How do I find my review links?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
In most cases, we can find your review links automatically but there are some circumstances in which you may have to submit them manually. In those cases, you need to be able to copy and paste the review link for that book onto your reader form. As each review site is different, the steps to find your review and copy the link differ. For further instructions and screenshots, expand the site link below corresponding to where you left your review.
Why isn’t the book I’ve read available to be reviewed?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
Sometimes the review site icons in the Books You’re Reading section of the app don’t take you to the book on the review site, and instead show a message that there is no link available. Other times, you may get to the book on a review site (like Amazon) and it is in pre-order and you cannot review it. In the first case, the reason for this is that many of the books that authors provide for us to send to our reviewers are not yet published, and they don’t yet exist on the review site. In the second case, the book may be on the review site but in pre-order status. Sites like Amazon do not allow reviews on books that are on pre-order, and thus cannot be reviewed until their publication date. In either case, if you cannot leave a review as soon as you’re done reading, just… Read More >
What is a Reader Form (and how do I fill it out)?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
The term Reader Form simply refers to the information we ask readers to fill out for each book that they are sent. They are primarily found on the Books You’re Reading section of the app, when you click the Review button, although you can also update it from the Completed Books section, in case you need to make changes or updates to a previously completed book. Remember that the free ARCs we offer are provided by authors in the hopes of getting honest and voluntary reviews. So in most cases when you reserve and read a book, you will be leaving reviews and then adding them to our system so we can keep track of them for the author. Even when you decide not to leave a review, you still must enter your reason for not reviewing in this same section. And there is even a place to enter an… Read More >
I missed/deleted the email with the book links
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
First of all, please make sure that you’ve taken the steps to ensure you’re getting all our emails. If you’ve done that and can’t find our book links emails in your spam/junk folders, you can still get the files from the Books You’re Reading section of the app. Just find the book and click the Review button to see the full details and options. Look for the “Need the Book files again?” section and then simply tap the desired format button (ePub or PDF) to get the files. Quick Tip: Book files are only available for a limited time, and once they’re removed the download links above won’t show up as the files are deleted from our system. So please make sure to download them as soon as you can, even if you don’t plan to read them immediately.
Can you send the book files directly to my kindle?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
YES! Whenever an ePub version of a book is available (which is most of the time), we can send the book directly to your kindle device or kindle reading application. It does require a bit of setup on your end (in terms of adding our kindle email to your Amazon trusted list allowing it to send to your device, and providing us with your @kindle email address) but you can do all of that quickly and easily via your Settings. You can find more detailed instructions on setting it up in the ePub section of this FAQ question.
What do I do with the book files?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
Our ARC books are usually sent in 2 different formats, each with their own benefits and uses, and readers can choose the one that works best for them and their device. Note that to use either of these files, just click the corresponding link in the email we sent you or found in the Books You’re Reading section of the app. PDF Format A PDF file can be read by most devices and you can usually open it just by clicking on the link we sent. This normally opens the book up and the user can begin reading immediately. This format is best for graphical and colorful books, like illustrated children’s books. Samsung users please note: Samsung devices can sometimes cause issues when attempting to view PDF files due to application defaults. You can reset these defaults using this method: Go to Settings > Apps > All Scroll to Google PDF Viewer… Read More >
What factors affect whether I can reserve a book?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
For the most part, readers that regularly participate and keep up with their reader forms should be able to reserve any book that interests them, provided it is looking for reviews on a site that they have filled out a profile for. However, there are a number of factors that may limit or prevent books from being reserved. Here is a list of the reasons you may be restricted or prevented from reserving a book and how to resolve them: The author wants reviews on a site you don’t review on As mentioned above, unless you have filled your profile information for at least one of the review sites that the author wants reviews on, you won’t be able to reserve a book. In fact, you won’t even see that book in your list of New ARCs. In most cases, you won’t even know the book exists, although if you… Read More >
How many books will I get? Is there a minimum or maximum?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
There are no quotas on books you have to read and review. You can reserve as many or as few as you want and think you’ll have time to read by their review dates (although getting reviews in past those dates is okay, too, but please try to get them done as soon as possible), as long as you have enough HGB points to do so. Unless your gem is cracked, you should get enough points each day to reserve at least one book. But the higher your gem level, the more daily points you’ll get and be able to store, and the more books you’ll be able to reserve. And you earn even more points for each reader form you fill out! The number of books you read has no bearing on your gem level or status as a reviewer, so just read whenever you have time. If you… Read More >
Help! I’m not getting all of the Hidden Gems emails!
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
Email software programs and services have very strict filtering rules these days, and will often identify newsletters and emails coming from mailing lists as spam or junk, even in cases where the person receiving them has specifically signed up for them, as is the case with us. We do send out email reminders and notifications regarding the ARC program that are important, especially if you aren’t logging into the app regularly. Therefore, it is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED that you both add our email (contact@hiddengemsbooks.com) to your contact list, and take a few moments to follow these simple instructions to whitelist us with your specific email provider. If the email you’re not receiving is the daily new ARC sign up email, it could be that you have turned that off via your Settings menu, but you can easily turn them back on. You should also visit the Manage Profile Links menu option to ensure your… Read More >
When do I get the books I reserved?
By: Hidden Gems | Posted on October 16, 2025
Books are open for reservation for approximately 36-40 hours, but you’ll know how much time is left via the countdown timer on the New ARCs page. Once you reserve a copy of a book, that countdown timer will be replaced by a message telling you when you’ll be able to download the book. Typically it is shortly after 9am the day after the reservation period closes. On some occasions, the book files are delayed but we’ll make them available as soon as we can. In very rare cases, the author cancels their ARC after people have reserved it. In those cases, we cannot send out the book at all and the ARC will be removed from your list and the HGB points you spent reserving that book will be refunded. In those cases, you will see a message about this in your notifications (click the bell icon in the top… Read More >
