A really gripping read, I thought the characters were intriguing and I'm going to look out for more by this author.

The premise of this novel was intriguing and pulled me in, however, I found the actual story was definitely lacking. The pacing was all over the place - starting out quite rushed and then slowing down to a snail's pace - which took me out of the story. I wish there was some more character development instead of just stuffing the story with as many romantasy tropes as possible. The writing was also quite childish at times and that didn't fit with the theme of the story at all.

Thank you SK Horton and team for advance copy of this book. This book hooked me in from the beginning, and I could not put it down. We follow Cate on her journey to a foreign magical realm with two irresistible men. I really liked the story and characters, and it was easy for me to paint a picture in my head while reading along with Horton’s style of writing.

I’m rating this a 4/5 because I wish it was longer in order to develop scenes better. Some scenes and descriptions felt rushed and could have been more detailed. For example, I feel like the main character got over certain hurdles quite easily, or was quick to submit in certain situations. Overall, this was a really solid read, and I can’t wait for book 2.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. I did not finish this. Not because it wasn’t entertaining, but it was just way to predictable and was hard to really become engrossed into the story.

The Concealed By SK Horton features a girl called Cate from Orgeon who moves to the UK for a fresh start, starting at a new school called Staton.

The book was aimed towards and written for the YA genre and rightfully so. I like how accessible and easy it was to get into, it is a good book for someone wanting to get into fantasy to start with. To deal with the fantasy tropes without getting too deep and lost in it. This book did not feel too fantastical and did not feel like one would get lost and confused in, making it perfect for any new YA fantasy readers. What i also liked was the realistic feelings that Cate dealt with that made her feel more real, her anxiety for example and struggles with her new powers. This fresh approach to showing a young teenager deal with stress realistically rather than overcoming it straight away is one of the few things I enjoyed about this book.

What i did not enjoy about this book was the pace and some of the writing. The pace seemed to move too fast at times and in some ways it felt like i could not sit and enjoy the book without thinking 'wait what's going on here?' , the writing did not capture the full plot or idea. It felt repetitive after a while.

Overall 3/5 stars. I do see the potential with this author and the idea was good! and in time I hope to see more of their work!

I received this book through NetGalley for a fair and honest review.

The Concealed is a YA Romance book that follows Cate - a young woman from Oregon off to college in Britain, and about to have her life changed forever when she finds out she is the chosen one. She's targeted by ruthless enemies, and has a prophecy thrust upon her, with Lucas and Daniel by her side.

Cate is very relatable, and very clumsy. I found parts repetitive - by chapter 10, I think Cate had fallen over maybe 5 times... But she doesn't adapt to the new world straight away - she literally gets taken to a new world and has to adapt like a human being. Her first days in the new world she cries like a baby and it's so good to see because that's such a real reaction to stress. She has to learn how powers - which again, is great because I hate a main character who's perfect at everything straight away. Also, I particularly like this book because at the start of chapter 8, she needs to pee. I love a fantasy book that includes stuff like that.
I found it a bit questionable that she was in love with a guy after knowing him less than a week but also. It's fantasy and this isn't something new. I enjoyed this being a shorter read - not every fantasy has to be 500+ pages - however it's a shame the relationships were so rushed, particularly at the beginning. I definitely felt suspicious of Daniel by the 50% mark, so his twists weren't particularly surprising.

This book somehow felt both slow and rushed. By the 75% mark, our heroine hadn't even begun her necessary training to fulfil her destiny - to save and reunite the enemies territories. The only difference between the first page and the 75% mark is that she is aware the kingdoms exist. I found myself quite worried how the author was going to wrap up the story... I found the "solution" to the big battle to be very rushed - it all suddenly got fixed in the last 8% of the book...

It was a fun and easy read. The language is very young, but it is YA, and honestly, I found it welcoming to have a simple read as it added to the appeal. I think people of all ages are gonna like this and it's a great introduction to YA Fantasy. It gives similar vibes to Fallen by Lauren Kate published in 2009 so if you liked that, I would recommend The Concealed to you.

I really wanted to like “The Concealed,” but I just had a hard time reading the book and fully immersing myself in the universe. I feel like this is such a great concept and the author has a great plot going. However, I just had trouble with the pacing of the book. It was too fast paced in the first two chapters and everything all happened at once. I wish the author slowed it down just a little bit and went into detail about everything that was happening. It also feels very conversation heavy.

I think this book would be good for YA readers closer to 12-14 where you need fast pace books to stay engaged. There’s not enough depth for the older YA readers and the conversations between Cate and the other character’s is just unrealistic in the sense that no high schooler talks like that (at least from my experience).

I might eventually try and re-read this at a later time.

I received an ARC from Net Galley in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was quick and easy to follow. The characters were great, especially Cate. The protagonist is incredibly relatable; experiencing a sense of not fitting in and struggling to meet others' expectations. Many of us have felt that way at some point, and I truly connected with her.
I would love to know what happens next in this series and will be looking out for it.
So if you love YA fantasy then this would be a great read.

Thank you Netgalley, S.K. Horton, and Aethon Books for this Arc in return for an honest review.

Very lovable characters!
Fun fantasy, overall really enjoy this YA fantasy story. On the lighter side of the genre.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of The Concealed, S.K. Horton. Here is my honest review in return.

