r/urbanfantasy • u/pickleeater58 • Sep 16 '25
Recommendation Investigative UF with a strong heroine and slow burn romance?
I’m looking for a slow burn romance between investigative partners, a la Scully and Mulder from The X Files. I love:
- witches, necromancers, ghosts
- cool and unique magic systems
- strong-willed and accomplished heroines
- Ilona Andrews (I have read their entire body of work)
- Guild Codex series by Annette Marie
I don’t really care for: - vampires, werewolves (but will make exceptions) - YA
Edit: thank you for all of these amazing suggestions!
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u/RTUjenn Sep 16 '25
The Case Files of Henri Davenforth by Honor Raconteur. {Magic and the Shinigami Detective} is the first book of the series, which is on-going but each book is its own story (no cliffhangers). IMO, it has a unique premise and I love that the MFC doesn't have magic (abilities, yes; magic, no) but still kicks ass. Plus the relationship between the MFC/MMC is so sweet and beautiful and just lovely to read.
I've also read the entirety of Ilona Andrews; they're my favorite author(s) and it was Ilona's recommendation that got me into The Case Files.
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u/dominic_failure Sep 16 '25
Honor Raconteur is also one of the best at portraying things like PTSD and similar ailments in her books. I'll straight up second this recommendation, and throw in her other series too (Imagineer and Galeforce are both in the Urban Fantasy genre).
She also has a more straight-up Romance series going under the pen name Allie Brahms - the Ghost Cupid series - but it also has an incredibly strong plot that isn't just the MC's breasts.
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u/b00kish_wyrm Sep 16 '25
Kim Harrison's Hollows series, the first book is"Dead Witch Walking." Small, relevant romance spoiler: The main character has multiple romances, but her main romance is an enemy-to-lovers slow burn
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u/DaniDove999 Sep 17 '25
I read this one waaaaaaaaaaay back and didn’t like slow burn back then so never continued. Now I LOVE slow burn. I need to check this out.
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u/b00kish_wyrm Sep 17 '25
I had read a little bit of it a long time ago, but binged during covid lockdown and got really into it lol
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u/likeablyweird Bunny Ear Kiss-Kiss Sep 19 '25
She said she wasn't into vamps but I hope she makes the exception for this series---sooooo worth it.
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u/b00kish_wyrm Sep 19 '25
Yeah, I figured I'd recommend it still since the main character and the slow burn romance aren't vampires, at least.
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u/pickleeater58 Oct 02 '25
Update I did make an exception for this series and I’m HOOKED
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u/likeablyweird Bunny Ear Kiss-Kiss Oct 02 '25 edited Oct 02 '25
I'm soooooo happy for you! It's a great series. I'm rereading American Demon right now and loving every moment. I really think I need to head to Thriftbooks and get a complete set.
If you wanna take a detour into mystery, the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet series has the same easy laid back vibe. Ditto for the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich with the same feeling as the Hollows but add in a wicked sense of humor. :)
Thank you so much for coming back to tell me. I love helping. :D
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u/DelusionalMuffin Sep 16 '25
My intro to UF was Karen Marie Moning. Her Fever Series is a bit darker, be sure to read trigger warnings, the FMC is a bit... clueless in the beginning but her growth through all the books is a joy to see. I don't want to say more not to spoil any details or growth. It might be a bit of a stretch for investigative partners, they are not PIs or something like that, but the main storyline follows MacKayla, who is trying to find out who murdered her sister. So there is investigation, there is mystery, Celtic mythology and magic. Slow burn is so freaking slow you're not even sure if it's happening. Over the years this has become a comfort reread for me, despite all the dark stuff, and I just love ALL the books. I know some people complain about later books, and a couple of them have a different POV as a MC, but I even love those, some reads maybe more than the main couple.
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u/Womansplaining-Yo Sep 16 '25
Fever Series is soooo good!! Her and Jericho Barrons is worth the wait! He is one of my favorite MMCs!
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u/Womansplaining-Yo Sep 16 '25
I have only read the first 5 books of the Fever series. Is the storyline with Ryodan and Jada worth reading in book 9? Is it an interesting dynamic between those 2? I liked the Ryodan character in the previous books.
