The Hidden King

This book is a really well written book. It's adventurous, action-packed and the write influenced me in such a way that I was able to imagine myself from the main protagonist's shoes. The story revolves around a seventeen year old boy, Áed, who lives with his partner, Ninian and an orphaned boy, Ronan. The story is really well-written and is able to convey the right amount of feelings that the author wanted to convey. In short, this book is a fast-paced thrilling, coming-of-age adventure. I would totally recommend it to everybody!

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

From the time that I started The Hidden King, to the time that I finished, I was enthralled. E.G. Radcliff does a wonderful job at pulling you into the story and I found myself not wanting to put it down or wanting it to end.

This is a must read for any fan of high fantasy reads, YA or not. I cannot wait for the second book which will take us before the events of The Hidden King.

I came out of this novel knowing that I had enjoyed every bit of it. It was exciting, emotional and endearing. The Hidden Kingdom doesn't boast of a plethora of characters or some huge scale worldbuilding but whatever the novel does, it does it so so well. I rooted for our protagonist Aed from the get go. His story, his motivations, his personality and his history were crafted with much care and one could see that. Ronan was as adorable as can be and Boudicca was truly fantastic. It's what you might call a rags to riches story but with so much more depth and vulnerability. The strength of the novel lies in the characters and the author pulled it off beautifully. When I finally got some time off and sat down with the book, I pretty much flew through it and just cannot wait to get my hands on the sequel.

The Hidden kings is a wonderful enthralled tell that you will never want to put down. Young adult fantasy isn’t my usual genre however I will be eagerly anticipating the sequel. The world-building is excellent, and I can’t wait to see where the author take us next.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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!