Ok this is just a little rant out of frustration and most of it is just entirely my opinion. I myself hate romance. The slightest bit of fluff makes me want to rip my eyes out. I rarely read novels with female protagonists, but when I do, it almost ALWAYS has a male lead. Now there's obviously nothing wrong with this, but the fact that they feel this is necessary, and when said male lead/love interest heavily influences the plot or the protagonist's character, and when they start saying some sappy shit it pisses me off SO much. I know most of the authors of such novels are female, and to that I say: PLEASE, NO MORE FLUFF, NO MORE ROMANCE. I just wanted to get that out of my system, have a good day.
FUNA's work is really nice in that regard since most guys just end up being ignored in exchange for spending time with all the protagonist's female friends.
I think I've read something with a female protag but no male lead before. Apotheosis of a Demon. I remember enjoying this series but not why anymore haha
You are looking into the wrong genre if you dont like romance, try something like Kino no Tabi for fmc + no romance
Personally, I live for romance. I just love really sappy scenes and grinning like an idiot, especially when the ML is too amazing But I have wondered, are there novels with female protagonists where there are no MLs or romance, just her fighting or something? I would love trying those.
I don't mind romance novels, but sometimes I wish we're not only given rose-colored fantasy world. Sometimes I hope there can be more stories about self-growth and things like that, not only dependence on the opposite sex.
I don't mind fluffy romance in these kinds of stories, what I do mind is boringly obsessive male leads that unironically relegates the female protagonist into being a damsel in distress in her own story. Although stories that do both kind of turn into a sick joke.
I get what you are trying to convey, most of the male mc novels have romance but the whole story is not centered on romance but same cannot be said for female mc novels no mater which category (fantasy, wuxia) they start from they all end up being sidetracked. There whole life starts evolving around the ml as the authors keep on making ml more op than there very own female protagonist how does that even work just make the ml the protagonist if he is more powerful than fl mc what is even the point of these kind of bs novels. The protagonist is not treated as a protagonist for the reason that our female mc deserves abetter partner the ml is always getting more and op as the story procedes but the same cannot be said for novels where there is a male protagonist the fl is never getting more op than the protagonist. The only novel i found where the female protagonist is given the main priority is azarinth healer there are others too but they are yuri or the reverse harem ones.
Then perhaps don't search the romance genre for it . Try The Girl Who Ate a Death God and A Journey of Black and Red (this one is in royalroad).