I really loved the world that was built and getting to know it, the characters were great and I really enjoyed the plot. It was a great start to a series and I can't wait for more of this universe.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to download this book in time. The 5* star rating was chosen in order to not hurt the book sales or ranking, even though it was not possible to read it.

i never ended up downloading this, i've been reading other reviews on this and it sounds pretty good, so i might go get it~

'The Hidden King' is the debut novel of author E.G Radcliff, and it is the first book in the series: 'The Coming of Áed'. It is a fantasy young adult book that follows that story of a young man named Áed. He is stuck in a rundown city called Maze; a decrepit place that has no mercy for those who are weak, and those who are not careful do not last long within its walls.
A tragedy forces Áed to seek a way to escape Maze, a flight that teaches him secrets about himself that he never knew. Faced with dangers, Áed must discover who he is and who he can trust, in order to survive. 
I found the story to be quite enjoyable, there are a few plot threads left hanging which hopefully will be tied off in the subsequent books in the series. The author uses Irish expressions throughout the novel, of which there is a handy glossary to help decode the meanings. 
There is plenty of action and adventure, with a bit of LGBT romance as well. I would recommend this novel to those who enjoy fantasy with dystopian elements added to it.

I received this E-Arc free via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

A great book, really interesting read. I loved Ronan, he is just so adorable. 
Also, Aed is an amazing character and his development is great.

An interesting read that I managed to finally finish. A lost prince and Celtic inspired magic? The book has all the making if a good fantasy read.

I left this novel realizing that I had delighted in all of it. It was energizing, passionate and charming. The Hidden King  doesn't flaunt a plenty of characters or some gigantic scope worldbuilding yet whatever the novel does, it does it not really good or bad well. I pull for our hero Aed as it so happens. His story, his inspirations, his character and his history were created with a lot of care and one could see that. Ronan was as charming as can be and Boudicca was genuinely awesome. It's what you may call a clothes to newfound wealth story yet with a great deal more profundity and weakness. The quality of the novel lies in the characters and the creator pulled it off perfectly. At the point when I at long last got a break and plunked down with the book, I practically flew through it and just can't hold on to get my hands on the continuation.

I received this as an eARC for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.

This is a really beautifully written book full of action and suspense. Áed is a seventeen-year-old boy with the world on his shoulders and nothing to his name. I felt sorry for him from the moment we're introduced to him. Ronan reminded me of my own son and I just wanted to give him a cuddle and tell him everything would be ok, and Boudicca was fantastic. I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to pronounce some of the characters names, but it comes with a handy guide at the beginning. This story hooked me in, and I want to see what happens in the prequel. 

A must read for fantasy fans out there.

ARC from NetGalley

3.5 stars

This was a decent read, though looking back, not a whole lot happened. I liked all the characters, mostly. Elisedd was a stereotypical weasel, brief as his screen time was. I'm certain we haven't seen the last of him, but every story needs a bad guy. 

This book is very much the first in a series, a bit disappointingly so. There wasn't really any major reason to keep turning the pages. There were no relationships developing. There was no mystery to solve. There was no conflict really. It was the story of how a man became king. It wasn't entirely unexpected, but at least it was relatively well-written. 

I don't feel like I necessarily wasted my time reading this, but I don't know that I gained anything. My heart wasn't really invested, and my heart needs to be invested. There wasn't anything to sink my teeth into.

If you're considering reading this for the Fae bits, then don't. There aren't really any. If you have some time to kill and find this book for cheap or free, give it a read. My hope is that further editions make this one worth reading. All in all, I'm entirely underwhelmed.

This story was fun, familiar, and also refreshing! I found myself unable to stop reading the first half of the book, it was such an intense ride and I was so invested in what was going to happen to Aed and Ronan. The second half was a little slower setting up some of the lore and relationships for the sequel but I was still interested and wanted to learn more about all of the characters and the world. The presence of fae in the story is fairly minimal so I really hope that it gets explored more in the other books. I would definitely recommend this book to someone who wants a fantasy read that they can't put down.

Actually 3.5 stars, but let me explain myself. 

This was a fast paced, page turner that I couldn’t put down. The author did a fantastic job of setting the scene and creating characters that I am fully invested with their lives. To the point that I will read more. Here’s the rub, some of the language was unnecessary, especially for a YA novel, and the relationship choices were unexpected. 

