Steelborn Review

Thank you so much Toppling Stacks Tours for gifting me with this Deluxe Limited Edition Hardcover of Steelborn. All opinions expressed are my own.

Steelborn by Taylor J. LaRue

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh my God I ate this book up in less than two days. It’s giving TOG vibes but with more spice.

The pacing was so good, amazing world building, a bad ass FMC and I think I just met my new favorite book boyfriend.

The nicknames 🥵

I loved all of the character development and not just our FMC and MMC. I feel like we really get to know our side characters as well. The plot is plotting and the amount of tension 🔥 and the banter is so good. I have way too many highlights.

This is easily one of my top books of the year.

Convincing you to read Steelborn with some of my favorite quotes:

Never run. Never bow. Never die.

“If this were any other circumstance, this would absolutely be doing it for me.”

“If you need to take the edge off, thief, all you have to do is ask.”

“Is there a reason you need to be half naked for this?” she asked dryly. “I know how you like to look.”

“Tell me you don’t want me to touch you. Tell me you don’t want me to make you scream. Tell me you don’t want me.”

Tropes

Touch her and I’ll melt your bones
Only one saddle
F!ck it
Kraken
He trains her
Snarky pet names
Stabby FMC
He’s cursed and she’s his only hope

Book Description

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. This deluxe hardcover publication features stunning edges, illustrated endpapers, foil-stamped case cover, and special effects on the jacket.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. There is no honor among thieves. A good blade is key to any negotiation. Onlythe 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 setof rules. And a lot 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.

Check out Steelborn on Goodreads

Book Details:

Where to buy

About the Author

Taylor J. LaRue writes epic fantasies about heroines who play with steel, people who hate to love each other, and reckless hope.

She spent her early career as a journalist in the Windy City. Now she is realizing her moody aesthetic dreams in the Pacific Northwest, where she lives with her high school sweetheart turned husband, their tiny human tyrant, and one very soggy puppy. When she’s not overindulging in butterscotch lattes and devouring advance reader copies, she’s shopping for houseplants she will inevitably fail to keep alive. Her debut novel STEELBORN will publish in August of 2026.