diff --git a/scraper/internal/server/ui.go b/scraper/internal/server/ui.go
index 0980c92..f69142f 100644
--- a/scraper/internal/server/ui.go
+++ b/scraper/internal/server/ui.go
@@ -1018,84 +1018,119 @@ func (s *Server) handleBookChaptersPage(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request)
 // ─── GET /books/{slug}/chapters/{n} — chapter reader ─────────────────────────
 
 const chapterTmpl = `
-<div class="max-w-2xl mx-auto px-4 py-10">
-  <nav aria-label="Chapter navigation" class="flex items-center justify-between mb-8">
+<!-- ─── Sticky reader toolbar ──────────────────────────────────────────────── -->
+<header id="reader-header" style="position:sticky;top:0;z-index:50;background:#09090b;border-bottom:1px solid #27272a;">
+  <div class="max-w-2xl mx-auto px-4 flex items-center gap-2 h-12">
+
+    <!-- Back to book -->
     <a href="/books/{{.Slug}}"
        hx-get="/books/{{.Slug}}"
        hx-target="#main-content"
        hx-push-url="true"
        hx-swap="innerHTML"
-       class="text-sm text-zinc-400 hover:text-amber-400 inline-flex items-center gap-1">
-      ← Chapter list
+       title="Chapter list"
+       style="flex-shrink:0;padding:0.375rem 0.5rem;border-radius:0.5rem;color:#a1a1aa;font-size:0.875rem;text-decoration:none;transition:color 0.15s;"
+       onmouseover="this.style.color='#fbbf24'" onmouseout="this.style.color='#a1a1aa'">
+      &#8592;
     </a>
-    <div class="flex gap-2">
-      {{if .PrevN}}
-      <a href="/books/{{.Slug}}/chapters/{{.PrevN}}"
-         hx-get="/books/{{.Slug}}/chapters/{{.PrevN}}"
-         hx-target="#main-content"
-         hx-push-url="true"
-         hx-swap="innerHTML"
-         class="text-sm px-3 py-1.5 rounded-lg bg-zinc-800 hover:bg-zinc-700 text-zinc-300 transition-colors">
-        ← Prev
-      </a>
-      {{end}}
-      {{if .NextN}}
-      <a href="/books/{{.Slug}}/chapters/{{.NextN}}"
-         hx-get="/books/{{.Slug}}/chapters/{{.NextN}}"
-         hx-target="#main-content"
-         hx-push-url="true"
-         hx-swap="innerHTML"
-         class="text-sm px-3 py-1.5 rounded-lg bg-zinc-800 hover:bg-zinc-700 text-zinc-300 transition-colors">
-        Next →
-      </a>
-      {{end}}
-    </div>
-  </nav>
 
-  <header>
-    <h1 class="text-2xl font-bold text-zinc-100 mb-6">{{.Title}}</h1>
-  </header>
+    <!-- Prev chapter -->
+    {{if .PrevN}}
+    <a href="/books/{{.Slug}}/chapters/{{.PrevN}}"
+       hx-get="/books/{{.Slug}}/chapters/{{.PrevN}}"
+       hx-target="#main-content"
+       hx-push-url="true"
+       hx-swap="innerHTML"
+       title="Previous chapter"
+       style="flex-shrink:0;padding:0.375rem 0.625rem;border-radius:0.5rem;background:#27272a;color:#d4d4d8;font-size:0.8125rem;text-decoration:none;transition:background 0.15s;"
+       onmouseover="this.style.background='#3f3f46'" onmouseout="this.style.background='#27272a'">
+      &#8592; Prev
+    </a>
+    {{else}}
+    <span style="flex-shrink:0;padding:0.375rem 0.625rem;border-radius:0.5rem;color:#52525b;font-size:0.8125rem;cursor:default;">&#8592; Prev</span>
+    {{end}}
 