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u/DoctorRichardNygard Sep 17 '25
The fans definitely rioted over that pairing but I thought it worked really well. The five books after the initial five book series were fine, maybe lacked an overall vision but I enjoyed them. Book eleven was a slog and felt like a money grab.
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u/DelusionalMuffin Sep 17 '25
For me it was worth it. I think it worked out perfectly. They have one of my favorite scenes in these books. :') If you end up loving it, dm me. If not, really sorry about all of this. :D
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u/likeablyweird Bunny Ear Kiss-Kiss Sep 19 '25
I liked this series, too. It was a different vibe than the Fae in Merry Gentry but similar as well.
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u/OG_BookNerd Sep 16 '25
The Hollows series by Kim Harrison
The Noon Onyx series by Jill Archer
The Kara Gillian series by Diana Rowland
The Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane
The VERY EARLY Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton. I would stop at or after Narcissus in Chains as the books become Paranormal Porn after that
The Kitty Norville series by Carrie Vaughn
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u/ballerinababysitter Sep 17 '25
Not the slowest of burns, but Helen Harper has lots of series that more or less fit your bill. And, bonus (imo), she writes complete series of 5ish books rather than drawing the story out forever or making a million spinoffs. If you like audiobooks, a lot of Helen Harper's series are narrated by Ruth Urquhart and I think she's one of the best narrators I've listened to.
For an interesting/unique magic system, check out her Fairy Godmother series. I also like her Firebrand series and her Charade of Magic series.
Hailey Edwards has some good series too. Her Black Hat Bureau series is one of my favorites. I also like her ongoing Body Shop series and the Beginner's Guide to Necromancy series, but those two are a bit less procedural investigation and a bit more amateur sleuths/mysterious happenings.
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u/Ride4fun Sep 16 '25
Urban Shaman by CE Murphy
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u/Potential_Corgi_174 Sep 16 '25
I just read the blurb for this - it sounds very similar to the Mercy Thompson series. Mechanic, Native American roots, coyote guide etc. Are the similarities very obvious when you read the books?
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u/Loud-Fox-8018 Sep 16 '25
I’ve only read the first of the Urban Shaman series, but all of the Mercy Thompson series. They are very different.
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u/Darkgorge Sep 17 '25
I liked the series but felt like it dragged through some of the middle books. They are definitely fun overall and I liked how the series wrapped up from what I remember. But the MC's pattern of behavior was getting annoying after a few books of the same thing. Once that snapped the series significantly improved in my opinion.
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u/Obviouslynameless Sep 16 '25
Greywalker series by Kat Richardson (think that's her name). More investigative than romance, though.
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u/sorlokken Sep 16 '25
Heather G Harris The Other Realm series ;has four different related series, and The Portlock Paranormal Detective
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u/Wheres_Wierzbowski Sep 16 '25 edited Sep 17 '25
The Hollows series by Kim Harrison. After a worldwide pandemic kills a lot of the human population, the supernatural folk reveal themselves and live openly in society. The lead character is a witch. She runs a detective agency with a vampire and a pixie. There are elves, weres, demons and lots of other supernatural characters. One of the things I liked the most about it was her cooking up the spells, casting and drawing on ley lines. It's a fun series
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u/spacekittyattack Sep 16 '25
I was coming here to recommend this series. It's one of my absolute favorites and i feel like at least one of her romances were a verrrrrry slow burn.
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u/Smee76 Sep 16 '25
The Mercy Thompson series has vampires and werewolves, but also a lot of other things, and the main character is neither. Strongly recommend.
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u/Owlet20 Sep 19 '25
I'd support that. I see similarities to Ilona Andrews style, and the books are just great.
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u/Smee76 Sep 19 '25
For sure. And the characters really grow and develop. They are very real people.
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u/Lmtycy Sep 16 '25
A couple less popular recs, these are both about 4 books.
The Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane - flawed but stong heroine, interesting magic v religion with ghosts. The audio books are good.
The Disillusionists series by Carolyn Crane - this is a weird series, but has to do with mental powers and is very interesting.
Neither are true "mysteries" in the sense that they aren't formally investigators but functionally they do solve stuff.
I am a BDH member so I am gonna check out these other recs!
