Frequently Asked Questions

There are a million reasons why we believe Menrva Books is different (in a good way) from other book databases, but to name the biggest reason, we don't take money from authors to push them higher up in the recommendation algorithm so you're getting the most authentic search experience possible. One of the key founding principles was a simple one. What product would we want to use everyday for our book hunting if we weren't the ones designing it. We don't believe any book deserves more attention than another, that's up to you, the reader. Another founding principle was how as an author we would like to engage with our audience, that's another simple one for us. Make it easy for authors to engage with their audience, manage their book collections, and share news of their upcoming releases, blog posts and a myriad of things without having a pay to play mentality. The level of engagement will be driven by fans and authors.

If the book you're searching for isn't showing up in a search, chances are it hasn't been put in the database just yet. We are adding more and more books every single day, so hang tight, I'm sure it will be in the library soon. If it's been awhile, head over to the Contact Us page and request the book be added and we'll make it a priority.

Short answer, no. However, if you'd like to use some of the sites other functionality outside of just searching such as saving books to your TBR or marking books as read and numerous other features, as well as having an ad free experience, you're going to want to create an account.

So many more features, a whole cornucopia! Stick around for awhile and find out.

As of right now, no. BUT it is in the works and is at the top of the list to get done.

Yes! Our Explorer tier is completely free and includes book search, browsing, and reading status tracking. Premium features like comments, favorites, and reading lists are available with a Bibliophile subscription.

We're working on import tools to make switching from Goodreads and StoryGraph seamless. In the meantime, you can start fresh and discover new books through our search and recommendation features.

Unlike Goodreads, MenrvaBooks is independently owned (not by Amazon), has no paid placements in search results, features a modern dark-mode UI, and actively champions indie authors. Every book gets a fair chance to be discovered.

MenrvaBooks and The StoryGraph share a commitment to independence. Where we differ is in our deep indie-author support, integrated author profiles with social links, community comments, and our comprehensive genre-subgenre-keyword taxonomy for discovery.

Absolutely. We built MenrvaBooks with indie authors in mind. No book is boosted by paid promotion — our search is organic and fair. Authors can also manage their own profiles with our Author subscription tier.