I'm not sure whether you wish to read or to avoid comedies and romances. (Your phrasing seemed somewhat ambiguous to me.) But if you would like a long (much longer than the limit you requested) romance which will undoubtedly win several of this year's Kerths, you can't go wrong with Female Hawk's Aussie Rules.
HappyGirl's The Man Under the Suit is also excellent and will likely take home a Kerth or two for her, as well.
And another story likely to bring in some Kerths is ML Thompson's The Time Traveler's Wife. It clocks in at 772K.
Finally, I'm about a third of the way through Veritas, and I wholeheartedly second MozartMaid's endorsement of it.
Joy,
Lynn
