Matt Bronleewe's House of Wolves ~ Reviewed

HOUSE OF WOLVES
by Matt Bronleewe
Published by Thomas Nelson
ISBN# 978-1-59554-250-2
320 pages
Back Cover

Back Cover: An August Adams Adventure

A mysterious book with a dangerous secret. An evil brotherhood out to conquer the world. One man stands between them...with his family in the balance.

In the twelfth century, Henry the Lion collected the rarest relics in Christendom. And to protect his most precious acquisitions, he encoded the whereabouts in a gorgeous illuminated manuscript called The Gospels of Henry The Lion.

The manuscript has been showing up and disappearing ever since. No one knows where the relic has been hidden...or its ultimate power.

Only one man holds the key to the mystery.

He's carrying it in a briefcase at his son's school for show-and-tell, and he thinks it's a fake. But he's about to find out just how real it is.

Because the wolves are rapidly closing in. And if August Adams can't decode the secret in time, the world's balance of power will forever be altered.


REVIEW:

Be prepared to enter August Adams' world of non-stop action, heartfelt adventure filled with intrigue, suspense, humor and love. And, not necessarily in that order. Beware -- once you pick this book up and start reading, you will lose all track of time and forget anything you had scheduled that day. I have to admit that I was a little less than excited about reading this book when I looked at the cover. 'House of Wolves' - I really didn't want to read about wolves or blood! I'm very happy to report that there is lots of action, fighting, gun fights, bloodshed and bad guys acting really bad...but nothing is extremely graphic. I loved it!!

August Adams is one likable guy who reminds me of an Indiana Jones-type character. Adams is a man totally into his work, who loves books and really enjoys the challenge of chasing down rare antiques. That's his specialty, rare antique books. He gets into the most unpredictable situations while researching the locations of these rare books, and then guarding them once they are found. I loved August's quick wit and sense of humor (like Indiana Jones). And just like in the National Treasure movies, relics have to be found in order to chase down the treasure. In August's case, the books are the treasure.

In 'House of Wolves', August Adams isn't looking for an adventure. But the action and adventure grab him as he is watching his son, Charlie, as his ex-wife goes out with her new fiancé to pick out rings. He couldn't believe she was doing that! He felt it was a little bit soon, but he couldn't think about that right now; he had Charlie to think about.

August Adam's father sends him the greatest birthday present (or so he thought it was at the time), in the mail. He thinks it's from his father, but there's no card with it. Who else would send him such a rare find? While August is admiring the great condition of the book, he starts to feel sick to his stomach when he realizes exactly what book this is. He knows his father, Cleveland, shouldn't have it and he can't imagine what his father did to get this book. Why did his Cleveland send it to him? This can't be good. August doesn't have to wait long to get answers to his questions. A "secret society" soon discovers that Mr. August Adams is in possession of the book they want, and they will stop at nothing to get it. August will have to thank his dad for sending such unbelievable trouble his way - after he stops some guy from killing him and Charlie!... and so the adventure begins in "House of Wolves.

Just when you think August is in the clear, something else happens. But, it may not necessarily happen to him. I was intrigued by the many interesting characters in this book, and so much was happening, but it all tied together. This book is definitely a page-turner! I loved never knowing what to expect with each chapter I read. This book was so refreshing because it is not a formula style book.

There is a special bonus at the end of this book in the author notes. Here the author tells the reader which parts of the story are real and which parts he added to make the story work. Not only did Matt reveal which events are factual, but he also tells which relics are real. Wow! Since I'm not a history buff, I wasn't aware that some of the events depicted in the 'House of Wolves' were real. It was quite amazing. I have to say I love learning about history this way!

You will definitely want to check out 'Illuminated' (the first book in this series) where you will learn how August Adams became the book hunter. I know you'll enjoy all the adventures he got himself into before 'House of Wolves'. The third book called 'The Deadly Hours', is to be on bookshelves August 2009, mark your calendar – I know I have.

Reviewed by: Nora St.Laurent


Bonus Review:

House of Wolves is an entertaining sophomore offering from Matt Bronleewe starring August Adams who may be one of the more charming anti-heroes to appear in fiction in a long time. Fascinating facts are written into amazing stories involving death, secrets and believe it or not, fun humor. This series really deserves to see the big screen. Feeling very much like Indy and National Treasure, House of Wolves takes the reader along for a thrill ride as August attempts to save the world (only because he has to). Big Honken Chickens may not like the smattering of violence. However, the humor manages to ease the drama a bit. I love the family interaction between August, Charlie, Grandpa and April. I hope Bronleewe is hard at work on the next chapter of the Adams' lives. I can't wait to read it.

By Kelly Klepfer