-  <!-- TTS player bar — calls Kokoro directly from the browser -->
-  <div id="tts-bar" class="mb-6 rounded-xl border border-zinc-800 bg-zinc-900 px-4 py-3">
-    <div class="flex items-center gap-3 flex-wrap">
+    <!-- Chapter title (centre, truncated) -->
+    <span style="flex:1;min-width:0;overflow:hidden;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap;text-align:center;font-size:0.8125rem;color:#a1a1aa;" title="{{.Title}}">{{.Title}}</span>
 
-      <!-- Play/pause button -->
-      <button id="tts-btn"
-              onclick="ttsToggle()"
-              class="flex items-center gap-2 text-sm px-3 py-1.5 rounded-lg bg-amber-600 hover:bg-amber-500 text-white font-medium transition-colors">
-        <span id="tts-icon">&#9654;</span>
-        <span id="tts-label">Listen</span>
-      </button>
+    <!-- Next chapter -->
+    {{if .NextN}}
+    <a href="/books/{{.Slug}}/chapters/{{.NextN}}"
+       hx-get="/books/{{.Slug}}/chapters/{{.NextN}}"
+       hx-target="#main-content"
+       hx-push-url="true"
+       hx-swap="innerHTML"
+       title="Next chapter"
+       style="flex-shrink:0;padding:0.375rem 0.625rem;border-radius:0.5rem;background:#27272a;color:#d4d4d8;font-size:0.8125rem;text-decoration:none;transition:background 0.15s;"
+       onmouseover="this.style.background='#3f3f46'" onmouseout="this.style.background='#27272a'">
+      Next &#8594;
+    </a>
+    {{else}}
+    <span style="flex-shrink:0;padding:0.375rem 0.625rem;border-radius:0.5rem;color:#52525b;font-size:0.8125rem;cursor:default;">Next &#8594;</span>
+    {{end}}
 
