Immortal Surrender by Claire Ashgrove
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.
Immortal Surrender by Claire Ashgrove
eARC : 400 pages
Publisher: TOR Books (September 25, 2012)
Series: Curse of the Templars #2
I’ll start off by saying that I absolutely love Claire Ashgrove’s writing style and can’t get enough of the Curse of the Templars series. Last January, I reviewed Immortal Hope and fell head-over-heels in love with romance novels. You can see my review of Immortal Hope here. I simply couldn’t put it down and Immortal Surrender is no different. If you haven’t read or heard of Claire’s enthralling Templar series, you should definitely add it to your reading list.
Noelle Keane is a scientist and she loves working in her lab, testing relics and making sure they are the real deal. Farran De Clare is assigned to her security detail to ensure her safety as she returns the relic she’s been working on to its owner. De Clare is a Templar Knight and isn’t all that thrilled with being part of the security team. Protecting this woman seems to fall well beneath his preferred activity, which is fighting the dark knight of Azazel. What he doesn’t know is that his immortal life is about to change, and so is Noelle’s.
Noelle is a headstrong young woman and can be a little annoying at times, but I found her to be a very likable character. She has similar thoughts to Anne in Immortal Hope when it comes to being held against her will. I can totally understand that! She desperately wants to return to her work and escape the crazy people holding her. When the going gets tough, Noelle’s lack of belief in Farran’s story hinders their being able to connect with one another but it isn’t the only thing getting in the way. Farran’s past plays a huge role in it too. He really needs to let go of the past and look to the future. It was nice to see the push and pull in their relationship. It seemed as though this couple had a lot more to deal with than Anne and Merrick did. The fact that Farran and Noelle had to work a little harder before they would willing and wholeheartedly pledge themselves to one another made for an enthralling and romantic tale.
From the turn of the first page, I was thrust back into a world I’ve missed in a big way. It was like going home again! Immortal Surrender seduces you with its captivating love stories, imagery, and the historical qualities that leap from the pages and pul you into the Templar world. The further you get into the story, the more impact the characters’ situations have on you. I know these people aren’t real, but Ashgrove brings them to life in such a vivid way. The third book in this brilliantly crafted series, Immortal Trust, hits stores in March of 2013. It’s definitely on the top of my must-have list and it should be on yours too!
Tags:Claire Ashgrove, Immortal Hope, Immortal Surrender, Paranormal romance, Romace, the Curse of the Templars series, TOR Books
