LoveReading offers and deals

What makes LoveReading different from other online bookshops?

It's a review site first and a shop second. LoveReading says it has been recommending books since 2005, and it added a bookshop in July 2022, a relaunch The Bookseller covered as a response to the book funding squeeze in schools. Its About page names 30 editorial experts, including Liz Robinson and Joanne Owen, and it runs a Consumer Reader Review Panel of about 900 readers who are sent free advance copies and asked for reviews of around 250 words. Those reviews also go to publishers for their marketing, which is worth knowing when weighing the praise.

The recommendations come as lists: Star Books (which become its Books of the Year), Books of the Month, Debut Books of the Month, a non-fiction pick of the month, and reading guides such as the best book club books or titles to read after The Thursday Murder Club. LoveReading says the guides are chosen by its editors and never ranked by sales or an algorithm. The range runs from crime, sagas and fiction in translation to popular science and gardening. Orders are fulfilled by Gardners, the UK book distributor, and LoveReading isn't a marketplace, so there are no third-party sellers, though not every UK title is stocked.

How does LoveReading's school donation work?

For each physical book, LoveReading gives 25% of the cover price to a school the buyer chooses, at no extra cost to the buyer. On Barbara Kingsolver's Partita, a £20 hardback sold for £18 in October 2026, that's £5. Buyers can search for any UK school by postcode before checkout, and the school is emailed and spends the money as credit on books. eBooks carry a 15% donation. Anyone who doesn't name a school sends 10% of the sale to the Funding for Schools scheme for disadvantaged schools instead, so naming one sends more. LoveReading says more than £100,000 has gone to schools so far. The company behind it, PTC International Ltd, isn't a charity, but it is registered with the Fundraising Regulator.

How do delivery and returns work?

Orders go by Royal Mail tracked post to UK addresses only: £2.99 for delivery in two to three days or £3.99 for next day, on orders placed by 3pm Monday to Friday. The FAQ makes second-class delivery free over £40, but the site banner in October 2026 advertised free delivery over £50, so the basket total is the one to trust. LoveReading delivers to England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands, but not to BFPO addresses or British Overseas Territories.

Those delivery times apply to books marked Available. Others show a lead time of 3 to 5 days, two weeks (some are printed to order) or three weeks, and pre-orders leave a day or so before publication; mixed orders arrive in several parcels at no extra charge. Orders can't be cancelled or redirected once placed, apart from out-of-stock items and pre-orders. For Christmas 2025, the last standard dispatch was 3pm on 17 December and the last express dispatch 3pm on 21 December.

Returns are accepted within 30 days of delivery. Change-of-mind refunds exclude the original postage, the buyer pays to send books back by Royal Mail, and damage has to be reported within five days. Independent feedback is thin: Trustpilot listed four reviews in October 2026, two praising the recommendations and service and two one-star complaints, one about a gift card payment that didn't produce an order.

What about eBooks and audiobooks?

LoveReading sells eBooks as Adobe DRM-protected ePub or PDF files, which open in Adobe Digital Editions on up to six authorised devices but not on Amazon Kindle e-readers. An eBook can't be refunded once its download starts, so they suit readers who already use a compatible e-reader or app. Audiobooks come through a partnership with Audiobooks.co.uk, whose apps offer more than 300,000 titles; new listeners get their first three audiobooks free, then two new books a month if they stay on.

How can you pay less at LoveReading?

The 10% off RRP is the standing saving, and the FAQ says the school donation leaves "not much flex" for more, though bulk buyers can email to ask. On a single £20 hardback the £2 saving is outweighed by £2.99 postage, so the discount counts most on baskets above the free-delivery line. National Book Tokens gift cards (physical or digital, not paper tokens) and Bookily cards are accepted at checkout. LoveReading gift cards cost £10 to £200, last 12 months and work on both LoveReading and LoveReading4Kids. Free membership enters readers into a monthly £50 gift card draw. The deals listed on this page reflect the standing discount and the school donation.