After logging into the Hidden Gems App, you’ll see a Dashboard that gives you access to everything you need to read and review an endless supply of free books. Learning to navigate the app is easy, and doing so is your key to reserving new books, keeping track of the books you’ve been sent, downloading book files, filling out reader forms (your reviews, etc), managing your account, and much more. We highly recommend ensuring notifications is turned on and that you check in regularly to make sure you never miss a great read or forget about the ones we’ve sent!
The following is what the app looks like, and a brief description of the different elements, along with links to more info about each.
In order to keep things organized, the app is divided into sections and screens, with the most important sections along the bottom (New ARCs, Books You’re Reading, Completed Books) and the rest accessible by tapping the menu button (3 horizontal lines) found at the top left of the screen.
On the right side, across from thee menu button, is a little bell icon that may or may not have a little red number next to it. Those are your Notifications, with the number corresponding to how many unread ones there may be. Just tap it to view them when you can, as they may include important messages or reminders.
Just below those but still at the top of the screen, you’ll notice your Gem Level and HGB points. Your Gem level increases as you participate in the program, and your HGB points are used to reserve new books. Most people will get enough points to reserve at least 1 new book a day, but as your gem level increases, so will your points.
You will also see your username along the top (which will be your email address until you change it via the settings screen).
New ARCs Available
The New ARCs section (displayed above) lists the quick details of all of the new books available for reservation (based on your genres of interest and where you can review). Clicking the Read More/Reserve button will give the full details and allow you to reserve the book if you want to read and review it. Note that you may see a quick ad before the book details are displayed, but once you reach the top gem levels, those will stop appearing.
Books You’re Reading
The Books You’re Reading section is where you’ll find a list of all of the books we’ve sent you that you have not yet filled out the reader form for (that is, you haven’t submitted either your review link or reason for not reviewing). From this section you’ll see the details of these books, be able to download the files if you haven’t already, find the links to where you can leave your review(s), the buttons to let us know that your reviews are already posted and live, or the field to let us know that you won’t be reviewing the book and why. Once done, you’ll also have the ability to leave the author a comment about the book, if you wish.
Completed Books
The Completed Books section is where you can find all of the books we’ve sent you that you have already completed the reader forms for. From here, you can view any review(s) you’ve submitted, view or edit any reason for not reviewing fields you filled in, or even add any new reviews you may have left for the book (always better late than never)! You can also view the comments you left, or add some if you didn’t already do so (although they are optional).
The following screens accessed via the Menu (top left)
Manage Profile Links
Before you can see any books, you need to set up at least 1 profile link, telling us where you can leave reviews. Tapping the Manage Profile Links menu item will take you to the screen where you can do this. The more places you can review, the more books you’ll have access to reserve, so fill out as many as possible and then check the New ARCs section to reserve the ones you want.
You only need to fill the info out for each particular review site once, and we have more detailed instructions here if needed. The sites we currently support are Amazon, Goodreads, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Bookbub, Apple Books and Google Play Books. If you have any questions or issues with adding your info, please let us know and we can help get you set up.
Settings
Use the Settings item from the menu to setup your username, your file preferences (such as having us send the books directly to your kindle), your email preferences, your genre interests, change your password, and more.
Your Stats
Tapping Your Stats from the menu will show you more details about your Gem level and what it gives you, how many books you’ve read, reviews you’ve left, etc.
FAQ
Just click the FAQ link at any time to view our complete ARC reader FAQ.
Contact Support
Have you encountered a bug, or a usability issue, or maybe you just have a suggestion for a feature you want to see? You can click Contact Support to send us a quick message. Just be sure to include as much info as you can, including any screenshots if relevant.
Logout
Click Logout if you wish to log out of the app completely, although unless you are using a public device or sharing it with someone you don’t trust, we recommend you stay logged in.