Immortal Hope by Claire Ashgrove

The fight between Heaven and Hell has been around since the dawn of time. There have always been guardians and protectors that help keep evil in balance and hope alive in the world.

CENTURIES AGO,
Templar knights defied the archangels and unearthed the copper scroll, revealing the gates to hell. Cursed for their forbidden act, they forever roam the earth protecting mankind from evil. But darkness stalks them, and battles they fight bring them ever-closer to eternal damnation. One promise remains to give them salvation – the return of the seraphs.
Embittered by his purpose, Merrick du Loire must honor an ancient pact and bring peace to his cousin’s soul. When he stumbles upon history professor Anne MacPherson, he discovers she possesses a sacred artifact that marks her as a seraph. Duty demands he set aside his personal quest and locate the knight she’s fated to heal. As he struggles with conflicting oaths, Anne arouses buried hope and sparks forbidden desire that challenges everything he’s sworn to uphold.
Anne has six weeks to complete her thesis on the Knights Templar. When Merrick takes her to the Templar stronghold, he presents her with all she needs—and awakens a soul-deep ache, he alone can soothe. Yet loving Merrick comes with a price. If she admits she's destined for him, her gift of foresight predicts his death.

Anne MacPherson, a woman who is currently writing a research paper on the Templar Knights and reads the Tarot cards, is really a seraph, a person who has the magic to save the soul of a Templar Knight who has been fighting against the forces of Azazel for centuries.

Merrick du Loire was one of the original Templar Knights swearing his service to the Almighty to protect the world from evil and care for the guardians of the sacred relics. Each battle with Azazel’s forces puts a dark stain on Merrick’s soul, turning him from a guardian of God to a warrior for Azazel. He knows that he is near the end of his time and accepts that he will be killed by a good friend before he takes up arms against them.

Immortal Hope builds upon the secret legends of the Templar Knights. Claire Ashgrove takes their story and weaves her magic through history to show us a group of men who must fight to save the world and the women that will save them. Being the first book, Immortal Hope shares much of the back history and along with Anne teaches the readers about the larger conflict that is occurring each and every day for Heaven. Immortal Hope also gives us glimpse of the angels who are helping in the fight but who have their hands tied because of their vows. It was fun to see Gabriel as Gabe Anderson. I can’t wait to see what else he has in store.

While Immortal Hope is the love story of Anne and Merrick, it also introduces us to the rest of the men who hope to have a seraph of their own and the knowledge that each man and woman bears a mark that matches each other and signifies that they are meant for each other. We learn about Anne’s twin sister who is also a seraph and slated to save another Templar Knight.

Immortal Hope refers to the hope that these strong knights have carried within themselves that there was a personal savior for each one of them and that should they become too dark, a brother in heart would send them to their final place in heaven. To give up hope was to give up on each other and heaven. Immortal Hope looks to be a tantalizing new series that promises epic battles, strong women, amazing men and a commitment to a better world. Read it today!