I LOVED this book! I received it in exchange for my honest review from Promotional Book Tours. This book is filled with action from beginning to end. Selene was so close to becoming an archangel, but then she does the unthinkable, falls in love with a vampire. Because she breaks the rules, she loses her chance at promotion as well as some of her powers. When Selene takes Cole to Charon (another world), he gets kidnapped. Selene drops everything to get him back, including her charge/close friend Caitlyn. Will Selene lose everything and get Cole back? Will she be able to keep Caitlyn alive? Read it and find out! ( )

What I liked:
the cover is really pretty
I liked that even though Selene was confused about how she felt for Luke, in the end she did make up her mind.

What I didn't like
Angel/Guardian powers (their extent or lack of it) are never explained-at one instance Selene just weaves "protection" while masking the vampires' presence. We were never told before that she could do that.
Both vampires-Luke & Cole- are supposed to be old but they behaved like teenagers
Selene's behavior is similar too-she never thinks of the consequences before jumping into any situation. Shouldn't she know better? And Beck was right, why was she given so much leeway?
Raphael knows what Selene's like but he never shares info with her- again seemed at odds with a wise Archangel.
The battle with Limos was almost anti climatic.
After Selene had become an immortal,the story felt like it dragged on.
( )

Okay – first things first. I think we should all take a minute and enjoy the GORGEOUS that is the Unguarded Book Cover. Did ya get a good look?! I mean really, is it not awesome!? Now that the moment is over, lets get back down to business!

I was lucky enough to receive this book for a blog tour I signed up for. & now, after reading it, I must say that I made a pretty good decision to jump on this blog tour! Seriously, aside from the amazing cover, this book is like a paradise for lovers of fictional awesomeness. Demons, witches, vampires — OH MY!

While I haven’t read too many books involving angels, Selene just kind of.. spoke to me. Why? This certain angel has a slight problem. She’s pretty much in love with a vampire. (Dude. SOLD!) Selene has to be one of the toughest, most loyal heroines I have read about in awhile. Seriously, she defines Alpha Female. – I want to be just like her when I grow up! – I will point out that she does have a slight authority and rule following issue. Then again, who doesn’t!? I’m telling you, I completely relate to this chick!

Even though her love of Cole is forbidden and can be the very thing that stops her from becoming an archangel, when she finds out he has been captured, she’s face with one tough decision. As an angel, her sole job is to watch over her charge, and by leaving to go after Cole – she is leaving her charge open for any and all harm to come to her with no one their to help her. So does she go after him, or stay with Caitlyn – her charge?

This story flowed almost effortlessly for me. I honestly didn’t come across anything I thought odd, or weird or just non fitting. The only thing I will say I wish there was more of was the story of HOW Selene and Cole came together. With this book I found myself eager to get to the end to see what happened, what didn’t happened, and if I was right or wrong about things. Another thing I loved about this book is you could just TELL Ashley did her research before she wrote this book. All the questions that spawned in my mind while reading this, were answered at one point or another, which shows me she knew exactly what she was talking about! I love nothing more than a book that has some consistency in it! ( )

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!

There was a part near the end (won't say what to avoid spoilers) that I felt was too rushed. I would have liked to have more time spent on it.

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! ( )

Guardian angel Selene did the one thing Angels shouldn't do... fall in love with a vampire. Her vampire lover, Cole has been taken and Selene is eager to find him. But to do this it would leave her human charge Caitlyn helpless to any and all attacks. But she has to make some choice. Either lose Cole forever or lose Caitlyn and any hope of becoming an archangel.

Angel, Vampires & Demons, oh my! This was a great read. I loved Cole and Selene's story -- and it was made even more interesting with vampire Luke thrown into the mix. The story definitely lives up to the beautiful cover. I'm a sucker for a happy ending or at least a good one... I was a bit worried about the ending, but it pretty much rocked! UnGuarded is a fast paced read that is intense and gripping. Ms. Robertson has created an exciting world, that both paranormal romance & urban fantasy fans will enjoy. ( )