Ask any SQE forum "which books should I buy?" and the Revise SQE series is the first answer every time. It has earned that position — but "popular" and "right for you" are different questions, and the follow-ups candidates actually ask (is it enough on its own? do I need the question books too? what does the full set really cost?) rarely get straight answers.
Here is an honest review. Stated plainly before anything else: we publish a competing series, so read this knowing where we stand. We have kept every claim factual and we say clearly below where Revise SQE is the better choice.
What the Revise SQE series is
Revise SQE is a dedicated SQE revision series published by Routledge, with individual revision guides per subject across FLK1 and FLK2, separate question-and-answer companion volumes, and supporting material on the publisher's site. The guides are written and edited by experienced law lecturers and practitioners, updated in regular editions, and sold through normal bookshops and Amazon at roughly £20–25 per guide (June 2026 — check current listings).
What it does well
- Editorial quality and trust. A major academic publisher, named authors, proper editing, regular editions. You know what you are buying — which, as our where-to-buy guide shows, is not a given in this market.
- Exam-aimed structure. These are revision guides, not repurposed textbooks: condensed treatment aimed at the SQE's day-one standard, with revision aids built into the format.
- Print experience. Well-produced physical books — for annotators and screen-tired revisers, a genuine advantage.
- Per-subject purchase. You can buy exactly the two subjects you are weak in, which is the series at its best value.
Where it falls short
- Full-set cost. This is the big one. Per-subject pricing is fair; multiply across 13 SQE1 subjects and you pass £250 before the question books — and the Q&A companions are separate purchases, so a complete learn-and-practise set in this series runs £300+. For comparison, that is most of the £1,934 you will pay the SRA just to sit the exam.
- Guides and practice are split. The revision guides carry some questions, but real volume lives in the separately sold Q&A books. Easy to discover in week 8 that your £250 of guides still leaves the practice layer unbought.
- Print-first workflow. Fine until you want full-text search across 13 subjects, revision on a commute, or updated content without buying a new edition.
- Static between editions. When law or the specification moves mid-cycle, a printed book cannot follow it. Always check you are buying the current edition, not warehoused stock of the previous one.
Is Revise SQE enough on its own?
The most-searched question, so a precise answer. The guides on their own: no — not because the content is weak, but because no reading material is sufficient for a 360-MCQ applied exam without serious timed question practice. That is true of our books too; the difference is only in where the practice layer comes from. With Revise SQE you add the Q&A volumes (more spend) or a separate question bank; with ours, nearly 3,000 worked MCQs ship inside the chapters and a bank still helps for timed volume.
The guides plus their Q&A books plus full-length timed mocks (why mocks decide outcomes) — that is a credible self-study stack. Budget for the whole stack, not the first layer.
The alternatives, honestly compared
| Option | All-13 cost | Practice included | Format | Where it wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revise SQE (guides + Q&A) | £300+ | Via separate Q&A books | Print / ebook | Print quality, editorial pedigree, per-subject picks |
| ULaw manuals | £400+ | Limited | Maximum depth per subject | |
| Law Answered | Varies | Limited | Print / digital | Condensed second-pass summaries |
| SQE1 Prep study guides | £49.99 (bundle) | ~3,000 MCQs + 5,300 flashcards built in | EPUB + PDF (+ Amazon paperbacks) | Complete current coverage with practice, at budget price |
| Free stack (SRA 220 Qs + free notes) | £0 | 220 official questions | Web | Supplementing any of the above (what free covers) |
Mix-and-match strategies that actually make sense
The binary "their series or ours" framing is marketing, not study advice. Real candidates mix:
- Print where you struggle, digital for coverage. Revise SQE print guides for your two hardest subjects (annotate freely), our ebooks for the other eleven at £9.99 each — full coverage for ~£160 instead of £300+.
- Budget-first: the £49.99 bundle as the complete spine, then if a particular subject refuses to click, add one Revise SQE print guide for that subject. Total worst case: ~£75.
- Already own some Revise SQE guides? Keep them — they are good. Fill the missing subjects with £9.99 singles rather than completing the set at £20–25 each, and put the savings into question volume.
Verdict
Revise SQE is a good series. If you revise best on paper, want a major-publisher imprint, and are buying selected subjects — or the full set with the Q&A books and the budget does not sting — you will be well served.
It is not the only sensible choice, and at full-set scale it is not the best value. If you need all 13 subjects, current, with the practice layer included rather than sold separately, our complete series at £49.99 does that job for roughly a sixth of the cost — and you can inspect every book before deciding. Either way: whatever series you choose, the books are the spine, and timed practice is what passes the exam.
FAQ
Do I need the separate Revise SQE question books as well as the guides?
If Revise SQE is your primary series and you have no other question source — realistically yes, and you should budget for them from the start rather than discovering the gap late.
Are older Revise SQE editions OK to buy second-hand?
Risky. The series updates editions precisely because the specification and the law move. If the edition predates the current SRA specification, the saving is not worth the currency risk — the same rule we apply to every second-hand source.
Is there a Kindle/digital version?
Routledge sells ebook editions of many titles through the usual channels at similar-to-print prices. If digital-first reading is your main criterion, compare the experience and price against a series built digital-first — ebooks vs paperbacks covers what to look for.
Can I see inside SQE1 Prep books before buying?
Yes — each book page shows exactly what is inside (chapters, MCQ counts, flashcards, page counts), and the books come as instant EPUB + PDF downloads with lifetime access from your library.