Five Terrific LGBT Books to Celebrate Pride Month
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on June 11, 2019
To commemorate the famous “Stonewall Riots”, which triggered the push for equality in June 1969, the month of June is celebrated as LGBT Pride Month. To mark this celebration, we’ve put together a list of some fantastic LGBT books that put gay, lesbian or non-hetero-normative relationships front and center. The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee With the Montague Siblings series, author Mackenzi Lee introduced us all to what Teen Vogue called “the queer teen historical you didn’t know was missing from your life.” The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue is the first book in the series, and follows young nobleman Henry “Monty” Montague as he embarks on the traditional 18th century “grand tour” of Europe; as eager to explore his burgeoning bisexuality as the cathedrals and museums of Paris and Rome. In her 5-star review, Azia writes: “This book is undoubtedly one of the most humorous… Read More >
6 Book-ish Summer/Holiday Activities for Kids
By: Kate Stead | Posted on June 4, 2019
Aaah… school holidays and summer vacation. Sometimes fabulous, sometimes horrible. Like many parents, Chris and Kate Stead, founders of the children’s publishing company Old Mate Media, have a love/hate relationship with school breaks. Like most of us, they struggle with the never-ending challenge of finding inexpensive and fun activities to do with the kids. The good news is, they’ve discovered some fabulous book related options to share with us. Here are six bookish activities that Kate has put together for you to do with the young ones during school holidays or when they’re home in the summer. 1: Visit the Library I can hear you all groaning. This seems so obvious that it’s barely worth including. But when did you actually last visit the library with your kids? Our children love going to the library and often they will run school holiday specific activities for kids. If they don’t have… Read More >
Hollywood Could Learn from Romance Novels About Strong Female Characters
By: Simone Scarlet | Posted on May 31, 2019
Hollywood is desperate for ‘strong female characters’ – but romance/adventure author Simone Scarlet believes they’re looking in the wrong place for them. Here is her argument to Hollywood that they would be better served by mining romance novels for examples of strong female characters than continuing to write ‘shared cinematic universes’ using the same tired tropes that haven’t worked for years. She even ends the post with a few book recommendations of where they can start looking! Warning, this post contains some a spoiler or two about Captain Marvel. The other week, I went to the cinema to watch Avengers: Endgame, which came off the back of Captain Marvel. I’ll have to admit – I loved them both, especially the inaugural outing for Marvel’s newest superhero. With Captain Marvel, it was great to see the 1990s brought to life again, to watch Samuel L. Jackson as I remembered him from… Read More >
Some of the Top Fantasy Books of Spring 2019
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on May 21, 2019
Every day, subscribers to Hidden Gems get to pick and choose FREE books from over 15 different genres, including the ever-popular Fantasy category. We’ve checked back on some of the top Fantasy books we’ve shared with subscribers this spring, and here are some of the ‘Hidden Gems’ that our readers loved. The City of Veils by S. Usher Evans S. Usher Evans’ fantasy series Princess Vigilante has been described as “YA Fantasy meets Batman” and that’s a pretty apt description. Instead of a playboy millionaire, we have a dashing princess who ran away from her royal duties to roam the streets of her capital instead – as masked vigilante The Veil. But where does crime-fighting fit in, when Princess Brynna is suddenly expected to take the throne? Top 50 Reviewer H. Bala describes the book as “Batgirl in fantasyland” and writes: “I relished the scenes of a disguised Brynna patrolling the… Read More >
The Hidden Gems Best Children’s Books of Spring 2019
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on May 7, 2019
Today, we’re looking at the top Children’s Books shared with subscribers this springtime. Kids love hearing stories, but parents don’t always want to read the same books every night. Hidden Gems gives a wide variety of new children’s books, free, to our subscribers to read and review every month. Soon Kitty by Grant Uchida One of the wonders of self-publishing and independent publication is the diversity and sophistication that has opened up. One perfect example is this wonderful children’s book by Grant Uchida, and illustrated by James Ishizaki and Tiffany Smead. It tells the very simple story of a very complicated issue – one not covered by any traditionally-published children’s book when I was growing up, but a topical and timely subject matter for many kids: Procrastination. Reviewer Katie Tomlinson shared the value of this book’s message: “This was a very cute story with a very poignant message about procrastination…. Read More >
The Hidden Gems Best Mystery Books for 2019
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on April 23, 2019
Sign up for Hidden Gems and you’ll be sent the opportunity to read books from over 15 different genres each and every day – including titles from top authors. This year, we’ve already featured some of the best mystery books around – from the cozy to the creepy – and here are a few of the top-rated of the year so far! Student Body by Charlene Tess and Judi Thompson Big city cop Chance O’Brien and FBI Agent Macy Adams burst onto the bookshelves with When an Angel Whispers, and Student Body is the eagerly awaited follow-up. When a beautiful high school cheerleader is found murdered, all clues point towards local coach Jake – but are the clues too perfectly aligned? That’s what Chance and Macy start to suspect, as they peel back the layers of seedy corruption in this small town to discover a sinister truth. Sandra’s Book Reviews… Read More >
Hidden Gem’s Best Young Adult Books of 2019… so far!
