Novelly FAQ

Question 1

What is Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Novelly is a swipe-based book discovery app with a library of over 62,000 books across 30 genres. You swipe through spoiler-free descriptions to discover your next great read. Swipe right to save a book to your reading list, or left to pass. The more you swipe, the smarter your recommendations become.

Question 2

How do I create an account on Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Tap "Sign Up," enter your email, password, and display name, and you're in. It's completely free.

Question 3

What happens during onboarding?

Accepted Answer

After signing up, you go through a quick setup: 1) Pick at least 3 genres you enjoy. 2) Optionally exclude genres you want to avoid. 3) Optionally mark books you've already read. This seeds the recommendation engine so your first swipe session is already personalized.

Question 4

How does swiping work on Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Drag a card right (or tap the Save button) to like a book. Drag left (or tap Pass) to skip it. You can also flick quickly - the app detects velocity, so a fast flick counts even if you don't drag far.

Question 5

What happens when I like a book?

Accepted Answer

The book is instantly added to your "To Read" list and a match reveal animation shows the cover, title, author, genres, and rating. From there you can view the book's full detail page or keep discovering.

Question 6

What happens when I pass on a book?

Accepted Answer

It's removed from your discovery queue. You won't see it again unless you reset your discovery history from your profile settings.

Question 7

What's the daily like limit?

Accepted Answer

You get 8 likes per day, resetting at midnight UTC. There's no limit on passes. The limit encourages thoughtful curation - saving books you genuinely want to read rather than collecting everything.

Question 8

What's the reading list cap?

Accepted Answer

You can have up to 100 books in your "To Read" list at once. Mark books as read or remove them to free up space.

Question 9

Can I get back books I passed on?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Go to Profile > Discovery Preferences > Reset Declined Books to bring back all previously passed books.

Question 10

How does the "Add to Discover Queue" button work?

Accepted Answer

On a book's detail page, tapping this prioritizes that book (and its similar titles) to appear next in your swipe deck. It's a great way to explore a genre or author you just discovered.

Question 11

How does Novelly decide which books to show me?

Accepted Answer

Novelly uses a blend of signals to find books you'll love, including your genre preferences, your swipe history, book quality ratings, community popularity, and a touch of randomness to keep things fresh.

Question 12

Does the algorithm learn from my behavior?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every like and dislike teaches it your taste. Rating books after reading them has an even stronger effect, so the more you engage, the better your recommendations become.

Question 13

What if I just signed up and have no history?

Accepted Answer

The app uses your chosen preferred genres from onboarding to give you a great starting mix. The more you swipe, the better it gets.

Question 14

Why do I sometimes see unexpected genres?

Accepted Answer

We intentionally mix in books outside your usual preferences to prevent filter bubbles and help you discover something unexpected you might love.

Question 15

Are book descriptions spoiler-free?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every description in the app is written to be spoiler-free. The original publisher descriptions (which may contain spoilers) are never shown to users.

Question 16

Where do liked books go?

Accepted Answer

They appear in My Books > "To Read" tab, ordered by when you saved them (most recent first).

Question 17

How do I mark a book as read?

Accepted Answer

In My Books, tap a book and mark it as "Read." You'll be prompted to rate it, which helps improve your future recommendations.

Question 18

How does the rating system work?

Accepted Answer

After marking a book as read, you can rate it: Thumbs up (loved it, boosts similar genres), Neutral (it was okay), or Thumbs down (didn't enjoy it, deprioritizes similar genres).

Question 19

What are custom bookshelves?

Accepted Answer

Named lists you create to organize books however you like - for example, "Summer Reading," "Book Club Picks," or "Gift Ideas." Free users get 3 lists, Curator and above get 10.

Question 20

Can I add a book to multiple lists?

Accepted Answer

Yes, books can belong to multiple custom bookshelves at the same time.

Question 21

How do I change my genre preferences?

Accepted Answer

Go to Profile > Discovery Preferences. You can update your preferred genres, excluded genres, minimum rating, and publication year range. Changes take effect immediately after saving.

Question 22

What do excluded genres do?

Accepted Answer

Books with any excluded genre are completely hidden from your discovery queue. They will never appear, even if they match your other preferences.

Question 23

What does the minimum rating filter do?

Accepted Answer

Only books with a Google Books rating at or above your threshold will appear. Set it to 0 to see all books regardless of rating.

Question 24

What does the year range filter do?

Accepted Answer

Limits your discoveries to books published within a specific range. For example, set 2000-2025 to only see modern books, or leave both blank to see books from any era.

Question 25

How do I mark books I've already read?

Accepted Answer

In Profile > Discovery Preferences > Books You've Already Read, search for and tap books to mark them. This helps the recommendation engine learn your taste and avoids showing you books you've finished.

