Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

In this new book, the Knights Templar are given new life. Based on historical letters written by Albert Pike the story brings the knights Templar to North American. The Rose family led by David Rose are strong supports of Freemasonry. Janet, the daughter, searches for the lost letters of Pike. As always the Catholic Church has also sent a agent to find and destroy the letters.
Janet meets Thomas Moore, descendant of Col.William Jamer Bury Macleod Moore, to whom the letters are addressed. They quickly join forces, fall in love and face dangerous situations to accomplish their goal of finding the letter s.
Having read many of these type books I found the new twist of the Templars reaching North Americsn refreshing. Readers will enjoy the mix of history and fiction as the letters are found.
Recommended. YA and adult

Thankyou to NetGalley, the publishers and the author, William F Mann, for the opportunity to read an advanced readers copy of The Last Refuge of the Knights Templars in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I liked reading this book. It is a blend of fact and fiction that I felt worked with the premise of this story.
Worth a read.

The Last Refuge of the Knights Templar by William F Mann is a thriller/romance about the modern Masons, descended from the Knights Templar of old. I am not a huge believer in conspiracy theories but one that always fascinates me is the Story of Prince Henry Sinclair and how he sailed across the Atlantic to bring the Templar treasure, possibly including the Holy Grail and secret it here, possibly with the Native Americans he found here. There is Templar royalty: the direct descendants of Jesus of Nazareth and Mary Magdalene. This story focuses on the letters Albert Pike to his compatriot in Canada defining the 33 levels of Masonry. Thomas Moore, a descendant of Pike's correspondent has come across the missing first 32 of the letters and has arrived at the Masonic library in Washington DC to do some research. There he meets Janet Rose, a lovely young scholar who is a member of a well-known Masonic family and they fall in love, pretty much at first sight.

For the first half of the book were toggle back and forth between Pike and Janet and Thomas. Janet's grandfather, David Rose, is an alchemist and modern day expert on all things Masonic; Janet's father is a very wealthy financial broker and very involved in the Masons, as well, so this is definitely a family pursuit: interpreting Thomas' letters to discover where the treasure has been hidden by Pike and his cohorts. Of course, someone else wants it, too: a Jesuit priest who works for a secret faction within the Vatican. He is led a merry chase by Janet and Thomas who are aided by a top-notch security team from Janet's father, Soloman. It was an interesting story, written by a master of all things the theory implies. I found it to be an engaging novel, giving me new information about the whole business. I enjoyed the read. I recommend it.

I was given a free ARC of The Last Refuge of the Knights Templar by Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions and interpretations are solely my own. #netgalley #thelastrefugeoftheknightstemplar

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy. It almost makes me apologetic, not liking this book after being given a free advanced copy, but it felt all over the place, like the author couldn't decide what to concentrate on and considering it was billed as historical fiction, it all felt way too unbelievable. The idea really intrigued me, the story being relayed through letters seemed a brave choice, unfortunately for me William Mann doesn't pull it off. 2 Stars

This book was just ok for me, the subject matter was very interesting to me but I found the authors writing style not a favorite

I am very interested in Civil War and medieval history so the description of this book piqued my interest. I thought it would really focus on Albert Pike's letters. While the overall story was intriguing, it tried to cover so many different aspects that I was overwhelmed by so many intertwining historical events: Masons, the Crusades, history of the Knights Templar, the Jesuits, Judaism, the supposed bloodline of Jesus and Mary Magdalene--just to name a few. Mixed with weird sexual overtones and an alchemist's white powder which acted like a Viagra, even for a man in his late 90's--it was just too unrealistic to be historical fiction for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Destiny Books for an ARC. My review is voluntary.

This was totally different from what I expected. I have a historical interest in the Knights Templar, who were disbanded and mostly executed in 1309. I didn't know that the Freemasons had adopted the name for their own organisation, although I've seen other modern groups do the same.

This story is set in American Civil War times and centered on a historical figure called Albert Pike, who was a general in the Confederate army and a Freemason.