-      <!-- Voice selector -->
+    <!-- TTS play/pause button -->
+    <button id="tts-btn"
+            onclick="ttsToggle()"
+            title="Listen"
+            style="flex-shrink:0;display:flex;align-items:center;gap:0.375rem;padding:0.375rem 0.75rem;border-radius:0.5rem;background:#d97706;color:#fff;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:500;border:none;cursor:pointer;transition:background 0.15s;"
+            onmouseover="this.style.background='#b45309'" onmouseout="this.style.background='#d97706'">
+      <span id="tts-icon">&#9654;</span>
+      <span id="tts-label">Listen</span>
+    </button>
+
+    <!-- Settings gear button -->
+    <button id="settings-btn"
+            onclick="toggleSettings()"
+            title="Settings"
+            style="flex-shrink:0;padding:0.375rem 0.5rem;border-radius:0.5rem;background:transparent;color:#a1a1aa;font-size:1rem;border:none;cursor:pointer;transition:color 0.15s;"
+            onmouseover="this.style.color='#fbbf24'" onmouseout="this.style.color='#a1a1aa'">
+      &#9881;
+    </button>
+  </div>
+
+  <!-- TTS status strip (shows Buffering / Playing / Error under the bar) -->
+  <div id="tts-status-bar" style="display:none;padding:0.125rem 1rem;background:#18181b;font-size:0.75rem;color:#71717a;text-align:center;">
+    <span id="tts-status"></span>
+  </div>
+
+  <!-- Settings dropdown panel -->
+  <div id="settings-panel"
+       style="display:none;position:absolute;right:max(0.5rem,calc(50% - 32rem + 0.5rem));top:calc(100% + 0.25rem);min-width:260px;background:#18181b;border:1px solid #27272a;border-radius:0.75rem;padding:1rem;box-shadow:0 8px 24px rgba(0,0,0,0.5);z-index:100;">
+    <!-- Voice -->
+    <label style="display:block;margin-bottom:0.875rem;">
+      <span style="display:block;font-size:0.75rem;color:#71717a;margin-bottom:0.375rem;">Voice</span>
       <select id="tts-voice"
-              class="rounded-lg bg-zinc-800 border border-zinc-700 px-2 py-1.5 text-sm text-zinc-200 focus:outline-none focus:border-amber-500 transition-colors">
+              style="width:100%;border-radius:0.5rem;background:#27272a;border:1px solid #3f3f46;padding:0.375rem 0.5rem;font-size:0.875rem;color:#e4e4e7;outline:none;">
         {{range .Voices}}
         <option value="{{.}}"{{if eq . $.DefaultVoice}} selected{{end}}>{{.}}</option>
         {{end}}
       </select>
-
-      <!-- Speed control -->
-      <div class="flex items-center gap-1.5">
-        <span class="text-xs text-zinc-500 whitespace-nowrap">Speed</span>
-        <input id="tts-speed" type="range"
-               min="0.5" max="2" step="0.1" value="1"
-               class="w-20 accent-amber-500 cursor-pointer" />
-        <span id="tts-speed-label" class="text-xs text-zinc-400 w-7 text-right">1.0×</span>
-      </div>
-
-      <div id="tts-status" class="text-xs text-zinc-500 ml-1"></div>
-
-      <!-- Auto-play next chapter toggle -->
-      <label class="flex items-center gap-1.5 ml-auto cursor-pointer select-none" title="Automatically start the next chapter when this one finishes">
-        <input id="tts-autoplay" type="checkbox" class="accent-amber-500 cursor-pointer" />
-        <span class="text-xs text-zinc-400 whitespace-nowrap">Auto-next</span>
-      </label>
-    </div>
-    <audio id="tts-audio" style="display:none"></audio>
+    </label>
+    <!-- Speed -->
+    <label style="display:block;margin-bottom:0.875rem;">
+      <span style="display:block;font-size:0.75rem;color:#71717a;margin-bottom:0.375rem;">Speed — <span id="tts-speed-label">1.0×</span></span>
+      <input id="tts-speed" type="range"
+             min="0.5" max="2" step="0.1" value="1"
+             style="width:100%;accent-color:#f59e0b;cursor:pointer;" />
+    </label>
+    <!-- Auto-next -->
+    <label style="display:flex;align-items:center;gap:0.5rem;cursor:pointer;user-select:none;">
+      <input id="tts-autoplay" type="checkbox" style="accent-color:#f59e0b;cursor:pointer;width:1rem;height:1rem;" />
+      <span style="font-size:0.875rem;color:#d4d4d8;">Auto-play next chapter</span>
+    </label>
   </div>
 
+  <audio id="tts-audio" style="display:none"></audio>
+</header>
+
+<!-- ─── Chapter content ────────────────────────────────────────────────────── -->
+<div class="max-w-2xl mx-auto px-4 py-10">
+
+  <header>
+    <h1 class="text-2xl font-bold text-zinc-100 mb-6">{{.Title}}</h1>
+  </header>
+
   <!-- Paragraphs get data-para-idx injected by JS after render -->
   <article id="chapter-article" class="prose text-zinc-300 leading-relaxed text-[1.05rem]">
     {{.HTML}}
@@ -1142,6 +1177,8 @@ const chapterTmpl = `
     border-left: 2px solid #f59e0b;
     padding-left: calc(0.5rem - 2px);
   }
+  /* Prevent sticky header from covering anchor targets */
+  #main-content { scroll-padding-top: 3.5rem; }
 </style>
 
 <script>
@@ -1166,13 +1203,36 @@ const chapterTmpl = `
   var btn       = document.getElementById('tts-btn');
   var icon      = document.getElementById('tts-icon');
   var label     = document.getElementById('tts-label');
-  var status    = document.getElementById('tts-status');
+  var statusEl  = document.getElementById('tts-status');
+  var statusBar = document.getElementById('tts-status-bar');
   var voiceSel  = document.getElementById('tts-voice');
   var speedSlider = document.getElementById('tts-speed');
   var speedLabel  = document.getElementById('tts-speed-label');
   var autoplayChk = document.getElementById('tts-autoplay');
   var article   = document.getElementById('chapter-article');
 