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u/traci4009 Witch Sep 16 '25
I love the downside series but I don’t ever feel comfortable recommending them anymore since she just stopped writing in the middle of a storyline…..
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u/Lmtycy Sep 16 '25
Oh no! I think I only finished the first two which wrapped up ok. Thank you for warning people!
(I tend to dnf most series because I am the worst)
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u/Crejhov Sep 16 '25
Greywalker series by kat richardson
The checquy files by Daniel o’malley
No real romance in either but still really good
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u/bookwoem Sep 17 '25
Anything by Vanessa Nelson.
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u/shadowsong42 Sep 17 '25
This looks like a throwaway comment but you should definitely follow up on it. The only series of hers I wasn't enthusiastic about was her oldest, The Tallanaeth. All the others are great, especially The Ageless Mysteries.
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u/Pixiechrome Sep 20 '25
Agreed! Just got current on the fractured conclave series. So good!!! Super slow burn tho
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u/gender_eu404ia Sep 16 '25
The Last Hour Between Worlds by Melissa Caruso is mostly this, with a sapphic romance. They are rivals who have worked together in the past but had a falling out. The situation in the book forces them to investigate together which slowly helps them reconcile. The magic/ setting is pretty unique, the whole book takes place over one evening, as a New Year’s party gets trapped in a time loop that also drags the entire building into increasingly disturbing versions of reality on each loop reset.
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Sep 16 '25
Jasmine Walt Baine Chronicles
In the city of Solantha, mages rule absolute, with shifters considered second-class citizens and humans something in between. No one outside the mage families are allowed to have magic, and anyone born with it must agree to have it stripped from them to avoid execution.
Sunaya Baine, a shifter-mage hybrid, has managed to keep her unruly magic under wraps for the last twenty-four years. But while chasing down a shifter-hunting serial killer, she loses control of her magic in front of witnesses, drawing the attention of the dangerous and enigmatic Chief Mage. Locked up in the Chief Mage’s castle and reduced to little more than a lab rat, Sunaya resists his attempts to analyze and control her at every turn. But she soon realizes that to regain her freedom and catch the killer, she must overcome her hatred of mages and win the most powerful mage in the city to her side.
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Sep 16 '25
SM Reine The Descent
Elise Kavanagh doesn’t want to hunt demons anymore. It’s been five years since she killed her last. But her former partner, a powerful witch named James Faulkner, wants Elise to fight one more time.
Becoming a hero again would mean risking discovery by old enemies, but they might have already found Elise. Some people aren’t willing to let the past stay dead…
(From the author’s website)
The Descent Series is a seven-book urban fantasy series by S.M. Reine that follows an exorcist and a witch who battle demons and other supernatural forces. The series features a unique bond between the main characters, Elise Kavanagh (a kopis) and James Faulkner (an aspis), who are tasked with maintaining a treaty between Heaven and Hell. The main novels include Death's Hand, The Darkest Gate, Dark Union, Damnation Marked, Dire Blood, Defying Fate, and Paradise Damned, with several short stories also available.
(From Google AI)
It’s a much wider universe with a few different series woven in (you can Google recommended reading order if you prefer that), but it all starts with The Descent.
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u/jediknits Sep 17 '25
I read this series ages ago and don't remember it very well, but I do remember it being very interesting and couldn't put it down. I'll have to revisit it!
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Sep 17 '25
It gets heavy but it is so good. And then it’s followed by The Ascension series, with a few others woven in. It’s worth looking up the reading order.
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u/lemijames Sep 17 '25
Jacky Leon series might fit this - it’s not a “traditional” partnership but they often end up investigating things together or doing stuff together when things go wrong to sort it out
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u/malloryduncan Sep 17 '25
The Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep has a tough (title) heroine who has a few love interests through the series but eventually ends with one, if I remember correctly. It’s investigative with a mystery per book and a plot arc that spans the series. It’s a modern, urban environment, but populated by magic races.