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

I was a little unsure in the first chapter how this was going to develop but it very quickly found its pace. From then on in, I was drawn into the world of Aed, as he battles with loss, change, threat and finding himself. As his own back story is slowly revealed, you have already become invested in his character and so I felt angry and hurt for the prejudice he had endured - and forgotten. He finds new allies who again, were complex and interesting characters with their own journeys to how they got to this point. By the end of the book, I was only regretting one thing - that I will probably have some time to wait now before I can read the next book on this series!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. I enjoyed that the author gave a glossary and a pronunciation key for the names at the beginning of the book, since a lot of the names were Celtic and are quite different from mainstream names, it made the story flow better when I wasn’t questioning something simple like that. While the story was quite predictable and took a little bit to get me interested in the beginning, I found myself having a hard time putting it down by the end. I didn’t really get overly attached to any of the characters but I’m sure that will progress in the upcoming novels. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 3.75 stars overall, rounded up to 4 stars.

A fast-paced, quick, read - this slowly unfolded into a classic coming of age fantasy tale. The characters were likeable, making it easy to root for Aed and his ward in their pursuit of a better life. Interested to see where the rest of this series goes, especially as the next book looks to be a prequel rather than a sequel.

1.5 out of 5

DNF-ed at 50%. I tried really hard to push through the book. I really, really did, but no matter how far I got I could just not click with it. There are three main reasons I chose to DFN it. One: the premise was promising, but after a couple of chapters in and the very spoiler-y title, you sort of figure out the main conflict. Two: one main reason I chose to pick this up is because of my love for the fae, and I had read through other reviews that they were featured here. But at 50% and fae were merely mentioned twice! Three: the characters were so...boring. Something big happens at the very beginning and I felt nothing for Áed and Ronan. We’re supposed to root for them and I honestly found myself not caring what happened to them. If the characters were worthwhile perhaps I would have finished it. The book had a lot of promise but it fell short in delivery.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this title.

So, I finished the book the same way I started it, in tears, thanks to an excerpt from the next book.
The stories about Aed and Ninian always made me cry.
I cried a lot during this book. The way Radcliff writes made me feel so vividly what Aed experienced: the loss of his love, the torture, the pain of not knowing what happened to Ronan, his interior turmoil, etc.
There were also funny moments with Ronan and Boudicca :) She is so funny when drunk :))) And Ronan is a sweet little boy who melts your heart with his constant worry for Aed. I also liked that Aed always consulted with Ronan and listening to him.
Also, a thing that I really liked is that everybody has different eye color. Red is Aed's eye color and Ninin had violet eyes. Boudicca has pink eyes :)
And we also have green, yellow, different types of blue, periwinkle,..
The future looks hard for Aed and I'm looking forward to read about how he will deal with his new responsibilities.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of The Hidden King for an honest review!
I really enjoyed The Hidden King. I can't say it was a totally original story but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy it. It's a true rag to riches story that has themes from some of my favorite stories. Part Count Of Monti Cristo part Joseph from the bible, part Alladin. Aed is a street rat from the poor part of the world. Tragic circumstances send him on a journey with an end he could never imagine.  I'll be honest when I opened this e-book and read the "About the book" section my enthusiasm for this book took a little hit. I always hate when writers name there character things I have no idea how to pronounce. This was quickly followed by a Glossary of how to pronounce the names and slang terms used. My thoughts went something like this... "Great Now I'll know how to pronounce the names in this story" to "OH gosh, I need a glossary to pronounce the names in this story." The first chapter was a little confusing until I got to know who was who. I can't really say I learned how to say most of them since flipping back to the glossary in a e-mail is not worth the effort. But the story was so compelling and the new characters were spaced out enough that I really didn't interrupt the story too much. Overall it was a fast-passed book with loveable characters and story you are sure to love. I believe this book could be a standalone but with a semi-open ending for future books. One other semi critique I felt like things happened very quickly without many true obstacles. (The second hald of the book.)  While it's nice to not wait 4 books for a conclusion I would have enjoyed a little more detail. We hardly get to know anyone in the king's court or how they feel about the king to come. I'll leave it at that so I don't give any spoilers.

The Hidden King is a story about a hidden destiny of a 17 year old Aed. The story kicks off great and the fantasy is well kept throughout the book. One of a good YA fantasy books I have read. The characters well suit the flow of the story, which i think is based on a mythical lore. The author EG Radcliff keeps the plot interesting and the ending was great. Definitely not disappointing.
Thank you NetGalley, EG Radcliff and BooksGoSocial for reader’s copy of this book. The review is based on my opinion on the book.

I liked The Hidden King for it's take on celtic lore and the interesting characters. 
The beginning was strong and I wished a certain character would have had a bigger part in the story but his loss was the real beginning of this adventure. 
Sadly I found myself skipping some parts. 

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an interesting read. Not normally something I would choose to read. But definitely a page Turner.