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on April 9, 2019
Young Adult books remain one of the most popular and exciting genres of fiction, and subscribers to Hidden Gems were in for a treat during the first quarter of this year; with some awesome YA novels offered to them. Here are the top-ranked Young Adult books of 2019 so far – and if you’re interested in reading books like these for FREE, plus titles from 15 other genres, you can sign up to become a member of our review program! Sword and Shield by Holland C. Kirbo Author Holland C. Kirbo’s The Legends of Aewyr series has shades of C. S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia to it – with the author creating a vividly-realized fantasy world that mirrors the values of Christianity. In Sword and Shield, the series continues following the exploits of strong female protagonist Lakyn, as she prepares to face the vengeful god Maal as he prepares to conquer the continent of Perravia…. Read More >
Thrilling Thrillers! 5 ‘Hidden Gems’ from January 2019
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on March 12, 2019
Hidden Gems subscribers had a plethora of thrillers to enjoy in January. We’ve picked five of our reader favorites to share with you today! And, remember – you’ll receive FREE reading copies of the latest thrillers – plus your choice of books from 15 other genres – when you sign up for our program. Judgment Call by JC Ryan If you’re a fan of military courtroom drama, you’re in for a treat with this book, by former soldier and lawyer JC Ryan. It tells the tale of brilliant Jamie Gibbons, who relentlessly tries to clear the name of her wrongly-convicted husband, and stumbles into a web of conspiracy as she follows all the clues to get to the bottom of this quagmire of lies and deceit. “I enjoyed this book about the perfect family with the perfect life until … The husband is charged with murder!” Writes Amazoncustomer in his 5-star… Read More >
The New Year’s ‘Hidden Gems’ – Romance Edition
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on February 12, 2019
We’re only a month into 2019, but already subscribers to Hidden Gems have had a plethora of fantastic books to read and review. We offer FREE reading copies of books from over 15 genres, but today we’re going to take a look at the perennially-popular romance category and highlight five titles that subscribers have identified as true ‘Hidden Gems’ of the category. Exposed: A Miseducation Romance by Lulu Baxter Sometimes it’s nice for romance to be sweet. Sometimes you prefer it steamy. The latter is definitely flavor of the month in this thrilling stand-alone romance, in which aspiring romance writer Prynne stumbles into the hotel room of a sexy exhibitionist – and allows him to take her on an erotic and romantic journey that pushes the limits of all her secret desires. In her 5-star review, kingsfan writers: “Rhys and Prynne are alike and so much different. The is the… Read More >
5 Books Every Aspiring Author Should Read
By: Craig | Posted on January 29, 2019
We’ve compiled a list of five carefully-selected books perfect for any aspiring writer. With the advent of self-publishing there are now hundreds of titles about how to become a successful writer – but sadly if you look at a lot of the reviews and the rankings for many of these books, you’ll suspect that the authors aren’t quite as smart about the subject as they promote themselves to be. Having said that, there are some gems out there about the art and craft of writing, and we’ve taken a little time to separate the wheat from the chaff and come up with five books about writing that you can’t help but learn from. The Elements of Style: Simplified and Illustrated for Busy People by William Strunk Jr. and Virginia Campbell First written in 1918, The Elements of Style is often considered to be America’s seminal work on writing in the American English… Read More >
