Really 4.5 Stars
Reviewed at http://scorchingbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/a-nix-review-immortal-surrend...

Noelle has been carbon dating archaeological finds for nearly 6 years. Over that period of time, her aged friend Gabriel has given her many religious artifacts to examine. Some have been real and some fake, but the latest one has come up trumps. He has brought her the Sudarium of Oviedo, a piece of cloth supposedly used to clean up Christ after his crucifixion, and the dating seems to match the story. Being the possessor of such a relic could leave her in danger from fanatics, so Gabriel hired her a team of body guards. Unfortunately, none of them seem to love the assignment....

Farran is part of the Knights Templar and the main bodyguard of Noelle. She thinks that she is just returning the relic to its rightful owner but the truth is actually far more sinister. The Relic can give Azazel incredible power and so he is quite willing to send his Demons to kill her to get it. The Archangel Gabriel (i.e. Gabriel her friend) has ordered him to protect the relic, well that’s what he thinks until he discovers that she is a Seraph. In fact, she’s not just any Seraph; she’s the Sepraph that is destined to be his mate.

Farran wants nothing to do with a predetermined mate. He knows that they have to be mates in public, but he will not give her either his body or his heart. Noelle is a complete atheist who rejects the very idea of all things Catholic. When Farran tells her what she is, she literally laughs in his face. He doesn’t want a mate, she doesn’t believe in mates (but thinks he may be a little bit crazy) but there is definitely an attraction simmering underneath their chatter. Will they give into their lust (of course they will :D ) And once they do, will their differences make it any more than an act of release of sexual energy?

Well, this book was unexpected. I hadn’t read the first in the series but the attention to detail in this one made me feel like I’d missed nothing. The order of the Templar’s are charged with the protection of the Earth and Church from Demons. They walk the world alone until they find their Seraph, the one that is mean’t to be their mate. The mated pair will have an identical mark somewhere on their body and this shall be their identifier once they are discovered. If the Templar becomes tempted or broken, he shall become a Dark Knight and this is the one thing that we are trying to avoid.

Our particular Templar is a complete prat. He carries around a lot of baggage to do with his ex-wife and has vowed never to allow himself to be manipulated by a woman again. Once he realizes that she is his mate, he starts to become almost paranoid about her supposed “manipulations” towards him. She wears perfume, she’s trying to seduce him. She wears a jumper to bed, she is flaunting her womanly wiles. It really is quite amusing. He is so desperate to push her away, he is quite willing to turn her into a complete whore in his mind to achieve his goal. Unfortunately for him, you can only fight an attraction like his for so long and then they are scorching up the sheets together. But their individual reasons remain and then there is the pesky mission to keep her alive still looming.... it could all go very wrong. He was an arrogant man who wore his heartbreak like a shield against the world.

Noelle is a complete atheist who thinks everyone around her is completely bonkers. I liked her but she wasn’t one for seeing what was in front of her face very easily. I enjoyed her feistiness and completely agreed with her initial Farran stance. Who the hell would be flattered to be repeatedly treated like a whore, told they were unwanted and treated with something akin to disdain simply because she has a particular mark that she didn’t volunteer to carry. She was refreshing and intriguing....I hope we see more of her in subsequent books!

Overall, this was a hot and steamy read set in this imaginative world where Knights are immortal and Angels walk amongst us. With two incredibly hard-headed leads, this was never going to be an easy ride. A recommended read and series.... bring on book 3 J ( )

originally appeared on: Bookshelf Confessions

IMMORTAL SURRENDER, just by the title catches my attention. And I was so glad to find out that this book is all about angels, demons and cursed Templars! A mixed I heard so much about but hadn’t had time to read!

Reading the prologue, we get a glimpse, of Ian, a cursed Templar, who’s supposed to meet his seraph (a nephilim destined to purify his soul and end his course), only that what he found, left him breathless. Well, he found his seraph making out with no other than Azazel, the evil incarnate (that shows just how much Azazel would do to stop the Templars from having redemption) I could definitely say this prologue pulled me in to the world of Templars, and for the few hours that I’ve read it, I was there, enjoying the adventure and the romance!

Even though I’d rather read the first book just to know the minor characters more, this does not stop me from falling in love with this series. In fact, the book is a standalone, so there shouldn’t be any worries. And Ashgrove gave enough details to keep us in the story, but not too much that it’ll overwhelm us. She wonderfully weaves history with mythology and fantasy, that I cannot just get enough!

Farran and Noelle’s romance is a witty, tense and yet sweet encounter. Miscommunication leading to misunderstandings was used wisely in creating conflicts between these two protagonists. Farran, the ever loyal Templar, still broken from his ex-wife is afraid to fall in love again, worse to swore loyalty to a woman. Noelle, a certified atheist and scientist, doesn’t believe in destinies, more on the Almighty but not knowing that she’s a seraph, a creature she proves even in her dreams to be non-existent. Gabrielle, the ever-conniving Gabrielle, teams up this two, to let them grow and know each other, before dropping the bomb, that is—they’re fated!!!

In line with the battle of good and evil is the battle of wills from these two. The tension, may it be sexual or emotional leap off the pages. Their unique personalities are so well-defined that it suits the story perfectly well. We got a slow dance full of obstacles along the way from these two while discovering and protecting the artifact, and once the dance is in its peak, one can’t help but be carried away by their passion and devoted love for each other.

Overall, IMMORTAL SURRENDER is an adult book filled with fantasy, myth, curses, seraphs, Templars, evil, honor, courage and romance that you could happily wallow yourself in! This is a fast-paced, mystery filled, and romance-intense book, anyone will have fun enjoying!
Claire Ashgrove is an author I will definitely be reading more of! Very Highly Recommended!

