This book didn’t really work for me, the writing did not stick out enough for me for the book to be a memorable read.

Thank you to the publisher for giving me this book in exchange of an honest review.

This is a sort of coming of age in a quick, fast paced book that you need to read without interruptions!
I enjoyed the characters, and Aed's struggle with grief and the search for a better life. I also appreciated the presence of fae, that I hope will have more space in the sequel, and the fun moments, that help making the book a little bit "lighter" in the general tone.

I'm very curious about what will happen next!!

The Hidden King sounded like a pretty good book. Then once I dove into it, I was liking everything that I was reading. Yet, the pace was kind of a hot mess for me because it would go from fast to slow throughout the book. At least for me.. but I did still enjoy everything that was happening.

I'm also kind of jealous of all the pretty eye colors within this world. Not sure if they mean something or not but I would be a-okay with violet eyes. Maybe even pink? Just saying. Other than that, you do get to meet Áed and Ronan. I wasn't expecting to fall in love with little Ronan as quickly as I did but I'm not mad one bit either.

Another thing I didn't expect, the emotions flowing through me. It had such sad moments that almost broke my heart. Luckily for me, the adventure was pretty entertaining. Especially when you get to meet drunk Boudicca.

Overall, it was a bit predictable when it came to some things but I'm intrigued to dive into the next book just to see what the heck is going to happen next.

This was just not my cup of tea.
I liked the writing, but the story and the characters were kind of meh.

I hadn't read or heard about anything from this author before, but I am pretty happy with what I got here with 'The Hidden King.' As we all know, the title kind of gives it away, and doesn't leave much room for surprise. I typically YA Fantasy to be altogether hit-or-miss, and rarely anywhere in between. This one definitely felt like it was the 'first in series'. I'm okay with that. I liked the worldbuilding, and the characters were starting to grow on me towards the end. It's about 55/45 whether I'll pick up the second book.

I was highly anticipating this book, and I was thrilled to receive an epub copy. It was so incredibly written and the plot was expertly crafted, I enjoyed it so much!

This was a great fantasy read! The world building was great and the characters were amazing. I could relate to each of them in different ways which is exactly what I look for in character based fantasy books. The book was well paced and the plot was so riveting and I couldn’t put the books down!

Áed, a poor and illiterate boy from the Maze, lives with his partner and their adopted (sort of) son. An unexpected tragedy forces him to leave the place and seek refuge in the legendary White City, where he makes friends and enemies and discovers his secret origin. And powers. Although it sounds incredibly cliche, Radcliff's writing impressed me. I found the book polished, immersive, and engaging.

Radcliff's beautiful, evocative writing coupled with a clear structure and a solid characterization mark The Hidden King apart from most books in this overcrowded subgenre. A strong scene-setting makes even the book’s darker moments (torture, mentions of sexual abuse, violence, and hate speech towards weaker and poorer) hold attention. Of course, the narrative takes shortcuts and some of the plot progression depends on main or secondary characters making incomprehensible choices (like King's detail allowing a captive alone with him in a room). Some things happen too conveniently and closer scrutiny reveals unconvincing (or maybe just too convenient) twists and turns. And yet it never distracts from the story.

I applaud Radcliff for masking minor issues with features (characters, prose, nuances) that make the narrative immersive and addicting. An impressive, if slightly formulaic, debut.

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.

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!

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.