NetGalley Shelf vs Book Lovers App
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NetGalley Shelf
Access and review digital books and audiobooks provided by publishers and authors. Discover new titles, download them for offline reading, or stream audiobooks directly within the app. This platform is designed for book advocates and industry professionals to provide valuable feedback.
- Access digital review copies
- Listen to audiobooks
- Download books for offline reading
- Stream audiobooks
- Discover new titles
- Request and review books
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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.
Book Lovers App
This app provides a dedicated community for fans of African American literature. Discover exclusive stories, engage with authors and fellow readers, and explore a curated selection of Black writers, both contemporary and classic.
- Community for Black readers
- Explore African American literature
- Exclusive stories
- Author engagement
- Peer interaction
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Book Lovers is a platform founded by New York Times best-selling author Ashley Antoinette. It is a place for her fans of African American literature to indulge in Black writers both new and old. Exclusive stories, unheard of engagement, and peer interaction is available inside the app.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Book Lovers App at 4.0 against NetGalley Shelf's 2.1. Book Lovers App also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 6 months) and review sentiment (34% vs 20%). NetGalley Shelf's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and chart position (#184 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Book Lovers App sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. NetGalley Shelf asks for nothing beyond the download.
Book Lovers App holds the better App Store score, 4.0 against 2.1. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 87 and 148 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of NetGalley Shelf's written reviews are positive against 34% of Book Lovers App's.
NetGalley Shelf ships an update every 6 months, Book Lovers App every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NetGalley Shelf | Book Lovers App |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.1 (87 ratings) | 4.0 (148 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 19.9% of reviews | 34.2% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 87 | 148 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | #184 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 12.4 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 24 MB | 23 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | NetGalley, LLC | Book Lovers Corp. |
Customer experience
NetGalley Shelf
Book Lovers App
User reviews
NetGalley Shelf
From 87 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Works fine for some users
- 👍 Keeps user logged in
- 👍 Audiobooks work well
- 🚀 Able to read ebooks
Room to improve
- 🐛 Narration speed issues
- 🐛 Confusing interface
- 🔒 Login issues
- 🐛 Bookmarks and positions don't sync
- 🐛 No built-in dictionary
Book Lovers App
From 148 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 💖 Love the concept of the app
- 🌟 Lots of content and potential
- 📚 Great books available
- ✨ App is pretty
- 💯 Author goes above and beyond
Room to improve
- 💰 Perceived as money-hungry
- 📉 Expensive books
- 📚 Short books
- ✍️ Many typos
- ⏳ Pre-orders with no release date
Bugs and requests
NetGalley Shelf
Reported bugs
5 issues- Login issues
- Downloading issues with audiobooks
- Books disappearing from shelf
- Inability to remove expired books
- Inconsistent behavior when opening books
Requested features
7 requests- Add ability to write reviews within the app
- Improve audiobook playback controls
- Add font size adjustment
- Implement dark mode
- Sync reading progress across devices
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Add highlighting and note-taking features
- Improve organization and sorting of books
Book Lovers App
Reported bugs
37 issues- App does not work
- Cannot create an account
- Never receive email replies
- App rarely works
- Constantly have to log in/out
Show 32 moreShow fewer
- Delete and redownload app
- Sign-up process difficult with Voiceover
- Cannot toggle Voiceover checkbox
- Goes back to the beginning when stopped
- No way to jump to page
- Starts over every time a break is taken
- No way to type in page number
- Won't let me sign up without logging me out
- Error message every time the app is opened
- Tired of logging in completely
- App won't let me create an account
- Code to confirm email is wrong
- App closes when entering name, email, password
- Error 400 when creating account
- User or email address does not exist
- No response for help
- Error message when creating account
- Not verified after account creation
- No place to use verification code
- App has a glitch
- Book not in library after purchase
- Password glitch, app crashes on reset
- Ran out of attempts to reset password
- Cannot create an account on iPhone
- Alert when trying to create account
- Money taken out but book not accessible
- Cannot open purchased book
- Cannot access purchased ebook
- Book disappeared from library
- User does not exist alert
- Cannot open book to read
- Cannot access book in library
Requested features
9 requests- Search by author, book type, or paid books
- More details in story time section
- In-app merchandise purchasing
- Adjustable font size
- Bookmarks for reading progress
Show 4 moreShow fewer
- Table of contents for chapter jumping
- Highlighting feature in ebooks
- Dark mode option
- Advanced search filters
In-app purchases
NetGalley Shelf
No in-app purchases
Book Lovers App
- Premium Membership$9.991 Month
- When Eve Met AdamFree
- Butterfly 4Free
- Butterfly 5$4.99
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- AGDAFN$7.99
- Twin Flame$7.99
- Birds of a Feather$7.99
- The Invitation$9.99
- Butterfly 5$9.99
- Butterfly 4$14.99
Questions
Is NetGalley Shelf free?
Is Book Lovers App free?
Which has better reviews, NetGalley Shelf or Book Lovers App?
Do NetGalley Shelf or Book Lovers App have ads?
Which is updated more often, NetGalley Shelf or Book Lovers App?
Other comparisons
