Yomu EBook Reader 4+

Solid replacement for Marvin

I’ve been a dedicated Marvin user for years, and was shocked and disgruntled when I upgraded my device and realized I could no longer download that reader. Thus began the quest to replace it with something that had similar functionality.

One of the posts I read suggested Yomu, and I tried it alongside a couple of others, finally settling here. The overall interface is simple, without the huge catalog of options Marvin had, but accomplishes the major points flawlessly. Everything syncs across devices perfectly- in fact if you load a book on iPhone it’ll automatically load to iPad as well, and the progress sync is actually easier and more consistent than Marvin was.

All the normal connections to Calibre, Dropbox, etc seem to work well, and it flawlessly changes fonts, shades, and night modes as needed. One very minor improvement would be accessing the table of contents feels a little buried behind multiple clicks, but no biggie.

Overall we have a product here that carries the best of the reader traditions forward- thanks Yomu, I’ll get comfortable and stay awhile!

Good reader with one exception

This was a good reader except every single time I swipe right (to review something on the previous page), it takes me out of the book and back to the library. I then have to search for the book I’m reading in the library and re-open it. Since I go back to previous pages quite frequently, this is pretty frustrating and renders this reader unusable to me. I don’t know if it’s just a glitch on the paid version, I’ve never had an app do this -and I’ve been using ereaders going back all the way to stanza 😀 I’d be happy to go back to it if this issue is addressed.

Response to developers:
Why does the swipe right take back to library? There’s a button at the top that seems to do that - and in all other reading apps, that’s the way to go back to library. Swiping to go back to library seems rather asinine since swiping right is also the way to go back to the previous page.
Considering the large size of phones now, it is rather hard to one-handedly swipe from the middle of the screen since I have smaller hands. I don’t expect to have to use both hands to turn pages on a reading app. If I wanted to do that, I’d just read a hard copy book.

Developer Response ,

You seem to navigate back by swiping from the side of the screen? This is a standard gesture in many apps. Try scrolling from the center or tapping right/left to go to the next/previous page. Refer to the Get Started Guide if you have trouble using the app: https://www.yomu-reader.com/support/guide/get-started/

Not a good replacement for Marvin

So I was really surprised at all the great reviews for this app. I am only going to list the issues: Firstly, loading books is a two step process. With many apps (and this is a boon for someone with a large library) you just drag the files into app files in finder and they auto load. With this one, the next step is you have to click on each one to install. Yes, there is an option to select all but it selects a random 100 of the "all" and imports them. Then since you have no idea which 100, it just keeps doing the same 100 and removes the ones it installed and put's them back. No one wants to add a large library book by book so the import system is horrible. Secondly for sorting. It's really lacking in options. Default sorts by title and you can click to see author. There is no series or manual sort. And lastly (for me, I deleted the app even after paying for it) the reading experience was not great. I set up font, margins & background for my book. Then I exited and looked to see if the setup saved by clicking on another book. IT DOES NOT. You have to repeat this procedure for every book. How this ever got high stars I will never know. Marvin! I miss you

Developer Response ,

Thanks for your feedback. You can sort your library by title, author, recently read or custom order. Preferences like font or margins can be saved as your own default and loaded for any or all books. The app is quite easy to use, but if you are having difficulties or want to learn more about how to import books, I would suggest you read the Get Started Guide or browse the FAQ. Hope this helps: https://www.yomu-reader.com/support/