questions about NetGalley Shelf

### What is NetGalley Shelf?

NetGalley Shelf is a reading and listening application designed for members of NetGalley. It allows users to access and review digital advance reader copies (ARCs) and audiobooks provided by publishers and authors. The app facilitates discovering, requesting, reading, and reviewing these promotional materials.

### How do I get books on NetGalley Shelf?

To use NetGalley Shelf, you must first register as a member on NetGalley.com or NetGalley.co.uk. Once you have an account and have been approved for specific books or audiobooks by publishers, they will automatically appear within the NetGalley Shelf app. You do not need to manually download them from the website.

### Is NetGalley Shelf free to use?

Yes, the NetGalley Shelf app is free to use for NetGalley members. Publishers provide the digital review copies and audiobooks through the NetGalley platform at no cost to the members. The app itself does not sell any content or have any associated fees for its use.

### Can I read books offline with NetGalley Shelf?

Yes, you can download approved books to your device for offline reading. This feature allows you to access your review copies conveniently on the go, even without an internet connection. Audiobooks can be streamed directly within the app.

### What kind of content can I find on NetGalley Shelf?

NetGalley Shelf provides access to digital review copies of books and audiobooks from publishers and authors. These are typically advance copies intended for review and promotional purposes. The platform does not sell any content; all materials are provided free of charge to approved NetGalley members for review.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.4.0 — 2024-08-13

Small improvements and bug fixes

### 1.3.2 — 2023-12-07

Small improvements and bug fixes

### 1.3.1 — 2023-11-01

Read Aloud now available for EPUBs and other small improvements and bug fixes.

### 1.3 — 2023-10-31

Read Aloud now available for EPUBs and other small improvements and bug fixes.

### 1.2 — 2022-11-15

Improvements for reading PDFs, other small fixes and improvements

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## Related topics

[netgalley](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/netgalley) · [netgalley shelf](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/netgalley-shelf) · [my media shelf](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/my-media-shelf)

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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 2026-08-27.*
