Just a reminder that Samhain Publishing is going out of business on February 28th, and have put their entire DRM-free
direct-buy catalogue on 50% off sale, available worldwide.
While best known for romance, they also have a strong horror selection with many backlist authors and reprints, and a scattering of perfectly cromulent mystery & science fiction & fantasy (mostly urban fantasy) series which are not primarily romance-oriented but contain varying degrees of romantic elements.
For plot-heavy adventures with only mild romantic elements, I'd personally recommend:
- Sierra Dean's Secret McQueen urban fantasy series starring a part-werewolf/part-vampire bounty hunter (the love triangle is not particularly prominent and handled in an unusual and low-key manner). We've previously gotten the 1st-in-series free, and it was a fun series that I sporadically kept up with whenever they had holiday discount sales.
- Alex Beecroft's Under the Hill historical fantasy crossover duology is quite good, and skips between WWII and the present day, due to time loss from faerie kidnapping and invasions. I quite enjoyed this when I bought it on impulse several years ago. The romance in it is m/m, and not obtrusive.
- Sheryl Nantus' Blaze of Glory superhero series is also a 1st-in-series freebie that I read and enjoyed. It's been a while, but IIRC, there may not have actually been any actual romantic subplot in the 1st book (I bought but have not read the later ones), just f/m flirting, and the entire trilogy follows the adventures of the same superheroine as her team goes on missions.
All three of these series were pretty low on relationship drama when I read them, and had solid case stories which would have fit in well if they'd belonged to a dedicated sfnal imprint's line.
For a plot-centric series with stronger romantic elements,
Lynne Connolly's
Richard & Rose series of historical mystery/suspense set in the Georgian era, starring the titular f/m couple as amateur sleuths, have also been a
1st-in-series freebie. It seemed fairly good when I
tried the freebie years ago and ended up buying further volumes on sale, though I have not gotten around to reading them yet. This had rather more (and somewhat annoying) relationship drama, but a solid mystery plot that it didn't detract from.
I haven't read, but have seen highly recommended by others the following two urban fantasy series:
Frank Tuttle's
The Markhat Files starring the eponymous magical P. I., for which we've gotten the 1st-in-series free, and
K. J. Charles'
A Charm of Magpies, which is a Victorian paranormal investigative mystery series with m/m romantic elements, for which there is a
short story still currently free.