+  // ── settings panel toggle ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+  var settingsPanel = document.getElementById('settings-panel');
+
+  window.toggleSettings = function () {
+    var open = settingsPanel.style.display !== 'none';
+    settingsPanel.style.display = open ? 'none' : 'block';
+  };
+
+  // Close settings panel when clicking outside
+  document.addEventListener('click', function (e) {
+    if (settingsPanel.style.display === 'none') return;
+    var btn = document.getElementById('settings-btn');
+    if (!settingsPanel.contains(e.target) && e.target !== btn && !btn.contains(e.target)) {
+      settingsPanel.style.display = 'none';
+    }
+  });
+
+  function setStatus(text) {
+    statusEl.textContent = text;
+    statusBar.style.display = text ? '' : 'none';
+  }
+
   var abortCtrl  = null;
   var mse        = null;
   var srcBuf     = null;
@@ -1272,9 +1332,10 @@ const chapterTmpl = `
     highlightPara(paraIdx);
     icon.textContent   = '\u231B';
     label.textContent  = 'Buffering';
-    status.textContent = 'Fetching from Kokoro\u2026';
+    setStatus('Fetching from Kokoro\u2026');
     btn.disabled = true;
-    btn.classList.add('opacity-60', 'cursor-not-allowed');
+    btn.style.opacity = '0.6';
+    btn.style.cursor  = 'not-allowed';
     voiceSel.disabled  = true;
     speedSlider.disabled = true;
   }
@@ -1282,24 +1343,26 @@ const chapterTmpl = `
   function setPlaying() {
     icon.innerHTML     = '&#9646;&#9646;';
     label.textContent  = 'Pause';
-    status.textContent = 'Playing';
+    setStatus('Playing');
     btn.disabled = false;
-    btn.classList.remove('opacity-60', 'cursor-not-allowed');
+    btn.style.opacity = '1';
+    btn.style.cursor  = 'pointer';
   }
 
   function setPaused() {
     icon.innerHTML     = '&#9654;';
     label.textContent  = 'Resume';
-    status.textContent = 'Paused';
+    setStatus('Paused');
   }
 
   function setStopped() {
     highlightPara(-1);
     icon.innerHTML     = '&#9654;';
     label.textContent  = 'Listen';
-    status.textContent = '';
+    setStatus('');
     btn.disabled = false;
-    btn.classList.remove('opacity-60', 'cursor-not-allowed');
+    btn.style.opacity = '1';
+    btn.style.cursor  = 'pointer';
     voiceSel.disabled    = false;
     speedSlider.disabled = false;
   }
@@ -1308,9 +1371,10 @@ const chapterTmpl = `
     highlightPara(-1);
     icon.innerHTML     = '&#9654;';
     label.textContent  = 'Listen';
-    status.textContent = 'Error: ' + msg;
+    setStatus('Error: ' + msg);
     btn.disabled = false;
-    btn.classList.remove('opacity-60', 'cursor-not-allowed');
+    btn.style.opacity = '1';
+    btn.style.cursor  = 'pointer';
     voiceSel.disabled    = false;
     speedSlider.disabled = false;
   }
@@ -1570,7 +1634,7 @@ const chapterTmpl = `
       // Fetch the full audio as a single blob then hand it to the <audio> element.
       // Playback begins only once the download is complete, but this is the only
       // approach that works reliably on iOS Safari.
-      status.textContent = 'Downloading\u2026';
+      setStatus('Downloading\u2026');
       fetch(KOKORO_URL + '/v1/audio/speech', {
         method:  'POST',
         signal:  abortCtrl.signal,
@@ -1678,7 +1742,7 @@ const chapterTmpl = `
       audio.play().then(setPlaying).catch(function (e) { setError(e.message); });
     }
   });
-  audio.addEventListener('waiting', function () { status.textContent = 'Buffering\u2026'; });
+  audio.addEventListener('waiting', function () { setStatus('Buffering\u2026'); });
   audio.addEventListener('playing', setPlaying);
   audio.addEventListener('ended', function () {
     // Cancel the main stream state but keep prefetch alive — goNextChapter needs it.