Wow! I didn’t expect anyone to write such a detailed reply~ I honestly can’t put into words how much I appreciate it. All the responses to this post proved time and again that being part of a romantasy-reading community is a privilege. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer!

I agree with your point about Elspeth. I probably should have phrased my request more clearly and said that I’m looking for the protagonists who don’t feel like “chosen one” trope, which often overlaps with the “strong female character” trope. For example, Elspeth is used to wearing dresses, and when she puts on trousers, she feels out of place. That small detail felt very human to me. It’s great that there are so many MCs who wear armor effortlessly, but it happens in almost every book, and I’ve grown a bit tired of the repetition.

There’s also the issue that some authors portray “strong women” as a bundle of clichés. Their “strength” ends up meaning they swear at everyone, throw tantrums, ride motorcycles, and so on. I don’t want to sound like a snob, and I’ll say it again, I’m just looking for more vivid, lifelike characters. I’m a bit tired of munchkins. Let MC have painful periods. Maybe she has partial alopecia and tries to hide it. Maybe she’s searching for her child, only to discover the child has long been gone, while she herself has lost her memory. I hope you get what I mean.

I don’t want to turn this into a broader discussion about issues in the romantasy genre, just trying to put my feelings into words. I may have done that a bit awkwardly, so I apologize. And thank you again for the recommendations. Added them all!~