Sufficiently Advanced Magic - World has magic dungeons. People can get different magical abilities by risking their lives in the dungeons. Main character is male and entirely disinterested in romance, so no worries there. Not sure I’d call it mid/post industrial revolution; society kind of developed around the dungeons and they have their own version of magical technology instead. Really dives in deep into how the magical systems and technology work. I really enjoyed watching the MC learn his abilities and invent new magical items.
The Aeronauts Windlass - Full-on magical steampunk, very unique world. The surface is incredibly deadly so all of humanity lives in these massive, mile high spires, with each spire being like a nation and each floor of the spire being it’s own small city/town. To travel and defend themselves from other spires, they use airships. And they are some of the coolest damn airships ever. POV switches a bunch so it’s male and female, and while there are some romance plots, they are few and far between.
The Dresden Files - Fantasy in modern times. Main character is a wizard private detective living in Chicago. The first couple books aren’t terrific, they read like old dimeback noir novels. You could honestly probably skip the first 2-3 and not miss much. The author really finds his groove after that though and ho-ly crap the story really takes off and turns into something amazing. Not a lot of romance, whole lotta action and intrigue.
Others have mentioned the Mistborn series, specifically the Wax and Wayne ones which are set in early-to-mid industrial revolution. If you liked Stormlight Archives you’ll definitely love more Sanderson.
A bit subjective depending on the circumstances though right? Say a man has a horse that you want. Well, today, there probably exists a monetary figure that the man would accept to sell you his horse, even if it’s absurdly high. But let’s say something cataclysmic happens and humanity is blown back to the dark ages. If there is no society available for the man to use the money, then it really doesn’t matter how much you offer him because at that point money isn’t real. You could offer to trade good or services, but not money. You might as well be offering leaves from the ground.