State of Romance: Love climbs every mountain in Vermont

On this day in 1791, Vermont was admitted to the U.S. as the 14th state. The land was claimed by the French during their colonial expansion in the 17th century, leading to the state's French name, which means Green Mountains. The French ceded the land to the British after the Seven Years' War. The settlers later declared an independent Vermont on Jan. 15, 1777, during the American Revolution. Vermont joins Hawaii, Texas and California as the four states that were sovereign states before joining the United States.

The Green Mountains create a romantic atmosphere year round, from mountain top to lakeside, so let us explore romance books set in Vermont.

Contemporary romance blossoms with Kristan Higgins' All I Ever Wanted, Lisa Patton's Whistlin' Dixie in a Nor'easter and Lani Diane Rich's The Comeback Kiss. Category romance also takes root with Linda Barrett's The Inn at Oak Creek, Daly Thompson's Dream Daddy and Karen Rose Smith's The Dad Who Saved Christmas.

Beth Ciotta appeals to Cupcake Lovers with Fool for Love, The Trouble With Love and Anything But Love. The Green Mountains are alive with Beatles music in Marie Force's All You Need Is Love, I Want to Hold Your Hand and I Saw Her Standing There. Sarah Morgan celebrates the O'Neil Brothers in Sleigh Bells in the Snow, Suddenly Last Summer and Maybe This Christmas.

Anthologies climb the highest mountain in That Holiday Feeling with Debbie Macomber, Sheryl Woods and Robyn Carr and Hot Blooded from Christine Feehan, Maggie Shayne, Emma Holly and Angela Knight.

Romantic suspense is Ready with Lucy Monroe and in Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers.

Cozy mysteries spark humor with Kate George's Moonlighting in Vermont (A Bree MacGowan Mystery), Melissa Glazer's A Murderous Glaze (Clay and Crime) and Wendy Clinch's Double Black (A Ski Diva Mystery).

The Green Mountains come to life in Angela Miller's memoir, Hay Fever: How Chasing a Dream on a Vermont Farm Changed My Life.

Add to the list of romance novels set in Vermont by using #stateofromance on Twitter.

Next week we visit Minnesota, the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Kim Lowe is an Air Force veteran, Air Force spouse and romance book blogger at SOS Aloha. You can reach her at sos.aloha@yahoo.com.