diff --git a/abogen/web/routes.py b/abogen/web/routes.py
index 8ef94e2..f4e9ace 100644
--- a/abogen/web/routes.py
+++ b/abogen/web/routes.py
@@ -362,7 +362,7 @@ def _extract_epub_chapters(epub_path: Path) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
                     nav_titles = _parse_ncx_document(nav_bytes, nav_base)
 
             for index, href in enumerate(spine_hrefs, start=1):
-                normalized = _normalize_epub_path("", href)
+                normalized = href
                 if not normalized:
                     continue
                 title = (
@@ -375,7 +375,7 @@ def _extract_epub_chapters(epub_path: Path) -> List[Dict[str, str]]:
 
             if not chapters and nav_titles:
                 for index, (href, title) in enumerate(nav_titles.items(), start=1):
-                    normalized = _normalize_epub_path("", href)
+                    normalized = href
                     if not normalized:
                         continue
                     label = title or posixpath.basename(normalized) or f"Chapter {index}"
diff --git a/abogen/web/templates/reader_embed.html b/abogen/web/templates/reader_embed.html
index 35a57d9..ba516ee 100644
--- a/abogen/web/templates/reader_embed.html
+++ b/abogen/web/templates/reader_embed.html
@@ -1021,6 +1021,12 @@
       try {
         await book.ready;
         console.info('[reader] Book ready resolved');
+        try {
+          const spineEntries = (book.spine?.items || []).map((item) => item?.href || '(unknown)');
+          console.info('[reader] Spine hrefs', spineEntries);
+        } catch (spineError) {
+          console.warn('[reader] Unable to log spine hrefs', spineError);
+        }
       } catch (error) {
         console.error('Book failed to initialize', error);
         if (error && error.message) {