The Concealed, follows a girl named Cate, who travelled from Oregon to attend a university in England, only to find herself facing unexpected challenges. Shes targeted by a ruthless enemy, and is unaware of a prophecy declaring her destiny. Being talked on campus, she escapes through a portal wih two boys to a magical land on the brink of war. With chaos, and finding love, she must unravel the prophecy and trust the right allies to save her new home.


I really wanted to enjoy this book and gave it a fair chance. However, I struggled to stay engaged due to the lack of character relationship development. Early on, Cate befriends Jenna and Lucas, but their interactions felt two dimensional. I was excited the potential for an Enemies to Lovers dynamic with Daniel, but it was brief. It seemed like the author tried to include too many tropes, making the story feel crowded.

On a positive note, the vivid descriptions of the world building stood out to me. The world created was captivating.

While I understand this is a young adult fantasy, the dialogue and relationships felt overly immature for the story's context, and very rushed.

Overall, I'd rate this book 2.5 stars. Thank you for the chance to read it.

Thank you to NetGalley for this debut book read by SK Horton.

Honestly the description for this book was the first to hook me. Multi world Harry Potter like circumstances is always a win. The world building sounded so interesting to me and this being the first book of a series was a plus.

I would say that the world building and character relationships felt a bit rushed. The characters were relatable but also predictable. With how short of a read this was, there was a lot of content and the bones of that content was enjoyable…but I found myself wanting more time taken with certain parts of the plot.

Despite that, I would be interested in seeing how the author continues the series and will be looking out for them to do so!

Honestly one of my favorite books. When I think I finally figured everything out they added more. I was always walking on eggshells and holding my breath. The world building was amazing and so were the relationships. This was my first ever romantasy and now I want to read more. There was so much plot and romance and everything I enjoy in a book. DEFINTELY recommend everyone reads this it is so worth it. It was such an easy read that I forgot time was passing. The main character is so easy to relate too. She felt as if she didn't belong, and she won't live up to everyone's expectations. I think we all have felt that way before. I found myself in her. One of the BEST books ever!

I think this book is perfect for a younger age demographic than I am. I could see myself absolutely loving it in late elementary to middle school. It’s like a great introduction to YA Fantasy.

Unfortunately, because I am older, I just don’t think this book is for me but, also because I’m older, I think that’s completely okay! Regardless, thank you so much to Aethon Books for letting me read it!

You know that tingly feeling you get in your chest when something just hits right? This book did that for me.

The Concealed is a YA romance book that follows Cate a girl off to collage in Britain, little does she know that her true identity is about to be revealed. She’s the chosen one.

This was a fun easy read, I will say it was very YA and I expect that audience is going to absolutely love this thing. The writing was good, the characters were fun, and the world building was pretty good.

I loved how Cate was so human in her reactions to things, she didn’t jump into a new world and immediately become the best at everything, she struggles and she cries and that all made her very relatable.

I’ll be here for the next one!

All Cate was hoping for when she moved to England was to be able to get into her dream college for graduate school - Cambridge - with a full scholarship to Staton University paving the way. Unfortunately, Cate finds herself in a world of trouble from the get go, with attacks and attempted kidnappings coming from every direction. Thankfully, she is rescued by two boys - Daniel and Lucas - who seem to dislike each other, and the only thing they agree on is protecting her. Surprise! She finds out she actually comes from a parallel world and is supposed to fulfill a prophecy. What’s a girl to do?

I found the premise of this story to be quite interesting, but overall I found the delivery to be somewhat lacking. I felt the story writing felt a bit rushed. I would have loved to see a bit more story and character development instead of feeling like each stage was just a checkbox to get through. If you enjoy YA fantasy with new settings, definitely give it a try!

Disclaimer: I received a copy this book through Net Galley, but the thoughts and opinions are my own.

A very good attempt at writing romantasy however, it failed to meet my expectations. Maybe I went in with too much hope so that’s not really the author’s fault.

There were a number of issues I had with this book. The first one being the writing; it felt very juvenile at times. And the author tried to condense all these tropes in this one little book (of 200 something pages?) and it did not mesh well at all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read, with some interesting plots. I found the beginning somewhat rushed, big experiences and emotions portrayed in quick succession without much development.

For me the main downside to this was that the relationship between Cate and Daniel felt so rushed. They were in love without any real time together. The intensity felt forced at first. However as the story went on, the time we had been reading made that easier to accept. The writing for them was a bit cliche at times, but it was harmless.

I enjoyed the overall feel of the book. I wish more time had been spent on the world created, but it was still a pleasant read.

This was such a great book! I think that the storyline was well thought out and easy to follow and the writing was phenomenal! I loved the story and the characters so much!

Slightly too YA for me with the writing style and a few too many tropes thrown into one book. Nice world building and would probably be better for a younger audience than what I was expecting

A quick YA romantasy read with all the tropes. Possibly too many tropes in one small book. I think it could find a (very) young audience but the comps are doing it a disservice. The juvenile writing is suited to a much younger demographic than the comparisons to Sarah J Maas or Rebecca Yarros. Although the protagonist is college-aged, this reads like an upper middle grade series. The pacing could use some edits. The story starts abruptly for the first 10% and then drags through repetitive travel plots that don't advance the story much all the way up to 50%. Nothing much happens until the end when it all comes crashing together, which makes it pretty jolting to read.