Immortal Protector

The Curse of the Templars #2.5

by Claire Ashgrove

After the brutal murder of his seraph, Iain Donnelly's salvation is eternally lost. Damned to become a dark knight of Azazel, he can no longer embrace his immortal purpose as a Templar Knight. When the archangels send him on Sabbatical to find his faith once more, his quest leads him straight into the forbidden arms of a Benedictine Sister, whom Azazel is threatening. But this woman arouses far more than his protective instincts. He wants her as he's wanted no other woman, and he's willing to provoke the archangels’ fury to keep her safe.

Catherine Grady has devoted herself to the fellowship of faith and forged a path of eternal dedication to a higher calling. But when a traffic accident forces her to accept Iain's aid, she discovers that her chosen path is not what her heart craves. Iain awakens a buried yearning to be needed and loved in a way her broken childhood denied her. As she struggles to reconcile her desires, she stumbles into the truth about her heritage, ancient secrets, and unholy danger. Iain's immortality is all that can protect her.

For Iain, it's an impossible choice. The archangels have decreed if he walks away from the Templar, they will reclaim his soul. Yet returning to the Order only guarantees his inevitable death…
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy

32 pages, ebook

First published March 12, 2013

About the author

Claire Ashgrove has been writing since her early teens and maintained the hobby for twenty years before deciding to leap into the professional world. Her first contemporary novel, Seduction's Stakes, sold to The Wild Rose Press in 2008, where she continues to write steamy, sexy stories for the Champagne and Black Rose lines. Adding to these critically acclaimed contemporaries, Claire’s paranormal romance series, The Curse of the Templars, will debut with Tor in January 2012. For those who prefer the more erotic side of romance, she also writes for Berkley Heat under the pen name Tori St. Claire.

Claire lives on a small farm in Missouri with her two toddler sons, fifteen horses, four cats, and five dogs. In her “free” time, she enjoys cooking, winning at rummy, studying ancient civilizations, and spending quiet moments with her family, including the critters. She credits her success to her family's constant support and endless patience.

To learn more about Claire, visit her on the web at www.ClaireAshgrove.com, or www.ToriStClaire.com

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gonna say it again....I just can't get enough of these Templars. Loved Iain and Catherine. They both have been through so much and I wanted to see them get their happiness so desperately. Claire Ashgrove brings you one more step closer to understanding the complexity of these Templar Knights and what they have to do. Her writing weaves me into the story and I find myself wanting this series to last forever.

[April Siegfried · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story!

This is another successful installment of the series! Loved it.....moving on to number three!
With each book I fall more in love with this world she has created!

[MLC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on Templars using immortality of the original Knights in our modern day. Honestly this book is a bit more steamy than I normally read but I did like the story.

[John Gannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was mercifully short.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gonna say it again....I just can't get enough of these Templars. Loved Iain and Catherine. They both have been through so much and I wanted to see them get their happiness so desperately. Claire Ashgrove brings you one more step closer to understanding the complexity of these Templar Knights and what they have to do. Her writing weaves me into the story and I find myself wanting this series to last forever

[Michel Reinhard (Saucy Southern Readers) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky to receive an ARC copy of Immortal Protector to review!

I absolutely loved it! It is a novella that should be read after book 2, "Immortal Surrender" in The Curse Of The Templars series.

The Immortal Templar series is based on the legend of the Templar Knights and why they mysteriously disappeared from history. A select group of the Templar Knights defied the archangels and unearthed the copper scroll that unearthed the gates to hell. They were cursed for this forbidden act and condemned to live on this earth throughout eternity to protect mankind from the forces of unholy evil. As they battle the forces of evil and Azazel's minions they absorb the evil darkness after each defeat. Eventually the darkness will consume their souls and they will lost forever to the darkness and become Dark Knights of Azazel's army. Their only salvatinon is the return of the seraphs. Each Knight has a seraph they are destined to align with. Their destined seraph has the ability to heal their darkness. If they do not find their seraph they will eventually be lost to the darkness.

In the beginning of book 2, "Immortal Surrender", Templar Knight- Ian Donnelly finds his seraph in the hands of Azazel and witnesses her brutal murder. His soul is forever doomed to the darkness. He loses faith and can no longer embrace the Templar's immortal purpose. He is sent on a sabbitical by the archangels so that he may restore his faith and embrace his immortal purpose. He is sent to the headquarters in the United States for his sabbitical.

