Steelborn by Taylor J. LaRue Review

Enter a world ruled by tyrants and thieves, where magic is outlawed, revolution brews, desire is dangerous, and an impossible cure may prove deadlier than the curse.

Never run. Never bow. Never die.

Reya Connery became the Crimson Dagger, the most notorious thief in Rhiterra, by following a strict set of rules. One: There is no honor among thieves. Two: A good blade is key to any negotiation. Three: Only the dead keep secrets. And Reya has a secret that must be kept at all costs. But when a heist goes wrong on the eve of paying off her debt to a ruthless crime lord, Reya may need a new set of rules. And lots of coin. Fast.

Enter Caelan Halcyon, an immortal warrior whose magic makes him a valuable target—if the curse inching closer to his heart doesn't kill him first. There's just one person who might be desperate enough to try and get their hands on the fabled cure in time to save his life, someone whose legend claims they can steal the Crimson Dagger. A male of honor, Caelan loathes everything the beautiful, cocky thief represents, yet knows that Reya is his last hope for survival.

Their search takes them to the edge of the known world, where Reya discovers that there is far more at stake than her and Caelan’s own lives. Now, Reya must confront deadly foes, her growing attraction to the immortal who is as lethal as his jawline is perfect, and the rage she's spent a lifetime trying to bury. This time, her daggers aren’t going to cut it, and the fate of all magic-born hangs in the balance.

Introducing an epic, slow burn enemies-to-lovers romantasy novel about a heroine forged in steel and rage, and the cursed immortal who might turn out to be as much her salvation as she is his, perfect for fans of Danielle L. Jensen and Callie Hart.

This review is based on a complimentary Advanced Reader Copy provided by Requited.

A thief, a swordswoman, a magic caster, and a weapons forger walk into a pub only to be thwarted by an immortal being in need of their oddly specific skillset. That more or less sums up Taylor J. LaRue’s debut novel Steelborn, the first entry in a planned trilogy titled the Steelborn Saga. This book’s fantasy elements are as widespread as its main character Reya’s talents, which can make it an exciting read or a narratively muddy one based on the reader’s taste. Featuring noteworthy action and high fantasy elements coupled with typical romantasy tropes and some messy world-building, I found this book to be a decent read, though one that I personally wasn’t very invested in (on Goodreads, 2.5‑star rating rounded up).

A fantasy‑romance/romantasy book with prominent fantasy‑adventure storylines, Steelborn feels like a book specifically crafted for veteran romantasy readers who want a bit more flashy swordfighting than the genre norm. A skilled thief who doubles as a mercenary for hire, the story follows Reya Connery, a scrappy young woman known as the Crimson Dagger. As expected based on its premise, the book’s best moments are when the story allows Reya to flex her breaking‑and‑entering skillset while also doubling as an undercover agent. Compared to the many other fantasy‑romance/romantasy titles out there, Steelborn sets itself apart by having compelling mystery elements such as tracking down a famed magical item to heal the ailing Caelan, the unknown individuals pulling political strings behind the scenes, and Reya discovering her own innate magical powers. When the book is story‑focused, its narrative is quite solid; LaRue clearly has big ideas for where the series is going.

Reya’s character is also one that’s easy to follow and support thanks to her scrappy yet resourceful nature. Confident, skilled, and flawed, her backstory is well‑written and shows her understandable path from metalworker’s daughter to famed street thief. Initially introduced as a roguish rebel out to make coin for herself and survive, the journey she goes on over the course of the book, shifting to someone who stands up for others and leaves no one behind, is done effectively. While the pairing of a chosen female main character with a dark and powerful male immortal is a common trope for romantasy, this book smartly sidesteps some of the more obvious pitfalls via Caelan’s ailment. Serving as an effective plot mechanism, this setup allows the story to rely heavily on Reya’s growing strength and drive rather than falling into the unfortunate setup where you have a feisty FMC who does nothing to justify her cockiness nor give any meaningful reason for the romantic interest to rely on her instead of simply smiting the enemies himself.

In addition to its interesting storylines, Steelborn’s other strong highlight is its unexpectedly good action scenes. Compared to her more stealthy and sometimes combat‑averse thief counterparts, Reya is quite the fighter, and this book packs some great sword‑and‑dagger scenes in addition to quick on‑the‑run chapters that are relatively uncommon in romantasy books. While not overtly graphic or brutal, the story has moderate violence and a bit of an edge to it, definitely earning the fantasy part of the romantasy label. This book has had many positive reviews praising its story, and I believe many of them can be attributed to its strong sense of action and respectable high fantasy aspirations.

