Checked 2026-10-27 against the App Store listing (version 1.1.1) and magicbookmark.com.
Is Magic Bookmark worth it for ADHD readers?
Worth the free first book if you stall mid-book and your book is on its supported list. Magic Bookmark recaps a story up to the exact page you are on and shows a cast list of only the characters you have met. It scores 65/100 and gets BORROW FIRST: it is iPhone only, English only, covers supported titles only, and charges one credit per book after the first.
What it does
Magic Bookmark ("Book Recaps", by Yomu Inc.) is a companion to the copy of the book you already have; it does not contain the book. You snap a photo of the page you are on or type the page number, or for an audiobook you enter the last phrase you heard. It then gives you four things, all capped at your place in the story:
- a recap that stops exactly where you are;
- a cast list of who's who and how they are connected, where new characters appear only once you have met them;
- answers to questions about the story so far ("wait, are they together yet?");
- chat with characters: type @ to summon one, and they answer in character, knowing only what you have read.
The website calls this BYOB: bring, buy or borrow your own book, in hardcover, paperback, ebook, audio or library loan.
Why a page-locked recap matters with ADHD
The usual way a book dies is not boredom. It is a two-week gap, after which you open to your bookmark and no longer know who anyone is. Searching for a recap online is a spoiler minefield, and starting over feels like punishment. A recap that cannot see past your page is a third option. Coming back to a book you abandoned → The cast list does the same job as an index card of names, without you having to keep one. Externalize the plot →
How we scored it
Against the same eight-criterion rubric as every tool here. A recap app is an odd fit for a rubric built around reading surfaces, and we say where that cuts against it.
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Distraction surface | 12/20 | You read your own book, but every recap means picking up your phone, the exact device many of us keep in another room. Character chat is fun and can also become its own rabbit hole. |
| Start friction | 11/15 | Photo of the page or a typed page number is about as light as a restart gets. Provisional: Time to First Page is not yet measured, and a book outside the supported list never starts at all. |
| Quality | 10/15 | Recap accuracy and spoiler safety are the whole product, and we have not checked either. Midpoint until hands-on testing. |
| Format and library fit | 10/15 | Works with print, ebook, audiobook (from version 1.1.1) and library loans, any edition. Loses points because only supported titles work, in English. |
| Retention support | 7/10 | A recap and a cast list that stop at your page are memory support for fiction. No highlights, notes or export are listed. |
| Price honesty | 8/10 | Prices are published on the listing and the website, the first book is free, credits never expire, and there is no subscription. Per-book pricing still adds up for heavy readers. |
| Accessibility | 5/10 | The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features the app supports, and it is English only. Midpoint until checked. |
| Staying power | 2/5 | Version history starts on 20 August 2026 and updates are frequent, but the app is about two months old with a small number of ratings, and unused credits depend on the company sticking around. |
Total: 12 + 11 + 10 + 10 + 7 + 8 + 5 + 2 = 65/100. That is the lowest score in the toolkit today, mostly because the rubric rewards things a narrow companion app does not try to do. The verdict is BORROW FIRST, which on this site means "real merit, real caveats; try it before you pay", and here the trial is the free first credit.
The catches
- Supported titles only. It launched with romance, fantasy, romantasy, YA, sci-fi and historical fiction titles popular on BookTok and Bookstagram, and adds more over time. If your book is not there, you can request it in the app, but you cannot use it today.
- iPhone only. Requires iOS 16.4 or later. The listing also shows Mac (Apple M1 or later) while saying "Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS." No Android and no web version; the website says Android is on the roadmap.
- Per-book credits. The first credit is free. After that, one credit is one book, and the bookmark moves with you through that book, so you do not pay per session.
- English only, rated 13+.
- The privacy label. The App Store label lists identifiers as data used to track you, and purchases, contact info, user content (photos), search history, identifiers, usage data and diagnostics as data linked to you. The photos make sense, since you photograph your page, but read the label before you install.
- Very new. 4.8 out of 5 on the US App Store, from a small number of ratings (24 as of 2026-10-27).
What does it cost?
| Pack | Price | Per book |
|---|---|---|
| First credit | Free | Free |
| 1 credit | $4.99 | $4.99 |
| 5 credits | $19.99 | $4.00 |
| 10 credits | $34.99 | $3.50 |
| 50 credits | $69.99 | $1.40 |
Credits never expire and there is no subscription, which suits a streaky reader better than a monthly bill. Buy one credit at a time until you know you will use more.
How does it compare with Kindle's recaps?
Amazon's Recaps, Story So Far and Ask this Book do similar jobs for free, but only inside Kindle ebooks bought or borrowed through Amazon, in the US, for thousands of popular English-language titles. Kindle's tools are free and live inside the ebook; Magic Bookmark costs per book and works with a paperback, an audiobook or any ebook, but only for its supported titles and only on iPhone. If you read on a Kindle, start there. Kindle Paperwhite review →
Why not just ask a chatbot?
You can, but a general chatbot does not know which page you are on. You have to tell it your place and trust it not to mention later events, and it can mix up books in a series or invent details. That is how these tools work, not a test we ran.
Who should use it
Readers whose books are on the list and who keep losing the thread to gaps: series readers between installments, library borrowers whose loan ran out mid-book, anyone who reads in print and wants a cast list without a spoiler-filled wiki.
Who should not
Android users, readers outside English, anyone whose books are not supported, and Kindle readers who already have Story So Far. If your phone is the thing that ends your reading sessions, a paper cast list keeps the phone out of the room. Trackers, including paper →
Confidence
Desk review, flagged provisional, based on the listing and the developer's website. Prices checked 2026-10-27; Time to First Page not yet measured. How we test →
Sources
- Magic Bookmark: Book Recaps, App Store listing (description, version history, in-app purchases, privacy label, ratings), checked 2026-10-27
- magicbookmark.com (BYOB, supported genres, pricing, FAQ, Android roadmap), checked 2026-10-27
- Amazon: Kindle Recaps, Story So Far and Ask this Book