Joining us again today is the awesome Claire Ashgove with her Virtual Book Tour, IMMORTAL SURRENDER

Good morning, everyone. Thanks for letting me stop in today! I’m thrilled to be celebrating the release of Immortal Surrender with you! I thought we’d spend some time with Iain Donnelly, one of the European Templar Knights.

Claire: Iain, I know this is a difficult time for you. Thank you for talking with us for a little while. I’m so sorry about what happened in Paris.

Iain: You are welcome, milady. I appreciate your condolences.

Claire: How are you holding up?

Iain: (He shrugs) I wake. I battle still, though my heart is no longer in the fight.

Claire: Yeah, I can imagine it would be a little difficult to keep on, knowing, unfortunately what inevitably waits. Do you mind talking a bit about that night?

Iain: ‘Tis not easy, but nay, I do not mind.

Claire: What went through your mind when you walked in and found Bianca…as she was?

Iain: (With a sigh, he shakes his head.) Many things. Mostly rage, that she had been so betrayed. I could not feel jealousy—she knew naught of me, and I little more than her name. ‘Twas Azazel’s doing, and I knew this from the moment I entered.

Claire: How did you know to find her, or even where, for that matter?

Iain: I received a message from Gabriel mayhap an hour earlier. I was enjoying my evening meal when Raphael explained she had been found and bade me to leave immediately.

Claire: Did he have any forewarning of what you’d walk in on?

Iain: Nay, I do not suspect so. We knew Azazel knew of her, but I do not think he foresaw what would occur.

Claire: You don’t…sound so sure.

Iain: (he frowns thoughtfully and pauses for several seconds.) In truth, I know not what to think. The archangels are capable of much. ‘Twould not surprise me to discover Raphael did know. And yet, I cannot believe such either. I question much of their purpose now, of mine as well.

Claire: I would too. So what do you think you’ll do now? Continue like before? Have you made peace with what awaits you?

Iain: I have not decided what I shall do. I spoke with Alaric le Goix, my commander here, and have requested sabbatical. He suggested I spend some time away from Europe, with Merrick and the others in America.

Claire: Oh! So you might be coming over here?

Iain: Aye. ‘Tis likely I shall. Paris is difficult now. I have failed one too many people here. Mayhap Missouri shall improve my spirits.

Claire: I hardly think you’ve failed. But I do agree that a change of scenery might help. Well… I probably ought to get going. Before I do, something that’s been bugging me – if Bianca was discovered before Noelle, and Noelle is she who is blind, who was Bianca?

Iain: ‘Tis a question we all would like answered, including Raphael. It seems the only answer is she appeared unexpectedly. A rogue seraph, if you will.

Claire: Hm. How interesting.

Iain: Nay. (He chuckles softly.) The prophecy is unraveling. More will come. When it is fulfilled, they will all know salvation.

(He stands and bows.) Good day, milady.

Quietly, he leaves the room. What he didn’t say lingers long after…all but him.

EXCERPT:
“Very well.” He took a step toward the paneled doors. “I shall wash.” Halfway through the doorway, he stopped to glance over his shoulder. The perplexed look returned to his features, and the same war of wills played on his eyebrows. “If you would aid me in the removal of my mail, ’twill go much faster.”

Oh, so that was it—he wanted her help. She, whom he couldn’t stand. Whose touch repulsed him. No wonder he had such a hard time asking.

Her pride rose up, taunting her to toss the request back in his face. After all the demands he’d made, the insults he’d given her, she shouldn’t lift a finger to help. If he’d been Seth, she’d have laughed in his face.

Only he wasn’t Seth. He was handsome, grumpy, insane Farran. A man who probably didn’t have the first clue about his mood swings and behavior.

Her gaze tracked across his broad shoulders, followed the high planes of his cheeks. Scratches littered his face, tiny marks she hadn’t noticed until he stepped beneath the light that poured from the bedroom.

“What have you been doing?” She asked as she rose to her feet. “Isn’t it a little late for fencing?” Then again, when she’d been on the team in high school, there had been several who practiced at every stolen opportunity. Maybe he was no different.

A soft snort accompanied the bemused shake of his head. “You would not believe me.”

