Maria Elena | pagesofmaria's Reviews > The Concealed

THE CONCEALED is a YA Portal Romantasy where our protagonist, Cate, travels from the USA to England to attend university, only to discover (thanks to the two hotties at school, Lucas and Daniel) that she is a princess from a parallel world and the one said to bring the end of the evil Embers and unite the two rival kingdoms of Caelum and Terra.

This book has elements that are familiar to fans of the genre, but it still has its own unique spin and voice. I flew through the pages and found it very enjoyable, and I believe readers who love stories like The Princess Diaries (like I do) but with a fantasy twist will love this one. I enjoyed the initial academia setting and the portal magic aspect. Once we travel to the fantasy world, I likes seeing the differences between the two kingdoms and getting to know the players. One of the most interesting characters was undoubtedly Cate’s father, the king of Caelum. He seems to be the most complex character, the one that holds multitudes and isn’t exactly how he first appears to be. I loved seeing how he struggled between being the king but also a father who wants to know his daughter. He was trying, and at times I saw glimpses of the man that would have led Cate’s mother to fall for someone from the rival kingdom.

I also enjoyed the romance between Daniel and Cate. They fall for each other rather fast, but once you learn Daniel’s true role, things get more complicated. In fact they were cute, but I was waiting for the shoe to drop at a certain point (spoiler alert: it does), considering the forbidden element of their story. He’s the Prince of Terra, she’s the princess of Caelum. Their love would likely be opposed by almost everyone in both kingdoms, not to mention that they would be repeating the same history that transpired between Cate’s biological parents. And yet, Cate is supposed to be uniting the two kingdoms. What better way than through love?

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. Opinions are my own.