RedShelf

Shown for US

• Free

Last verified 31 Jul 2026

Shown for US

4.5 7079 ratings · App Store

1. 5/5It has your book

   That’s the positive side. Compared to other apps that I use for buying my books, such as Pearson/Revel, it performs poorly. It would be nice if it did a better job of syncing where I left off in the app to when I access itthrough the website. Also, the robotic voice is off-putting. One thing I love about the Revel app is that it has real humans reading the chapters back to you. Since I use the app on my hours commute to school/work I’ll press play & listen to the robot. They could do a simple improvement of letting you adjust the rate of speed at which the robot reads back to you. Instead, I have to listen at their slow robotic pace. Also, if you add that adjustment, maybe you could consider letting me pick where I want the robot to stop/start reading. Revel forces you to have to listen to them from the beginning of the chapter, and although a humans voice sounds much better than a robot, it’s not the most productive.

   Xavier87 · 31 Jul 2026

2. 2/5New to e-textbooks

   I am new to e-textbooks. I figured since I have an iPad I would just get my books on there and only carry one device rather than four books. I, of course, didn’t know the restrictions that I would have on the app. I have an iPad Pro 12.9” screen. I figured that it’s big enough, even in landscape mode, to fit the book to the screen. It doesn’t I still have to scroll almost half way down the page to read. Also, what is with the arrows, I would like to just slide the page to turn it. Whether it be straight across or turn like a page, I have to push the arrow to turn the page. There are far better readers available. Another issue that I think that could be better is the reading. If I am going to have it read to me, I would like for it to use the punctuation. It reads right past the punctuation and just continues on as if it wasn’t even there. Being this is an e-book, why is it not allowed to be used from a reader of my choice? A plus is that customer service was right on top of my problem. My problem was resolved the next day, though there should have been one, but nothing is perfect and they fixed it. I know our complaints are nit picky, but this is school, and it’s hard enough with the restrictions. I need a little more comfort in what I am doing so that I can have freedom to search. It seems that the school picked the most strict company to be used for our e-textbooks. If this is the way it will be in the future, I will be using a different platform, not RedShelf. If they can make the reader more user friendly then that would be acceptable.

   kj.cline · 31 Jul 2026

3. 1/5Abysmal

   If I could use any other app I would. DRM means one text book I am required to use in locked into this terrible app indefinitely. The issues are compounded by the choice of the publisher to release a PDF ebook instead of any proper ebook format. As such, the rendering of the pages is static - no font or color or contrast options. That’s the point where the deficiencies of this app become apparent. One star for RedShelf being consistent: the web browser access is just as bad as the mobile app and performs identically. Pages are slow to load and flash loading graphics at every single page turn. Despite pinch-zoom being a feature on nearly every multi-touch surface, RedShelf requires clicking single buttons for zoom in or out. The rest of the DRM friendly features (limits on copy or print) make accessing information even more challenging if the text layout is locked into a US letter shaped page - which has no scale that fits a whole page fully legible on screen. Free ebook readers have more features than RedShelf. Other textbook distributors have apps that while just as restrictive, at least load the pages smoothly and instantly. Maybe I got the fringe case of the worst optimized book in their catalog, but that indicates a commitment to capitalism not education. Quality is judged by sampling and my sample was a complete dud.

   tx2684 · 31 Jul 2026

4. 1/5Avoid

   I don’t believe I’ve ever written a review on the App Store before, but this e-textbook reader is so terrible that it invokes the saying, “there’s a first time for everything”. Like other reviewers have said, the app - even the desktop web reader - is absolutely atrocious. This is the worst e-textbook reader. RedShelf does not load pages in a timely manner, automatically logs you out after a shorter period than the other readers, is plagued with crippling DRM, and saving an offline download on the desktop version through bookmarking (as they direct) has literally - yes, literally - never worked. The worst broken mechanism, however: the search function. Most of the time it will either fail to load relevant results, load at all, or even crashes the application. I have had better luck and quicker results by going page by page to find a specific word or term, rendering one of the biggest perks of an e-textbook moot. Once again, same goes for the desktop version. Sick and tired of this e-textbook reader and genuinely know how it’s managed to finagle a 4.6 star rating. I would pay a premium to find my textbook elsewhere, be it VitalSource (which is far superior) or even Wiley Reader. To reiterate, I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever written a review on the App Store. Do better; it’s that bad.

   mKohler6 · 31 Jul 2026

5. 1/52 years of experience with this app and much of that time is spent cursing this app.

   My review won’t matter. Some noob who has just downloaded this app will write a 5 star review and wash my real, tried and true, review out. I have used this app for 2 years, only because the company has a monopoly on digital books. This should be completely illegal. Why is it that every digital college text book has to be through this horrific app. Much of my time has been wasted waiting for loading pages, images to generate, and because the session times out. If you look down to work out a homework problem, I guarantee you will have to reload the entire app which takes varying amount of time you’ll spend waiting. Do you want to use the index? Good luck! You’ll waste 10 minutes flipping back and forth. I hate this company with every fiber of my being. Your company is not STEM major focused at all! You hate us and only want more money. Guarantee that the company culture there is terrible and the employees hate their jobs too. When I have to buy a textbook and I see that I have to get a digital copy, I cry a little knowing I am giving this company more money just to continue screwing over students.

   Salty Goose 079 · 31 Jul 2026

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