While on sabbitical, searching for his faith, Ian is helping out the excommunicated brother Tane at his homeless shelter for teens. He witnesses a car accident and meets Catherine Grady. Catherine Grady is a forbidden temptation because she devoted her path in life to a higher calling. Ian is compelled to protect Catherine at all cost. She is not a seraph but Azazel is after her. The archangels have forbidden Ian to help Catherine because she is not destined to the Templars. Ian will defy the archangels and protect Catherine from Azezel, even at the cost of his own soul.

This novella was fantastic. As you read this series you become attached to many of the Templar Knights. Knowing that all will not find their seraph and most will fall to the darkness, you feel anguished over their fates. This novella gives the reader hope that all may not be lost. That these Knights will not be forever doomed for one human error. The Knights have dedicated their lives and deserve some happiness.

I highly recommend this series....reading order is as follows...
Immortal Hope
Immortal Surrender
Immortal Protector- release date March 12, 2013
Immortal Trust- release date March 26, 2013

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I accidentally read this one out of order in that I read the third book first. In a way, it was almost a good thing. I was already emotionally engaged with what I knew of Iain's story.

Iain is one of the cursed Templar knights who fight against Azazel and his demon hoard, but he is on sabbatical at the moment because he is at a crises point in his life. Any hope he had of being saved from the eternal darkness died when his seraph is killed by Azazel. He now doesn't see the point of keeping his Templar vows and is disillusioned with his service. But now that he has hit rock bottom, a ray of hope in the form of Catherine Grady enters his life when he comes to her rescue after a traffic accident.

Catherine is on the cusp of taking her vows as a nun. She enjoys her work teaching inner-city teens who remind her of herself when she grew up tough bouncing from foster homes to the streets. She wants to take her vows even when others caution her that this may not be her vocation. After meeting Iaian, she is even more confused because she responds to him almost immediately. She wants to be with him and it feels right to be with him.

Iain is very drawn to Catherine and even more so when he discovers that she has a mysterious connection to his own Templar order. He works to solve the mystery even as he notices the demons hovering around the church and home where the nun's live. He knows he is in a dangerous race to figure out what draws them there, but he's also treading dangerous ground with the Templar order when it comes to his actions with Catherine.

It all culminates with a battle involving the Templar and Iaian forced to make his decision, but the novella closes with a few tantalizing plot threads left open and unanswered.

I loved this story from cover to cover. Iaian and Catherine are great characters. This story may be shorter in word count than the others in the series, but it is just as well written grabbing my emotions and interest right to the end. The end was a little bittersweet, but it total makes sense in the context of all that is going on. I was so thrilled to see Iaian finding his happiness by having this chance with Catherine. They are so good for each other and together.

This story falls between books two and three and should be read in order of the series or much of the background the story is set against won't make sense and the presence of the other characters will be confusing.

This is a wonderful series that I recommend to those who love paranormal romance involving an unique take on angels and demons that includes a small army of passionate Templar Knights.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iain and Catherine meet by chance when he helps her after she was in a car wreck. Iain knew from the moment he met her that he wanted to be with her no matter the cost. What Catherine doesn't tell Iain is that she can not get involved in a relationship with him because she has already committed herself to the church. In Catherine's eyes she should stand by her commitment to the church but in her heart she knows that Iain is the man she has always wanted in her life. With evil breathing down her neck, Catherine turns to the only man she feels safe with and falls into his open and waiting arms. Iain knows that Catherine is not his seraph, the only woman that can save his soul from damnation, because his was brutally murdered but that does not keep him from wanting Catherine. He's given two choices but does he choose Catherine or his Templar brothers?
What would you give up for love? Would you give up everything in your life just to be with the one person that loves you? Read this great novella to see if Catherine and Iain give up each other in the name of religion & responsibility or if they can work everything out to be together no matter what.

[Cary Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m in pain this was so good. Claire Ashgrove knows how to create delicious men. If she were a sculptor, they’d all be Davids. And may I say…she knows how to write one heck of a love scene, too. Am I blushing? Perhaps. Am I jealous of all of the women in her books – certainly! But beyond all of that, her stories are so compelling, imaginative, white-knuckle and passion-filled, that the world could erupt around me and I’d just have to put it on hold until I finished the book. This story follows Iain Donnelly, immortal Templar Knight, who is on leave-of-absence in KC, Mo, when he runs into, almost literally, Catherine Grady, novice nun. Through unexpected turns and a lurking threat, they each begin to see something in the other that causes their lives to spin toward a future neither of them would ever have imagined. As usual, very well done.

I purchased this book online and have given this review freely and without monetary compensation.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4*s
review posted here...
http://bookpassionforlife.blogspot.co...

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series...sect Templar nights.

[Kim Friant · Rating 3 out of 5]

a pretty good, if highly improbable, love story!