Thanks so much Ms. Leah Withers @ TOR for giving me this book in exchange of an unbiased review, this book is one of my favorites..: :D ( )

The curse came when Farran de Clare and his brother knights of the Templar went against orders and discovered a forbidden scroll. For their act of disobedience they were given immortality to fight the evil demon Azazel and his minions. And with every kill of evil they made they would absorb some of that evil. But all is not lost; there is a prophecy that tells of the return of the seraphs that will redeem them.

Farran is not looking for redemption; he doesn’t believe he deserves it so when it knocks on his door in the form of an unbeliever he does everything in his power to deny it and her. But she’s in grave danger from the demon Azazel who wants the artifact she’s responsible for and it’s he who must protect her. But at what cost, his life, his immortality or his heart.
Dr. Noelle Keane is a firm unbeliever in a higher power; she’s relied on the science of fact for all of her life. When she and her bodyguard Farran are attacked she suddenly finds the black and white of her beliefs in question. When Farran tells of prophecies, demons and immortal knights she’s convinced he’s crazy until fiction becomes fact and she has a choice to make and the choice becomes more difficult the more she learns about this knight, his past and their future.
Farran and Noelle are one of the fated pairs of seraph and immortal knight and are stronger together but they each have their own reason to fight against divine promise and must make their own path and live with their choices. Will those choices save them or lead to their demise.
Claire Ashgrove has given me many hours of happy reading starting with her contemporary romance novels and now with her newest and fantastic series about the Templar Knights and the women who save them. It’s inventive, imaginative, epic and a fantastic mix of medieval fact and fiction encompassed by a beautiful romance complete with all the obstacles I’d expect from this doubting Thomas fated pair. Her hero and heroine fill the pages with their personalities and keep the pages turning with their antics and their deeds. The dialogue flows with a hint of the old amongst the common language of today and the narrative is fast paced, action filled and at times nail-biting terror along with the very tempestuous and sensual love scenes.
If you’ve never read Claire it’s time you did, if you’re looking for a new look in urban fantasy/paranormal or the Templar legend give this series a try. Even though this is novel two of a series it stands well on it’s own.
Claire thank you for this journey into myth and lore, I can’t wait to see where you take me on our next trip.
enjoy an interview I did w/Claire right here - http://bookclubs.barnesandnoble.com/t5/Fiction-General-Discussion/New-Release-Fe... ( )

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION’s Pack Alpha – Michelle L. Olson:

Another incredible installment in THE CURSE OF THE TEMPLARS series by Claire Ashgrove. Not quite as action packed as Immortal Hope, but engaging and thrilling just the same.

Picking up where Immortal Hope, book #1, left off, the Order is still guarding the gates, fighting back Azazel’s minions, their fallen brethren, and doing whatever they can to keep the darkness within themselves at bay.

Dr. Noelle Keane, the 2nd of the prophesied seraphs, is commissioned to carbon date and validate another of the sacred relics. In keeping with his meddling ways, Archangel Gabriel presents Noelle with her Templar torc, thus setting in motion events beyond her control. As the prophesied 2nd seraph, Noelle is said to be ‘The Blind’. That is at first taken literally due to her declining eye sight, but what it comes to mean is much more profound – the fact that she’s blind to the truth and the glories of the Almighty. She’s a true scientist and struggles with faith.

When one of her appointed guards, Farran de Clare, realizes that Noelle bears his matching mark and that she is HIS seraph, things get a little dicey. Farran is quite possibly one of the only Order Knights who wants nothing to do with a seraph. He has some pretty heavy duty baggage from his past and refuses to be made a fool again by any woman. His honor and allegiance to the Order supercede everything, however, and he resolves to take the oath with Noelle, if only to strengthen his sword for the cause.

Grumpy, duty bound Farran and naïve, insecure Noelle are an interesting match. Despite their mutual passions, their combined stubbornness is overwhelming and quite the roadblock. Misunderstandings abound, and the entire situation is quite volatile. Farran does everything in his power to distance himself from Noelle, and Noelle simply thinks Farran is insane. The back and forth of these things and the growth of the characters both individually and as a pair is a large part of the tale. Unlike Immortal Hope, Immortal Surrender didn’t get action packed until the end, but was an enjoyable read none-the-less.

Outside of Farran and Noelle’s story, Claire begins several side tales in this installment. The growing darkness within the other unmated knights, the side sects beginning to form, the organization of Azazel’s army, etc. The prologue confused me a bit though. It was about a Knight named Iain and his seraph Bianca, but after that initial action packed sequence Iain was never mentioned again. I can only assume that it was a segue to a future book and that we’ll find out what happens to him at a later date…

Once again I give Claire huge kudos for her attention to detail and the obvious research that went into writing these books. She has created an amazing world full of wonder and mystery and it’s obvious that she has taken the time to research what she’s writing about. I also like the journey she took with the growth of the characters in this book. Acerbic, unshakable Farran’s edges get softened and he caves to his heart, and Noelle’s insecurities and naivety give way to an inner strength and determination I wasn’t sure that we’d see from her.

LITERAL ADDICTION gives Immortal Surrender 4 Skulls and would recommend it to Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance lovers who are looking for something a bit different. I would suggest that readers start out with Immortal Hope before reading Immortal Surrender, however. While it can be read as a stand-alone, the introduction to the world and the supporting cast will be much more appreciated if the series is read as a whole. ( )