A Review for Immortal Protector (The Curse of the Templars) by Claire Ashgrove

Posted by Melanie
Release Date: March 12th, 2013

Finished Date: February 19th, 2013

Publishers: Tor Books
Source: For Review

Format: Kindle 

Pages:  32
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US 

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…

The Review: As a huge fan of The Curse of the Templars series, I had always wondered what had been Iain’s fate following the death of his seraph at the beginning of Immortal Trust and now we get to find out. I had always assumed that he was now damned to the fate of becoming a dark knight because there was no one to save him now, I had thought it was a sure thing but I was wrong. Iain is now staying with the American Templar Knights whilst he contemplates his purpose….on his way to help his brother Tane at the shelter, he witnesses a crash and is drawn to the female crash victim Catherine Grady. Being the protector that he is, he helps her and in taking her home finds out she is a novitiate nun who has yet to take her vows. Wondering why he is drawn to another he cannot have, he resigns himself to the fact that he is indeed cursed…. Until he feels the presence of evil surrounding the home of the nuns, is Catherine more than she appears to be? As they grow ever closer, both are conflicted by their feelings for each other and duty towards their faiths. As Iain digs more into Catherine’s background, it becomes clear that she needs protecting and Iain is just the knight for the job – even if it means turning his back on his faith & all he has known, putting his very soul on the line. I really enjoyed this instalment of an already great series, as I said, I always wondered what had happened to Iain and it’s nice to get some insight. Seeing as it was novella length it was fast paced with a great story line and as always some Templar hotness which is always welcomed. This story took us away from the prophecy of the main seraphs and introduced us to another notion – beyond the prophecy ones, will there be more pure ones to bring redemption to the rest of the Templar Knights tainted by Azazel? I’m afraid you will have to read it for yourself to find out. It seems by using this novella, it’s opening up the knight’s lives and we start to see them in the community rather than protecting the relics, it was nice to see and really good that we get to read about Tane’s project, the homeless teen shelter come to fruition. It gave me great satisfaction to see Iain happy with Catherine, the relationship was quite rushed but with the connection they had it was understandable and needed to bring out the protector in Iain. I was wishing desperately that we would find she was another seraph especially with her place amongst the church, being a good souled person and that he got a second chance (I will let you find that out for yourself too). It’s also good to see that the Knights can be fallible, that it’s possible to lose faith and be unsure of what they’ve pledged to be, to wonder if there’s a different path but still be true to those they’re bound to and that gives us something to think about. There are quite a few things that happen throughout the book that does give the reader things to think about, there are a couple of huge things and I wonder what that will mean for the series as a whole. I’m hoping there will be more from Iain & Catherine, hopefully we can follow their story through these novellas because I felt there is more to be told from this pairing. Immortal Protector is an excellent addition to the series though and will definitely appeal to fans of the series and as always, I’m left wanting more.