She smirked. “You’re probably right. Tell me anyway.”

He leaned a shoulder on the door frame, and his gaze settled on hers, intense and probing. “There were demons in the woods. Sent for you, I am certain.”

Demons? She’d expected something related to the Templar purpose and being the best he could be, regardless of the hour. But demons? The notion stirred her amusement once again. If he could put half these things down on paper, the man would make a fortune as an author. His imagination topped the charts.

She swallowed down the rising laugh and checked her expression. But what brought her to a stop wasn’t the challenge in his eyes that dared her to argue. Nor was it the harsh line that his mouth had once again assumed. What rooted her in place and dropped her jaw was the jagged vein of crimson that flowed from under the crushed links of his coif and trickled down his temple. “Farran, you’re bleeding!”

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.

Wendy's Review-Tall, moody, brooding, and just generally unhappy is how I would describe Farran. We met Farran in Merrick's book, like Merrick, Farran was cursed with immortality for something the Knights Templar did over 900 years ago. Just under the surface of his gruff exterior you could tell that Farran was more than what meets the eyes. After trying to keep Anne from Merrick in the last book he has a different understanding about how strong women can really be- it took him 3 days to walk right after Anne kicked him in the family jewels. Knowing that more women are coming to live with the Templar's, Farran prays that he is not one of the warriors that fate has decided needs a woman. While out on an assignment, he is told to guard a woman who has one of the relics that Azazel needs. Very early on in this assignment he realizes that Noelle is his mate and he does the opposite of what Merrick did with Anne. He tells Noelle they are destined to be mated but he will bond with her for duty only, and that they will never be together as a couple. Farran likes his women quick and easy, easy being the main thing for him, so easy that all he has to do is throw some money at them. Even though Knight Templar were not supposed to be married, he was an exception to that rule so all those years ago he joined the cause only to return home to find his wife had betrayed him and his child wanted nothing to do with him. That hurt and pain has stayed with him for over 900 years, so letting go of his past is one of the hardest things Farran has ever had to do, but after spending more time with Noelle, he is willing to do that and more. While Farran is opening his eyes to what he has now, Noelle is trying her best to understand what is happening in her life now, she lied to him which then caused them to try to go separate ways but with Azazel wanting the relic the separation does not last long.
My Rating: 4.5     
I really enjoyed both books in this series, I want to know who will be the main male character in book 3. I liked book one better but still I have to admit, I've read over 100 books this year already and these two books have been by far my favorite out of all of them.

Shonna's Review: There is no need for me to write my summary of this book because Wendy did an excellent job giving her review. I would like to add though, that I LOVE the way Claire writes and I am now a devoted fan of hers. I enjoyed the second book even more than the first and very much look forward to the third installment. Without a doubt I will be first in line to get my copy.
My Rating: 5 

“This series (The Curse of the Templars) is explosive, sexy, riveting, and Claire Ashgrove is a master of her craft.” ~ NYTimes Bestselling Author, Maggie Shayne

Award-Winning 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 romances, Claire’s paranormal romance series, The Curse of the Templars debuted with Tor in January 2012. For those who prefer the more erotic side of romance, she also writes for Berkley Heat as the National Bestselling Author Tori St. Claire.

She is an active member of Romance Writers of America, and her local RWA chapters, Heartland Romance Authors, Midwest Romance Writers, and North Texas Romance Writers of America.

Claire lives in Missouri with her two sons and too-many horses, cats, and dogs. In her “free” time, she enjoys cooking, winning at Rummy, studying Ancient Civilizations, and spending quiet moments with her family, including the critters.

To learn more about Claire, visit her on the web at www.claireashgrove.com, or www.toristclaire.com. You can also connect with her via Facebook, and Twitter

We have two giveaways going on today- For FOUR lucky followers Tor & Claire Ashgrove are giving away 3 copies of Immortal Surrender (US & Canada Residents only)   AND  with the blog hop that Claire is participating in now you have a chance to win a BOOK from her backlist (except in the Templar series) and all names will be entered into the tour-end drawing for a $25 Amazon gift card (follow the here tour , the more you comment, the better your chances of winning)


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