If There Be Dragons: A Novel

By Kay Hooper

New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper weaves seduction, suspense, and the paranormal into a spellbinding romance centered on an enigmatic woman—and the man whose touch threatened to expose her most intimate vulnerabilities.

What was a woman like Brooke Kennedy doing running a guest lodge alone in the Montana wilderness? And why was her best friend so worried about her? Those were the questions Cody Nash asked himself after agreeing to cancel his tropical vacation to go on a mission of mercy into blizzard country. For the strong and self-assured woman he found didn’ t need or want his help—but she was in trouble. Brooke had isolated herself from the world for reasons she wouldn’t or couldn’t say. But Cody didn’t need to be a psychic to sense that Brooke was afraid. Even more, her fear had intensified from the moment he arrived. Now, as a dangerous storm strands them together, Cody must learn the well-guarded secret of this beautiful, gifted woman—if he can convince her to give him the one thing he needs to save her from a self-imposed exile: her trust.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 26, 2008
• ISBN: 9780553905649

Kay Hooper

Kay Hooper, who has more than thirteen million copies of her books in print worldwide, has won numerous awards and high praise for her novels. She lives in North Carolina, where she is currently working on her next novel.

Reviews for If There Be Dragons

[kmartin802_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an engaging contemporary romance. Brooke Kennedy is the proprietor of a lodge in the Montana wilderness. Cody Nash is a computer expert and freelance troubleshooter. When Pepper, a friend of both of them, convinces Cody to visit because Brooke is having problems, Cody doesn't expect to take one look and fall in love.Brooke is hiding a secret paranormal gift which is one of the reasons she finds life in the Montana wilderness so agreeable. She is also suffering from night terrors. She doesn't want Cody's help. She has become used to being alone and not having anyone to depend on. Cody is a stubborn man who is willing to take all the time he needs to convince Brooke that he is trustworthy. And he has a lot of time. He arrives in Montana just ahead of a series of blizzards and winter storms that keep the two of them confined for weeks. Also confined with them is a wolf who had a broken leg and whose mental cries for help are what triggered Brooke's night terrors. This was a good example of a romance with no outside conflict. The two of them need to battle the demons of Brooke's troubled past when she was exploited by a mother who hated her. I liked the romance which is a lucky thing since there was nothing else in the story to dilute it or turn focus away from it. Brooke and Cody were both interesting characters.

[eadieb-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a very early Kay Hooper book and may not be one of her best. But I found it to be a very touching love story about a woman named Brooke Kennedy who had many a dragon to slay. She isolated herself from the world for reasons she would not say but a lot of them were based on fear of trusting and hurt brought on by loss. Cody Nash was asked to go on a mission of mercy by Brooke's friend Pepper to try to help Brooke escape from her fears.

Read this book and see how Cody finds out about the well-guarded secrets of Brooke's past and helps her slay her dragons so she can re-enter her life and be able to love and trust again.

A spell-binding romance with a touch of paranormal - 4 stars

[virginiagill · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reading this book for the second time I was again impressed with the strength and heart of the main male character. It isn't often in a romance novel that its the man who first reconizes the deep connection to another and is the one actively fighting for it. Makes for a stunning (but very nice) change.

[jjmcgaffey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An oddly - normal - romance, from someone I expect oddities from. The fact that she's psychic has very little effect on the story, except to explain her chosen isolation - though there are better reasons for that, as we learn late in the story. It would have been much better without the wolf, or with a more normal wolf - he's never explained, just accepted, and that makes no sense. The biggest wolf ever weighed was 174 pounds, and most are in the 60- to 100-pound range - this 200-pound wolf is normal? Not to mention the sense she gets of almost intelligence from him. But after she senses that and comments on it, it's never mentioned again - again, this is normal? Phooey. The dragon imagery was excellent, I think the stuff about the wolf distracted if not detracted. Beyond that, it's a pretty normal romance - lust at first sight followed almost immediately by love. The obstacles are more real than usual, and the way they're handled is very good - I like 'abused woman learning to trust again' stories. And as I said, the dragon imagery is neat. Also makes me want to read Pepper and Thor's story…

[jjmachshev_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Well, umm, it was easy to see this is a re-release of one of her older books (Loveswept, 1984). What a difference almost 25 years makes, eh? The story was... interesting, but I'm pretty sure it was the purple prose that made this so hard for me to get through. Don't get me wrong. I'm actually a fan of her 'Bishop Special Crimes Unit' series. And I'm mighty glad that her writing has matured over the years and it's always fun to look back at favored authors' earlier stories and try to find similarities in style or plot. But I want y'all to be warned. Or you could maybe look on it as an editing project? Find 25 unneeded adjectives per page? Cut out 25 pages worth of soul-searching?So...you've been warned.

[sunnysd_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Brooke Kennedy is living a hermit-like existence in her dead uncle's lodge in the Montana wilderness. Hiding from something outside that she can hear in her head - she's psychic - and which threatens her peaceful existence, she's hiding just as hard from contact with the outside world.Sent by a friend with matchmaking intentions, Cody Nash arrives in Montana to a cold welcome, and immediately falls in love.Blah. Blah, blah, blah. If you're a fan of Hooper's paranormal romantic suspense - I am - don't be looking for the same level of tension here. Or much of a plot. Boy meets girl, girl knocks boy on rear. Boy falls for girl, who, of course, is troubled. Insert wolf for element of suspense (remarkably house-trained, polite, non-biting, broken-legged wolf - come on, really). Boy soothes girl's worries. They live happily ever after. It's just banal. I'm rather disgusted I paid full price.