{Review} of Immortal Surrender by Claire Ashgrove

Immortal Surrender by Claire Ashgrove
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

GENRE: Romance
THEME: Fantasy/Mythology
RECEIVED: TOR/FORGE
AUTHORS BLOG: Claire Ashgrove's Site

BLURB:

Farran de Clare, loyal member of the cursed Knights Templar, wants nothing to do with predestined mates. Even the Almighty won’t turn him into a fool again—he’d rather sacrifice his soul. Yet in the scientist Noelle Keane, a devout atheist, Farran meets the seraph designed for him.

Ordered by the archangel Gabriel to protect Noelle, the possessor of a sacred relic that could give Azazel incredible power, Farran swears to do his duty—but in name only. Fighting an attraction that grows with each day, he’s determined that he’ll never pledge himself to her.

As they war over her future, their mutual passion ignites a conflict far more damning. But before Noelle will agree to eternity with him, she demands the ultimate sacrifice – his heart.

REVIEW:
I love being able to jump into a series, even if I haven’t read the previous and understand what’s going on. Immortal Surrender may be the second novel in The Curse of the Templars series, but it’s perfect as a stand-alone. I immediately knew who the characters were from the first book, but all together each character introduced was memorable and had such vast personalities.

Immortal Surrender follows Noelle Keane who is the head scientist that tests artifacts for their authenticity. She has been ask to look over a rare piece known as the Sudarium of Oviedo for an elderly archeologist named Gabriel. But Gabriel is keeping much from her; she is connected to a group of men whom he leads to fight against Azazel. These men have been cursed and are known as the Templar Knights who battle demons for Gabriel. As a non-believer Noelle has been brought face to face with not only these Knights but also one that she can’t resist.

Noelle is a woman who is buried in her work; she also doesn’t really believe in anything “holy” and is blinded by a lot. As she become acquainted with the Templar Knights, it takes her quite a long time and I mean really long time to come to terms with what has been brought in her life. She is a Seraph (A women who is a descendent of angels and she brings the light back to a Templar Knight that was damaged by Azazel). Her destined soul mate is stubborn, moody and damaged and both make it difficult to connect to each other. But nonetheless the spark between them can’t be put out.

Farran is one heck of a man and a very manly man at that. He’s a warrior and wants to serve his duty, not be distracted by a woman. He holds a big grudge against a past lover and well…his heart has grown pretty cold over the many years. But as stubborn as Noelle might be, be prepared for an even more stubborn character, almost drove me crazy. He gives out more demands than just asking for Noelle to help him and that puts a strain in the growing relationship. The chemistry is always there though, hot and heavy, lighting the pages on fire. My only issue with Farran was his change of attitude every few chapter, the mood swings were a little over the top sometimes.

Overall I was really sucked into this world of the Templar Knights, the story was exciting and there was lots of action and character building outside of the romance. Of course this book has some great romance, this couple is a fiery one and Ashgrove knows how to write romance! It was hot! Even though this type of romance has been done, the angry guy with a broken heart and the stubborn girl, I felt the plot of the Templar Knights gave the story a big boost. I also can’t wait to learn more about Iain, whom we get a little peek at in the beginning.

RECOMMENDATION:
This is an adult series that contains a bit of violence and sexual content for mature readers. Fans of Lara Adrian’s Midnight Breed series and Gena Showalter’s Lords of the Underworld series will love Immortal Surrender by Claire Ashgrove.

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