Caveat - I have not yet read any of these books, but I've been collecting them for my To Be Read pile. Suggestions welcome if you have them! Please refrain from spoilers in the comments.
The Native Star
by M.K. Hobson. "The year is 1876. In the small Sierra Nevada settlement of Lost Pine, the town witch, Emily Edwards, is being run out of business by an influx of mail-order patent magics."The Alchemy of Stone
by Ekaterina Sedia. "Mattie, an intelligent automaton skilled in the use of alchemy, finds herself caught in the middle of a conflict between gargoyles, the Mechanics, and the Alchemists. With the old order quickly giving way to the new, Mattie discovers powerful and dangerous secrets - secrets that can completely alter the balance of power in the city of Ayona. This doesn't sit well with Loharri, the Mechanic who created Mattie and still has the key to her heart - literally."Boneshaker
and Dreadnought
by Cherie Priest feature a Civil War-era alternate Seattle.Leviathan
and Behemoth
, Young Adult novels by Scott Westerfeld, are set in a universe where WWI went differently. "This global conflict is between the Clankers, who put their faith in machines, and the Darwinists, whose technology is based on the development of new species."Clockwork Angel
by Cassandra Clare is linked to a present-day Young Adult series by this author.
by Alaya Johnson just came out this month; I was fortunate enough to receive an advance copy in April, due to running into the author at a convention and, umm, begging. Moonshine is set in 1920s New York City, and is one of the most original vampire books I've ever read. Vampires and various other "Others" are common and known in the novel's world; Others are part of a growing social problem, as some vampires feed on humans indiscriminately, usually turning them against their will. Another group of vampires restrict themselves to blood banks and try to fit in with humans, becoming yet another underclass, mirroring and emphasizing experiences of the various immigrants, non-white people, and working class inhabitants of New York City.
and 
. They're detective novels on the lighter side. Jack Fleming, the protagonist, is at heart a moral and good-hearted person, with a hyperintelligent sidekick named Escott and a sweet girlfriend named Bobbi. Unlike in vampire romance novels, whether Jack will turn Bobbi is not a major issue between them; it's just another part of their relationship, which they talk over now and then. (This might also be because they're series characters.)
and 
collect the first six novels in the series.
and its sequel, 
, portray a world in which vampires are not-so-nice; the heroes of the first book are James Asher, an Oxford professor (and former spy) and his wife Lydia, a physician with a powerful intellect. An intriguing and ambiguous vampire character, Simon Ysidro, approaches them to find out who is murdering vampires all over London. The second novel focuses more on Lydia, who has to seek Simon's help to aid her husband, which leads to even more moral/ethical exploration of vampires in that world.
, featuring the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
(alternate title: Bareback) by Kit Whitfield is one of the most original werewolf novels I've ever read. There's a romance, but this isn't a romance novel (so don't expect a happy ending). If not for the werewolves, I would call it mainstream or noir suspense. The world of the novel is filled with werewolves, and on moon nights the only ones who can police the lunes are "barebacks," humans who through a genetic accident cannot change form. Lunes lock themselves up on moon nights, or are supposed to make their way to designated shelters, but what about the children with no oversight? The drunks who can't find their way to a lockup? The lunes who like running free and don't care if they hurt someone?
by Annette Curtis Klause. This one's Young Adult. Interestingly, the heroine is the werewolf; she is wrestling with her love for a human boy, and whether he can accept her wolf-self.
by Carrie Vaughn. This urban fantasy series is still going on, and I'm still enjoying it - recently, Vaughn added some new plot elements that I think gave the series new life. What I like best about it is Kitty's radio show, which despite its supernatural discussion topics, feels absolutely real to me. I also loved, in the first book, Vaughn's take on pack dynamics.
by Wen Spencer is not quite a werewolf novel, but it sort of is at the same time. It has some really wacky stuff in it, nothing like anything else out there, and I recommend it for that reason.
by Tanith Lee is fantasy, and thick with gothic atmosphere and her complex, unique prose. I didn't actually like the protagonist much, but this is a great read for when you're bundled up in a blanket, occasionally staring out a snowy window.
has a hero who is actually a sort of nasty person instead of just pretending to be so, and a cross-dressing heroine who is...well, kind of violent. And that's why I love them. Try 
as an interesting compare/contrast to These Old Shades.
is a Marriage of Convenience story. And also very different from most of Heyer's work. A friend once compared it to Persuasion. The closest to it among Heyer's own work is probably 
, also a book I love.
is probably the best for witty dialogue (at which Heyer is very skilled), and also for a rake who really feels like a rake and isn't actually sorry for it, and a heroine who doesn't really mind.
. Not because of the great bits in which the heroine casts the hero as the villain of her Gothic novel, but because of some subtle characterization that really struck home for me.
