Book Review: Steelborn by Taylor J. LaRue
In a world ruled by tyrants and thieves, where magic is outlawed and revolution brews, a lauded thief and an immortal warrior must work together to secure their survival.
Reya Connery became the Crimson Dagger out of necessity but her disguise as the most notorious thief in Rhiterra is hiding a much bigger secret than the face under the mask. When a heist goes wrong on the eve of paying off her debt to a ruthless crime lord, Reya needs a lot of coin, and she needs it fast. Enter Caelan Halycon, a formidable warrior whose magic makes him a valuable target. If his enemies don’t kill him, the curse inching closer to his heart will. And there’s just one person who’s audacious, skilled and desperate enough to steal him the fabled cure.
They may be on opposing sides morally but Reya and Caelan have plenty to live for, and just as much to lose if they fail. Their search takes them to the edge of the known world, where Reya must confront deadly foes, the history she refuses to remember, and the rage she’s spent a lifetime trying to bury. Then there’s her growing attraction to the lethal immortal warrior, who could be the salvation she’s been searching for. Her daggers might have got her this far but with the fate of all magic-born hanging in the balance, Reya must learn to embrace who she is beyond the thief and killer she’s become.
As a long-time reader of romantasy, I’ve devoured enough enemies-to-lovers books to fill whole bookshelves. It’s my favourite trope, and it works so perfectly with tales of magic and strife. Never has that been truer than with Steelborn, which pairs two fearsome fighters who kick off the novel trying to kill each other and then oh so deliciously fall for each other, whilst also trying to save their crumbling world in the process. If you want a blueprint for how to write an adventure-filled romantasy that’s both fierce and tender, Taylor J. Larue has created it with this book.
Steelborn is such an assured and intricately plotted debut, yet it’s incredibly accessible too. It’s richly woven with different types of magic and all kinds of fantasy creature but it doesn’t get weighed down with complex worldbuilding. That’s not to say it’s light and airy – there’s so much emotion swirling within these pages and you experience every moment of it – but it never once feels like you’re wading through backstory or complicated explanations of magic systems. Every part of the magic in this book is believable and palpable, and though we’ve seen our fair share of elemental magic in recent romantasies, it feels miraculously fresh too.
A romantasy is only as strong as the couple at its heart and Steelborn delivers one of my favourites in a long time. It’s easy to fall in love with Reya and Caelan, who banter and brawl and hurt and yearn over the course of the book’s 400+ pages. It helps that they pick up a lively band of misfit allies along the way, including two loyal-to-a-fault immortal soldiers, a sassy ice elemental and a female pirate captain who adds a swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean vibe to the middle section of the book. This wider cast of characters add humour, camaraderie and a sense of found family that really ups the stakes and provides Reya and Caelan something far greater than just themselves to fight for.
Tense, romantic and immersive, Steelborn gives fans of Sarah J. Mass and Callie Hart a whole new romantasy series to obsess over. With so much to unpack and pick back up as the saga continues, the sequel will be right at the top of my most anticipated books still to come.
★★★★★
Steelborn was published by Wayward TxF on 4 August 2026
