Ashley
Written on Jul 4, 2012
Oh my goodness, Ashley Robertson really starts this story off with a kick! Immediately we are thrown right into the action, with flashbacks, angels, demons, and vampires! UnGuarded was my first book about angels and I absolutely adored it. I loved learning about the angel hierarchy, their duties, and their enemies.
Selene, an angel, is distraught because her vampire lover Cole has been kidnapped, and it's her fault. Now she has to make a choice: she can abandon all hopes of rescuing Cole, or she can give up her human charge in exchange for information on how to find him. What does she put first: her duty as an angel, or her love for a vampire?
This book reminded me of those questions that get posted online like, "Would you hurt someone to save your lover?" Those are the kinds of things you think about, but never actually expect to happen. But in UnGuarded, it does happen, and Selene has to make that decision.
If I betrayed Caitlyn for just an hour, Moros would help me save Cole. [...] Was it worth Cole's undead life to give my human charge over to the monsters? [...] Everyone has a choice. After a few grueling moments, I'd made mine.
This book is filled with so much raw emotion that had me getting teary at times. I really sympathized with Selene's position and struggled with her as she made her choices. I could completely understand where she was coming from: she had a strong desire to save her lover, but she also didn't want to throw her human charge to the demons. Not only is she responsible for her charge—Caitlyn—but she also has a friendship and a bond with her. She's basically forced to choose which one will be hurt (or worse). It's really heartbreaking to see Selene go through this struggle and deal with the pain and guilt, and meanwhile, her status as an angel is also at risk. She was so close to becoming an archangel, but ever since she fell in love with a vampire—a creature of darkness—her reputation and powers have been on the decline. And now that she's neglecting her duties as Caitlyn's charge, she's seriously risking becoming a fallen angel.
At first, most of what we know about Cole is through a series of flashbacks. We never actually meet Cole until much later in the book. At first it was difficult to relate to and understand Selene's love for Cole when we never actually met him, but as the memories and flashbacks became more frequent, I began to understand. Their love is forbidden, but beautiful at the same time. They truly care for each other and are willing to risk life itself.
UnGuarded does have a love triangle, but it's done in such a way that I have no idea who to root for. We get to know Cole through the flashbacks, but that's it (until the end of the book). Then there's Luke. Luke is helping Selene rescue Cole. So I was wanting to root for Cole since he's the one Selene already loves, but I found it hard to stay loyal to him when I never actually 'met' him! So part of me wanted Selene to remain loyal to Cole, but then Luke was there in all his sexiness, stealing the spotlight! I think finally I did decide that I'm a Cole fan because Luke has more of the bad boy vibe and that's usually not the kind of guy I like!
I do feel like more time could have been spent detailing Selene's fall from grace. There wasn't much time between her fall, and her suddenly coming back tasked with keeping the balance. Compared to other parts, like her being stranded in the realm below the Underworld, it seemed a little rushed.
This is a really beautiful book about star-crossed lovers, guilt, good vs. evil and sacrifice — all wrapped up with action and racey tidbits that will have you screaming for more!