Shadow Walker

Action-packed, imaginative, and well-written. Mel is a rogue shadow walker trying to quit her life of crime but is forced to work for a dangerous client to steal ancient magical secrets. Got an older noir vibe from this one, but the main character is more likeable than your general noir protagonist and not a surly loner :) She has a family and everything, and it greatly enhances the book and makes the stakes more dire to me. Really enjoyed the main character's rag-tag group of friends also.

There's a romantic subplot but it's not overpowering at all, this primarily an action/crime/mystery sort of book.

My only gripe is the infodump in the beginning, the History of Valderex. My advice for people who've read any kind of fantasy book is to just skip it, it's not going to be surprising or interesting to you. Occasionally some more awkward exposition comes up in the book, but it's a sentence or two at most. Power through those and you get a very enjoyable read.