[ARC] Book Review: Rogue Secrecto
by Victoria McCombs
Rogue Secrecto
by Victoria McCombs
Five Stars
Book 19 of 2025
Genre: Fantasy
Format: E-book, ARC
Blurb
Marsella has the unique ability to steal secrets with one glance. She keeps her identity hidden, while going under the name Rogue Secreto. The emperor hires her to read secrets of his enemies, all without realizing this masked figure who can bring empires to heel is his beloved daughter.
He lures enemies to his doorstep by promising Marsella’s hand in marriage, while the Rogue Secreto uncovers their secrets.
But Marsella has another secret. A boy she’s found, trapped behind a wall of water deep within forgotten ruins. As she seeks respite from the demands of her father, she’s drawn to the ruins and to the boy. He becomes her escape, her most treasured secret, and she shares everything she hears with him. When Marsella gleans a secret about someone trapped behind water, she thinks she’s found how to set him free. But he’s been waiting a hundred years to be released, and thanks to the secrets Marsella has been feeding him, he has the chance.
Too late, Marsella learns why he was trapped in the first place.
“I can hold them,” he said softly. “Tell me your darkest secrets, and I’ll carry them for you.”
Quotes
“If we seek justice, let us call upon the one who sees truth.”
“You shouldn’t hold the weight alone . . . I can hold them,’ he said softly. ‘Tell me your darkest secrets, and I’ll carry them for you.”
“I never thought you were the destruction.”
“I’d be chasing a daydream, while he’d be living a nightmare.”
“I have chosen you, brave one, to lead the empire. Do what must be done to save it.”
Review
Of the seven out of eleven books that I’ve read from Victoria, this might be my new favorite. (And I feel like I say that every time, but it’s true). Somehow, even after reading so many of her books, her poetic style of writing gets me every time. It’s beautiful–the worlds she creates jump off of the page. And her pacing is always so good.
Even still, this book is so different from the previous ones that she’s written. It was heavier, playing with themes of darkness and destruction. But as the characters developed, and all hope seemed lost, and I truly couldn’t figure out how it was going to end, light shone through. The allegorical snuck up on me in such a beautiful way. And because I read this book in less than 48 hours, I was able to see how it was peppered throughout. It’s definitely a book that will get better and better with each read.
Get your copy of Rogue Secrecto here (Amazon affiliate link).
Please note: This e-ARC was gifted to me by the author, but this review is honest and entirely my own opinion.
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