While Steelborn has a lot of good aspects going for it, unfortunately it didn’t really hold my interest and I struggled to stay invested. Having read many romantasy books in recent years, I felt like Steelborn was never quite able to set itself apart narratively from the many other romantasy stories out there. While some readers may enjoy the wide variety of fantasy elements LaRue incorporates, I personally felt like it was more of a hodgepodge collection of popular fantasy‑romance elements mixed together into one book. The intro to this review was not a bit, Reya truly is all of those things on top of falling into the special‑chosen‑one trope, though it’s done quite well here. On top of everything Reya does, this story has magical immortals, fae, magical beings across all sorts of folklore, and then suddenly she and Caelan’s quest sends them across the sea with pirates! I genuinely laughed when I read that part, not because the pirates were poorly done (on the contrary, the sailing adventure is one of the better arcs in the book), but because it felt like the book kept pulling new fantasy elements out of a hat. A cynic could even argue that the author was simply throwing in as many popular romantasy tropes and elements as possible for a huge epic adventure.

Related to its fantasy elements, the other notable issue that affects the reading experience is the book’s pacing and plotting. While Steelborn has a strong and promising start, the pacing suddenly slows when Caelan is introduced, and the story doesn’t really pick up until past the halfway mark. To LaRue’s credit, much of the first half is spent introducing its magic system, exploring the lore behind sages, and setting the scene with the different divisions of the continent, political figures, and the push and pull of power. While the world‑building is good conceptually, unfortunately it’s presented through dense and dry history lessons. The kings and nations are covered in rapid succession but without context; they’re simply abstract figures in the background, and it’s easy to confuse who is leading whom and which ones are potentially sympathetic to Reya and Caelan’s cause.

While Reya’s character development is good on its own, another weak spot is her dynamic with Caelan and the romance as a whole. The book’s synopsis describes their collaboration as loathsome and forced, a slow‑burn enemies‑to‑lovers arc, but these descriptors feel exaggerated and purposely done to capitalize on their popularity. While Reya and Caelan have differences in aspirations and ideology, enemies‑to‑lovers is a stretch; it feels more like irritation of circumstances than anything else, almost entirely from Reya’s side only. Additionally, while Reya’s character writing is good, the same cannot be said about the other characters. Like the hodgepodge of popular romantasy elements, Caelan’s character arc and personality feel like a fusion of popular MMCs, making him feel quite generic and bland. The book also has a more refined prose and storytelling style that works well when it’s focused on the fantasy adventure, but the trope‑heavy romantasy scenes often feel dropped in or awkwardly casual in terms of storytelling and character interactions. Between Caelan’s generic character and the romance following very standard and familiar beats, the romantasy side of the story never feels like it’s on the same level or development as the rest of the book, constantly dragging down the intensity or giving off a tired and contrived feeling, particularly in the first half. That section is further worsened by the introduction of the book’s side characters, who also feel underdeveloped and generic to the point where I probably would’ve preferred just having Reya and Caelan go it alone, even though the two sages serve as an important plot mechanic and character motivation later in the book. They provide more diversity and a vague ragtag group feel, but  they’re forgettable despite being present for most of the story.

With an interesting mix of fantasy elements coupled with strong action, Steelborn is an above‑average fantasy‑romance book best suited for romantasy readers wanting more narrative bite than the genre’s norm. Featuring an assortment of good storylines and an appealing main character, at times this book successfully bridges the gap between romantasy and high‑fantasy adventure. Unfortunately, the lackluster romance and a few notable shortcomings hold this book back from reaching its full potential, and it never really got my attention. It’s by no means a bad book but is simply fine and not quite as astounding as many of the other ARC reviews make it out to be. I ultimately finished it through pure determination, as this is an upcoming book pick for one of my many book box subscriptions, but this is a series I likely will not be continuing, even though the story and pacing improved substantially toward the end. I’m quite confident its two upcoming sequels will likely be stronger and more satisfying books than this one. It also doesn’t help that by unfortunate timing, I had recently reviewed The Thief and the Traitor Bride by V.L. Bovalino, which is also based around thievery and information gathering with a substantially more complex plot, romance, and beautifully handled character development, though Steelborn is much more accessible and has more mainstream romantasy appeal. For romantasy readers looking for more action and high fantasy, Steelborn is a mostly competent one to go with. However, for those fatigued by romantasy books having repetitive elements and storylines, this book is not likely to change that.