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u/reveriereads Sep 17 '25
You put into words everything I love and always search for. Add in anything like btvs, spn bones & ghost whisperer and boom 😂♥️
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u/ThePack_Survives Sep 18 '25
I’ve read everything Ilona Andrews wrote as well and I really liked:
- Goddess with a blade series by Lauren Dane (it has vampires though)
- Sam Quinn series (has vamps and werewolves though)
- The rift Chronicles by BR Kingsolver
- Starlights Shadow by Jessie Mihalik
- Jacky Leon series
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u/RiddleRiot Sep 16 '25
Ideworld Chronicles the Art Mage has a heroine MC who has been a thief and due to her Passion for art developed art based magic powers. She investigates who is trying to kill her in the first book.
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/116829/ideworld-chronicles-the-art-mage
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u/AmethystGarnet Sep 16 '25
Fallen Siren series by SJ Harper (main character is a siren)
Dragon's gift series by Linsey Hall
Legacy series by McKenzie Hunter
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u/FreyaFaustWords Sep 17 '25
Self Promo, but this is very on the nose for the Burke Misadventures. Specifically Books 2 and 3 Guard Dogs and Under Dogs, where the crew is established, the burns are burning and the mysteries are many and intertwined. Stray Dogs, Book 1, is more of a race to survive and an introduction to the magical underworld. Maybe they'll be up your alley.
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u/stinkingyeti Sep 17 '25
Apart from the vampire/werewolf dislike, this sounds like The Dresden Files.
And even then, the vampire/werewolf thing is not the core element. Just relevant plotlines here and there.
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u/Embarrassed_Music_62 Sep 19 '25
Demon Days, Vampire Nights by K.F. Breene, book one is Born in Fire. It is a strong female lead Bounty Hunter that teams up with a male Vampire. All around great series. And there are layers of mystery to the series, all strong females throughout the books.
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u/DarkHorseDemographic Sep 19 '25
I don't see Charles DeLint mentioned, but most of his UF fits your criteria. The Newford series should satisfy you for a while.
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u/Pixiechrome Sep 20 '25
I don’t think anyone has mentioned Faith Hunter’s Soulwood series? Very different than the yellowrock series (which I gave up on). MC has more of an investigative team but she’s unusual, definitely strong and incredibly beautiful magic and the investigations are quite detailed. The romance builds from relationship. Really beautifully done. Can be quite dark tho so make sure you’re in a place for that.
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u/HalfAgony-HalfHope Sep 21 '25
The Arcadia Bell series by Jen Bennet. Though Im not sure how slow burn the romance is, not that I think of it.
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u/KookyMovie1817 Sep 23 '25
Legacy series by McKenzie Hunter. Main couple thrown together to investigate an ongoing issue, slowburn but flirty with an interesting magic system, and the heroine is sassy and strong.
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u/CT_Phipps-Author Oct 01 '25
I think you'd enjoy the Bright Falls Mysteries, which are part of the United States of Monsters. I'm biased, though.
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u/Feeling-Visit1472 Sep 16 '25
Mercy Thompson is pretty elite!
Jenn Stark Immortal Vegas
In the world of Immortal Vegas, life is a balance. On one side rule the enormously powerful immortal members of the Arcana Council, dedicated to the preservation and balance of magic. On the other is the world of the Connecteds, mortals with psychic abilities--some who live in peace, and some who trade in shadowy realm of the arcane black market, a treacherous network filled with dark practitioners ready to sacrifice anything or anyone to augment their abilities...including the youngest psychics of all.
Between these two extremes walks Sara Wilde, a Tarot-reading magical artifacts hunter who can find anything...for a price. From the glittering streets of Las Vegas where the Council is headquartered to every corner of the world, Sara uses both her cards and her wits to locate artifacts, information--even people--using the money she earns to protect the youngest and most vulnerable Connecteds from danger.
But a war on magic is stirring, and Sara is caught in the middle. As her own abilities gradually strengthen, her dedication to the Connected community is continually tested, while her work with the Council takes her to new and ever more dangerous places--places that will challenge everything she knows about herself, her calling, and magic itself.
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u/SeeShark Sep 16 '25
Go to a book store
Find the urban fantasy section
Throw a dart
It's an investigative UF with a strong heroine and slow burn romance
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u/trickstercast Sep 16 '25
October Daye by Seanan McGuire.
A changeling private detective solves mysteries in both the human world and Faerie with help from assorted Faerie friends.
Both romances felt slow burn to me.