The writing was reasonably good, apart from some of the dialogue, but this just isn't an area of interest for me. I feel the book is mis-titled, though I should have read the description more closely. The first few lines supported the impression that it would actually be about the Knights Templar from the title.

If someone wants to read about Civil War Confederacy and Freemasonry of the time, this should appeal. The connections to the Templars are certainly pure fiction though.

Albert Pike was a self made man. That is an understatement IMO, He walked over 100 miles at one time to get to his destination. Albert is reviled in some circles and celebrated in others. The question that everyone asks is how can he be for slavery in case and in another be representing Native American tribes in another. You will out the answer to this in this book and it is surprising . What did he learn that made him an expert in Freemasonry? Was he priveleged ot have seen secret materials that coached him in his ideas or was he just a creative genius? Reading this book will inform you. If you are interested in Freemasonry, the Occult, or modern religion then this book will interest you and give you a platform of knowledge that most others dont have concerning the subjects and their protagonists. Excellent and extremely interesting. Easy read also in that it feels as though the author is talking to you personally.

The Last Refuge of the Knights Templar – William F. Mann

I was given an advanced copy of this book from the publisher, in order to provide an honest review.
I have not read any of William F. Mann’s previous books. What initially drew me in and made me curious about this book was the subject matter, the Knights Templar. The fact that this is a historical fiction novel that centred around the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail, a subject that has always held much fascination for me.
It is actually one of the few mysteries of this world that I have actually researched myself. Like many other people around the world, the mystery of the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail is something that has captivated me since I first learnt of it. The story of the Knights Templar and the treasure they purportedly found in Solomon’s Temple is a historical mystery that always fascinates. So, I was really excited to have this chance to ready this story.
Unfortunately, I was left a little underwhelmed with this story. It took a good few chapters to actually get into the flow and motion of the story. To feel as if something was actually happening with the characters and their journeys. It initially felt as though I was reading someone’s factual findings and research of the Knights Templar and the Holy Grail, rather than reading an historical fiction novel on the subject.
Once I was actually able to push through this, I started to enjoy the story that was unfolding a little bit more.
I found though some of the dialogue and interactions between the different characters to be quite corny. I felt very cheesy and fake when reading it, a little cringeworthy at times.
However, if you are able to move past the dryness of the first few chapters and can overcome the slightly cheesy character dialogue and interactions it is an okay read.
I did like the premise of the story on the whole. I just feel maybe if the first few chapters weren’t so dry and had less of a research paper feel I might have enjoyed it a lot more. This would have really helped the flow of the story and reader engagement in the book.

The Knight’s Templar have intrigued me for as long as I can remember. So any story (fact or fiction) that surrounds this topic is a must read for me. However, as much as I tried I simply couldn’t get through this book. It didn’t read well to me and some parts I had trouble following. This is strictly my opinion and others may disagree. Hence why I encourage others to read and form their own opinions.

An informative read about the Knight’s Templar and the Freemason’s historical connections to North America. The illustrious Albert Pike was the focus of this book, in specific regards to the mysterious letters he wrote to another famous Masonic leader Colonel James Wilson Bury MacLeod Moore that contained big implications for the world. Inter-weaving the historical storyline was a modern day story featuring two bloodline descendants who attempt to save the newly discovered letters from getting into the wrong hands...the wrong hands being some shadowy self-interested organizations with their own agendas.

As a Canadian, I appreciated the information presented in this book and learned some interesting things. However, I feel this would have been more successful had it been a stand-alone non-fiction book about the Pike letters. I didn’t like the fictional story because it was cheesy and was mostly about characters regurgitating facts. There was too much sex and references to sex and some random alchemy and past life dreams that didn’t seem to make any sense. Dan Brown was mentioned throughout this book and his books actually have interesting fictional storylines and boring non-fiction, while this book had the opposite.

I was also disappointed with the ending. It ended abruptly and without any big revelations that I was hoping for.

Overall some interesting information that may or may not be factual, thrown into a corny story.