The King’s Captive and The King’s Shadow are the first two books in K. M. Shea‘s Gate of Myth and Power trilogy, a part of her larger Magiford Supernatural City universe. They remind me of a cross between the Hollows series and Fukushuu o Chikatta Shironeko wa Ryuuou no Hiza no Ue de Damin o Musaboru.
Fortunately, even not having read any of her previous books in the setting, these are easy to follow despite including quite a number of references to those earlier works. The characters are fun, the developments are entertaining enough, and the romance surprisingly does not come across as forced. Definitely interested in seeing how the trilogy concludes… but I’m not sure I’ll bother with any of the related trilogies.
Shari L. Tapscott‘s first three Obsidian Queen novels (Guild of Secrets, Princess of Shadows, & Knights of Obsidian) are interesting primarily due to the protagonist’s personality.
Generally in urban fantasy and/or paranormal romance the lead is either a scrappy underdog or ‘boringly’ average; these books however feature a high society heiress-type. The romantic (and other) developments are what you’d expect for the genre though, so if the novelty of a non-standard protagonist doesn’t grab you there won’t be much point in reading past the first entry.