Illuminated by Matt Bronleewe

After writing and publishing music all his adult life, Matt Bronleewe is looking to a different area of art: books. The good thing is that he has started out trying to be original.
The plot of Illuminated is about a dysfunctional treasure hunter family. August and April Adams are divorced, and their son is caught in the middle. However, they both share an interest of secret societies and mysterious history.
On this particular day, August is on a transatlantic flight when he gets into a conversation with a woman who is also interested in secret societies. She gives him an ancient Gutenberg Bible with a mysterious code hidden within its pages. It turns out that she planted herself on the plane on purpose to force him to decode it for her own purposes.
All the while, April is on the run with another valuable book. Their son is staying with Grandma, but they are not out of danger either.
I wonder if it's even possible for a treasure hunt book to lack secret societies. That's the first problem with it.
What kind of names are August and April Adams? How cheesy to name two married characters after two different months!
The characters are just average. Nothing wowing.
Bronleewe came up with an interesting treasure hunt plot and with it, an interesting answer to the treasure hunt. The only problem is the very end. The good thing is that while he's trying not to be inherently Christian, there's no other book like this one on the Christian market, and it is sure to be popular.
3 stars

House of Wolves by Matt Bronleewe

As Matt Bronleewe brings to Christian fiction a new genre, he is beginning to become repetitive in his story lines. I can't believe the similarities between Illuminated and House of Wolves. He has attempted to distinguish the two by adding more involved family members to the plot of House of Wolves, but it's very obvious. The villain is very similar to the first, and so is the whole objective of the plot.
Another valuable book is found. Another secret society obsessed with dragons is after it. More bizarre deaths. Another treasure.
I actually found several parts a little bizarre, including the strange villain living beneath ice with a giant idol.
Basically, everyone thinks House of Wolves is as great as the first, but it is really much worse. Bronleewe couldn't come up with anything interesting, but the public wanted a sequel, so he copied the first.
The characters are worse than the first. August has achieved perfection. At least Matt hasn't had the two months get back together again. And at least August or April didn't find a new date who is also named after a month.
The cheesy final scene is hardly bearable and is pretty much the icing on the spongy, store-bought cake. Matt Bronleewe should not continue this book. He might should not write another book if it's going to be like this.
This book is not worth your time.
1 star