Set in New Orleans in the early 19th century, this atmospheric tale portrays the romance between Lysette Kersaint, a strong-willed Creole who is on the run from her abusive stepfather and an arranged marriage to a man she loathes, and Maximilien Vallerand, a notorious rake and widower who is rumored to have strangled his adulterous wife. Lysette finds protection in Max's home, but she soon learns that he plans to use her as a pawn to exact revenge against her intended, Etienne Sagesse, his sworn enemy.

3. Siren by Cheryl Sawyer 

Notorious pirate Jean Laffite aims to take Leonore Roncival's island home, her weapons, and her treasure, but pirate's daughter Leonore proves to be more than a worthy adversary. Vowing to defend what is rightfully hers, she tries to stay as far away from the sinfully handsome Jean as possible, and she begins a campaign to gain control of her father's legacy that earns her the nickname "Siren."

4. Passion's Joy by Jennifer Horsman 

While by day Joy Claret is the beautiful charge of socially prominent Dr. Joshua Rubens, by night she, disguised as a teenage boy, works on the Underground Railroad to free slaves. The escape plan is perfectly executed until the moment Ram Barrington appears these pages. Known among the elite English aristocracy as the iconoclastic Lord Ramsey Barrington the Third, the ruggedly handsome captain soon becomes dangerously entangled in the beautiful young lady’s unconventional life.

5. The Willing Widow by Ursula LeCoeur

Renee Desselle is a beautiful young widow who owns a thriving French Quarter millinery. Irishman William Collins is a newcomer to New Orleans who manages his uncle’s prosperous cotton brokerage. In the midst of preparations for the city’s grand World Exposition and Cotton Centennial of 1884, Renee offers to assist a desperate society matron who is being stalked by a mysterious stranger. To help his uncle, William undertakes the search for an embezzler on the Cotton Exposition Committee. Passion ignites between hero and heroine as their investigations intertwine on a path that leads to love—and murder. 

6. New Orleans by Sara Orwig

As rumblings of succession begin in the south, New Orleans heiress Chantal Theirrie is looking for a husband. Propriety drives her towards Lazare Galliard, the man who has it all, including wealth, power and passion. But Rafferty O’Brien, an Irish immigrant who has come to New Orleans to seek his fortune, has an impossible-to-resist drive and determination to get what he wants, including the beautiful but out of reach Chantal. As a war brews between the states, Chantal will be fighting her own war between what her heart and her mind wants.

7. Crescent City by Belva Plain

She was the exquisite daughter of a wealthy  Jewish merchant. From a charmed girlhood in opulent New  Orleans, she would be swept into the cataclysm of  the Civil War. Forced to choose between her duties  as a Southern wife and mother and her love for a  forbidden man, a forbidden cause, Miriam Raphael is  at the center of the whirlwind in a spellbinding  novel of divided loyalties and divided hearts.

8. Day Dreamer  by Jill Marie Landis 

On the streets of New Orleans, a veiled woman approached Celine Winters and asked her to switch places. For Celine, it meant a chance to escape, a daydream come true. By simply exchanging cloaks, Celine and the mystery woman would exchange their lives--and fates. Celine would marry a man she had never met, live in a land she'd never seen, and find a destiny far greater than any daydream.

9. Time After Time by Constance O'Day-Flannery 

Kelly Brennan, a beautiful young widow, arrives at the door wearing a horrible lime green silk and organza bridesmaid’s dress. She seems confused and talks about strange devices like “telephones” and “cabs”--things that don’t yet exist in this post-Civil War New Orleans.

10. Ashes in the Wind by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

Alaina MacGaren is forced to flee the devastation of her homeland in the guise of a young boy, only to find sanctuary in the arms of an enemy. Cole Latimer is a dashing Yankee surgeon who has served the Union faithfully, and his tender heart compels him to help a ragged, innocent "lad" in need--never suspecting the rags conceal a bewitching belle suspected of being a rebel spy.

I can't say I would ever reread Ashes in the Wind but I certainly did enjoy sneaking around and reading it in my teenage years.

Did I miss one of your favorite Historical Romance set in New Orleans? Let me know!

To vote for the best of the best, go to the Goodreads list: Fleur de Lis: Historical Romance Novels Set in New Orleans.

To enjoy a visual tour of the city and get even more recommendations, visit the Pinterest Board: Easy: Romances Set in New Orleans.