I thought the heavyworlders were the most interesting aspect of the Planet Pirates books, but terribly treated by the narrative. I'm not sure how much of a role they play in the Dinosaur Planet books, or if the narrative does any better with them.

Cabinet of Wonders has a pretty young protagonist, but I found it really fun because it was 16th century clockpunk, and you just don't see much of that.

Yeah, I think the first 4 Circle of Magic books didn't have a romance. Neither did Melting Stones, which was my favorite so far except Will of the Empress. Pierce varies--some of her books have a major romance plot or three, others don't. (Kel, I admit--I don't find any of her crushes very convincing, so I tend to ignore them. I was so glad she ended up single.)