Question 26

What are book clubs on Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Groups where you read together, discuss books, vote on what to read next, and schedule meetings - either in person at a library or custom location, or virtually with a meeting link.

Question 27

How do I create a book club?

Accepted Answer

Go to Clubs > Create. Choose a name, description, whether it's public or private, and optionally set a meeting location. The number of clubs you can create depends on your subscription tier.

Question 28

How do I join a book club?

Accepted Answer

You need an invite link or code from a club member. Open the link or go to Clubs and enter the invite code to join.

Question 29

What can book clubs do?

Accepted Answer

Polls (all tiers) - vote on which book to read next, the winning book automatically becomes the current read. Discussions (Curator+) - post messages and threaded replies in the club feed. Meetings (all tiers) - schedule in-person or virtual meetups with dates, times, and locations. Reading Challenges (Curator Pro) - set group reading goals with leaderboards.

Question 30

How many clubs can I have?

Accepted Answer

Free (Reader): 1 club, up to 5 members. Curator ($9.99/mo or $99/yr): 2 clubs, up to 15 members each. Curator Pro ($14.99/mo or $149/yr): 3 clubs, up to 30 members each.

Question 31

Can I moderate my book club?

Accepted Answer

Club creators can promote members to moderator. Moderators can pin and delete posts and manage discussions. Any member can report inappropriate content for review.

Question 32

What meeting location options exist?

Accepted Answer

Library - search from a nationwide database of real libraries. Custom - enter any address you like. Virtual - add a meeting link (Zoom, Google Meet, etc.). None - no set location.

Question 33

How do I add friends on Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Go to Friends > Find and search by email address. Send a friend request that they can accept or decline. You'll see pending requests in the Pending tab.

Question 34

What can friends see on my profile?

Accepted Answer

If your profile is public, anyone can see your reading list, stats, and achievements. If it's private, only accepted friends can see your reading activity.

Question 35

How do I make my profile private?

Accepted Answer

Go to Profile > Edit > toggle "Public Profile" off. Your reading list and stats will only be visible to accepted friends.

Question 36

What are achievements on Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Badges you earn for reading milestones. Categories include: Reading (book and page count milestones), Explorer (genre, century, and language diversity), Social (friendship milestones), Streaks (consecutive reading days), Author (loyal fan and author diversity), Discovery (book discovery patterns), and Club (club participation achievements).

Question 37

How do reading streaks work?

Accepted Answer

Mark a book as read on consecutive days to build your streak. Your current streak and longest-ever streak are displayed on your profile.

Question 38

How do I earn achievements?

Accepted Answer

They're awarded automatically when you hit milestones - like reading books across 5 different genres, finishing 10 books, or maintaining a 7-day streak. You'll see a celebration animation when you unlock one.

Question 39

What's free on Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Everything you need to discover and track books: swiping and discovering books, your reading list (100 book cap), 1 book club (up to 5 members), polls and meetings in clubs, 3 custom bookshelves, and all achievements and streaks.

Question 40

What does the Curator subscription add?

Accepted Answer

$9.99/month or $99/year (with a 7-day free trial): 2 clubs with up to 15 members each, club discussions and threaded replies, club achievements and custom icons, pin posts and assign moderator roles, email notifications for club activity, and 10 custom bookshelves.

Question 41

What does the Curator Pro subscription add?

Accepted Answer

$14.99/month or $149/year - everything in Curator, plus: 3 clubs with up to 30 members each, reading challenges with leaderboards, and push notifications for club activity.

Question 42

Can I cancel my Novelly subscription anytime?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Go to Profile > Club Subscription > Cancel. Your premium features stay active until the end of your current billing period.

Question 43

What notifications can I get on Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Email notifications (Curator+) - club activity like new posts, poll results, and meeting reminders. Push notifications (Curator Pro) - real-time alerts for the same events, delivered to your device.

Question 44

How do I turn notifications on or off?

Accepted Answer

Global toggles are in Profile > Notifications. You can also control notifications per-club from each club's settings.

Question 45

Do I need the app installed for push notifications?

Accepted Answer

Push works in the browser via Web Push. If you've installed Novelly as a native app on iOS or Android, native push notifications are also supported.

Question 46

How do I change my password?

Accepted Answer

Use the Forgot Password flow from the login screen. You'll receive an email with a link to reset your password.

Question 47

How do I sign out of Novelly?

Accepted Answer

Go to Profile > Account > Sign Out.

Question 48

How do I contact Novelly support?

Accepted Answer

Go to Profile > Account > Contact Support to submit a ticket. Our team will get back to you as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Discovering Books

How Recommendations Work

Your Reading List

Preferences & Filters

Book Clubs

Friends & Social

Achievements & Streaks

Subscription Plans

Notifications

Privacy & Account

Novelly on iOS & Android