What is the reading companion

Who was this character again? Where was that place? What happened before you put the book down a month ago? The reading companion reminds you while you read, without giving anything away.

What it does

• Character and place cards: who they are, what you know about them, their relationships and the chapter you first met them.
• Characters & places: a list of everything that has appeared up to where you are.
• The essentials so far: a recap of the story up to your reading position.
• Picking it back up?: if you return to a book after a week or more, it offers you that recap when you open it.
• Ask about this: ask a question in your own words about a character or place.
• The book's quiz. See Book quizzes.

We explain how to use each one in Using the reading companion.

Why it doesn't spoil anything

Everything it shows you is filtered by exactly where you are in the book. When it answers, the companion doesn't "know" what happens later: it only works with what you've already read.

• Cards are updated when you finish each chapter. That's why a character who has just appeared may show "You don't know anything about… yet": so a twist in the chapter you're reading isn't revealed early.
• In a series, what happened in earlier volumes you've finished counts too. Volumes you haven't read don't.
• If a book contains several independent novels, the recap starts with the story you're reading.

If you still see something you shouldn't, tap Report an error on the card and we'll look into it.

How it gets prepared

The first time you open an identified book, Kevra asks whether you want to prepare its companion (Prepare). It's done once, takes a few minutes and you can keep reading meanwhile. If another reader has already prepared it, it's ready straight away.

Note: to prepare the companion, Kevra analyses the book's text and then deletes it. Only the information about characters, places and events is kept; never the book itself.

Not every book has one, and some features need a plan. See Reading companion limits.