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I've been using GPB for Android as my main reader since the update, despite all its shortcomings compared to Mantano, Aldiko or Moon+. I initially uploaded my then-current read just to test-drive the app, and found it subpar in all but one area: the server-side text-to-speech enabled by ticking off the "high quality voice" setting. I had been reading the Foreigner series as both audiobooks and text, "whispersync" style, but only had audio for the first half of the series. The exotic names and alien languages would render the text all but incomprehensible through most TTS engines, and Google has it's hiccups, too, but the pronunciations are fluid and consistent enough to follow even when they aren't correct.
I've used both Android and Windows TTS for novels before, and Google's server-side offering isn't revolutionary, but it's noticeably better. Getting it started is glitchy; often going to menu>read aloud has no effect and I have to back out of the book to the library page, then come back.
The app's main annoyance when actually reading on my Nook HD+ is the kludgy brightness control, requiring three steps just to get there and then adjusting in too-large increments. The convenience of keeping my place while switching between audio and text, however, trumps the poor interface. It handles the core functions just fine: display text, turn pages.
If I'm reading an EPUB for which I do have an audiobook or listening to a different audiobook than what I'm reading as text (which is most often the case), I'll stick with Mantano. For my current scenario, GPB is a great TTS app and an adequate ereader.
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